RealtyTechBytes.com

Best MacWorld/iWorld 2012 app!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:00:22 +0000

I spent a very enjoyable day on Thursday at MacWorld/iWorld as two friends and I wandered the aisles of the Expo and took in a couple of classes on the second floor.

Last year’s MacWorld was renamed “iPad Case World” by another friend because it seemed that nearly every vendor was selling some sort of iPad case or accessory. Because of that he decided to not attend this year’s event. Big mistake my friend, because this year there was balance between iPad/iPhone/Mac hardware and software. Some pretty amazing products were on display in all categories.

The one that really captivated me though is an app for the iPhone (an iPad app was announced but as of this writing it hasn’t appeared in the app store) that claims to be the first full featured contact manager app for the IOS 5 platform.

It comes both as a “Lite” version (FREE!) limited to a maximum of 100 contacts, and a Pro version with no such limitation (I managed to load over 3500 contacts with no problems). The price is $4.99 for the Pro version but is expected to double by March 1st.

What makes this interesting to me is that you open the app into a dashboard that says:

“Hi! Today you have X Calls, X Meetings and X ToDo’s.

This may seem trivial until you realize that you’d have to open 3 different apps on the iPhone in order to accomplish the same thing!

Contacts can be organized into groups called “Orbits” and can be color coded so that you can see how they are organized at a glance. You can message the Orbit in a single or group emails, send them a Facebook or Twitter message or even start a Skype conversation. Every time that you use the app to initiate a conversation it get’s logged so that you have a record of what you have done. Contacts are imported from Address book when you set the app up and are kept updated as you make changes in Address book.

The Calendar function is imported from iCal and as with the Contacts, any changes or additions to a contact via the Calendar function get logged automatically. There are many other features that would be useful to a real estate agent, so head on over to http://www.viporbit.com/features to learn more.

In my opinion, this was the best app on the Expo floor by a long shot. I see it giving you the best contact and calendar management features of products like Top Producer, Act, Goldmine and Salesforce at a tiny price and on your phone at that!

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Best MacWorld/iWorld 2012 app!

Cool way to store your year end records

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:00:22 +0000

Part of the year end process for any business is storing the records from the previous year. And real estate agents are no exception. We commonly have many transaction files to store and once they are boxed up they get transported to a storage facility. Often times the facility is off site and inconvenient to get to when a record is needed. Additionally, if there are many boxes stored, it can be chore to determine which box holds the record you need.

I recently ran across a web site that has what appears to be a great solution. Although the creators of the site tout it as a way to help people that are moving keep track of which box has which household item, they say it can be used for anything that gets stored in sealed boxes. I believe that it may be the perfect solution for finding transaction records and other financial records for individuals and companies still keeping paper records.

It’s called Boxmeup and the web site is http://www.boxmeupapp.com.

Here is how it works. You create a free account (there is a paid option, but I couldn’t determine what advantages there are to becoming a paid member) and then you create a “Location” where the box or “Container” will be stored. These locations are the physical address where you store your records. You can have multiple locations and each is identified with a Google Map and unique name that you give it.

Then you create a “Container” and name it. By default the “Container” is placed in the “Unassigned” location so you have to then select to which location the “Container” belongs.

Then you enter your “Items” into the “Container”. This can be transaction files or anything else that you are storing in the box. Once you have filled the physical box and recorded the files that are in it to Boxmeup, you can print a QR Code that you then tape to the outside of the box.

To find out what is in a box at a later date you simply scan the QR code with your mobile phone and you get a list of the contents!

You can also log in to the website to view all of your Locations, Containers and Items. Additionally, you can go to the physical location where the actual boxes are stored and scan the QR codes to see what is inside the box.

Finding that needed file couldn’t be easier!

Four things you need to know to stay safe online!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:00:09 +0000

With so much emphasis these days on the paperless transaction, storing things in the “cloud” and on mobile computing, I thought it might be a good idea to explore some ways to stay safe online.

During my research online I found many good resources for learning how to avoid making security mistakes. But one source stood out for it’s simplicity of use and breadth of coverage. And that would be a source from Google called “good to know”. http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/

The site uses video, pictures and text to explain things in four broad categories:

Each of these categories is explained completely in a way that any one can understand. The advice offered is accurate and straight forward and if you will actually look at what is offered and implement it, you will come away with the knowledge you need to stay safe online.

Along the way you can learn about Google + and the + Button, location services, search history, how Google looks at search and even a bit on advertising.

Check it out. You can thank me later!

Learn how to REALLY use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:00:14 +0000

How well do you use Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? WordPress? If you are like most, you probably know enough to make basic use of these sites, but are you really up to speed and getting the maximum value from them?

If not, you could search YouTube for instructional videos (Assuming that you watch the most recent ones and also assuming that the person making the video knows what they are talking about). You could also buy a book and read through it. There are also many excellent books available from Amazon and other book sellers. But which one should you buy and will you really read it? You could also take a class (and pay accordingly). And of course, there are training options on the social sites themselves.

The problem is that there are just too many options to choose from, and some of the options may be out dated, expensive, time consuming or just plain wrong. Recognizing that there was a need for quality, inexpensive and up to date instructional videos, the founders of Grovo created a new resource.

The following is from their “About” page and should get you interested enough to actually click on this link to check them out.

Grovo produces free and Premium Business video tutorials that cover the Web’s most popular and useful sites as well as essential cloud services in social media, productivity, and online marketing. Applications include Facebook Profile, Advertising, and Pages, Google Analytics and Apps, Twitter, Yelp, Basecamp, and LinkedIn. Currently, our library contains over 800 video tutorials, and we produce 20 more every week. The videos are delivered through our proprietary education and training platform, which includes the lesson, pre-written notes, quizzes, and glossary terms.

Grovo’s content aims to educate, not to advertise, so all videos are devoid of promotional language or ads. Lessons are between 1-2 minutes long and progress from simple to advanced use cases. All content, including video tutorials, pre-written notes, quizzes and glossary terms, is produced in-house by Grovo’s team of writers, editors and voiceover talent.

I’ve taken a few of the courses and found that they are quality productions in short easy to digest video modules. The interface is clean and easy to navigate and I learned a few things along the way as well.

Give it a look and go learn something that may help your business in 2012!

Happy New Year!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:00:51 +0000

Merry Christmas!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 03:00:50 +0000

vyoo.it to view it (on your smart phone)

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:00:43 +0000

It’s with some trepidation that I am writing about a tool that will provide a mobile optimized web site for for free. The trepidation comes from that fact that this tool, while being just short of fabulous, does not provide the entire mobile solution. It goes far enough though, that many of you won’t take the next (and totally necessary) step of having a mobile site.

It’s imperative that your web site be easily viewed on a smart phone. And I am not talking about taking your regular web site and scaling it down so that it fits on the small screen. While that solution sounds attractive, it still requires that the user scroll and scale the page in order to see anything. And that is more trouble than most people are willing to go through. It’s just too easy to hit the back button and move on to another site.

What I am talking about is a full blown mobile site. Here is one that I want you to look at with your phone: http://jkfbmc.com/hrre. Or, check out this one: http://jkfbmc.com/mdgre Notice the click to call button? On a phone that will cause the phone to dial the number. See the Find us button? That opens a Google map that can also provide directions from where the viewer is to your office (or anywhere else that you’d like to send them). Check out some of the other buttons as well while you are there. These sites are fully optimized for use on a smart phone. They give the viewer everything that need to know in order to learn more about the agent and more importantly, get in touch with the tap of a finger. (Hint: Use your smart phone to scan the QR codes to view the sites. Don’t have a QR Code reader? Get RedLaser at http://redlaser.com/)

But, if you need a quick and FREE mobile solution for a listing, go check out http://Vyoo.it Built by the same company that brought you Postlets, this web based service will take the information it needs from your listing online, plus info that you give it and it will construct a stand alone mobile optimized web page, complete with a QR code that you can use to direct people to the page. You can also get sign riders, postcards and stickers to help you market the site.

If you’ve got listings, you need this service. But, if you really want to be ahead of the competition, you need to have a fully optimized site. Visit http://MobiListPro.com to learn more about Mobile marketing and to get in touch if you want me to help you get there…

San Francisco startup is poised to revolutionize broker tours

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:00:44 +0000

I’ve been writing this blog for nearly 4 years now and I have tried to keep it focused on technology tools that are available now for real estate professionals no matter where they may live. And aside from a few excursions into sales techniques (and the occasional rant) I have been pretty good about staying focused.

Today’s post is a definite departure though. For two reasons. First, the tool is not quite available yet, and when it does become available, it will only be for San Francisco agents, and more specifically, members of the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®.

So why am I talking about it here? For a couple of reasons. To start with, I know the principals behind the idea and the product. We worked at the same real estate company (different offices) together for a couple of years, so I know that they are all agents who have been in the trenches and know what they are doing…and more importantly, they know what active agents need in the way of technology tools.

And that brings me to my second reason for writing about the tool. This is an IOS app developed by practicing agents for practicing agents. Gil Fleitas and his team took a look at the way that they were doing business and asked themselves “what do we need in the way of tech tools that aren’t commercially available”, and then went and built the tools.

First out of the gate is Theo Tour (or tTour as it is known). tTour is an app for the iPhone (it will also run on the iPad) that organizes and makes sense of the San Francisco Broker Tour on an agent’s iPhone. (Although I am not a member of SFAR, I have been a beta tester for this app and will attest to it’s usefulness). Next up is ProtoTheo for the iPad (still in beta) which is a suite of integrated applications and services that dramatically improves the ability of Agents – indeed any real estate professional – to deliver an enhanced value-add service and experience to Buyers and Sellers.

tTour has been approved by Apple to be added as an AppStore download and Theo is finalizing details with SFAR as I write this, so it should be available to SFAR members in the near future. ProtoTheo is still in development and is expected to arrive sometime in 2012.

More information on both products is available in a brochure that Theo made available to me and which you can get by clicking on this link: http://RealtyTechBytes.com/theo.pdf.

For those of you who are interested in getting your hands on these products, go ahead and download the brochure…all of the contact info that you need will be there. Feel free to let Gil and his team know of your interest. Who knows, you may get to be a beta tester! And if you are not a member of SFAR, let them know that you’d like this tool to be made available in your area.

It’s refreshing to see tools created by the very people who use them every day! Hat’s off to the Theo team!

How to choose the cell phone that is right for you

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:00:14 +0000

Buying a new smart phone these days has suddenly gotten very complicated. Not only do you have to decide on a carrier before getting started, you also have to to decide if you want an iPhone, a Blackberry, a Windows phone or an an Android. The iPhone part is easier than the others, you only have a few models to choose from. If you want one of the others though, the available choices can be mind boggling.

Lucky for you a relatively new website can help you make a smart choice that is customized specifically for your needs and budget.

Pop on over to GeekaPhone.com and start out by setting your budget. Then you can start adding the features that you want. As you add features, the site will tell you which make and model phone has what you want for the price that you want to pay.

You can look at the phone’s specs and features, read reviews and in some cases watch videos about the phone.

A look at their “About” page shows what they are trying to accomplish:

Aggregating all the data necessary to make informed decisions
Allowing users to discover the right product without being an expert
Making all the data understandable
Turing all the data into objective measurements
Personalizing the whole experience to the user

I’d say that they have done a good job of accomplishing their goals. What do you think?

And by the way, here is a link to an article I wrote a few years ago that will give you the links to two good resources to help you make that all important carrier decision…a decision that HAS to be made first before buying a phone. http://realtytechbytes.com/what-cell-phone-should-i-buy

You really need this report, seriously, open this now!

Jerry Kidd — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:00:08 +0000

If you are through with the Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday madness, and if you still have about $20.00, why not splurge on something useful to your business?

I am talking about you buying the National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2011. This is a 124 page document that is chock full of some very useful information that is absolutely essential to the success of your business in 2012.

That’s a strong statement, but let me ask you a few questions that will illustrate my point:

Do you know how the majority of home buyers first found the home that they ultimately bought? Hint: It wasn’t from a newspaper or magazine ad, and it wasn’t directly from an agent.
Can you tell me how the buyers found their agent? This answer may surprise you…but it shouldn’t.
Where do you suppose that home sellers found the agent that they ultimately used to list their home? Again, this should not be a surprise, but it’s not where most people think.

The answers can be found on the following pages in the report:

Chapter 3 The Home Search Process, Page 50, Exhibit 3-9
Chapter 4: Home Buying and Real Estate Professionals, Page 63, Exhibit 4-12
Chapter 7: Home Selling and Real Estate Professionals, Page 97, Exhibit 7-1

There are a total of seven chapters in the report, all of which contain information that will help you determine how and why to prospect for business. It will also help you educate home sellers on the minuscule value to be obtained by print advertising.

NAR does not make this all that easy to find, and they make the download version harder yet to find. Note to NAR: How about a BIG ORANGE button on the home page of Realtor.org that goes right to the download version? And while you are at it, how about knocking the price down to something more like FREE?

Here are the links that you need for both the print and downloadable versions

Download: http://www.realtor.org/prodser.nsf/products/E186-45-11?OpenDocument Non-Member $149.00 Member $19.95

Paper: http://www.realtor.org/prodser.nsf/products/186-45-11?OpenDocument Non-Member $150.00 Member $50.00

So, get off your duff, break out your credit card and at least get the download version and spend a few hours studying it. I am certain that you will learn something that will help you do more business in 2012.