There is a reason real estate agents are among our largest demographic of clients. You will hardly ever find a real estate agent in one place all of the time. The best in the industry are always on the go, doing what they can to get more listings and to close more sales. These are the agents that are making the money, not settling for average. Most of these agents are well versed in using tools and techniques to help them stay on top of their game by having a high level of efficiency and productivity. At Wireless I.Q., we coach current and aspiring top producers and develop an “action plan” to use technology to achieve goals.

I have compiled a list of 5 tips to increase your efficiency and productivity in 2009:

1. Adopt a new technology and openly look for ways to utilize it to your advantage.

I give a free presentation at real estate company sales team meetings. At the beginning of the presentation, I ask for a show of hands from smartphone users. During one presentation, I was shocked to see that out of over thirty agents there were only three or four hands raised . The week after the presentation, I received calls from a dozen of those agents looking to make the jump to a smart phone. Try to overcome whatever is holding you back from adopting a new technology and approach it with an open mind.

2. Better Manage Client Relationships

What makes a good salesperson? I have always thought of myself as a successful salesperson because I understand who my client is, exactly what they are looking for, and use techniques to help me position my services to their individual needs. If you are asking the right questions, or “power questions” as they are sometimes referred to, you are quickly gathering all of the necessary information needed to help you find the right listings to show your clients. A long sales process can be very stressful for both parties, especially if your client seems to be unhappy with any listing you show them. Maybe they are being difficult. Maybe a better relationship needs to be built.

When I meet a new client, I always add them into my phone’s address book. In my BlackBerry, there are many different fields of information that can be entered. I fill in as many fields as possible, especially the birthday field. Then in the notes section, I write as much as I can about our conversation when I asked them “power questions.” I now have all the information I need to position our services to fit their individual needs.

A few good books to read if you want to improve in this area:

• Spin Selling
• Getting Past No
• Sales for Dummies

3. Showcase Your Property Listings

Find a new way to communicate new listings and changes in listings to potential buyers. If you are reading this on ActiveRain, you have already taken the first step. Social Networking has become a very effective way to market products and services. In the United States alone, there are over 36 million Facebook users. As time progresses, many of the people on Facebook will become first time home buyers. You can setup a Facebook page to help scoop up some of these people and make them your clients. Businesses can now setup their own page with loads of information for Facebook users to view. A few other sites worth checking out are MySpace and LinkedIn.

Another great way to communicate to your clients is to setup a blog or an email distribution list. You can tell your new and existing clients that they can check out your blog for new listings or price drops. If you start an email list, you can send out a weekly newsletter that showcases one particular property. Use your cell phone to take pictures or video of a property and post it on your blog or email it to your clients. If you choose the email newsletter, make sure to tell your clients that you will not share their email address and use the bcc option to hide their email from others.

4. Remain Focused on Your Goals

It is hard to juggle all of the aspects of your job. This is especially true when your family or personal life come into the mix. I use a few techniques to keep up with everything that needs to be done.

First I use my calendar to store every event in my life. I enter deadlines, business trips, meetings, and other events into my BlackBerry or into Microsoft Outlook and set reminders to give me enough time to remember everything I need to do for that particular event. You can change the length of time your reminder goes off in relation to the event. If I have a meeting, I will set it to give myself enough time to get to the meeting. If it is a deadline, I give myself enough time to complete the project, and so on. I even put entries into my calendar when bills are due.

In conjunction with my calendar, I use a task list to mark my progress on my to do list. By using the tasks on my phone, I can set priority and the status of the task on hand. I also use a whiteboard in my home office to give me a visual reminder of tasks that need to be taken care of, calls to be made, and if I am waiting on anything needed to complete my task.

5. Save Time Where You Can

This is usually the most complicated step for our clients. We sit down and brainstorm on ways to save time on daily tasks. One of the most frequent dilemmas is answering an entire day of emails after work. Even with a mobile email device, I see many clients that spend an hour or more responding to emails on their computer at the end of the night because they only read the emails coming in throughout the day. Try to answer an email when waiting in line for coffee, while on a smoke break, or as you scarf down lunch. If you can respond to a few at a time throughout the day, you will have more free time to work on other things at the end of the day.

Another popular solution is setting up wireless synchronization for your smartphone. Many BlackBerry, Palm Treo, Windows Mobile, and iPhone users get home, power up their computer, and plug in their phone to sync with their computer. We help setup a lot of real estate agents for wireless sync. Now when you enter an appointment into your phone, it automatically goes into your computer without having to do anything. The same works vice-versa and for contacts as well. This could save you 15 minutes per day. It can also help if you have someone that helps schedule appointments. When you enter something into your phone, they would immediately be able to see that change and could reduce scheduling conflicts.

You may already be doing some of these tricks. If you are, you are one step ahead of the game. I am always looking for different solutions to help in these areas. If you have any tips or tricks that work for you, leave a comment below.

For more information on how you can improve your efficiency and productivity, feel free to email me or call the number listed in my profile.

AT&T is finally allowing customer’s to cover PDAs and smartphones under their insurance program.  This coverage includes unintentional liquid/physical damage and lost or stolen cell phones.  You may also make a claim if your phone has warranty issues after the one year warranty is up.  The monthly service charge for insurance coverage remains at $4.99 per month per phone.

Until November 3, 2008, all claims covered under the insurance program will have a $50 non-refundable deductible.  After that time, a tier system will be used to determine the deductible you will have to pay.  Tier 1 will be a $50 non-refundable deductible and Tier 2 will be a $125 non-refundable deductible.  Tier 2 phones are high end PDAs, including the latest BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Palm Treo devices.  Phones may be moved from Tier 2 to Tier 1 during the phone’s life cycle, reducing the deductible.

There is a 30 day enrollment period that begins on the day you purchase the device.  You may want to call the insurance number (1-888-562-8662) and ask if they will make an exception due to the new policy.

Check here (pdf link) to see if your phone is eligible.

You can view more information about AT&T’s insurance policy here.

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

From any cell phone browser, you can go to m.facebook.com and pull up a mobile version of the social networking website.

You can upload pictures and video from your cellphone by sending a multimedia message (MMS) to mobile@facebook.com.

In the video below, we review the Facebook application that was designed for the Palm Treo 680, 755p, and the Centro. Facebook is accessed using the internet connection through a program instead of the web browser.

To download it directly to your compatible Palm device, use the phone’s browser to go to http://mobile.palm.com/facebook. The installation process is also covered in the video.

Click “Continue Reading…” to view the video.

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

*When opening the training, you may be prompted to install the WebEx application.

Feel free to pass this information on to anybody that would find it useful.

Training: http://www.wirelessiqllc.com/training.php

Contact us if you or your company is interested in additional training.  Wireless I.Q. provides on site training in addition to live and prerecorded online training.

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

You can view a complete list of searches to perform on Google SMS at sms.google.com.

Ben Marcel
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

Video is below.

Read below for the link and some videos showing people popping popcorn using cellphones (supposedly an advertisement and not real, still cool though).

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

Read CNet’s Article

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju5yIFu4yY8]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V94shlqPlSI]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAd0aWxs7kQ]

Contact us if you have any questions regarding international traveling or anything else pertaining to wireless.

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

Prerequisites:

Generally, you must be a customer of AT&T mobility for at least three months before they will enable your phone to travel internationally. They may make an exception based on your credit history. You can check on this by calling AT&T’s international customer service number directly at (916) 843-4685.

Calling plan:

Once you have international roaming enabled on your AT&T account, you will be provisioned to have AT&T Standard International Roaming. This is a per minute rate for every call made and received. The rate varies by country.

You can receive a discounted international roaming rate by signing up for the World Traveler roaming feature. This package is $5.99 per month added to your cell phone bill. The feature can be added and removed without penalty. Most people add this feature before they leave the country and remove it when they get back. ***I would recommend that you leave the feature on until you receive bills from AT&T covering charges the entire time you were abroad. I have heard of AT&T customers removing the feature the day they get back and were charged the standard rate. Sometimes it can take up to two billing cycles to collect the usage data from foreign wireless carriers.

If you are going to Canada, you can get $.59 per minute calling for $3.99 per month, and if you are traveling to Mexico, you can get $.59 calling for $4.99 per month.

A list of the standard and discounted rates by country/cruise ship can be found here.

Equipment:

Most cell phones that AT&T provide are quad-band. This means that they operate on four frequencies: 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 1900Mhz. Here in the U.S., AT&T operates mainly on 850MHz and some 1900Mhz. While international, the frequency varies by the wireless provider. On AT&T’s website, after you select the country you are traveling to, click details. This will open a popup window displaying the frequencies available in that country.

To make sure your phone is capable of using these frequencies, go to PhoneScoop and enter your phone model. It will list all of the frequencies for your cell phone.

AT&T also recommends that you have a 3G SIM card. I’m not quite sure the reasoning for this unless you are traveling to Japan or South Korea.

Japan and South Korea operate on the 2100MHz band. AT&T does not provide a cellphone that can use this frequency. There are some AT&T devices that can be used in Japan. You can also rent equipment in Japan or from Cellhire.com.

Data:

For most people, the above information will be enough to get by making and receiving cell phone calls abroad. Others using BlackBerry, Palm Treo, Windows Mobile, iPhones, or Laptop Connect cards may have concerns about data charges while abroad.

First off, sent text messages are a flat rate of $.50 per message sent and multimedia messages are $1.30 per message sent. Received messages are billed according to whichever domestic text message package you have.

BlackBerry has an unlimited international data package that is $64.99 per month. This gives you BES and BIS access in over 140 countries, making it the best data option for AT&T customers. You can even combine the World Traveler package mentioned above and pay a total of $69.99 per month. It can also be added and removed without any penalty. There seems to be conflicting information regarding the ability to freely add or remove the international BlackBerry data package.  AT&T’s website only specifies that agreement for using Laptop Connect while abroad.  I called international customer service and they said that it is a one year agreement.  The rep then stated that since I have a business account, the early termination fee may be waived.  In my experience, I have seen many cases in which the international BlackBerry service was able to be added and removed freely.  Please note that the information provided by Wireless I.Q. is correct to the best of our knowledge and we are not liable for any misinformation.

Smartphones, PDAs, and iPhones have a limited amount of data in their international plans. For $24.99 per month these users receive 20MB of data in only 41 countries, listed here. Once you go over that, it is $.005 per KB (kilobyte). If you are an iPhone user, you can select at 50MB data plan for $59.99 with the same overage charges. These overage charges can add up very quickly. On their site, they list $.005 per KB being about $5 per MB, if that gives you an idea. A great tip is to set your email to not check automatically while you are abroad.

Make sure you will be traveling in the list of 41 countries, otherwise it is $.0195 per KB to use data.

*I would not recommend attempting to tether your cell phone to your laptop for internet access while traveling abroad.

Laptop connect subscribers can use up to 100MB of data while roaming in the same 41 countries as PDAs, Smartphones, and iPhones. This service is 139.99 per month and the user must agree to a one year agreement. If you only travel to Mexico and Canada, you can get it for 109.99 but the same one year agreement applies. Because of the one year term, this option is usually used by frequent international travelers.

Troubleshooting

Once you arrive to your destination, it is recommended that you turn your phone off then back on to get signal from the carrier. I take it one step further by removing my battery completely, waiting about 10 seconds, then reinsert the batter. Once the phone powers back on, it usually picks up the signal quickly.

If you still have trouble, you want to call AT&T’s international customer service team at +1(916) 843-4685. They will be able to further troubleshoot any issue. If your phone is not working, you may have to call from a landline. Make sure to keep details of the cost of this call. I was able to receive credit on my cell phone bill for making calls to that number when my phone was not working.

To dial back to the U.S. make sure you dial + 1 (area code) (phone number). You can get a + on most regular cell phones by pressing and holding 0. PDAs and BlackBerry devices will be a little different. In most cases, you will press the shift key, then the corresponding button with the +. Consult your owner’s guide if that does not work.

To call any other country, you will need to know the country code. Dial + (country code) (phone number), depending on the format used by that country.

Links:

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/international-roaming.jsp

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp

http://www.cellhire.com/att/index.htm

RIM (BlackBerry) – 44.5% up from 35.1% in Q4- Staying strong due to the anticipated release of the GSM 3G version of their device. There have been a lot more advertisements on television, something that has not been present in the past. There was also an announcement of the BlackBerry Partners Fund. A joint venture between RIM and a few venture capitalists to promote the development of third party applications.

Apple – 19.2% down from 26.7% in Q4- Also anticipating the release of a GSM 3G version of the iPhone. Unlike BlackBerry, Apple has only one device model in the marketplace, making would be purchasers inclined to wait for the newer version. Apple has inked agreements with many foreign carriers to sell the iPhone. This number will probably go up in the next few quarters. It is still not bad for a company that entered the market less than one year ago.

Palm – 13.4% up from 7.9% in Q4 – Finally some good news for palm. The Centro took off when it was released. The device is more mainstream than the 650 and 680, making it more desirable for the younger demographic. The price is positioned significantly lower than the iPhone and BlackBerry devices.

Samsung – 8.6% up from 5.1% in Q4 – The GSM BlackJack II and the CDMA version, the Ace offered by sprint, also gave consumers a low cost option when choosing a smart phone.

HTC – 4.1% down from 7.9% in Q4 – Not much being released by HTC either and their phones are generally more expensive than other options.

Motorola – 2.6% down from 7.5% in Q4 – Motorola is really struggling right now. Not much released except for the Q9, an update from the original CDMA Q. When it comes to GSM, consumers have way too many other options compared to the Q. Not to mention Motorola has been dealing with the turmoil of selling off its mobile division.

You can read the original article here.

Feel free to check out our website or contact us if you are deciding which smart phone to buy.

Ben

ben@wirelessiqllc.com