Location, location, location! Mapping and GPS sells real estate

Many online real estate search engines today are incorporating web based mapping solutions that will map the house you're viewing down to the street level (check out century21.com for one of the cooler ones). This is an extremely useful tool to help real estate agents and prospective homebuyers create a short list of homes based on the widely accepted, most important attribute of real estate - Location, Location, Location!

For the agent, the next logical step to efficiently working this shortlist of homes is to bring that map with you on the road as you search out the perfect house for your client. Today's laptop mapping applications let you do just that.

Computerized laptop mapping lets you plot your own points of interest, including homes to visit, the location of schools, shopping, doctor's offices and even Grandma's house. In short, everything that's critically important to your buyer from a location perspective in their final decision on which home to purchase.

Since the mapping software runs on your laptop, you can save a copy of each home's listing info on your computer, and link the file from electronic 'pushpins' on the map that show the home's location. These 'offline' mapping programs have many more analysis tools that allow you to further define the geographic pros and cons to a subject home's location.

Once the list of homes to be visited has been finalized based on the user defined criteria, laptop mapping programs let you create the most efficient route to see your target list. You can even assign start, stop and estimated viewing times to get an accurate estimate of the time you'll need for the entire trip.

Once you've developed your route, and are ready to go, you plug a GPS receiver into your laptop - and your computer becomes an in-vehicle navigation device that guides you to each destination with voice prompted turn by turn directions.

Of course, you don't have to be a real estate agent to use the power of laptop mapping software. With many home search sites on the web now offering street addresses, prospective homebuyers can be more in the driver's seat when it comes to whittling down their dream home short list. However, with the homebuyer doing the upfront research, the real estate agent can still benefit - because an educated buyer can be the real estate agent's best customer.

Let me illustrate how I used an online real estate search service and the offline mapping software package, Microsoft® Streets and Trips to find my current home:

Three years ago, my family and I lived in Florida. We were moving to New Hampshire, and had a limited 5 day time window in which to find and make and offer on a home.

Prior to our trip, my wife and I reviewed homes online - choosing those that met our general location and other criteria. I then copied the listing information to a Microsoft® Word document, and plotted the exact street level location in Microsoft® Streets and trips, placing an electronic 'pushpin' at the home's location. I then placed a hyperlink in the pushpin's information balloon that opened the listing document when I clicked it.

When it was time to travel to New Hampshire, we had reviewed all the homes that were available to us online - updating the map with new houses and those that had sold right up until the day we got on the airplane. We had a list of 20 homes that we planned to check out.

We arrived on a Friday at mid-day. We had scheduled to visit with our real estate agent the next morning at 9:00 am. Once we got the kids settled with friends, my wife and I decide we had enough time to go out and look at a few of the houses. I turned on my laptop, started up the mapping software, plugged in the GPS Receiver and automatically optimized a route for all house locations. I also checked the 'create GPS trail' box which highlighted each road that we physically drove on - and off we went.

That afternoon, we drove by all 20 houses. We were able to knock off 18 of them based on property, neighborhood, and other location related factors. The next day, we showed up at our agent's office, and she was ready to go. She told us we'd have to hurry because she had three walk through's already scheduled for us - and was working on a fourth.

I told her before we started out, we should review the houses first. Slightly flustered because she had a tight schedule to meet, she called up the listings in the MLS and showed us the houses we were to walk through.

We had already driven by the first one she had scheduled. She explained how it was a perfect fit for us based on our stated criteria. I said - "Yes - it's a great house...but there's a major high-tension power line like 100 feet from the bedrooms". She thought for a second and said - "Ohhhh.....that's why it hasn't sold in over a year!" (it was a hot market).

We were able to go through the rest of her picks from the MLS - and though all were great houses that might have been a fit for us based on our home style preferences, the bottom line was that none was acceptable based on their location. The agent brought up a new house that had just listed, and therefore wasn't plotted on my map. Since I had checked the GPS trail option in Streets and Trips - we were able to confirm that we had already gone by the property and could check it off the list.

After we reviewed all the information in the agent's office, she quickly called off her scheduled walk-throughs, and we focused on the two homes my wife and I had chosen during our Friday afternoon drive. Ultimately, we bought one of those homes.

Using Microsoft® Streets and Trips, in conjunction with the online real estate listings benefited everyone involved in our property search. It benefited my family, because mapping out our options gave clarity to our home search that we simply couldn't have had by looking at a list of homes. The tools empowered us to develop a plan of attack that we were comfortable with - and provided structure to our search that without, would have been overwhelming given the limited time we had on the ground to accomplish the objective.

Our use of Streets and Trips helped our real estate agent immensely as well. Rather than wasting her time showing us homes that we wouldn't have been happy with as soon as we arrived at the address - she was able to concentrate her efforts on the properties that she knew were our best prospects. She also didn't waste gas driving us around to homes that just didn't fit the bill. Because our agent spent less time with us in the search process - she was able to devote time to other homebuyers, affording her the opportunity to sell additional homes.

Our use of laptop mapping helped the home sellers too. It certainly benefited the people we ended up buying our house from, but helped the other sellers as well (not to mention their real estate agents). It would have been a complete waste of their time to clean up their house, and 'take a drive' while our agent showed us a house that just didn't fit our idea of that most important of real estate attributes. Since my wife and I had just signed a contract on our house in Florida - we had recent experience on what a pain it was to get your house looking just right and then to get out while the walk through was conducted.

There are many great tools available today to aid in the search for real estate property. Perhaps one of the most effective tools is computerized laptop mapping with GPS. If you are an agent, you would be well served to incorporate this technology into your sales process. You might consider letting your clients know about it too. They may help you sell even more houses in the coming real estate turn around.

About the Author:

Keith O'Brien is the President and founder of My Point...Exactly, LLC. He has over 15 years of Sales and Marketing experience selling technology products across the U.S. He currently trains sales organizations how to use mapping and GPS to more efficiently prospect and travel their territory. His training helps sales people reduce travel costs, maximize time in front of prospects and increase sales. Learn more about using mapping and GPS to increase sales at http://www.mypointsales.com/

Sales managers-save gas, reduce the cost of travel with computerized mapping and GPS

With companies looking to reduce costs wherever possible, sales managers need to squeeze every possible bit of saving your travel expenses. At the same time, they must increase sales in a slower economy. Computerized mapping and GPS helps you do both.

With today's high cost of sales travel and reduced travel budgets-planning efficient travel is more critical than ever. Efficient travel means grouping sales calls that are close to each other on the same journey travel route, calculate the most cost effective, and reduce waste km travelled route ' outside ' search for common business services needed during the trip on the road.

When you try to reduce the constant increase in the cost of travel sales, is like the old adage says: "fail to plan, plan to fail". Computerized mapping software programs today allow sales representatives to import their lists of customers and prospects for a detailed map to the right on your laptop, plot individual accounts at street level. Because delegates can assign unique pins for each class of perspective, are instantly the quality from the perspective and its location in relation to others in the area.

Reducing travel costs starts in the Office, before the steps of the sales representative feet on a car or plane. With prospects plotted on a map, the delegate can now make your calls and set up their sales of travel for which they see as many perspectives as possible in the same area. They use analysis tools map to find nearby perspectives and schedule meetings that are close, maximizing your time in front of prospects for sale, rather than behind the windshield of driving.

Know where the critical business services that rely on sales representatives are on the road is also a benefit of laptop mapping of cost reduction. Representatives may find hotels, restaurants, copy centers, and other sales travel oasis that are in your travel route between sales calls. Knowing where everything is before hand helps reduce wasted Trips and makes sales travel miles just a little easier.

Some applications of mapping software enables a GPS receiver to be connected to the notebook, providing turn by turn spoken directions governing the right of representative of your sales meeting. The existence of all perspectives on the map and being guided to your door helps the rep arrive punctually and relaxed-ready for the meeting.

Using portable GPS mapping and travel planning and execution more efficient, less sales representatives travel miles and can even save a journey by air or car for sale because they lost an opportunity there. And, of course, sales is about numbers-certain? Using mapping tools to maximize the number of views seen in travel means that you can see more potential customers-resulting in more sales.

Because they reduce the cost of sales travel and help increase sales, today's mapping software is a must have for all sales professionals that covers a territory and invites customers and prospects. There are several available mapping software products on the market today, including Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 (this is the one where I train), Street Atlas 2008 of ESRI's BusinessMAP DeLorme and 4.5. Check them out and increase your sales while reducing the cost of travel!

About the author:
Keith O'Brien is the President and founder of my point ...Exactly, LLC. He has over 15 years of sales and Marketing experience selling technology products across the u.s. He currently trains sales organizations how to use the GPS mapping and most efficient way to travel to prospect and its territory. Your training helps sales people to reduce travel costs, maximize your time in front of prospects and increase sales. Learn more about how to use the GPS and mapping to increase sales in http://www.mypointsales.com

Increase sales by mapping your prospect list of twenty percent

If you cover a territory and their livelihood requires finding new customers-prospect then a list is most likely an extremely important part of their job tasks. Unless of course you have an efficient corporate office support center dedicated to you deliver high-quality leads that keep you ahead of the best prospects every time ... I don't think so.

Okay-so let's agree that as a representative-you make your money in front of prospects for sale-instead of behind a windshield (or flying in an airplane or a train sitting ... you get the picture). If you could look in their territory and know instantly where your best prospects? And if you could efficiently exploring for its territory, a travel planning system that maximized time in front of prospects for sale – instead of wasting time and money on unnecessary travel?

Well of course-you can (or would be an article too short). The new productivity increasing tools available for the mobile sales representative are simply things ' Jetson '. No we don't have flying cars yet-but man we have some very cool technology here that we, as sales people need to make sure that we are taking advantage. A powerful tool that you need in your arsenal is mapping software.

Free internet mapping services exist for a long time-at least for the world of computer-with MapQuest launch of its online service in February 1996. There are several other options to choose from today, including Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth and much more. These services have been a big help for sales people in finding instructions to the client or the best restaurant.

Consumer GPS receivers really came strong in recent years also. ' GPS ' stands for ' Global Positioning System '. Operated by the Department of Defense, is a network of 24 satellites circling the Earth which transmits data to receivers earthbound. With this information, recipients can calculate the location, speed and altitude. These devices are great to show you where you are and how to get to your destination. The civilian market exploded with demand for these systems.

While online mapping services and GPS devices are great for helping people get where they're going-is most important to us in sales to know where we need to go in the first place! And while we're at it-it would be good to know if we're contacting the best opportunity in the area-and shoot-since we're already there-is there anyone else that we should close by?

This is where enter the mapping software packages. Running on the laptop you already have, combine ease of electronic mapping directions with the convenience of optional GPS turn by turn voice guided. But the real power in mapping software is its ability to marry their list of suspected always important with location on the ground.

' Key value indicators Perspective (FROM PVI) ' let him know the value of your perspective. If you sell pharmaceuticals, is perhaps the number of physicians in practice. Sell managed HR services? Then perhaps the number of employees is his FROM PVI. Whatever it is, you can get a list that includes this destination information. Then you can sort your list on ranges of values that makes sense for you, import it to your map and choose specific pins that identify quickly the value of the perspective.

Once you've mapped your prospect list-believe me-you will never see their territory the same path again. Now you can plan effectively its sales geographically, grouping your best travel prospects to maximize your time where you make your money-ahead the prospect of selling.

Sometimes-how to reach the potential address is only half the battle. If they are located in a huge complex, you can waste valuable time to decide where to park and which input to go through to get to your Office. Some mapping packages offer a link to the aerial photos with amazing clarity. When you set up the meeting, you can really impress your potential customer when you ask them to port to go in her building, when you arrive for the sales call. With your planned trip, you can choose to add a GPS receiver to your laptop and follow instructions of voice guided turn by turn right for its meetings.

Because your map stays with you, you can add all kinds of points that make your life on the road. Want to find Free Wi Fi locations in its territory-type in ' free WiFi Hotspots ' on the internet and get a free list from various sources and import it into your map. Want to make sure that you know where are all your favorite restaurant and café chains? Go to your website-download their sites-and add them to your map. See a wide beach that you want to take your family on your next vacation – check your map!

Mapping software tools are a valuable resource for sales professionals looking to maximize your productivity and increase your sales. Can also do business travel less stressful, more convenient and profitable. There are several available mapping software products on the market today, including Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 (this is the one where I train), Street Atlas 2008 of ESRI's BusinessMAP DeLorme and 4.5. Check them out and increase your sales now!

About the author:
Keith O'Brien is the President and founder of my point ...Exactly, LLC. He has over 15 years of sales and Marketing experience selling technology products across the u.s. He currently trains sales organizations how to use the GPS mapping and most efficient way to travel to prospect and its territory. Your training helps sales people to reduce travel costs, maximize your time in front of prospects and increase sales. Learn more about how to use the GPS and mapping to increase sales in http://www.mypointsales.com/

GPS mapping and Gps database of GPS receiver will give you your exact Global Positioning

More and more people are starting to use the mapping GPS as the primary way to plan, map, and track your business trips and pleasure. GPS with maps, travel can route to any destination, if you're driving in your car with a vehicle, GPS navigation system installed or hiking or cycling through the desert with a portable GPS mapping device. The GPS unit will connect with numerous satellites, receiving data and information about its location. The GPS tracking software uses GPS mapping technology to create a GPS map that you can view and interact with. You can plan and organize travel routes in your GPS receiver, as well as several other useful features. The various skills and functions of GPS database system is a primary factor in the cost of a GPS device.

Cartographers and GPS manufacturers all have their own system of creating maps, but most maps start with the placement of government sites, such as fire and police stations, schools and similar Community landmarks. Aerial imagery and satellite photos, then in layers for the base map, along with any important additions that may be needed to display the GPS map seen in the device. Some GPS mapping devices can produce immediate graphics of its location and surroundings, making it possible to see a real-time map amending changes the location. This map type GPS is great in emergency situations.The features of GPS maps vary. Most software includes maps of cities, along with the main highways. These maps can also include level streets, rivers and waterways, and even less traveled road side. Many GPS mapping systems include features that makes it possible to get maps from your computer, making it easy and convenient for travel to any area.

How to read a GPS mapping system

The most common way for a GPS receiver view your global location is with a screen plot, using a series of waypoints in the area. So you can control its position logically, you should always set the plot screen directions so that North is up or to the top of your device for reads like a map. The device will allow you to navigate through the GPS map, zoom in and out or even changing the location of the map. The GPS database allows you to save multiple waypoints, normally at least 100 and label them with brief descriptions. Your waypoints and their names can help you plan routes quickly in the future.GPS devices come with a card already installed. This is a basic representation of land formations in the country or area where the unit was designed. GPS units manufactured in the United States are installed with the Charter, therefore it is necessary to install additional software, if the unit is used outside the country.

The GPS database

Most GPS units more expensive come with a database program integrated GPS. The GPS database contains permanent waypoints that help the system to recognize your location and guide your travels. A GPS system used during flights, for example, normally would have a GPS database with several airports and other navigation tools that aid in the control. With these points already programmed for the database, you can simply choose your destination and map your route without typing or additional research. Most GPS mapping devices include a basic GPS database with towns and cities, major streets and some side roads. Some GPS units have an empty database that the user must create. Global positioning systems first came into use during the Decade of 1960 and currently there are at least 24 satellites in orbit. These advances in technology led to GPS, GPS mapping, making it easier to map virtually any location. GIC mapping Software GPS allows instant access to images from virtually any location. Sometimes the resolution and clarity of satellite image is so good, you can see cars and trees in the picture.

Terms of GPS mapping

· Location fix refers to signals sent from the satellites to the GPS unit to relate your location with an accuracy of 20 to 40 feet.

· Track is the dark pattern, dotted border that is displayed on the screen of plot to represent your route.

· Waypoints are individual reference points that help in trip planning and route plotting.

· The course is your entire trip, from the point of initiation to final destination.

· Bearing refers to its location in relation to its route and its surroundings.

· Title is your destination, or final and is displayed in letters or degrees.

The future of GPS tracking systems

We are already aware of the differences of GPS mapping technology has done in modern life. Now we can access a variety of information within minutes, and GPS maps are just the beginning. The future of global positioning systems and GPS devices is uncertain, but is sure to be positive. GPS technology is capable of creating endless uses as more advances are introduced for global positioning are made, and it is quite likely that GPS receiver units to become a bigger part of our society.

Daryl Plaza is a regular GPSSearchAndFind.com contributor of an informative website that GPS gathers information about GPS Topics all, so that consumers can better understand global positioning technology.