June 5, 2008
One of the most important decisions a small business has to make is how they are going to manage their communications. After all, communications are the back bone of any small business. If they cannot communicate clearly and efficiently with potential and current customers, they will not be in business long. It can be very stressful trying to determine which communications system is going to be best for your business. Adding to the confusion and stress of making the decision is the number of options available when it comes to telecommunications. There are standard hard line PBX systems, standard POTS lines from the local carrier, virtual PBX systems, local numbers, toll free numbers, virtual fax, standard VoIP and hosted VoIP PBX systems… and you could probably find at least a hundred providers for each. It’s enough to make you crazy.
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May 9, 2008
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Many of us have heard this saying before but, I wonder how many of us have actually listened to it and then applied it to our own businesses. Many times real estate agents are afraid of change. It is completely understandable. Especially if they have been in the real estate business for any period of time, they may be afraid to rock the boat or step out and try something new. However, the state of the real estate industry today is forcing change. Between the online social media explosion and the state of the market, agents are finding that they are doing the same marketing over and over and are getting the same results… and those results are no longer hacking it.
It is time to stop the insanity. If you want different results, you need to have different actions. Here are 3 different things that you should be using in your real estate marketing arsenal:
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April 24, 2008
Last year Love146, a non-profit organization that works to stop child sex slavery and exploitation, called for a boycott against Craigslist.
“Craigslist…has now become a vehicle for the trafficking and exploitation of women and children. There have been numerous reportings of children falling prey to traffickers advertising on Craigslist, and victims as young as four years old have been sold on the site.”
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April 10, 2008
In early March of 2008, Craigslist implemented a phone verification system for their “erotic services” category and has effectively reduced the volume of ads in this category by 80%, and more importantly has signficantly improved compliance with their terms of use and other posted guidelines.
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February 19, 2008
If you have researched virtual phone services for your business lately, you will most likely have noticed one major glaring fact. They all appear to be the same. If you took the top 3 or 4 providers and compared them side by side, there would be very little difference between them. They would have similar feature offerings at competitive pricing. That being the case, how do you pick which one to go with? You have to dig deeper than features and prices. Underneath, all providers are not the same and to uncover the best one you have to ask the right questions.
Here are 7 questions you must ask when choosing your virtual phone service provider.
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January 29, 2008
Google will accept new applications to it’s popular Adsense program only if applicants provide a valid phone number. New Adsense applications will not be accepted if a phone number is not provided. Google then verifies the phone number automatically.
Why do applicants need to verify their phone number with Google? According to Google, “as part of our effort to protect the accounts of AdSense publishers and provide account-specific support, a valid phone number is required for publishers. We use automatic telephone number verification to ensure that your information is accurate and up-to-date”.
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January 24, 2008
Today’s online world is one fraught with danger. At every turn internet users are faced with phishers, hackers, fraud and the threat of identity theft. This creates an atmosphere where users are not comfortable purchasing things online and merchants are being taken advantage of on a regular basis.
The Cybersource® 8th Annual Online Fraud Report estimates that over $3 billion in online revenues was lost due to online fraud. The Internet Crime Complaint Center or IC3, which is a partnership of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, stated in its annual report that there was $198.44 million lost by consumers in the fraud cases that they referred to law enforcement agencies in 2006. The average loss per complaint was just over $2500.00. Both buyers and sellers lose when online businesses are vulnerable to ill intentioned web users.
There are generally 2 types of fraudulent orders that are placed online. First there is an order that is being placed merely to check the validity of the stolen credit card information. A criminal will go to a website where he knows that the credit card is going to be billed immediately for products and services. They will place an order for something that is usually about $100.00 or less. Once the order goes through and the credit card is successfully billed, they know the stolen information is valid. Then they are free to place the second kind of order where they are actually looking to receive the products that they purchase with the stolen credit card information.
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December 21, 2007
Lately it seems that the one constant thing in the real estate market is change. Real estate agents have to adapt to the influence of the Internet and how it affects the way people shop for houses. One of the latest trends to sweep real estate advertising is the use of video. Agents and brokers are using video to market their listings and by doing so are gaining an advantage over those agents that are using photographs and virtual tours.
Here are 6 tips to using video for your listings.
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December 18, 2007
Has your office gone hi-tech? Nowadays, many doctors’ offices allow their new patients to download paperwork right from a website. But then what? Often times when the appointment roles around the patient forgets to bring their paperwork back with them and you and they end up starting all over again. This is time consuming.
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December 5, 2007
What started in the 1980’s and 1990’s as web commuting, which was then termed telecommuting, and more recently coined teleworking is not a trend that is going away. In fact, working from home is getting increasingly popular and with advances in technology, quite feasible as well. According to a recent study conducted by The Polling Company on behalf of Citrix Online, nearly 25% of US workers and 41% of small business owners regularly work from home or another offsite location. As a small business owner and employer, it may be time to consider a telework program for your company.
First let’s take a look at some of the benefits of teleworking programs.
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November 28, 2007
In a time of fraud, phishing, identity theft and privacy issues, security has become a very important aspect of everyday life. Whether at home or at the office diligence must be taken to protect sensitive information from lurking thieves and roaming eyes. One of the most unsecured areas of our everyday communications are faxes. However, the superior security of an Internet fax solution can protect your information in ways simply not possible with a standard fax machine.
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November 18, 2007
Are you paying a fortune or taking time out of your busy day to store your paper faxes? Businesses that use traditional fax machines often need a way to store their paper faxes. Some companies scan their faxes and store them. Other companies look to an outside service to fulfill this need. The problem with these solutions is they can be expensive and time consuming. There is an easier and more cost effective way to manage your documents.
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November 15, 2007
The number of real estate agents using call capture systems continues to grow. Agents are seeing the benefits of its power to generate leads, track their advertising, and increase their efficiency. Just like any technology, the ability to get it to work for you lies largely in your application and use of it. Take two agents side by side, both using call capture, and you may very likely see two very different results. One may be reaping its benefits hand over fist while the other may not even be recouping their costs for their system. There may be little difference in the way they are using their system, but in marketing the little things can mean so much. Here are just 3 little tips to help you get the most from your call capture system.
The recordings on your call capture system are going to be a very important aspect of converting your prospects to clients. Make the recordings in your system yourself. Research shows that if the voice that the caller hears on the recordings, whether it is your main greeting or a property listing, is the same voice that answers the phone, you will dramatically increase your conversion rate. By making the recordings yourself you are letting your callers know that you personally are going to be the one taking care of business. It is a personal touch and such a little thing that will make a big difference in the successful use of your call capture system.
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November 15, 2007
In a world before the Internet, email, teleconferencing, web conferencing, and fax communications most business was done in person. People met face to face. They communicated their ideas and their character to one another with words, voice inflection, facial expressions, body language, and in their handshake. Through all of this communication, spoken and otherwise, a relationship developed and trust could be earned. Much of today’s business is done without ever meeting anyone. Even the briefest of relationships one might experience with the saleslady at the department store can be avoided by ordering this year’s holiday sweaters online. So without all of that human contact, how does one build trust with their customers?
Since so many people will first find your website when looking for products or services that you offer, this is where you have to start building trust. Even the most basic elements of your site can put your visitors at ease and start to develop trust.
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November 1, 2007
RealtyOne800® Adtrakker systems are not just for real estate agents. With our AdtrakkerMULTI system, mortgage brokers and loan officers can take advantage of the same call capture technology that real estate agents have been using for years. There are a couple of different ways to do this.
Mutually Beneficial Relationships
Mortgage professionals can forge strong, lasting relationships with real estate agents by providing them with an Adtrakker system of their own. With our AdtrakkerMULTI there is one administrator and the ability to add as many agents as you want to the system. Each agent gets the equivalent of their own Adtrakker Single User system at a fraction of the cost. This makes it possible for mortgage brokers to approach agents with a basis for a mutually beneficial relationship. It gives mortgage brokers, loan officers and real estate agents an easy, fast and inexpensive way to generate leads simultaneously.
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November 1, 2007
As you may or may not know, Freedom800.com is based in Southern California. The fires that raged across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties have devastated Southern California. To say that hundreds of thousands of lives and livelihoods were greatly affected would be an understatement. While those of us that live in Southern California were of course concerned about what was happening, many of our customers all over North America were concerned as well. Those customers that are aware that we are in Southern California voiced some concern about what might happen to their service during the state of emergency that we found ourselves in.
Even though the staff was evacuated and not allowed to return for two days due to the fires, the integrity of the service was unaffected by the disaster. I felt that this would be a good time to visit the security measures that we have in place to ensure the reliability of your service with us.
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October 30, 2007
Many doctors’ offices struggle when it comes to integrating the newest technologies. They want to take advantage of all that they have to offer, but are also dealing with a number of issues that are specific to their field. The need for easy integration, patient confidentiality, HIPAA compliance, increased efficiency, and cost are all things that need to be looked at when a doctor is considering an upgrade in their technology. Of the many technologies available now, Internet fax is one that can easily be integrated into a doctor’s office with immediate benefits that ultimately lead to better patient care.
Easy Integration
Integrating Internet fax into your office is extremely easy. In a matter of minutes you can have an Internet fax number and start sending and receiving your important and confidential fax documents. There is no software or hardware required. This means there is no down time or delays while switching from your current standard fax machine to an Internet fax solution.
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