An interview with Vincent Socci: Why the world’s largest Sotheby's International Realty affiliate digitized open houses

What were some of your challenges with open houses prior to a digital solution?
We never had a consistent way of getting accurate and usable information before, as the paper model was nonfunctional. It presented a challenge because agents would get bad information or be unable to decipher someone’s handwriting.

What were your objectives in going paperless?
We know that data is key to our presentation to future clients, and we were looking for a solution to not only get more accurate data but also have something that worked seamlessly with our existing tech ecosphere.

Why did you choose Spacio over other solutions?
That was simple. It is by far the best user interface, with the best agent facing training and the best integrations of any product in its space. We vetted several and there was no comparison.

What are some of the key benefits you’ve seen since implementing Spacio?
The primary benefit was that the more tech savvy agents began to use it in listing presentations. I coached them to use it as a differentiator when doing a listing presentation. The key component there was to use Spacio to demonstrate that we were ahead of our competitors by having a digital sign-in that gave us not only better control over who was attending, but also added an additional level of security. The fact that it was verifying emails and we could report back to the client, running aggregate data of how many attendees there were, was a compelling part of the listing presentation.

What do you want your clients to know about you and your brokerage?
We are on the cutting edge of what's coming next in the world of real estate. Between the innovation programs we currently have running and our focus on creating better educated agents with deep hospitality and concierge style training, we strive to exemplify our core philosophy that everyone deserves the exceptional.

What else sets you apart from others in the real estate industry?
The fact that we have a center for education available for clients as well as agents is unique in the industry right now. Our goal is to empower our clients to learn more about things that they are interested in, from design to market trends to green technologies. We want them to view us as their one-stop shop for all things related to the home.

What other digital solutions do you swear by to optimize your brokerage, open houses and customer relations?
Spacio’s integration with Contactually is one of the most powerful tools we have. Two outstanding companies who focus on relationships is a key component in our client success. Our agents have tools now that allow them to capture information, win listings, cross promote, and stay in contact to continue to grow their businesses in ways we have never had available before.