Sticking with a Good Thing – Sustainability as the Market Shifts

By Maria Patterson

RISMEDIA, April 21, 2008-Being the regional director for Watson Realty’s Central Florida territory is no small task. For Ken Bennett, who bears the title and oversees 14 offices and 675 sales associates from Disney World to Port Orange, staying successful has meant changing with the times and also sticking with what works- such as virtual tours from Obeo.

Market conditions in Central Florida, according to Bennett, are mixed. “We have some pockets that are stable and some areas that are declining,” he says. “We enjoyed great appreciation in many metro areas in the boom years; the ones that escalated the fastest are now bearing the brunt of adjusting back to normal market values.”

That said, Watson Realty has managed to maintain a favorable level of success and market share. Bennett attributes this phenomenon to the positive energy from company leader Bill Watson.

“He’s the most upbeat man I’ve ever seen,” says Bennett. “The attitude of the person at the top always filters down. We feel that there isn’t anything we can’t accomplish in this market or any market. We have to get our associates focused on the fact that in order to achieve a level of success comparable to what they’ve experienced in the past, we have to be more aggressive with our marketing and in improving our skill sets. Our market share is increasing in many areas, so it appears to be working.”

Part of what helps lock in market share for Watson’s sales associates is the ability to service customers with critical tools from trusted vendors-such as Obeo Tours provided by Obeo.com.

Watson has worked with Obeo since its inception as 360House.com in the early 2000s. Since then, Bennett has enabled his sales associates to utilize Obeo’s tours by subsidizing the cost and emphasizing the competitive advantage Obeo provides.

The investment is well worth it for Bennett-with so many of Watson’s agents using Obeo tours, it gives the company “a great opportunity to market our properties to a wider segment of the home-buying public,” he says.

If you don’t use the tours, you’re putting yourself in a position of disadvantage since most of our major competitors are using some sort of panoramic showcasing. By using Obeo for all these years, we have come to appreciate and really almost expect great innovation to come from them. This keeps our company on the cutting edge and always a step ahead of our competition. Their virtual decorating and remodeling tools are a good example of this.

“We encourage our people to be creative and try different marketing concepts that will likely lead them to be even more successful,” Bennett continues. “Obeo has been a significant part of our success and a very important listing tool. When we present the program to a prospective seller and show them how their home will look, it increases our ability to obtain a greater percentage of listings and enhances our overall listing market share.”

The new virtual decorating and remodeling tools take the Obeo program to a whole new level by enabling the buyer to personalize their home in accordance with their own tastes, which will save them both time and money in the redecorating process, adds Bennett. “That’s a value-added service that should help keep Watson involved in their next real estate transaction.”

With several other tour products on the market today, it’s ultimately Obeo’s representatives and leadership that make the biggest difference for Bennett. “Obeo delivers the product on time and with no surprises,” he explains.

“I receive calls every week from other virtual tour vendors but I am reluctant to even talk with them because Obeo has earned my business over the years. They have consistently provided me with a superior product and a level of service that has exceeded my expectations…you can’t really do much better than that, can you?”

Bennett is equally loyal to the technology itself, believing that virtual tours are something home buyers expect.

“Once they start surfing the Net, they want to be able to see visual presentations of homes,” he says. “If this isn’t available online, buyers will quickly go somewhere else where they can find that technology and get a feel for the property they are considering. Offering a little extra to help house hunters not only see but dream will show them Watson Realty is a company that goes the extra mile-a company they want to work with.”

For more information, please visit www.obeo.com.