Creating a complete training and support system for an application like Realtors Property Resource™ (RPR) is a big task, and one that’s just as important to get right as the application itself. As a result, we took a detailed approach, talking to MLS and broker training directors around the country and building a system around their suggestions—from creating a complete online training curriculum to providing easy-to-access help for everything from routine questions to urgent needs from our users.

Our training instructors will be based out of Kansas City. I suppose their location isn’t very important since all of our courses will be offered online. REALTOR® members will be able to choose from at least 2 classes daily, 5 days a week. These classes will be lead by instructors with real estate experience, and staggered throughout the day to accommodate users in different time zones. And if you can’t make one of the live webinars, you will be able to watch one of our previously recorded sessions. For our MLSs partners’ staff, we have developed an extensive curriculum of “Train the Trainer” courses.

We’ve also setup a separate facility in Chicago that will be open around the clock—24 hours a day, 7 days a week—once we come out of beta. As Mike DelGaudio, RPR Director of Training and Support, says, “We understand real estate is a 24 hour-a-day business, so we’ll be there to help you whenever you’re working”. Members will be able to access the support staff through live chat, email, or phone.

For those that want an online help system, we’ve set up the “RPR Help Center”. It’s filled with hundreds of articles and related resources.  Don’t see the answer to your question?  The Help Center is interactive – you can leave a comment or ask a question, and it will be shared with our representatives and the other users of RPR. The Help Center also includes videos on many key topics – often with Spanish translations – available when you see the “Captions” button at the bottom of the video player.

So when RPR comes to your market, check out these great new offerings designed to get you up-to-speed and productive in the system right away, so you can start using it to do more business with your customers.  We hope they’re helpful, and that if you don’t find something you need, you’ll tell us what you think.

Often here on the blog we’re asked by REALTORS(r), brokers and others whether or not their MLS has signed up for Realtors Property Resource. We enjoy the question because we can feel the excitement and anticipation passed along from members. But we don’t want you to wait for these exciting announcements; rather we want to make accessing this info easier. It’s always been our goal to be as transparent as possible.

As a result, we’ve published a Google map (http://blog.narrpr.com/rpr-partners) that showcases the markets in which we’ve officially partnered with an MLS. Any of the pins can be selected to reveal the MLS name.

If you don’t see your MLS, don’t fret. We have hundreds of conversations ongoing right now. We will be updating this map on a regular intervals going forward. If you have specific questions around progress in a particular market, let us know at info@narrpr.com.

Also make sure to watch this video by NAR President-elect Ron Phipps and CEO Dale Stinton as they discuss the benefits of the RPR and the competitive environment that made its development a necessity.

The joint RPR-CAAR group embraced the challenge of devising a mobile web app with gusto—that first meeting hatched a bunch of great ideas. The process was exciting because the CAAR members had a solid understanding of technology and were very interactive with us. Also, Marty Frame made sure each of the participants had a clear understanding of the RPR application and feature set, so their mobile idea could take full advantage of what RPR offers.

Early in the conversation, it was clear that the CAAR folks wanted to maximize the reach of a mobile app by crossing devices and carriers. And they have some unique challenges in their market related to the devices and capabilities the wireless carriers make available. So they focused on the idea of developing a mobile website. But what features would have the highest impact and business value for the REALTOR in the field? After careful consideration, it was decided that quick search and the ability to display key data sets from the RPR database were required, such as: public records, listing information, default / distressed property information, and valuation analytics.

Because an important capability of RPR is to produce customized reports for a Realtor’s customers (e.g. Seller’s Report, Property Report, Buyer’s Report, etc.) it was expected that mobile users would be able to easily email reports to their clients directly from their device.

So with all that information gathered, Brett Nordby—RPR Product Manager—crafted a product plan and away we went, off to create a mobile website that met the needs outlined by CAAR. And now we’re proud to announce that we’ve delivered the first look of the new RPR Mobile Web App to CAAR. They have begun testing the application on various mobile devices and will send us their feedback and product ideas. This beta process should run for approximately 60 days.

The past 90 days have been a hectic time here at RPR as we’ve raced to get the website up and let beta testers begin their work; at the outset of our work with CAAR it seemed hard to imagine that we could squeeze anything else into our schedule. But the team at CAAR relished the opportunity and quickly developed a strong idea of what they wanted and thought would be valuable, which eased the process. We at RPR are grateful for all of the direction they gave us, and look forward to hearing what they say now that it is in their hands.

If you would like to see a longer version, watch here

I was fortunate enough to attend the first beta test—at MLS Listings in San Jose—and I recall something really wonderful happen. It’s that feeling that that you’re watching something much bigger than yourself about to take place. I was in a progressive area with leaders from the local real estate industry all witnessing the birth of a new resource that has the potential to benefit every future user in one way or another.

Then it hit me, these leaders are pushing the boundaries for our industry. They see the changes in consumer behavior and understand that we can’t sit still. They have stepped up, not only to understand the new technology, but to provide valuable feedback on the direction of potential features and datasets. But what is it that each of the leaders see in RPR? I asked that question to each of the beta market CEO’s and here are their responses:

Our progressive subscribers appreciate the value that comprehensive, property-centric information adds to sharpen their resources and enhance the service they deliver to their clients. Our beta testers found the user interface impressive and intuitive. We very much appreciate the opportunity to support this initiative and participate in shaping its effectiveness for our subscribers’ business needs.
- Jim Harrison, President and CEO of Silicon Valley-based MLSListings, Inc.

ARMLS subscribers are very excited to be some of the first agents in the country to be able to test drive the RPR service. When we sent out the invitation to potential testers, we filled our reservations within the first day and had more on the waiting list. The agents are not only pleased about being able to research property out of our service area, but more so with the depth of information beyond MLS data they now have at their fingertips about their local market.
– Bob Bemis, CEO of Arizona Regional MLS

In managing a Multiple Listing Service staff and leadership are continually looking for opportunities to provide valuable services to our users. Through the Realtors Property Resource NAR is doing an incredible job of answering that quest by developing this valuable asset for our REALTOR members. Our leadership and staff have reviewed RPR and are convinced it will help our members be more successful in their real estate careers. That is really the bottom line – providing value to our membership. We feel privileged to be a Beta sight and congratulate NAR on their forward thinking in this outstanding Second Century Initiative.
– Rob Higgins, Executive Officer of Spokane Association of REALTORS

The leaders of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches are committed to bringing absolutely the best programs, products and services to our RAMB members – and the decision to bring RPR to our members first was unanimous. There was no question that RPR has a lot to bring to us now and in the future and we want to help build the best system and resource possible. We just finished our two training sessions with the RAMB beta testers on Thursday and they were extemely impressed.
– Teresa Kinney, CEO of Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches

RPR will continue its Beta roll out over the next few weeks, so keep checking back to our blog for the latest information.

In the beginning…
Before you can start blogging, it’s important to ask yourself the tactical questions that will ultimately help shape your web presence.  What topics will you focus on? Who is your target audience?  Who will carry out the writing on the blog?

Once you can answer those foundation type questions, start to address items like domain name, platform, and hosting. In the case of the RPR Blog, it was clear the Realtors Property Resource application would exist in the root domain. And our domain is NARRPR.com. So we decided to install our blog to a subdomain.

In terms of blogging platforms, the best solutions seem to be open source.  Although I must admit when thinking about the RPR blog, it’s was obvious to us that WordPress was the best solution. It’s a powerful self-hosted publishing platform with a user-friendly administrative interface. WordPress also has a thriving community for support and driving innovation.

Time to make it look good!
Hopefully you have access to someone who can take your branding, niche and target demographic and meld that into a design that works with one of the available theme frameworks for your platform of choice. In our case, WordPress has tons of awesome theme designers such as StudioPress, Woo Themes, iThemes, DIY Themes and others. In the case of RPR blog, after selecting a theme framework I worked closely with Neil Pinchin, Art Director for RPR, on the look and feel.  He selected new colors and created graphics to represent the RPR brand identity. Now if you get to this stage, but don’t have good support at least make sure you don’t make these 11 common mistakes.

If you choose WordPress.org, you have selected to host your blog. So you must address the question of where? You have lots of choices and I would start by asking your peers where they host? Ask about their experiences with up-time and support.  WordPress has created a recommended list of a few website hosts.

Many of the best blogging platforms are easy to install, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t call in a pro for help with the many customizations. Since we selected WordPress, we had access to the WordPress plug-in library which includes over 8 thousand different plug-ins. Each adds a set of functionality to your blog, some are very minor and some provide major functionality. Some will require little to no customization and others will require detailed configuration.  I recommend you take some time to see what’s out there before you get too far along in the process. Here are the most popular plug-ins and another list of 45 useful plug-ins.

Now before you’re ready to open the doors you need to build up a base of content. It’s never a good idea to launch with just one post, instead my recommendation would be to launch with at least 5 posts. If you’re having trouble getting started, check out this 10-Step copywriting tutorial from CopyBlogger or these 30 post ideas from my personal blog, MyTechOpinion.  On the RPR blog we launched with a few posts, videos and a comprehensive lists of FAQ’s.

5 Tips for Launch Day

1. Create a Social Media Release:  It’s like a press release but supports commenting, videos, photos, logos, podcast, and of course sharing buttons.
2. Create an email announcement: Notify your sphere and key influencers in your space. I’m a huge fan of MailChimp, they have a plug-in for WordPress and can assist with bulk emailing and setting up a re-occuring newsletter.
3. Share on Twitter (& Facebook):  This has become a critical part of launching a blog. News moves fastest on Twitter. If you don’t have much of a following, reach out to those that do.  Be creative. Also think about creating a hashtag to channel your content.
4. Submit to directories: A few popular directories include: Blogged, Technorati, BOTW, Bloggeries, & Blogarama
5. Listen & respond: Watch for comments on the blog and your outposts like Twitter and Facebook. Make sure you respond.

Since this is a large file, I’ve set a 15 second buffer. Please let me know if you have problems viewing. Oh, and no making fun of the glass in the middle of the screen.