I pay for this service. It aint cheap. I cannot fathom that there is no way to track showings. I want to be able to have a record preferably in top producer since thats where all the other records are.

Is there not a way to associate contacts with one another? If so, then create an agent contact and associate them with your listing contact. Enter notes about the showing and schedule follow up.

Begin Rant:
I don't use TP any longer. I quit after learning that ALL of my contacts and info was in a proprietary format and not able to be exported. I go all the way back to the DOS version, so I have had my fill of them. My last version was Windows and I think it was 5.x or 6.x.

I can't believe that they forced everyone (who upgrades) on-line now and charge a monthly fee!!!
End Rant!

I think you can associate contacts with one another.

O.K., here is the scoop. First, the information is exportable because I have done it, and I use Top Producer 7i.

To the question - you absolutely can track showings, and then easily email all showing agents with any price reductions or other information you might want them to know.

First, do you have your listings entered in the listings section? If so, then go to the main page for your listing. Look at the top and you will see a tab that says "Service Report". Go to that page.

Look over to the left and see the choices - add showing is one of them, along with email showing agents.

Each time you have a showing enter it. To be able to email the agents, they need to be entered in your address book. You can then go back to this form and add feedback later when you get it.

Do you use the 24/7 customer websites for your sellers? If not, why not? Anything you enter onto the Service Reports will go to the customer site and you have control whether they see the agents names, etc. Your customers can check this any time of day or not, and it removes a LOT of phone calls from your day!

Just train yourself to enter everything you do in the service reports and then not only can your customers see this online (if you set them up through their address book page) and/or you can print this and send it to them, or you can publish it online and they can view it from a link, PLUS if you ever get threatened with a lawsuit, you have all your ducks in a row.

If this is all new to you, I REALLY suggest you invest in some TP training or that new manual they offer so you can maximize your investment. It takes a few days to get the hang of it all, but it is then a total lifesaver.

Good luck,

Cheri

Gulf Winds - You've stopped using Top Producer, as have I, but I haven't found anything to replace it with. Right now we're using Outlook and some Excel spreadsheets to try and track suff and it's not exactly perfect. What are you using? Any suggestions?

Okay I want to track showings as in MY OWN they are not my listings. These are homes I am showing to my Buyer clients. I want to keep track of what homes each client has seen, what they thought of it, the mls #.

Do you enter appointments and attach them to your buyers? If you go to "Schedule" and then "Schedule Activity", you can click "appointment", attach it to your client, and then in the upper left corner, click "notes" and enter notes regarding the appointments to view houses during that time period. This can then be accessed in your client notes later.

"I want to keep track of what homes each client has seen, what they thought of it, the mls #"

WHY?

what do you mean why? If I am working as a Buyers Agent, it is my job to help them remember what house had the great view, and which one they loved the master bedroom in but was too far of a commute etc. etc.

That shouldn't be too hard to remember if you keep the showings at no more than six at a time. Eliminate the no-go's and they only have to remember the top one or two. If you have to take them out a second or third time, you should already have a good idea what they like and don't like. If you can't find them a house by the third trip, they are not ready.

Remember..no more than six houses at a time and no more than three trips.
You can save a lot of time by eliminating stuff before you even leave the office. Ask lots of questions.

All this writing down mls#'s and unnecessary record keeping only make you feel like you are working. Keep your mind clear and clutter free so you can have good communications with your client. If they are interested in which house had the great view, they'll remember. And "the one they loved the master bedroom in but was too far of a commute" ...you have no business showing them that one!
You are doing good, and I see you getting better everyday, keep it up!

well thanks I am also keeping track too for my own etification. I want to know COLD which condos/townhomes to go to in Jackson if they can spend $300k. Which condos/townhomes if they need a garage/basement in Freehold for example.

We should have a weekly "tip" for this program, I had no idea you could do this either and I've been through training, but there is just so much to know about this program.

Lemrut

Here's a question for you top producer users. Since top producers contact management and calendar system doesn't work with outlook....can you get top producer to sync with a PDA?

In other words, can I enter my appts. and contacts onto a PDA and get it to sync up with Top Producer?

You can most definitely track your showings in TP if you want to.

You can export all of your contact info into a regular CSV file any time you want, provided you have the permissions to do so (if you're on a team and not the team leader, you might not have access to this feature).

You can sync TP to your PDA, although not to your regular PDA contacts, you have to purchase a Top Producer for Palm license ($9.95/month) and then you can access your TP data through your PDA and sync it whenever you do a hotsync.

Josh

Thanks for the help. Hmm, yet another fee to operate top producer. It keeps adding up...not sure it's worth it. One of those double edged swords though...product A is cheaper but doesn't do x,y,and z...etc. BLECH!!!

You can also set your scheduler to e-mail or text you a reminder at whatever address you will be at. It's been real help to me.

1. Get a pen
2. Get a notebook
3. Show houses to your buyer and take notes when you're there so you remember which is which.
4. Hit "add note" under your buyer's name in the database.

You just have to physically type it in. I'm not so sure what else you want it to do.

TP7i is WELL worth the money, IF you use everything it can do. With some basic info, it will create a damn good listing presentation that's personalized to your client. There are a million things it can do, but most people don't take the time to learn it.

At $40 a month, it can easily do the job of an assistant if it's harnessed and used correctly. Taking classes on it or buying instructional DVDs or material (AND USING IT) is one of the best investments one can make.

Are there any programs other than Top Producer that anyone can recommend? We were discussing it at our office meeting this morning and no one could think of another program.

I've used Agent Office and it works fine. It can track both contacts and properties. I got away from it when I reformated my laptop ... but am thinking of putting it back on. I found that I needed to put the appointment in the Agent office and then in my outlook to sync it. But after talking to someone about it you are able to sync the agent office with a palm treo so it'll take the most annoying step out of it.

For I think $200 I am done paying for the software and it serves the purpose that I need.