Tel:
+27 (0)11 955 9100 |
Newsletter - 31 August 2006
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| Word from the editor |
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Dear CyberAgent user, Spring is in the air! Spring, a time of growth and renewal. It is now the time to “clean up” your listed properties, your database of buyers and sellers and your website. There is nothing better to use than one of our CyberAgent real estate solutions. For more information visit www.cyberagent.co.za The experts say there is another boom just around the corner, with the potential to change the real estate market and provide a substantial revenue boost for agents who are ready to capitalize on it. Why? Retirement of the baby boomers! The baby boomers are getting older and closing in on retirement age - and their retirements will change the marketplace as we know it for many products and services. How can it change the Real Estate Industry in South Africa?
This month we will be sharing 8 keys to mastering the “Art of Sales”. Has there ever been a time in your career when you were close to putting a deal together with a motivated seller and buyer, but the deal just couldn't be sealed? One of the greatest strengths you can have as a sales person in the real estate industry is the understanding and application of the art of negotiation. Don’t miss out on these 8 keys! Greetings! |
| What's New ??? |
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Quick Filter This new feature in the Property Manager allows you to filter (search) on ANY of the Property Manager's fields. Ever wanted to search for properties where the price per square metre does not exceed R3,500. Well - now you can! In fact you'll be able to create a multiple filter that will produce the results for the query: properties where the price per square metre does not exceed R3,500 AND where the suburb is equal to "Noordheuwel" AND the status is equal to "Active". Then you'll save this filter as "Noordheuwel Bargains" and you'll be able to create a report matching these criteria in a flash. How do you do this? Simply right-click the field you want to filter on and specify the criteria. The filter is instantly applied and the field will colour red to indicate that it is participating in the filter. You can now save the filter or continue to add more criteria to your filter.
The form below is filtered on selling price above R950,000, where the property is for sale and the city is equal to Krugersdorp. Once a filter is set on a field you can:
Do this by right clicking on the field.
When clicking the “Save/Show Filter” button the form below is displayed.
To save this filter for future use, type a name in the “Filter Name” text box, add a title to be used with quick printing, add a descriptive note and click on “Save”.
We will be adding the same filtering function to the “Contact
Manager” within the next month. New Developments - Units It is now possible to edit the square meter of the unit directly in the
unit grid if lined to a property. |
| Fraud alert – Please be aware! |
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The Internet - as wonderful a place as it is, it is also dangerous and rife with scammers and fraudsters just waiting to catch the unsuspecting visitor. The latest scam deals with one very similar to another well known scam, where a person registers domain names similar to your own in his own name - meaning he will be the owner of the domain and will be able to create a website and place any content of his choice on the website... a pretty scary thought. Why does this not happen every day - because it will cost the fraudster money out of his own pocket to achieve this... I'm not saying it does not happen - I'm just saying you have to be a pretty big target before someone will have a go at you. So what do you do if it does happen - are you protected at all? Yes - there is a body called ICANN (Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers) that has jurisdiction over such matters and you can go through the motions described in their domain name dispute resolution policy (http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm) in order to get back what rightfully belongs to you - without having to be defrauded out of thousands of rands! Let's call this scam1. So - what then is this new scam? There is a domain registration company called Horizon Net Services (www.horizonnetservices.com) - maybe there are more names they trade under - that contacts you, claiming that they have just discovered a person about to commit a scam1 on you. They further claim that you can act now and register those domains that the alleged fraudster was about to register - but then they expect you to pay approximately £100 (R1300) per domain! This is where it became quite obvious who the actual fraudster was...since the going rate to register a domain is at least a quarter of that. The other clue is of course - once you start thinking about it - there must be hundreds of thousands of domain names being registered daily. Who will ever seek - internationally - for a possible legitimate owner for the new domain and then also make telephone contact - internationally - to inform the legitimate owner. Really!? This is quite an elaborate scam, and it is a good one since it has some element of reality - I fear many people will fall prey to this... The client who informed us of the scam was expected to dish out £600 (R7,800) for this so called "protection". The only reason really to own more than one domain - in my opinion - is if your domain has a weird spelling, and people may find your website even then when they enter the incorrect spelling into the address. Remember that people are coming to your website 90% of the time as a result of a search they did on a search engine, or because of a hyperlink they follow from another website - people are seldomly typing in domain names! The other reason - if you really are branching out internationally - meaning you physically open an office or a franchise in another country - then yes, register a domain local to that country. What's the difference between .COM and .CO.ZA domains? .COM domains have allready been mined out, so the chances of getting a catchy phrase as your domain name is poor. Even when registering your company name as a .COM domain - you may find that it allready exists... most of the time as a completely legitimate website of a different company - even a different industry. Other than that - no real difference - .CO.ZA domains are in no way inferior to .COM domains! Please guys - be awake to the possibility of being defrauded - it happens every day! Should you wish to contact us for assistance in this regard, or for registering additional domain names (if you must!) - feel free : 08611-CYBER / 011 955-9100. |
| Keep me Informed |
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Visitors to your website may not allways find what they're looking for, but they usually would like to somehow enter their search criteria (ie: looking for a 2 bedroom flat in Centurion for under R3,500 per month). They're expecting to hear from you as soon as something like this becomes available. The "Keep Me Informed" service will SMS and email the site visitor as soon as you load a new property onto your website that match their search criteria! This is all automated and it's available to you RIGHT NOW! Simply request this service to be activated on your website. Contact us at support@cyberprop.com or phone us on 086-11-CYBER. To see an example of this in action, visit www.cyberprop.com
and click on Tools > Your Profile. |
| CyberAgent Training and Info Sessions |
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We now provide you with FREE training session in the following areas;
During these training sessions more information will also be provided on:
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| Invitation to our next CyberAgent Mobile training/info session |
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Joins us at our next CyberAgent Mobile Training/Info session for Gauteng. Agents interested in CyberAgent Mobile for the PC, will have the opportunity to learn more of this exciting new product.
For more information on training please email Karen@cyberprop.com |
| CyberAgent & Ananzi |
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If you are not yet advertising on South Africa's biggest and most popular search engine with over 10 million page impressions monthly, it is time to register now! To read more simply click on the following link: |
| News |
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A warm welcome to all new Agencies:
We trust that by now you are well aware of what CyberAgent can do for you. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Fanie at support@cyberprop.com or phone us at: +27 (0)11 955-9100 or 086 112- 9237 Most Internet enquiries: Cyberprop
Sunday times
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| Eight Keys to Mastering the Art of Sales |
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It is very fair to say that most markets across the country have changed significantly in the past year. We have come out of a market in which if you had a real estate license it was not too difficult to sell some homes - "an order-taker market." Find a seller, find a buyer, get in the middle, get paid, right? My point is you did not need a great deal of skill to experience some success. Well, guess what? That market is probably gone for you. What does this mean? In my opinion, it means that now, more than ever, it is time for you to get really good at selling... |
| Do you wish to list your properties on SAhometraders? |
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USP Designs and SAhometraders users now no longer have to capture their properties twice. With the push of one button properties will automatically be uploaded to www.cyberprop.com and the affiliated websites as well as Sahometraders. Furthermore we have managed a reduction monthly fee for all our CyberAgent users. For R250.00 per month excluding VAT you can now advertise your properties on this property portal. SAhometraders has been in the market for many years and currently receives more than one million page impressions. Should you be interested click here or phone Karen at 011 955 9100
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| No more waiting for statements |
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No more waiting for statements and invoices. By logging on with your username and password you can now get it online at: http://www.cyberagent.co.za/uspacct/
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| Institute of Estate Agents of South Africa |
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CURRENT EVENTS - September 2006
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| The Estate Agent by the EAAB |
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The Estate Agent When buying, selling or renting a property, you may decide to ask an estate agent to help you. An estate agent is a licensed person who must hold a current Fidelity Fund Certificate and should follow your instructions, or "mandate" to:
Estate agents must follow a strict Code of Conduct while carrying out your mandate, and they should only claim their fee, or "commission", when a deal has reached a successful end - not in advance or when a sale or lease agreement is first signed. You should never deal with an "agent" who does not hold a current Fidelity Fund Certificate from The Estate Agency Affairs Board. Your Deposit Whether you buy or lease a home, you will usually have to pay a deposit. You should always:
Your Protector The Estate Agency Affairs Board has full powers to help and protect you in your dealings with estate agents. It can:
The Board's copyright to the FICA Best Practice Guidelines for Estate Agents are now available in manual form. For further details on how to obtain a copy please email the Board at: eab@eaab.org.za |
| Quotation of the month |
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"Try not to become a man of success but rather
to become a man of value." |
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Real Estate Franchise Opportunity |
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Nearly
18 000 properties listed and growing!
USP
Designs and SAhometraders are busy forming a working relationship
to bring to our users not only another media to advertise their properties
and to get maximum exposure but also a way to reduce that working pressure
and cost.