Consumers buy a neighborhood first....then find a house they like in that neighborhood. Agents know this, right? Then why do so few (less than 2% in my opinion) have neighborhood videos or virtual tours on their sites or linked to their blogs?
Taking a video is easy these days: just get a Flip Digital video camera, practice a bit, then take your neighborhood tour. Posting to You Tube is easy, too: the ability to do so (2 clicks after you take your video) is part of the software included with the Flip...even an English major such as myself can do it!
I came across this example of a tour of Arlington, VA, an area near me. It's done as a rap...not sure you want to do the rap bit, but it really shows off his area. A good neighborhood tour that captures the flavor of the neighborhood.
On second thought, perhaps you do want to do the rap! :-)
Whether you include the rap or not, I urge you to include neighborhood videos on your site. You'll see your site inquires go up if you do...guaranteed!
BTW: Be sure to see my blog post, "23 Uses for Real Estate Videos on You Tube," here.
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
I am about to commit heresy in the eyes of many real estate agents and speakers.
But first, here's a memory jogger. See how many of these terms you recognize:
10-4 (only if you were a neophyte...otherwise it was "5-5-2-2")
Good Buddy (God help you if a trucker heard you say "Good Buddy"...it branded you as a 4-wheeler for sure!)
Bear (cop)
40 weight (coffee)
Pickle park (truck stop parking lot)
Bed bug hauler (moving van)
Thermos bottle (tanker hauling liquids)
Bear in the air (helicopter with radar)
Peter car (Peterbilt tractor)
Big O (Overnight freight company truck)
Now try these:
beetweet (a "hot" tweet)
tweeple (Twitter users)
tweet-back (referring to a previous tweet)
tweetup (when twitterers meet in person)
twis (to dis a fellow twitterer)
twitterpated (to be overwhelmed with tweets)
If you are old enough, you recognize the first list as jargon used during the CB (Citizen's Band) radio craze of the 70's. The second, of course, are Twitter terms.
Here is my heretical statement: Twitter is a fad, just like the CB craze of the 70's. It has very limited value for an agent's business, and most agents should not waste their time learning how to use it.
I must be someone who just doesn't "get it" as far as using technology in real estate goes, right? I must be a "Luddite" (a term applied to a 19th century social movement of British textile artisans who protested the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution...often by destroying mechanized looms). "Luddite" has come to symbolize someone who unreasonably resists any new technology.
I am not a Luddite. I know what works when it comes to using today's technology to meet the needs of today's consumer. In other words, I know what technology will and will not make an agent money. Here are my credentials:
I use technology extensively in my business
I have been a national real estate technology speaker and trainer for 20+ years (remember Howard & Friends?)
I am a Senior Instructor for the Council of Residential Specialist's CRS 206 technology course
I am the Founder and President of the CyberStars®. These 200+ top agents from the US, Canada, the Bahamas and Australia use technology extensively in their businesses, and they show me what really works when it comes to using today's technology in real estate
I am the author of several best selling books on real estate technology and a major blog on marketing with today's technology.
I have studied Twitter and am aware of the buzz surrounding it. I realize that social networking is the hot topic in real estate today. I know that social networking seminars, (the good, the bad and the ugly) do a box office business in many areas because many agents view social networking is the "magic bullet" that will make their business more successful. In reality, it does not. It is fun, it is informative, it can "get the word out" to select groups, but it is not in any way essential to your business.
Unfortunately, too many agents are spending their time, energy and money learning more and more about social networking, especially Twitter, when they should be focusing on other concepts, tools and seminars that will actually make them money, save them money and save them time.
Please understand that I do see value in social networking. Some of my CyberStars®, for example, are getting business from various social networking sites, more from Facebook than from Twitter. There is value, too, in social networking as a tool for "getting the word out" to groups re. meetings, natural disasters and just plain fun stuff.
This does not mean, however, that tweeting is a significant marketing tool, especially when compared to other tech tools available to us. The time taken to learn how to make any degree of money from Twitter can be much better spent in other areas, as mentioned below.
The buzz about Twitter today is similar to the CB craze in the 70's. Prior to the oil crisis of 1973, only professionals (i.e. truckers) had and used CB's. After that, everybody and his brother (and sister) had one. The airwaves were filled with chatter during rush hour and on the Interstates, most of it inane. Lots of 4-wheelers learned some of the jargon; hardly any learned enough of it so that they were taken seriously by the truckers.
Then the fad waned. The 4-wheelers put their CB's in the garage, sanity returned to the airwaves and CB's again became the province of the professional trucker. Such will be the fate of Twitter.
Indeed, there are signs that this is already happening. Harvard University released a study of 300,000+ Twitter users this month. Its main finding was that 90% of Twitter content is generated by 10% of Twitter users. Compete.com's excellent technology blog showed that unique visitors, having reached 20 million per month in March, leveled off at that point.
Remember my main argument: Twitter has its place, but it is not and never will be a significant money maker for real estate agents, especially compared with other tech tools that are. Further, time spent learning and using Twitter can be better spent pursuing other real estate marketing tools.
What are these marketing tools? Here is my list of for tips for really building your business by focusing on technology that provides an agent's highest return on investment.
Your personal agent Web site and blog. 87% of today's consumers go first to the Web to find a home or to find an agent to sell their current home. Why, then, are the majority of agent sites so lousy (no video or virtual tours of neighborhoods or homes, no downloadable documents, no video client testimonials, limited home photos, just brick and mortar information, etc.)? Simply because most agents are not willing to put the time and money into getting and continually updating a consumer-oriented Web site and blog. Time and money spent on ones consumer-oriented Web sites and blogs have the highest return on investment of any of today's marketing methods....fact!
Automatic followup systems. Good agents get lots of prospects and even poor agents get some prospects. It is important, then, that you have automatic followup systems to handle the inquires you get. High producing agents use systems such as auto responders (with well-written messages, not just, "I am out of the office at the moment but your message is important to me..."), a real estate (not Outlook) database, RealProSystems and the Gooder Group's eRainmaker to both generate and automatically followup on leads. Time spent investigating, buying and utilizing such systems has a much higher return on investment than time spent on Twitter.
Systematize your business. A real estate specific database like Top Producer 8i or Respond (not Outlook!) is a system. An automatic followup program is a system. Automating the tasks required to get from contract to closing is a system. Hiring a VA (Virtual Assistant) to do the "little things" is a system. Time spent systematizing your business pays far greater benefits than twittering....especially in that it gives you time to get a life rather than working all the time while still making a great living!
Attend seminars that really pay off....for you! Short sales prevalent in your area? Attend seminars showing you how to handle short sales. Not sure which technology is worth investing in or how to use it to increase your business? Attend the CRS 206 technology course. Not running your business like a business? Attend the CRS 200 business planning course. Your listing skills aren't up to par? Take the CRS 201 listing course and become a top lister. These and a few other seminars pay off...immediately.
A final word about social networking seminars. Social networking seminars taught by "techies" who are expert twitterers but who do not understand real estate marketing are of little value to your business. Social Networking seminars taught by real estate agents who have successful real estate businesses and who also understand Twitter, are of value. Two excellent Social Networking instructors come to mind: James Nellis, CRS, and Mike Parker, CRS. Both are very successful agents. Both understand how to market to today's consumer using Twitter, Facebook, Active Rain and other Social Networking media. Run, don't walk, to their seminars and Webinars!
Am I saying that you should pay no attention to social networking, especially to Twitter? Not at all. Social networking does have a place in your business if done correctly, and it certainly has a place in your personal life. What I am saying is that most agents should not spend the time on it that they do on it because it is not paying off and it detracts from tech tools and strategies that do pay off.
Still sound like heresy to you? Well, I don't have any control over that. All I can do is to share my views and opinions with you and assure you that they are tempered by an understanding of what really works in our business. Technology, good technology, must form the backbone of any agent's business if he or she wants to meet the needs of today's consumer and make a good living. Can't text? You have a problem. Have a weak Web site, you have a problem. No blog? You have a problem. In other words, there is worthwhile, profitable technology and there is "bleeding edge" technology that does not make you money, save you money and save you time. I hope you'll focus on the former.
Now I think I'll go fishin' for a bit. There is a 5 pound bass or two waiting for me, it's a beautiful day here on the lake, and I hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
Remember when you were looking for a home....before you became a real estate agent? You didn't just buy a house, did you? Your first criteria was the neighborhood, right? If you did not like the neighborhood, chances are you did not even go into the home the agent selected for you.
Don't forget that fact now that you are an agent, especially when it comes to your Web site. Most sites have information on the home which, usually, is somewhat weak: photos and some "brick and mortar" information about the house (number of bedrooms, number of baths...basically MLS information) and that's it. Very few sites have anything about the neighborhood.
One site that does is Martin Bouma's. Martin, of Keller Williams Realty, Washtenaw County, MI, is a top agent who uses today's technology extensively in his business and is one of my CyberStars®. Here is an article he submitted for my new eBook of CyberStar® tips. Note his complete system of showcasing the neighborhood, a system that includes digital video, YouTube, Yahoo Video, Vimeo, neighborhood Web pages on his site, and even postcard mailing.
"The Bouma Group creates neighborhood and condo profiles centering on a video of the community. First, we photograph the neighborhood, taking shots of the entrance, different home styles and elevations, common areas, parks, recreation facilities, ponds and any other points of interest in the community. We then use Windows Movie Maker software to create a slide show type video. We add a music track, a variety of transitions between frames and text with contact information for our team. The video is then given the name of the complex, followed by the city and state, i.e., 'Liberty Pointe Condos, Ann Arbor, MI 48103.'
"Once the video is created and saved, we upload it through TubeMogul to YouTube, Yahoo Video and Vimeo. We like TubeMogul because you only have to upload the video once and it provides viewer statistical data for each site in one place. You will first need to create profiles on each of the sites before uploading to TubeMogul. You can see an example of a video on YouTube here.
"We then create web pages that highlight the subdivision or complex. The first page is added to our personal website, www.bouma.com, and includes a short description of the community, amenities, standard features, a map, photos, and the video. We use a lot of keywords and links back to pages within our site for optimum SEO. An example of a neighborhood page can be found here.
"Next, a page is added to our blog at www.bouma.com/blog. This page includes a representative photo, a description of the complex, location, amenities, a current market report, and the video. We also use a lot of keywords, but this time our link backs are to our main website at www.bouma.com. An example of a blog page can be found here.
"Finally, we create and send a postcard to the community to let them know that their subdivision has been highlighted on our blog. This drives traffic to our blog, which in turn drives traffic to our website."
Featuring neighborhoods as well as homes pays off, as Martin knows. Hopefully, there are some ideas here that will help you improve your site when it comes to this important factor in getting more of your listings sold!
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
Fact: agents who use today's technology to meet the needs of today's consumer make a better living and live better than agents who do not.
Fact: most agents do not use today's technology to meet the needs of today's consumer!
One reason why most agents do not use today's technology effectively is, I believe, that there is so much out there to choose from, too much. Agents are not sure what really works...and what does not. As an effort to help, here are the Top 10 tools used by my CyberStars®, 200+ top agents from the US, Canada, the Bahamas and Australia who use technology extensively in their businesses.
A personal Web site. Not a "real estate organization site" such as a franchise site or Realtor.com (you should have a presence on such sites, but you won't make money from them), but a template site you have extensively revised so that it is "yours" or a site done exclusively for you by an individual site designer. Your individual Web site is your extensive information repository for the consumer looking to buy or sell a home in your area. Hint: the last thing the consumer wants to find out about is you, so focus on the consumer's needs, not yourself.
A real estate specific database. Still running your business using Outlook? You can, but you are working too hard and making too little money by doing so. Outlook simply cannot do what Top Producer or Respond can do for your business. Their action plans tied to your calendar, complete (searchable) information on your listings or on what specific buyers are looking for, target marketing through searchable contact types and more, more, more mean that every agent serious about his or her business should be using one of these databases if they want to make more money, save more money and save more time.
A blog. Your Web site is your storehouse of information; your blog is the way you stay in touch with your Sphere of Influence on a regular basis, providing them with relevant information....and getting them to your Web site. See CyberStar(r) Brad Korn's blog here.
Fujitsu ScanSnap. So many uses, so much time saved...you gotta get one! See my recent blog post with comments by two CyberStars(r) on how they use this valuable tool here.
SnagIt. Inexpensive ($49) and so many ways to "snag" information from your computer screen that can make you money! See a listing in MLS that's perfect for an out-of-town buyer? Snag it, mark it up, send it as part of an email, not an attachment....simple!
Flip Digital Video Camera. Listing tours, area tours, relationship videos, networking videos, easily your videos to YouTube using Flip's built-in software...the uses are endless; the money-making possibilities are huge. An article I wrote on the Flip is here
Tablet PC. Thinking of getting a notebook? Get a tablet pc instead! Why? You can write on the screen (fill out contracts, draw floor plans, make notes, etc.) and with an "air card" you have complete mobility. It does everything a desktop or notebook can do...and more. An added benefit? The "Wow" factor that helps form a relationship with buyers or sellers.
Issuu. Do your flyer, listing presentation or any presentation in Word, Publisher, Excel or another program, save it as a pdf file and upload it to Issuu for free. The result is a great looking "eBook" that you can send prospects, buyers and sellers to.
Single Property Sites. Face it: too much listing information on the Web is plumb pitiful and weak! We are seeing more than one photo of a home more often these days, thankfully, but most agents have little else. Single property sites such as my favorite, Agency Logic Power Sites, show your listings to their best advantage. They are templates: you simply fill in the blanks, upload photos, virtual tours and documents and you have an impressive listing display. You will get more listings and sell more listings by using Agency Logic...guaranteed! See one of CyberStar(r) Leslie McDonnell's Agency Logic listings here.
Texting. I was at dinner with some agents in St. Croix after a day of teaching a CRS 206 last week. The talk got around to texting, and only two out of the six agents at the table could text. I turned to a nearby table of "thirty somethings" and asked them whether they preferred to be contacted by phone, email or text message. All four replied, "text," yet a majority of agents in my classes cannot text. Enough said?
I hope this list will help you decide on what technology you should be using in your business.
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
My networking group, the CyberStars®, is a treasure trove of information from top agents on how to build our businesses. We focus on using today's technology to meet the needs of today's consumer, but few of us are "techies." Rather, we focus on making money, saving money and saving time through the use of technology.
At our CyberStar® Summit last January, we spent two days sharing ideas, tips, techniques and strategies....a slew of great ideas that helped us all.
I brought in Michael Krisa, "That Interview Guy," to do video interviews with some of our members. Here are a few of them you might want to see....some great tips that might help your business.
You would think that someone who wants to list and sell real estate would pay attention to the "little things," those things that top agents do that unsuccessful agents do not do. A few examples from my recent experience:
Open House Directional Arrows: My home is on the water at Lake Anne here in Reston, VA. There are a number of homes and condos on tehwater in our community, and these properties are always in demand. This weekend, there were two open house directional arrows leading from the main road into our waterfront community. Neither had a "Waterfront!" rider on the directional arrow.
These agents can't even figure out how to add instant appeal to their directional arrows? Unbelievable!
A Personal URL: My informal polls in the technology seminars I teach nationwide show that roughly 80%+ of the attendees do not have their own URL. Instead, they have URLs such as:
Sarah.Jenkins@ABCRealty.com
Bruce@hotmail.com
Sandra@AOL.com
These agents haven't figured out that #1 causes major problems if they change firms, #2 shows consumers that they are cheapskates and #3 shows the consumer is a "rookie" when it comes to today's technology? Neither #1, #2 or #3 has figured out the value of a personal URL for their email and Web site and blog? Unbelievable!
Not Returning Messages From Their Web Site Within One Hour: Every year, I do an experiment: I send an email to four Web sites in different sized market areas around the country pretending to be a buyer. I ask for more information on one of their listings. My message says that I have sold my home in Virginia, I have $180,000 cash and that I need to find a home in their area within 2 months. I then wait for a response.
In the six years I have been conducting this experiment, I have had only one agent get back to me within 1 hour. As for the rest, the earliest reply came back in seven days and 50% of the agents never replied.
Don't these agents understand that consumers seek information from many sites at the same time and that they usually give their business to the first agent who gets back to them? Unbelievable!
Spending Too Much Time In The Office: You have one in your office....the agent who spends most of his time in the office. He researches, he works the Web, he takes up everyone else's time talking about non-real estate subjects, he bitches about everything (especially the sales manager, the broker and the top agent in the office). He goes home at the end of the day convinced that he has "done" real estate.
Don't agents such as this understand that buyers and sellers don't live in filing cabinets and that the good agents who drop by the office do not want their time wasted? Unbelievable!
Agents Who Don't Think They Have To Sharpen The Axe: Too many agents do not go to local seminars.....much less to a seminar out of town where they could build an agent network. They are "too busy," or they "can't afford the fee" or, my favorite, they "have buyers" they are showing houses to. They forget that a "buyer is only a buyer when a buyer buys," and precious few of their "buyers" buy.
Don't they realize that the way to make more money, save more money and save more time is to learn what you don't know? Unbelievable!
Oh well....when my own life reaches the lofty heights of perfection, I'll straighten them out! :-)
It's a great evening here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day/evening wherever you are, too!
I met with two other Reston area agents this morning for a "mini" networking meeting. Holly Weatherwax & Barry Allbright, both agents here in the Reston area, and I meet at the Lake Anne Coffee Shop here on beautiful Lake Anne. We met for a little over an hour and just exchanged ideas, ideas which I found very valuable. Among other topics, we talked about using a real estate database, the value of a Virtual Assistant, smart phones, refrigerator magnets, postcard marketing, automatic followup systems, Bluetooth and more. We plan to meet again and will invite a few more agents next time.
This was an example of networking, of course, and, in my humble opinion, every agent who wants to build his or her business should have agent networking as a priority. There are many ways to accomplish this, a few of which involve today's technology:
In-Person Local Networking:Meetings such as Holly, Barry and I had this morning are invaluable! Each of us is with a different firm here in the Reston area, and we will meet once a month. Such meetings with local agents outside of your own firm give you ideas and valuable local agent contacts that will help your business in many, many ways. Some agents hold local breakfast meetings monthly. Others have formal idea sharing sessions with other local agents. Members of such groups, rather than jealously guarding what they know from other local agents realize that sharing with a select few makes each of them better. My belief is that every agent should participate in such groups in his or her area!
ActiveRain: I don't have to tell you what a great networking tool ActiveRain is....a wonderful vehicle for sharing ideas with other agents in other areas, to learn new tools and techniques and, over time, to build our agent referral base. The more active you are, of course, the more value you gain from ActiveRain.
Facebook & Twitter: Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have taken the idea of "community" and exploded it beyond anything we ever imagined. Both can be tremendous agent networking tools if you focus on that objective, as one message goes out to all in your online Sphere of Agents. If you work at building up that Sphere, it becomes quite large.
One problem that Holly, Barry and I agreed on, however, was the large volume of "non-business" chatter on such sites. This is valuable in fostering the "social" element of social networking, but it can get overwhelming. Knowing what vegetable you would be based on some quiz you took or that you are now going to sleep or that you cooked Dinty Moore Beef Stew for dinner is "TMI" (Too Much Information) for me, and it does nothing to bring you to the top of my referral list for your area!
Telephone Conference Calls: Sites such as FreeConferenceCall.com allow us to talk with like-minded agents in our network, agents from outside of our area. A procedure for maximizing this system is to have a monthly conference call with one group member charged with picking and presenting a particular topic. Conference calls are also useful for agents who have formed accountability groups.
GoToMeeting: GoToMeeting (or its "big brother" GoToWebinar) goes far beyond the telephone conference call. Using it, we can not only talk with one another but we can also see each other's computer screens. Perhaps, for example, our monthly networking meeting this month focuses on listing presentations. GoToMeeting allows us to switch between each other's computer screens: I show my presentation or an area on my Web site and you show me yours. A tremendous learning tool, one that I use twice a month for our private CyberStar® Webinars.
Invitation-Only Networking Groups: My CyberStar® networking group, CyberProfessionals, Jack Peckham's CyberSpace Society and other networking groups have formal structures for information sharing, referrals and periodic meetings. My CyberStars®, for example have a private Google Group for sharing information and files, an annual meeting, periodic regional meetings, and we meet at various conventions or when I am teaching a seminar in a particular part of the country.
And how do you find agents for your agent network? Simple: get out of the office and get out of town! Attend local board functions, attend agent open houses, take courses (especailly the CRS 206 technology course!) out of your area, attend state, franchise and national conventions. This will pay better results than does taking floor time in most offices I know of!
However you conduct your agent networking, one thing is clear: your best "farm" is other agents around the country! My CyberStars® realized this years ago. They make a conscious effort to cultivate agents nationwide through our CyberStar® group, their Web sites, their blogs, by attending seminars and conventions out of their area, by participating on Facebook, etc.
Today's technology has made obsolete the old advice that the way to have a successful real estate career is to choose a geographical listing farm: 250-500 homes, spend a lot of money on postcards and pumpkins at Halloween, etc. Today, your farm area is the world (through your Web site) and nationwide through your agent networking efforts. Focusing your prospecting efforts on other agents will pay benefits that are far more lucrative and will net you more money at the end of the year than will any geographical farm.
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
If you are anywhere near Reston, VA, join me and a few of your ActiveRain friends for a networking session at the Coffee Shop atLake Anne Plaza in Reston, Thursday, April 2, 10 a.m. We'll hope for a beautiful day, sit outside, watch the world go by and share tips, techniques and networking opportunities.
Lake Anne Plaza is the original part of Reston, just off of Baron Cameraon (becomes Eldon St. in Herndon).
Hope to see you there!
It's a beautiful day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are, too!
Those of you who wish to see/hear the Webinar I did for New Mexico agents last night can click here.
We focused on tools that help agents make more money, save more money and save more time in today's market. CyberStar(r) Linda DeVlieg of Albuquerque, NM, was my panelist and did a wonderful job....check it out.
I'll be doing the CRS 206 two day technology course in Albuquerque April 30 - May 1 and am looking forward to a great session.
Full information on the course here. It says that Mark Porter is the instructor, but it'll be me....and I'll get to do some flyfishing while there!
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
In case you don't know me, I focus on using today's technology, not on the "Techie Wow!" aspect of it. To me, technology exists to help agents list more homes, sell more homes, save more money, save more time....and get a life outside of real estate. That's what I stress on my blog and during my nationwide seminars.
That said, here are just two of my favorite technology tools, tools that help me accomplish some or all of the above. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just two tools I find very useful every day.
My Home Wireless Network
What a pleasure to get connected anywhere I am while at home: in the living room "multitasking" (watching a soccer game or a PBS mystery while getting work done on my notebook) or on my balcony overlooking the lake on a balmy day.
All it took to get the home network established was a call to my techie, Jeff, telling him what I wanted to do and his showing up at my home with a router ($50) and connecting it to my desktop. Simple, right?
In other words, I did not need to understand the technology involved, I just needed to know what I wanted to do and who to contact in order to get it done.
My Bluetooth Earpiece
Talk about a time saver! I don't understand why any busy agent does not have a Bluetooth compatible phone and a Bluetooth earpiece. I use the iPhone, only one of many Bluetooth compatible smart phones, and a Plantronics earpiece.
With Bluetooth in my ear and the iPhone in my pocket, I am able to do so many things hands free, a real improvement over the "hold the phone to my ear" days. I can be working on the computer, doing dishes, do the housecleaning, fishing, reading....you name it, I can be connected while accomplishing other tasks at the same time.
Those are just two of my Favorite Things. If you use them, you know why I would not be without them. If you don't, get them and start doing more with your life!
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
Tips, Techniques and networking ideas from one of real estate's premier technology/marketing trainers and speakers. Allen learns from the CyberStars(r) (www.CyberStars.net) and shares his knowledge with you.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Posted by 
Don't forget that fact now that you are an agent, especially when it comes to your Web site. Most sites have information on the home which, usually, is somewhat weak: photos and some "brick and mortar" information about the house (number of bedrooms, number of baths...basically MLS information) and that's it. Very few sites have anything about the neighborhood.
You would think that someone who wants to list and sell real estate would pay attention to the "little things," those things that top agents do that unsuccessful agents do not do. A few examples from my recent experience: 
I met with two other Reston area agents this morning for a "mini" networking meeting. 
What a pleasure to get connected anywhere I am while at home: in the living room "multitasking" (watching a soccer game or a PBS mystery while getting work done on my notebook) or on my balcony overlooking the lake on a balmy day.
Talk about a time saver! I don't understand why any busy agent does not have a Bluetooth compatible phone and a Bluetooth earpiece. I use the iPhone, only one of many Bluetooth compatible smart phones, and a Plantronics earpiece. 
;)
;)
