.KEYWORD topproducer
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Realtors, become a Top Producer with your Palm handheld!
.OTHER
.SUMMARY Those of you in the real estate industry are probably familiar with the Top Producer brand of contact management software designed just for agents. Now, however, Top Producer has extended its functionality to Palm OS handhelds. Be sure to read Heather McDaniel’s review of the new Top Producer for Palm Computing Connected Organizers 2.0.
.AUTHOR Heather McDaniel
If you’re in the real estate industry, you’re probably familiar with the Top Producer brand. Top Producer has long been a piece of contact management software designed just for agents. It allows you to keep track of your to do items, listings, closings, calls, appointments, along with the details associated with all of the above. Now Top Producer (at http://www.topproducer.com/products/palm/) has extended its functionality to Palm OS handhelds.
Top Producer for Palm Computing Connected Organizers 2.0 (the official, rather long-winded name) is available as standalone software or with the desktop version, Top Producer 6i contact management software. In this review, I’ve used Top Producer with Top Producer 6i.
I already had Top Producer 6i installed on my machine when I got my copy of Top Producer for Palm Computing Connected Organizers 2.0 (henceforth to be called simply "Top Producer"). Installing Top Producer was easy. I did have to perform two HotSync operations, however: the first time to actually complete the installation, and the second time to transfer my database to the device. Before I transferred my data, I was able to filter what data went onto my device from Top Producer 6i. This is great if you’re using an older device with a limited amount of memory or if you don’t want appointments from two years ago to show up on your device.
One thing that startled me when I turned my device on after installation was that Top Producer took over the bottom buttons of my handheld. For example, I wanted to see what was on my schedule that day, and instead of seeing the good ol’ Palm OS Date Book, Top Producer opened. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t use your Palm handheld for many applications, you might find it very useful to have all of your real estate information available with the touch of a button.
On the other hand, if you’re using many applications on your Palm handheld, or if you simply like things how they are, you can change your buttons in Preferences to direct them where you like.
Prior to using Top Producer, I used my contact management software separately from the Palm Desktop. There wasn’t an easy way to integrate all of the information I needed to have right then and there at my fingertips. I kept addresses, to do items, and appointments using the standard Palm applications, but I still needed information such as what a client wanted to purchase and how much they were willing to spend. Since this information was completely separate, how can I get this information onto Top Producer without re-entering all of that information?
The answer came very easily. Top Producer has the ability to import your Address Book and To Do List to the Top Producer software. I was really impressed when I imported my Address Book from the Palm Desktop to Top Producer. First of all, when Top Producer imported my contacts, it checked for duplicate contacts and asked if I wanted to add a specific contact to the database. Second, Top Producer brought my contacts over with the categories intact. It even checked for duplicate entries. I haven’t seen contact manager software with a Palm OS component support categories and a specific contact’s notes and import them seamlessly. Very well done.
Importing my Date Book was also a snap. All I had to do was go into Options and select Import Date Book, as shown in Figure A.
.FIG A Importing my data was a snap.
Then all I had to do was select the starting and end dates, which was very easy to do. Top Producer’s Date Book interface is very similar to the standard Palm OS Date Book.
When you first open Top Producer, you’ll come to a screen that shows your appointments, calls, and to do items for today, as shown in Figure B.
.FIG B You can see how many appointments, to do items, and calls I have today.
You can adjust the date to see how many calls and appointments you have for the next few days, weeks, or months. If you tap on any one of the three, you’ll get a list of your calls, to do items, or appointments.
Figure C shows my calls for the day. I only have one listed, so it looks like it’ll be an easy day for me.
.FIG C I only have one call listed for this day.
You’ll notice that it shows the date and type of call (in this case it’s a standard follow-up). On the bottom, there’s a window that has the person’s name, phone number, and what the call is about.
Top Producer also has the capability to assign tasks to different people in your office. For instance, if you have an assistant, you can assign the call to that person by tapping on the small face next to the done button. This will bring up another window, shown in Figure D, which allows you to see to whom the call is assigned.
.FIG D You can see to whom calls are assigned.
.H1 Keeping track of listings
If you have a listing, you can keep track of every piece of information possible. Figure E shows my current listings in a list form.
.FIG E Here’s what my current listings look like.
If you notice, at the bottom right corner of the screen, you’ll see a button called "Pictures". You can keep pictures of your listings in your device. This is really handy if you meet someone who is a potential buyer and would like to see a few properties. One such picture is shown in Figure F.
.FIG F You can show your listings to potential buyers.
Obviously, the pictures would look better on a color device than on a grayscale device. Mine is on a HandEra 330.
You can also keep information such as address, list price, and Multiple Listing Service (MLS) number as well. This is shown in Figure G.
.FIG G You can access general information about the property.
All you have to do is tap on a person’s name from the list shown back in Figure E.
If you tap the Stats button at the bottom of the screen, you can see how many bedrooms are in the property and the square footage. This is shown in Figure H.
.FIG H View statistics about the property.
If you scroll down, you can also have information such as the type of zone the property is in, tax map key number, the type of flooring used (rugs, hardwood, etc.), parking, the year the property was built, and just about every piece of information that’s relevant to that property.
You can also view the property’s dimensions, as shown in Figure I.
.FIG I You can keep a property’s dimensions in Top Producer.
The dimensions include the square footage for specific rooms, such as living room, dining room, and bedrooms.
In conclusion, Top Producer was very easy to use. There’s a lot you can do with it to make your life easier. There’s so much information, it might take a while to find out exactly what this software can do for you. If you’re the type of agent who has a lot of clients, keeping track of them will be easy with Top Producer for Palm Computing Connected Organizers 2.0.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Top Producer for Palm Computing Connected Organizers 2.0, visit http://www.topproducer.com/products/palm/.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
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.END_SIDEBAR
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