Tech Tips Now Available for iPhone and iPad – Real Estate Tech Guy

This Week’s Video Tip is from a new series of videos on Microsoft Outlook. Today’s feature is tip #1. Pleasae note, this video is available for download to the iPhone, iPad. You may also watch the YouTube video below:

Highlight the “Download” link below, right click your mouse, and “Save Target” to your computer.

Download Step-by-Step Instructions – Download

Download this video for your iPhone – Here

Download this video for your iPad – Here

Watch the video on YouTube – Here

DaVinci Tour Sketch & The Tablet PC Can Win You More New Listings!

Wow, it’s not often that I get “blown away” by new technology ideas for real estate agents, but when I do, I love it! DaVinci Tour Sketch which works with the Tablet PC is an Amazing Tool you have to check out. Watch the video at their web site to see how it works, as my written words will not do it justice. By the way, it you’re thinking about upgrading to a Tablet PC, be sure and check out the Tablet PC’s from HP

The Secret Tool for Real Estate Agents…

The Secret Tool for Putting Your Real Estate Business on Auto-Pilot to Make More Money – Tuesday March 1st, 7-8 PM (Chicago Time)…

According to the National Association of REALTORS, more buyers and sellers find their real estate agent through the recommendation from a friend, family member or co-worker. Are you doing the right marketing efforts to capitalize on this “huge” opportunity of business? If not, this Webinar is for you!

During this 1 ½ Hour Webinar, John Mayfield (The Real Estate Tech Guy) will show you how to:

Create a Web Site for FREE
How to Create GOOGLE JUICE and maximize your SEO for your Web Site
How to integrate an “easy” consumer opt-in mailing list for your real estate business
3 Effective ways to promote your new Web site
The secret tool to put all of these new marketing ideas on “auto-pilot”

Don’t spend hours and hours trying the wrong activities to grow your business. Use John’s new method to put your real estate business on AUTO-PILOT through this new ground breaking strategy that will put more money in your pocket during 2011.

Can’t make the Webinar? Don’t worry; we’ll record it so you can watch later. Plus, all attendees receive a link to re-watch the Webinar 24/7 – as often as you like.

Here’s what you receive for attending:

Step-by-Step Instructions on the procedures John will demonstrate during the Webinar
Video link to Webinar to re-watch 24/7 – 365 days a year

Space is limited, so sign up today!

How to Highlight Information with a Tablet PC

Using a Tablet PC as a real estate professional can offer you a lot of neat and cutting edge ways to grow your business. One way that I use my Tablet PC is to “highlight” information from the MLS. Here’s a short video on how you can use the Tablet PC to hightlight data on your computer screen.

How do you prefer to learn about technology?

Supercharge Your LinkedIn Profile with Real Estate Pro

One of my students from Little Rock, AR recently shared this Web site with me. It’s called Rofo. Check out their LinkedIn site here. Rofo is one of the first real estate applications to be integrated with LinkedIn, allowing real estate professionals a way to display their listing activity to other LinkedIn professionals.

It’s a great way to expand your referral base, promote your listings, and announce your completed transactions from within LinkedIn. Check it out, and add this to your LinkedIn profile today! It’s FREE!

As a side note, this application is suited for commercial real estate listings you have for sale or lease. Although I have seen some agents using this as a residential application on LinkedIn, it’s primary purpose as one of the comments below indicates is for “commercial” real estate for-sale or lease. Still, for those of us who work in smaller markets and handle both residential and commercial real estate, it’s an excellent way to promote your commercial business.

Top 10 Technology Tools, Tips and Ideas for Real Estate Agents in 2011

Recently I wrote about my top 10 real estate technology tools and tips that I feel are important for real estate agents to consider in 2011. This list was posted as a series for www.theRESourceNation.com, a Linkedin Group designed especially for real estate professionals. If you’re not a member of www.theRESourceNation.com, please consider joining today. It’s FREE!

So here’s my top 10 list regarding technology tools, tips and ideas for real estate professionals to consider in 2011.

Think Mobile – Industry experts indicate that by the 3^rd Quarter of 2011, over have of the mobile phone devices in use will be some type of a Smart Phone. As a real estate professional, you should be able to quickly connect to the outside world by accessing important files and documents, retrieve e-mail, and text message to clients and customers. Having the right mobile device is important for the real estate agent today. When choosing a smart phone, first, consider the cellular provider you need and works best for your area. Second, determine what smart phone options they offer. Next, decide if you want or need a traditional keyboard or if you’ll be satisfied with a touchscreen device. There are pros and cons to each method, but having one that will allow you to easily navigate to find information and send messages is critical.

Finally, remember that phones and technology change rapidly, so don’t lock into a long-term contract. Always take the minimum offering, as you will want to have the flexibility to add new features and upgraded technology when it is available.

2. Work in the Cloud – Today there are many opportunities and ways to work out of the “cloud,” internet. Storing and accessing documents and files from the Web is a big part of today’s business, and expected to get even bigger! Web sites like Google Docs, Microsoft Live, Dropbox and more all provide solutions to store, share and retrieve information. Security is a struggle for many people turning to the internet for document storage, but remember, your security can be compromised each time you hand your credit card to a stranger in a business, restaurant or over the Web, so don’t let this prevent you from entering the world of cloud computing. HP offers a new solution that has helped me while I travel called the HP DataVault. With the datavault, I can access my important files from any location in the world where I have internet connection. And when I mean world, I mean “world!” On a recent speaking trip to France, I was transferring documents, photos , music and more back and forth from my datavault in Missouri to my Tablet Elitebook in France. On several instance there were files that I needed to access and share, and in a matter of moments I had my files. You can stream music, videos of listings, show photos to clients from your SmartPhone and more with the HP Datavault. Take it from me; it is a must for every real estate professional and small office to have.

3. Scanning – If you plan to work in the cloud, you’ll need a good scanner. HP offers a wide variety of All-In-One Solutions that can give you scanning and more. However, for the true paperless office, you should consider investing in a good standalone scanner. Many of today’s real estate transactions can consist of 20 or more documents, and having the ability to scan a lot of pages quickly is important. I would recommend the ScanJet 7000 if you’re serious about going paperless.

4. Tablet PC or Slate – Many real estate friends of mine are considering a move toward the slate or pad computing environment. My recommendation is to look at the HP Elitebook 2740, a robust mobile computer that allows for digital writing, drawing, and with the Intel i-Core processor, which features “turbo boost technology,” it allows for power computing while you’re on the road. The HP Elitebook 2740 is a full fledge mobile computer that can help you get work done quickly.

The new HP Slate is a nice complement to the Elitebook computer, but is not going to be quite as practical for all your daily computer needs. Still, it can be a huge time saver for taking to listing appointments to display presentations, have signatures on documents from clients and customers and more. I would definitely recommend a mobile computer that can incorporate digital signatures as one of the top ten items to consider this year. Check out both the HP Slate and Elitebook, I thin k you’ll find them both very interesting.

5. Good Printer – Okay, the one issue many real estate agents tend to go as inexpensive as possible, are printers. Yet, the quality of your printed documents has the biggest impact on your business as a real estate professional. Printers are important for your image, and a bad printer can display the wrong image of you as a professional. Today, there are many excellent printers that can set you miles apart from the competition! HP is also offering the new e-Print technology that can allow you to print from remote locations where internet is available back to your home or office e-Printer. Yes, you can even print from your smart phone!

Always make sure you have a duplex with your printer selection (allows you to print on both sides of the paper in one print job), and consider ways to eliminate expensive refill options. There are many good ink jet printers that will not cost you a lot of money to refill or purchase new cartridges that do as good a job as laser printers. Replacement parts and quality are important characteristics to consider when purchasing a printer.

6. Automation – Staying in touch with customers and clients is your number one priority for 2011, and unfortunately time will often steal your precious commodity from allowing you to achieve this task. Thankfully there are several solutions such as A-Weber that allow you to keep in touch with your list automatically on a regular basis. I have developed a new solution that uses my blog to send a weekly newsletter to my list of over 500 folks. Learning to automate your business in 2011 is a must tech tool that all real estate agents should incorporate. For more information on how I use automation, consider one of my recorded Webinars at www.RealEstateTechGuy.com.

7. Video – Video is big, and going to get bigger in 2011 and beyond. Consumers are accustomed to video from the Web, and expect to see video on your Web site. There are some wonder solutions to use today such as Microsoft PhotoStory, Google Picassa, and others that will let you post to YouTube and other video portals. If you’re not sending all of your listings to YouTube, you must learn how to do this in 2011, and make it a part of your marketing plan.

8. Web Site – You need to have a Web site that incorporates a good drip marketing campaign. As consumers request information, are you staying in touch with these folks over an extended period? Internet leads are often harder to convert, especially if you’re just sending one e-mail. The tech savvy agents who are converting online leads are doing so because they have figured out how to set-up and implement a good drip-marketing campaign. There are many excellent Web site developers who offer these types of packages to real estate agents. If you cannot do this with your existing system, then it’s time to change! Also, make sure your Web site is Mobile App Ready. As noted in tip #1, the Smart Phone growth is growing, and making sure your Web site converts to an easy to read mobile Web site is important.

Remember, if you’re going to upgrade your Web site, make sure it’s mobile app ready, and offers a drip marketing campaign.

9. Power Point – There are many real estate professionals who own Microsoft Office Suite, but do not know how to use Microsoft Power Point. Set a goal this year to learn this program. Having the ability to create stunning presentations, splash pages for YouTube videos and other features from Power Point is important for real estate agents, and can not only set you apart from the competition, but help you win more business. Learning Microsoft Power Point is a must!

10. Stay Connected –Finally, keep your phone, laptop, additional computers in-sync with programs like Google Sync, Syncables, and other solutions on the market. Having your information up to date and available across all of your technology devices can save you time and be a solution you’ll wonder how you were ever without.

There you have it, my top ten technology list for real estate agents in 2011. I’d love to hear your input, and any suggestions or ideas to go along with this list, or something else you could share with our group that you feel is a must to include. And don’t forget to join our Linkedin Group, www.theRESourceNation.com for more ideas and tips on real estate technology!

Syncables…

A product that I have used and one that I am very pleased with in helping to keep all of my portable devices in-sync is “Syncables.” It’s very cost effective, and works GREAT! Here is what their Web Site boasts about their product:

Now easily sync all your files, media, browser bookmarks – even your email and contacts – between two computers. Syncables works over both a wireless or wired network and its built in intelligence will automatically detect the other computers you’ve made “syncable.” So, once you’re setup, it is easy, even automatic, to stay completely in sync.

Syncables also offers full security, so you can choose to make just one file or a folder “syncable” with another computer, or keep all your content totally synced between the two computers. It even offers password protection for that added piece of mind.

It’s an ideal solution for the person who takes their laptop” on the road” and needs to be in sync with their desktop at home or the office. Or, the student to keep their netbook sync’d with their other computers at home. Or, for anyone with multiple computers who wants to make their files, media library, or email and more accessible on any computer on their network.

Check it out today, Syncables…

Posts made in February, 2011