Chicago real estate, living and neighborhood perspective

Chicago-based PointDrive and @properties teaming up

@Logo WHite sqCommunication is the key to any successful sales pitch, and Chicago-based PointDrive thinks its tool does it better than email. Chicago-based @properties also likes what it sees: PointDrive on Wednesday announced a partnership with that company, Illinois’ largest independent real estate brokerage.

Kevin Van Eck, VP of training and brokerage services at @properties, said all of the company’s 1,500 agents eventually will have access to PointDrive, a sales-oriented application that allows users to share presentations without email attachments and helps users know when to follow up with clients.

“Clients are going to see the benefit in being able to see the information in a more easy and concise way,” Van Eck said.

Through PointDrive, users can create custom presentations that include all the files they would usually attach to an email. With this product, users send presentations to recipients directly through the Web app or via an email link.

Users can upload documents and images to the presentation, with embedded maps and videos from the Web as well. This way, PointDrive CEO Bill Burnett said, users can present files in a visually appealing and organized manner. He said email relegates attachments to the bottom of the message, where the recipient can miss or ignore them. Email also offers no opportunity to customize file delivery based on the device.

“If you went into our product and sent a PointDrive presentation, what we and you cannot control is where your recipient is going to view it from,” Burnett said.

He said this is why PointDrive is mobile-first, optimized to work on any handheld device. As such, he said, recipients can view presentations on any device without loss of quality.

Then there’s analytics, which Burnett says really sets PointDrive apart. When recipients open PointDrive presentations, the sender gets access to what the user has looked at, on which device, for how long and where. The sender can also see when a presentation gets forwarded or a file is downloaded.

Van Eck of @properties said knowing which files have been seen will help agents tailor future messages. He also said he expects PointDrive messages to require less followup than email.

Van Eck, who is responsible for rolling the tool out throughout the company, said he will begin with a small group of “super agents.” They and all subsequent @properties agent users will have access to a number of @properties-designed templates. Some of these will feature slots where agents can insert personalized information about listings, for example. Other templates will require no further customization. Among them: one that will feature tips on how to prepare a property prior to a virtual tour.

Van Eck said clients are often nervous or scared when buying and selling and that he thinks PointDrive will help @properties agents communicate clearly and help clients through the process.

“Any time we can make the conversation more clear, more safe, it’s a win,” Van Eck said.

PointDrive beta launched in October 2013 at the DEMO Conference in Silicon Valley, followed by a public launch in February 2014. The Angel-funded startup has 11 employees and now boasts 6,000 users, including @properties agents.


Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM
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Realty Evolved