Real Estate Virtual Assistant: Laura Monroe's VA Views

Organize Your Real Estate Blog Posts with The WordPress Editorial Calendar Plug-in

2010-10-01T15:18:59Z

Just a quick little blog post to let you know I happened to stumble across this WordPress plug-in that creates an interactive Editorial Calendar for your blog posts! Schedule, create and publish from 1-5 weeks out and see it all on your calendar. There is a great screen-cast below to see how it works. This can be used as an efficient way to keep track of those great real estate blog post ideas, add in and schedule other users blog posts (for multi-author blogs), and be able to see the status of each blog post for up to 5 weeks out on the calendar...very cool! You can also download the plug-in from the WordPress plug-in Directory. As you know I'm all about streamlining and automating as many tasks as you can; this is one little great tool to help you do that. Check it out!

The WordPress Editorial Calendar Screen Cast from Zack Grossbart on Vimeo.

Originally posted at www.CreativeAgentSolutions.com

I am the CEO of Creative Agent Solutions.com. My team and I assist real estate professionals in implementing online marketing strategies, Wordpress, social media, and business systems to catapult exposure and dominance in their marketplace, while focusing on productivity and the bottom line.

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

10 Tips for Choosing the RIGHT Wordpress Theme for Real Estate

2010-08-29T19:38:59Z

Whether you are new to blogging, are ready to upgrade from Wordpress.com, to .org, or are moving an old website to the Wordpress platform, it can be intimidating and overwhelming to find and choose a theme, even for the best "do-it-your-selfers!"With so many choices and considerations, a little preparation can mean the difference between a successful launch of your online hub, or a conundrum of issues and problems that take time to manage.

As a real estate virtual assistant, I've learned a lot by trial and error on my own site, before I started delving into supporting agents with their transition to Wordpress. I thought it might be helpful to put together my Beginner's Wordpress for Real Estate Preparation List, specifically for real estate in mind, that can serve to help you in your quest for being a Wordpress pro. By organizing a simple list to consider you can weed out the NO's and be on your way to having a killer real estate Wordpress website/blog! So here goes:

#1 Will your Wordpress theme serve as your website, your blog or both? Choose a theme that has the main structure in place of what you need. Look at the menu navigation options..Home Page, About, Services, as well as a Blog page. Will they be integrated? If so, choose a theme that already has a blog, and website already built-in.

#2 Is this site for your personal business, or for your team or multiple authors? If you plan on using your site as a business site consider the look and feel that would best represent a structure that suits your branding, or your need for multi-users. Perhaps you'd like a theme that offers a specific design structure to highlight multiple authors and their own about pages? If that is the plan stay away from themes that are too limited in what they provide.

#3 What is the budget for your site? Will you need a designer to customize it? Let's face it. Your site will need some level of customization. Your theme should reflect your branding, your colors, have a style that represents you. How much will it take to turn your theme into the site it needs to be? Will you need special designer graphics, buttons, call to action items? Headers and images? What is already built-in, and what isn't? This can help you decide what theme to choose. If the features of the theme allows you many options and "skins" you may only be a few steps away from having everything packaged just right, at little or no outside cost. (P.S. for choosing a website color palette, I love using www.colourlovers.com )

#4 Pick a theme based on your structure of content, and one that showcases your best attributes. Do you use Video, Photos, as well as content? Do you want to showcase your listings? Blog Posts? When thinking about how you are going to add content on your pages and in your posts, its helpful to use a theme that has easy ways to highlight those things. For example: the AgentPress Theme showcases listings beautifully, while this theme highlights your blog content mainly. Just know that are are some themes that may have more than what you need..and less. Finding a theme that has that balance is good.

#5 Is your theme widget ready? How much can you fit on the theme before it gets too cluttered? Create your widget Wish-list. Create your wish list of widgets & Plug-ins. Check to see how many widgets the theme can support comfortably. Some themes already have built-in sidebar placement for email subscriptions, RSS sign-up, and Google Analytics. But if you are adding in IDX searches, Market Stats, Mortgage Calculators, Testimonials, Trulia and Zillow Widgets, over-crowding can become a problem!Choosing a theme with 3 columns or 2 columns can easily be overlooked if you don't know what to look for.

#6 How social is your theme? Is there a place for all your social networking icons? This MAY sound like a sidebar, widget issue, BUT now there are some really nice themes with Social Networking icons already built in, saving you the design trouble of adding them in yourself. Consider your Wordpress savvy-ness, and you may opt for a theme that has your Social Sites and Twitter stream built right in.

#7 Is the Theme search engine friendly? Unless you are familiar with with HTML and CSS it may be difficult for you to evaluate the SEO capabilities of a theme. Typically, FREE themes come in such a variety, that its best to choose a premium themes that offers built-in search engine optimization, clean coding, and fields in your posting area that allow for optimizing of titles, tags and descriptions. Having these in your theme helps your site organically and allows for easier time management when posting those hyper-local, keyword-rich posts.

#8 Your theme should help you stay organized and user-friendly! Consider your Categories and Sub-Categories of content. Should this be built-in to your Menu Navigation or just in the sidebar? If you are a heavy blogger with lots of subjects, community info etc., think about how this is to be organized in your theme. I am partial to themes that have drop down menus in the navigation so that I can categorize pages and posts in a way that are user-friendly to site visitors. Nothing can steer away a site visitor more quickly that be overwhelmed at information that is not organized in a way that is easy to find and browse through.

#8 Does your IDX provider have Wordpress friendly integration and/or Plug-ins? When you are choosing a theme, consider items that might need to be integrated in a way that takes some technical expertise. Assuming you will be adding IDX feeds to your website/blog its important to know if your IDX provider allows integration to Wordpress in a way that you can understand, or if you are going to have to hire a web designer to do it. IDX providers like IDX Broker and Diverse Solutions offer plug-ins that make this integration easier.

#9 Is Technical Support available? Be careful when choosing themes. There are many designers and developers that have themes that are advertised, but have since gone out of business, or do not have technical support available for help. When working on your site yourself, it only takes the smallest character of wrong code, and a whole site can be out of whack or unable to view in all browsers, or any number of things. Having technical support, allows you to have a professional to walk you through it, and keep your site in tip top shape should anything go wrong. (no guarantees of course) Developers like Brian Gardner with Studiopress actually has a forum of tutorials, and a place to ask questions and get help with Studiopress theme related issues. He and his developers and designers are quick to help out and answer questions.

#10 Will you manage your website/blog, or will someone else be doing that? If you are comfortable with the back-end of website platforms and blog formatting, then you are a do-it-your-selfer! If you are a blogger/writer etc, you could still be overwhelmed with managing your content. Before choosing a difficult theme, that needs a lot of customizing, specially formatted posts, etc. consider your theme for its user-friendliness to YOU. Can you manage it, or will this be a site that only someone else can manage for you? Consider what, when, & how you will continue building your work in progress.

Pick a theme that can grow with you, not weigh you down. Adopting Wordpress as your main content management system is a fun and exciting venture! Being prepared with your wants and needs is a little like house-hunting. Having the information to make your search easier can save you frustration and bring you all the excitement, bells and whistles to make your blog or website the best on the block!

(originally posted at Creative Agent Solutions.com)

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

A Wordpress Plugin To Import Your ActiveRain Posts

2010-05-27T23:55:14Z

Leave it to Jeff Turner and Steve Zehngut of Zeek Interactive to come up with a cool plug-in for Wordpress, the ActiveRain post importer!

Thanks guys!

Via Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows):

A few weeks ago, ActiveRain released a new feature that allowed members to export an archive of their individual blog posts. In the announcement, Brad said, "It's open nature will allow for the development of third-party import tools."

So, I sent the link to my partner, Steve Zehngut, and we put "create a Wordpress Plugin to import ActiveRain posts" on our to do list. Today we tested it and are ready to release it into the wild. You should be aware that the ActiveRain export does not include categories, tags or comments. So, our plugin imports the posts and gives them a category of "Active Rain" in your Wordpress blog. This will make them easy to find. If you're importing your posts into an existing blog, I would import them as draft. The video below will illustrate.

You can download the ActiveRain Importer here.

Let us know if you have any problems with it.

Jeff Turner aka respres

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Tips & Tools for Managing Your Real Estate Business “Virtually”-The AR University Webinar

2010-05-26T19:22:30Z

Today I had the pleasure of presenting a webinar for the Active Rain University titled, "Tips and Tools for Managing Your Real Estate Business Virtually". With over 200 attendees registered its quite apparent that this is one hot real estate topic! As a real estate virtual assistant I was able to share some of the best tools for setting up a Virtual Real Estate Office, and wanted to make sure I added the presentation here to share with you as requested.

I also wanted to thank Brad Andersohn of Active Rain for asking me to participate and to the discussion. We covered some pretty relevant topics in today's technology driven real estate market, and added in some thoughts on organizing and defining your online business systems so that working away from your desk is streamlined and efficient. In the presentation below you will find information on: * Defining the Needs for your Real Estate Business Systems * Streamlining and Automating your Systems for Higher Productivity * What Does it Mean to Work in the Cloud? * Tools and Technology that are full of Mobile Features and Cloud Integration * Leveraging online and offline support with a Virtual Assistant Enjoy!

Tips & Tools to Managing Your Real Estate Business Virtually

View more presentations from Laura Monroe.

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

10 Days of Outsourcing to Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant- Day 5

2010-05-07T19:34:16Z

Delegating to a Real Estate Virtual Assistant doesn't have to be difficult or expensive! Welcome to Day Five of Outsourcing Ideas you can let your real estate VA handle for you! This is a quick and easy to read resource you can always come back to:)

Delegation Day Five

Problem: Business is growing, your head is full of great new ideas, but being acccountable for the implementation of said new ideas is hard to grasp when your are working IN your business and not ON it.

Solution: A qualified real estate virtual assistant can be just the person you are looking for as a partner. From setting goals, creating action plans, marketing calendars, and a ton of other things, achieving milestones with an accountability partner can help you get to that NEXT level. Having a partner who knows and uses your technology, can create marketing strategies that work, and handle the technical details is priceless!

There's one good reason to delegate something to a Real Estate VA!

A real estate virtual assistant is like the missing piece of your business' puzzle. Having someone available to you to help you with the the 'small stuff' while you focus on the big picture - the things that will earn you the most income is key. Once you get that into place, you'll be growing your business faster than ever before.

(P.S. If you don't want to wait for the rest of the series and are needing more info please SUBSCRIBE and ..check out Real Estate Virtual Assistants: The ULTIMATE GUIDE)

See Day 1

See Day 2

See Day 3

See Day 4

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

10 Days of Outsourcing to Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant- Day 4

2010-04-24T00:02:49Z

Delegating to a Real Estate Virtual Assistant doesn't have to be difficult or expensive! Welcome to Day Four of Outsourcing Ideas you can let your real estate VA handle for you! This is a quick and easy to read resource you can always come back to:)

Delegation Day Four

Problem: Social Media Overwhelm: Does Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Four Square etc, leave your head spinning? Not sure if you are utilizing them effeciently? Do RSS Feeds, Widgets, and Posterous, and Tumblr cause you to go into major overwhelm?

Solution: Have your VA Organize and Automate a Social Media Action Plan that will allow you time to do the engaging, and leave the technical and automated items to your VA to take care of. Have a blog that needs to feed your Facebook page? Your VA can do that. Have some awesome articles you'd like to tweet? Have your VA schedule them ahead of time to go out. Need some help setting up new profiles on new tools. Your VA can help you with that too! The only thing your VA shouldn't do is engage for you. You are the only YOU, but let the technical stuff go to someone else.

There's one good reason to delegate something to a Real Estate VA!

(P.S. If you don't want to wait for the rest of the series and are needing more info please SUBSCRIBE and ..check out Real Estate Virtual Assistants: The ULTIMATE GUIDE)

See Day 1

See Day 2

See Day 3

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Please Join the Fight with Me - Mothers Fighting for Others- Inspire The Child, Change the World

2010-04-12T19:18:46Z

Monica McNamara is a woman I've gotten the extreme pleasure to know this year. She has generously doubled the fight to help find a new home for 34 Kenyan orphans that Mothers Fighting for Others is tirelessly hoping to build. In a community as close as ours, it's awesome to see othersjoin in. I hope you can too.

Via Monica McNamara (MonicaC@Ocean-CitySales.com Ocean City Maryland):

In August 2008, I attended the Inman Conference in San Franciso. Now how I even happened to end up at the conference is an interesting story unto itself. Earlier that year I had attended an e-Pro presentation given by Frances Flynn Thorsen and Joeann Fossland at our local board office. They inspired me to start blogging. I had been thinking about doing it, but did not know where I was going to find the time. Well, I decided to dive in. I wrote my first post on July 1, 2008 on the RealTown platform. Long story short, there was a blogging contest going on at RealTown to send someone to Inman for the winning blog post. My post won. I was thrilled and enthusiastically jumped on a plane to California with very little notice.

Now I am at best, a very un-techie person, and even though I had a website (static to begin with), since the mid 90’s, I really knew nothing at all. Was I to get an incredible eye opening experience at Inman. I really had no idea what I was going to be exposed to.

The first day I attended the all day blogger’s session, and found myself fascinated listening to a man speak by the name of Jeff Turner. I didn’t know them at the time, but during the session, I was sitting next to Heather Elias and Kim Wood. They were talking about how @respres was such a wonderful guy and a terrific follow. ( I didn’t even know what they meant by “a follow”). I didn’t even know what twitter was. The terms flying around my head were as if everyone was speaking Greek. But I was most definitely engaged and wanted to learn.

So the learning process began. (It’s ongoing!) I figured out how to sign up and use twitter, and I began to follow Jeff. He was extremely informative and was very helpful. Then I began to notice that someone named @headmutha showed up a lot associated with Jeff. Ok, I started to put it all together, it was his wife Rocky. Then I began to read Jeff's tweets about Rocky, and I saw the work she was doing, and I was extremely impressed. Rocky was giving her time doing volunteer work in Africa. Boy was she doing some volunteer work in Africa. Rocky is so wonderful, she started the organization Mother’s Fighting for Others. Their mission is simple. They are dedicated to providing orphaned girls with opportunities their parents would have provided, if they could; a loving and nurturing environment and a quality education, so they can learn, thrive, and achieve their highest potential.

I watched Rocky’s work over the last couple years, and become a true fan, and committed believer in their mission. That is why I am supporting her now and asking that you consider helping. Mothers Fighting for Others is currently raising funds to create a new home for 34 orphaned girls. I have agreed to match funds contributed (via the widget you see here) $ for $ up to $2500 to help them do this. Please step up and help out such a worthy cause.

Thank you for your consideration.

Come and join us on the Beach at

Ocean City Real Estate Talk

Copyright 2010 |Monica McNamara | McNamara & Associates| Ocean City, Maryland

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

How To Add .PDF Files To Your Blog Post and Website

2010-04-08T14:26:08Z

Another great tip from Brad Andersohn!

I actually have been using Scribd quite a lot the past week adding PDF files to a clients Wordspress real estate website, as well as a clients Facebook Fan page.

It's great for displaying marketing materials or reports on your website, or blog or Fan Page. And any time its downloadable..its a nice way to give out something of value to help consumers remember you. Check it out!

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

How To Add a .PDF File To Your Blog Post or Website

Once you've learned to add photos, embed video and audio files, create hyper-links and anchor text etc, inevitably you'll want to know how you can add a .pdf file to your Blog post. An Adobe Acrobat .PDF (Portable Document Format) file is a document that typically cannot be edited and is usually created from an original document using the Adobe Acrobat software or similar application. .PDF files can be viewed by downloading the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Adding a .PDF file to your Blog post can be done one of two ways. You can upload the .PDF file to a host server on the Internet and simply create a link to it using the location URL or web address. IE: http://www.DomainName/DocumentName.pdf The second way is to use a program or tool that creates an HTML embed code which you can add to your Blog post or website.

Scribd.com is a site that offers users a tool that lets you upload your .PDF document onto their server, then use their widget/player to embed the file into your Blog post or site. The site is FREE and once you've signed up and registered, the process is fast and simple. The benefits of embedding the .PDF file vs linking to it are that visitors and readers don't have to leave your post or site to access the shared PDF document.

How To Add a PDF File to Your ActiveRain Blog Post

1. Join Scribd.com and setup a Profile

2. Upload your .PDF file to Scribd.com

3. Click on the .PDF File you want to embed to Blog Post or Website

4. Copy the embed code from the "Share and Embed" Toolbox

*Notice the options to share on Facebook, Twitter, or Google Buzz
(You can also create a hyperlink to Anchor text using the Link/URL)

5. Place/Paste the HTML embed code on the HTML tab of your Blog Post.
The code can also be added to your website using your HTML page editor.

6. Save your post or page and you're done!

Here's a sample of a .PDF file I created a couple years ago here on ActiveRain.

Brad's Top Free Online Website Tools and Picks

As an Absolute Last Resort
One last option would be to take a "screen shot" or capture the PDF file as an image (if it all fits on your computer screen) and save it as a .jpg file, then you can add it as a photo or graphic to your Blog post. Unfortunately, even a single page PDF file is hard to display the entire page on a computer monitor or single screen. To capture any computer screen image, use the "Shift+Print Scr" keys on a PC, or the "Shift+Command+4" on a MAC to capture the image. You can always crop out what you don't want in the image using a photo or image editor like picnik.com or Adobe Photoshop. If you'd like a free photo or image editing software similar to Adobe Photoshop, check out Gimp.org.

Download The ActiveRain "HELP" Toolbar for your Browser

ActiveRain University Calendar Real Estate RainCamp The ActiveRain Manual

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Real Estate Virtual Assistant Tip: Add the Vflyer Facebook Listings Application to Your Facebook Fan Page

2010-04-07T15:02:18Z

Exciting News today from Vflyer.com..they now have a listings Facebook Page Application!

For syndication of your listings, creating awesome branded Craigslist ads, and Single Property Websites, nothing quite comes close to the quality you get from VFlyer. You get tons of awesome widgets and gadgets, and now the Facebook application.

To take a look at the How To visit the VFlyer Facebook application Wiki for instructions on setting it up. This will not only make your Facebook stand out, but continue your branding throughout your facebook page....a key in marketing yourself and your listings!

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Turn Your Real Estate Wordpress Website or Blog into a CRM Powerhouse

2010-04-03T15:01:28Z

Have you thought about using Wordpress as your main real estate website or blog? Are you concerned about not having the lead capture forms and automated contact management system built in? Well, I might have a solution for you!

I recently moved my real estate virtual assistant website from a standard site, and jumped in and got my own Wordpress blog/website combo. I don't have the need for as many lead capture points on my site, but I decided that I DID need to do a better job at collecting visitor information, needs, wants, and I wanted a way to streamline the process, build my relationships, as well as build in some email marketing capabilities which I hope to add into my action plans as well. I'm no web designer/guru and I didn't want to spend a ton more money on another CRM solution.

In looking over my options I quickly made the realization that there aren't an outstanding number of real estate CRM systems that are quite equipped to handle many of the things traditional real estate websites do, it takes some extra additions. For example the challenges might be:

Adding lead capture forms to your blog that include What's Your Home's Value, Dream Home Finder, Market Stat Reports, or your Company newsletter/new listing alerts
Converting seller/buyer leads from your website to add to Top Producer or Outlook (requires manual input)
Based on contact type you have to input the contact info to your drip campaign, e-newsletter etc.

Before you know it, you are managing multiple accounts for your website and blog etc. That is not streamlining! So, here is the most affordable solution I have found so far, and will be adding it to my online business management systems. By using the user-friendly system Batchbook I can create a customizable CRM powerhouse for my business.

For $9.95 per month I have the ability to:

Create customizable lead capture forms that AUTOMATICALLY are added to my contact management list for that form. (no need to add it to another system).
Automatically create and send email marketing campaigns through my Mail Chimp account (Mail Chimp is free up to 5000 emails a month, with upgradable accounts).
Track communications of my contacts and create TO DO lists.
Import and Export my Outlook and Gmail contacts.
Enter information such as Twitter usernames, Twitter feeds, blog feeds and LinkedIn profile URLs (plus many others!) on a contact record.
Log emails, phone call notes, or any other communications with your contacts.
Use a list to easily generate mailing labels, export, or back up your data or create customized, printable reports from your contact data. Use these reports to generate call lists, add to presentations or to take notes when you’re traveling, in the field, or working off-line.
Super-Tag your contact types so you can easily sort them by birthday month, anniversary, buyer, seller, past client etc.
Have your emails delivered to your mobile iphone, Blackberry or smartphone with the email forwarding so you never miss an email from a lead.

If you are thinking about your current CRM system, or need something to enhance your Wordpress blog or website, (or another web platform) and need a great way to streamline, I definitely recommend taking a look at Batchbook. (and check out my sleek capture form below as an example..its easier than adding a widget!)

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

In 3 - 5 minutes, you can help make a wish come true today

2010-03-11T14:30:50Z

Sam, we're going Viral baby!

Folks, please read re-blog of Mary-Pope Handy's blog. We want Sam's Team to be 5000 strong by St. Patrick's Day!

Via Mary Pope-Handy, ABR, CRS, ePRO, SRES, ASP (Sereno Group Real Estate):

Sam Callahan, the son of a Realtor (and my friend & Active Rain member) in Silicon Valley, is 14 years old and has cancer which is not responding to two different types of chemotherapy. His cancer, Ewing's Sarcoma, had metasticized before it was discovered on September 22nd.

Sam writes about his battle with Ewing's Sarcoma on the Sam's Team website: http://www.samsteam.org/About_Sam.html He is an amazing 8th grader with a good attitude who wants to beat this thing. If you read his "about Sam" page, you'll find he's a great writer, too.

Normally, we can feel very helpless to "do anything" besides offer our compassion, thoughts and prayers.

But this time, there IS something you can do, and it only takes a couple of minutes. It may not change how he feels after radiation or chemo, but it will lift his spirits and those of his family and friends to see an outpouring of support. And it will help Sam and his family to make a little goal they've set up for themselves.

In addition to the website, Sam's family & friends have a "fan page" on Facebook. It's called I'm On Sam's Team. Their modest goal is to have 5000 fans by St. Patrick's Day. I'd like to help them get there. As of this moment, they have 2608 fans. They want people to know about Ewing's Sarcoma and they want people to know about Sam and his battle with this cancer.

What To Do: So, my Active Rain friends, I know a lot of you are on Facebook. If not, this might be the right time to join!

Please take a moment and log into Facebook.

Go to the Search bar and key in I'm On Sam's Team

At the very top, in the middle, there's a button which says Become A Fan - click on it

That's it. How easy it is to send some support and encouragement! Of course, read through the website and the FB page too! But it only takes a minute to "fan" a page.

Just to reiterate, Sam is someone I know, it's not one of those fake internet hoaxes and he's part of the real estate family (his dad's a Realtor). Join us on Sam's Team! Please re-blog!

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Custom Build Your Real Estate Business Model with a Real Estate Virtual Assistant

2010-01-24T19:00:50Z

2010 is looking to be a fantastic year as a real estate virtual assistant. The beginning of the year is (or just before) is always a busy time to listen and consult with possible new clients and other real estate professionals seeking to make some real changes, try out a VA, or are just desperate for some help.

During that time its typical to hear many of the same questions, and some questions usually leads us down a path of conversation that is unfamiliar to many agents, that comes after “How many clients do I have?” and “What do I do for them?”

Answering that question can be hard because every client has a slightly different business model, market & location, and needs. So the answers vary. That got me to thinking. How do you see a virtual assistant fitting into your business model?

I work with real estate Teams, Brokers, Top Producer’s, New Agents all with varying needs. So let’s break it down just a bit so you can see how a VA can be customized to fit your business model, and what to look for when interviewing VA’s.

Real Estate Teams: Virtual Assistance for real estate Teams is a VERY collaborative effort on everyone’s part. Communication and systems are an absolute must. There usually must always be a team manager that leads in the delegation or it should be broken down into areas of delegation for different members of the team. Calendars, planning, and conference calls are plenty. Your VA should be aware of how your team works together, and is not easily overwhelmed with working with different personalities and work styles. If learning technology is difficult for most everyone on the team, an in-office support team member might be a good first choice.

Broker Level: Communication and goal setting should be clear from Broker to Agents. Virtual Assistance at the Broker Level might mean seeking a VA with a Multi-VA Team, not a sole VA. However, a VA can be the center of your online and offline management, coordinating transactions, achieving your standards for marketing, and offer additional suite of virtual tools to aide in recruiting. A VA can also be available for any joint company branding, marketing and social media efforts. Once again processes & systems must tied and true to be the most cost effective, but a VA can help bring it all together in your office.

Experienced Agents: Experienced agents may not have the need to re-create the wheel with systems, many are in place, but streamlining, and advising on old, tired marketing practices and vendors is key. Keeping on top of technology, implementation and becoming more efficient with online practices is key to partnering with a VA.

New Agents: Starting from scratch and getting off to a great start can be a challenge in the industry of real estate for a new agent. Building a brand that is identifiable, and individual & separate from your franchise is key to building a business that will stand the test of time and carry you through the ups and downs of real estate. A VA can help you decide and expedite a plan for your investments into your marketing, websites, blogs and other necessities. They can help match your work-style to the social media that compliments you, and enhances your relationships online & off, builds your Sphere of Influence, and helps you manage and start your database.

Business Models can be further defined by niche models like Luxury Home Agents, and Foreclosure Agents for example.

As you can see, the needs can be broad for your business model. Knowing where to start adding in leverage, support and productivity does take some time and thought, but you’ll know when you have found the right match when your VA can help you customize and grow your real estate business model.

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Zillow Announces Rental Listings!

2009-12-15T09:17:48Z

This is really cool!!! Whether you are a homeowner wanting to rent your home, or an agent who has rental properties, having a comprehensice place to find rentals, compare prices, and see rentals on a mpa is just something that Craigslist doe not offer! Judos to Zillow!!!

Via Sara Bonert {Real Estate Internet Marketing} (Zillow):

I have an investment property in Florida. In the last three years, twice I’ve listed it for sale. Twice I’ve ended up renting it. Twice I’ve relied on my agentto help me with the decision making that took me down this path to simply get the home occupied. It is a big reality that today’s real estate market is forcing many people, like myself, to wear the landlord hat because of market conditions.

Today I am excited to announce that Zillow is expanding its marketing services to not only include homes FOR SALE, but now also include the ability to market homes as being FOR RENT.

Zillowhas always been a little different than other real estate sites because our foundation is a data base of ALL homes, not just homes that are currently on the market. Today we have about 93M property records on the site, with about 3.6M of them having been flagged as being for sale. Because of this, we get people in all stages of home ownership, from renting to buying to owning.

According to the U.S. Census American Housing Survey 2005, there are 34M rental households in the US, with 53% of rentals being 4 units or less and 30% being single family homes. And when we look at the 8M+ people that visit Zillow each month, nearly 1M of them are exclusively renters with untold others “on the fence” on whether to buy or rent.

So what is Zillow’s new product?

Zillow offers a Featured Rental Listing for just $9.95 for 180 days. Featured Listings are sorted to the top of search resultsand receive six times more views than non-featured listings.

Rich rental listings can be created with unlimited photos and detailed property information, and you only have to post this information once for up to 180 days.

How will people find my Rental Listing on Zillow?

Of course we’ll have the standard search, but we couldn’t just stop there.

Zillow has built the industry’s first search by monthly payment– allowing users to simultaneously search for homes for sale and for rent based on a monthly payment they can afford. (monthly payment on homes for sale will be calculated using that day’s mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rate, assuming 20% down)

Zillow’s goal is to help people make intelligent and informed choices in all stages of life – whether they are renting, deciding whether to rent or buy, shopping for a home today, refinancing, remodeling or just dreaming. With the addition of rental listings and search, we are giving our users another tool to help them throughout their decision making process.

Click here to experience the For Rent search on Zillow.

Announcement on the Zillow Blog.

Post a home for rent.
Like what you're reading? Then subscribe to my blog and be notified when I post something new.

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Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

If you want to go Virtual then here are some tools I highly recommend.

2009-11-29T11:48:23Z

Broker Bryant is a Broker that rocks his business by being virtual, and utilizes the tools and technology that streamline his activites for the highest productivity on his part. The man has got it going on! Below are some of his MUST HAVE tools. Check it out!

Via Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc:

Hi folks, As most of you know I run a virtual real estate office. What this means is that my associates and I all work from our homes. I do most of my business over the Internet. I rarely talk on the phone. And I rarely show properties.

I list Florida properties for sale without ever meeting the Sellers and I sell Florida properties without ever meeting the Buyers. This is my preferred way of handling business. I mostly communicate via email and text messages.

I have found that conducting business like this is very efficient. I am able to spend more time communicating with my customers because I am not wasting time driving around looking at properties and talking on the phone for an hour when an email would deliver the same information.

The other advantage of handling communications via email and text messaging is that there is far less confusion. I rarely have to deal with “he said she said”. All I have to do is pull up the conversation thread and everything we “said” is right there in writing. No confusion. No mistakes.

Here are a few tools I couldn’t live without.

Gmail. The labeling feature in Gmail is my filing cabinet.

GoogleDocs. Everything I need online and there when I need it. I can also invite others to edit the same document. And don’t get me started on Google forms. The best thing since sliced bread.

Picasa and web albums. How would you like it if you asked the listing agent for additional photos and they could connect you with an album online that had dozens of them?

Scribd.com. What if your Seller can’t receive a 100 page attachment? Just upload the document to Scribd and send the seller a link.

Skype. Do a lot of International business? $12.95 (or so) a month and I can call anywhere in the world. I can even talk via webcam.

PDFill.com. Can’t afford Adobe Professional? Try this one for a one time fee of $12.95 (or so). Never use your printer again.

Google Groups. Need a FREE meeting place for your team? Go check it out

Veoh.com or YouTube for sharing videos of properties.

OK. That’s it for now. I have many more tools that I use everyday to make my life easier and less time consuming. My goal for next year is to be able run my entire Florida Real Estate business from my iPhone. How cool would that be?

***If you are an experienced agent and want to work for a virtual real estate company then check out my company site at www.TTRealtyNet.com.

Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Has the MREA Lead Generation Model Changed in this Economy?

2009-10-26T21:53:09Z

I came across this interesting video with Gary Keller talking about the differences in the KW Lead Generation Model in the current economy. It's interesting how when the book originally came out the explain that the Lead Generation Model was "Marketing" based, and "Prospecting" enhanced...and now its the other way around..in other words..make a connection first..market yourself later. What do you think?

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Brian Gardner Designs a NEW Wordpress Theme Just for Real Estate Agents & Brokers

2009-10-26T12:03:19Z

Brian Gardner with Studiopress.com has been one of the masters of WordPress Theme designs for quite a while now. His designs are know for having "clean code" which in itself creates the optimum environment for having great search engine "readability". He has once again created a new theme, only this time its specifically with the Agent or Broker in mind!

AgentPress.com just launched today, and even more exciting is that he has teamed up with the MyTechOpinion Team to help develop theme content.

Check Out the Demo to see for yourself! If you've been considering using Wordpress for your outside blog and need a clean, elegant design the AgentPress theme has amazing built-in features, is SEO optimized and allows you to combine a compelling platform to market your listings, your blog content all is one stunning package!

For more on the advantages of using Wordpress for real estate websites..this is good reading!

Thanks Brian for designing another awesome theme!

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Time To Dump The Desk??

2009-09-23T13:36:35Z

LOVE this blog from Clint on going mobile...and all the tools you need to get started. No need to be tied to your desk..and when you need to leverage some assistance..a real estate virtual assistant is ready to go!

Via Clint Miller (Real Estate Client Referrals, LLC (RECR)):

With the real estate industry evolving at the rate that it is, many agents have adapted to include the ability to be as mobile as possible. Gone are the days of meeting at the office or heading back to the office in order to get anything done. In fact, a good number of agents don’t even have an office. Their office has 4 doors, not just one…and it sports 4 wheels and bucket seats.

There is a mindset that needs to be adapted in order to effectively go mobile. You have to be really self-motivated. And, you have to realize that when you leave your house, you are working. You must also be able to be in contact at all times. And, you must be able to access anything you need at any given point in time. With that in mind, there are several things that one must possess in order to master the art of mobility:

1.    A good smart-phone – Don’t be cheap! Get a good smart phone…an Iphone or a Blackberry. And make sure you have a good data plan (I prefer the unlimited versions). More important than that, make sure you take the time to learn how to use it and put the tools available to you to your best advantage! There is no point in having it if you aren’t going to take the time to learn to use it.

2.    A good laptop – This pretty much goes without saying, but…when you get a computer, get something that seems to be WAY more than what you will actually need. That way, you won’t have to get a new one in a year because the cheap P.O.S. you bought isn’t big or fast enough. Get the super-gigantic hard drive. Spend the extra money for a hefty RAM upgrade. Also, invest in an external hard drive for back-up. Laptops are not that rugged…and are prone to injury. They are also prone to be lifted by unscrupulous individuals, if given the chance. Losing all your data will suck far more than losing the laptop.

3.    A flip camera (or digital video camera) – These will automatically make themselves a useful tool the first time you have to preview a home or make an online tour of a new listing. I would recommend you get both a video camera…and a still frame digital camera. Both have distinct advantages depending on the need.

4.    Docusign – Or, some form of reliable electronic document signing and processing software. (If you don’t know what Docusign is, hit up @Docusign on twitter. Tell her @TheRealClint sent you.) This is an absolute requirement. This way, you can sign offers, amendments, contracts, etc, right on the computer and then email them wherever needed. This way, you don’t have to worry about printing documents, having to get the required signatures, making copies, etc. From a time management standpoint, this ability to eliminate these types of useless delays is a major advantage.

5.    GPS – Clients can tend to be a bit uppity when you miss appointments because you got lost on the way there. And, nothing is more embarrassing then having them sitting in your car and not knowing how to get to the next home they want to view. Besides, you’re not a taxi. This isn’t a pleasure cruise. Get them where they want to be and do so in the quickest, safest way possible. Again, avoiding useless delays will be rewarded.

6.    MiFi or USB mobile broadband card – Again, don’t be a cheapskate here…get the mifi if it is available in your area. You will not be sad that you did. If not, make sure you have some form of broadband air card. You will need access to the internet on a screen larger than 2in X 3in at some point in your mobile career…and having one of these will make it much easier than trying to pirate wifi signals in hotel parking lots or having to find a Starbuck’s.

7.    A portable printer – Yes, a printer. That way, you can immediately print copies of documents and provide them to all parties in an extremely timely and efficient manner. Your clients will appreciate the added touch.

Remember, this isn’t just about mobility. This is about professionalism as well. Your reputation is on the line here. And, since you aren’t in an office, you had better be as good as possible because there isn’t any coffee pot to direct them to or free cookies to have them munch on while you get your proverbial "poop in a group". Don’t attempt to go totally mobile unless you plan on NOT falling victim to inadequate equipment and preventable delays. Both of which will cost you in the long run. If you are going to be mobile, you have to be able to handle any situation at that moment (as much as possible, anyway). And, these little technological marvels will make your life MUCH easier along the way.

If you would like more information on Real Estate Client Referrals and how we can help you get more clients, please contact Clint at 800-977-7058. Or, hit our fanpage on Facebook!

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

FREE SEO Tool for ActiveRain Bloggers and Outside Bloggers!

2009-08-20T13:53:28Z

As a blogger here on Active Rain it's obvious that we get excited over SEO, or free search engine optimization tips and tools that will make our lives easier. We put a lot of thought of thought into drafting and organizing posts that will help make our blogs easy to find by consumers using our keywords to search what interests them.

What if you could have a handy keyword tracking tool, right next to you, guiding you as you write a blog post? Well, now you can!

If you are a Firefox browser user, there is a new add-on called SEO Blogger that sits in your sidebar as you write, and optimizes your post by allowing you to pick your optimized keywords, and it will keep track of how many times you insert the words or phrases for you! (as you can see I've selected some keywords to use in this post, and it is keeping track of them for me;) You can use this search engine optimization software for your ActiveRain blogs and for your outside blogs and others like Wordpress. It's a great way to save time while blogging!!

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

So, You're a Lurker...6 Reasons to Become an ActiveRain BLOGGER!

2009-08-12T15:55:35Z

I wrote this back in 2007, and have gottena kick out of seeing how far we've come as a community.

I did leave AR for a while, wound down my blogging and have ventured more into Twitter and Facebook. But in doing so I realized that even though I love those tools, I'm not having quite as much fun as I do when I blog and read what others have to say...and here are the reasons why:

I know you're out there right now....

In fact as I type away there are 422 lurkers on Activerain right now. I wonder what you are thinking? Are you here as a consumer to learn more about real estate? Perhaps. But would be willing to bet that there are quite a few of you who are real estate professionals of some sort, checking us out. You've heard of Activerain, and read some posts. Our posts can be very informative, enlightening, creative, and downright CRAZY! Yes, we are a lively bunch aren't we? We are all different and have come here for different reasons, from all parts of the country and world. Why, What's up with that? I mean, it IS hard, and it takes so much investment. It's why we have joined Groups to study blogging!

I came here originally, to plug my business, and expose the idea of real estate virtual assistance to those I like to work with the most, real estate agents. But, what I got I didn't expect. I received alot more. So as you read this wondering if and when you should take the chance at this blogging thing, I say do it! And here are some reasons that you should consider, reasons that don't jump out at you at first:

1. Blogging Makes us Think

It forces us to organize out thoughts and ideas. It helps us to put meaning into our thoughts and "put it out there" to give it validity. I've received more inspiration in my business, my personal goals, and in life by the supportive comments and posts, and more importantly by the people who share them. Strangely though, I sometimes get more joy in learning about others, and what they think about.

2. Blogging Is a Way for people to Get to Know Our Goals, Skills and Dreams

In some ways, if these parts of us are not written, they can be forgotten. Blogging about my ideas and thoughts gives me a sense of accountability. Hey, I mean, its out there. What if someone is waiting for me to act on my ideas..? What if I'm inspired by someone else's skills, and that makes me better? I wouldn't want to miss out on that. I can always grow and learn.

3. You Are Visible, Not Invisible

Just look at how each post makes us more visible. Our great profile photos, smiling faces, and quality content can make a lasting impression. It also gives us a chance to change as we grow. We can compare ourselves to our peers, and seek to improve upon what is visible.

4. Your Voice, Uninterrupted

Yes, I have a personal life. I have a husband, darling children, a dog, and lovely home. But I have something else. A Voice. (no, not a crazy voice) A voice that isn't always expressed in everyday life, in my normal conversations. This is a chance to say something, uninterrupted. If we take the time to think through a thought, we can present it fully and entirely. There is magic in that.

5. Shameless Self-Promotion

Yep, I said it! Want some honest to goodness promotion? Blog with quality content and convert it to audience attention! With audience attention, comes COMMENTS. If we're lucky enough, those comments will make us think. The comments we receive can also show us how our voices can be interpreted in different ways. That can change you, or give you internal validation once again, and can even set thoughts into motion. Some commenters are even destined to be friends for life, I guarantee it.

6. Create Your Legacy

Talking is forgotten. It floats away. Blogging is forever, or at least until tomorrow. Readers will know us long after we can say anything about it. Search engines can help that happen.

So stop what your doing, think about what you want to say, put those thoughts together, and start blogging! We have comments waiting for you! And so much more...

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

8 Ways To Use Photos To Promote Your Business Online

2009-08-12T10:38:58Z

When potential clients are getting ready to relocate they start a search usually well in advance, and decide on a community before a home. Kevin and Monica have a brilliant way to create a community that comes alive online. They would be my first choice when it comes choosing an agent or referring one!

Via Kevin & Monica Ray Missoula Real Estate Specialists (Access Realty www.YourMT.com):

8 Ways To Use Photos To Promote Your Business - and best of all, most of them are FREE or LOW COST!

I didn't start out as a photographer, and I still wouldn't consider my photos "professional quality" although I see marked improvement each day. Since I've been in real estate, and especially since I started blogging, I have found that I really enjoy taking pictures of my community, events, and of course, of our listings. And, over the past two years, I have accumulated quite a collection of local photos on my computer which have been extremely useful for our marketing.

I take my camera everywhere I go and even have a small digital camera that I carry in my purse so I'm always ready when the "right shot" presents itself. Our whole family enjoys photography so it's become a great family activity.

Here's some of the ways we use photos in promoting our business:

1.) Help Sell Your Listings - The most obvious of course, is to help sell our listings. Most buyers are starting their search on the Internet and they want to see photos and virtual tours of your listings - the more the better. They say a good photo is worth a thousand words, and that is definitely the case in real estate. One thing that made a big difference for us was investing in a wide-angle lens which helps photograph small spaces.

2.) Improve Your Blog Posts - Blog posts are more interesting to readers when they have appropriate photos. Developing your own collection of photos will help improve your blog and can save you money if you don't have to buy stock photos or clip art.

I subscribe to Gerry Khatchikian from Red Lodge, MT on ActiveRain, he is able to use his photography skills to create a lot of interest in his area and his blog! He even has some photo quizzes that are fun. Check out Gerry's blog for some great examples of using photos for blogging.

3.) Get Into Video - You can create a local video with your digital still photos in a matter of minutes. We like Real Estate Shows but there are other great sites out there that will help turn your photos into a short video. We also use a Flip video camera for some videos but still like to use digital stills. Once you create a local video, Real Estate Shows will upload it directly to your You Tube account, or you can save the video to your computer and create CD's or upload to other websites or blog posts.

4.) Create a Photo Blog of your local area and post a new photo on a regular interval. We started the photo blog I Love Missoula a few months ago and have seen a huge increase in traffic to the site, which also links to our real estate site. If you tag your photos and use key-word rich titles, it will help optimize your search engine results.

We allow people in the community to submit their photos to us by email for possible use on the website. We are starting to get community photos and always give the sender credit, thanking them on the site.

5.) Post to Facebook - it's easy to create a photo album on your Facebook profile, so how about creating one of your local area? We have a photo album on Missoula, Missoula Nightlife, and Montana Living.

Another creative way to use your photos on Facebook is to create a Fan Page for your local area. You can post local photos and videos to your Fan Page OR submit a link to a great photo on your photo blog or regular blog. Fan Pages are easy to set up, and the best part - they're FREE!

Here's one of our Facebook Fan Pages - we have over 4500 fans in a short amount of time:

Missoula on Facebook

6.) Set up a Flickr Account - Flickr does an amazing job with search engines, and is a great way to showcase your photos. One important note however is to make sure you understand Flickr's Terms of Service - before you create an account - or you may end up disappointed. Flickr does not like the use of its site for commercial purposes. Make sure to read Matt's post, and understand what is and is not allowed on Flickr:

A Stern Warning (or lack thereof) Flickr is Watching You by Matt Stigliano

On Flickr, you are able to Geo Tag your photos so they will be even more likely to show up on Google when someone searches for that area or location. Groups are also helpful to join for networking and to gain exposure for your photos.

We have contacted local photographers on Flickr and asked for their permission to include one of their photos on our Photo Blog with a link back to them and have had success. Many times, people are flatttered by the request and it also helps to build community for your photo blog.

Flickering Local Photos - You Engaging Others (YEO) by Jeff Turner

7.) Upload Photos of Local Businesses & Food to rating sites such as Yelp.com. We use this as an opportunity to try new restaurants and just take a few quick snapshots on our visit. You can rate your experience at the restaurant or business and upload your photos to help people in the community get a feel for the location.

The photos can also make a great blog post down the road - I love photos that I can multi-purpose! We've turned this into a bit of a game and use it as an excuse to order a great dessert occasionally or a special drink.

Here's Our Review for Our Lunch at The Superior Soda Fountain

AND a Blog Post

Stop For Lunch at the Superior Soda Fountain

8.) Twitpic your photos or post them to Posterous - People love to look at photos and I'm still amazed at how many people click on photos when I send them across Twitter. Kevin uses Twitpic but I use a Posterous site that I set up - Missoula Real Estate.

Posterous tracks how many people view your photos and allows you to set it up so you can email a photo from your phone or computer to the site. Posterous can then automatically post your photo to your Posterous Blog, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr accounts - I told you, I LOVE TO MULTI-PURPOSE MY PICTURES! :) Posterous is a great way to automate posting to some of your sites.

It's fun to be creative in your marketing with the use of photos, and there are so many possibilities!

How do you use photos to promote your business? I'd love to hear what others are doing as well!

****************

Kevin and Monica Ray are Missoula Real Estate sales and marketing professionals for Access Realty in beautiful Western Montana. We provide services in, but not limited to: Missoula, Superior, Alberton, Saint Regis, Lolo, Clinton, Turah, Potomac, Florence, Corvallis, and Hamilton.

For more information on Missoula Real Estate or surrounding areas, they can be reached at 406-207-1185 or online at www.AccessRealty.net.

By TwitterButtons.com

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Branding: What Color is Your Brand?

2009-08-09T12:28:29Z

Thoughts of the Day... Colors and Branding.

I love color. I'm also in the middle of changing up my branding and stumbled across this great little nugget. Although my colors have been chosen, now I at least know WHY I chose them..for how they made me feel. What do your colors say about you? Is this attracting your target market?

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

Selling Real Estate Virtually.............

2009-08-08T16:08:09Z

I think Broker Bryant and I were on the same "Virtual" kick today. I couldn't let this one get by..because he get's it!! The Virtual Real Estate Office business model is here, andf those that embrace it will continue to evolve with the technology!

Enjoy!

Via Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc:

Hi folks. Earlier this week Fernando Herboso wrote a post titled “The Future of Real Estate….I experienced yesterday”. If you haven’t already please take a few minutes to read his post. I’ll wait…………. OK....are you done?

Fernando's post is talking about having a real estate closing where the only time he met the Seller was at closing. The transaction was done mostly via email.

I was surprised in the comments of Fernando’s post how many agents thought this was risky or that it wouldn’t work. This has had me thinking for days now.

It’s made me realize how cutting edge my business model really is. My company Tutas Towne Realty is a virtual real estate business. What this means is I do not have an “office” and about 90% of my business is handled over the Internet. Selling and buying real estate with folks we have never met or spoken to.

In the last 30 days we had 10 closings. 9 Buyer sides and 1 listing side. Of the 9 Buyer sides we had actual "face to face" contact with ONE Buyer. I did meet the Seller although I hadn’t seen him in several months.

Out of the 8 Buyers, we didn’t meet face to face, we only spoke to ONE of them. All other communications were done by email only. Including the closings.

We showed ZERO properties before the offers were accepted. All offers were presented on properties we had not seen. They were foreclosures, short sales and some were regular listings.

The customers ALL got the properties they wanted and are extremely happy. We didn’t waste their time and they didn’t waste ours.

So you’re probably wondering how we do this. It’s simple. We market for experienced and qualified Buyers that are mostly out of the country. They are familiar with the area and they trust us to guide them in their purchase. We are brutally honest with them and we have systems in place to protect them.

We do “see” all properties before contracts are finalized. It could be me. It could be one of my agents. It could be one of our inspectors. But whoever it is we make sure to do a complete photo and video shoot that we then send to the Buyer.

We utilize Scribd.com to “send out” Short Sale Listing Packages.

We utilize Google Docs to get leads for Short Sales, for Buyers, to get offers and to pre-qualify and arrange showings.

I have numerous web sites set up to capture business. All potential customer/clients know how we work and have the option of not working with us.

So quit fighting the future and embrace it. If you think all Buyers and Sellers must see you “face to face” to do business then get over yourself. They really just want to buy and sell real estate. AND….they want it to be easy.

Want to learn more? We also use Google Docs for recruiting……

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

***The content of this blog is solely my opinion***

Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

FREE TOOL ALERT: Online Scheduling Software That Boosts Your Business and Your Leads

2009-08-08T14:39:19Z

FREE Cool Tool ALERT!

Yes, It's that time again..the time where I jump on my blog in excitement, when my little fingers can't type fast enough to get the word out, about a cool new tool!

As a real estate virtual assistant, not only am a booking my own consultations and appointments, I am often asked to manage a clients as well. Booking showings, phone calls, coaching sessions and marketing webinars and teleclasses is just few of the reasons why scheduling has become a very important tool for today's business owner and their team.

In the world of fast driving technology in real estate I have become one of the many who is seeking better tools for working virtually and for being a mobile professional. As we step outside our old office and into our home office/car office being productive and efficient is key. The more online tools that I can access and embed for my use the better:) Such as it is with Appointy.com. This makes scheduling appointments fun and VIRAL!!

SO WHAT MAKES APPOINTY SPECIAL? Check out the scenario below:

Ana searches for a real estate agent. She finds a local expert (YOU) and books an appointment instantly.

All of her 150 friends in the Appointy network and on other social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Hi5, Orkut, Friendster etc would get an update that she is going to meet her expert (YOU) on Sunday.

Eric, Ana’s friend decides to join Ana and books an appointment with the same expert (YOU) for another time. Again, Eric’s entire friend list got an update that he is going to meet the expert (YOU), by spreading word-of-mouth publicity virally.

If you have 10 clients with 10 friends each, you already have 100 clients in your area. Appointy.com helps you get those 10 clients by registering you in our search engine from where first clients will reach you. Be prepared to scale your business exponentially!

With the FREE account you get these features. (With paid versions there is added features)

A community of people will help your business grow exponentially.
(New ways to grow your business)
An easy to use 24x7x365 online booking system
(Your clients would enjoy taking appointments with you)
Daily, weekly and monthly availability in just one click
(Ajax powered very clean Interface)
Unlimited Staff, Service & Bookings
Customer Relationship Management Tool
(Export your data anytime in excel format)
INTEGRATE ON YOUR WEBSITE
Automatic Verification of client to stop false bookings*
Send text messages (SMS) or automated call alerts to clients (Appointment reminders to reduce client no-show, notes, offers, etc.)
Set your business hours based on the fact that each staff can perform service at different times of the day
Send courtesy "Thank You" message to your clients and accept ratings / feedback to improve your services.*
Multiple service booking at the same time
Allow your clients to select their preferred staff
Personalize your calendar by uploading your logo, business information, and interactive Google map of your location
Automatic appointment assignment to the most free resource. (If staff selected)
Set Service Dependency
Reschedule Appointments

I just think that these types of tools are the ones that will set up real estate offices and brokers of the future, putting the power of Social Media and online web tools together to build from ANYWHERE! It may not be for everyone, but its one type of service to get excited about.

(Disclaimer: Oh, and P.S. I do not get paid for any endorsements..! Please read all features and demos on the website for the most accurate info, thanks:)

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

ActiveRain Teleclass Just For Real Estate Virtual Assistants

2009-08-08T12:52:13Z

Attention Real Estate Virtual Assistants...

You are invited to attend this FREE teleclass about ActiveRain Real Estate Network sponsored by the REVA Institute.

I am very excited to be hosting this class to spread the word about this great network, the WEALTH of real estate knowledge, the new and beneficial features, and how making real, personal connections with new friends will create a dynamic aspect to your business.

Learn all about Active Rain; from getting started, optimizing your profile, points, blogging, joining groups, and taking advantage of all the tools it offers your business. By building your real estate education through ActiveRain you will learn brand new ways to assist your clients, and meet many new colleagues to call your friends along the way! What is better than that??

And while you're at it, check out the REVA Institute and all it has to offer to continue your education and support!

(Laura Monroe is the owner of Creative Agent Solutions, the founder of the Real Estate Virtual Assistants Group on Active Rain, and an active member since 2006. As one of the first real estate VAs to embrace Active Rain, Laura has successfully incorporated blogging and networking to create deeper personal relationships with clients and fellow real estate colleagues.)

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823

RE Bar Camp San Francisco: Top Real Estate Strategies You Need to Implement Right Now!

2009-08-06T13:07:28Z

So I drove home from my second experience at RE Bar Camp in San Francisco with a bit of urgency..after experiencing some amazing sessions! When I walked out of Trulia Headquarters, I realized what I walked away with was not just "ideas" or "new technology" or "tips"..I walked away with some "in your face" implementation tactics that can be used NOW!

If you could take steps right now to increase your leads, increase conversion, streamline your website and your Social Media strategies, and actually track your ROI, I know you would feel the urgency I feel as well. So here goes: My brain dump from my experience from RE Bar Camp San Francisco.

Why Your Website is Failing..Creating a Website that Works

by Jim Marks of Virtual Results

After studying the statistics of what consumers are clicking on there are some clear standout strategies that you can take now on your website to give the consumer what they want. The basic concept that you all must be considering is the difference between Traffic Conversion vs. Branding.

If your website is all about you, then you are not giving consumers what they want. They don't care about you, they don't care how many designations you have and what they stand for. They Want LISTINGS! They want Information! According to statistics of what consumers click on the most, here are the Top 4 things to do on your website right now to increase traffic and conversions;

LISTINGS- Your Home page biggest feature should be "FIND YOUR HOME" "call to action" with a basic MLS/IDX function right there. Don't make consumers look for it, give it to them by framing it into your home page. (DON'T call it "Search the MLS", as only 17% if consumers actually know what the MLS is") You can have different levels of search functions. An example would be to have limited basic photos and details, before asking them to sign up or add their email.

MARKET REPORTS- Let your consumers know how the local market is doing? What are the stats? Put this info in layman's terms so that they understand what those stats mean to THEM. What is the information per neighborhood or development? They want to know what their neighbors house sold for and why?

WHAT IS MY HOME WORTH? Another popular call to action is offering a CMA so that they can find out for free what their home is worth? Convert these leads by giving them something of value! A free Market Report, a Community Newsletter are some ideas. (ok I added that in...)

Add YOUR BLOG TO YOUR WEBSITE- How many of you have a static website, and separate blog? That is SO 2006!!! Your Blog IS YOUR BRANDING! Remember how putting your dog on your home page was all the rage?? NO more! Your blog needs to be incorporated in your website, and it is there that you are free to share your voice, your personality, your photos..but remember to remain an authority on your community and balance your branding and flair with relevant information for your consumers! Even if your only blog is on ActiveRain, get it into your website!

Edutizing an Agent Population by Matt Dollinger

Learning to be a Local Expert does NOT just have to come from your experience or out of your head. It come from real life, in the moment information. And sometimes being the first to get that information out, makes you the front runner in being THE Authority in your market. So think about how you get that information and streamline the process so that your are getting relevant information for your consumers and your market. Some must have tools to have in your arsenal are:

Use Google Reader: Grab your favorite RSS feeds from blogs, online newspapers, real estate outlets and craft your information to give the consumers what they are looking for.
AGENT Metrics:
OutsideIn.com
MetroMix , YELP
Local Photos, FLICKR
Education.com, GreatSchools.net

Next, you must find out the correct delivery of this information for you target consumer. Do they hang out on Facebook? Do they respond to video media? Are they on Twitter? Are they Blog Followers? What is that they want the most?

You may need to do some experimenting to find this out, but here are some thoughts:

Have a 30 Day Facebook Campaign, a 30 Day Twitter Campaign etc. For 30 days track your statistics of how many people are clicking on your links, referring back to your website etc. Spend 30 minutes a day pushing the information out there and see where most of your hits come from. Then you will know what works and what doesn't. Keep your 30 Day campaigns separate so you can track them accurately. But once you know, you can create an even better strategy for getting you information out there so they can devour it from their expert! (you can track your links with various link shorteners, like BUDURL.com and others.)

Ask yourself these questions on an ongoing basis:

What did I learn?
How was it received?
What medium is better in my market?
Was the topic valuable?
How could I make this more effective?

Implementation is sometimes the hardest thing in real estate! What many of you may feel you need is a start-up plan to help you start implementing the strategies that you learn along the way. As fast as things change in RE Tech and Web 2.0 we just can't afford to sit and figure out HOW, when we just need to DO it!

This was just a taste of what I learned at RE Bar Camp SF..hopefully I can write more later, but I'm still wrapping my brain around it all! It is an awesome event!

It was so great to finally meet IRL, ACTIVE Brad Andersohn, Gena Riede, Calie Waterhouse, Heather Elias, Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Rocky Turner, Mike Mueller, Dale Chumbley, Kristal Kraft, Sandra Mathewson and see again all the friends from RE Bar Camp LA.

Special thanks to:

Andy Kaufman, Ginger Wilcox, Todd Carpenter, Brad Coy and Rudy Bachraty

Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823