As a fan of Brian Gardner and the theme development work he does at StudioPress, I am really excited about their newest premium WordPress theme.

Brian partnered with the crew at MyTechOpinion (Nicole Nicolay, Reggie Nicolay and Chad Johnson) to put together the AgentPress Real Estate WordPress theme for agents and brokers.

The AgentPress theme offers all the same great code, sleek design and features as the other StudioPress themes with a couple of added features for the real estate professional.

AgentPress has incorporated a custom property template that enables you to display each listing as a separate post with all the property details and relevant information laid out in a professional, eye catching, easy to read format. The custom property template includes the following:

• Property Details – Square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, MLS#, etc.
• Additional Features – A section to highlight the properties unique features.
• Additional Photos – Various interior and exterior photos.
• Property Map – A section to embed a Google map of the property.

In addition, the auto sizing thumbnail management does all the work for you. Upload your main property image once and AgentPress automatically resizes the image for you and sets you apart from the crowd with it’s incredible display.

As with all Brian’s StudioPress themes, AgentPress offers endless possibilities for a real estate website with its four different theme color options and a little customization.

For more information, visit the AgentPress site or go straight to the Demo and have a look.

Wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas holiday and a Happy New Year.

Don’t forget to click on the “Details” button for a short personal message from me.

Happy Holidays!

Today is Thanksgiving for my friends in the U.S. and I want to wish you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. I couldn’t be happier to have come across an amazing blog post today with news that has without a doubt given many of us a reason to be thankful.

Not so long ago, I came across a tweet posted on Twitter by a friend and colleague of mine, Laura Monroe of Creative Agent Solutions.com. This “retweet” really hit home for me and after retweeting Laura’s post myself, I immediately followed the link to read more.

I was saddened to read that Lisa, The Domestic Diva, has a teenage daughter Marielle that was hospitalized due to a deteriorating kidney disease. Marielle’s condition was worsening and they were desperate to find a kidney donor. I proceeded to go back in The Domestic Divas’ posts to follow this incredibly difficult journey Marielle, Lisa and their family had been on.

Today is a good day! Today I learned that Marielle is home and happy to spend Thanksgiving with family. Not only that, with thanks to the news of Marielle’s situation going viral, they have finally found a match. Lisa’s news of her daughter needing a kidney donor was spread over the internet via blog posts, Twitter, Facebook and eventually wound up on Fox News.

It is amazing to see that with the passion of family, friends and even strangers, backed by the power of the Internet, news can be spread globally in a matter of days, hours and even minutes. Without the outpouring of support from these people and the ability to reach them via the internet, Marielle may not have received the overwhelming response of donor applications that they did. Donor applications came from all over the U.S., Africa and Saudi Arabia.

I can’t tell you how happy I am for you Marielle, Lisa and your whole family. I wish you all the best in the coming weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Today I am proud to be a part of the second annual Blog Action Day. Each year on October 15th, thousands of bloggers, spanning the globe, unite to bring awareness to one specific global issue. This year bloggers aim to “bring awareness, initiate action and shake the web” about poverty using their own unique voice.

I would like to bring this to your attention. Every three seconds…

…a child dies from extreme poverty and over 1 million Canadian children live in poverty. These numbers are unacceptable and something can be done. Get involved! It’s not hard and it doesn’t have to cost you a dime. Your voice is a powerful and effective tool to get the word out that we must Make Poverty History, our children depend on it.

For more information about poverty in Canada, and globally, visit the sites below. These sites will help explain the little things we can do that could have huge impact on this battle to end poverty.

Make Poverty History

Campaign 2000

National Anti-Poverty Organization

Last but not least. Today is the day that we have chosen to come together as bloggers and voice the importance of the poverty issue all at once, but it doesn’t end there. Starting October 17th through the 19th, there will be events scheduled across the globe to Stand Up & Take Action Against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals. To find out if there will be an event near you visit the Stand Up & Take Action events map.

Currently there are 123 events registered in Canada, 12 events across Alberta and 2 of those events are right here in Calgary.

Don’t wait. Spread the word and let your voice make a difference in the fight to end poverty.

Don’t wait any longer.

If you haven’t done so already, there is still time to register your blog for Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty. On October 15th, 2008, bloggers around the world will use their unique voice and platform to discuss, educate and bring awareness about this crippling global issue.

We are encouraged to get involved in any way we can. There are numerous was to participate including publishing a post, donating a days earnings and promoting Blog Action Day 2008. Choose one or all methods, but get involved.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

You can read more on their website at Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty. I look forward to reading and learning from all your posts tomorrow on Blog Action Day 2008.

Yesterday Albertans were reminded that the switch to 10-digit dialing is fast approaching. It was back in 2004 when the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) brought to our attention that we were running out of available phone numbers under the 403 and 780 area codes, and as a result of Alberta’s rapid population growth in the last few years the province is having to implement a third area code (587).

Any new numbers in Alberta will now be given the 587 area code, regardless of where in Alberta you reside.

Starting yesterday, Albertans were receiving a prerecorded reminder when making local calls that said:

The local number you’ve dialed, must be preceded by its area code. Your call will now proceed. For future calls to this number, please dial the area code.

This recording is simply a message to remind us that we should be taking the necessary steps, now, to reprogram our cell phones and phone systems, prior to the mandatory 10-digital dialing taking effect on September 8, 2008. It’s going to take some getting use to, this 10- digit dialing system, so I will be reprogramming my phones now to save any hassles come September.

Alberta isn’t the only province having to switch to 10-digital dialing. British Columbia has also added another area code (778) and will be forced to 10-digital dialing on September 8th.

On a final note, I thought it important to also mention that all three digit dialing (211, 311, 411, 611, 811 and 911) in Alberta and British Columbia will remain the same.

Don’t wait until September to have your phones reprogrammed. Start now and prepare yourself for the switchover.

Photo by *hitetiger

I am excited to announce that this Friday, May 9th, 2008, I will be a guest on Real Estate Radio USA along side my colleague, and friend, Laura Monroe of Creative Agent Solutions.com .

We have been invited to discuss the nitty-gritty details about Real Estate Virtual Assistants (REVA’s) and how Real Estate Professionals, like yourselves, can benefit from partnering with a REVA.

We hope you will join us, with Barry Cunningham and Barry Johnson, on Friday, May 9th at 5:00 pm Eastern for a fun filled show answering all your burning questions about Real Estate Virtual Assistants. Laura and I are excited and honored to be a part of the first Real Estate Radio USA show featuring REVA’s as their guests.

See you Friday!

Viruses, blue screen of death and day after day of little quirks are finally behind me. In recent months, a friend of mine, Jeff Turner, President of Real Estate Shows, had encouraged me to “leave the dark side” and make the switch from my PC to a Mac.

I had been considering this switch for a while and had some concerns in doing so. First of all I am a creature of habit and a change this big was a little unsettling to me. I had always been a PC user and had never even tried a Mac before.

After numerous emails back and forth with Jeff, combined with my own extensive research, I came to the realization that making the move to a Mac could only enhance the way I work on the computer as the Mac had so much to offer. I knew however, that this would take a lot of commitment on my part to familiarize myself with all the new processes, but I was up for the challenge and extremely excited about it.

A second concern arose for me as I became aware that as a Real Estate Virtual Assistant I work with a number of programs that are not Mac compatible. This was ultimately going to be the deciding factor for me and whether or not to make the switch. I was pleased to find out that there was an easy way to overcome this obstacle. I was introduced to a program called Parallels Desktop 3.0 that allows you to run Windows (Linux and more) side-by-side on the Mac. This was the answer I was looking for. I could now run all the non Mac compatible real estate programs simultaneously via Parallels Desktop 3.0.

I should also mention that the new Mac OS X Leopard comes with a program called Bootcamp that will allow you to do the same thing, however it is not without its limitations (for me). With the Bootcamp program you are forced to shut down the Mac system and reboot in Windows in order to use the Windows system. They can not be run side-by-side through Bootcamp. Although this would be a viable option for some people, I decided that spending the $89 CDN for Parallels Desktop 3.0 to run Mac and Windows simultaneously was well worth the investment to maintain a steady, uninterrupted flow of work.

So if you are a Realtor and have considered switching to a Mac, and have had the same concerns about running your real estate programs; know that there is a way.

I am happy to say that after months of research and sitting on the fence, I have officially left the dark side. I am now a “beginner” Mac user and the proud owner of a fabulous new iMac desktop system (Mac OS X Leopard).

In the coming weeks I am going to chronicle my experiences with my new Mac through tips, tricks and tutorials about the things I have learned (and am still learning) and how to make a seamless switch from a PC to a Mac.

If you are a new Mac user or are considering making the switch and have any specific tutorial suggestions, please let me know and I would be happy to try and work them in.

Stay tuned!

As a Real Estate Professional, you probably spend a good part of your day, most days, concentrating on the revenue generating tasks of your business such as previewing homes, meeting with clients, showing homes, presenting offers and holding open houses, and if you’re not; you should be. The reality is that most Real Estate Professionals find themselves juggling time spent on day-to-day administrative duties, and time spent on the more important tasks of building relationships and generating revenue.

Let a Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant (PREVA) eliminate the need to “juggle” and take care of the day-to-day administrative duties for you. These tasks, or business solutions as I like to call them, may include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Blogging
If you don’t already have one, a PREVA can set up a blog for you using your existing website set-up or one of the more popular blogging platforms such as Wordpress (free and self hosted sites) and TypePad. Once set up, or using your existing blog, a PREVA can help maintain and update the blog, as well as brainstorm content ideas.

2. Contact Management
Keeping your contacts and leads up-to-date is key. Using a CRM (Contact Relationship Management) program such as Outlook, ACT, or my personal favorite, The Wise Agent, a PREVA can customize, organize, update and maintain all of your contacts, appointments and deadlines in such a way that flows with your own personal working style.

3. Drip Email Campaigns
We will create, customize, maintain and arrange distribution of email campaigns for your buyers and sellers which is key to keeping you in the forefront of your contacts minds.

4. Flyers
Let a PREVA create fabulous marketing tools such as Listing Presentations and CMA’s that will “wow” your clients and keep you one step ahead of your competition

5. Listing Management
As a PREVA, we will handle all aspects of your listings from submission to your local real estate board, email blasts to agents and brokerages and advertising, to the creation of all related marketing materials, submission to your own websites, blogs and popular real estate portals and even purchasing your buyer/seller closing gift. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

6. Postcards
Creation and distribution of Just Listed, Just Sold and Specialty postcards will keep you on track with consistent marketing efforts.

7. Single Property Websites
Without a doubt, Single Property Websites, such as MarketSites by MyMarketWare should be at that the top of the list in the marketing plan for your listings. Each listing will be assigned its own unique URL, and as your PREVA we will handle the creation, submission and maintenance of each single property website with statistical information, for each site, sent to you regularly.

8. Virtual Tours
Another great marketing tool is the virtual tour. What better way to show off all corners of the home than with fabulous images, descriptions and links to capture the attention of prospective buyers. As a PREVA I will set all this up for you with special attention to where the virtual tour will be posted, to give your listing maximum online exposure (i.e. your websites, blogs and numerous other real estate portals). My virtual tour platform of choice is Real Estate Shows for its flexibility and high quality presentation.

9. Website Maintenance
We will ensure that your website(s) are kept up-to-date with current listings, news and buyer and seller information.

Lastly and most important…

10. Time and Money
Time is something we can give you to spend with family and concentrate on those revenue generating tasks mentioned above. Money can also be saved by partnering with a Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant. Contact Me for a cost comparison of using a PREVA as opposed to, or in conjunction with, an “on-site” assistant.

Photo by yoppy

]]> http://agentsolutions.ca/thesis/top-10-things-a-real-estate-virtual-assistant-can-do-for-you/feed 2 http://agentsolutions.ca/thesis/contact-management-is-the-key-to-success http://agentsolutions.ca/thesis/contact-management-is-the-key-to-success#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:00:31 +0000 Jennifer http://www.agentsolutions.ca/thesis/2008/02/06/contact-management-is-the-key-to-success/

If there is one thing you need to learn before you go into business it is never ever lose a contact’s details.  Whether it was only an exchange of information, former partner or a potential client, it is vital that you keep details of all of your business dealings.  That person you spoke to 10 years ago may just be the lady to bite at your next deal.  That man you spoke to last week might be the lead you need into a new venture.  So how can you organise your contacts to ensure no details are lost?

To be sure that the information is there when you want it and in a format which is helpful, you really need to have a central storage point which can possibly be accessed from any computer and is password protected.  The beauty of this is that you can add, change or find the contact details you require in an instant.  Many people also find it very useful to either make notes about the contact or even store details of past dealings – whether this is a client, potential client or someone to deal with in the Real Estate sector.

Many people are finding it useful to pass these more administrative procedures to their Real Estate Virtual Assistant, who can store the information at a central point – totally separate from any other contact details – and either call them up for the account holder or allow them online access.  Your contacts are one of your most valuable assets but it is up to you how you use them to assist with your business.

A lost contact may be a lost opportunity, and with the market as competitive as it is, nobody can afford to pass up any opportunities.

Photo by Toky