Where is the first place consumers go when looking to learn more about their local housing market? Brokers would like to say that curious searchers visit their firm's website, but that is not often the case.

Instead, prospects end up on third party portals, time and again. Why? There are many reasons, ranging from SEO considerations to the power of portals' brand recognition.

A bigger reason, however, may be the lackluster data offered by agent and broker IDX sites. "I've worked with three third-party IDX products," says Florida broker Richard Eimers. "They were all working fine, but I always felt there was something missing because, really, the only question they were addressing was what's for sale. I found that the needs and the desires of the buyers as we spoke to them after they came into the office is that they wanted more information."

Even though listing data on portals is often inaccurate, consumers flock to them because they provide a more complete picture than IDX sites do. If brokerages want to compete with portals, they need to up the ante on the property information they offer.

One way to do this is by implementing Virtual Office Websites (VOW). VOWs allow the consumers to create an account in order access comprehensive listing data from the MLS.

This includes information on active, pending, sold, and even expired listings. For any property, a VOW can provide complete data, including when the seller came on the market, at what price, how many times they have listed, and more.

The Perks of a More Informed Consumer

"That makes for a more intelligent buyer," Eimers says. "The buyer that comes into our office with depth and wealth of information makes our jobs much better. Rather than showing them 20 properties, we're showing them six properties, and when they come in, they're ready to buy. When they're in and they've looked at those properties [online], they already have a sense of value. We don't have to sit there and re-educate them--they're educated. They know what the competing properties have sold for. So when we write an offer, we're not writing lowball offers, we're writing reasonable offers and we can negotiate these things. We can negotiate fast and easy. It is an unbelievable pleasure to work with knowledgeable buyers."

VOWs can be useful to sellers, too. "We have found many times that sellers have been coming to these websites and they're becoming knowledgeable about, Oh, this is why my property didn't sell," Eimers explains. "We can talk to them more intelligently also. I think that education has been the most important part of it."

Robust Tools for Brokers

The consumer facing side of Virtual Office Websites is only half the story, though. Most offer comprehensive backend tools that allow brokers manage their leads, contacts, agents, and more from a single interface. Eimers uses a VOW solution called Quantum Leads that lets all of his agents work off of the same CRM and gives him the ability to assign leads and monitor his agents' responsiveness to those leads.

It's likely, however, that you'll spend less time monitoring your agents responsiveness when you use a VOW. Portals and IDX sites are notorious for dishing out garbage leads that agents don't bother following up with. VOWs give better leads. In fact, brokers using VOWs capture 20 percent more leads than those with IDX sites, according to the WAV Group.

"Most agents close 1 in 10 online leads," says WAV Group partner Victor Lund. "With VOWs, that number jumps to 1 in 3."

VOW solutions are also attractive because they offer brokers fundamental back office tools--contact management, lead management, drip marketing, and varied extras like expired listing notifications. Just be sure to look for the right combination for your brokerage's particular needs.

To explore all of your options for Virtual Office Websites, please visit our Product Directory.