Remote Access

Now what’s more important than ease of use when it comes to technology today? Arguably it is access to our data that can trump ease of use, we have experts and professionals who can walk us through our technical needs, but no one can help if you’re data is at home and you’re on the road. Well, you guessed it, WHS has a solution. Remote access support includes easy setup of a Windows Live provided web address. Using any internet connection, you simply visit your home server website (i.e. https://myhomeserver.homeserver.com) and you’re presented with a login screen. Enter the same username and password you use at home and you’re on your network, accessing files stored on your server or even remote controlling your pc at home.

New technologies appear every day, but rarely do we see ground breaking technology that brings advanced tools to the home user in a simple easy to use package. Windows home server is destined to be a part of your connected digital home…

Additional Features at a glance

• Centralized backup of up to 10 pc’s
• Health Monitoring – Tracking of pc’s on your network including antivirus, spyware and firewall status
• File Sharing – Digital memories and media stored and organized in a central location
• Printer Sharing – Centralized print server to handle print jobs for all users
• Headless Operation – No monitor or keyboard is required to manage the device thanks to the Windows Home Server Console
• Media Streaming – Steam media to Media Center Extenders and XBOX 360’s
• Data Redundancy – Guard against drive failure with drive duplication

Have you ever gone Egosurfing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egosurfing)? You can bet some of your customers have searched for you online and that more will be doing so in the future. One of the easiest ways to make sure your customers and business partners will be seeing something positive about you is to utilize Social Networks (Click here to learn what a Social Network is).

LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/) is the best for this. They have engineered their website so that when anyone searches for one of its members on a major search engine the linked in profile for that person will generally appear as one of the top 5 results. I would also recommend that you create professional profiles on both MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/).

There are also many niche sites that allow and promote member profiles that can be utilized to advance your online reputation.  For Realtors I would recommend having a profile on the following sites:

Truila (http://www.trulia.com/signup/)
Zillow (http://www.zillow.com/directory/)
ActiveRain (https://activerain.com/action/signup/step1)
RealTown (http://www.realtown.com/signup)
Zolve (http://zolve.com/)

Don’t forget that these websites can and should be used for their intended purpose which is to network. This is a great way to use online tools for both online and offline success. When you sign up (or if you are already a member) be sure to check me out online and add me to your network:

LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiesteigerwald)
MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/jamie_steigerwald)
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/people/Jamie_Steigerwald/1355510884)

Be sure and comment below, ask any questions you have about utilizing social networks to promote yourself online. And  let me know about any success you have had.

Marketing is the process of creating or directing an organization to be successful in selling a product or service that people not only desire, but are willing to buy.  Real Estate and Mortgage Professionals should support their operations with a healthy mix of Marketing: Referral Marketing, Print Ads, Direct Mail, Direct Response Mail, Web Marketing (including email), Telemarketing, Lead Purchasing, and Radio or TV when the budget allows.  Local forms of farming and non-conventional marketing also pay a key role: Door Hangers, Shopping Baskets, Benches, Flyers, Drop Boxes, Local Cable, Etc.

However, many financial services professionals lack the time, expertise, or budget to support a robust internal marketing program.  This is where lead companies often come into the picture.  And while many Real Estate and Mortgage Pros have used leads in the past, upon interview, I find that many of them have either used the wrong type of lead companies and/or misused the lead source; instead of integrating lead purchasing as a part of their total marketing mix. Many professionals use lead companies to shortcut a large part of the marketing process – frequently using leads as the only source of new business.  Purchased leads should be used as a component of your overall marketing strategy.  They should not be used just to make a “quick buck”. Lead services work best when used as an integral part of a continuous marketing program.

Feeding 40 loan officers, keeping 4 processors happy and 15 telemarketers busy can prove very expensive if the budget is not watched properly. So at the last mortgage company I managed, my strategy was to dedicate 20% of the overall marketing budget to purchased leads - I have since adopted that practice as standard procedure.  I had already selected the right sources – with much trial and error – and with the proper tracking software, I knew what type of performance to expect from my purchased leads.  One of my favorite reasons for using purchased leads is the ability to target a certain group by using filters.  So when you combine highly targeted leads with leads generated from your direct response marketing efforts in the correct proportions, its makes for a winning combination!

My process to integrate lead purchasing into the marketing mix is to…
1.    Determine who and where your target market is.
2.    Locate four lead companies to test out.
3.    Conduct small trial runs to determine what form of leads your target market responds to best.
4.    Select two out of the four lead companies to run a trial campaign with.
5.    Track the overall Return on Investment of the campaign.
6.    Determine the mix of purchased leads into your overall marketing strategy.
7.    Duplicate the test campaign.
8.    Track results and refine.  Track results and refine.  Track and Refine.
9.    Did I mention Track and Refine?

Tips: Ask for professional referrals when interviewing lead companies.  Don’t bother with guarantees the lead companies offer; the guarantees are designed for their benefit, not yours.  Next, measure the overall return on investment; don’t try to pick apart the situation lead-by-lead.  Major companies measure the end results.  Finally, do not get lazy and expect the lead company to spoon feed you.  Many mortgage and real estate shops enjoyed being spoon fed during our last 7 years of bountiful harvest.  You must work for it now.  Major companies have never taken marketing for granted.  Major firms don’t call the radio and TV stations inquiring how many leads are they going to get for $500 dollars.  Nor do major firms ask if they will get their money back if no customers call them from the phonebook ad they just placed.  They target their prospects, test the market, run a campaign, measure the results, duplicate and refine.  And last but certainly not least…  Cheaper is seldom better.  Do not expect to get something for nothing.  I have yet to find the miracle lead that cost only $20 and consistently produces $3000 sales – let me know if you find it because I am also hoping to win the Super Lotto.  Hope this helps!

Any questions? Comment below or call me at 866-994-3246 - Doug with Yahoo Home Finance.

On the web today are literally thousands of websites that write about technology and gadgets today. So to give ourselves a good foundation to begin with, we’ll start with a brief list of sites we think you would find useful for today gadgetphile:

Gizmodo http://www.gizmodo.com - Part of the “Gawker Media” group, gizmodo presents what some refer to as unbiased reports on new technology. Though some would classify them as unbiased there’s of late been a lot of grumblings around the message boards about Mac Fanboyism. I’ll leave it to you to decide if they’re kinder on Mr Jobs than they are on others.

Lifehacker http://www.lifehacker.com - Another member of the “Gawker Media” group. Lifehacker offers tips and hints on “hacking your life” everything from how to use bittorrents to finding a feww wifi hotspot to decluttering your household in less than 90 days. Lifehacker has something for everyone!