Chapter 8. Managing Your Contacts

Issues Covered

In This Chapter

• How should you use contact managers?

• How should you manage e-mail, fax, and phone services?

• Should you consider unified messaging centers or services?

• What capabilities do new technologies like VolP offer for agents?

Real estate is a relationship business, which means it's critical that you manage your relationships and the information about them, systematically. Technology can help you manage your contact information using methods such as address books and contact managers, but that's just part of where technology can help. Technology can also help you make the actual contacts, such as phone calls, fax transmissions, and e-mail messages.

Of course, much of this management isn't based on the use of technology. You need a system in place that works for you, giving you convenient access to contact information as you need it. And that means understanding how you'll use the contact information.

Once you know how you want to use contact information, you can develop that systemsand then choose the right technology to support that system.

But that's just part of where technology can help. Agents have several conduitsphone calls, fax transmissions, and e-mail messagesfor connecting to other people. And new technologies now give you choice in how you make phone calls, deliver faxes, and transmit messages. It's no longer as simple as calling the phone company to set up service.