August 23, 2005


 


$100 Discount on Certification Training

Register Now and Save $100!

From listing coordination to transaction management, our unique training program will provide you with everything you need to know to support top Real Estate Professionals.

For your convenience, you can choose to pay in full now or choose to make payments every 2 weeks on our subscription program.  Hurry, this offer is only valid until September 15, 2005.

Click here for this limited time offer!!!

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Upcoming Training Sessions

We are pleased to announce vendor training for the on-site, personal assistant and the virtual assistant.  

August 31st
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM CST

Visual Tour Training

September 26th
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM CST

$25 members
$75 non-members
Click here to sign-up

Upcoming Dates:
October 17th
November 7th
December 7th

I would like to thank you for hosting the Visual Tour training.  Ted and Kim did a fantastic job presenting the material.  I would recommend this training to anyone who is thinking about focusing their VA practice for the real estate professional. You will hear yourself saying "this is so cool" more than once. I enjoyed it very much and I was so ited about the program and it’s features that I immediately created my own virtual tour of my home, in fact I was so ited to try it that I didn’t even do any housework before I took the photo’s!

Laurie Millane
CyberStarVA Member

Visual Tour , Online virtual tours of homes on the Internet are becoming more and more common each day. The convenience and time saving benefits to the buyer, seller and agent are undeniable. Before long, there will be a virtual tour of every home shown on the Internet.

 

Wow!! What a great tool!!  Even if you don’t have a creative mind, the program makes it look like you do!! ... The program is so user friendly, you can have a virtual tour on the web within minutes of listing a home!!  

Cindy Boffy
CyberStarVA Member


September 23rd
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM PST

Visual Tour Training

$25 members
$75 non-members
Click here to sign-up

Upcoming Dates:
October 21st
November 11th

RAINMAKER E-CENTRAL® 4.0 captures
hot prospects and vital information
24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

RAINMAKER E-CENTRAL® 4.0
features 1200+ pages of plug-in content
and e-mails bursting with real estate,
financing and homeowning information, consumer articles, E-Newsletters,
free E-Reports, interactive response forms
and new graphics!Your personal banner
with your photo, logo and contact
information is prominently displayed at
the top of EVERY page and every
e-mail (optional)!

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New RFP System

CyberStarVA is pleased to announce the launch of our new RFP System. Our RFP system is designed to match the needs of real estate professionals with the skills of our CyberStarVAs.

The RFP system requires the real estate professional to create a user account to monitor their RFPs.  The REP is given an easy to use form to check off the skills, services or programs needed.  The RFP is then sent to all CyberStarVAs via e-mail for review.  Alternatively, the RFP section is also available in the members only area of the site.

The CyberStarVA is only given the requirements for the position.  They are not provided contact information for the REP.  This is done to respect the privacy of the REP and to let the REP choose the best VA for them. It is up the REP to contact the VA for further information or discuss the position in further detail.

This is an automated system and the founders/faculty of CyberStarVA are pleased to present this FREE service as a benefit to CyberStarVAs as well as the real estate professional.

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Transaction Management Course now includes Settlement Room Training!

CyberStarVA is pleased to announce that we have partnered with Settlement Room to provide training on their software.  SettlementRoom is an online Transaction Management system which streamlines the closing process for lenders, brokers, builders, title companies, and escrow companies and their clients.

Settlement Room provides a Certified VA listing on their web site for all VAs who take their training, therefore you're provided, at no cost, additional osure on the vendors web site!  How great is that?

If you are already erienced in Transaction Management and are looking for training only on Settlement Room software, lookout for upcoming notices on training dates!  We will be listing these dates as soon as we have them finalized!

 

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Connecting Neighbors Provide Discounts to REPs using CyberStarVAs


http://www.connectingneighbors.com/cyberstarVA/

Connecting Neighbors is the industry's leading provider of Neighborhood Marketing Programs. The program includes an lusive Neighborhood Website, Monthly Newsletter, support from our Neighborhood Marketing Specialists, as well as a FREE subscription to our RealtyNow program.

This is a great way to work with your Virtual Assistant! CyberStar Virtual Assistants who have been trained and certified in the Connecting Neighbors program include:

Kathy Goldman   kathy@inetofficeva.com
Cheryl Tittle   Cheryl@emouseworks.com
Laurie Milliane   millane@whosyourva.com
Lisa Morgan   Lisa@VirtuosoAdmin.com
Peggy McCabe-Schmitz   mountainsolns@bresnan.net
Erin Scobee   thescobees@comcast.net
Kim Hughes   Kim@KimHughes.com
Jeri Winkler   Jeri@secretassistant.com

By using one of the above Connecting Neighbors certified CyberStar Virtual Assistants, Real Estate Professionals can receive a $200 discount on the set-up fee for your Neighborhood Marketing Program!

Visit this link for more information:
http://www.connectingneighbors.com/cyberstarVA/

 


Don't Forget the Personal Touch
by Kim Hughes of Kim Hughes & Company

With so many tech tools available these days, it's easy to forget that the reason we do all of these things is to make our business more efficient and to provide more services to our clients. In other words, we should not let these tech tools replace personalized communications with clients and potential clients.

Many agents, for mple, are now realizing that a Web site is a necessary part of their marketing efforts, but many don't use their sites effectively to capture the large numbers of people now searching the Internet for homes to purchase. I have had many people tell my clients that they were the only agent who responded to their site inquiry. The issue is, therefore, that if an agent has a site, he or she must have procedures in place to respond effectively and in a timely manner to those who make inquiries from the site.Here is a way for a real estate virtual assistant to offer their services.

Create a reply email and store it in your Outlook Template area and set up a reply email account from your client. Have your email address added to receive the reply as well and you handle the task of responding to the inquiry and making sure the solid leads are brought to the attention of your client.

Another method is to monitor the leads that come through the website and set them up in a lead management program to receive material from your client on a regular basis. Just make sure they receive the information that applies to their needs.

Another related issue is how agents respond to site inquiries. Auto responders are fine for that first response to capture email inquiries. In order to be successful, however, the agent has to follow up soon with a more personalized note. The note should address the issue they wrote to you about. A follow-up phone call is also useful, as email is a very impersonal medium, and no one enjoys getting a form letter.

But, you – the real estate virtual assistant – can monitor those leads and decide which one deserves a phone call or a personal note from your client. It would become your responsibility to make sure your client receives the email and decide what action to take on serious leads.

The bottom line is that home buyers and sellers want to know that they are important to the agent. Tech tools can help with this, but they must be used in a way that promotes the “personal touch."

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E-mail Stationery

One of the best ways to brand your business is to utilize e-mail stationery.  E-mail stationery can be designed around your sting web site or you can create a totally new design for e-mail marketing.

E-mail stationery allows you to bring graphic oriented e-mails to all of you contacts, including prospective clients, which may just give you the edge over the competition.

This form of branding is widely used by real estate professionals, but it's great for VAs as well.

For a limited time, Anna Baron is offering this service for $149
(regular price $199) for the n 2 weeks only. 

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Business Card CD Presentations
by Jeri Winkler of The Secret Assistant

In our continuing look at the many aspects of listing coordination we look at presentations and the interesting way VAs are assisting agents in this venue.

Many real estate agents use virtual tours, or other types of presentations such as Power Point, to showcase homes they have listed. The most common delivery method for these presentations is via the internet. Some agents take this to the n level by also offering the presentation to the public on business card size cds.

These cds are easily created in most of today’s cd burners. The cds themselves are very affordable and available on the internet from a wide variety of vendors. These same vendors also offer labels that can be easily customized (ie: with a photo of the home you are showcasing) on your desktop computer and added to the cd.

Tips to remember when shopping for your cds:

  • You will be looking for business card CDRs

  • Try to find 32X speed. You will find most will be 16X, but shop for 32X. There is usually no difference in price.

  • Average price will be 30¢ to 45¢ per cd, depending on the quantity you order.Don’t forget to order either the vinyl sleeves or the plastic cases, if they don’t come with them, which most do not.

  • Don’t forget to order the labels. Find out if the labels you are ordering require any special equipment to place the label on the cd and order that as well.

  • Always order ra because you will waste some cds during the burning process due to computer errors.

Always test your cds before placing them in the house. It does not look well if you hand out cds that do not work.

Once your agent places these in the home in an attractive display the seller will be impressed and the offers will start coming in! Therefore, if your agent is looking for something special to do for a special property -- suggest the business card cds. Whether you use a virtual tour, a Power Point presentation, or any other type of multimedia presentation, it will be something different and something special.

*Sources for writeable business card cds:

http://www.surething.com

http://www.blank-cd-cdr.com

http://www.meritline.com

http://www.neato.com

http://www.businesscardcdrack.com

http://www.cddimensions.com

 

*We do not endorse or have a relationship with any of these vendors. We recommend that you do your own research prior to purchasing any supplies for this type of project.

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Member Spotlight

Name: Sherrie Chapman

Business Name: A Hand In Time

Location: Woodbridge, Virginia

Website: www.ahandintime.com

Email Address: sherrie@ahandintime.com


How long have you been a VA? 3 years

Why did you decide to become a VA? I wanted to offer real estate support to real estate professionals and was not sure how to go about doing it. So I did a lot of research and found Virtual Assistance. That’s when I decided I to become a VA and offer services for real estate professionals only.

Why are you interested in real estate? You know, I never really thought about why I like real estate. I’ve been working in some sort of real estate administration since I was 13 so I’ve always been drawn to it.

What is your specialty? I primarily specialize in Transaction Coordination, although I do offer other administrative service to Real Estate Professionals only.

What is your best quality? Well, that’s hard to say. I believe that it would be my patience and professionalism.

Any advice to other VAs? Remember it’s all about helping the Real Estate Professional; concentrate on customer service to your client. Be patient and professional at all times. Know your specialty and your business. If their business grows so does yours!

Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with my family and close family friends is my most important hobby. Camping, fishing, and lounging on the beach.

Volunteer/Charities: None

If you were interviewed by Barbara Walters and she asked you to describe yourself in one sentence what would you tell her? I am a patient and professional Real Estate VA that loves what she does!

 

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