Dear Mr. Internet: I'm hearing a lot of talk about online "Transaction Management" systems lately.  Is there some way I can "ease" into using these tools without making such a drastic change in the way I manage my sales?  Penny Pagliaro, R, e-PRO Prudential BKB REALTORS Clark Realty Corporation Kamuela, Hi  96743

Dear Penny:

You would think, given all the press about online transaction management, that it was the "next big thing" in real estate.  Well, actually it is!  Eventually we will be managing all our transactions from server-based applications that will dramatically streamline and reduce the costs of doing business.  The only problem is that there are currently about two dozen vendors that offer (or soon will) their own version of it.

While it's nice to have options, this is far too many for the industry to support and as a result, we will eventually see considerable consolidation.  However, there is a way for you to try out online transaction management incrementally (i.e. no wholesale change in the way you currently do business), and as a bonus, boost your listing closing ratio as well þall for no cost!

Transaction Management Plus...

Close Your Deal  is a well-designed online transaction management system available now, at no cost to brokers and agents (settlement service providers like title companies, lenders, appraisers, etc. pay to participate in the system).  What makes this system unique is that it has transaction "templates" for every state in the union.  Since each region of the country has its own way of processing and closing real estate transactions, these templates automatically adapt to the agent's way of doing business, no matter where they are located (i.e. California uses escrow officers, New York has attorneys, etc.).

What's great about this particular system is that you can start using it before you even have a transaction to manage þin a powerful way to bring in more listings.  Here's how you do it:

STEP 1 - Go to Close Your Deal and register.  It will take about 48 hours for them to confirm that you are a licensee in good standing.  Once approved, you can use the system as much as you like at no cost.

STEP 2 - Prior to going on a listing appointment, log on to the Close Your Deal site and "Open A New Deal" which takes only 2 - 3 minutes!

STEP 3 - Add your listing marketing check list to the "To Do List" for this file.  NOTE: you can add as many items as you like and they will automatically come up every time you open a new file.

STEP 4 - Create a user name and password so the seller has access to view the entire listing marketing process.

After completing these four very quick and easy steps, you have effectively created an online client "Extranet" that will keep the seller constantly informed of the entire marketing process.  And now you are ready to go on your listing appointment...

Standing Head And Shoulders Above The Competition

In any highly competitive industry, the winners are the ones who are able to create a high degree of positive differentiation in the minds of their prospects.  By walking into a listing presentation with your pre-built "client update" system customized just for the seller, you can easily separate yourself from the rest of the pack.

You start out by explaining how they (the seller) will be able to see everything that happens during the marketing process (a big issue with most sellers) including messages between all the parties.  Now here's where it can even get better.  Go on to show how, once an offer is accepted, the entire transaction can be managed and viewed online through the same system, saving them a great deal of worry, confusion, and time.  This is a real "Wow!" for sellers who use the Internet regularly.  Remember, you don't have to use the transaction management side of this service, but it's there for those cases where it can give you an additional "edge".

What we have just done here is taken a very powerful, free online tool and adapted it in a clever way to: a) generate more listing business; b) ease into using online transaction management without upsetting the way you typically do business.  And, when you consider it doesn't cost anything and takes little time to implement þopportunities just don't come better than this!

Online transaction management is here to stay.  Which vendors will ultimately prevail is hard to say.  One thing is certain however, those agents who are willing to try and adapt to new ways of doing their business, will always be among those that stay!