So I finished up last night with some food, drink and the Cirque du Soleil Mystere show. I had heard it wasn’t their best, but I was very impressed. I found it much more enjoyable than their O show that I saw last year.
Back to the NAR Expo in the morning…
My goal for today (outside of the classes) was to try to find as much real estate technology as I could. I have now officially walked the floor 2 and half times. I’m impressed by the new upgrades to Cyberhomes. I’m still disappointed in the vendor offerings. There is far too much repetition. For real estate technology, it seems like most of the hardware and software out there is unnecessary, makes you potentially less compatible with the majority of people out there, have steep learning curves and really try to cater to the idea of “this will do everything for you”.
Now, I’m a fan of more efficiencies, but I’m also keen on managing expenses. Does it make sense to pay a bunch of money for a proprietary system that will design postcards and flyers for you? Does it make sense to invest in real estate CRM technology tools that are only mildly compatible with most of the software you use on a daily basis?
Microsoft Publisher can make flyers and postcards, Outlook can manager your contacts, Powerpoint can make listing presentations and they all come preloaded on your computer. I was mildly disappointed that some of the tech classes were still using Microsoft Office 2003 instead of 2007, but the nice people I met who were hosting the classes explained that in their surveys, many people in the industry haven’t made the switch yet. I can appreciate that, but I’m loving some of the new features of Office 2007.
My recommendation is to not get locked into proprietary systems that lock you in, strangle your information and don’t play nice with others.
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