B: MICROSOFT: Microsoft introduces Realty Desktop, the first completely
web-based customer management tool for real estate brokers; Web-Based service
helps brokers build lifetime customers, maximize profits; Two leading national
brokers sign on as pilot part
FEB 24, 2000, M2 Communications - SAN FRANCISCO -- Today at the Real
Estate Connect Conference, Microsoft Corp. unveiled the Realty Desktop,
the first completely Web-based customer management and transaction
service designed to help real estate brokers create customers for life
through the flexibility and power of the Web. Realty Desktop empowers
real estate brokers to deliver a high standard of customer service from
the point of first contact, enabling them to respond quickly to
customer needs and inquiries and, as a result, increase close rates,
maximize profits and grow their business. Two of the nation's leading
brokers, Howard Perry and Walston Realtors of North Carolina and
Wardley GMAC Real Estate of Salt Lake City - with combined sales of
nearly $3 billion a year - have signed on as Realty Desktop pilot
partners and will implement the service throughout their multiple
offices.
Created by Microsoft, the world leader in software development,
Realty Desktop delivers a single, integrated solution for generating
new leads and keeping customers after the home sale has closed. In
addition, Realty Desktop helps agents automate the many labor-intensive
tasks associated with real estate transactions while providing tools
that facilitate additional home-ownership services.
"There are numerous, fragmented processes throughout the real estate
transaction that need to be more tightly integrated," said Bryan
Mistele, general manager for the MSN HomeAdvisor online real estate
service. "With Realty Desktop, the entire transaction is connected -
from the arrival of a lead to the sale of post-transaction services
such as painting, landscaping and installation of security systems.
Realty Desktop will produce a higher degree of customer loyalty,
decrease customer acquisition costs, and increase profitability for the
agent and broker." Realty Desktop is an easy-to-implement online
customer management tool that allows brokers to better manage customer
relationships without having to hire additional staff, or acquire more
office space or expensive software. An Internet connection and a PC is
all that is needed for brokers to be up and running. In addition,
Realty Desktop can be completely branded by each company and includes
fully customizable features that work seamlessly with brokers' existing
software.
"Realty Desktop will allow my agents to spend less time in the office
struggling with paperwork and more time with their customers," said Don
Walston, president of Howard Perry and Walston Realtors. "There's only
one thing that can result: more transactions, more customers and more
homes sold." "MSN delivers hundreds of highly qualified leads each
month, and Realty Desktop will help us turn even more of those leads
into paying customers," said Lynn Wardley, owner and president of
Wardley GMAC Real Estate. "It will keep our agents on top of their game
and my business far ahead of the competition." Realty Desktop:
Innovative Tools to Help Brokers Build Customers for Life Built upon
the Microsoft ClearLead lead management platform, Realty Desktop offers
integrated tools that help brokers easily manage the events and details
associated with customer and business needs. The Task and Transaction
Manager enables agents and brokers to manage the following: Home
purchase and sales transactions. Brokers can stay on top of important
details ranging from securing a mortgage and ordering a title to
scheduling an inspection and securing a warranty.
Participants in the transaction can have their own view of tasks,
with the ability to update the status of each.
Home listings. Realty Desktop automatically triggers "to-do" events
when a new listing arrives, such as scheduling an open house, creating
flyers and posting a yard sign. Realty Desktop will even assign these
to-dos to the appropriate employee, saving the agent valuable selling
time.
Home ownership services. Brokers can keep track of and capture
revenue on leads for any product or service associated with the home,
including security systems, landscaping, painting, roofing, interior
design, appliances, and eventually preparing for the next home
purchase.
Realty Desktop features the Prospect Manager, an invaluable tool that
automatically integrates and processes Web-generated leads, ensuring
timely responses to customer inquiries and helping eliminate the chance
of losing potential customers. The Prospect Manager tracks customer
interactions, creates customer histories and instantaneously sends
customizable e-mail messages to ensure quick, consistent responses.
These automated features help to facilitate interactions between
parties and enable brokers to save time and money, increase their sales
and customer base, and provide high-quality customer service. By
utilizing this innovative Web-based service, agents have more time to
spend on developing new business and, their most important task,
delighting their customers.
Realty Desktop's sister product, DealerPoint, which also uses
ClearLead technology to manage customer leads, has been available to
car dealers nationwide for over a year. In that time, DealerPoint has
helped car dealers improve their customer service and increase their
close ratios, while providing a platform to help them effectively
communicate with thousands of online car buyers.
"Auto dealers using DealerPoint have seen their close ratios soar,"
Mistele said. "Faster response times by auto dealers have led to close
rates doubling from 15 to 30 percent. We're confident our real estate
partners will see similar results." Both DealerPoint and Realty Desktop
are built on the Microsoft ClearLead platform, a Web-based service
designed for businesses that are looking for a simple way to respond to
and manage the real-time inquiries of their customers. Regardless of
where business is conducted online, ClearLead brings parties together
and facilitates communication between them, offering automated features
that enhance task management, tracking and lead management.
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