Real Estate Agents and Technology - How to Use Tech Devices to Your Advantage
By Kris Beldin

A primary advantage of technology is it can considerably increase your productivity ... if you know how to use it well. It seems sometimes that the new products around are nothing less than gizmos or are so hard to understand that only an engineer could figure out how to use them efficiently. One example: although the majority of agents now use the internet to communicate with their clients, surveys found that many real estate agents do not use the Internet fully to capture and retain leads. An article in Realty Times thus reported that home buyers' main complaint about Realtors online is that they don't respond to email inquiries fast enough.

Real estate agents can use technological devices to help them manage their schedule, advertise, stay in touch with clients, and accomplish many other tasks. And many actually do use tech devices. A 2002 survey conducted by the National Association of Realtor, "Technology and the Realtor," shows that 80 percent of Realtors use between 4 and 6 devices for their work. Additionally, another NAR survey conducted in 2000 found that 77 percent of respondents used email for business purposes. However, many do not use these devices to their full potential.

Some people are naturally gifted to quickly understand how technology works and how to use it to their advantage. For all the others, there is help.

For example, ePro, a comprehensive Internet certification program for real estate professionals, teaches the basics about doing real estate business online. People who complete the course learn more about Web sites, online tools, and the Internet as a way to reach today's consumers. ePro has been offered by the NAR since 2000.

For agents looking for training for more specific devices, the Internet is also the first place to go. Indeed, many companies provide courses on how to do a better use of PDAs, Blackberry, etc.

New technologies have the potential to help professionals be more productive with their time. However, these professionals will need proper training to be able to control these technologies instead of wasting time trying to make them work.

Kris Beldin is a PR coordinator for 10x Media, a marketing solutions company.
Estatblished in 2003, 10x Media has expanded its online presence through consumer information networks Inside Real Estate, Inside Finances and Grab Real Estate, which contain thousands of pages for city and state specific real estate information across the nation.

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