Thank goodness for my Sprint AirCard! I’m not quite sure what I did prior purchasing it. It’s kind of like what did I do prior to the availability of the ATM for cash to get me through the weenends. I’m sure that I cashed a check on Friday so that I had enough money to get me by, it’s just that it seems like another lifetime ago and I really can’t remember. And so it is with my aircard!

Sitting an Open House is a dream now, because despite the total lack of traffic, (we are in the usual Naples’ summer doldrums now and no one is coming through,) I can accomplish a lot of work on my laptop and not have to worry about whether someone shows up or not. Before, I would sit around trying to get some reading done, which wasn’t really a bad thing, it just that one can only read so much before you get totally bored. Now I’m a working fool. As a matter of fact, I’m writing this blog post using my aircard as we speak, taking sitting open houses to a whole other level!

If and when I do get a prospect in, I can now access the MLS and dazzle he or she by even printing out information that they just might want. Oh how I love technology! (It’s just that I wish that I were going to live another hundred years to see what they will have then.)

At any rate, I believe that paying $60 a month for the wireless aircard phone line is well worth it. Not only does it alleviate my boredom, (if I wanted to, I could play online games,) but it just might impress someone enough who isn’t working with another realtor to work with me. Who knows?

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It’s not that I’m old fashioned and not tech savvy, because I certainly am. I have a new custom built rocket ship for a desk top computer and the latest in a lap top, that connects wirelessly wherever I go. In my home, I have a wireless router that allows me to go anywhere in the house and stay connected with my new lap top. In my home office, I use the latest in a Plantronics wireless headset. I have a multitude of wireless keyboards and mice for the different computers. I can even connect to to the internet with my 65” flat screen TV and I have a cell phone that does it all. I have several of the latest color laser printers.

With regard to a web site, I spent more for my new website than any normal four realtors would ever do on each of their websites combined. I send out a monthly e-newsletter and naturally I’m blogging all the time. I constantly stay in touch with my client database through email. I use an online database manager to handle everything from storage to drip campaigns. I fell as if I’ve done it all rather effectively.

But no matter how much I try to keep up, it seems as though every time I turn around, there is something new and different. A new form of technology that only the most savvy of agents are using we’re told. The latest is the video podcast, being used as a new option to virtual tours, and the claim is that it could well rival the web-based photo tour.

The ‘tech experts’ can tout the latest and greatest and tell us why we must have it to stay ahead of the curve. Sometimes, in my mind, I feel that I’m falling prey to the fact that, no matter how hard I try and how much I spend, the curve will always be ahead of me. Could it be that I’m doing fine with what I have…I tend to think so, and yet there is always the lure that, if you invest again one more time, you will temporarily be one of the few trendsetters. Tempting, but truly worth it?

Search The Greater Naples Area MLS For Your Next Home

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There is so much happening, and at warp speed, in the technology arena, that it is totally mind boggling. A great deal of the new technology can and should be applied to the real estate industry. For me, staying ahead of the curve with respect to technology and my real estate career is one of my biggest challenges, and actually although a pain at times, I truly love it. I told someone recently that I wished that I was going to live for another 100 years, so that I could see and participate in what was to come.

One of the areas that I have struggled with is Database Management. Over the years, I have worked with just about everything, Outlook, Act, Top Producer as well as an array of others. After much experimenting and work, I finally have found what I believe to be the absolute best of the bunch.

First of all, I needed to identify whether I was interested in database management software or whether I wanted someone to host my databases online. That in itself was a major hurdle, and after much thought process, I decided that I wanted a host online. That way I wouldn’t have to be constantly installing, uninstalling, moving from one computer to another, etc. For me, it seemed a whole lot easier if I could access my databases from any computer anywhere in the world.

Now that I had made that decision, I again reviewed the choices out there for online database management and finally decided on 360 Agent. I believe that after the turn of the year, when they will be introducing many other features in addition to those that they already have, people will look at this like it is a Top Producer on steroids.

If you get in and try it prior to their introduction of additional modules, you will remain at the price point where they are now, and they won’t increase that price. At the moment, they are less expensive than Top Producer, and offer a host of things that Top Producer doesn’t. But for me one of the best things is their ease of use. 360 Agent is not complicated at all and very simple to use, and for me, that was key. I didn’t want to waste time with a long learning curve.

If you do decide to give them a try, please tell them that V.K. Melhado referred you. They will give me a free month’s subscription, which I appreciate. I would suggest that you request a full tour of the system, so that you can see how easy it is to use. I certainly would love to hear feedback from after you give it a try.

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