Realty Agents

Custom House Publishers

2008-04-12T18:24:00Z

I got into one of those little online debates last month. It wasn’t a blog war but the words were a little more than lukewarm. The debate concerned farming and direct mail. One generation Y’er on a popular website talked about getting a postcard in the mail and thinking, “How archaic and wasteful, I will NEVER work with that person”. That annoyed me and I commented. We then commented back and forth and others jumped into the debate. I don’t believe I changed the young man’s mind but he certainly didn’t change mine. I’ve been farming for almost 30 years and the cost and effort has always been worth it. And yes, I keep up with the latest technology and write for a few blogs so it isn’t like I haven’t embraced Web 2.0.

I started out sending postcards and still do, but in 2001 I also began sending a customized newspaper to my geographical farm 5-6 times a year. The newspaper is published by Custom House Publishers. I get oodles of listings from my newspaper, (Oodles means a lot.) I can always can count on a few calls for listing appointments everytime I send out an issue.

Custom House Publishers deliver a 12 page newspaper featuring nationally syndicated columnists on its inside pages. Although they also offer a totally turnkey paper, I customize and brand the front page, back page and often add additional pages inside. My first issue of every year includes my annual “State of the Market” report which I send out as soon as the previous year statistics are available. I advertise my listings, feature local businesses, and promote my blog and website in my newsletter. I mail 6300 newsletters 6 times a year. The price of each newsletter is determined by which program you choose and the quantity you wish to mail. For as little as 45 cents per copy, Custom House designs, prints and mails your newsletter to your targeted market area.

PROS: Custom House Publishers provides excellent service. For a customized newsletter, you simply supply the content and a graphic designer will professionally handle the layout and design. I have never been disappointed in the outcome. I don’t believe it is possible to design, print and mail your own newspaper any cheaper or in less time.

CONS: The minimum number of newsletters you can print is 1000. I think that an agent just starting out as a farmer might find that minimum to be rather daunting.

In addition to obtaining listings, my newsletter has helped establish me as the local expert. Being considered the local expert is a good thing! You’ll find a copy of the front and back pages of my 12 page January issue HERE.

Jott

2008-04-07T01:19:00Z

Jott. The name itself is simplistic. Even the slogan says “Get Simple Back”. The more I use Jott, the more I am impressed with what it does.

Jott.com is a service that allows a person to make a phone call from their cell phone and dictate a message. This message is then transcribed and sent automatically in an email. The email contains both the transcribed message as well as an audio file of the message. This in itself is impressive, but Jott has taken their product steps further.

The uses of Jott are endless. If you have ever been out away from pen and paper and you suddenly have that “golden idea”, a quick phone call to Jott is all that is needed to record your message. Within moments, an email arrives with your message transcribed.

But that’s only the beginning. Imagine needing to get a quick message out to everyone in your office. Jott allows you to set up groups. Your call would go something like this: Dial Jott on your cell phone - A recorded voice greets you with “Who would you like to Jott?” You answer “The Office” (The office is a group you’ve set up ahead of time) - the automated voice says “The Office - Got it. Leave your message at the beep”. You leave your message, after which you hang up. Within minutes every person in your office receives an email with your message. If they choose, they can play the audio file.

Do you use Google Calendar? Jott has a solution here as well! Dial Jott on your cell phone - at the voice prompt of “Who do you want to Jott?” say “Google Calendar” - For Google calendar, your message would be something like “Meet Bob for lunch Tuesday at 12:30pm” This time, in addition to receiving your message in your voicemail, your Google Calendar now has an entry for Tueday that shows up as “Meet Bob for Lunch” and is set on the calendar at 12:30pm on Tuesday.

How about Twitter? Jott Twitter directly from your cell phone.

Blog on Wordpress or Blogger? Leave a Jott message that appears automatically within your blog!

Yahoo Groups, Jaiku, Zillow, Typepad, Remember The Milk and Expenser are other Jott links. At last count there are over 25 different places that you can Jott to.

Setting up a Jott account is simple. Go to Jott.com and register for an account. You can add individuals to your Jott address book or you can import multiple contacts via Jott’s simple CSV import tool. Voice recognition works very well in Jott. You simply say who you want to Jott and Jott repeats the name back to you. If Jott repeats the wrong name, no problem, you simply say the name again.

A web based inbox shows you all of your previously sent Jott messages along with audio file links.

And what is the cost of this product? It’s Free! At least for now.. it’s in Beta and has been for some time and appears to be staying free now.

So what are you waiting for? Go to http://www.jott.com right now!

Supra Lockbox Systems

2008-03-29T23:26:00Z

In the early days of real estate, there were no lockboxes. In some parts of the country, some homes didn’t even have door locks! And why would they. Someone was always home. The best security device was probably named Fido!

FACT - There are an estimated 2,329,9501 annual burglaries nationwide, with an annual loss by victims of approximately $3.1 billion.

FACT - A burglary takes place every 12 seconds and produces an average loss of $1,675 per event.

FACT - This year, one in six homes will be burglarized.1 Burglars will spend no longer than 1 minute to break into a home.

FACT - 60% of residential burglaries occur during the daylight hours.

Here are a few easy-to-follow suggestions to keep yourself and your home or business safe:

Keep the exterior of your home or business brightly lit at night. Burglars will be less likely to approach a well-lit area.

Lock windows and outside doors whenever they’re closed. Don’t do the burglar’s job for him. Ensure that all entries to your home or business are secured.

Burglars will generally try to enter your house unseen, favoring rear doors, and particularly sliding doors that are usually left unlocked. Secure sliding glass doors with a dowel in the inside track.

Never hide a key outside your house. Everyone thinks to look in the same place for a spare key (including the burglar), so don’t leave keys above the door frame or under the doormat.

Prune shrubs to keep them from concealing doors or windows. Stealth is the burglar’s best friend, and the more you do to remove that advantage, the less likely you are to be a victim.

Source: National Crime Prevention Council & FBI 1999 Uniform Crime Reports

Well times have changed. Supra proclaims to be the original lock box company. In 1955, they sold their first product to real estate agents. However, it would take approximately 25 years before lock boxes became commonplace in the real estate industry. In my market, before lockboxes, a seller would trustingly give a key to their home to their real estate agent. When another agent wanted to show the property, they would have to drive to that agents office and pick up the key and then return it back to the office after the showing. Can you imagine that process today with $3.00+ gas prices?

This spring, Supra (owned by GE) introduced to our market the new ActiveKEY lockbox access device. Coupled with the iBox, home sellers have the security of knowing that thier home is only accessible through the iBox from a real estate agent using the ActiveKEY. Let’s take a look at both of these components.

The iBox is simplistic in looks. A soft, yet protective blue case covers the lockbox. Unlike previous lockboxes, there are no electronic contact points on the box. In fact, the only method of opening this keybox is by infrared remote. The lack of physically moving part or contacts that can be affected by weather elements makes this system almost totally maintenance free. An agent with an ActiveKEY or one of several approved smartphones with infrared senders can open the iBox. There are no combination wheels are key slots that can be picked.

The listing agent has access to a Supra website where they can match an iBox lockbox to their property listing. This is important for tracking showings on a property. When an iBox is opened, the iBox identification number is registered on the access key of the real estate agent opening the box. At the same time, the real estate agents key card identification number, date and time are registered on the iBox. This “double security” allows an agent to provide detailed reports to their sellers telling them when and who has opened the lockbox. Occasionally, a showing agent will lock the key inside the home accidently. A quick “reading” of the iBox by the listing agent will tell them who the last agent was that opened the box. For agents now using the ActiveKEY to open lockboxes, the listing agent is instantly notified when the keybox is opened. In the past, agents had to wait overnight for showing agents to cradle and syncronize their keypads. More about the ActiveKEY in a moment.

One last security feature of the iBox the ability to require showing agents to “Call Before Showing” (CBS) when accessing the iBox. This is particularly useful in situations where sellers have a security system and the showing agent needs to be given a deactivation code upon entry to the home. Some sellers also prefer the additional security of CBS if they are day sleepers or have small children in the home during the day.

ActiveKEY is Supra’s latest and greatest addition to their lockbox system. Users of the old keypad were required to place their keypads in a cradle each night to charge it and at some point in the middle of the night it would automatically dial a local number and synchronize showing activity. It also updated the keypad for use the next business day. Skip the overnight sync and the lockbox key would be rendered useless. Agents using an approved smartphone didn’t have to go through the cradle process each night, but they would still automatically update through the cell phone. Again, an unsuccessful update and the agent can not access any lockboxes.

So what’s so great about the ActiveKEY? Well, for one thing, it updates all on its own by wireless access connection. You can’t make a phone call using the device but it uses the same technology to update the key. Because it has it’s own internal wireless connection, when you are using the key to show properties, it instantly dials and connects to Supra’s website registering the showing. The listing agent then is instantly notified on their keypad device that one of their properties have just been shown. Remember above where I talked about the iBox being registered to a specific property? This is what allows Supra to alert you as the listing agent which agent and which property has just been shown.

Each ActiveKEY device has a backlight button for night time use as well as a mini flashlight. The ActiveKEY requires a charge up every two to three days depending on the useage and you can even plug it in to a car lighter charger. Many agents charge using this method because then they can simply leave the device in their car at all times. And since the agent using the ActiveKEY must enter a secret code each time they use the device, even if it is stolen, it is totally unusable without the secret code.

Key lockboxes have came a long way from the days of old. No longer should there be keys hidden under mats or should you need to drive to the listing company and pick up a key. It’s the perfect solution for security and showing activity for real estate professionals. Some MLS systems even have agreements with Supra and integrate Supra showing activity that is accessible right from within the MLS software. If your MLS uses Supra lockboxes and don’t yet have the ActiveKEY, you will eventually. They are retiring the eKey. You will still be able to use your smartphone to open lockboxes if you choose. For more information about Supra Lockboxes and Key access solutions, click here.

Using Ning for Real Estate

2008-03-23T00:18:00Z

Ning is promoted as a program that can help you create your own social network. This month Ning passed the 200,000 social network mark and is growing at the rate of over 1,000 social networks per day. Ning wasn’t developed with real estate in mind, but I suspect it is a program that real estate agents will embrace once they discover it. I recently canceled a very expensive community website in favor of Ning at a fraction of the cost. So far, the comments from the public about my Ning site have been favorable and I’m on my way to building my online community.

For Realtors®, Ning can be used as a community resource with a social network component; a place to post links, photos and videos but also to engage your local community. To get started, you need to sign up for a free Ning account. The Ning program will then walk you through the design process. I found it similar (but easier) than setting up a blog. Your management dashboard will give you choices of how your main page can look including color schemes and themes, as well as drag and drop modules like forums, chat windows and photos. If you are comfortable with HTML, full customization is possible. Even without that knowledge, your Ning community can be branded to look pretty much the way you want it.

Once you create your network, it is up to you to invite members to keep your online community active. Members who join the network can create their own profile and then form groups, chat and write their own blogs. Your members can then invite other members to populate your community.

The basic cost is free but you can elect to pay $19.95 per month to eliminate the pesky ads on the side and give you full use of the right column of your network. I also paid $4.95 a month to Ning to allow me to map my own URL to my network. Purchasing more storage and bandwidth could be a future option for me.

PROS: Ning is quick and relatively easy to set up with a help center that is quite useful. What you can’t figure out on your own or through the help center can be researched in the Ning network creators forum. Members volunteer answers readily.

I especially like the Photo sharing options using Flickr and the ability to easily add widgets by placing them in text boxes. I love the big bold design of most Ning sites I have seen.

CONS: It would be nice if Ning had a few more templates for business users who don’t have the skills to customize their own site. Ning occasionally has unexplained glitches, although normally all systems are go.

Since Ning is free to set up and the initial time commitment is quite small, it’s worth taking a look to see if a Ning social network can enhance your business!

AgentOffice

2008-03-16T12:07:00Z

Bill Gates, in his book called “Business at the Speed of Thought” said “How you gather, manage and use information to serve the needs of your customer will determine whether you win or lose in your business.” I happen to think Bill Gates is a pretty smart guy. I know he has more money than I do, so I try to pay attention to what he has to say.

I believe the first real estate specific software an agent must invest in is contact management software. I bought my first contact management software back in the 80’s when I purchased a copy of “Howard and Friends”. I loved that funny little program but after Howard (and Friends) had a very long delay in adapting to windows, I moved on to AgentOffice. (The RE/MAX branded version was called Agent 2000 back then). For those new to contact management software (CRM), I’ve written about how I organize my database on my Real Estate Solutions Blog.

AgentOffice came onto the real estate scene in 1992. Today, the AgentOffice program offers a contact manager, listings and sales manager, scheduler, document manager and integrated email. Top Producer was introduced prior to Agent Office and these two contact management programs seemed to have little competition in the 90’s. The competition between them was fierce and their users were ferociously loyal. Top Producer had better presence at the NAR Annual Convention and Expo and for awhile, AgentOffice seemed to exist without much fanfare or significant upgrades. As a user, I was worried they were abandoning the program altogether. When the program was sold to Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions, the program took on a new life.

In 2003, Top Producer introduced an online version with a monthly fee. I know a few users who jumped to the other side (AgentOffice) with concerns about their database being compromised. I also know AgentOffice users, especially those with teams, who gravitated over to Top Producer.

I’ve stuck with AgentOffice now for over 12 years. It mostly gets the job done but more importantly, moving all that data now would be a gigantic task. Keep that in mind when you select contact management software!

PROS: Agent Office, a product of Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions does everything you would expect a contact management program to do and does it well. Recent good news is that TransactionPoint® a transaction management platform and ZipForm® / WINForms® Integration is now accessible through the Listings and Sales modules of AgentOffice.

CONS: My experience with customer service has never been a totally positive one and satisfaction is largely dependent on who answers the phone. AgentOffice never has introduced an online version, although a product called “eserver” enables Agent Office to be accessed online. Without “eserver”, teams or an agent with an assistant who needs to share data, are forced to “sync” computers, a rather awkward process.

I’m convinced that the perfect contact management software does not exist. What product works best for me is not necessarily best for you, and deciding which product you should use can be a challenge. Gary Hall has been using and recommending contact management software for a number of years and is an outstanding resource. If you are planning to buy your first CRM program or if you are thinking about making a change, be sure to check with Gary first.

LogMeIn - Remote Computer Access

2008-03-14T23:34:00Z

Sometimes you find a little program that makes your business life so much simpler. LogMeIn.com is one of those programs. Imagine that you live several miles from your office. You’ve just driven home and realize that you forgot to copy some files from your office computer to bring home with you. You could jump back in your car, drive back to the office… OR… sit down at your computer at home and go to LogMeIn.com, sign in and log directly on to your office PC. Trip saved… Time Saved… Money Saved! Did I mention that LogMeIn.com is FREE? Read on....

Remote computer access isn’t new.. it’s not even rocket science… Years ago PC Anywhere was the program used to access a computer at an offsite location. GoToMyPC.com is probably the biggest player in the consumer market right now. Both of these program accomplish the same thing but there is a cost. LogMeIn.com has a free service allowing anyone to set up an account and log on to a remote PC. LogMeIn does have other products at a price. They offer an IT Support solution for technical support technicians to connect to troubled computers remotely, there is a professional version of LogMeIn that allows the user to remotely print or transfer files across the internet and they even have an online backup product.

But lets get back to LogMeIn.com’s FREE version! Here’s how it works. First, you must set up an account with LogMeIn.com. It’s free and takes just a minute to set up. Then there is a simple setup for your computer. You Add your computer as a remote station. Once complete, all you need to do is go to the computer that you want to access, log on to LogMeIn.com’s website and repeat the “Add a Computer” step on your second PC. Once this is complete, you’re ready to access your remote computer! Here, watch their short Flash Demo: https://secure.logmein.com/products/free/flashdemo.html

PROS of using LogMeIn.com include having access to your office computer from any offsite location; save time by not having to drive back to the office; work from home.

CONS of LogMeIn’s free version is that you can’t move files between computers using LogMeIn and you can’t sync files across the web.

But for only $70 a year you can enjoy all the features of the Pro version. I’ve used LogMeIn.com free version for almost 2 years and can’t imagine how I would get along without it. Check it out at http://www.logmein.com

Waging War on Real Estate’s Discounters

2008-03-07T16:03:00Z

Real Estate is taking a beating on so many fronts these days. As agents we need to be as prepared as possible for any and all hits on our business. There isn’t a listing appointment we go on where the seller wants and expects us to work for little or nothing while providing top notch service. Providing service like this is ok, if you are listing Mom’s house, but for any serious business person who plans to actually make a profit, it is important to be able to protect your commission.

Bernice Ross is real estate trainer and coach who has put together a package to help agents ”unlock the door to a full commission.” The package consists of a 322 page book, 2-CD set and a fist full of handy index cards with scripts for combat!

I love the scripts! In the contemplative moments prior to going into battle, I sit quietly focusing on my game plan. I try to anticipate every objection the seller may throw at me and prepare for it by reciting OUT LOUD from the script cards. Hearing the words roll off my own tongue a few times in practice makes it more believable and real to me when I have to retaliate in battle!

Product Description
In the book, Waging War on Real Estate’s Discounters, Ross offers strategies for commission preservation by articulating the agents value proposition and benefits to the seller. She states on the first page war is not with the competition, but with ourselves! The book offers valuable advice on tactics for winning the psychological war, building a campaign, developing a niche, becoming “Client-Centric not Agent-Centric”, components of killer websites and much more.

Script Cards are divided into three sections. 1) 18 script cards offer responses to the question, “Will you reduce your commission.” 2) 55 scripts offer ways you can describe your point of differentiation from the competition. 3) 8 scripts designed to help you deflect attacks on your commissions in other situations.

The 2-CD package is an audio version of the scripts, perfect for filling commuting down time.

The three products are sold separately or in a kit.

Pros
Bernie Ross is an excellent communicator. Her ideas are not always her own, but she makes a point to credit the contributor, which so many real estate educators fail to do. Her suggestions are based on the depth of actual experience. Tried and true beats drummed up phony sales talk any day of the week.

Cons
The only con I can come up with is getting all three products at the same time caused me focus frustration. Having to decide which one to jump into was painful!

Does it help sell homes?
Yes. The scripts and dialogue may not be for everyone, but an agent adopting one dozen, well performed and appropriate scripts will find success in defending his commission. The book offers innovative marketing strategies for outsmarting your competition without ever uttering a bad word about them.

Bottom Line
Selling real estate is as much about having confidence your ability and services as it is about the technical aspect. Waging War on Real Estate’s Discounters sheds light on the reality of the situation. We are only worth what we think we are and if we can’t defend our own commission, how can we negotiate the best deal for the seller? Bernice L. Ross guides us in the best possible way.

Neat Receipts Portable Scanner

2008-03-05T20:19:00Z

My job as Director of Education for my office and my love for technology keeps me on the lookout for anything that can be used in the real estate business. I attend at least two real estate related conventions each year and I always come back with the same problem… I bring back stacks of handouts that I want to keep. I use a lot of the materials I find for new classes. I’ve always thought it would be nice to scan these handouts while I was at the convention and bring them home in PDF format. Neat Receipts is the perfect solution!

First, let me describe what Neat Receipts is and what it’s advertised intention is. Neat Receipts is a portable scanner that is powered by a USB cable connected to your laptop or desktop computer. Now when I say portable, I mean PORTABLE! Measuring in at 10 1/2 inches long and approximately 1 1/2 inches x 1 1/2 inches, it reminds of a really long candybar! Neat Receipts slogan is “Organize Your Paper, Simplify Your Life”. The average purchaser would use this scanner to organize business receipts. Here’s a typical scenario.. You travel for your business and have an expense account. At the end of your business trip, instead of standing at the photocopier and copying all of your receipts, then transferring your expenses into a handwritten log that will be turned in to your employer, now you simply connect Neat Receipts scanner to your computer via USB cable, insert your receipts into the scanner and press the scan button. As each receipt is scanned, Neat Receipts optical character recognition not only recognizes the amount and records it within the program, it also determines what category your receipt fits in. Of course you also have a PDF image of your receipt stored in the program. Your expenses are dropped into a spreadsheet making the process of turning in your expenses a breeze! What about business cards that you pick up at business meetings? This same scanner allows you to scan business cards and just like your receipts, a PDF image is stored plus the contact information is converted and automatically entered into a database! You can transfer the new contacts to your favorite contact management program or simply access them right from the Neat Receipts program.

But what about my initial problem of bringing back stacks of handouts from conventions? Not a problem with Neat Receipts. The scanner can scan any document from 1 inch by 1 inch up to 8 1/2 inches wide and 30 inches in length! It scans in color, grayscale or B&W at up to 600 dpi. Scanned images can be saved in either PDF or JPG format. Priced on the website at $229.95 I’ve seen it at retail stores for under $200.

Let’s look at some of the Pros & Cons of Neat Receipts

PRO’s: Extremely portable. Fits into a brief case or computer backpack easily. Powered completely from USB port. USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 compatible. Lightweight at just 10.6 ounces. Automatically recognizes numbers & text and auto applies receipts to preset categories. Ability to run extensive reports within Neat Receipts or export directly to your favorite programs such as Quicken, Quickbooks, MS Money or Excel.

CONS’s: I installed mine on a Windows Vista Business edition computer. Additional installation drivers were required to be downloaded to properly install the software. Tech support was a little slow to reply via an online support system but in the end my problems were solved and everything now works like it is supposed to. I have to think that a Windows XP install wouldn’t have had these issues. Scanning speed, compared to a flatbed scanner is going to seem slower.

Overall, I LOVE my Neat Receipts scanner! Lastly, let’s apply this piece of technology to the real estate business. When was the last time you were at a sellers home and just completed the listing paperwork when the seller hands you their last mortgage statement for you to collect their mortgage contact information? You would either need to write down the information and hope that you didn’t transpose a number in the mortgage account OR take the document with you back to the office and copy it, then mail or bring it back to your seller.

With Neat Receipts, you can take every single document that your seller signs at the listing and scan them as you go along. When you are finished with your listing appointment, you have a PDF document of your sellers documents. You can copy them to a Thumb Drive and transfer them directly to the sellers personal computer, drop them into an email and send them a copy via email or simply print the signed docs back at the office and mail them. Working with a buyer, you can complete any documents by hand, scan them directly into your laptop and within minutes email your offer to the listing agent or listing company. Have you ever been in negotiations over a home inspection and need to get a document to a seller or buyer immediately? With Neat Receipts you can expedite delivery of time sensitive documents.

When Time is of the essence, Neat Receipts is the answer!

http://www.neatreceipts.com/ (View the demo video right on the home page)
http://www.neatreceipts.com/products/tech-specs/

SnagIt

2008-03-03T15:57:00Z

I’ll admit that I find it hard to resist a a cool tech toy. I probably buy more than my fair share. The first time I attended the Annual National Association of Realtors® EXPO, I was close to hyperventilating as I scanned the rows and rows of new technology offerings for Realtors®. I didn’t find SnagIt at the big show but it should have been there. Snag It software wasn’t designed with real estate agents in mind, but it is a product that should be in every Realtors technology tool kit.

SnagIt 8.2 by Tech Smith is a very simple product that does one thing really well: Screen Capture. With one mouse click (or sometimes two), SnagIt captures images, text, video and web content. It allows for capturing the entire screen, regions of the screen and specific text. Once captured, you can save the file, or send it to your printer, clipboard or email. You can even output your screen capture directly to your blog posts.

By using the built in image editor, you can change the sizing and color controls of your screen capture or use SnagIt’s drawing or annotation tool. As the files are saved and edited, the images can be organized as thumbnails for easy retrieval.

You can quickly access SnagIt from the toolbar of most Microsoft office applications like Word and Outlook. My SnagIt icon can always be found in my systems tray because I use SnagIt on a daily basis. As a Realtor, SnagIt helps me create professional flyers, post cards and reports by easily incorporating screen captures into my documents. As an example, I was able to create a very nice postcard promoting my blog. The ability to edit the screen capture of my blogsite made the job quick and easy. Sure, there are other ways to do the same task but none get the job done quite as simply as SnagIt.

SnagIt 8.2 can be found online for the very cool price of $39.99.

Market Snapshot

2008-02-26T20:19:01Z

Prospecting for new business is much easier when you have value added tools to help attract consumers. Market Snapshot is a prospecting tool for agents who do business online and have an organized follow up system to stay in touch.

The program is truly meant to be used in conjunction with a marketing plan to attract and retain customers. The beauty of the system is how it delivers, almost immediately desired information that is not easily obtained in such a simple format. Yes, all the data can be found by visiting numerous sites, but nowhere that I know can it be found as attractive and timely as in this product.

Consumers as we know don’t look for information during business hours alone. They frequently do their research when we agents are snug in our jammies! Positioning Market Snapshot to work while we sleep is probably a wise consumer service.

Product Description

A general walk through of the product begins with the end. By that, I mean the end result is a sophisticated online report featuring sold property data, community demographics and school information. The report answers questions regarding the constantly changing market trends, list/sale ratio, number of homes available in the area, and days on market. The consumer reaches it via a link on the agent’s website or from an email generated by the agent. The online report offers analytics; the agent can see what consumers are viewing and how often.

PROS

The report is in real time, so the benefit to the agent is the “stickiness” of the report. Online marketers are always looking for the “stickiness” in content. The stickier the better! We want consumers to find us, stick around, come back and better yet, call us. Offering value added content is the best way for an agent to build their online business.

CONS

Since the report is online there is no guarantee the consumers asking for it are also looking for an agent. They may already be affiliated with an agent, therefore the subscribing agent may find themselves following up with many dead-end leads.

At report time the price of the product was $79 a month with a $149 set-up fee. I feel this is pricey. Of course the product is one of the many add-ons offered by its parent company Top Producer. Purchasing in a bundle the cost is blended with other items in the package to make it a better value for those who might need “the works!”

Does it help sell homes?

Offering organized valuable content to the consumer on their demand schedule is impressive and helps position the agent as the “go to” person for neighborhood information. Being able to watch how frequently the consumers are viewing the report, provides clues as to who the agent should be focusing their attention.

Bottom Line

Market Snapshot is a good tool to have in your agent toolbox. It provides wanted information that reflects well on the agent offering it. I would recommend this product to agents who are looking to build both their online and offline business. Use it online to attract customers and/or use it offline in conjunction with a contact data base and drip system, to keep in touch with customers by subtly reminding them you are in the business of selling real estate. As much as I like the product and the concept, I feel the cost makes it less desirable.

Talk to me...
I have never used Market Snapshot as an agent. I have gone online as a consumer to research the product. I disclosed to the agent that I was doing research, and asked for input but never received a response. My guess? The agent may feel he has a wonderful lead generating tool and prefers not to share it with the world. Or the agent doesn’t check his email and could care less!

I’d be interested in hearing from Market Snapshot subscribers. Are you pleased with it? How do you use it, as a lead generating tool or with client follow-up? Talk to me!

Color for Real Estate

2008-02-16T22:39:00Z

Color for Real Estate advertises itself as having the best prices, the best services and the best turnaround time. You’ll get no argument from me.

I’ve been using Color for Real Estate since way back in the days when they were called Color for Realtors. The NAR didn’t take kindly to that name, so they were forced to change it. Orders back then were all done by phone or fax. I would fax my post card order and it was on the way back to me in 24 hours. They had a limited number of products but it was all good. The company was a little slow to embrace technology, but they finally came around and made the leap to being an online company. I’m guessing customers like me, who love this company, demanded it.

Fast forward to the year 2008. What’s to love about this company anyway? First of all Color for Real Estate is very cool or “kewl” as they describe some of their own products. Their catalog will make you laugh out loud. Take this advice from their catalog as a good example: Warning! When doing your personal brochure, can we please try to find a fairly recent shot? We don’t want people to be verklempt when they meet you.” Sage advice for sure and no wonder the catalog includes the disclaimer, “For the record, we are not proponents of slacking off at work, but we are firm believers in having fun”.

Color for Real Estate is a perfect resource for agents who still believe in real estate farming. The blogosphere is rife with debates about farming. The young technology whipper snappers laugh at us old timers who still farm to a neighborhood or niche market. Here’s a secret: one reason farming works is because most agents think it doesn’t. The agents that do give it a whirl, give up before it starts paying dividends. I’ve lived in the same neighborhood for 30 years and during that time I have received TONS of farming materials from other agents. The longest any agent continued to farm was one year. That is the first reason geographic farming doesn’t work for most agents; they are not consistent and don’t think of it as part of a long term business plan. Don’t expect to get results after 3 months or even a year. The second reason farming doesn’t work is because agents send out boring and/or crappy stuff. HAVE SOME FUN!!! ( pssst…. No one cares that you are #1 in anything or have a new designation. If I haven’t convinced you and you think farming is archaic or it doesn’t work in your marketplace, move along. There is nothing more to read here.

Color for Real Estate is famous for their creative and fun postcards. They provide the template and art, and you can use their words or your own to deliver the message. It’s not all fun and games though; they have plenty of professional looking templates available. Although Color for Real Estate is known for their postcards, the company does a whole lot more. In their catalog, you’ll find brochures, doorhangers, business cards, note cards, labels, presentation folders, pads and calendars. Their Agent for Life program, in my opinion, is a super product idea for a newer agent trying to build their real estate business. For $29, you’ll get 5 years worth of postcards (5 postcards a years) including home anniversary cards and holiday cards.

The company now has two separate websites. The first is for the standard Color for Real Estate products and the second, called Marketing for Properties, is the place to create more customized brochures, flyers and post cards for your listings. Both websites allow you to create your order online, so no faxing or phone calls are necessary.

PROS: You won’t find better customer service than at Color for Real Estate. Their prices are reasonable; their quality is excellent. Your order arrives fast. They now offer “Pick-A-List technology which allows you to create highly targeted mailings lists for your posts cards.

CONS: If don’t like the idea of farming or actually mailing something to your clients, then Color for Real Estate probably isn’t for you. I’d love to see more product offerings and a thicker catalog, but otherwise, I can’t think of anything negative to say about this “kewl” company.

ProspectPlus.com

2008-02-09T20:51:00Z

If you have ever attended theTrade Show (EXPO) at the National Association of Realtor’s Convention, then you have probably seen marketing materials from ProspectsPLUS. Their booth on the Trade Show floor is often the tallest and certainly one of the most colorful. Since 1994, ProspectsPLUS has been delivering software that gives agents the ability to create personal marketing materials including postcards, flyers, and newsletters.

Using specific marketing campaigns, agents have over 190 postcards, 40 brochures, 50 personal ads and 75 marketing flyers, to choose from. Post card campaigns include Just Listed and Just Sold, Open House, Image Building, Direct Response, For Sale by Owners, and Expireds. Once your marketing piece is personalized, it can be printed on your own printer, or ProspectsPlus will print it for you. They will even mail it!

I actually bought ProspectsPlus several years ago, enchanted with the impressive floor display at one of the NAR expos. Although the product looked good on the showroom floor, I just couldn’t get excited about it after I took it out of the box. Customization of any kind was limited. Once you did create a given marketing piece, it was pretty much identical to the other 50,000 users of the product.

The product has improved considerably since my purchase and now gives you the ability to make changes in the messages and color themes. It is very simple to use and you can create professional looking postcards and flyers in no time. On the downside, during my most recent personal beta test, I still found it a challenge and frustrating to place the contact information exactly where I wanted it. It might be possible; I just couldn’t figure it out.

CONS: If you are already a successful agent, you probably have branded yourself and are creating your own materials with a specific style and theme. If you are a new agent, the cost may be a little intimidating at $624.00.

PROS: A new agent or an agent looking to grow their business could hit the ground running with ProspectsPlus. It is a complete marketing plan and has all the systems in place for good support including a monthly Master Marketing Newsletter, lifetime technical support at no cost, toll free technical support help line and good website support. In addition performance coaching is available from their Certified Counselor Center.

If you go to ProspectsPlus website, you’ll find lots of good information plus hundreds of testimonials from happy clients.

ListHub.net

2008-02-02T13:46:00Z

If you attended the National Association of Realtors Expo last November, you should have noticed several booths promoting syndication of agent listings on popular real estate search websites like Zillow, Trulia and Google Base. List Hub provides that same service by leveraging the listing data that already exists in the MLS.

List Hub calls itself a Listing Asset Management company and as such, it is a product that should especially appeal to Brokers with a large inventory of listings. Because ListHub retrieves your listings from the MLS database, every listing is submitted for you automatically as well as any updates and changes. This means no double entry of listing information. Double entry is the enemy!

The whole process is pretty easy. Go to ListHub and “Create Account”. Fill out all the required contact information, select your MLS (if your MLS is not listed, you can make a request here), enter your brokerage information (like number of agents and offices), create a username and password, and you are ready to go. To get started, select “get started” (I told you it was pretty easy.), and subscribe to the channels where you would like to syndicate your listings online. You’ll see your listings posted within the next 3 days.

At this point, it hasn’t cost you anything to have your office listings advertised on a bunch of channels. You’ll also get some lead collection tools that will gather consumer info. Pretty nice considering it is free!

The rest of the features are reserved for the paying users and include:

Broker reports with detailed click traffic info in a printable format, emailed weekly.

Individual listing reports provide agents with a branded one page view of their online marketing results - a good tool for seller feedback.

The ability for Brokers to “invite” their agents to ListHub so that they can view and manage their own listing inventory.

EMarketing flyers to be used in listing presentations.

Broker website redirection - allows for listings to point back to the brokerage website rather than the ListHub landing page.

What’s the cost? The cost is based on number of agents and ranges from $29 a month for 1-5 agents, $99 for an office of 21-60 agents, and up to $299 a month for 101 agents.

This product is a good tool for an office who’s individual agents are not currently taking advantage of other marketing tools like V-Flyer which is a personal favorite of mine. Since the typical agent is probably not using another product, List Hub is a good choice for most offices. The reporting tools are pretty nifty and give you a good look at where consumers are searching for real estate listings. I suspect it is more a good listing tool, to show sellers you are working for them, as it is a lead generation tool. The good news is that the results are measurable, so you’ll know whether this product is working for you.

Signing up for the free service is a no brainer.

HomeGain - BuyerLink

2008-01-19T20:33:00Z

If you’ve recently attended a real estate conference or read a book or a blog about success in real estate, then you know that lead generation is a hot topic. There is little debate that the ability to generate and capture leads can be what separates a successful agent from a mediocre one. BUT start a discussion about paying for leads and the debate can get downright ugly. You’re likely to hear the words ripoff and parasite used to describe lead generation companies like HomeGain and HouseValues.

HomeGain, who’s been around since 1999, seems to generate the most wrath in the real estate community. So what is it about HomeGain that gets real estate agents so angry? Many agents feel that sites like HomeGain use an agent’s listings to attract buyers and then refers those same buyers back to the agent for a fee. If sites like HomeGain didn’t exist, they say, leads would go directly to the agent without the cost of the middleman.

I confess. I use Home Gain Buyer Link. Home Gain has a few other lead generation tools but Buyer Link is the only one I subscribe to. It’s a pretty simple concept. HomeGain pays the big bucks to land a prominent place on search engines and to partner with online newspapers like USA Today. HomeGain is found by consumers doing searches using popular real estate keywords for towns and cities across the nation. When a consumer clicks the link to HomeGain, they will be redirected to the IDX site of a local real estate agent who has paid a fee for that privilege. There are no referral fees paid; just a fee when someone (anyone) clicks on the link. That fee can run from fifty nine cents a click in a smaller rural town to over $5.00 per click for a place like Las Vegas.

Getting started is easy. You simply pick the town or city you want and which URL to use for tracking. You set your own budget. HomeGain does the rest. In a few days, customers will begin clicking through to your website. What you do after that may greatly determine how you feel about Home Gain. Before you start paying per click, you need to have a good landing page and systems in place to handle the leads that flow in; otherwise you will be wasting money. There is not much point having clients registering on your website, if you are not prepared to followup with them.

HomeGain works particularly well for a team or small company unable to compete against larger companies who spend many thousands of dollars to optimize their sites. In addition, while single agents may be able to generate more than enough business on their own, a team leader or company owner may need HomeGain to keep the customer pipeline flowing to their agents. Finally, even a single agent may prefer to spend time on other aspects of their business, rather than work on optimizing websites, bidding on keywords and working on lead generation.

I’ve made plenty of money using HomeGain’s Buyer Link over the past 4 years. I found it especially useful when I switched IDX providers and needed to get buyers into the new pipeline quickly. HomeGain provided the leads. We’ve developed good initial contact and followup systems. As a result, my team was able to convert about 1 in 15 leads into buyers.

PROS:

HomeGain requires no contract so you can give BuyerLink a test drive without any future obligation.
BuyerLink is quick to set up and requires very little initial effort on your part.
Buyer Link will drive buyers to your website. If you have a lead management plan in place Buyer Link WILL make you money.

CONS:

HomeGain is becoming less valuable as more realtors are obtaining good rankings on their own by becoming educated on SEO.
The cost is stupidly high.
Even the best of agents will find the buyer conversion rate to be relatively low.

Realty Tools

2007-10-13T20:23:00Z

When I first saw Realty Tool’s, Tool Kit CMA at the National Association of Realtors Convention over 10 years ago, I remember breathing a sigh of relief that I had finally found the CMA product I was looking for. Up to that point, I was using a concoction of part MLS program and part Word document. While my homemade production didn’t seem to keep me from obtaining listings, it was certainly tedious to assemble, and didn’t have the professional appearance I was looking for. When Tool Kit CMA was first introduced, it was a software program you installed on your computer. Now it is a web based system with automatic upgrades, that interfaces with most MLS platforms. It delivers pages of professional graphics and a final product to be proud of. Custom branded for most of the larger franchises and independents, it can also be customized with your own company logo and color schemes.

Took Kit CMA is easy to use. The process from start to finish is quick and painless. You’ll start by uploading your photo for the cover and customizing some of the pages, like your profile, resume and customer references. Then you just select the pages you want to use in your presentation. (If you find you like to use the same pages for each CMA, you can save them as your default setting.) Next, you will need to download the data and images of the properties you are using from your MLS. Tool Kit CMA comes with detailed instructions to work with your specific MLS system. I’ve used it with 2 different MLS’s and each time the data and images downloaded without a hitch. After the data is imported into your presentation, corrections or changes to the data can be made easily. It also allows for price adjustments. After you’ve completed any additional customized pages including a summary, your CMA is complete and you can email or save as a PDF file.

The program delivers other features like buyer property tours with mapping, flyer templates and FSBO and expired listing presentations. The other features of the product are nice, but for me, the CMA program alone is worth the $168 a year price tag.

PRO’S: Realty Tool’s, Took Kit CMA produces a professional presentation and is simple to use. You can create a CMA in under 30 minutes. Although it is a templated product, it does offer enough customization to satisfy most agents. The only instructions you really need are provided in the MLS Access Guide. The rest is intuitive. Customer Support is available if you need it. I’ve never needed it.

CON’S: Your presentation is only saved online for 30 days, so you need to remember to save it as a separate PDF file. While Tool Kit CMA can create property flyers, there is much better software available to fill that need. If you are a super geek or engineer type, the simple graphs might not satisfy your analytical side.