I have been a top producer customer forever. Looking forward to your commentary on the newTP 8. Keep us updated.

Kay, do you have any details for us. Are you using the new product?

I am using it -- definitely has some improvements in functionality, HOWEVER there are still many more features that have issues which hopefully will be resolved soon.  Navigation seems difficult, and I am trying to use only it and not 7i so that I can differentiate between the "unfamiliar"  and the "needs fixed". 

Thanks a a.  Looks like it might be a while. Have you heard launch date projected.

Not sure if this is the correct place to make this comment, but...I wonder if they will be changing the image gallery and formats for the flyers. I always have trouble with my images being uploaded/named. I can upload them, but I can't get the right picture with the right name...i.e. Kitchen with Kitchen label. Probably my fault with the way I am saving the images in TP.

And as for the flyers...I don't like them. Just my opinion. 

Hi Kay. Does TP8i work on the mac o/s?  Or are we still limited to using a PC?

Kelly

Kelly, Top Producer 8i will work on the MAC o/s but unfortunately not upon its initial release.  As Top Producer 8i evolves and the program continues to upgrade (very much like TP 7i), it will be MAC compatible.   

I'm a gen Y'er who heads up a real estate team in Atlanta... I just bought top producer 7i about 6 months ago and its only ok.  The main goal of the program is awesome (action plans, marketing campaigns, etc), but the abilities and graphics are HORRIBLY old school.  8i better have new innovative marketing capabilities (e-flyers, virtual tours, etc) or most savvy users will just use the new outlook (with allows custom action plans too) and then they'll just subscribe to Sharper agent or imprev.  In my opinion 8i needs a huge improvement in order to remain the leader.  Otherwise their market share will only remain to old school veterans who aren't tech savvy and don't know any better.

Brian, thanks for your comments but they actually highlighted the power that Top Producer has and the advantage it holds over many of the other real estate contact management programs out there.  You mentioned that an agent could use Outlook and subscribe to Sharper Agent (2 programs).  Top Producer offers everything under one roof and I have yet to see a contact management program that offers all that we do in one program:

Listing & Closing Management, MLS connectivity, Community & School Reports, Website Lead Integration, Smartphone compatibility, Customer WebPages, 3^rd party integration with ZipForms Online, SureClose, Realtor.com and one's local MLS; plus two of the most innovative marketing campaigns that exist in real estate today- Market Snapshot & Market Builder. 

You mentioned virtual tours above but why would we want to give your customers access to your database to view properties?  We do incorporate virtual tour on our websites but not our database program.  Top Producer 7i was released in 9/2002 and evolved through agent input up to this point.  Top Producer 8i will continue that tradition- it has been beta-tested by agents throughout the US for a considerable time now and upon its release it will continue to evolve (free of charge) based on agent suggestions. 

I agree on the value of TP and where 8i needs to take us and Tim you are absolutely right on capability.  As a user from way back when we had CD mailed out, I like that TP has a self-contained structure to it.  I won't go as far as saying seamless or fully integrated - since TP just crashed for the third time trying to print out a flyer that I modified.  

Having said that, it is by far the closest product I've seen that enables an agent to operate a real estate business. It is by far the closest product I've seen that enables an agent to operate a real estate business. 

I have been surprised that TP has stuck to this client-server format rather than a fully web-based app - even the federal government got away from this format years ago.  And the changes in technology, O/S and security have created issues for our team on every computer we've "installed" it on.  With the amount of built-in security that virtually locks down our PCs these days, it's always sporting to figure out which component needs to be turned off or if Microsoft java VM has been properly installed, etc. 

The main shortfall in functionality that needs to be addressed is that TP was developed for the stand-alone agent and then tried to shoe-horn team operations into it without a major redesign.  My main beef with this is, managing licenses for a team is an absolute nightmare, not to mention costly.  I hope in 8i the focus is on functionality for teams as well as individual agents and NOT on how to squeeze me for another license fee because I added a new agent to my team.

My hope is that 8i is a giant leap forward, taking advantage of the web and web tools to make TP as thin as possible with a series of fully integrated applications built around the database. 

As for capabilities, there is a huge need for an overhaul on generating and managing presentations, delivering intuitive "don't make me think" navigation, and just some all-around creative looking templates.  Someone above mentioned display quality; TP can do much better.

Hap