Leveraging its position as the world leader in software technology development, Microsoft is introducing a Web-based customer management tool for brokers called Realty Desktop. The application is designed to help brokers manage their customer relationships from the point of first contact throughout a lifetime.

Launching the product with two top 50 national real estate brokers, Howard Perry and Walston Realtors of North Carolina and Wardley GMAC Real Estate of Salt Lake City, Microsoft is offering brokers glimpses of Realty Desktop screen shots exclusively at Realty Times.

• View the Realty Desktop

The main selling feature of the application is in its ability to integrate all the fragments of the real estate transaction and put their management back in the hands of the broker, including prospect management, revenue opportunities, and agent management.

"There are numerous, fragmented processes throughout the real estate transaction that need to be more tightly integrated," said Bryan Mistele, product unit manager of MSN HomeAdvisor. "With Realty Desktop, the entire transaction is connected - from the second a lead comes in, all the way through the sale of post-transaction services like painting, landscaping, security systems and more. Realty Desktop will produce a higher degree of customer loyalty, decrease customer acquisition costs and increase profitability for both the agent and broker."

In keeping with the company's goal to license its popular stable of software products on the Web, Microsoft's Realty Desktop is designed to provide service without adding to infrastructure costs or making existing software at the brokerage obsolete. Brokers only need an Internet connection.

The elimination of duplications in paperwork is enough to attract many. "Realty Desktop will allow my agents to spend less time in the office struggling with paperwork and more time with their customers," said Don Walston, president of Howard Perry and Walston Realtors in North Carolina. "There's only one thing that can result from that - more transactions, more customers and more homes sold."

The service will intentionally capitalize on the conversion potential of the consumer traffic that Microsoft HomeAdvisor generates for its broker partners. Recently, Microsoft announced record-breaking traffic numbers for the month of January, according to Media Metrix Inc, up 160% since the previous year. In addition, a study of 85 independently owned and operated RE/MAX offices showed that HomeAdvisor delivered more than 13 times as many qualified leads to real estate professionals as its nearest competitor, Realtor.com, according to the company. Realty Desktop is built upon Microsoft's ClearLead lead management platform which will enable brokers to follow up on inquiries from the Web.

Among Realty Desktop's features are:

Published: February 24, 2000

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.