Stephen Canale, CRB, CRS, GRI, RAM is among the most well-known Internet real estate trainers. His basic advice for what you’ll need on the Internet is to divide technologies into A,B,C priorities, with laptops, an ISP, email, a personal Web page, and contact management software for sales productivity, a digital camera, and a color printer firmly at the head of the list. Other technologies can be as important depending on how dedicatedly you use them.

Contact Management - This is the must have software for sales productivity. These are the programs that enable you to keep track of every detail regarding your prospects, sphere of influence, geographical farm and past clients. Managing thousands of contacts is amazingly simple and the ability to mass mail personalized prospecting and follow up letters is just the beginning of their power. Top Producer, Prep and others are examples of effective contact managers.

Color Printing - While laser printers will usually print better looking graphics and have a higher page output, using color in your printed materials and letters adds impact and demands attention. The technology has advanced to the point that for under $400 you can print great looking documents that will enhance your professional image dramatically. I have just one warning: use color sparingly. Often the temptation is to over do it, and instead of adding value, the finished product looks very unprofessional instead.

If you're going to go portable with your technology, then a portable printer is an eventual must-have purchase. While showing buyers and seller property flyers and MLS searches in their living room is a great use of technology to enhance customer service, nothing matches the lasting professional impression made by actually printing color copies to leave behind. When you realize that a good portable printer can be had for under $300 and that that these units really are portable, it doesn't take much calculation to realize their true value to today's mobile professionals.

Digital Cameras - Few technologies are a satisfying to use as the digital camera. Not only does it save both time and money, but it also represents one of the few technologies that can directly impress your customers and clients as well. When you tour a prospective listing taking digital photos, and then import them into a marketing flyer right before the seller's eyes, you're building a lot of credibility in the process. And, when you e-mail a photo of your new listing to an out of town buyer, the same day the home comes to market, they're going to be impressed!

Presentation Software - More and more of today's real estate professionals are successfully taking their technology into the field. Armed with a notebook computer and the real estate presentation software available from either Top Producer or PREP, any agent can easily utilize outstanding presentations for their buyers and sellers. The value to the agent is that both of these software packages come with over a dozen top-quality presentations that can be easily customized. This drastically reduces the amount of time required to prepare for client appointments and makes a professional statement that cannot be matched by paper alone.

Palm Pilots - Now that Top Producer and PREP (Version 4.0) are offering the ability to synchronize information between your computer and the Palm Operating System (OS) it's finally a good idea to explore the Palm series. The power of having access to every contact, appointment and to-do list in your shirt pocket cannot be underestimated. In fact, combined with the cell phone that you already own a Palm computer will truly allow you to be organized and in touch whenever you please. It's worth noting that you don't actually have to buy a Palm Pilot model, any personal digital assistant that uses the Palm OS will do.

Scanners - In terms of creating the "paperless office" the scanner cannot be beat! Keep in mind that it's actually the document management software included with your scanner that actually helps you get organized and become more productive. To begin cutting the ties to paper and files, consider scanning a copy of all of your standard listing and sales forms. Combined with a portable printer, you can truly become a more mobile professional.

Financial Analysis - Most agents seem to shy away from offering financial advice, instead simply referring financial inquiries to a loan officer. Unfortunately, this runs counter to growing consumer demands for one-stop shopping and expert advice from all of their business contacts. While no one is saying that agents need to become mortgage underwriters, having accurate answers to all of your consumer's questions and offering unbiased and expert advice certainly goes a long way towards adding value to your services, and creating satisfied customers.

The financial software programs from both Top Producer and PREP can make the task of mortgage counseling extremely simple, effective and accurate. If any agent doubts the value of adding such software to your current lineup, simply consider the proposition from the customer's perspective. What buyer wouldn't want to know the real financial differences between choosing a fixed-rate or an adjustable rate loan? Who wouldn't want to understand the true impact of paying discount points? How could your buyer not be impressed by a simple, yet accurate, demonstration of the long-term impact of making small additional principal payments on a monthly basis? Finally, the real question is how will the buyer feel about the professionalism and value of the person who can provide them with this valuable information?