ProspectsPLUS! Certifies New Master Marketing Trainers, Honors Team Members

Four-day event recognizes determination in a changing market

Four-day event recognizes determination in a changing market

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006-ProspectsPLUS! set the stage for success at its Winter Convention this month by honoring sales leaders, certifying New Master Marketing Meeting Trainers and presenting longevity awards to key service team members.

After kicking off the four-day event with a Regional Director and Executive Committee Meeting, the focus turned to certifying trainers from across the country to teach the popular Master Marketing Meeting . Certified team members Jim Morton, Todd Robertson and Michele Longley were honored to welcome Mike O'Boyle, Allan MacKenzie, Richard Neese and Roberta Ross to their talented group of Master Trainers.

Each of these seven trainers is certified to teach the 30-minute hands-on workshop, which is quickly gaining recognition in the real estate industry nationwide. With a focus not only on fundamentals but also on skill sets such as target marketing and data mining, this laugh-while-they-learn curriculum gives agents the tools to excel in today's quickly shifting market.

The next two days focused on new services and client care options; providing excellence in customer care; and introducing new resources such as the Master Marketing Newsletter and the Master Marketing Schedule . The company also rolled out MLSmailings.com , an automated method of consistent and effective Just Listed and Just Sold direct marketing.

Sales honors at the biannual event were awarded to: Todd Robertson, Regional Director Northeast - Top Region; Gay Jones, Regional Director Northwest - Highest Producer Dollar Volume; Roberta Ross, Northeast Region - Most ProspectsPLUS! Sales; Gay Jones - Most ProspectsPLUS! Mortgage Edition Sales; Michele Longley, Southeast Region - Most ePrintingPLUS! Platinum/MLSmailings.com Sales; Roberta Ross - Rookie of the Year; and John Vigue, Florida - Most Opportunity Knocks Sales.

Longevity awards for five years of continuous service to the company were presented to Kevin Mescall, Northwest Region; Jason Waid, Print Director; and Bryan Webster, Multimedia Director.

Industry icon Mike Ferry inspired everyone with powerful sales and mindset techniques.

It is always a privilege to have an opportunity to learn from sales and speaking legends. Having Mike share his experience and expertise was phenomenal," said ProspectsPLUS! President Jim Morton. Providing the best possible training, resources and support for our entire team is our corporate commitment. The more we can bring to the table for them in terms of tools, education, opportunities and skills, the better they can provide for themselves and the clients and customers they work with daily."


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Customer Satisfaction and Business Success are a Mouse-Click Away with RELAY

Web-based suite of easy-to-use tools designed to help real estate professionals streamline paperwork

Web-based suite of easy-to-use tools designed to help real estate professionals streamline paperwork

Commentary by Bob Goldberg

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006-There aren't many outward signs that Oroville, California-based RE/MAX Altima Realty is different from any other midsized, small-town real estate office. We don't have a transaction coordinator. In fact, we don't even have a secretary," Broker/Owner Julie Miller chuckles. If you want to make a copy, you have to do it yourself."

Nevertheless, Miller and her team have proved you don't have to be in the Silicon Valley to pioneer new technologies and business processes. RE/MAX Altima Realty was the first real estate brokerage in the country to implement the RELAY transaction management system, a Web-based suite of easy-to-use tools designed to help real estate professionals grow their business by streamlining the processes and paperwork required to successfully complete a real estate transaction. The RELAY program was developed in partnership with NAR and ZipForm, the official forms software of NAR.

With RELAY, I can complete an entire transaction without faxing a single document," says Miller. That's because the system allows her to send documents to a client for review, signature, or further action via e-mail or direct access to the RELAY site.

Realtors who try this are just going to be blown away because it makes their jobs so much easier and helps them gain rapport with their clients," Miller exclaims. It's an unbelievable tool."

Miller's experience has been so positive that the Oroville Association of Realtors recently voted to implement this Internet transaction tool across its entire membership, bringing its benefits to every broker/ owner, agent and the home-buying and selling public.

RELAY Makes Transaction Management a Breeze
For the agents at RE/MAX Altima Realty, RELAY means no more unnecessary and (with higher gas prices) expensive trips back to the office to drop off a file for Miller's review. Instead, agents can submit forms electronically, allowing them to spend more time in the field meeting the needs of clients. For Miller, it means greater control over transaction file review. Most importantly, its digital file storage system eliminates the need for bulky filing cabinets and warehouses full of Banker's Boxes. The days of lost or misplaced files are gone.

It used to be that if a client walked in the door a year-and-a-half after the transaction closed and asked for a copy of an inspection report, my agents had to get the key to the storage unit and go through box after box of files until they found the right one," says Miller. That could take a couple of days, assuming they could find it at all. Now, all they have to do is pull it up on the computer and print it out."

Even better, with RELAY, agents can present their clients with a CD-ROM containing a full set of documents at the end of the transaction.

What's more, RELAY allows real estate professionals to gauge client satisfaction throughout the transaction. It's a great tool for agents, because they get immediate feedback and can act to fix things fast if there is a problem," says Miller. It's a great client satisfaction and retention tool.

I didn't think it would be that big of a deal for clients, but they were nuts over it," she adds, They specifically commented that they felt more in control of the transaction because they knew what was going on at all times-which is exactly what consumers have been saying they want from their Realtor."


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source: isucceed.com

Diverse Solutions Announces Release of New dsAgentChat

New state-of-the-art program allows remote, instant two-way communication for live lead capture

New state-of-the-art program allows remote, instant two-way communication for live lead capture

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006-Diverse Solutions, an industry leader in Web site design and Internet marketing for real estate professionals, has recently announced the release of their new dsAgentChat instant message technology. Created to enhance their well-received AgentCast Pro Web site, dsAgentChat gives prospective clients on a real estate agent's Web site the option to connect live to the agent's cell phone via text messages.

The dsAgentChat program was unveiled in Long Beach at the California Association of Realtors Expo back on October 17, 2006, and interested real estate agents and brokers representing many regions in the state visited the Diverse Solutions booth for demonstrations and information about the new product. Justin LaJoie, President and CEO of Diverse Solutions, stated that,

The C.A.R. expo offered us the perfect arena to gauge the type of reaction we might receive from dsAgentChat because of amount of attendees the expo draws. We anticipated a good deal of interest, but, I have to admit, we may have underestimated the fact that lines at our booth would be several people deep for the majority of the show. Reporting this information back to my product development team was very exciting, for all of us, due to the hard work and time contributed to the program."

Increasing Consumer Demand for Instant Information
Industry wide, products are created and unveiled that have allowed real estate and mortgage professionals to automate their follow up, manage contacts, and market their services. Diverse Solutions, in an effort to offer state-of-the-art solutions to their target market of real estate and mortgage professionals, is tending to focus heavily on developing products that provide substantial value to both the agent as well as the agent's clients.

Diverse Solutions saw a way to successfully combine a very popular technology, instant messaging, with the one can't-live-without tool owned by virtually every real estate agent, a cellular phone. When asked about the target applications and market for the new tool, LaJoie responded,

The dsAgentChat product was created specifically to create an opportunity for agents to capture and communicate instantly with their website visitors. Blending this philosophy with the concept of using real-time communication integrated into our AgentCast Pro website is the perfect way to do this. Any opportunity an agent has to gain an edge by responding to the potential customer first is what we want to accomplish. Being given the first opportunity to build a relationship with a website visitor is a major factor in accomplishing this".

Interactive Websites Helping to Increase Overall Leads
Recent statistics are reporting a slow but steady decline for the median home price nationwide as well as in overall activity and days on the market. However, statistics also show that there are still plenty of people who are interesting in buying and who are hoping to stumble upon a good deal now that the tide has changed. According to Tina Ellison, Director of Sales at Diverse Solutions, one owner of a Northern California broker office wrote in to report how well dsAgentChat had been received by the agents and customers alike.

Before Diverse Solutions released the full version of dsAgentChat with cell phone capabilities, we used the instant messenger feature on our website. We do some very heavy advertising of our listings in local publications and I can say fairly that we've received almost as many instant messages asking for information on a specific ad as we have phone calls responding to the ad." When asked if the new technology has changed the way his agents do business, he responded, I've seen our agents talking on the phone to one customer while multi-tasking and answering questions from a website visitor at the same time. That made me realize the value of this program, because we didn't have to place anyone on hold, and someone who may not have wanted to talk to anyone was helped immediately."

LaJoie, generally recognized for his out-of-the-box thinking and desire to offer superior technology, works hand-in-hand with his research and development team during the product development cycle of all of the company's products and tools. Speaking with regards to the consistent successes of the agents using his products, he said, We aim to give our customers' customers access to information they need sooner rather than later. We think our job is to make sure they are the first to have access to this type of technology." He continued, speaking about the success of his company as a whole. I'm a very hands on type of person. You'll find me right there in the trenches at many of the trade shows and industry expos talking with agents and learning precisely what they're seeking to improve their bottom lines and keep their clients happy. Keeping my hand on the pulse of the this industry has enabled us to really deliver what real estate agents and brokers are looking for."

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source: isucceed.com

Are You in Touch with the Market Today?

FloorPlanOnline helps capture Gen X and Y buyers with virtual tour offering

FloorPlanOnline helps capture Gen X and Y buyers with virtual tour offering

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006-Have you taken time to work up your business plan for 2007 yet? If not, it is not too late. As you take time to do that, or if you have already done your 2007 plan, review the important components of your plan as it pertains to the advertising and marketing expenditures you plan to make.

But first, maybe you need to take a time out and review how in touch" your marketing is with the market today. Per the most recent NAR statistics, the average age of NAR members is now 57, up from the previously reported number of 52. Does this mean that the influx of younger newcomers who helped drive the average age of NAR members down to 52 from 55 have left the business with the market adjustment we've seen in 2006? Did you know that the largest buying group of homes today is Generation X and Y whose average age is 35? And an important point to remember is these groups grew up on the computer and watching TV; they don't subscribe to newspapers and magazines. They get their news and information from the Internet or TV. They are accustomed to being entertained and to having access to the information the want, need and demand to make their purchasing decisions. Are your online listings meeting those demands?

Ask yourself, are you still spending your advertising and marketing dollars where the largest group of buyers is spending their time looking for homes today? If your budget reflects that you are spending more on print media than you are on your online presentations, then you are out of sync with where the market is today and, if you continue to follow that path, you will find that your business will become totally out of touch with the bulk of the buying community very soon.

Recent NAR and CAR data indicate that nationwide there are less than 20% of the online listings which have a virtual tour on them and that in California this number has been below 10%. Is this because the market has been too heavily slanted towards a seller's market and resulted in the just plant a sign in the yard and wait for the offers to pour in" marketing technique to prevail? Or, has it just been too good for too long allowing agents to not spend much money on marketing because of a hot market? Or, is it because there is a fear of and lack of understanding of the technology involved with virtual tours?

These are the questions that should concern you. There is a growing technology and generation gap approaching the industry whereby the buyers will become frustrated that the current real estate industry is not providing the basic information needed for the buyer to make a decision so they will seek means other than the conventional real estate model to find the properties they want to buy. When Gen X and Y can go to Amazon.com and get more information to purchase a book for $29.95 than what they can on a typical online listing of a $500,000 home, something is out of sync.

FloorPlanOnline is one company offering a virtual tour solution to bridge the technology/generation gap. For more information or to learn more, visit www.floorplanonline.com or call Marketing Services Director, Amy Hayes at 866-810-3816, x109. Get in the game of providing a virtual tour for your sellers so you can help them differentiate their property from everything else on the market. Capture Gen X and Y buyers by giving them the information they want, need and demand so they can make the decision to buy your seller's listing.

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development, Internet programming,

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source: isucceed.com

Realogy Bolsters Its Consumer Confidence Campaign

Another ad countering negative media spin runs in USA Today

Another ad countering negative media spin runs in USA Today

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006-In a continuing effort to bolster consumer confidence in the real estate market, Realogy ran another ad in this past Friday's edition of USA Today. The full page ad, which appeared in the main news section, informs consumers about the favorable interest rates currently available.

This is Realogy's latest ad in a campaign that began in October and that takes a strong stance against the barrage of negative press directed toward the real estate industry over the past several months. The Parsippany, New Jersey-based parent of such real estate brands as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and Sotheby's, placed a full-page advertisement in USA Today to let consumers know that dropping mortgage rates and an increasing number of available properties make today the perfect time" to purchase a home.

The timing of the ad aligns with the recent up tick in homebuyer activity. On December 13, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported seeing a steady increase in purchase applications. Additionally, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently reported that pending home sales indicate market stabilization. David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said a fairly steady pace of home sales can be expected for the next two months.

The Realogy ad ran in this past Friday's main news section of USA Today, the section that receives the national newspaper's highest readership.

The ad-whose headline read, Want to Get a Mortgage Rate Lower Than Your Parents Did?"-was designed to let consumers know that rates for 30-year fixed mortgages have dropped in 16 out of the last 21 weeks, potentially allowing home buyers to save more than $2,000 per year.

The ad also references a savings of $60,000 in interest payments over the life of the loan and closed by encouraging consumers to contact a local real estate professional to learn more about today's home buying opportunities."

In advance of the campaign, Alex Perriello, president & CEO of the Realogy Franchise Group, told Realogy brokers that, Although the media has focused on the downside of the changing real estate market, there are also compelling messages about real estate that we need to reinforce to consumers," such as the recent drop in mortgage rates.

To combat negative press, Perriello believes that all real estate professionals need to take a very proactive position in the marketplace. In October he told RISMedia, The industry needs to bridge the gap in every way possible," he said. Give consumers facts and figures in order to send them the message that houses are selling."


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Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software
development, Internet programming,

real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name
registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the
complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

"

source: isucceed.com