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It's not too late
You can learn more technology.
by
Dave Dalzell Back in my old radio DJ days, I had a “Dalzell’s Law” I shared with listeners: “If you didn’t start today with a smile, it’s not too late to start practicing for tomorrow.” You can apply that same attitude to today’s technology.
I started my real estate career carrying amortization books and using carbon paper. Today’s “young lions” come to the profession armed with laptops, PDAs, digital cameras, and other tech tools. With a few clicks of the mouse, they can access contact managers, create studio-quality photography, produce graphic designs, manage to-do lists, and so much more. These agents leap ahead of us old-timers in months or even weeks.
I watch with envy as my newest agents complete CMAs, merge tax records, add full-color property fliers, complete computerized listing presentation packages (including all forms filled out and ready for signatures), and do it all in minutes. It took me hours—sometimes days—to put together what they now do in a fraction of the time.
And their stuff looks so good, so professional, so much better than mine ever did.
Some top agents start their morning by putting on a wireless headset and clicking a mouse. The computer responds with a list of contacts and information about what the discussion was the last time the agent visited with that prospect or client. The agent’s hands are free to hold coffee, pull a file, or jot a note. Letters and e-mails get sent and clients are updated in far less time than my old-fashioned method of searching through stacks of files, contracts, memos on my office floor, and “while you were out notes” overflowing my desk and phone.
If you’re an old-timer like me, you’re probably saying about now, “Nothing works like the personal touch.” You’re right! A warm handshake and a genuine smile are still what win the day. But these newcomers know that. They merge high tech with “high touch” and come out winners. And we can too!
Let’s start today by scheduling a 15-minute technology coffee break into each day to learn one new trick on the computer. Let’s set aside 5% or $50 of each closing
to invest in the latest PDA, digital camera, laptop, or updated software. Let’s read the latest tech tips in Texas REALTOR® magazine and the Texas REALTOR® Focus e-mail newsletter. Let’s enroll in NAR’s e-PRO training course or start an office user’s group to share technology ideas.
And remember that old adage now with a new twist: “If you didn’t start today on your computer, it’s not too late to start practicing
for tomorrow.”
Photo by Scott Van Osdol.
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