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 şall 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 şin 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 şopportunities 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!

Article Resources:

Close Your Deal - one of the more flexible online transaction management systems that works no matter where you do business, and can also help you achieve a highly closing rate during listing appointments.

There is now a very easy and cool way to add your voice to any listing Web page.  It's called BYOBroadcast and once set up, it's as simple as picking up the phone and leaving a message. One of the most impressive features of this service is they have figured out how to deliver high-quality streaming voice audio to anyone with a Java-enabled Web browser şwhich means no plug-ins or third party software is required to listen to your message.  Try it yourself, just click the "listen" button here: If you were using a Java enabled browser, you would hear a narration instead of seeing this text. It only took me a few seconds to install the necessary java code into this page and just a few more to leave the message (well, not counting the times I practiced a bit :o). You purchase a year's use of an applet for each listing you want to voice enable.  After a particular listing sells, you simply move the code over to another active listing.  And for a limited time*, you can get a sizable discount on these applets by mentioning that you heard about it from Mr. Internet! Your voice can be a powerful marketing tool, BYOBroadcast makes it easy to put it to good use! *NOTE: Neither Mr. Internet nor any of his staff or employees of RUSSER Communications receives payment of any kind from third party vendors for mentioning their products or services.

Published: January 17, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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Michael J. Russer (a.k.a. Mr. Internet®) is an internationally acclaimed speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry and small business. He is also the exclusive Internet columnist for REALTOR® Magazine, the architect of the revolutionary e-ProductivityTM system and leading voice for the use of Virtual Assistants in small business. You can subscribe to his free monthly leading-edge newsletter ePOWER NEWS by going to ePowerNews.com.

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