Here's a reprint of my latest article written for my blog....

During a recent thread on the CRS (Council of Residential Specialists) group on LinkedIn, an agent asked if anyone was getting results from Top Producer's Market Snapshot.  Several agents replied that they had not gotten any results, one even commenting: "We have it had it since day one in two areas. Haven't had a great response. Sellers find it interesting but it hasn't brought in many listing leads. Much better ways to invest."

I was surprised, as I had heard from many of my CyberStars(r) that they were making money using Market Snapshot.  Several of them submitted articles for my upcoming eBook of CyberStar(r) tech tips and said that they wouldn't be without it along with explanations of how they use it.  I was pleased to see a comment later in the discussion from Lorna Calder, CRS, of RE/MAX Associates Northeast, Houston, TX.  You can see her fine Web site here.

Lorna wrote:

"This is one tool that I will not do without!

"I use it exclusively at open houses to turn prospects into captured leads. I capture almost every name, address email and cell phone of my walk-ins at open house and use Market Snapshot as an integral part of my open house system. I also have my sphere set up on it.

"The results are measurable, and I am able to see who is viewing the snapshot from Market Snapshot's back office. I have closed 8 buyer transactions from open houses in the past year, thanks in large part to my use of Market Snapshot. This is a valuable tool that buyers and sellers can use to put their finger on the pulse of the market, which is usually why they are at open house: to get info. I understand and respect that most people are not buying this instant (I am one of those people) and that they need to ‘percolate' a little, as Allen said in his comment.

"Objections and concerns are an opportunity to provide more information to prospects, and Market Snapshot does this effectively in a non-obtrusive way.  It is permission-based marketing, and it also helps drive traffic to my website."

I applaud Lorna's comments.  They demonstrate one of my major findings during my seminars around the country: two agents can have the same product, one gets no results, the other gets fantastic results.

The reason?  Some think of a particular product or tech tool as a "magic wand."  They think that the product itself will bring results.  Not true!  Two agents can have the same Web site from a template company, for example.  One customizes her site, adds features and publicizes it extensively.  The other does not.  The first makes a lot of money from her site; the second makes none and blames the Web site company for her results!

So...take a look at the tools you have.  If one is not working for you, apply what you know about marketing as Lorna did and turn that tech tool into increased commissions for your business!

It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too