There seems to be two types of people in the world: Those that can get Google Sync or iCloud to work and those who can’t. If you're one of the lucky ones who can get either to work, you can stop reading right now. And don’t leave any insulting comments either. Because it’s not a matter of whether you’re smart or not. It’s a matter of having the right devices, software and maybe even the planets being aligned in your favor for either of these to work without a hitch. The only scenario that … [Read more...]
Prepping Your CRE Data (Nerd Guide)
You've got the relationships set, know what data you have and what you want. Now comes the hard part. Cleaning up your data and quantitatively creating relationships using ID numbers (those Primary Keys you saw in last week's post). There are 2 basic ways to create these ID numbers for the data you already have. Which one you choose depends on how you want future ID numbers generated. Most databases have an option to automatically create an ID number as the Primary Key for each row. If you … [Read more...]
Building a CRE Database (Nerd Guide)
People throw data in databases all the time but if you don’t give it some advance thought, you might as well stick with Excel. In fact, that’s the mistake many database novices make – thinking in terms of Excel and not understanding the relational aspects of databases. Databases are made up of tables. Each table contains records – a row – with data in columns – much like you see in an Excel spreadsheet. But in a database, the tables are “linked” (related) to each other in ways that you … [Read more...]
Using PowerPoint for Print
One of my pet peeves is that so many companies use PowerPoint as the defacto software for flyers and other marketing materials. It was never meant to be a tool for print materials. But early versions of Word were so “flyer unfriendly” that PowerPoint made sense. Publisher, Microsoft’s inexpensive layout editor, while good puts you in a box – not good enough for serious design work and the files can’t be opened in other programs, including older versions of Publisher. PowerPoint is certainly … [Read more...]
Building a Better CRE Data Spreadsheet (Nerd Guide)
Excel isn’t the best way to keep structured data, but sometimes, it’s all you’ve got. And there are some benefits to storing listing information in Excel versus your CRM app. It’s difficult if not impossible to migrate your listing data from a CRM app. If you’ve got it in Excel, however, you can migrate it to a database or import to aggregators. It helps if you design a database friendly spreadsheet. Unlike in Excel where everything is on one sheet, databases will have separate tables for … [Read more...]
Get Your Own Data
Having been around before LoopNet and CoStar appeared, I always wonder why CRE agents think they can’t survive without these two companies. Perhaps it’s because in the “old days” property related data was tedious to collect and maintain. When someone else started collecting it and making it easy to search, most everyone threw out the spreadsheets and paper files and jumped on board. With the specter of higher pricing hanging over CRE agent’s heads - not to mention the total lack of control … [Read more...]
