In Good Hands – How One Agent Has Found the Key to Streamlining

By Kayla O’Brien

RISMEDIA, August 11, 2008-Having been in the real estate industry for four years now, Charles McDonald knows a thing or two about multitasking. A husband, father and buyer’s agent, McDonald also prides himself on being quite tech savvy-always in search of new ways to streamline his life as a real estate professional for RE/MAX Assured Properties in Charlottesville, Virginia. With all of the new technologies available to real estate professionals daily, there’s one he says he’ll never let go of-his BlackBerry.

“I use the BlackBerry Pearl and I love it,” he says. “My BlackBerry gives me the ability to fully stay in touch and be able to quickly respond, which is fantastic.”

After years of bouncing between different smartphones on his wireless network, McDonald has made the switch to BlackBerry, attributing the fact that it gives him the ability to work while on the go, without having to be near a computer, or better yet, carry a bulky device around.

“You don’t have to go check your e-mail at a computer-you can be two states away and it still appears as though you’re around the corner,” says McDonald. “Not to mention the fact that this phone is so small that it fits in my shirt pocket easily, so it’s very unobtrusive-it’s like carrying a stack of business cards.”

Compared to smartphones that incorporate other operating systems like Windows, McDonald says he’s able to not only hold conversations while speaking through his Bluetooth headset connected to his BlackBerry smartphone, but simultaneously he’s able to view his address book, calendar, and use other quick features-just by using his thumb. He also loves the ability to browse the Web and use mapping features while on the go.

Using his BlackBerry, McDonald is kept organized and constantly in the know. “It’s where you get your calls, voice-mails, e-mails, texts and you can respond all in one place,” he says.

“I started with the Palm Treo with Windows and it was the slowest thing I ever worked on. The ease of use with BlackBerry is far superior-it’s very intuitive,” says McDonald. What’s more, in between showing luxury homes, land, farms and estates in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, any changes that have been made on his BlackBerry can quickly be synched to his PC.

While other smartphones may boast lockbox capabilities, McDonald says he’s willing to carry both his sleek BlackBerry Pearl and GE Active Key/Display Key, all the while anticipating the launch of the Supra eKEY for BlackBerry from GE Security later this year. This function will allow agents to not only open lockboxes, but also receive real-time showing notifications, view showing reports, search MLS data directly from the Internet and view a complete range of searchable criteria-saving time and increasing productivity.

“Even though I was able to open lockboxes with the Treo, it was really cumbersome,” he says. “It would sometimes take five to seven minutes-which isn’t so efficient.

“I can also use my BlackBerry to take fantastic photographs,” McDonald says, and that comes in handy whether he’s taking photos of a property or even when a call comes in from a client. “Any pictures I snap at a property can be immediately e-mailed anywhere. I even take pictures of my clients, add them to my contacts, and they become part of my caller display-when they call me I see their picture and know exactly who’s calling,” he says. “Or better yet, when family calls, I have their smiling faces looking at me, which is a nice refresher.”

Another unique function that helps keep McDonald balanced when it comes to his work/life schedule is the automatic turn off/on feature. “I start and end my day by that. So in other words, I have it programmed to automatically turn on at 7 in the morning and I have it automatically turn off at 10 at night,” says McDonald.

“That helps me to go back and say I’m done for the day instead of a night of phone calls.”

So after giving other products a chance, McDonald is confident that he’s in good hands when it comes to his BlackBerry: “The BlackBerry Pearl is such a great product-I’m not going back.”

For more information, please visit www.blackberry.com.

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