Technology For Agents

This was just too good not to mention. Cobbler over at Metacafe posted a video recently on how to create a stabalizer for your camera that will hardly break your budget; it’s only a $1 worths of materials.

I’m seen way too many times that agents have taken pictures, and those pictures have been subject to poor quality because of a shaky camera. I’ll admit it; I do it myself from time to time. You have three options:

• Re-take the picture. A hassle, but if your camera has a preview feature on a built-in screen then you should able to notice any poor picture quality.
• Post it anyway. Please don’t do this! All homes you list for sale deserve pictures that are top-notch quality.
• Eliminate the problem to begin with. Use Cobbler’s method in the video below!

$1 Image Stabilizer For Any Camera - Lose The Tripod
How easy was that? I’m going to try this suggestion this week and update this post to let everyone know how it works out. This is one of those simple ideas that makes you say to yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?”-SC-

The following question was proposed by a forum member at real estate webmaster forums, and I thought I’d share my response and get your opinions on this topic.

This has been a question that has been on agents minds for quite some time now, and I feel that once the media catches on that they’ll hype this agenda because some might consider it “news-worthy”.

With sites like Zillow and Trulia becoming more and more sophisticated, will agents be needed at all in the coming years? Sure agents have good advice and tips, but can’t that be offered through some kind of online consulting?

The real estate agents may not be going extinct, but one thing is for sure, their role will change, probably become more specialized. Better quit whining and start adapting now, or you may face extinction in the coming years! - BossWebmaster

I feel the major issue with taking professional representation out of the equation is that the parties enter a “gray” area.

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Sorting through the vast amount of choices you are presented when customizing your next computer can be quite an endeavor. You’re presented with numerous specifications and names of products that you’re probably not too familiar with.

The amount of memory you have in your computer can really make a difference in how your computer functions day to day. If you are building a new computer or looking to figure out what’s wrong with an old one, you might want to take the amount of memory you have into consideration.

Learning About Memory

Windows XP doesn’t tend to be a big memory hog like Windows Vista has become; but then again high memory requirements isn’t such a bad problem anymore as memory has become very affordable.

Where will you see the most benefit? When you have multiple windows open on your screen, maybe one your property search and the other your contact database, computers have a tendency to slow down. With the coming of tabbed browsing in the latest internet browsers like Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox, this effect becomes even more apparent.

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You guys really have to check out this neat tool available online for free called Postlets. I’ve been using it to upload my listings into Craigslist; sellers should be pretty ecstatic about having their listings marketed in multiple places to increase exposure.

In a nutshell, you are able to upload a listing and post it all over the internet, including:

• Backpage.com
• Craigslist
• Google Base
• Hotpads
• And quite a few more…

Every postlet comes with a dedicated, search-optimized landing page and a unique URL. Postlets come in ten stylish themes complete with integrated maps and other nifty tools. They also have built-in lead capture forms so you can use them in all of your marketing campaigns.

On the flipside, giving away your listing information could be a little hazardous. In some cases, there’s been times where agents uploading listings to a site, increase it’s popularity, only for them to sell the leads back to them for a premium. Use at your own risk!

Anyone already using Postlets in their business? What do you guys think?

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Don’t take offense; the consumers that you are working hard to attract don’t want to learn about who you are, what you’ve done, or what you’ve sold; Initially. Choosing to make your real estate website more consumer focused than agent focused is a decision you surely won’t regret.

Nearly 85% (TAR) of consumers browsing your real estate website use it for one thing only: to search and view properties for sale in your market. Take a look at your website now. At first glance, now that we know this vital statistic, is your site conducive to giving them what they want?

It’s all about adopting the right mind-set. When you’re working on new marketing materials, take a step back and assume the role of a skeptical customer. Ask yourself: Why should she care about your product? How will it make her life better or easier? What are the damn benefits? - Dan O’Sullivan

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