Jay R. Lucas, CCIM, president of CCIM Technologies in Dallas, latterly went to a prospect’s office to present 4 properties. He commenced to line up his portable in the crowded show room when he spotted something was missing : the projector. The assembled group predicted to stand unpleasantly round the laptop computer to look at the display, but Lucas was prepared. He reached into his bag and pulled out the palm-size Optoma PK301 Pico pocket projector, which let him display up to 120-inch diagonal property pictures on the wall. They were nuts about the projector, Lucas says. And there’s professionalism in having the technology with you. At the CCIM 2010 Meeting : ReFocus in Orlando, Fla, Lucas and other CCIMs debated a range of technology products that may help commercial property professionals not only provoke clients, but also work more effectively and effectively each day.
If you missed that display, this is your chance to find out more about some of the most recent technology being employed by the best minds in commercial real-estate.
Pen Power
It is important to build a concord when meeting with clients, but unrestrained note taking can get in the way. Dewey Struble, CCIM, a senior adviser with Sperry Truck Ness in Reno, Nev, fought with this difficulty till discovering Livescribe’s Heart beat Smartpen. Provided with an inbuilt mike and camera, the Smartpen records audio and syncs it with the digitised writing. Now I will better focus on listening to the customer and ask better questions vs just writing good notes, Struble says. When tapped on Livescribe’s special dot paper, the smartpen replays the audio from the precise moment the note was written. Users can also upload the notes and audio to their PCs, making files that may be shared, searched, edited, and, most vitally, replayed. The audio recording may offer protection if legal issues arise when memories have dimmed and notes are misplaced or incomplete, Struble adds. As well as conferences, he uses the Smartpen for study room sessions, multi-person calls, and Webinars. It’s extremely innocuous, asserts Skip Hansen, CCIM, owner of Skip Hansen Associates in Reno, Nev, who has sung the pen’s praises to CCIM associates for some time. Folks quickly forget it is a recording device. that is the reason why it’s frequently crucial to request authorization when recording, he adds. The two GB Heart beat Smartpen costs $129.95, and includes applications like a calculator and translator.
can accommodate further memory and applications. Find out more about both products at www.livescribe.com.
The Google Solution
As a sole expert, I have searched for the best way to sync email, contacts, and calendars on my desktop, laptop PC, and smartphone, asserts Joel Kahn, CCIM, owner of Equity coalition in Bedford, N.H, and senior technology specialist with CCIM Tech. Google has figured out my problem.
Kahn bought Google applications Premier Edition, which incorporates a twenty-five GB email account for a domain that he owns and controls. He configured the built in Net message access custom, or IMAP, system to sync the account on all his devices. At $50 per user each year, it is a cheap answer that’s straightforward to implement, Kahn asserts. Google applications Premier Edition also lets users share and store files in Google Docs, as well as disable Gmail adverts. Outlook die-hards can sync their Microsoft email and calendar to keep that familiar interface.
But Kahn had another challenge : I need to make my clients believe I am always accessible even though I travel often, he is saying. Google Voice, a free, formerly invitation-only service, is Kahn’s wizardry hat. The program permits him to use one number to manage all his telephones. The figure is tied to him, not a specific location or gizmo. Google Voice also permits users to customise rings and voicemail greetings, manage and search voicemails, and receive written records of voicemails thru email or SMS message. Google applications and Google Voice are particularly valuable to little companies and sole practitioners, Kahn explains. The programs give these groups the chance to have plenty of the knobs and bells available in large corporations. The Google labs resound with such inventions. One of the newest is Google Glasses , an inbuilt Android app that researches camera-phone pictures to search the Web. The programme scans books, product symbols, locations, and other objects to produce more relevant and maybe more moneymaking search results. Steven D.
Weinstock, CCIM, regional boss of Marcus & Millichap in Oakbrook Patio , Sick , latterly put Google Goggles to the test. He and another agent were out having a look at properties and discovered one that was being rebuilt.
Instead of by hand typing in a keyphrase or 2, Weinstock used Google Spectacles to take an image of the transient sign, including the developer’s name and the new property name. The unique aggregate of information on the sign sealed the deal : The programme pulled up a up to date reports article that recounted the developer had on-site offices, so we went in to talk with them, Weinstock explains.
It’s one thing to scour the papers ; it’s another to get the info in real time. Google Shades iPhone, BlackBerry, and desktop apps are under development. For more info on all Google products, visit www.google.com.
Hollywood in Your Pocket
Though it does not quite capture that new property smell, video is playing an of increasing importance role in commercial property listing packages. YouTube and other sites offer cheap video-hosting solutions, and hardware options are far more accessible than ever before. Among CCIMs who are shooting to thrill, Flip video recorders are the weapon of preference. The pocket-size device permits users to record and quickly share videos on net pages or thru email.
Lucas latterly used his Flip camera while working with a Canadian company on a sublease. The choice maker was not able to go to the property for a formal tour, so Lucas made 5 30-second videos and uploaded them to his Web site. The customer was ready to get a good perspective of the areas from the videos and we finished the transaction, Lucas says. We could not have done it without the Flip Video camera. But these devices aren’t only for fieldwork. Back at work, CCIMs are using Flip Video video recorders for marketing programs and broker training sessions. For instance, Weinstock records weekly role playing sessions in which agents in his office practice for customer conferences one individual plays the broker, another plays the customer. We tape the session and instantly show it to the partakers so they can recognise expressions and other factors, he is saying. There is not anything like the massive screen to bring out the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Flip Video Ultra HD camera, which records 2 hours of video, costs $199.99. For more info on this camera and other Flip Video products, visit www.theflip.com.
Walk This Way
One thing that is changing in commercial real-estate is that folks are far more nervous about their carbon footprint, Lucas says. As workers and renters try to drive less, potential property owners and renters are asking : Is it walkable? Walk Score, a site and iPhone app, has the answer.
Walk Score figures out a property’s walkability on a scale from zero to a hundred based mostly on the property’s distance from facilities like cafes, eateries, and parks. Users can skim the list of close by facilities and get addresses and other details for desired destinations. The programme also offers a transit score, which is reliant on the proximity and number of nearby public transport options. Many CCIM members already could be acquainted with Walk Score : STDBonline latterly incorporated the programme into its property reports. Commercial real-estate execs can also implant official walk scores and transit scores into property lists and fliers using Walk Score’s application programming interfaces, or APIs.
