By NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Team
RISMEDIA, Nov. 5, 2008-It goes without saying that technology is an invaluable tool for real estate professionals. By choosing the right technology and using it to your advantage, you and your agents can become more efficient and effective in almost every aspect of your work, whether you are generating leads, building client relationships, mapping driving directions or managing transactions.
Through its REALTOR Benefits® Program, NAR has partnered with several leading technology companies that can provide you with all the latest technology tools you need. Partners such as Dell and Lenovo help you save on computers, peripherals, and electronics. RELAY® and Zipform help streamline your business with online transaction management tools.
Product Bundles for Mobile Professionals
The world’s leading direct computer systems company, Dell, offers a wide variety of products that can help you and your agents be more productive. “Our partnership with NAR allows us to reach out to a large number of highly mobile professionals, which plays to our strength and much of our product lineup,” says Marcus Chugh, associations marketing program manager, Dell.
For example, Dell’s new Latitude line of laptops offers extended battery life-perfect for real estate professionals on the go. Dell also offers a wide variety of peripherals such as GPS devices and smartphones, making it a one-stop shop for mobile professionals.
Dell now offers product bundles specifically designed for NAR members at highly competitive prices. For example, one such bundle features the Latitude XT Tablet PC, which allows you to capture signatures from clients and complete transactions faster and more efficiently. The bundle also includes a GPS device, digital camera, contact management software for real estate, and even a mobile printer that you can use in your car.
“You can use the contact management software to integrate buyer, seller and property information for better client service and greater efficiency,” explains Chugh. “And using the Latitude XT tablet PC and mobile printer, you can print out listings and documents for your client right at the property.”
Through the Realtor Benefits Program, NAR members receive discounts on all Dell desktops, notebooks, and workstations, as well as a vast array of software and peripherals.
New World, New Thinking
Lenovo, a global leader in the PC market, invites you and your agents to take advantage of great deals across its entire line of cutting-edge, reliable, high-quality PC products. These include the award-winning ThinkPad® notebook, the highly acclaimed IdeaPad multimedia notebooks, innovative IdeaCentre and ThinkCentreTM desktops, along with a wide array of computing accessories.
Through their partnership in the Realtor Benefits Program, Lenovo offers NAR members savings up to 29% on select computing products and accessories. Free ground shipping is also available on all orders within the continental United States. In addition, Lenovo frequently provides limited-time eCoupons that result in even greater savings.
Transaction Management Made Simple
Looking to streamline your staff’s workload and impress clients while ensuring closings go smoothly? Using the Relay Transaction Management system, your agents, assistants and transaction coordinators will work smarter-not harder-tracking and organizing documents, activities, and all communications easily online.
“We offer a soup-to-nuts product that allows real estate professionals to easily manage their transaction from listing to close,” says Lisa Mihelcich, chief operations officer, RE FormsNet. “Our industry-leading electronic forms software allows them to fill out forms to complete a transaction online. Our electronic transaction management system brings all the various pieces together in an electronic filing cabinet.”
Relay can be implemented across your entire office quickly and securely, so you can oversee and track your agents throughout their transactions. All of the documents for all of your brokerage’s transactions are stored at a secure, custom-branded transaction website. You and your clients have instant, secure, 24/7 access to the purchase agreement, disclosures, appraisal verification inspections and more.
Relay offers one-click integration with ZipForm®Online, the most widely used electronic forms software for real estate professionals. This allows you to instantly move transaction data and forms from ZipFormOnline to Relay with ease. Plus, integration with MLSs allows you to automatically populate forms using data from their systems.
A new product called Forms Advisor allows new agents to answer a series of questions related to a transaction. Forms Advisor pulls together the forms needed to complete the transaction and sends it to the agent using ZipForm.
For more information, visit www.REALTOR.org/realtorbenefits or call 1-800-NAR-5233.
