Matthew Rathbun's Share-Spot

What is a QR Code

Some of you have have been reading TheAgentTrainer.com for a few years know that I’ve written a version of this once-upon-a-time. However, as mobile devices have been slowing edging toward the center stage as a new marketing tool I feel the need to revisit what it is and who it can be useful.

A QR (Quick Response) code is define by Google Dictionary as:

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

In short it’s a UPC type code that sends your mobile device’s browser to a specific website, say a website for your listing.

BTW: It’s FREE!

Where Can I get QR Codes?

There are a large number of webpage where you can generate QR codes, but the easiest place I’ve seen is http://qrcode.kaywa.com/. It’s free, easy to use and allows you to gauge the size if you want to embed it on your webpage.

All you have to do is enter the URL (web address) that you want the mobile device to go to and hit “Generate” and BOOM, on to the left is the code. Now, you can copy the HTML code at the bottom and embed it in your webpage. That maybe a bit advance for some, so the other option is to use screen capture tools.

Your computer comes with a tool to create a .jpg picture file, for Macs hold Command-Shift-4, then select the code and you’re done. For a Windows user, you’ll
need to go to Start – Run and type “snip” in the “open” line. If this doesn’t work, you might not have the free tool from Microsoft and you can download it from their site for free. It’s a useful tool, even if you aren’t using it for this particular technique.

Once I have the .jpg file I can add it to my fliers, posters and even my For Sale Sign. Yes, your For Sale signs. Why? Because it’s more trendy, relevant and easier than stuffing flier boxes once a week without any idea what’s happening to them.

How Do I Use It?

Now that you have this code, your questions maybe is anyone using it and how are they? Those are good questions, and like most technology it starts off with a few users who like the tool and then evangelize it. In a recent trip to Chicago I saw a number of real estate offices that had posters in the front window that instructed the passer-by to use their mobile device to search for homes. And yes, there were people pointing their phones at the posters and checking listings. How much more powerful is it to give the consumer access to listings on their phone than a one-page flier for your one listing?

When the consumer gets their phone, most of us try to install all the tools that we think we’ll use. For my Droid it’s an app called Barcode Scanner. For Blackberry is the Kaywa Reader and iPhone it’s the (aptly named) QR App. These are just some examples. There are many.

When you see a QR Code (the UPC looking thing, like at the top of the post), you’ll open the app and with the same steps of taking a picture on your phone, take a “picture”. Each app acts differently but similarly. In the case of the Droid App it looks like this:

Choose Barcode Scanner

Point the Mobile Device at the QR Code

The device will scan the code and show the associated URL (web address). Chose “Open Browser” and the device will go to the associated webpage.

Practical Application for Realtors

I think there are obvious benefits to this technology in reaching a culture of buyers and impressing a number sellers. Consider these options:

Print the QR Code on half of an 8×11 and put it your For Sale sign with contact paper. Better yet, order unique signs with interior pictures of your home, with the QR code. (Check with Broker and Franchise agreements for limitations. Don’t forget state required disclosures.)

Put the QR code on the labels that you’re using for the CD’s you leave at the home; or the cover of the Homebook.

Add to posters outside of your office windows with QR code linking to your IDX listings.

Add to the Widgets on your sidebar linked to webpages for each of your listings

Put up Posters (with permission) of business and in the Kiosks of your local Mall or Shopping Center

If you use car-wraps or windows lettering, considering placing it tastefully on your car.

Add to the back of your business cards

Get the picture? Put it everywhere that you’d like to have people get to your webpage!

I know that some of you are overwhelmed with technology as it is, so if this isn’t you than don’t force it, but it’s still essential that you know what your competitors are or will be using in the future.

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Tagged as: blackberry, code, droid, iphone, maketing, mobile, qr, realtor, technology

via theagenttrainer.com

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Caroline Virginia County Fair 2010

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:13:00 -0700

The Caroline County Agricultural Fair Starts tonight and runs through Sunday. This is the fair that was being hosted at the Virginia Bazaar for years, but it moved to it’s new location next to the Virginia Sports Complex last year. After enjoying Jan Beveridge’s photos and guest author John Migliorini’s post last year, I’m very excited for the opportunity to attend THIS year!

For full Calendar of event and pricing, visit CarolineFair.com

And for up-to-the-minute updates of what the community is saying, visit the facebook page.

Fair hours:

Wednesday, July 14th: 5-11pm
Thursday, July 15th: 5-11th
Friday, July 16th: 3-11pm
Saturday, July 17th: 9am – 11pm
Sunday, July 18th: Noon-5pm (Midway Only) ** Plus Community Worship Service at 10am

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Edumacation Fail!

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:24:48 -0700

via google.com

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Evernote | A Great Tool for Realtors

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:26:30 -0700

Evernote.com is a great free tool for agents. It’s original purpose is to organize and filter notes from your meetings or classes and it’s a great tool for that. However, I’ve found it to be a fantastic tool for tracking information for the Real Estate Agent. This video tutorial shows some great aspects of Evernote and how agents can use it to sync information with your phone and computer.

From Their Site:

Capture Everything

Chances are, if you can see it or think of it, Evernote can help you remember it. Type a text note. Clip a web page. Snap a photo. Grab a screenshot. Evernote will keep it all safe.

Organize It

Everything you capture is automatically processed, indexed, and made searchable. If you like, you can add tags or organize notes into different notebooks.

Find Anything Fast

Search for notes by keywords, titles, and tags. Evernote magically makes printed and handwritten text inside your images searchable, too.

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LinkingNOVA.com free tool by a Realtor Association

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:03:42 -0700

Last night I found a website that appears to be sponsored by the Prince William Association of REALTORS in northern Virginia. The site is free to Realtors and you don’t need to be a member of PWAR to use it.

The site is a tool that summarizes commonly used links for Realtors, from the lockbox system to MLS and an entire list of affiliates. It’s a great way to keep an updated, easy to find list instead of searching for booklets or emailing every agent in the world looking for a service provider. The site also has a pretty thorough list of utility companies, news outlets and streaming news/radio channels.

There are also some links to great social media tools like NAR’s blogs, PWAR’s twitter stream and more.

Here’s a quick run down of the site:

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Fredericksburg, VA - 06/25/10 - Coldwell Banker Elite - Massaponax - USA - Legal Update 3 Hr. CE/PL

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:00:00 -0700

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What is Augmented Reality?

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:33:50 -0700

With so many new apps being created for smartphones, it’s hard to keep track of them all. Recently I downloaded some apps for my Droid that are examples of “Augmented Reality”. They are tools that provide an overlay of information about a specific location that can be useful to the viewer. Imagine being able to add Augmented Reality information to your listings… Common Craft does a great video explanation of this type of technology:

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I would buy this...

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:29:18 -0700

via failblog.org

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Fredericksburg, VA - 06/22/10 - Coldwell Banker Elite - Spotsylvania - USA - Contract / Offer to Purchase 3 Hr CE/PL

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:00:00 -0700

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You Want Me to Volunteer For Your Association? - Free Me!

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:30:33 -0700

What's The Plan, Man?

While walking through my office today, I saw a little wallet size card, called "One Year - Six Goals" and because it reminded me of a religious track that one might find in a public restroom from 1989 I had to pick it up. When I actually opened it, I realized that it was anything but. VAR had put onto an eye-catching, trendy card a summary of where they were headed in the next year. Brilliant.

Keep it Simple and Keep it Interesting

I know I don't say so enough, but I was immediately impressed with the pointedness, who was in charge and what the card had to say. See, in the process of going from Realtor to Association staff and then back to Realtor, I've kind of gotten lost in the shuffle of what's going on. I had not really been paying much attention to what was going on and what the Association was up to. When I picked up this small 8-paneled card, I was easily able to read without salesy Association-gibberish exactly what direction we were going - I felt up to date and didn't have to read a legal size chart of 14 pages of strategic plan to get there. I've been incredibly fond of the direction that VAR communications has taken for some time. The recent editions of Commonwealth Magazine, the Association Blog and the Convention makeover have all been outstanding. The best I've seen in the industry. Goal 4 hit me "Use the expertise of more of our members to help all our members". I went to the website on the card and found this information:

Project: Leveraging your expertise for the good of the profession and enhancing your value proposition Leader: Scott Brunner, Chief Executive Officer At its core, VAR is its members. And while most of our 30,000 members didn’t join VAR just to be a volunteer, the services we deliver are only as good as the member expertise Realtor® leaders provide in their state and local associations. We simply wouldn’t be effective without our volunteers — hundreds of committee members, directors, liaisons, officers, and others just like you. That’s why in 2010, we’ll be doing more to identify members with critical expertise in key subject areas on which VAR is working, and engage those members in the effort. The result, we believe is better policy proposals, better programs and services and better overall member value. At the same time, it’s true that not every Virginia Realtor® has time to volunteer with the association. But every member should feel engaged in and served by VAR. In the year ahead, we’ll be looking to enhance your connection to VAR by creating a variety of tools and touchpoints that reinforce the value you receive for that dues check you stroke once a year.

I think VAR has always done a pretty good job of this, but I had never heard put so succinctly. I've traveled and taught for many Realtor Associations and just this past week I've had conversations with several staffers (usually those responsible for Education) in three different states, that have had issues with volunteer involvement. The most talented volunteers are rarely able to deal with committees and politics. They also seem to have a lot less time to give. I've lived both the life of the volunteer as well as staff and I understand the lack of time and interest that plagues the Realtor, as well as the frustration of the (usually) overworked Staffer. We Realtors seem to be incredibly blessed with an over-abundance of ideas and advice, but little to no follow through. And before those who are involved get irritated, look around. What percentage of your overall membership is engaged? Oh sure, we're happy to blog and chatter about what Association leadership isn't doing or why staff can't just.....fill in your opinion here. But often we're not interested in participating to make things better. Many people, outside of those voted into leadership have skills and abilities we wish to share. But why? I was reading a blog post of Lani Rosales from Agent Genius earlier about the emerging of changes in Brokerage models, and found a great video that she shared. It's well worth the time to watch and whereas it fits well with her blog post, I think it also explains ALOT about the dilemma that Realtor Associations face when recruiting and keeping good volunteers. And why I've backed away from much of that life-style.

Confession of an Association Burn-Out

The presentation above spoke to me. I was happy and motivated when surrounded by a team of people who where enthusiastic and engaged. I was thrilled to go somewhere with a project or opportunity that actually built tools or made the industry better, but inevitably as soon as any project became popular everyone becomes interested. It becomes politicized and now we need more committees and more oversight. This issues isn't at all unique to Real Estate. I've been volunteering with civic organizations since my mid-teems and it's always the same. With the Realtor Association, it's a bit different in that there is typically so many varied needs that not everyone sees the benefit of every project. We're a diverse group and no one thing is going to appeal to the entire membership, this is hard for many dedicated or creative people. Typically those gifted with creativity or skills are not gifted with tolerance for hierarchy or bureaucracy. If I could recommend a few things that might help Associations with keeping their volunteers, it would be this:

Stop having committee meetings for everything! Have task groups, only invite those that can contribute and don't invite those who just want to "make sure it goes right". The knee-jerk reaction to most organizations is to take complainers and tell them to get involved in a particular project if they have issues with it. This is deflating for most people. I don't want to have to show up to a meeting and spend 75% of my time trying to get the minority on board. When the task is complete, so is the task force.
Stop trying to make everything one size fits all. If your education plan appeals to tech savvy, fast moving, laptop-bringing agents than own it. If your publications bring fire from people who want to hear less about new trends and more about how to call from a phone book, give them editions of a 1995 marketing class - they won't know the difference anyway. If your members don't show up to meetings because they don't like the new chair, then tell them to find a group that they do like.
No more leading by Clairvoyance. So often organizations die because when a project is announced, so many people "see" future problems. Look, people are going to get upset no matter what you do. Be Creative anyway. Be a Visionary anyway. Be Awesome, anyway. Just because your leadership is typically "veteran" agents doesn't mean that you should neglect your innovative newcomers. And we should stop assuming that "veteran" agents aren't also innovative and longing for something-anything new.
If you don't have the people, than don't do it. Association staff and volunteers are limited resources. If there aren't enough people than there aren't enough. I find that often in all sorts of organizations, people try to cling to committees and projects that are dead. If you find that you'd don't have the folks for your functions, projects and socials than clearly you don't have enough vision to keep doing them. You often hear "But, the people who did show up enjoyed it". So?!?! If your programs don't have attendance than why kill yourself for the interested few, if it was that great why aren't they bringing more people with them? I think that most people tell Association Leadership that they like a particular program to make leadership/staff feel better about low turnout. If you have the same event again without increase, consider doing it differently.
Scarcity and uniqueness drives interest - not ubiquity. When Associations do find something that people like, the Associations tend to do it over and over again until it dies. It's great that it was a success. What can we do different? People get bored easily in this culture. You're annual [fill in your event here] was a success last year, but after three years it's just the same old thing unless YOU make it different. Do fewer and more interesting actives and events.

I am sure there are more that you can add and I'm sure that better minds than mine will find fault with all of this, but I crave something different. I'm always looking for something new to do and engage in and I know that I'm not alone.

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Why Do I Care if 75% of HAMP Modifications Default?

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:30:12 -0700

Do You Remember What HAMP Is?

All over the Real Estate world we've been talking about HAMP. I think it was a program with potential, but like all good intentions, there is a reality. Most agents still haven't full grasped how HAMP/HAFA effect our business and are less likely to care once you see the information below. But you should... Here's the face that HAMP puts on: It's got potential, but the reality is that it's failing and doing so in the infancy of it's importance. CNN has reported that up to 75% of those who are getting a HAMP modification are going to be back in default according to the Fitch report:

Many of these borrowers still have very heavy levels of other debt," said Diane Pendley, a Fitch managing director, "auto loans, credit cards and other expenses. The HAMP modifications reduce housing expenses down to 31% of income but do not touch these other obligations." On average, HAMP-modified borrowers, according to Pendley, have 64% of their monthly pretax income spent before they even buy a quart of milk. If even a small emergency arises -- an unexpected car repair, a medical bill or a loss of overtime income -- they're in trouble.

What Does This Mean to Realtors?

I think the information from this report is useful for agents when helping Seller's weigh their options. If a Seller is in trouble with their mortgage, Short Sales are still a better option than the inevitable Foreclosure. Agents should recommend that Seller's still attempt to process the HAMP program and the HAFA program to help them while the agent markets and sells their home. The agent will do what they can to minimize the damages to the Seller in aggressive marketing and negotiations.

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The All New(ish) Realtor.com 2010 Edition

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:01:08 -0700

All New Again!

It was just a couple of years ago that Realtor.com released it's current version. Now, as is the way with all technology it's time for a new release. You can find the new site at beta.realtor.com. The current site is ok, I still find it hard to navigate and harder still to find the same listing twice. Frankly, I never got much out of it - until this past year. This year, presumable because of less active competitors I've actually been contacted from Realtor.com with honest to goodness consumers. The page view reports are great for letting your clients know how many eyes have been on their listing. The first blush of the new site is clean and trendy. The splash page (as seen on the left) gives a few bullet points as to the new features. None of which are earth shattering, but nice non-the-less. Mainly they have seemed to improve some existing features.

What's Important To Me, The Realtor?

Findability... The new Realtor.com site makes it easier to find Realtors and more information about us. The tab to search for Realtors in your area is at the top and makes it pretty easy to plug in a location or agent name and get their contact info and listings. What is amazing to me is how few agents put up-to-date information and profile pictures in their account. With Realtor.com touting such large visitor numbers, one would think agents would take a few minutes to make sure they could be contacted. Home searches are better on the beta, but honestly I'd rather not compete with Realtor.com for client searches. I want clients to come to my site and sign up for home searches, so Realtor.com's search site doesn't benefit me much. Realtor.com is also giving "sold" property information out. I think this is the first time that they've done this. This could keep a listing agent on their toes when doing CMA's.

What I Wish They'd Do Better

It's new, so there may be new features added, but with the cool features of RPR I guess I just expected more innovation. Some new Franchise sites have been released and have some VERY innovative features. Zillow and Trulia still seem to be on the forefront of the intuitive user functionality and with fewer competitors advertising on those sites, maybe a better investment in your marketing. There are a few other things that I really wish Realtor.com could do better:

iPhone App is cool, but what about Droids and Blackberry?
Having Bank of America sponsor the Mortgage Calculator is just plain funny. They're one of the worst banks to work with and show the least cooperation for Realtors trying to help their clients... so, let's not plaster their name everywhere on the Realtor website.
When an agent profile is viewed, it only shows the number of residential listings next to the name but not the land/lot listings. Yet when you click to look at the listings all listings are there.
Home Valuation options are all over the site. I understand this is an attempt to keep up with Zestimates, but the same issues that makes Zillow inaccurate still plagues Realtor.com - 'garbage in-garbage out'. Having online estimates of a properties value is kind of silly, as there are too many factors that go into pricing a home. I searched my home on the site and it gave me average price that was about $40,000 too high. The problem is bad data from Realtors and tax records. I know it's a needed feature, because the consumer wants it; but it might be easier to provide this information and a link or form to an agent do a better evaluation. This could be a consumer contact source, just like when the consumer asks for more information about a specific house.

Overall it's a much better site. The speed and extra information are much needed improvements. The intuitive look and feel make it easier to navigate and you can't argue Realtor.com's findability on Google. Since the site is more a lead-generator than anything else; I'm happy to see more effort put into the Agent Profile sites. Realtors should be taking advantage of Realtor.com more than I think they are. They've turned me around on this issue in the past few years.

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The Wordpress 3.0 Has Arrived and it’s Sweet!

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 01:26:44 -0700

I upgraded to Wordpress 3.0 yesterday and it’s pretty cool. The upgrade with Thesis was seamless and super simply. My favorite new feature is the ability to update all plugins with one click.

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Locust Grove, VA - 06/18/10 - Coldwell Banker Elite - Locust Grove - USA - Real Estate Ethics CE/PL

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 01:00:00 -0700

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Stafford, VA - 06/17/10 - Coldwell Banker Elite - Stafford - USA - Real Estate Agency CE/PL

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:00:00 -0700

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