In recent weeks there has been explosion in coverage of the newest "trend" - that is of conducting real estate by virtue of mobile technologies. To be historically correct, mobile technology is in no way a "new" trend. However, the realization of its lasting success over the last several years is grabbing some major headlines in RE news services such as Inman and Rismedia.

What is Mobile Technology?

Mobile Technology is a general term that means technology that allows an individual to conduct their business from anywhere, anytime. The number and types of mobile technologies are vast - ranging from software that runs on your PDA, phone, laptop, just about any device. The types of software available are also wide spread - from simple text message communications to information packed emails and MLS listings.

Why is it Useful?

In the competitive nature of the RE profession, responsiveness is key. The saying the "early bird gets the worm" is not a joke. Those who appear constantly available, and can change their game plans at a moments notice are the ones that succeed. To read more, see our blog posting Responsiveness Proves an Edge in Winning Listings.

Did you know Mobile Technologies is part of REW™?

The REW™ certification is based on sound, time-proven technologies, and has included the Mobile Technology course from first conception. This course does not teach you how to use your mobile phone - rather it goes beyond the basic operations included in your phone or PDA instruction guide. The course delves into the true power behind the mobile device you can't leave home without. Software capabilities, communication protocols, and the various types of mobile devices are just a few of the topics covered in the course. Click here for a more in-depth summary of the course or here for a sample presentation.

This week, InmanTV interviewed Keith Garner, the managing director of the National Institute of Realtors' Center for Realtor Technology, about upcoming technologies available for RE Professionals. The Center for Realtor Technology's mission is two-fold, (1) to educate real estate professionals on the technologies available today to make them more efficient and successful and (2) to provide a sounding board for real estate professionals to either build utilities they need or could use, or advise technology companies on technoology content real estate professionals need or would find beneficial.

As stated in the introduction of the REW Handbook ,"the CRT’s development of applications, published surveys and white papers on real estate technology highlights why they care about technology acceptance and adoption by Realtors®. Throughout this book and online courses found at Webographers.com, training content is written in the “spirit” of the lessons and best practices expressed by the Center of Realtor® Technology (CRT)".

In this short interview, Keith discusses what CRT is and what they do, weighs in on the usefulness of smart phones, with specific attention to the newly released iPhone and finally gives his take on what should be the real estate professional's "silver bullet".

Real Estate Video by - Real Estate Blogger

In recent years there has been a big push to learn how to better and more efficiently obtain leads. Volumes of literature have been written and a myriad of software and social techniques invented. After so much effort has been exhausted to generate these leads, eventually folks realized that transforming suspects into prospects is as difficult as finding them, if not more so.

So how DO you get people off the phone and email, and through your door? One thing you must constantly be aware of is your responsiveness to your prospect's requests. Most first time home buyers are Generation Xers, 20s and 30s-somethings brought up by the "www" - a virtually immediate gratification device. There's no more waiting for the morning news, traffic, or weather reports - it's all there when they want it, at the click of a button.

Moreover, in a recent California Association of Realtors (CAR) publication entitled "Internet versus Traditional Buyer Study", 63% of traditional home buyers felt agent responsiveness to be either an "extremely important" or "very important" aspect in selecting the right RE professional. These numbers climb even higher - up to 83% - when polling internet home buyers.

To keep up with what consumers are expecting, agents are going to have to continue to decrease their response time, and mobile technologies is their vehicle. With almost any standard PDA, an agent can use the mobile technologies available to boost his or her availability to nearly 100%. These technologies take you to the next level, from answering phone calls, responding to agent or single property website inquiries, or even browsing the MLS.

Those agents who are successful know a quick response time is part of the complex recipe to winning more listings turning their leads into clients. Have you gone mobile yet?

We had the pleasure of interviewing Roxanne Tidmore, a recent REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ (REW™) certificant and Virtual Assistant with EliteREVA, based in Cincinatti, Ohio.

Roxanne is a National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) certified Real Estate Professional Assistant (REPA) and a certified Point2Point Virtual Assistant (VA). She is able to support a number of Real Estate agent and broker activities, such as Lead Generation, New Listings coordination, Marketing, Online Transaction Management, Point2Point services, and much more.

Roxanne has completed the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ (REW™) certification recently and we asked her a few simple interview questions on her thoughts of the program.

1) What is your background?

My background, before I became a Real Estate Assistant, was working as an Executive Assistant for about 20 years. I then decided to research the Virtual Assistant industry. I chose the Real Estate Assistant niche because I have strong administrative skills and I have always had an interest in selling real estate.

2) Why did you undertake the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ (REW™) certification?

I undertook the REW™ certification because I liked the concepts offered and wanted to learn more about them through the training. Prior to hearing about their training, I had not throught of creating a seamless web presence through a series of different software programs and it interested me to see how it all would work together.

Also, I am always looking for outlets to improve my skills as a Real Estate Assistant. Webographers has classes that I could learn from and then immediately apply those skills in my services to real estate agents and brokers.

3) What are your impressions of the online experience

It was great! Big piece for me was the ability to engage and play with various products as well. Simply stated there is no other vessel that allows assistants to engage ZipForm, which is used by hundreds of thousands of Realtors, thus opening the doors to new clients and more hours.

I liked the self-paced learning which made it perfect for my situation. I was able to fit the training into my schedule and still have time to take care of my clients. Also, if you need technical assistance, you can always contact the Webographer support team. They have always been very helpful and courteous and able to solve any technical issues that I encountered.

4) How long did it take you to complete the certification?

The training took about 10 to 12 hours, spread over my spare nights and weekends.

5) What would you tell those who are considering this certification?

Do it! If you do not have real estate experience, it gives you a foundation to build your knowledge about real estate. If you have had previous training, this will definitely add to it. You really can never get enough training!

Also a big help for me was the book that accompanied the training. I would read a chapter and then take the online portion. The lessons really made more sense to me that way - I could see them in action.

REW™ contains techniques and technologies that are another series of valuable services you will be able to offer to real estate agents and brokers.

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Thanks Roxanne and all the Best!

The National Institute of Webographers has awarded iseemedia, Inc. corporate sponsorship of the Mobile Technology competency within the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ (REW™) certification.

View Press Release here.

Mobile capability is arguably the fastest growing technology requirement for a real estate professional today. Over the course of a typical day, RE professionals are constantly on the go; from visiting various new potential sellers, to showing current homes on the market to prospective buyers. Due to an agent's constant "on-the-go" workday, it is of paramount importance that an agent always be available for rapid response to today's internet-savvy consumer.

iseemedia understands this demand for mobility, and has answered the call by offering breakthrough products specifically designed for the "on-the-go" professional. iseemedia, along with North American distribution partner, RealBiz360, provides solutions for the mobile agent to complement sales, marketing, communications and customer management tools to make the mobile device as effective as their desktop computer at the office or home.

For the up-and-coming RE professional, this means their real estate needs, such as access to MLS data, real estate applications, mobile Virtual Tour access and / or to online documents have now become portable.

REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ Certification Activity

Candidates engage a "story" of a mobile agent utilizing mobile devices and applications to complete objectives while "on-the-go". This snapshot includes a 1-week perspective of the tasks performed & executed while being mobile; allowing the candidate to better understand the value proposition behind mobile technology.  An in-depth view of iseemedia mobile technology is presented for immersive learning into today's latest mobile apps for the real estate professional.