BUYER'S GUIDE: Essentials
BY MICHAEL ANTONIAK
Essential applications
What else might you need?
Financial Management
Productivity Suites
Other applications
Voices of experience
Tech savvy starts with software
Wherever you are in your real estate career, your computer can be one of your best resources for realizing your goals—provided it’s loaded with the right software. The range of software from which to choose may seem overwhelming, though. Narrow your focus with these
essential applications:
∙ A word-processing program for composing letters
∙ A database to organize contacts and listings
∙ Calendar/scheduling functions
∙ A financial-management system for tracking in come and expenses
∙ Desktop publishing tools to create presentations and promotions
∙ A Web browser
∙ An e-mail application for online communication
It’s more economical to buy software suites, such as Microsoft Office, which combine several applications, than to buy software tools separately. Bundles of generic applications deliver basic productivity, but programs developed for specific functions are ready to use for your specialized needs. For example, you can track expenses with a spreadsheet such as Excel, which is included with Micro soft Office. But QuickBooks and Microsoft Money provide an organized, intuitive approach to financial management. A contact-management sys tem such as ACT! simplifies the process of building your client database. But with the real estate features built into GoldMine, the program is already prepped for how you gather and use information.
Typically, you’ll want some combination of general tools, such as Word and PowerPoint, and specialized real estate programs. Choices range from real estate suites such as Top Producer 6i or Agent Office to applications for specific tasks such as Hewlett-Packard’s Real Estate Marketing Assist ant for desktop publishing.
Don’t settle for what comes with your computer. In making your investment, remember: Good software saves rather than claims time.
What else might you need?
∙ Digital camera users may want more than the basic image editing and archiving software that comes with their camera. Some prefer more sophisticated imaging applications, such as Adobe’s Photoshop or Corel’s CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, to maximize the appeal of property in photos.
∙ PDA users need a suite of specialized applications. Options include the DataViz Documents To Go productivity suite for Palm-based PDAs or Landware’s PocketQuicken finance software for Palm and Pocket PC handhelds. The software on your main computer should be compatible with your PDA and should support data synchronization between the two devices.
∙ For wireless mobility with a handheld, you’ll need programs for e-mail and Web browsing as well as mobile access to the MLS. MLS solutions include PocketRealEstate from Hand e Corp. and PocketMLS from Baynet World.
∙ Mobile practitioners might also want to invest in contracts and forms software such as from ProForce.net or from REALTOR VIP® Alliance partner ZipForms, which offers online access to its collection of forms. Transaction data can be moved from ZipForms into a new transaction management system that will be available beginning this summer through the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and Real Estate Business Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
∙ For a Web presence, you need software to create and manage your Web site (see “Site selection,” April 2005, page 46). Since buyers browse the Web in search of listings, a virtual tour solution is a must. Popular choices include VisualTour.com software, TourBuilder from Real Tour Vision, and Hometour360° from REALTOR.com.
∙ Effective use of your Web site also requires a way to capture leads and feed them into your database. DataBasix’s LeadCommander Professional is a software lead generation and marketing system; eCampaign Pro from XL Technologies provides a system for Web-based marketing.
The United States, with about 4.6 percent of the world’s population, accounts for more than 27 percent of all PCs in use.
Computers In Use by Country, a report from Computer Industry Almanac
Financial Management
Money for Small Business $89.95 Microsoft Corp., www.microsoft.com/money, 800/426-9400. Financial management solution for professionals and small business. Simplified accounting system for managing business in come and expenses, taxes, cash flow, and payroll. Standard and customized financial analysis reports.
QuickBooks Basic $199.95 Intuit Inc., http://quickbooks.intuit.com, 888/729-1996.
Entry-level version of financial management program for professionals and small businesses. Accounting software for organizing and tracking business finances, income, and expenses. Standard and customizable reports for financial analysis.
Productivity Suites
AgentOffice 7.0 $79 FNIS Systems, www.realestate.fnis.com, 866/499-2803.
Specialized productivity suite for real estate practitioners. Modules for word processing, e-mail, contact management, calendar scheduling/activity planning, listings management, and preparation of CMAs and presentations. Customer relationship management option available for automated marketing contacts.
VIP Partner Lotus SmartSuite 9.8 $281 IBM Corp., www.ibm.com/businesscenter/nar, 800/426-7235 ext. 5766.
Suite of software applications for basic productivity. Includes WordPro word processing software, 1-2-3 spreadsheet, Freelance Graphics graphics/desktop publishing, Approach data base, Organizer personal information manager, FastSite site-building module, and SmartCenter for organizing your task bar. Circle RS #053
Office Small Business Edition 2003 $449 Microsoft Corp., www.microsoft.com/office, 800/426-9400.
Business version of the most popular productivity suite. Includes latest versions of Word word processing software, Excel spreadsheet, Outlook e-mail application with Business Contact Manager module for organizing records and scheduling, PowerPoint presentation software, and Publisher desktop- publishing application.
Top Producer 6i $449 Top Producer Systems, www.topproducer.com, 800/444-8570.
Desktop version of popular real estate sales suite. Modules for word processing, desktop publishing, contact management, calendar/scheduling and activity planning, automated marketing and follow-up, income/expense tracking, and listing and transaction management. Company also offers Web-based 7i suite and modules for Palm-compatible PDAs and cell phones.
Contact ManagementGoldMine 6.5 $199 FrontRange Solutions, www.frontrange.com, 800/776-7889.
Contact management/CRM solution with real estate template set. Offers customizable contact database and report functions; calendar, scheduling, and activity planning; and integrated e-mail. Free real estate templates adapt system to real estate with listing, farming, transaction management, and automated marketing functions.
ACT! 2005 $229.99 Best Software, www.act.com, 877/228-2005.
Single-user version of popular contact management/CRM software. Includes customizable contact database and reports; calendar, scheduling, and activity-planning functions; and integrated e-mail for corresponding with contacts in database. Templates available from third-party vendors to adapt program for specialized needs of real estate practitioners.
Other applications
VIP Partner Real Estate Marketing Assistant $99 Hewlett-Packard, www.hp.com/go/nar, 800/888-8177, code NAR1.
Suite of desktop- publishing tools for customizable designs and templates for flyers, brochures, postcards, business cards, and CMAs. Steps user through creation of print or online promotional materials. Includes library of 600 design templates.
VIP Partner eNeighborhoods Power Suite $199.95 Launch Kit with software, plus $79.95 monthly subscription fee eNeighborhoods Inc., www.eneighborhoods.com/realtorVIP, 877/363-4442. Combination of software and Web-based in formation products for marketing properties and services. PowerSuite modules include Home Book for organizing property information, Maps and Aerials, CMA, BuyerTour (virtual tours), flyers, newsletter, and Web site. Content can be printed, saved as PDFs, distributed by e-mail, or posted to Web.
Agent Productivity Package $849 Seminars & Systems by Pat Zaby, www.patzaby.com, 972/407-1337. Adapts Micro soft Office suite to specialized needs of real estate practitioners. Library of templates for Office applications, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Includes Respond, a contact management system that adds real estate functionality to Outlook.
Voices of experience
∙ Sven Andersen, ABR®, residential sales associate, The Andersen Team, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Winchester, Mass.
“My goal is to use technology to make me as productive as possible,” says Andersen. Like most practitioners, he relies on an assortment of software. He uses the Microsoft Office suite to run his business: PowerPoint for flyers and presentations; Publisher for desktop publishing; Excel for keeping track of financial data; and Outlook for managing e-mail.
Other programs help him accomplish more specialized tasks. Adobe’s Photoshop lets him clean up photos of listings; eNeighborhoods’ CMAPro produces the printed CMAs he leaves with prospects; Top Producer Remote allows him to download his contact database from the Web-based Top Producer 7i to his laptop.
“I’ve been trying to find one tool that does everything I need, but that doesn’t seem to exist yet,” Andersen says.
∙ Kurt Francis, residential specialist, Century 21 Award, Del Mar, Calif.
Francis wishes all software were as easy to use as Real Estate Marketing Assistant from Hewlett-Packard. The desktop-publishing solution isn’t the only software he employs, but it’s the one he says has brought him the best return on investment. “Everything is laid out for me to create flyers and brochures in 15 or 20 minutes. It’s quick, it’s simple, and it saves time. That’s what I want from software.”These programs are examples of the types of software you can consider in each category. Prices are the manufacturers’ suggested retail prices and are subject to change.
This list isn’t comprehensive; NAR doesn’t evaluate or endorse these products and isn’t responsible for changes in company info.
VIP partner
Realtor VIP®Program partners offer special pricing to NAR members. Learn more at REALTOR.org/realtorVIP.
