Do you feel like a pawn in the voice mail chess game? Call – Call Back? Message – Return Message? Check – Check Mate? Well, technology has come to our rescue!

SlyDial (www.slydial.com) is a free service for your land or mobile calls that allows you to connect immediately to your recipient’s mobile voice mail without waiting for four to six rings, their outgoing message, inevitable prompts, blah, blah, blah.  SlyDial lets you go directly to voice mail.  Check Mate!

SlyDial is a real time-saver when when you need to share a bit of information and just don’t have time for a full conversation. It’s also a tool for discretion and consideration – ever disturb or distract someone when all you wanted to do was leave a quick voicemail? Like the times you remember that you need to return someone’s call… at midnight!  I hate it when that happens.

So here’s how it works: to use Slydial from a land line or a cellular phone, dial 267-Sly-Dial (267-759-3425) to leave a message for your intended recipient. The service is free to users who don’t mind listening to a little advertising, or you can pay a very modest subscription fee to avoid ads (look for the words “MYslydial Premium”.)

You don’t have to join the premium service to use SlyDial – just enter the 267-759-3425 number on your phone and you’re in business. But if you want to use SlyDial apps for your iPhone (www.apple.com/iphone), BlackBerry (www.BlackBerry.com) and Windows Mobile Smartphones, you need to be a MYslydial Premium subscriber.

There’s lots of great information (check out the FAQs) at the SlyDial website that clearly explains the value of this very simple, very convenient communication solution.

I’m always looking for ways to save time here or there and to become more efficient in my business.  Slydial is a winning deal!

Do you feel like a pawn in the voicemail chess game?  Check – Check Mate?  Call – Call Back?  Technology has come to our rescue!

SlyDial (www.slydial.com) is a free service for your land or mobile phone that allows you to connect immediately to your recipient’s mobile voice mail without waiting for four to six rings, their outgoing message, the inevitable prompts, blah, blah, blah.  SlyDial just lets you go directly to voicemail. Sweet!

Talk about a time saver!  Use SlyDial when you need to respond or share a bit of information – but you really don’t have time for a conversation. It’s a tool for discretion and consideration.  Ever disturb or distract someone when all you wanted to do was leave a quick voicemail? I hate it when that happens.

So here’s how it works: to use Slydial from a land line or a cellular phone, dial 267-Sly-Dial (267-759-3425) and leave a message for your intended recipient. The service is free to users who don’t mind listening to a little advertising, or you can pay a very modest subscription fee to avoid ads (look for the words “MYslydial Premium”.)

You don’t have to join the premium service to use SlyDial – just enter the 267-759-3425 number on your phone and you’re in business. But if you want to use SlyDial apps for your iPhone (www.apple.com/iphone), BlackBerry (www.BlackBerry.com) and Windows Mobile Smartphones (www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/default.mspx), you need to be a MYslydial Premium subscriber.

Find more information on the website FAQs – http://slydial.com/faq.php.  You’ll see the value of this very simple, very convenient communication solution. I’m always looking for ways to save a little time here or there to help me run my a little faster and this is one slick deal!

Over the summer months, I’ve been using my laptop in the evenings to update my Facebook and Twitter accounts. And let me tell you, a laptop is hot!

Did you know heat is the probable a cause of some those annoying performance issues, like ‘lockups’.  And it might even be the cause of permanent damage. Yikes! What I’ve learned is that with a laptop, heat issues can be even more of a concern. (now they tell us!) All those heat producing components are tightly arranged inside a small space…so there’s not much room for a cooling system. (think tiny exhaust fan)

Use your laptop for an extended period of time and feel the bottom of it. Or feel your legs!

Well, I found a “COOL” solution for the “HOT” laptop! It’s a laptop cooling pad! I had no clue there was a product like this.

One day browsing for a thumb drive at Office Depot, I ran across this little gem. It’s a lightweight, thin “platform” that houses 2 cooling fans. (It’s the same footprint as a laptop) It plugs into your laptop and doesn’t create a big drain on the battery life either! Bottom line – less heat makes for a more efficient computer.

In case you’re wondering, I purchased the Targus brand Chill Pad, but there are others on the market as well. After using this “Cool Tool” for the past few months – I am singing its praises. I’d recommend this $30 investment (average cost) for any real estate professional who uses a laptop.

It will improve your overall computer experience and extend the life of your laptop.  While keeping you from heating up!

My background is in corporate telecommunications/technology sales …many moons ago!  And outsourcing was the big buzz word – everyone was doing it!  Outsourcing was used for management’s “pet projects”, for services we didn’t offer and in some cases they outsourced an entire department to another company who could do it better for less!  It made sense… and cents.  Using the talents and resources of strategic partners to save on staffing, expenses and training. It was a way for my company to stay focused on it’s core business.

Back then, I sold “services” for a video conferencing manufacturer.  We offered everything from maintenance services, coordination of equipment installations – worldwide, bridging video calls ‘across the pond’ and around the country, plus designing and building custom video rooms for distance learning and corporate boardrooms.

There’s no way we could have staffed and managed all of those services – worldwide, while maintaining focus on our core business of building video conferencing equipment!  We outsourced all or a portion of every service we offered; with no apologies!

Fast forward to Real Estate – How can YOU focus on providing the best service to your clients when you’re the one who does it all?

Do you have a “pet project” you need to get done?  Do you need a Marketing Department or a Bookkeeping Department.  Do you need a strategic partner to help you grow your business?

If you’re not focused on your core business, then maybe it’s time to think about outsourcing!  But, where do you go, who do you call?

Hit the easy button… the Virtual Assistant business is your vehicle for Outsourcing!

AnotherME Virtual Assistants offer Real Estate Outsourcing!  Real Estate Support is our core business: listing coordination, closing coordination, marketing, database support, blogging, social media support, bookkeeping and expense management!  We also offer mailing services, general admin and graphic design.

As a real estate professional (and a small business owner), we can learn a few lessons from our friends in the corporate world.  Outsourcing is one of those lessons.  It’s a business decision that makes sense …and cents!