Category — Tech

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If you’re on Windows and still running Internet Explorer 6, please upgrade. If not please skip this post. To find out what version you’re running, launch Internet Explorer, click help, then select “About.” If it says version 6 please upgrade.

Why?

Because the internet has moved way beyond what IE6 can handle. You’re not seeing the full picture, kind of like watching black & white TV when you can get color for free. A full 40% of visitors to this blog are still using IE 6. This is too bad because they’re not seeing a lot of cool things that are going on on the web and they’re causing developers to dumb down their apps to accommodate the IE 6 users.

Ever wanted to know how search engine values your site? Ever wanted to know how a search engine values your competition’s site? This cool tool will give you an answer.

Website Grader is a free tool that evaluates your website or any site you enter in the form and returns some really useful information. It doesn’t give you a super in-depth analysis but it does provide a nice overview with easy to understand explanations of what the issues mean and how to fix them.

Check it out at www.websitegrader.com

Steamboat Springs

I used Outlook back in the day and always felt like the email aspect of the program was a bit incomplete. Microsoft addressed some of Outlook’s shortcomings in Office 2007 but there’s still a lot to be desired in terms of information management, searching and a fast workflow. Then I tried an application called Nelson Email Organizer (NEO - $1/2 off for a limited time $34.97!).

The skies cleared, the grass turned green and my email became an obedient servant giving me the right information when I needed it. If you’re using Microsoft Outlook to manage email take a look at these applications. They’re designed to help make your email workflow easier and help manage the incredible volume of email we accumulate.

NEO has a number of features that real estate professionals will love.

For example NEO tracks all correspondence to and from all your contacts. Click a contact and you’ll see all the correspondence you’ve ever had to and from that contact. Add them to a Hot List and the info is even easier to find. NEO runs on top of Outlook and simply reads & interprets your Outlook file. If you don’t like it, your Outlook data is as it always was.

Clear Context ($89.95) is another application. I have not used this application but I’ve heard good things about it. Clear Context integrates with Outlook. In other words, it adds buttons and additional functionality to the Outlook interface.Here’s a video overview of the application:.They both have free trials so try one of these apps & you’ll love your email again.

Nelson Email Organizer

Clear Context

If You Only Do One Thing Today, Watch This Video

This video speaks to one of the most important aspects of your real estate business - information and the creation & organization of it.

Understanding that consumers are seeking, creating and organizing useful information is key to the future of your business.

How can you enhance their experience? How can you tap into these rich resources? Others are providing tools for your potential customers. What tools are you providing? Try these links on for size:
http://www.terabitz.com/
http://outside.in/Boulder_CO
http://www.streetadvisor.com/
http://www.iggyshouse.com/default.aspx
http://www.yourstreet.com/steamboat-springs-co

With 80+% of real estate customers looking for answers online what do you have of true, current & relevant value to offer them when they come knockin’ on your site? Are they coming to you way downstream because others are helping them make sense of information upstream and you’re not?

Those who get this video & embrace it will have an excellent chance to succeed.

Those who don’t will simply create more opportunity for those who do.

You owe it to yourself to spend a few uninterrupted minutes watching. Then, I’d watch it again.

Note:

This blog post belongs to 4 categories within this blog (Tech, Web, Info & Video). See that Category Cloud over there on the right? The various categories grow in size relative to the amount of content in them. Information here is flexible, movable and relevant.

Why can’t the MLS be that way? After all it’s just data. Why do I have to search using the same tired criteria (#bedrooms, #bathrooms…). Why can’t I search by elements that are important to me - morning sun, rural road, pine trees, XYZ school? There are companies out there now trying to figure this out - Google Trullia, Zillow. It’s a shame the NAR isn’t among them. That ultimately hurts you.

Anyone looking to get a little nip & tuck or a full blown extreme makeover of their website has a lot of options and a lot elements to consider. Here are 5.5 questions to ask before you get started. The questions are designed to give you insight into a web designer’s thinking. The way we see it, there’s plenty of nuts & bolts type questions to ask but the better thinker they are, the better site & experience you’ll get. That’s where these questions come in. Hopefully these questions will help you find someone who will create a unique presence and give you the tools to help your site succeed.

1. How much does a website cost?

If you get an immediate answer or a ball park answer this may not be the shop for you. The problem with this is there’s no way to know how much a site will cost without an understanding of what your needs are and what you want to accomplish with a site. If you get an answer right off the bat, you’ll probably get a templated site that looks like everyone else and does little to differentiate you to visitors. Ideally they’ll want to know a lot about your business and your clients. So look for and expect deep, probing question.

2. What’s your process?

Many small shops don’t have a process & they wing it. Process is important because it means you’re project is more likely to avoid problems and meet your expectations. If they do have a process, look for elements of “communication” as a key area of their process. Things like “review meetings” are a good sign because you’ll be in the loop upstream in time to make corrections if necessary.

3. How will I be able to update my site?

This is a big one in my mind. Most small businesses should be able to easily update their own site with timely information relevant documents and elements that keep the site fresh. All too often however business owners are at the mercy of a web shop’s schedule. The updates don’t happen fast enough, they often have mistakes and the whole process becomes a big hassle. It becomes easier to ignore the site which then quickly becomes stale.

Instead, make sure that you have a clear method of updating and adding to your site. Insist on tools and/or functionality that’s easy to use, and learn how to use them.

4. How long will it take to finish?

The correct answer here is a site is never finished. An acceptable answer might be something like “Phase 1 will be done in 6 weeks.” There’s always room for improvements, tweaks, value-add-ons and other work to consistently make your site a better experience for your visitors. If they’re a blow-n-go shop you may find you’re abandoned 6 months down the road when you’re ready to revise/add to your site.

5. Are most of your solutions CSS or straight HTML based?

This gets a little technical but a CSS based site will give you much more flexibility than an HTML based site. CSS stands for cascading style sheets. With a CSS based site, the formatting elements for the entire site are controlled within a single file. Why should you care? It makes managing and tweaking a site much easier. Say for example you decide 3 weeks after the site launches you don’t like the font color. You can make a single edit to the CSS style sheet and the whole site changes. With an HTML based site the same change requires manually editing each and every page to make the same change. This blog is CSS based and I can change the ENTIRE look by clicking a button. That’s only possible with CSS.

Tech stuff aside, a shop that’s using CSS indicates they’re committed to the best of breed solutions.

5.5 How many other real estate sites have you done?

Conventional wisdom would say “go with a pro” someone who’s done a ton of real estate sites. But I’d challenge that notion. What you want is fresh thinking not been-there-done-that-so-here’s-your-site thinking. A shop that really understands usability, design and experiences but is light on real estate development could be just the ticket for a stunning fresh site. Remember, at the end of the day it’s not about what you think is great, it’s about what your visitors think is great. Sometimes we’re so in the bottle and can’t read the label that we need this outside perspective.

Happy hunting!

The good news is that Google recently updated their “My Maps” service to allow users to embed a map they created into any web page.
The bad news is that Google recently updated their “My Maps” service to allow users to embed a map they created into any web page.

What this means to you is now you have a very rich mapping tool that you can use to display listings and relevant location based content.

And so does everyone else. Most Steamboat Springs realty websites are devoid of any mapping technology that’s worth a crap. Now there’s no excuse. Here is an example map complete with embeded videos that took me less than 10 minutes to create.

Click on a few of the icons, drag the map around and zoom in & out. All done without writing a line of code. Simple copy & paste. (NOTE: You may not be able to see this in an RSS reader so be sure to visit steamboatstories.com to view the map.)

View Larger Map

Before this upgrade the learning curve to create a map like this was quite steep. I spent hours translating lats & longs, coding & hacking to get a map to look & function like this.

This is an extremely powerful tool that helps give your clients context and information in a way they are increasingly expecting. Head on over to maps.google.com to create yours. You’ll need a Google account which is free.

Happy mapping!

Here’s part 2 of the productivity tools to get you out of the office:

6. Digital Audio Recorder - ~$29.00 @ Staples
A digital recorder can be an invaluable productivity tool. I use it to record meetings, notes, ideas and phone calls. It’s a great device for capturing info on the fly when you’re in a hurry or want to focus on what’s being said rather than taking notes in a meeting. I’ve even used it to record a segment of an audio book I’m listening to. If I’m in my car and hear something I need to remember, I just replay that segment and record it.

As a training tool, record the next phone conversation you have with a potential client, then replay, or better yet, have someone else listen to it and give feedback. Often you’ll find that what’s clear to you may not be to the other person.
Tip: Set a repeating reminder in your calendar to review your voice memos. They won’t do you much good unless you get them out of the device & into your system.

7. DIY Planner - Free @ www.diyplanner.com
Most commercial planners suck. They’re made for the masses and often don’t provide the right capture & planning environment. Everyone has different needs and priorities and for the most part commercial products are too general. diyplanner.com has hundreds of templates for you to make your own planner and they’re free! You might even get inspired to make your own with a program like Microsoft Publisher. Plus diyplanner.com has tons of productivity advice.

8. 43 Folders - <$20 @ Staples

There’s no tech involved in this at all and yet it’s my most trusted tool. The gist is that you have one letter or legal folder for each day of the month and one folder for each month of the year (43 folders). The stuff you need to keep track of goes into the folder for the day that you need to see it. Each day you empty the contents of that day’s folder into your in basket and move that folder to the back. It’s then part of the next month. For example if today were July 10th I’d empty the contents of the folder labeled 10 in to my in basket and move it to the back. It then becomes the 10th of August. Here is a PDF that gives all the details on how to get this set up and use it.

9. GTD - Book & info at www.davidco.com

These three letters stand for Getting Things Done, a methodology by David Allen. There’s too much to say about GTD so you’ll have to trust me on this and get the book and learn the methodology. I guarantee if you apply just half of what he preaches you’ll be 100% more productive. Here’s 21 links on GTD to get you started.

10. Apple MacbookPro - ~$2700 @ www.apple.com

I switched over a year ago and have never looked back. For a real estate professional, I can’t see any reason not to get a Mac. Notice I didn’t say abandon Windows. I understand you’ve got contract software and the MLS system still requires IE6 & Windows. Fortunately the Mac can run Windows and OS X (the Apple operating system) simultaneously. I still need Windows to run another business of mine and I’ve had no trouble running both. With a Mac you get, in my opinion, a superior platform for marketing, communicating, presenting & creating. I spend much less time fiddling with my mac than I ever did with Windows PCs. There’s tons of software (which was a big concern of mine) and the experience using most Mac apps is fantastic.

The other big plus with a Mac is tech support. Because Apple is smaller than other computer makers, tech support wait times are much shorter and you get to speak to an American who actually knows how to fix your computer. I’ve had a few occasions where I needed to contact tech support and it was the best support I’ve ever experienced.

Some might try to argue that a Mac costs more than a PC. Not true. When you configure a PC to similar specs as a Mac then factor in the fantastic marketing software that comes with a Mac, it turns out the Mac is cheaper. The misperception often comes from the fact that Apple doesn’t sell low end computers i.e. a $500 laptop.

10.5 Google 411 - Free @ 1-800-466-4411

Some 411 services for cell phones are topping $2.00 per call. This is a new FREE service from Google (yes, I know they’re taking over the world). I’ve been using it for awhile now and have had great results with Steamboat businesses. Using this service, you can:

• search for a local business by name or category.
  You can say “Giovanni’s Pizzeria” or just “pizza.”
• get connected to the business, free of charge.
• get the details by SMS if you’re using a mobile phone.
  Just say “text message.”

So program this into your speed dial and give it a shot.

See you on the trails!

Ahh, summer in Steamboat. Biking, golfing, camping, hiking, tubing, fishing… the list goes on & on. Most people I know came to Steamboat for the winters but stayed because of the awesome summers. But for Steamboat Springs real estate agents, this is the busiest time of the year! I’ve got 10 productivity tools I swear by to help get you out of the office & into the outdoors.

1. Jott.com - Free @ www.jott.com
Jott.com is a relatively new service that transcribes a voice phone message into an email to someone you specify or to yourself. Need to tell someone to fax you a document? Jott ‘em. Need to remind yourself to call someone when you get back in the office? Jott yourself. When you use Jott, your voice message is transcribed to text and via voice recognition, an email is sent to a person you specify in your contact list. So no more waiting for voicemail to pick up on the other end, or endless chit-chat. Just Jott the message and move on. Be sure to program the 800# into your cell phone’s speed dial. Try it - you’ll like it.
TIP: The clearer and more slowly you speak, the better the transcription results are on the other end.

2. Del.icio.us - Free @ del.icio.us
del.icio.us allows you to tag & organize bookmarks to an online account that’s accessible from any computer. The value of this may not be very apparent at first but it’s become one of my most trusted tools. Being able to associate multiple contexts with a bookmark is a powerful way of organizing information you want to refer to later. Instead of a long list of bookmarks (possibly grouped in folders) del.icio.us provides a powerful tool to store all your bookmarks. With each bookmark, you can assign one or more “tags” of your choosing. So say you wanted to bookmark a page you found on the New York Times website regarding FSBO home pricing and the article had a video. You might “tag” it with 3 separate tags -”Realestate” “FSBO” “Video.” Now 3 months later when you’re doing FSBO research for a Steamboat real estate report from your hotel room in Belize, you can access your account, click on a few tags to filter and voila, there’s the link.
I use the account to remind me of web pages I need to review. If I run across an article or a page that I don’t have time to read, I’ll add it to my del.icio.us account with my “Review” tag. Then when I have some free time I just look at my Review tag to see the stuff I need to read. Even better, all accounts and tags are RSS feeds so you can set up a feed for any of your tags in your newsreader or browser to have those links just a click away.
TIP: del.icio.us has browser buttons to add to your browser toolbar. This makes adding a bookmark to your account a snap.

3. MindJet MindManager - $99 - $349 @ www.mindjet.com
Got a new idea? Planning a marketing campaign? Brainstorming a business issue? Take a serious look at MindManager. Use this tool to create serious brainstorming and planning threads in an appealing visual way. MindManager creates mindmaps of the issue at hand that can contain documents, links, notes, photos and more. In productivity terms, MindManager helps all team members focus on the issue at hand with all relevant information and you’ll get to the end result faster. It’s a great tool to get info out of your head and into a container that’s easy to manipulate.

4. mozy.com - Free - $4.95/month @ www.mozy.com
Backing up your files is a pain. What’s worse is when you loose your data and don’t have a backup. Mozy to the rescue! This is an online backup service that’s very inexpensive and works great. You simply set up an account, install the software and either let it decide what to back up or tell it what to back up. Mozy quietly works in the background and keeps your data backed up to their servers. All the data is encrypted so no one can see your stuff. Plus Mozy will back up multiple versions of files so in case you suddenly realize you’ve been working on the wrong file for the past 2 days, you can go back in time to get the correct one. This feature really saved me recently when Wells Fargo screwed up my Quickbooks file and I needed to replace the bad file with a backup from a month ago. I restored a previous version in 10 minutes and was back in business. In terms of data loss, it’s really a question of when not if. I’d much rather see you on the golf course instead of recreating a contract from scratch on a Saturday afternoon. Yeah, I know, your stuff gets backed up onto the company’s server every night. So what, you’re in business for yourself, it’s your responsibility to safeguard your data. And what happens if you’re traveling? Who are you gonna call at 10:30pm to get your data off the server? With mozy.com just download your backed up file!

5 . Pandora.com - Free @ www.pandora.com
If you work better listening to music be sure to check out pandora.com. You can create personalized commercial free music stations based on a genre or an artist. Like Willie Nelson? Just enter his name in a new station and you’ll hear Willie plus similar artists that you might like. You have the opportunity to give each song a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” rating and the channel learns what to play by how you rate songs. So over time you spend more time listening to music you like.
You can also share stations. Here’s one of my stations I’ll share with you: pandora.com

Audio Interview - Debunking Search Myths

In this third and final part of my interview with Les Reaves, we debunk some myths surrounding search engine marketing.

If you’re just starting to use search engines in your marketing or you’ve been at it for years, you’ll find a lot of help in this interview.

Click the green button to play:

 

 Standard Podcast [12:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get this interview in iTunes:

Audio Interview - Banner Ads and Paid Search Comparison
In this second part of my interview with Les, we discuss the differences between banner ads and paid search.

If you’re just starting to use search engines in your marketing or you’ve been at it for years, you’ll find a lot of help in this interview.

Click the green button to play:

 

 Standard Podcast [7:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Got an iPod?

Get this interview in iTunes: