The Technology To-Do List

By Steven M. Canale, RIS Media

Too Many Choices
With constant advances in technology, the most difficult question facing the average real estate agent today is exactly which technologies they should take advantage of first, which come last, and which ones might be a waste of time altogether.

It would be easy for most of us to assemble a “to-do” list of technology that we would like to begin using this year. Unfortunately, that list would most likely exceed both our budget and our ability to implement it.

Investing In Technology
Rather than thinking about buying all the technology you need at once, you should consider technology as an on-going investment, and budget accordingly.
As a rule of thumb, I’d suggest that you budget as much on computer-related technology as you spend annually on your personal communications, meaning the total you spend on your business phone line, long distance, cell phone, fax and any paging or messaging services combined.

What To Do & When To Do It
The following lists represent the most logical order of technology implementation for most sales people. However, there is no set order within each group, as this will vary from person to person.

The A List:
These represent the core technologies that any salesperson who takes the future seriously must fully exploit. Each of these tools are just about guaranteed to be worthwhile investments, as long as they are thoughtfully and aggressively used.
  • Notebook Computer - Today’s notebooks have more than enough power to run entire businesses, and can also plug into all of the commonly desired accessories such as: monitors, keyboards, printers, scanners, back-up drives, etc.
  • Portable Printers - Whether you use one mostly to print contracts, listings or disclosure forms, being able to do so “on the spot” is impressive. A good portable printer can be purchased for under $300. Cannon, HP and Pentax all made excellent portable printers.
  • Contact Management - Managing thousands of contacts is amazingly simple and the ability to mass mail personalized prospecting and follow up letters is just the beginning of their power. Goldmine, Agent Office and Top Producer are good choices for effective contact managers.
  • Professional E-mail - As e-mail becomes more important to serving customers and clients, no business professional should rely on anything less than the best available e-mail software. Eudora Pro or Outlook rival most technology.
  • A Personal Web Site - It’s no longer sufficient to simply have a “page” on someone else’s site. You now need your own complete Web site that’s professionally developed, and with your own domain name. Without these key ingredients you will not truly benefit from everything that Internet marketing has to offer.
  • Spam Protection - If you’ve gotten to the point that unwanted junk e-mail is interfering with your productivity then you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of technology solutions that can help solve this problem. Companies like OnlyMyEmail.com and Postini both are effective, and without interfering with legitimate e-mail.
  • Digital Cameras - Few technologies are a satisfying to use as the digital camera. Whether you create a marketing flyer right before the seller’s eyes, or e-mail a photo of your new listing to an out of town buyer the same day the home comes to market, your clients will be impressed. The best results come from digital cameras that offer wide-angle lenses.
  • Broadband Internet Access - Services like AOL are clearly popular among consumers, and Internet Service Provider (ISPs) provide stable dial-up Internet access from just about anywhere in the country. However, the fast expanding rollout of cable and DSL now makes high-speed access a highly desirable option for business uses. Now that these services are more competitively priced, you may be able to get high-speed access for not much more than you’re paying for dial-up access and a phone line right now.

Points of Interest:

  • BuyerLink – Target Traffic to Your Website
  • Z-Mailer Newsletter Tool
  • May 2005 Z-News newsletter
  • View Past Newsletters