Everyday in the real estate business, we are inundated to buy products that will improve our careers. The pitch goes "Want more leads … more closed deals, and … want to make so much money you won't know what to do with it?" The hawkers cover the entire technology spectrum from Internet companies, software vendors, pay for exclusive territories, pay-for-click Web placement, Web positioning, and Internet websites. They claim they have a solution for us. We can reinvent ourselves, the way we do business, and transform our careers with a single purchase! They pitch relentlessly to us via e-mails, flyers, mail, seminars, office meetings, and convention or business retreats! They'll even call us at home or on our cell phones! They all have the same pitch. "You'll make more money with our product -- we have the latest technology, the best Web placement, and the world's best coaches, etc."

Success is based solely upon your ability to pay. After all, it will only cost you a reasonable fee that your next commission or a small monthly payment can easily pay for! "What about the easy installment plan?" Sound familiar? But what will really ensure your success? Will it be the latest technology, or the techniques you employ in your everyday business? Technology is a tool or method that we can employ to meet our goals, but technique is an employment of skills that can bring a deal to closure.

Newbies to our business often invest in technology -- websites, electronic toys, notebooks, PC's, software -- and gadgets that mesmerize the beholder as well as any magician, but is it putting the cart in front of the horse? If they make a decent profit on the investment, it is a good thing, and if they leave the business in a short while without ever closing a deal it wasn't such a good idea. They just spent all their money on tech toys!

Many successful real estate agents in the industry are tech geeks, and most of those to whom I've recently talked have told me that they are on hold for embracing any new technologies to increase their business. There are too many downsides to changing technologies, dealing with learning curves, and implementation of new technologies. Too much time and opportunity can be lost, and time equals money. Instead, they are going the other way, and embracing service via improving their business techniques with past clients or spheres of influence. Like myself, I guess many of them are tired of separating the hype, and illusion from the realities of our business. Most have taken a position that they've a better chance to grow their business by seeking a balance of technology and technique. Based upon collective consensus of many techies that I've talked to, it is hard to get excited when new technology products are pitched. Their past performance in our industry has been so dismal.

There are many ways to make money, retain profit, be successful, and enjoy a long successful real estate career. In our industry, we must acknowledge that many real estate agents are successful with a minimum use of gadgets and technology. They prefer a professional personal image, people skills, and honing their techniques to close more deals. Their concentrations of skills are laden with: dialogue, personal contact, service, and by being a people person. They will use some of the newer software, or technologies but only after careful evaluation and research -- not on impulse. Their decision is based on research, talking to other agents … and if it is determined they can increase the utility of their services, and enhance their existing modes of production, they'll buy it! In their mind, new technologies are used for efficiency, to increase productivity, and to offer a better level of service. They will only use these tools to grow an existing business, but not as a novelty.

Some tips and questions regarding new technologies, systems or software:

• Never buy new technologies or software on impulse.
• Determine what your business needs are! Stay focused!
• Purchase only to fulfill your needs.
• Learn to evaluate your business, and systems to determine your needs.
• If you are satisfied with current software, stay with it or just upgrade.
• Ask vendors for a list of users so that you can call them personally.
• Ask yourself is the purchase within your budget?
• Never feel pressured into buying anything.
• Dismiss any purchase where you are told you must buy today!
• Ask yourself what benefit will this bring to your business, and clients?
• Is it cost effective? What will be the return?
• Is it a reasonable price?
• How does this product or service compare to the vendor competition?
• Above all, make yourself accountable for your expenditures.

To be successful and profitable in our careers, we must run our business as professionals. We must plan, budget, set goals, and be cost effective. Success is not measured in terms of luck, but rather by deliberate attempts of trial an error to get to the next level of achievement. It is a measure of efficiency.

Yes, for an established agent, technology may enhance an existing business model, and make us more successful. In my humble opinion the mark of a true professional is a matter of choice. It is a determination of needs by careful research, followed by: evaluation, acquisition, employment and implementation. The right mix of technologies, and techniques ensure a balance. It is this alone that will ensure our success, better serve our clients and add quality and substance to our professional image and further our careers in the right direction.

Success is not measured in terms of the technology you purchase or acquire, but rather upon the technique in which it is deployed and used. Successful implementation of new technologies is best done by those that already have the techniques and strategies in place and business focus that will ensure success. It is a deliberate strategy. It has identified a need, and technology will assist you in fulfilling it. In other words, technology may assist you in increasing your business leads, but technique is the ability that will close them.

Published: December 16, 2003

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Jim Crawford, ABR, e-PRO 500 is currently licensed as a Broker Associate with RE/MAX Greater Atlanta in Atlanta Georgia, and as Broker Associate with Distinctive Realty Inc. in McLean Virginia. Jim and his wife Ellen work as a husband and wife team in the northern Atlanta suburbs. As the team's rainmaker, Jim is a self-taught webmaster and designer, and he relies exclusively on the Internet for marketing. He is considered an expert on marketing, nationwide relocation, cutting edge technology, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for real estate, and Internet marketing. Jim's seminars, online contributions, and technology ideas assist real estate agents to maximize their business results, and raise the industry's professional service level skills. His common sense marketing ideas have been published and quoted regularly in trade publications. He has also consulted and advised NAR offices regarding Internet issues, and Internet ethics for Realtors. In between sales, Jim is a popular speaker at national and regional real estate seminars, and retreats. He is also an online real estate coach, with a self-tutorial coaching site for real estate professionals. Jim was a featured speaker at the November 2004 National Association of REALTORS® convention in Orlando, and has spoken at the several REALTORS® conventions both in the United States and Canada. Visit his website at RealEstateTechCoach.com, or e-mail him at .