Office Administrator Website Managers Guide

Transcription

1 RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions Office Administrator Website Managers Guide Page revised 2-09

2 The Administrator Workbook (or sometimes called Admin Workbook) is designed to be a quick reference guide for the broker/owner and office administrators in managing the office and agent websites via the leadstreet system. Additional in office and online training is provided continually via the Website Support team for your region. As continual support of the LeadStreet system there is our online support website at as well as the 800 numbers directly to the support staff. This document is LeadStreet and website specific. Page 2 revised 7-08

3 Table of Contents MUST READ! Before you begin please make sure you read the following requirements needed to accessing and managing your Office Administrator Intranet for your website. 1. The Following Browsers are support: Microsoft Explorer 5.5 or higher and running on a windows based system. 3. The following platforms and browsers are NOT guaranteed to work properly: Platforms-Macintosh and Linux Browsers-Firefox, Safari, Mac Explorer or Opera What s In this Book? You have a recruiting Website! Page 5 Office and Agent Intranet Area : Page 9 Brief definitions of tabs and their use: Page 10 User Manager Take Control: Page 13 Agent Login Reports: Page 15 Add New Agent, Delete and Transfer Agent: Page 16 thru 17 Setup Office Listings to run in Flash Presentation on TV: Page 18 Login Notices to agents: Page 19 Site Builder and Creating your own Office Online: Page 21 Setting Up the Internal Office online Intranet Forms, Press Releases, all internal documentation or real estate forms, meetings: Page 23 Customizing the Office Website choosing Templates, colors: Page 24 Listings Manager: Page 25 Managing Open House: Page 26 MLS Reports: Page 28 Agent Listings with CMN and Komen Designations: Page 29 Client Manager: Page 31 Lead Performance Report with example of missed lead calculation: Page 33 Online Help at : Page 35 FAQ s: Page 39 Page 3 revised 2-09

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5 RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions LeadStreet Websites YOU have a recruiting website! Page 5 revised 2-09

6 Join RE/MAX with you as the contact H ow to find your recruiting website Join RE/MAX? A: Go to your office home page B: Select Profile C: Select Join RE/MAX A B C Page 6 revised 7-08

7 Join RE/MAX and YOU website W e have setup the Join RE/MAX website to be your specific portal to potential recruits in your market. It is extremely expensive to create a website with all the interactive tools on it. Yet YOU have it. All you have to do is get a traffic driving domain name for your market and promote it. If you are unsure ask your website support manager or region staff. This website has it all and places you in the area of techno guru. Some Exciting Highlights A A. Your office name and contact information is on top C B. Margaret Kelly walks out and starts talking on each tab selected and talks about that specific tab C. Each Tab is specific and provides D informative information via video B and documents on each topic D. Success Stories E. Market Share and Statistics showing why RE/MAX is the world leader in real estate E Buy a Domain Name for your OWN Recruiting Website for Join RE/MAX! Ask us and we will help! Page 7 revised 2-09

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9 RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions LeadStreet Websites Office and Agent Intranet Area Page 9 revised 2-09

10 Office and Agent Intranet Area... W hen you log into your office account there are many terms used for the area Managers and agents access. Most Common is Agent Intranet which is a term used to accessing the leads and managing the website. Also used are Intranet and Back Door both terms are the same as Agent Intranet. A B C D E F G Navigating from the Agent Intranet area: A. HOME-takes you back to the starting page at the point you accessed the Agent Intranet B. USER Manager: User Profile Controls Instant Acceptance User Photo Domains C. Site Builder Manager: Site Design Site Content My Search Map Page Objects/ Slogans Navigation Search Engines Reports D. Listings Manager: Listings Manager Main Manual Listings Featured Properties Print Flyers Flyers Buyers Tour E. Clients Manager: Main Contact List Groups Campaigns and Letters Messages Calendar Tasks F. Help G. Logoff Page 10 revised 7-08

11 Office and Agent Intranet Area... continued Continued: Navigating from the Agent Intranet area: H. Calendar:Shows Tasks and appointments for agent I. Reports and Summaries: Shows the office and agents traffic reports from state, office and individual agent J. Upcoming Tasks/Events: Provides for office and agent tasks and events works with the calendar K. NOTICES: Reliance Network will post critical announcements here in regards to the websites L. Region Services: Provides the membership with information, downloads etc. M. Announcement Board: Area where the region provides upto-date information and announcements N. Office Services: Each office can provide a range of support buttons that delivers: PR Announcements Links to places of interest and business use Uploaded forms for office or agent needs Internal office Events O. NEW! Regional Services Regional news and information about the real estate industry, Training Videos are short 10 minute how to s for agent websites. Purchase Domain Names is a special program where the agents and offices purchase domain names and the name servers are pre-setup. Thus making it easy to hook up a domain name. finally Tips and Tricks whereas the technology staff finds new and useful tools and products relating to websites and technology to help the agents and brokers. This area also includes surveys and feedback for the technology and regional staff. H I J L N M This single tab can help you greatly. It has over 50 self help, easy to read and use documents. You can also direct the agents to this area for self help. Do a screen print of this area monthly so as to keep up with new documents. More movies will be coming online as well. But this is a HUGE resource on How the websites work. K O Page 11 revised 2-09

12 NOTES: Page 12 revised 7-08

13 RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions LeadStreet Websites User Manager: Take Control Page 13 revised 2-09

14 User Manager A B C I F D J H E G K L M N User Manager function allows the office administrator to review, access all associations User information. Navigating area outline: A. User Access the office and agents User profiles and make changes as needed. B. Agent Roster For: Office name and address verification C. View Agent Login Report: Provide the broker with reports of agent logins to the websites. Great coaching tool. D. Add New Agent: Allows for the addition of a new agent to the roster. E. Add New Team: Allows for the addition of a new team website. F. On-Hold Management: An agent who is on leave due to emergency or illness but has their license with the broker. Inactive. G. Flash Featured Property Presentation: Download the current office listings to run automatically on a TV or projector screen. H. Login Notice: NEW allows for a notice of a meeting, event or something special happening within the office or community that the associates need to be made aware of. I. Account Type: Office Account, Sales Associate Roster Intranet, Sales Associate website and Manager Website. J. Title: Notes this is an office website Manager Website: Admin rights (chargeable) Sales Associate, website: Agent website part of LeadStreet program (chargeable) Sales Associate, Roster, Intranet: Agent not participating in LeadStreet Program is on office roster. Does not get leads (no chargeable) Office Staff, no display (no charge) K. TS: If checked, notifies Admin of Team Site If Checked is a Team Website L. LI: Has logged into website and accepted the terms for use of website on first login screen. If Checked has logged in M. Alerts agents that they have input their addresses No envelope icon means no provided N. User: This is a hot link Edit whereas access to the individual office or agent account is done. NOTE: the office does not have a LI or login and the admin must maintain the office as if it was an agent. Page 14 revised 7-08

15 User Manager-Agent Login Reports C C View Agent Login Report Agent Log-In Report provides a unique tool in delivering to the broker a report 1 to coach and help associates utilize the website as well as accepting leads in a timely manner: 1. Agent Name header can be selected to Sort the names 2. Last Log-In can be sorted by select the header. The date and time show is last time agent was online and accessed the Agent Intranet. 3. Number of times log-in during days reported (number 6) 30 days is default 4. Click to view log in IP addresses 5. Ending date of report can be changed by selecting calendar icon 6. Select from Report Days and the hit Run Report Page 15 revised 2-09

16 User Manager-Adding New Agent D D Add New Agent Adding new agent is a simple task. 1. Account Information: Give the new agent a user name and password User name would be the first and last name of an agent. All lower case and one word. Such as Mary Smith would be marysmith. Password is only set to access for the first time. The agent will assign a new password themselves. We suggest the Administrator provide the following password as generic and always use it. Example: password General User Information: This is seen on the website so please complete this properly. NOTE: The assosicate ID is the Franchise ID for the new associate as this MUST be provided. 3. Personal market Area: Do not fill this out as the office zip codes will be placed in here automatically. However make the new agent aware that they must put in their own. 4. MLS Information (Agent MLS ID): IF the administrator knows this number then go ahead and enter it. If not let the associate follow the beginners setup guide and enter this number in. This number is different from the Associate ID which is RE/MAX. The MLS ID is the identification for the MLS and ties the agent listing to their website and their photo will be attached on all websites. 5. User Type: Always leave this at the default Sales Associate, website-sales Associate as this provides for a website and leadstreet system connection. 6. Contact Information and General Account Settings: Do not fill this out but have the new agent go thru the beginners setup guide to complete this information. 7. Select: Add User Information Page 16 revised 7-08

17 User Manager-How to delete an agent 1 D eleting an agent and what happens to the leads If an agent is leaving RE/ MAX completely you MUST delete them from your office roster or you will be billed for the following month. NOTE: Before deleting an agent you must delete all of their domain names from their user profile under the domains tab see at the right. Once you have deleted any custom domain names then do the following: 2 1. To Delete an agent select the agent name from the User Manager tab. 2. Once the Agent profile is open select the Delete Account button under the Account Access Settings. By selecting this you will be deleting the agent from the office. NOTE: 1. Prior to Deleting an agent please access the agent domains tab (seen above) and delete any an all domains they have in the system. 2. When you delete and agent from your Roster all of their LeadStreet Leads will roll BACK to the office Clients Manager area. It is the responsibility of the Broker or Office Website Administrator to reassign those leads back out to other agents within your office. DO NOT take the chance of loosing potential revenue for the agents. IMPORTANT: If an agent is Transferring from one RE/MAX office to another DO NOT delete that agent. Contact your website support manager to MOVE the agent from one office to another. DO NOT DELETE A TRANSFERRING AGENT!!! CONTACT or your website support manager. Page 17 revised 2-09

18 User Manager-Flash Featured Property Presentation G G Flash Featured Property Presentation Run ALL the office listings on a Flat Screen TV or regular TV for the office, at a local career day or anyplace that will give you more exposure to your market. Follow the instructions Page 18 revised 7-08

19 User Manager-Login Notices H H Login Notices A unique tool to communicate with your entire office. The Login Notice is a method that when you agents login to their agent intranet a special message will be presented to them before they can continue. You provide a start and end date/time, From or subject line and then your message. You can add a link to another website or office website page. You can keep the notice showing each time they log in or just one time. What can this be used for? Sales Meetings Rally s Birthday s Dates of interest Holiday s Much more Page 19 revised 2-09

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21 RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions LeadStreet Websites Site Builder and creating your own office online area Page 21 revised 2-09

22 Site Builder Manager A B C H D E F G Site Builder function allows the office administrator to review, access all associations website layouts, content, SEO etc.. This also includes the office website management. Navigating area outline: A. Site Builder Access the office and agents site builder functions. B. Intranet Resources are the following options: Link A single URL Will open in an external window when the intranet home page navigation is clicked Link Collection An intranet page containing a group of links. File Collection An intranet page containing a group of downloadable files. PR List An internet/intranet page containing a group of page builder pages for the purpose of displaying press releases. Event List An intranet page containing a group of calendar items & page builder pages for the purpose of displaying scheduled events. C. Account Type: D. Manager: website Admin rights Office Account website this is the office which is managed like an agent website Sales Associate, website: Agent website part of LeadStreet program Sales Associate, Roster, Intranet: Agent not participating in LeadStreet Program is on office roster only and does not get leads as agents with websites D. Flash Featured Property Presentation: Download the current office listings to run automatically on a TV or projector screen. E. TS: If checked notifies Admin of Team Site If Checked is a Team Website F. PIC: Has photos of agent if head icon is showing. No head means NO agent photo. G. Site Builder: Access the office or agent site builder area. H. Login Notice: NEW allows for a notice of a meeting, event or something special happening within the office or community that the associates need to be made aware of. Page 22 revised 7-08

23 Site Builder Manager-Adding Internal Office Forms, Press Releases, Etc. A B B Intranet Resources The intranet Resources provides the office an area to host office and real estate forms online for associates 24/7. Also delivers linking, Press Releases, New agent announcements and much more. 1 To Add a New Resource: 1. Select : Add New Intranet Resource link (New Window Opens) 2. Enter a Name 3. Provide a Description of the resource 4. Type of Resource: Link, Link Collection, File Collection, PR List and Event List (note description of each function is to the right in the gray area) 5. Determine Who can see the tab. 6. Add Intranet Resource 7. On the Agent Intranet under the calendar left hand side at bottom a new function will appear called My Office Resources and your buttons will appear there Page 23 revised 2-09

24 Site Builder Manager A G G Site Builder for Office The office website can be customized as that of an agent or team website. By selecting the link edit on the office it will open the Site Builder to allow the office to select and make changes to The homepage, site content, add pages, etc. 1. Color Theme 2. Home Page Layout 3. Customize your homepage 4. Foreclosure Search Control 5. As well as all the other tabs to control and manage the Office Website. Note: Several NEW Features include: My Blog which is the office blogging area. Search Map for the office point your clients directly to your market area via the maps SEO Manager and SEO/My Searches...powerful. The office website has the tools for full Search Engine Optimization. You can hire a local SEO expert or contact your website support manager to get possible recommendations for you Page 24 revised 7-08

25 RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions LeadStreet Websites Listings Manager Page 25 revised 2-09

26 Listing Manager A B C D E Listings Manager function allows the office administrator to review, access all associations listings. Navigating area outline: A. Listings Access the office and agents site builder functions. B. Open House Management: C. LAG: Indicates agent has MLS AGENT ID in the user manager area. This is vital and IMPORTANT or the LC in the next column will be blank even though agent has active listings. D. LC: Is number of active listings for agent. E. Listings: Selecting the View will provide access to the individual agent Listings Manager Page 26 revised 7-08

27 Listing Manager A B B Open House Management Administrators can manage individual Open House Management based on MLS Number and the MLS To Add a New Open House: 1. Select : Add New Intranet Open House Management link Enter: MLS Number Specify MLS Name 2. Enter in the Open House Date, Open House time and the Driving Directions: Some associates copy the Google maps directly as well as provide links to location of property. 2 1 Page 27 revised 2-09

28 Listing Manager-MLS Status Report A E E Listings Administrators can manage individual Listings by selecting the View link next to the agents name. Also the office administrator and agents can see the status of the MLS listings and photo updates. 1. Selecting the View MLS Update Report will open in a report that shows the Date and time for each MLS as for listings and photo updates 2. Listing Designation: You can add to all of an agents listings a logo and text for participation in CMN, Komen or both depending on the agents participation in these two programs for community involvement 3. MLS Listing Research: This allows an agent to pull from their MLS any MLS number and run a report on any listing even IDX listings. The report will show the traffic 3 a listing is getting on the RE/MAX system. Potential Listing Presentation tool FSBO or local market action 1 2 Page 28 revised 7-08

29 Listing Manager-How to turn on the Charity Function A E E Listings Administrators can manage individual Listings by selecting the View link next to the agents name. Also the office administrator can turn on unique logo s specific to the agents involvement in their community and monies given on behalf of a charity like CMN and Komen. To Turn this on simply 1. Scroll down on an agents listing inventory and open the pull down menu for Listing Designation Select the supporting charity. 2. Select Apply Listing Designation button to activate for all of the listings the individual agent has. This will continue throughout the year for all listings of the participating agent. NOTE: if an agent does not participate at the sign up for each year then it is the responsibility of the administrator to turn off these functions. 1 Get the agents involved, this is a great listing presentation feature for sellers homes 2 Page 29 revised 2-09

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31 RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions LeadStreet Websites Client Manager Page 31 revised 2-09

32 Client Manager A B C D E C lient Manager is extremely powerful tool for the broker and the office administrator. There are coaching tools and lead management items available. Navigating thru the Client Manager: A. Client Administrator Reports: A review of lead offers based on status of lead. These reports can be reviewed by dates. The most important of these reports is Lead Performance Report B. Client Search: provides for the Admin to search on clients based on the following criteria Client Client Name Client prospect or ID number Search Clients on Agent Name C. Client List Via Agents in Office D. Show Leads/contacts: shows number of clients for each agent F. Select the View will take you directly t the agents Clients Manager area Page 32 revised 7-08

33 Client Manager A Client Administration Reports: 1. Lead Performance Report: A tremendous recruiting, retention and coaching tool for both the office administrator and the broker. By selecting the View Report an office report for all the associates can be done. 2. Selected Month and day can be selected and a report run. NOTE: The default is last seven days Total: is the combined number of Hot, Activity, accepted, pending, declined and missed 4. Accepted: Leads that have been accepted 5. Pending: Leads waiting to be accepted 6. Declined: Leads not wanted 7. Missed: Leads that were missed and given to Below is a simple table used to help the agents understand the potential and opportunities of accepting leads. The numbers provided can be adjusted to try and meet the local market. Give them a try for each quarter. The leads are opportunities. Leads can then be turned into prospects, then clients. Example: 1179 Missed leads 5,724 Accepted leads x 3% Conversion rate /57 Primary agents 35.7 Missed buyer transactions 100 Leads per primary agent x $220,000 Avg sale price x 3% Conversion rate $7,781,400 Missed office volume 3 Transactions per primary agent x 3% Buyer's broker commission x $220,000 Avg sale price $233,442 Missed commissions $660,000 Volume x 3% Buyer's broker commission $19,800 Additional Gross Commission Income / $468 Annual cost of Reliance product 42:1 ROI Page 33 revised 2-09

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35 RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions LeadStreet Websites Online Help Easy as: WWW. REMAXTRAINER. COM Direct all agents to this website so we can track the needs of all associates. This service ticket system is audited and all website support managers have access to help and assist all associates, brokers and office staff in relation to the websites, design center and realping. Page 35 revised 2-09

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39 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers-Website Support Question: What is the or phone number for the Technology Program support person? Answer: We have a website: which will let you place in a trouble ticket and thus track that ticket all the way to providing you a resolution. Or you can call: Toll FREE. Check your Agent Intranet area under HELP tab and maybe the answer can be found in one of our online movies. The support staff hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. central time, Monday thru Friday. You can also contact your Regional Website support Manager at: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas please contact Kelly Powell at [email protected] Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana please contact Traci McKinley at [email protected] Question: I am having computer problems do I call you? Answer: No, please contact your local service person for your computer needs. Question: What does the Technology Support Team provide me as a RE/MAX Professional and as part of the new Technology Program? Answer: The Technology Support Team is responsible for any items pertaining to the Technology Program as in: Website problems and questions, Design Center support and questions, School and community data integrity issues. We do not handle any personal issues, domain name purchasing or managing, RE/MAX Mainstreet, external programs purchased by sales associates, voice mail or your office services, computer problems, cell phone problems or internet service provider problems. Question: What do I do if my domain name is not connecting to my new region website? Answer: It takes a domain name approximately 48 hours to propagate the internet world. If after this time your website domain name is not working double check to make sure your name servers are set properly. You can view these under the USER manager tab and under Domain button and click Register link to see the Name Servers. If the name servers are set properly please contact your office administrator immediately to notify your support team of the problem. Question: What are the days and hours the website support staff is available? Answer: The website support staff is available during standard business hours Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central standard time. Question: What is the timeline of getting a phone call or in response to my needing help? Answer: is normally a quicker way of communication and the staff will respond. The response or solution will of course depend on the severity of your need and if we need to get a programmer involved. If you call after hours we will do our best to return your call as early as possible depending on the volume. But we will return your call (normally within 8 hours depending on the number of calls received per day). If you call is on the weekends we will of course call the next business day. Always provide your Office name, your name, and phone number along with your detailed message of your needs. Most important if it is about your listing then you MUST provide us with the MLS number and MLS provider s name. Question: What types of training will be provided for the Technology Program? Answer: There will be some live training done either local or in office depending on scheduling and Metro area size. Office administrators will be trained and we will be doing online Webex Training in the coming months. Currently online you have some Self help movies under the Help Tab in your agent intranet area. So please review these in the meantime... Page 39 revised 2-09

40 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers-Domain Names Question: Once my domain name is active and connected to my new website can I use my domain name on yard signs so consumers can come to my website? Answer: yes, if they type in your domain name then they should be delivered to your website. As for promoting a domain name by all means your domain name is your internet yard sign. Promote the domain name on yard signs, newspaper ads, business cards etc. also remember every home has its own domain name combined with the agent s domain name. This is a perfect listing tool. Ask us how! Question: Why shouldn t RE/MAX buy my domain name for me as a benefit? Answer: Being part of our professional team RE/MAX International provides an address for every sales associate. But neither RE/MAX International, the Region nor your office is responsible for your individual domain name. A domain name is your personal marketing avenue and it would not be to your best interest or your business goals for your branding or your domain name to be owned by RE/MAX International. Question: Why can t the website support staff purchase and manage my domain name for me? Answer: The Website Support manager and staff are here to assist and provide informative answers to website questions. It is not the responsibility of the website manager or support staff to manually setup or purchase an individual agent domain name. However we do try to provide help documents and setup items to assist you in this very easy process. Question: I d rather use the free domain name provided to me by the region. Why do I have to buy a domain name? Answer: You do not have to purchase a domain name. You can utilize the free domain name that the region provides. However we know that by taking your business to the next level will incorporate the use of a unique and specific domain name that is you re branding for your business. Getting your own domain name will help increase your business goals. Question: My current website provider purchased or provided me with my domain name. How do I find out if I own my domain name. Answer: First call you current website provider and ask them if you own it or do they. If they own it then simply ask them if you can have it or transfer it to another domain name hosting company. If your provider will not provide the answer for you or you are concerned to contacting them then you can visit: and select whois link at the bottom of the page. Put in your domain name and hit submit. If you are not the registrant and your name is not showing then you do not own the domain name. Question: My old web developer will not give me a user name and password to my domain name. They said it s because it s under a corporate or business account. What do I do? Answer: Purchase a new domain name, any domain name at Doing this will setup an account for you. Once you have an account then you can utilize the transfer function on godaddy and your old web developer will have to transfer your domain name to you. Once that transfer has happened you finally own your own domain name. Question: When I pointed my domain name from my old website to this new website my has stopped coming to me. I contacted my hosting company and they said you have to setup an MX record on your servers. What do I need to since you do not host MX records? Answer: If you are using an in association with your domain name then you will need to repark your domain name back on the default name servers of your hosting company. Then you will need to utilize the CName function for your to work. Instructions are provided in the Agent Intranet area in the Beginning Help Documents and download CName Alternative to MX record hosting. This document will walk thru the steps of getting your in association with your domain name to work again. Question: I am using the CName for my solution using my domain name address. However Page 40 revised 7-08

41 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers-Domain Names when I try to use my domain name with the MLS number (unique sellers domain name or every homes has its own domain name) this feature does not work. Why? Answer: The Unique domain name will not work if you are using the CName solution for your . You will need to use the domain names for unique listings provided by the system. These are located under Listings Manager and then select a home. Question: I want my domain name to stay exactly as I purchased it so my clients know it s my website. Example my domain name is www. johnsmith.com and when I enter that in my browser to go to my website the domain name changes to something different. Why does this happen? Answer: When you point your domain name www. Johnsmith.com to the new re/max website we refresh the screen with the different stuff in the browser so as to track your client. We are setting cookies and establishing that this is your client and this is your website. The consumer will not be mislead since your name, photo and your company information is all over the website. Question: Can I Mask my domain name so the domain name remains the same and NOT show the cookies etc. Answer: No. The term masking: Domain masking literally allows you to hide the destination address of a particular site to which you've forwarded your visitors, so they never know they're on a site that's other than yours! The browser bar will show only the website name they typed in (or arrived at by link), and won't show them the name of the actual site on which they're browsing. By masking you allow your website to set the cookies and other tracking items we use to provide you with the advanced reports as well as the lead management. If you Mask your website then we can not support any problems you have with your website interaction with the view internet consumers. Zip Codes and Leads Remember this one Item: There is NO guarantee or promise of quantity or quality to leads offered to all agents. These are opportunities for potential new business. Question: How do leads come to me and what do they look like? Answer: Most Important is that you will receive an notifying you of a lead from one of the following areas: RE/MAX International, The state website, the office or your individual agent website. From a registration to see more photos of a home the notification subject line reads: Prospect Alert - # has been assigned to you. We recommend that you get to know your website and test it yourself and login using fake s and names so as to get the different notices. The more you know about your website and how it works the more techno you look and sound to your clients as you guide them through your website yourself. Question: How often should I check for leads? Answer: All your leads will come via your . Make checking your three times a day a standard business goal daily. But to make life easier, if you re handheld or cell phone can receive and send s then you need to setup your Instant Acceptance feature under your USER manager tab in the agent intranet so you can get leads with your wireless device. That is the best way! Question: Why do other agents get more leads then I do and how can I get more leads? Answer:There are several factors to this question. A: There is NO guarantee or promise to the quantity or quality of the leads. See your Value of a Lead document online. B. Agents with more listings seem to get more leads generally due to the listing inventory and consumer needs. C. The zip codes you are using may be in an area where many agents are listing their zip codes. D. Some Agents may be using the same zip code multiple times thus slowing down your Page 41 revised 2-09

42 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers-Zip Codes and Leads place in line for leads. E. Number of consumers searching a zip code based on number of agents in the same zip code. It comes down to marketing and delivering new and current clients to their website. Buying a domain name and promoting that domain name. Reading and responding to quickly. Using their website and the products provided with the website as a part of their listing presentations. Question: What if I have more leads than I am comfortable with, can I place a limit on the number of leads I get? Answer: No. The system is built and setup to provide you with the utmost in business opportunities. However you do have a Drip Marketing program that will keep in touch with prospects until you get the time to contact them. Question: Can I purchase two websites so I can get more zip codes and more leads? Answer: No Question: Can I buy more zip codes to get more leads? Answer: No, The whole program is built with it being referral free. Purchasing more zip codes makes the program a referral based system and that is not what we built the system for. Question: How does the referral Free leads program work? Answer: The advanced lead management system is built upon the six zip codes you entered into your market area. Your zip codes are your place in line or queue to receive these referral free leads. State/Region Hot Leads (forms, request appointment, request more information, in general the consumer is wanting something): Agents have 4 hours to accept leads. The 4-hour time clock stops between the black-out hours of 6 PM and 9 AM. Activity Leads (registrations, My home finder, school information, etc.): Activity Leads will be reassigned at midnight of the night following the day in which the lead originates. Subsequent offers will expire at 24 hours latter. Office Sites: Same as for the State/Regional Sites Agent Sites: Leads offers generated on agent sites never expire Question: Why do I need to add my Zip Codes for my market area to get the referral free leads from RE/MAX International, my state website and my office? Answer: The Zip Codes marketing area is a fair way of placing you into a queue line so as to get referral free leads. You have six (6) zip codes where you choose your market area. You can use the same zip code 6 times or split the zip codes up. You make the choice. When someone searching for a home in that zip code registers to see more of the home, you are offered the lead based on the zip code at the time you are first in the queue line. You have 4 business hours to accept this lead. The business hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. If a consumer registers at 5:00 p.m. then the clock stops at 6:00 p.m. and resumes at 8:00 a.m. for you to accept the lead. If you do not accept the lead then you go to the bottom of the queue line and the next agent gets the lead offer. Question: Can I change my Zip Code market area anytime I want or do I have to contact you? Answer: Yes you have full control over your market area choices and you do not need the office manager, the website support manager or anyone to access this and make changes. To change your zip code market area simply access your agent intranet area, select the User Manager tab located on the top of the page and then under User Profile scroll down the page until you see Personal market area and this is where you place in your zip codes for your market area. Page 42 revised 7-08

43 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers-Zip Codes and Leads Question: Are leads from the RE/MAX dotcom, State and office websites given to agents based on special designations or privileges (i.e., teams, office size, and years in the business, yearly sales or other items)? Answer: No. The leads are offered simply on the zip codes of your market area. Question: Is the Region taking leads generated from my agent website away from me if I do not accept the leads? Answer: No. The region does not reassign or get between our sales associates and leads being generated from your agent website. We do not block or reassign manually leads offered out from our lead management system to you. The system is setup to automate the offerings out to our sales associates based on the zip codes the sales associates enter into the system for your market area. So if you do not accept a lead offered to you from RE/MAX International, the state website or your office website then the system will automatically reassign that lead based on the times if you do not accept that lead. But neither the region, the technology staff, the office or international manually reassign a lead offered to you. Question: Why am I getting leads for listings outside of my zip code? Answer: Remember that your agent website shows all of the listings in your MLS but also consumers can search your website for ALL RE/MAX listings throughout your state. So be aware your website shows all RE/MAX listings via your state. So you could be getting leads outside your market based on consumers searching your agent website in other areas. Also If the lead comes to you from outside your zip code marketing area then that area is not being serviced by our agents. They Lead Management system will try to find the closest office based on county and then offer out to the agents in that Office's). Please know that we are trying to service the consumer so if this consumer is out of your market please refer this lead to another associate who is closer. The system provides you with a tool to transfer leads to other agents in your market area. It is located in your client s manager area. Simple rule, Accept the lead, work it and if you can not service the consumer offer it to another RE/MAX agent as a referral via your network. Question: I do not like to get leads that are in a certain price range can I make them stop? Answer: No. The program is setup to increase our brand awareness with consumers and to service support their needs. However you can easily accept and then work or take unwanted leads and provide them to agents as referrals who are happy to provide the service no matter the price range and make the client one for life. Question: What do I do if I don t want the lead & I just leave it there? Answer: If the lead was offered to you by International, State or your office then after a period of several hours we will offer the lead to another associate. If the lead was generated from YOUR agent website then the consumer will not benefit from the services you, a RE/MAX professionals have to offer. So think of leaving a lead unaccepted on your agent website as someone sitting in the lobby with no receptionist or putting them on hold for eternity. Will they want to use RE/MAX again? Accept the lead but then offer it to another professional who will provide the top level of service our clients expect from a RE/MAX associate. Question: How do I refer a lead I don t want & can I get money for that? Answer: Your Website Business platform provides the tool to transfer any lead to another associate within your area using our system. This is called a referral and all negotiations are between you and a fellow professional. It s all about servicing the consumer. Question: Is there a way to track leads that are administered to different agents Answer: The system let s you see where your leads are coming from next to the lead in the clients manager area. Also you can view this for the individual client in the Contact List area under the client s profile. Normally the terms used are: Agent Site, Corporate or Office. Page 43 revised 2-09

44 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers-Zip Codes and Leads Question: Is there a way to track leads that have come to you, but agent directed those leads to someone else due to vacation or other event Answer: Currently the system does not track leads offered to other agents from your system. You are working on the honor system when you transfer leads while on vacation or provide a referral. Question: Is there a way to tell who sent or forwarded a lead to you? Answer: No. Again it is the honor system. Question: Is there a way to determine how many times a lead has been passed around? Answer: No. Always accept the lead and know it was never passed. Question: Why do I only get 6 zip codes for my market area? Answer: The number of zip codes provided has been proven to work best for all associates. This is based on 3 years of use and testing. This works for large metro areas as well as rural. It offers the best for all associates and it works very well to servicing our clients. Question: Can you tell me where I am in the queue line to get leads? Answer: No. The system is designed so as not to allow human interaction or interference. Question: Do leads STOP being offered on weekends or holidays? Answer: No. The consumers are looking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and that includes holidays. We do not restrict your potentials clients from registering or gathering information about a home. In turn they want information from our professional RE/MAX associates so please accept the leads and respond to the consumers. Question: RE/MAX International says these are Referral Free Leads so why am I paying a technology fee? Answer: The technology fee covers the website and all the tools provided to help increase your business. It also covers the Technology staff and operations. The leads offered to you via RE/MAX dotcom, your state website and office website you are not paying for as there are NO referral fees involved. General Questions Question: I do not use some of the features on my website; do I still have to pay for the website? Answer: Yes. The technology program is not made up of individual tools and programs that can be turned on or off. This is an internet business platform and all items are included and exclusive for all sales associates of RE/MAX Mid-States and Dixie Regions. Question: If I leave RE/MAX can I still use the Website? Answer: No. The Technology Program provided to you by the Region is Exclusively for RE/MAX Sales Associates only. Question: Is there any setup fees or additional hidden costs? Answer: No. Your Regional Director has absorbed the entire setup and signup fees. Question: Will you provide more templates for us to choose from, colors and layout differences? Answer: Yes. Question: How do I report an error or missing listing or photo on my website? Answer: Go online at: and select the ticket area for Listing issues. Or call the toll free line Question: My Virtual Tours are not showing up on my website for my seller? Page 44 revised 7-08

45 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers-General Questions Answer: Make your seller happy first. Get the virtual tour link provided to you by your vendor. Access the Agent intranet and select the LISTING manager tab. Select your sellers home on the listing manager page and then select Photos and Tours tab. Place the virtual tour link into the text box provided and select submit to make the virtual tour active. Then Contact your office broker or administrator for the website so they can contact our support team. Provide us with your State, Office name, your full name and contact information and the MLS number of the missing Virtual Tour. If your office does not have a website administrator then go online at or call the toll free line We will get the problem resolved but first and foremost let s make your seller happy first. Question: If my listings are not online or the photos are missing for my website what do I need to provide your staff? Answer: Please provide us with your state, office name, your first and last name, contact information, the MLS number and a brief description of the issues or problems. The more information as best you can provide the quicker we can solve the issue. If the photos are missing please upload the photos to your listings prior to a solution. The object is to make your seller happy. Question: My listings are not on REALTOR dotcom? Answer: Please contact REALTOR dotcom or your local MLS provider. Question: If any agent is getting more internet leads then me shouldn t they have to pay more? Answer: The Technology Program does not single out any one sales associate or office over another. Each agents business model is different then the next. We do not charge for referral free leads we only require that each associate who receives the leads based on their zip code marketing area simply accept the lead within the required 4 hours. Question: How often is our MLS listings updated to our websites? Answer: The daily pick up of listings and photos is determined by your MLS. But the norm is daily. There is no pre-determined time but we pick up the listings text first then a couple hours later we go back and pickup the photos. Normally the photos will show 24 hours later depending on when you get the photos uploaded into your MLS. If after 2 days your photos are not showing from the date you uploaded them into the MLS you need to contact your office administrator or the website support manager. Question: How to a client a MLS details sheet Answer: You will need to contact your MLS provider for questions about your MLS. Question: Why isn t my website more like the MLS I use? Answer: The Websites are designed to be a hassle free consumer product so as to generate leads and growth to you. It is not a listing service and was not created to be one. Question: Do s come into my website and do I get my personal s thru this website Answer: No. All your s will be delivered to the address you provided under the USER Manager tab as your primary and secondary addresses. Question: Can I send s from my website? Answer: Yes you can send simple text from your website. You can easily create common letters uses in your daily business and those to prospects and current clients. You have your own letter library. Question: Can I send s from my website? Page 45 revised 2-09

46 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Answer: Yes you can send simple text from your website. You can easily create common letters uses in your daily business and those to prospects and current clients. You have your own letter library. Page 46 revised 7-08