Using MLXCHANGE Effectively
Aug 21, 2008 Technology & Productivity
There are a lot of things you can do with the multi-list, however many people fail to recogize just how powerful of an application it can be. Each time they update, they pack tons of new features into it, and if you’re not aware of them or ways to increase your business productivity, taking some time to learn them and even attend an MLS class can be well worth it.
While the multiple listing service you use will vary from area to area and board to board, many rely on mlxchange, which is the one I’m the most familiar with and will give you some pointers on getting the most out of it. Even if you do not use mlxchange, there may be similar features you can try to use or suggest.
Here are Some Features of MLXCHANGE You Should Be Using If You’re Not:
- 1. Client Manager: While the client manager in MLXCHANGE is not as sophisticated as it could be, it does give you some great tools you can use to be more productive as an agent. You can save searches, email new listings to a client and yourself automatically through search preferences. You can also be updated on price reductions, expired listings, and more all through your email. If you’ve been ignoring the client section, take some time to practice with it and play around to see how you can use it to benefit you and your prospecting.
2. Multiple Reports: There are many pre-made reports in MLXCHANGE - client view, email view, full view, etc. If you’re reliant on using just one, take some time and see what other reports are available - they may be more suitable for giving to a customer instead of a client or vice versa. You also have the ability to create your own report and choose what information and photos are displayed if none of the pre-made reports match your criteria.
3. Mapping Services: MLXCHANGE is packed with everything from getting driving directions for planning your route from one house to the next to searching by a radius of a central point. This can really help you save time planning a route, as well as finding suitable areas to show your prospective clients.
4. Sample CMA’s and CMA Manager: When creating a CMA, I always suggest you make it yourself if possible, to help you stand out from the other agents who may have just used the CMA features in the MLS. However, it gives you some great examples and layout ideas, as well as verbiage you can use for explaining DOM and price averages.
5. The Hot Sheet: You should start getting in the habit of checking the hot sheet everyday, or even several times a day. Using the drop down menu and selected areas you work in, you can have information on expireds and price reductions within minutes.
6. Mailing List Capability: In the MLXCHANGE you have the unique ability to search for listings in any area. By going to the results page, you can actually export this data to be used in programs like Microsoft Excel and Word for making mailing labels. You can use this to target people who bought their home 5 years ago or listings that have expired but never re-listed. You can also use it to contact sellers who already have their homes for sale, but be careful you do it in a way that you are not “soliciting listings of others” since that can get you in HUGE trouble and fines.
As you can see, taking the time to learn some of these features can greatly benefit you and maximize your productivity. If you use MLXCHANGE, did you know these features exist? If you use another multiple listing service, what are some of the features you use and find make you more productive?
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Interview With Chris Cox of OPSA
Aug 5, 2008 Technology & Productivity
Recently I was contacted my Chris Cox, the president of The Operations Security Professional’s Association, known as OPSA for short in regards to his website OpsecProfessionals.org. I asked him if he would be interested in an interview explaining a little more about his organization, and he fortunately agreed.
1.First, tell us a little bit about yourself and OPSEC, since I’m sure many people do not fully understand it or are even aware it exists.
My name is Chris Cox, and I’m the president of The Operations Security Professional’s Association (OSPA). I’m a fairly recent veteran and currently work in the Information Security Field.
Operations Security, or OPSEC, was originally a Military concept developed during the Vietnam War in response to the awareness that enemy forces were continually acting on advance knowledge of Military operations because they were collecting unclassified “puzzle pieces”
and compiling the bigger picture of a classified operation. OPSEC is the procedure (formally, five steps) used to protect that information.
Today, the same principles are used, but not only in the Military, but in Governments, Schools, Corporations and even in our daily life. For example, when you go on vacation, you might have a neighbor pick up your mail and newspapers, put a timer on your lights, leave a car in the driveway, etc. When you do that, you’re practicing OPSEC.
Simply put, OPSEC is denying an adversary the information that they would want in order to collect critical information about your or your organization. OPSEC doesn’t try to replace other forms of security, but it strengthens them. The biggest way that this is done is by what’s called “thinking like the wolf”. By looking at your organization from your adversaries perspective, you can begin to see where your greatest vulnerabilities lie.
2. How does OPSEC relate to the real estate industry?
Real Estate Professionals that understand OPSEC have an advantage over their competitors for many reasons. For one, people are understandably concerned about their family’s safety and security. When a Real Estate Professional can apply they OPSEC process to their homes, they’re able to identify certain vulnerabilities that may be missed using other security methods. Knowing this, they’re able to anticipate (and potentially avoid, by explanation or repair) clients’ concerns. This skill has a potentially marketable value.
Competitive Intelligence is a close relative of OPSEC, and involves looking at the competitive climate and finding ways to excel by finding and targeting under-utilized markets.
3. What benefits would a real estate professional experience by becoming a member of OPSEC?
The biggest benefit to OSPA members is the collaborative nature of the organization. If you need security advice, guidance or hands on help, one of the members or Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) on hand will help you. For example, there are members in the physical security field, information technology/security, Law Enforcement, Military, Government, etc. It also shows clients that the Real Estate Professional has an interest and training in security.
4. What in your opinion would be some of the most prominent threats that may affect real estate professionals?
I don’t know the “climate” between Realtors, but many industries would consider competitive intelligence to be a threat (such as “stealing” customers or lucrative properties). I would also consider threats to a client (in terms of their new/potential home) to be a significant concern. OPSEC, however, also applies to marketing strategies, corporate conditions, and more.
5. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about OPSEC?
It’s true that there is a five step process that forms the “core” of OPSEC. However, one finds that when they understand the OPSEC process, it begins be be more of a mindset than a process. That’s not to say that OPSEC Practitioners are “paranoid”, but are left with a greater awareness of security.
OSPA has made great strides in bringing OPSEC to the non-government world and the international scene. Currently, we’re working with Domestic Violence Outreach Centers to provide security training for residents and staff, and also to the Schools with Children effected by Military deployment. Currently, OSPA has members in seven Countries and has fostered the first true international OPSEC cooperative programs.
Thank you so much for the interview Chris - I really appreciate you taking the time to explain OPSEC to us and share how it can relate to real estate! To learn more about OPSA, visit OpsecProfessionals.org.
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Tags: Chris Cox Interview, OPSA, OPSEC
Real Estate Wordpress Themes for Your Real Estate Blog
Aug 1, 2008 Technology & Productivity
Finding real estate wordpress themes for your real estate blog should be an easy task. But with thousands of themes to sort through, finding ones professional looking enough can be difficult. Even here on my real estate marketing blog I am considering a different wordpress theme. It’s not good to constantly change your wordpress theme, but it can be refreshing to update it every so often and make a few tweaks here and there.
Here are the real estate wordpress themes for your real estate blog I think you might enjoy:
Loft Real Estate Theme
This dark wordpress theme has a very modern and contemporary feel to it. Click here for demo and download.
Lux House Theme
This theme features 2 columns, beautiful header image, and is ideal for any luxury real estate specialist. Click here for demo and download.
Real Estate Black
This darker theme features an excellent header and 3 columns. Click here for demo and download.
Colonial
This real estate wordpress theme is ideal for anyone with company colors of red and blue. Click here for demo and download.
Real Estate CEO
I saved this one for last, as it is my favorite free real estate wordpress theme. Click here for demo and download.
Have a real estate wordpress theme for your real estate blog you’d like to share with us or add to the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Tags: free real estate wordpress theme, house wordpress themes, real estate wordpress themes
Free Blog Review #2: Miamism
Jul 19, 2008 Technology & Productivity
Today in continuing our series of free real estate blog reviews, we’re going to take a look at a blog featuring Miami real estate at Miamism.com. Again we’ll be reviewing the site based on design/usability, content, and the SEO/Promotion/Competition factor.
Design
The unique design of Miamism.com is the first thing that caught my attention. The bright bold colors of orange and the header make me think that Miami would be a pretty neat place to live. I like the very big “Search for Properties” box and the site is easy to navigate. The sidebar is mostly uncluttered and well organized.
I like at the bottom how they have the “Recent Readers” section powered by mybloglog. The footer however looks a little jumbled in Firefox 3 - it may be okay in other browsers. But I noticed the Majestic Property Logo is floating on top of the text. They also have a Google translate button, which is definitely a plus, though I might consider putting that in the sidebar instead of in the footer.
Content
The content of Miamism.com is very well put together and thought out. The use of images, video, and unique posts such as the one on Cuban Tile Flooring make it an enjoyable read, even if you’re not in Miami.
Promotion/Competition
Searching for Miami Real Estate and Miami Luxury Homes did not come up with their site in the top 10, though they did make it to the top 4 for the search term “Miami Luxury Real Estate”. I would consider making sure the site has been submitted to all the major blog directories and would also work on improving the search for other miami real estate phrases to help beat out the competition.
Special Thanks to Ines for volunteering her Miami luxury home blog to be reviewed by Upstart Agent. Have any other suggestions for Miamism.com? Feel free to share them in the comments below.
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How to Improve Your Personal Website Rankings
Jul 5, 2008 Technology & Productivity
Most real estate agents somewhere have an online profile of themselves with their company, if not their own personal website. Chances are though, if you type your name in Google or another search engine, you don’t see your page come up at all. Here’s some tricks to helping you gain a little more exposure online.
Create Backlinks Backlinks are anytime a web page links to your site. Backlinks are very important to helping your page become higher ranked in search engines. You can create more backlinks in a number of ways to improve your personal website rankings.
You can write real estate articles for an online ezine and include your link in the “about the author” section. Another way of building backlinks is leaving relevant and useful comments on dofollow real estate blogs. (A dofollow blog allows search engines to crawl your link in the comment and count it as a backlink). Upstart Agent is a do-follow blog, so feel free to leave comments all that you like to help increase your search engine rankings. You may also want to participate in forums and leave your link in the footer message to gain backlinks, though not all forums will approve of this. Agentsonline.net is a great place to not only get more ideas, but also help get exposure and links for your personal website. Lastly, you can start joining every social networking site available and include your link to your page in your profile.
Do a little keyword research: Some keywords are better than others. Let’s say you are a real estate agent in Cleveland Ohio. You would want to go to a site, such as Wordtracker’s Free Keywords and type in different variations on Cleveland, Ohio, and real estate. Next, you will want to check and see which of those search terms are getting the most hits AND have the least competition. All you have to do after that is work on adding the right keywords to your description and services you provide.
Doing these two things alone will help you get more exposure to your personal profile page and hopefully help you find a few more internet real estate leads drip your way. Have any other suggestions for marketing your real estate profile page or personal real estate website? Please leave them in the comments below to share with others.
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