Time Off???

This last weekend was one that I want to quickly forget. The weather was, well typically Oklahoman - SNOW, my wife was at a retreat with her 2 best friends so I had the 4 kids, AND I was so sick with allergies that it developed into Strep throat. As my throat was screaming and my head pounding, the kids were runing through the house, and my wife was relaxing, I was dragging myself through the sloppy mud, sleet pelting me in the face, just to give the animals thier daily ration of sweet feed and hay. At that moment I had a "Revelation"!!!!

Farmers and Ranchers (even small time wanna-bee's like me) don't get a day off! If the weather's bad, you aren't feeling well, or the rest of life happens, you still have to do what you have to do to keep crops and animals alive, so you can live. Then I realized, Real Estate Agents don't get a day off either. YOU still have to take listings, meet people, make appointments, show buyers, prospect, follow-up on leads, run ads, send mailings, etc... even if you're sick, the weathers bad, or life just happens.

However, unlike a lot of farmers and ranchers, we have technology to helps us with that. Technology will never replace the one-on-one interaction that you must have with clients to become and remain successful in this industry, but it can really help, especially when life happens. As many of you know, I'm a big fan of automation. If I can find a way to "set it and forget it", then I will.

There are a number of things that Coldwell Banker Select makes available to you that truly are "set it and forget it".

1. InTouch Mailing Program - sign up for the automatic InTouch and you never have to place another order again. We take care of it for you. All you have to do is keep those contacts current.


2. HomeFacts - Leads come directly to you from your Yard Sign Calls, Select Living, Newspaper, etc...


3. Photographs and Virtual Tours - are automatically created on your listings for you. You don't have to do it, or even think about it. Man I love that.


4. Website Syndication - Your listings are automatically posted to the top real estate websites (CBTulsa.com, CBOKC.com, ColdwellBanker.com, Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, AOL Real Estate, Yahoo Real Estate, GoogleBase, etc...) AUTOMATICALLY.


5. Select Living Magazine - Your ads for the Select Living magazine are automatically created in IQOffice for you and submitted for publication. You can change them, but you don't have to.

So those are just some of the ways that Coldwell Banker Select tries to help you on those days, when.....it's cold, your throat is killing you, your spouse is out of town, the kids are running amuck, and you have to wade through the mud to take care of the things that must be taken care of. Don't dispair! Remember, you're in Oklahoma, it's going to be 73 degrees tomorrow. ;)

Who's looking for you?

Everyday I get phone calls from agents that ask a wide range of questions. Some of them are easy for me to answer, some I have to do some research, and others I have to refer to someone who knows more than me about the subject. Well today I get to ask a couple of questions to you....

(1) Have you ever wondered who is viewing your profile pages? (2) Ever wonder how many people really want to know more about you and your ability to sell real estate? (3) Are you doing anything to set yourself apart from other agents?

Here are the answers that you might have thought in your mind (Not really, Nope, What are you talking about), respectively of course. The answers that you should be thinking are: (1) Heck yeah, but how do I get that info, (2) Yes, but how, and (3) I sure want to.

Perfect, now I can work with that. So here are the numbers...Last month on CBTulsa.com over 48,800 profile pages were looked at, so far this month the number is over 42,000 and we still have 2 weeks to go. Year-to-date there have been over 130,000 profile pages viewed on CBTulsa.com. Those are real numbers and they are really big.

My recommendation is to go to CBTulsa.com and go to your profile page. Do you like it? Does it tell the world what you want them to know about you and your real estate expertise? Now, go look at some other profile pages. I know, I know, but humor me, it really only takes a few minutes. Notice any differences, any SIMILARITIES to yours? The good news is you can change what you see, if you want through IQOffice. Simply login and go to "User Management", then "My Profile" on the bottom of the left menu. There will be a box that you can type in and change what you want it to say to show on your profile page. You can modify the color, size, and layout with the tools provided.

Take the positives from the profile pages you've seen and incorporate them into yours. Tell Your Story. Impress me by sending me an email with the link to it for feedback.

Good Luck and Go Get 'em!

Open Houses - It's Springtime!

Oooooooooo K L A H O M A where the rain comes at any given time. Where the clouds roll in... and keeps the sun from shinin... and the buyers stay warm cuz their inside.

Not bad if you know the tune, but now it's SPRINGTIME in Oklahoma. With Spring means OPEN HOUSES and we try to do a bang up job at Coldwell Banker Select. It is important to make sure that you enter in your Open Houses into IQOffice. You may be wondering why....well, here's why:

1. Your open houses will show up on CBTulsa.com and CBOKC.com.


2. We use this information for our Open House ads in the newspaper.


3. The open house information will be sent to ColdwellBanker.com and OpenHouse.com


4. Your open house can be searched and mapped on the mobile website.


5. The HomeFacts message will announce when the open house will be.

And... it happens automatically as long as you enter the information into IQOffice. Even if you miss the newspaper deadline, all the other things happen. Now that's efficient. So, the weather outside is nicer, warmer and maybe a little more predictable (OK, maybe not). The buyers are definitely out and more active. So it's time to start holding homes open to get more contracts. Remember, the things that you do today to generate activity will lead to closings in the future. If you do nothing today then..... well, we won't let that happen.

Mapping Your Property on CB Select Websites

Have you ever been camping and gone on a hike only to realize that 30 minutes along your trek, you don't have a clue where you are? Boy can that be unnerving. Thank goodness for the trusty Boy Scout compass, or better yet, one of those cool GPS units with the color topography maps and satellite tracking. Oh Yeah!

When it comes to mapping your properties on real estate websites, sometimes you get the feeling of being lost, and so does the public. Not anymore on CBTulsa.com or CBOKC.com As the listing agent, you can access the map loaction of your listing, through IQOffice, and set the actual location of your listing on the map so that it shows on CBTulsa.com and CBOKC.com correctly. Gotta love technology.

Here's what you do.

1. Login to IQOffice
2. Go to "Listings Management", "For Sale", then "Residential".
3. Click on the listing you want to change the map location of.
4. Click on the "Map" tab across the top.
5. Use the map to zoom in/out to find the correct location.
6. "Right Click" on the map where you want the new location to be. When you do this, the push pin will show up in the new location.
7. Click Save at the bottom of the screen.
8. Go have lunch, you've worked hard for the day.

Hope this helps. Remember, most of the time, the location will be correct. It really only comes into play if it is a new subdivision, vacant land, or a rural property.