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AgentOffice advantages

By Brent Link

Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt

December 22, 2006 04:40 AM

I have been using AgentOffice for over a year now and I still find new things it can do for me.

After trying to get Outlook to print some labels I bought an older version of AO and fell in love with it. I like programs that think like me and don't have a long learning curve. I figured this one would work. I used it for several months and kept finding new areas and capabilities. Finally I broke down and took a class from Gary David Hall. WOW! That was money Well Spent! Gary knows his programs and is a good teacher. I learned a whole lot and was able to put it ot good use.

One example: I used to print out my mailings and then I had to sort them by zip code. AO will sort them for you. The printing process is about as simple as it can get. I was very happy how easy and quick it goes.

Another: Listing Plans come with the program. Gary Hall wrote a set called TransPlans. They are Very Thorough. I was suprised at some of the things he came up with to remind me to do. Some are not relavant to my practice but most are and it is very easy to delete the ones you don't need.

Feel free to post any questions or tips of your own here. I certainly don't know it all and am hoping to learn.

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Debi Braulik

www.roundrealestate.com - Maple Valley, WA

Selling Maple Valley to Fife WA Homes For Sale

Brent- I have been struggling to use AO for about a year now. I find I like Outlook better. Obviously I am not using it to its full potential. Any suggestions on how I should conquer AO? Where does Mr. Hall teach? Is there an online tutorial or class? Thank you for your time and information!

Dec 22, 2006 12:54 PM

Brent Link

Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt - North Muskegon, MI

I understand your frustrations. I bought a cd on eBay to teach me how to use it better but I still didn't understand a lot of it. One thing that finally clicked is: You need to have a particular window open to access some of the fields. For instance, in order to find the "Search By Example" window in the "Tools" window, you have to first open one of your contacts. Otherwise you will not find that sort feature. Little quirks like that are some of the things he explains so well.

Gary David Hall teaches his class online. It happens once a week for 5 weeks and is 2 hours for each class. It seems like he has afternoon as well as evening classes and he starts a new class every few weeks. You log into a particular address and then dial a number and enter a code. You are able to listen to him on the phone but watch what he does on the screen. There are about 9 others taking the class at the same time and you are welcome to ask questions. He will send you a print out that is excellent to refer back to at a latter time or you can buy a cd so you can watch it over.

Seems like it was about $200. but I found it money very well spent. This program is designed specificaly for real estate agents and once you get the hang of it, it is easy to use. He has been very helpful with questions and is excellent about getting back to you.

Go to http://garydavidhall.com/ and check it out. I believe he will have a schedule posted for his next classes. You will also find his TransPlans available there. He also sells many other database manegment systems and knows them all very well.

Good Luck. Let me know if you take the class. I am sure it will be worth your time and money. I will post a note on his Trans-Plans too.

Dec 24, 2006 12:21 AM

Debi Braulik

www.roundrealestate.com - Maple Valley, WA

Selling Maple Valley to Fife WA Homes For Sale

Brent- Thank you for all the information. I will look at his website.

Dec 25, 2006 02:28 PM

Anonymous

Linda Grissette

Brent asked me to join this group because he had never heard of my series of templates for the Presentations Designer in AgentOffice. Anyone interested in learning more about them can go to them at http://www.RealEstateMarketingHelp.com/MarketingMadeEasyforAgentOffice.htm

Contact management programs for real estate are a little hard to learn and they ALL have problems. I started in the 80's with the first real estate contact management program, (the original) Howard & Friends and then used the desktop version on Top Producer. I had hundreds of dollars invested in upgrades when they stopped upgrading the desktop version and went to on-line only. I do not trust that, so I gave up and went to AgentOffice.

Sure, it's cheaper to just use something you have, but the Advantage of a program like AgentOffice is the ability to attach an action plan to each prospect and then check you to dos each morning. Without that, follow up is not easy. It's also great for tracking your listings and pending sales.

If any one has tried the e-mail in AgentOffice and been frustrated....join the crowd. I did solve the problem of no subject like. Before you send an e-mail from the to dos or from the Scheduler screen, click on the "To Do" and then close it again. Suddenly the to do has changed....and you can see the subject. A little strange...but it works.

My problem is how to get around the problem that Microsoft created for us when they put on the patch for outlook....to protect us against a virus using your computer without your permission. Now I have to click "yes" for each e-mail that goes out of AgentOffice.

Linda Grissette

Jan 02, 2007 06:52 AM

Gary David Hall

RE-ACT, LLC - Doylestown, PA

Real Estate CRM Sales, Training and Implementation

Linda - Regarding "Now I have to click "yes" for each e-mail that goes out of AgentOffice.", I have a tip on my site to eliminate that hassle at http://garydavidhall.com/outlookwarning.htm

Apr 27, 2007 04:38 AM

Andrew Lietzow

IaREIA | Iowa Landlord Association - Des Moines, IA

MBA-Exec Dir Iowa Real Estate Investors Association -

I had 22 years experience in the IT industry before I came back into Real Estate sales in 2005. I had used programs like Key Prospecting and Goldmine; some ACT but Goldmine was where we eventually standardized. So I knew when I came back to RE that using Outlook would never be enough for me -- I wanted a turnkey system designed specifically for Real Estate.

Agent Office has met my every need. Oh, there are few quirks (I also highly recommend Gard David Hall's online class, which I did take) but mostly it's about finding the time to explore the system when you're not under pressure.

Also, necessity is the mother of invention but also the harbinger of stress -- learning how software works under "trial by fire" is not the recommended technique. Trust Brent and I when we say to invest some money into training just as soon as you possibly can.

Do I utilize all of the features? No, but I'm gaining on it. I finally switched companies to one that will allow me to utilize and IDX portal so I'll be wanting to do more with this soon.

Currently, I'm wanting to make my Desktop PC a server, accessible from my home PC. Looks like I'll have to get in touch with Gary Hall again here real soon. I imagine it's as simple as setting up a Virtual Network but I wonder if I have to have a Static IP address?

Jun 12, 2007 02:43 AM

Gary David Hall

RE-ACT, LLC - Doylestown, PA

Real Estate CRM Sales, Training and Implementation

Andrew - Before you go with your own server, and the time and expense involved in setting that up, check out the free version of http://LogMeIn.com and see if that fills your needs. You can access your Desktop from home - for free!

Jun 12, 2007 02:58 AM