Sure, you know how to use the MLS database, but do you know how to effectively establish a Web presence or do customer outreach via email or the Web? There are all kinds of ways you can use technology to market your practice and service your clients, but if you're like most realtors you've probably only scratched the surface. In this easy-to-understand guide, author Galen Gruman draws on his more than 20 years of experience as a tech-industry author and journalist to show you how to become a better real estate agent by learning and effectively using current computer technology and tools in your business. You'll learn what technology to use as well as what technology not to use,so that you're certain to spend your tech dollars effectively. In major sections on marketing, communications, and transaction management, Galen covers everything from the elements of a good Web site to evaluating devices and services, working in multiple locations, creating transaction libraries, using digital photography, converting documents to electronic forms, and more.

This book also includes a CD-ROM for both Windows and Mac with templates, product and technology links, tryout and free software tools, and even quizzes for use in classroom and training environments.

Whether you are an agent or a broker, achieving the right technology strategy means assessing several parts of your real estate business: marketing yourself more effectively, facilitating communications, and managing transactions more effectively.

This book is organized around those key aspects of your business, with sections that show you how various technologies can improve your business and how you can actually use them. The first section covers the technologies themselves, while the rest of the book focuses on how to use the technologies in the practice of real estate.