a la mode news & marketing tips — September 30, 2005

XSite tools that help you save money on gas

As a REALTOR®, you're accustomed to driving your clients to showings.  However, now that the average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. is just below $3, you may be wondering if there's any way to cut down on the time spent in your car without sacrificing service. 

Here are some ways your XSite can help you save money on gas and, at the same time, provide your customers with impressive tools that help them find the home of their dreams:

Flash listing presentations
Encourage your buyers to view your impressive Flash animated listings so they can get an idea about the type of property their most interested in.  That way, you can streamline your showings by only visiting the properties that best meet your clients' requirements.  Unlike many MLSs, there are no limitations to the number of photos and descriptions you can have on your listings, so you can make them as in-depth as you like.

Automatic IDX connection
Agent XSites automatically connects to the IDX solution for more than 150 boards (including 70+ in Florida).  With automatic IDX connection, your XSite visitors can search through the active listings from your local MLS without leaving your XSite.  This provides your buyers yet another way to narrow their choices for properties before they get into your car.

Google Earth
The Google Earth home-mapping technology, which is a free tool on your XSite, is one of the best ways for your clients to see a property in its true context — without actually driving to it.  Your customers can view aerial photographs of the properties in which they're interested simply by typing in the address.  Then, they can zoom in to see the block the house is on, its proximity to schools, parks, freeways, shopping centers and other landmarks.

You may not be able to do anything about the current price of gas, but by using the tools on your XSite, your customers can make better informed decisions about the properties in which they're interested — and you can save money on gas!

XSites' My Office undergoes facelift

As you know, many of us are licensed, working REALTORS® as well as employees of a la mode, which has proved to be invaluable when it comes to designing and creating products that fit into a REALTOR'S® lifestyle.  In fact, input from our in-house REALTORS® has been critical over the past few weeks as we redesigned the Agent XSites' Admin area (the My Office area of your XSite) to make it easier to use the features that matter most to your business. 

We'll be rolling out the newly redesigned XSites Admin area at the upcoming 2005 National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Conference & Expo Oct. 28-31 in San Francisco.

"The new My Office area is the biggest improvement to XSites that we'll be releasing at NAR.  We're giving you an entirely new user experience, with a much improved workflow and the feeling that you're working within a suite of products, with a shared goal," said Rusty Lindquist, Vice President of Agent Products.

In the redesigned My Office area (which you can view here), we've integrated the features and tools you need the most into one central place.  Now, you can jump seamlessly from feature to feature and program to program without leaving your current application. Need an appraiser or a mortgage broker?  Check the XSites Network in a pinch and find real estate professionals near you.  Need to follow up with a new lead?  Send a marketing campaign with XSellerate in just a few clicks. 

We've also moved around a few features of your XSite to make them more useful.  The new "notifications" section keeps you informed of anything happening with your XSite. In addition to your task reminders and e-mail, this area will also report any areas you need to set up on your XSite, how many hits your site received that day and how many leads were generated. You'll receive daily marketing tips to help you reach more prospects and turn them into clients.  And the new "Stay In Touch" area provides an easy way access a la mode user forums, newsletters, feature releases as well as your Inman News feed.

"Not only does the new My Office area improve workflow, but it paves the way for new products," Lindquist said.  "We've got two new products in mind that we'll be adding to the XSite Office Suite within the next 12 months that I think you — our customers — will be excited about."