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Agents and brokers alike will find practical business solutions from this list of screen-sharing, collaborative, and video-conferencing products.
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Wednesday, July 1, 2015
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Erica Christoffer
More on Screen-to-Screen Selling
How It Works
Screen-sharing technology will help you communicate with clients more thoroughly while highlighting your market expertise.
Uses in the Field
Here’s how screen-sharing and video-conferencing tools have helped agents better serve their clients.
5 Ideas for Brokers
Screen-sharing tools are a cost-effective way to strengthen agent relationships.
Screen-to-screen technology involves two main concepts: video conferencing or screen sharing and mirroring. There are many screen-to-screen platforms and apps on the market, but the key is to find what best fits your needs. We’ve broken down 20 products into potential use categories and examined how they might be applicable to your real estate business.
Some of them are all-encompassing solutions that also include a platform to host webinars and post links to signup forms on social media. These types of solutions may be best suited for larger brokers who want to host detailed training sessions for their agents. Other products cater to smaller-scale operations, allowing for video-conferencing with small groups, sending instant messages to other users, and arranging voice calls with multiple parties. These types of solutions may be better geared for small real estate teams for individual agents who want to add another level to the customer experience. Check out all the options in the charts below.
Screen Sharing and Video Conferencing
Product
Price
What It Does
AnyMeeting
Meeting Pro allows for up to 30 attendees at $18/month. Webinar Pro starts at $78/month for up to 100 viewers.
Looking for an all-in-one video conferencing, screen sharing, and webinar hosting tool? AnyMeeting is a good option, not only for conducting meetings but for promoting them, too. Share through Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail, sell tickets to your webinars via PayPal, and create custom registration forms. Free for up to four meeting attendees.
BeamYourScreen
Plans start at $13 per month.
“Beam me up, Scotty.” BeamYourScreen offers a way to “beam” or share your desktop screen to up to 25 people. Users can also get remote-control access to any other attendee’s desktop as long as both parties agree. Share keyboard shortcuts with other participants and change presenters in mid-presentation. BeamYourScreen also includes recording options for later playback, whiteboard collaboration, and session scheduling.
fring
Free.
Fring is a free mobile app for iOS or Android that offers instant messaging, voice calls, video calls, and up to four-way video conferencing. The fringOut feature also provides low-cost international calling.
Fuze
Fuze is free for up to three users with 3 HD video streams; $20/month for 25 participants and 12 HD video streams; and $40 for up to 250 participants and 12 HD video steams. Custom packages are available.
Get crystal-clear video and audio conferencing with Fuze’s HD system. Connect with agents or customers across any device, share your screen, schedule Fuze meetings in your existing Outlook or Google calendar, and share content, files, and high-res images.
GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting starts at $39/month for up to 25 attendees; GoToWebinar starts at $79/month; and GoToTraining starts at $109/month.
GoToMeeting is an all-in-one video conferencing, screen sharing, calendar-integrated, mobile-friendly meeting platform. Create personal meeting rooms with a custom URL. GoToWebinar offers audience interaction and feedback. Share your webinar on social media channels. GoToTraining is an online learning environment, something your office trainers can use. The platform includes small group breakout sessions and provides the user with detailed reports on attendance and more. GoTo’s OpenVoice service also offers toll-free numbers and standalone audio conferencing starting at $0.08 per minute.
Google Hangouts
Free, but with a $5-per-month Google Apps for Work account, you can include up to 15 participants. (Participants can join a Hangout even if they don’t have a Google Apps account.)
Hangouts is Google’s free video conferencing application. Chat one-on-one or invite up to nine other users for a group discussion. Conversations can be private or broadcast in a live feed. Add recorded Hangouts to your YouTube channel. Take audience Q&As live. Screen share to conduct tutorials or customer presentations. Share files via Google Drive. Video and audio streams are encrypted. Chat with your team members through the Hangout messenger.
Join.me
The basic account is free for up to 10 participants and four whiteboards. The enterprise plan allows up to 250 participants, unlimited whiteboards, and 100GB of cloud storage.
Join.me is an all-in-one video/audio conferencing and screen-sharing tool with calendar-integrated invites, recording options, and more. Swap presenters and host up to 250 participants with the pro account. Set up your own custom meeting link with your company name. Mobile apps are available with the whiteboard collaboration tool for the iPad.
Meet.fm
Plans range from $9.95 to $149/month.
Create a channel on Meet.fm for you, your team, or your company where you can conduct virtual sales meetings with live video conferencing. Record meetings and share screens. Agents can use Meet.fm to make presentations to prospective clients.
Mikogo
The basic plan runs $13/month for a single user with up to three participants. The team plan might make the most sense for a small office: $35 per month with unlimited users and up to 25 participants per session.
Mikogo is a browser-based screen-sharing platform with some fun features. You can transfer files (up to 200MB) to other participants during the online meeting, swap presenters mid-meeting, record your session, and use the whiteboard feature for collaborating on the fly. Voice conferencing is included through either your computer or with a free teleconference phone number. Users can also use the remote access tool to temporarily control another computer through the keyboard and mouse (think IT troubleshooting).
ooVoo
Free. Upgrade to a premium account for $2.99 per month to ditch the ads and get 1,000 minutes of cloud storage.
You can video conference for free with up to 12 people using ooVoo. Send an instant message to other participants, and record your video sessions for later playback.
Screenhero
Free.
If you’re familiar with Slack, a team communication/messaging platform that can be broken down into conferencing strings or rooms, then Screenhero might be a good option for you. Screenhero and Slack have joined platforms to offer collaborative screen sharing, voice chat, and more. Use this tool to go over contracts, draft documents, and even give a quick website tutorial. Secure encryption is also standard.
ScreenLeap
Free for one to two hours of use per day, up to eight viewers — but doesn’t include audio conferencing. Paid plans run $15 to $39/month and include audio conferencing features as well as higher allotted share time and more viewers.
Sometimes a full-screen share is a little intrusive. Maybe you don’t need potential clients seeing your cluttered workspace set against a desktop photo of your dog. ScreenLeap has two options: Share your entire desktop screen, or just share a browser window. Browser-only viewing works by installing a browser extension available on Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. (The viewer doesn’t need to download anything.) ScreenLeap is compatible on any computer or device.
Skype
Skype is free, and business plans start at $2 per user per month.
Voice calling and video conferencing is what Skype’s all about. Skype-to-Skype calling is free; call mobile and landlines for low rates. Forward missed calls to another number. Gather your team for a virtual meeting — up to 25 people can join the conference. Message other participants, share photos and location, and share your screen. Integrate your Skype account with Facebook to instant-message your Facebook friends and check out your news feed. Opt for a Skype Business plan to video conference with up to 250 people.
Webex
Tech support starts at $99/month; meeting plans start at $24/month for up to eight people.
You’re probably familiar with WebEx as a webinar platform. But it does so much more than that. WebEx offers video conferencing and screen sharing with a whiteboard tool. Text or e-mail meeting invites. WebEx also has a platform specifically for conducting trainings, which includes private chat, instant polling, breakout sessions, and even a virtual assistant option to help you polish your presentation. And there’s a tech support feature, well suited for brokers of any size company. Support computer networks and devices anywhere in the world, perform maintenance, and offer troubleshooting services for your agents.
Zoom.us
Visit Zoom.us for plan pricing.
For group collaboration, Zoom.us offers cloud HD video conferencing, group messaging, screen sharing, whiteboard collaboration, and communication encryption. For larger business functions, there’s Zoom’s Room Connector, which allows for up to 200 participants or 3,000 view-only attendees. Zoom Rooms includes calendar integration and a multiscreen video screen-sharing option that could be used to show the presenter, content, and the gallery view. A mobile screen sharing tool is also available.
Screencasting
Product
Price
What It Does
Screencast-o-matic
The free version has a max 15-minute record time, but the pro version, which is $15/year, includes unlimited record time, draw and zoom features, and you avoid the Screen-o-matic watermark.
Record presentations or tutorials on your computer or tablet with this free online tool. Just a quick plugin download and you’re ready to record your screen and webcam. Choose your recorded file size and microphone input. It includes the option to download your screencast file to your computer, upload it for Screencast-o-matic to host, or publish to YouTube. It’s perfect for building a library of how-to videos for your clients, staff, or agents. Screencast-o-matic will host files up to 15 minutes per upload.
Interactive Displays
Product
Price
What It Does
WindowAgent
Call for hardware and software pricing: 800-219-4295.
Ideal for offices in areas with high foot traffic, WindowAgent’s interactive storefront window display offers an integrated touchscreen behind glass with a full MLS integration updated daily. Offer a live property search, highlight popular searches, and brand your display. Manage your information online and see how users are searching and viewing properties with an analytics and statistics dashboard. Capture leads by getting notifications when customers e-mail or text listings to themselves. In addition to window displays, WindowAgent also offers in-store wall units, touch screen tables, and both indoor and outdoor standalone kiosks.
Remote Access
Product
Price
What It Does
LogMeIn
Pro runs $99 per year for access to two computers, and $449 a year for up to 10 computers; Rescue starts at $1,299 annually; Backup is $39.95 a year per PC with quantity pricing available.
Have you ever left a file on your computer that you needed in the field? LogMeIn Pro lets you securely access your PC or Mac from another computer or mobile device. This is handy for individual use and for working with clients or agents. Conduct a quick tutorial or troubleshoot a technical problem. Transfer or share files. Larger brokerages may be interested in LogMeIn Rescue, a remote technical support product for IT staff to access computers and mobile devices. LogMeIn Backup provides secure backup storage that can be controlled remotely. And LogMeIn Meldium is a password manager for apps and websites.
HDTV Streaming
Product
Price
What It Does
Amazon Fire TV
Fire TV: $99 Stick: $39
Amazon Fire TV is a box — similar to Apple TV or Roku 3 — that you connect to your HDTV to stream apps, channels, music, and more. Includes voice search (which Chromecast and Apple TV are lacking) and mirroring capability from your smartphone or tablet to your TV. What sets Fire TV apart from the pack is its quad-core processor, so it’s faster and its 2 GB of memory. Amazon also makes the Fire TV Stick, comparable to Chromecast and the Roku Stick, which is good for connecting to TVs in your office, clients’ homes, or hotel room when you’re traveling.
Google Chromecast
$35
Chromecast is a thumb-sized media stick that you plug into an HDMI port in your TV to receive a signal from your laptop, smartphone, or tablet. It allows you to share your screen, stream video, and look at websites, apps, and more on a TV or monitor. Use this tool during listing presentations to do a live CMA on your clients’ TV. Setup just takes a few minutes. Or skip the projector during group meetings and plug Chromecast in for a more seamless solution for presentations. Change the volume, fast forward, or rewind from your laptop or mobile device.
Apple TV
$69
In addition to HD movies and apps, this media-streaming device lets you play content from your iOS device or laptop using AirPlay mirroring. So you (or any Apple user) can play content from your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Mac on an HDTV. Use your iPhone or iPad as a remote control. If your office isn’t on the smart TV bandwagon yet and lacks an HDMI port, there is a component adapter available for purchase.
Roku
Streaming stick: $49.99 Roku 3: $99.99
The latest version of this TV streaming system, Roku 3 includes voice control search and private listening. Just plug your headphones into the Roku remote to view without disturbing others. Stream YouTube from your mobile device, view your photos on the TV, watch your subscription services like Hulu or Netflix, and get other channels for free that may not come with your cable package, such as Crackle or the Smithsonian Channel. The device comes with Ethernet, USB, and microSD slots. Roku’s compact stick, which operates like the Chromecast and Fire TV stick, is good for wall-mounted TVs and is ideal for on-the-go agents in the field.
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Agents and brokers alike will find practical business solutions from this list of screen-sharing, collaborative, and video-conferencing products.
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