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Okay.
It is time. You know you need to “get connected” to stay in
business. Everyone you know has e-mail, web sites and something called a
domain. You see them receiving e-mail messages from computers, pagers,
handheld computers and cell phones. Their cars look like an electronics
store. Conversations about ISP's, DSL, ISDN and URL’s sound like a
foreign language. But where do you start? The
first thing to keep in mind is that there are really only three things
that you need to become an e-agent: •
an e-mail address •
a Web site •
a contact manager That’s
it! With very little investment you can now raise your level of
productivity and become more successful. But even getting an e-mail
address sounds complicated with all the choices out there. So let’s
get started and break it down into a few simple steps and explanations
so that the e-world makes sense and you can feel a part of it. Step
One: An E-mail Address An
e-mail address is no longer an option for a real estate agent in this
century. With Web based MLS systems on the near horizon, both e-mail and
Internet access will be mandatory for an agent to conduct business. Even
if you do not own a computer, but have access to one – whether it is
from the office, a relative or neighbor - you can have your own e-mail
address free! Don’t worry about fancy strategies or domains etc. Just
get started! Questions: Q.
Is e-mail the same as my Internet provider? A.
No. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) provides you access to the
Internet. Most ISP’s offer an e-mail address with that service, but
you do not have to use it. You can choose any e-mail client you desire. Q.
Which e-mail client should I use? A.
Your e-mail will be your business – so one of the most important
features will be, in real estate terms, “Location, Location and
Location.” You will want the ability to access your e-mail from
anywhere in the world. Web
mail is the most versatile as far as location is concerned because no
matter where you are in the world - if you have access to the Internet -
you can get your e-mail. You can check your mail at home before you
start the day’s activities. When you arrive at your office, you can
check to see if you have any new messages. If you need to go out of
town, you can logon to the Internet and manage your e-mail from there,
too. Your customers might not even know that you are away! So, the very
most important feature of any e-mail client for a successful Realtor is
for the e-mail to be Web accessible. Examples
of free Web based e-mails are hotmail.com and yahoo.com. The ultimate
solution is to purchase your own domain so that your e-mail address will
be your name; jane@janedoe.com. You also can check to see if your
company provides you with an e-mail client. Q.
Why do I need to use Outlook or Outlook Express if I already have a web
base e-mail? A.
Both Outlook and Outlook Express work with an existing e-mail account
and provide utilities and productivity tools for you to manage your
e-mail. They do not create an account for you. Some wonder why, when
they buy the computer – that they just can’t click on Outlook and
get e-mail. It would be nice if it was that simple, but it is not. Web-based
e-mail clients vary in usage and the features they provide. They are
nice because they are accessible anywhere in the world – but remain
limited in tools that will help you become more productive. Outlook or
Outlook Express will be the utility program set up on your local PC to
manage your e-mail. Other computers, such as those at work or at your
friends house, will be accessible through the World Wide Web. This
difference is important to understand. Your Outlook or Outlook Express
settings are particular to your e-mail address. If you go to your
brother’s house and go to Outlook, it will go to his e-mail account
– because that is how his Outlook is configured. That is why the
Web-based e-mail is so nice. While at your brother’s computer, you can
logon to the Internet and sign on to your e-mail provider’s site and
access your e-mail. You can go to yahoo.com from anywhere in the world
and send and receive e-mail. Q.
What is the difference between Outlook and Outlook Express? A.
Outlook Express is a free version of Outlook that comes with most new
computers purchased today. The full Outlook program comes with MS Office
and has more Contact and Task Management Programs. For example, with
Outlook you can merge Word documents with your mailing list. Outlook
also has a detailed calendar and task management program. Note:
Using Outlook or Outlook Express with your Web-based e-mail is the best
of both worlds. Step
Two – Web Site Get
a Web site so that you can have your address to send your customers to
for information. Make sure that it has the capability to search all of
your local listings. That is what the new e-customer is looking for.
Advertise your Web site on all of your marketing pieces including your
business card, printed materials and perhaps even sign riders. There
are different types of Web sites available for today's real estate agent
that vary in both features and costs. Here are some important features
to consider in acquiring a site: 1.
Does it provide listing content?
Most consumers are looking for a property first.
2.
Is your name and contact information easy to find? 3.
Do you have to manually load the listings and photos - or does
the site feed from your local MLS? 4.
If your association has implemented IDX, can you search all the
local listings on your site? 5.
How does traffic get to the site?
Does the vendor help drive traffic to the site? 6.
Do you get your own URL? (Do
they name the site off of their domain - or do you get to register your
own domain - like janedoe.com) 7.
Maintenence costs and updates are considerations.
Additional
features that would encourage the consumer to stay on the site a little
longer are considerations. BUT
GET A SITE! If you are not
sure which one to select, ask around.
If you work with listings, ask another agent who carries the same
inventory as yourself. If
you carry 10 listings, don't ask someone who has one listing if a
particular site is working for them. Browse the Internet.
If you see a site you like, scroll down to the bottom of the
screen and many times there will be a link to the web master. Step
Three - Contact Manager A
Contact Manager is the piece that makes e-marketing possible. Contacts
are the most important part of your business. Not only will it manage
your e-mails, but a Contact Manager will also help you manage your
clients and your business. It can help raise your productivity level
with very little expense. Some
of the advantages of a Contact Manager are: 1.
You can create folders to organize all of your e-mails and
correspondence with your customers. 2.
You can create distribution lists to e-mail groups of clients at a time.
Examples of distribution lists could include buyers, sellers, sphere of
influence, tennis club, church groups, and most important of all, your
past customers. 3.
A contact manager can check your e-mail every few minutes and
automatically notify you of any new messages. 4.
You can create a signature with a link to your Web sites on all outgoing
messages. 5.
With Outlook you can also set up an auto-responder. This would mean that
every message you receive could also include some information and a link
to your Web site. 6.
Some contact managers such as Outlook and Top Producer can automatically
notify you of appointments or important dates such as birthdays and
anniversaries. 7.
You can print mailing labels, phone lists and perform mail mergers with
Outlook and Top Producer. 8.
You can use the Palm Pilot to synchronize with your contact manager.
This gives you more portability and more importantly, a back-up system
for your contacts. 9.
You can also back-up your contact manager to disk. One of the dangers in
being dependent upon a Web-based system such as AOL is that your
business is at the mercy of that vendor. What if the service went out of business or crashed? You would lose all of the hard work invested in entering that information and have to start all over again. You cannot afford to be without your contacts These are just some of the advantages of using a Contact Manager. Note:
There are other contact managers on the market. The ones included in
this article seem to be the most popular in the real estate market and
training is easily available on these programs. If
you do not have a contact manager, you can still get started in the
e-marketing process by collecting e-mail addresses of all of your
existing clients and past customers. Take e-mail and Internet classes if
you need them. Get a Web site and start marketing it. When you are
ready, then you can set up your contact management system. Summary With
these three elements you are now ready to become an e-agent! •
An e-mail address •
A Web site •
A contact manager Start
the New Year off with simple goals that can be achieved and increase
profitability. It doesn’t have to be hard! |
