Open House info on Realtor.com

Well, well, well, I just found out something interesting.  Did you know that our open house information feeds automatically to Zillow, Trulia, and ColdwellBanker.com? Just by adding the information into IQOffice it flows to those sites.  Pretty cool, huh?  Did you also know that it flows to TulsaOpenHouse.com? (that one may be new to you).  I always thought that because we sent our open house information back to the MLS to show up on TulsaOpenHouse.com that it would automatically feed to Realtor.com.  NOPE!  The only way, for now ;-), to get your open house information to Realtor.com is to login to your account and add it to your listing.

Now some of you may be asking, "But Bryan, I've never logged into my Realtor.com account and don't know how to do that. Can you help me with that?".  Well, of course I can.  I am the Tool Man and this is Tool Time so here we go.

1. go to http://solutioncenter.realtor.com
2. Select the MLS as Tulsa
3. Put in your MLS indentifier (This is your GTAR #)
4. Put in your password (if you don't know it, click on the Forgot Password Link, If you don't have an account, click on the Sign Up Here Link - only if you are new to real estate).
5. On the left menu, click on "Edit a Listing"
6. Select the listing you want to enter the Open House info for and click "Edit".
7. Click on Open Houses and then "Add an Open House Date"
8. Select the Time and Date and click Save.

YOU'RE DONE!

Now that wasn't all that bad was it?  We are working on a way for us to send this information directly to Realtor.com without you having to go through this step, but for now, you'll need to do this.

Hope this helps and don't forget to comment on this post if you like it, hate it, or just want to sound off.

Contacts from iPhone to Excel

So I've been asked a number of times, "How do I get my contacts from my iPhone into Excel so I can put them in IQOffice?" Well, here is the answer.  I even had someone try it and verify(since I don't use a PC anymore).  To be fair, I did not come up with this information, but found it on TrickyWays.com website (Click Here to see the original website).

If you are going to change your iPhone or just want to take backup of your iPhone contacts, here is a simple way to export your iPhone contacts as csv file in Windows 7 and you can open this csv file in Excel. You just need your iPhone and iTunes running in Windows7. Windows XP users here.

Export iPhone contact as CSV file or to Excel

Download and install iTunes, after installation Run iTunes.
Connect your iPhone with computer using data cable.
On the safe side backup your device first, Right-click on your device and select “Back Up” (in-case of any problem with iPhone Contacts you can restore your device later).

When iTunes finish the back up process, Click on “Info” tab

Click on “Sync Contacts with” check box, select “Windows Contacts” from drop down menu and click “Apply” or “Sync” button

Press “Windows + R” keys form keyboard to open “Run” window and type “wab” in “Open” filed and hit OK

Click on tiny arrow and select “Export” as shown below

Select “CSV (Comma Separated Values)” option and click “Export” button

Click on “Browse” button, choose location to save iPhone contacts as csv file

Select iPhone contacts fields that you want to export and hit “Finish” button

You will see this message if iPhone contacts exported as csv file successfully, hit “OK” button.

Now you can use this csv file to import iPhone contacts in any other application or device or you can open this file in Excel to view all iPhone contacts.

Remember to comment on this post if you like or hate it. ;-)

Tool Time!

So, I'm back to Tool Time. Last week I posted about ColdwellBanker.com Profile Pages and the response was great. What I've discovered is the need is greater now than it has ever been to help you all with the tools that are available to you at CB Select, so I 'm back at it.  I hope that you will take my tips, tricks and ideas with a grain of salt and apply the one's that you see fitting into your business.

At Coldwell Banker Select, we offer more tools, marketing, and technology than any other company that I've come across.  That is fine and well, but one of the glaring issues that we face is helping agents implement the tools we offer into their business through example and training.  Sooooo, that's where I'm going to be focusing a large part of my time and effort.  I want to make sure that you know about and understand how to use the tools available to you to help you grow your business.

The first tool I want to talk about is HomeFacts.  As many of you know, this is a call capturing tool that allows you to be texted the caller ID information whenever a potential buyer calls in and inquires about your listing.  It's fast, responsive and can put you in front of more buyers, as well as be an incredible tool if demonstrated in a listing presentation.

One of the downsides to this automated system is, "it's automated".  That means there is a very robotic voice that will greet every caller, unless you change the message. I know a lot of agents don't know how to change the message so I am including a link to the instructions on how to do that:

http://iq2.us/AAA64B

In these instructions are a sample script of what you can say about your listing.  I recommend that you write it out and get it just the way you want and then when you record, simply read the script.  That way you don't waste hours trying to "get it just right".

Oh the other thing, for those of you who "hate" your voice.....you do talk to people don't you? Trust me, your sellers and potential buyers want to hear your voice.  When they press "1" to be connected to you, they want to get the same person that was telling them about their dream home.  It brings legitimacy to it.  So don't worry about your voice, just do the recordings.

Another tip on recordings is to plug your website.  You have a captive audience at that moment and I would let them know that they can "go to my website and see the photos of this listing or any other listing on the market."  Why not, it's your system.

I do get asked a lot about whether or not to put the price on recording.  I have some great options for you in the example script that you can use.  So give it a shot and let me know how it works.  Remember, the most important thing regarding HomeFacts is follow-up.  Just reach out and say "Hi, How may I help you?"

ColdwellBanker.com Profile Pages

Did you know that you have a profile page on ColdwellBanker.com? Yep, that's right. It's one of those perks you get for being BLUE.

Here's what you do. Go to http://cbworks.coldwellbanker.com/ and login. If you don't know what your login is, then you follow these steps. On the CBWorks login page, it will say "First Time Users, Click here for Access". CLICK THERE. It will ask you for your email address. This will be your company email address. The CBWorks system will then email you your password for the system. Follow the steps in the email to get logged in to the system. If it asks for your CREST ID, contact accounting and they can get that for you.

Once you get logged into CBWorks, you will see your name on the left. Click on your name, this will take you to the ColdwellBanker.com/secure site where you enter your profile information. On the left hand side, click on "Profile" and then on "Edit Profile".

There are some requirements that you have to have in your profile in order for it to show up. (1) You MUST click on "Media" and upload your photo. (2) You must have 6 bullet points combined about you in "General", "Credentials", or "Qualifications" area. The rest you can put in what you want. If there is any information that is wrong that you can't change, send an email to czumwalde@cbtulsa.com and we will get it fixed for you (She's going to love me for that one).

Once your profile is setup, it takes about 24hours to be active on the site. Check back the next day and let me know if you have any issues.

Remember, if you want the leads from your listings to go directly to YOU on ColdwellBanker.com, then you have to have your profile page setup.