in this issue…
Putting a Face on Real Estate since 1995™
• ABoR REALTOR Day at the Texas Capitol • Keller Williams Japan Fundraiser • WCR/NAHREP Combined Mixer and much, much more!
Associates in Progress
Closings in 5 Business Days! Details on page 30
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page 23
MAY 2011 • VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 1
www.highlandsloans.com
Cool Tech Tools for Real Estate 2.0 by Stacy Stroud
T
echnology is changing the game for REALTORS today. With the availability of products like smart phones, tablet PCs and the thousands upon thousands of apps designed to save you time and make your day more productive, what’s the ideal technology setup for your business? We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite must-have technologies for REALTOR 2.0.
Smart Phones and Tablets According to last year’s REALTOR Technology Survey Report from REALTOR. org, mobile devices such as the iPad are at the
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For many Austin area REALTORS, like Joe Stewart of Joe R. Stewart Realty, mobile devices like tablets and smart phones are more convenient than laptops in some instances, especially when you need to travel light. “I don’t carry a laptop when I travel,” Stewart says. “The iPhone is the heart of my mobility and work. I use it for my website, my customer contacts, Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail. When I need to print something, I just use the hotel business center.” He plans to purchase an iPad 2 soon. And both devices are compatible with Stewart’s lead management software, Top Producer, allowing him to connect with the clients in his database from anywhere. While the iPad dominates the tablet market (starting at $499, the new iPad 2 is even
Front Page: Continued on page 8
Tech Pitfalls Can Leave You in the Dust by Naomi Bludworth
A TM
Putting a Face on Real Estate since 1995
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top of the list of products REALTORS plan to purchase this year. Smart phones and tablets bring mobility to your business, allowing you to stay connected, access your MLS listings, and give you access to a wide variety of tools that can improve your efficiency and help you better serve clients and prospects. Using a mobile device allows you to view PDF files, access your e-mail, sync your contacts, monitor your social networking sites, and sync your calendar. In essence, you can carry a “light” version of your office with you at all times. At the top of the list of REALTOR’s favorite smart phones are the always-popular BlackBerry, the iPhone, and the Palm, although Google’s Android phone is quickly gaining market share among REALTORS.
s we are inundated with hip, new, cool technologies almost on a dayto-day basis, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the hype of it all. New gadgets such as smart phones, texting, notepads, social media, scannable bar codes, netbooks, e-vites, e-cards, and all the other “e-words” we are now familiar with, have become so second nature for so many of us. We must remember that when push comes to shove, technology cannot, and should not, become the crutch that cripples natural, real human connection in our business.
Presorted Standard U.S. Postage PAID Austin, Texas Paid Permit #715
Reach Out and Touch Someone– The Necessity of Old-Fashioned Human Interaction While e-mail and social media outlets like Facebook are a fast, fun and easy way to keep in touch with others, they do have their limitations. Some of the limitations could be
having profound effects on the relationships you build with potential and current clients, often without you even being aware how you are being perceived. For example, non-verbal cues can’t be read in an online forum. How many times have you read a comment thread on Facebook that turned ugly only to imagine that if that same conversation had taken place face-to-face that it may have turned out differently. In online communications, people can’t see a person’s smile, hear their tone of voice, comprehend sarcasm or even get the fact that they might be joking. On the opposite end, the person giving these non-verbal communication cues is not able to see how the recipient is reacting to them. Were they offended? Did they understand the sender’s emphasis? There are so many people that will not respond at all. What does that mean? Stacy Rider of Keller Williams Realty’s Bartlett Group knows this all too well. “E-mails cannot show emotion and can be misunderstood. I find
Upcoming Events Wednesday, May 18 AYREP May Happy Hour/Pool Party The Ivy at 78704 - 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19 HBA Networking Social Factory Builder Store - 5 to 7 p.m. NAPMW Installation Dinner Maggiano’s Little Italy - 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 24 Grand Haven Homes REALTOR Tour Behrens Ranch - 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 26 WCR Business Resource Luncheon Cool River Café - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 1 CCIM Networking Luncheon Westwood Country Club 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, June 2 Austin NARI Spring Golf Tournament Avery Ranch Golf Club - 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 9 WCAoR Luncheon - WCAoR Office 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, June 10 ABoR Foundation Mercedes Raffle Domain II - 6 to 9 p.m. More at www.myRealtyLine.com myself wanting to convey emotion through the use of exclamation points, highlighted or underlined text but I think we miss the details by not following up with a phone call,” she says. National real estate educator Marcie Roggow of Creative Learning Concepts, LLC hit the
Expectations: Continued on page 28