KW Technology Community Update: 2015

Friday, December 18, 2015

New eEdge Profile Completeness Feature

Happy Friday, everyone! This is your final KW Technology Community update for 2015. We appreciate all that you do - and will continue to do in 2016 - to help our associates take their businesses to higher levels leveraging the power of KW Technology. Here is your weekly update.

eEDGE PROFILE COMPLETENESS FEATURE

You can now easily gauge completeness for your eEdge website and system profile, which helps ensure your system is running at top performance and you and your brand are well represented.

You can read more about this feature at mykw.kw.com > Technology > eEdge Resources > Product Updates > eEdge Profile Completeness.

For a demonstration of how to get your eEdge profile to 100% complete, join today's KW Technology Community webinar.

KW WEBSITE EARLY ADOPTER EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

Sent to Early Adopters' @kw.com
email addresses on December 2

On December 2nd, our team sent emails to the second round of KW Website early adopters to let them know they would be receiving a website. These emails were sent to associates' @kw.com email addresses. To date, only 46 percent of these emails have been opened, which means there is a large number of Early Adopters who are unaware they're in the group.

If you haven't received your notification yet, and feel that you should have, please be sure to check your @kw.com email spam folder and/or the "Promotions" tab if you're using Gmail.

'TIS THE SEASON FOR CYBER SCAMS

The next two weeks will be busy and hectic for real estate professionals, as they're contending with high transactional volumes during year-end closings. Many millions of dollars will be sent and received via wire before the end of the year - exactly the environment in which online criminals seek to operate.

Criminals hack into the email accounts of real estate agents or others involved in real estate transactions and use information gained from the hack to dupe a party into a fraudulent wire transfer. The hackers often send an email appearing to be from an individual legitimately involved in the transaction, informing the recipient, often the buyer, that there has been a last minute change to the wiring instructions. Following the new instructions, the recipient will wire funds directly to the hacker’s account, which will be cleared out in a matter of minutes. The money is almost always lost forever.

Be on high alert for email and online fraud and do not let your guard down. Start from the assumption that any email in your inbox could be a targeted attack from a criminal.

Join today's KW Technology Community webinar for tips to avoid being a victim as well as steps to take if you believe you've been a victim of online fraud.

Also, check out OnGuardOnline.gov, the U.S. federal government’s website to help you be safe, secure, and responsible online. The website contains a whole section dedicated to phishing, including an interactive game that teaches you to think before you click (requires a Flash Player).

Share the game with your Market Center!

NEXT WEEK'S "SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS" WEBINAR

Earlier this week, we kicked off a series of six technology webinars to help you "winterize" your business. We continue next week with:

Turn Customer Feedback Into Gold - Strategically using customer feedback is a must for any business looking to provide customers with the products they need. As a real estate agent, YOU are the product and you need to know how your customers view your product's support, professionalism, and dependability. Because happy customers will refer you to others and use you again in the future! In this session, we'll show you some ways to turn feedback into future business opportunities. Presented by Cavin Weber, eInstructor, KWRI Technology Training Team.
Date: Monday, December 21
Time: 2:00 - 2:30 PM (Central Time)
Register Now

UPCOMING EVENTS

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of upcoming events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.

All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

STAY CONNECTED TO US!
Be sure to follow us on Google+ so you’ll be updated when we post to this blog.

We deeply appreciate all that you do in helping KW associates drive productivity through KW Technology!

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, December 11, 2015

View Webinar Recording for KW Website Early Adopters

Happy Friday, everyone! Here's your weekly update:

VIEW THE WEBINAR FOR KW WEBSITE EARLY ADOPTERS

This week's webinar recording is
available on the KW Technology Training
Team's YouTube channel.

Earlier this week, we delivered a webinar exclusively for KW Websites Early Adopters. If you missed it, or want a replay, you can view the recording here.

Here are a few quick highlights for you on the release of the new websites for the second round of Early Adopters:

We anticipate that the websites for the next round of Early Adopters will go live in the last week of December.
When your website goes live, you'll be able to access it from mykw.kw.com > Technology > New KW Website - Agent. This link is not available yet; it will appear when the websites are launched and you'll be notified by email when they're ready.
Download this quick reference guide for instructions on how to get started when your new website goes live.
We know you have many questions, and you can find answers to most of them at the bottom of this page: mykw.kw.com/website.

NEXT WEEK'S "SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS" WEBINAR

Earlier this week, we kicked off a series of six technology webinars to help you "winterize" your business. We continue next week with:

Crush It With YouTube - With guest presenter JP Lewis, Executive Director of Media Services at KWRI. Start your year off right with your own YouTube channel and leverage this free "website" from Google. We'll show you how to activate, set up, and optimize your YouTube channel and get it working for you!
Date: Monday, December 14
Time: 2:00 - 2:30 PM (Central Time)
Register Now

UPCOMING EVENTS

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of upcoming events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.

All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, December 4, 2015

KW Websites Early Adopters Group 2 to Launch Soon!

Happy Friday, everyone! Here's your weekly update:

KW WEBSITE EARLY ADOPTER GROUP #2

Many of you have already received notification of being accepted into the next early adopter group for the new KW websites.

If you haven't received a notification and you have an MC Tech role in White Pages and/or you're a member of the Technology Ambassador group in your MC Intranet, please know we're doing all we can to accommodate everyone.

Please join today's KW Technology Community webinar for an update and to get answers to your specific questions. You can also find answers to general FAQs at mykw.kw.com/website.

NEXT WEEK'S "SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS" WEBINAR

Earlier this week, we kicked off a series of six technology webinars to help you "winterize" your business. We continue next week with:

Tune Up Your Digital Strategy - In order to tune up your digital strategy, you must first have a digital strategy. This begins by deciding which technologies to invest in and how to make the most of those investments. As a Keller Williams associate, you have a wide variety of technologies at your disposal. In this webinar, you'll learn how to leverage KW Technology to improve your online image and brand, engage your audience, gain SEO, and attract future buyers and sellers.
Date: Monday, December 7
Time: 2:00 - 2:30 PM (Central Time)
Register Now

UPCOMING EVENTS

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of upcoming events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.

All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, November 20, 2015

Multi-Contact Reminders in eEdge, New KW Agent Profile Workshop and More!

Happy Friday, Ambassadors! Here's your weekly update and a preview of what will be covered on today's webinar:

NEW THIS WEEK IN eEDGE

Several enhanced features are now available in eEdge. Below is a quick list of the highlights:

Multi-Contact Reminders
Let say you have 23 buyer leads on an 8 x 8 campaign, and the next scheduled campaign touch is a phone call. Instead of getting 23 reminders to call those contacts, now you’ll just get one!

Redesigned Daily Alert Email
The Daily Alert Email, which summarizes your contacts' website activity and current reminders in your eEdge system has undergone a makeover. We've given your Daily Alert Email a new subject name and made it easier to read.

Listing Photo Thumbnails in "Market My Listings"
Searching in eEdge "Market My Listings" for the right property to feature has just gotten easier. We've added photos to the list view, just as you see in a contact's viewed listings record.

To learn more about these eEdge updates, join today's webinar.
To share these updates with your associates; direct them to the "Product Updates" section of the eEdge Resources page.

"HOW DO I GET MY PROFILE SCORE TO 100 PERCENT?"

How many times have you heard that question? It continues be among the top 10 questions received by our Support team. You now have a new way to help associates complete their profiles in a way that's purposeful and designed to boost their business.

The Maximize Your KW Agent Profile workshop is now available on the Keller Williams University website. Join today's Ambassador webinar for an overview of the workshop and a look at the course materials.

QUICK TECH SUPPORT LINKS

Share these new URLs with your associates to give them quick answers to the most frequently asked KW Technology questions:

kw.com/profile for a list of fields that are used to calculate your Profile Completeness Score
kw.com/mykwpassword for instructions for recovering your myKW username and password
kw.com/emailpassword for instructions for changing your @kw.com email password

NEXT WEEK'S "SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS" WEBINAR

Earlier this week, we kicked off a series of six technology webinars to help you "winterize" your business. We continue next week with:

Put Your Goals Into Action: Your 411 and Google Calendar - It's been said that a goal without a plan is just a wish, so your next step is to create a plan and time frame for achieving those goals. Learn how to leverage Google Calendar and put your 4-1-1 into action.
Date: Monday, November 23
Time: 2:00 - 2:30 PM (Central Time)
Register Now

UPCOMING EVENTS

All events shown in Central Time.

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of next week's events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.
All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.
NOTE: Due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, there will no kwVideo or Tech Ambassador webinar next week. These will resume the week of November 30.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, November 13, 2015

Phishing Scams: Don't Take the Bait!

Happy Friday 13th, Ambassadors! May you have nothing but good luck today. Here's your weekly update and a preview of what will be covered on today's webinar:

PHISHING: DON'T TAKE THE BAIT

Recently, the Keller Williams family has experienced an increasing level of phishing attacks directed through email. As a reminder, it's important to take time to educate yourself and clients on the dangers of phishing to avoid becoming a victim.

Phishing scams are just that - illegal organizations "fishing" for personal information about you in order to commit identity theft. A fraudulent, yet very official looking, email is sent requesting the recipient to verify some bit of information about themselves. This information can be banking account numbers, social security numbers or username/passwords. Phishing scams try to use any data they get for identity theft activities.

On today's Tech Ambassador webinar, we'll discuss tips and tricks for identifying and avoiding getting hooked by such scams.

GOTOWEBINAR LABS

Webinars are a great way to reach associates who cannot attend an in-person training class. If you're leveraging GoToWebinar in your Market Center, or individually as a technology trainer, you'll want to check out GoToWebinar Labs. Labs are beta features that you can use to enhance your webinars. Speaking of webinars, join today's Tech Ambassador webinar to learn about labs that are available now, including video sharing. Think of the possibilities!

MREA BUSINESS PLANNING WEBINARS

Next Monday, we'll kick off a series of six technology webinars to complement the MREA Business Planning Clinic to help you "winterize" your business.

The first in the series is titled, "Think Big and Aim High - Your 2016 Business Plan and Beyond."
Millionaire Real Estate Agents know their goal numbers and track them. Doing so builds confidence and stability in your business. Join this webinar to learn how to think like a Millionaire Real Estate Agent! You’ll learn how to implement systems to set up your business for the next year, and how to focus your efforts on the key activities that will make a difference in growing it.

Join us for this webinar on Monday, November 16 from 2-2:30 PM (Central Time).

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of next week's events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.
All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

All events are shown in Central Time.

STAY CONNECTED TO US!
Be sure to follow us on Google+ so you’ll be updated when we post to this blog.

We deeply appreciate all that you do in helping KW associates drive productivity through KW Technology!

Make it a great day,
Brenda Harralson and W. Cavin Weber

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, November 6, 2015

eEdge Lead Notification and Website Enhancements, Family Reunion Tech Breakouts Announced

Happy Friday and Happy November, Ambassadors! Please join today's webinar if at all possible - we have some updates for you that you're sure to enjoy.

eEDGE LEAD NOTIFICATION AND WEBSITE ENHANCEMENTS

When you enable eEdge Activity Alerts, you can be notified by text and/or email when new lead registers on your website.

Effective this week, the new lead alert email contains enhanced information about the contact; you no longer have to log into your eEdge system to view the contact details, making follow-up faster and easier than before.

You'll also notice some enhancements to your eEdge website this week, particularly on the property detail pages. The photos and map have been enlarged, and listing information is better organized.

Join today's KW Technology Ambassador webinar to see and learn more about these changes.

FAMILY REUNION 2016 TECHNOLOGY SESSIONS
We are gearing up for Family Reunion in New Orleans next year, and have begun work on the technology breakout sessions. Join today's KW Technology Ambassador webinar to see what we have lined up for you!

Additionally, the MC Tech/Tech Ambassador Special Session has been scheduled for Sunday, February 14 from 11:30 AM to 12:45 PM in Room 271. Mark your calendars to join this session exclusively for YOU and get updates on KW Technology products, sneak peeks at what's coming next, as well as training tips and best practices for making KW Technology work in your Market Center.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of next week's events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.
All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, October 30, 2015

eEdge, eAgentC and New KW Websites - Keep the Lights On

Happy Friday, Ambassadors! We hope it's been a great week for you - here is your weekly update.

eEDGE, eAGENTC AND NEW KW WEBSITES

http://mykw.kw.com/website

We know that some agents prefer a “set it and forget it” website presence, and KW agents have that with their eEdge websites. These are mobile-optimized and can be launched in minutes.

Others want to create a personalized experience for their clients, and that's why the eAgentC websites can be customized as much as agents want. Agents choose from a selection of predesigned, attractive, content-rich website templates that can be tailored to their own customer base.

Coming early next year, the new KW Websites will satisfy both types of agents. These websites will be provided to all KW associates at no additional cost; they are included in each associate’s monthly technology fee. This means, for a while, agents will have three websites available. Over time, the eAgentC and eEdge websites will ultimately be phased out, but there are no specific dates to provide at this time. Please know that we'll keep you updated on the transition process as it moves along.

In the meantime, encourage your agents to "keep the lights on" and not abandon their current sites altogether. Join today's KW Technology Ambassador webinar as we discuss an action plan for agents to keep their eEdge and eAgentC sites current while preparing for the new websites.

BE AN ORIGINAL THIS HALLOWEEN

frightgeist.withgoogle.com

To make sure you don't show up at the party wearing the same costume as someone else, take a moment to visit Frightgeist and see what costumes are trending in your area so you can plan accordingly! Frightgeist is brought to you by Google Trends, which analyzes a percentage of Google web searches to figure out how many searches were done over a certain period of time.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of next week's events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.
All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, October 23, 2015

New Features in eEdge to Help You Better Engage with Contacts

Happy Friday, Ambassadors! We hope you've had a great week and are excited to bring you this week's update which contains three new features in eEdge to help you better engage with your contacts.

NEW THIS WEEK IN eEDGE

Select Email Recipients by Contact Status

Want to send an email to all your hot contacts? Or launch a campaign to re-engage your cold ones? Simply choose that status filter when you’re selecting your contacts as you compose a new email or prepare a campaign.

Personalize Emails with Mail Merge

Fields available for mail merge

Make each message you send your contacts feel like it’s just for them. You can now easily and efficiently personalize your messages using new fields that allow you to merge contact details directly into your emails (these are also referred to as mail merge variables). You can add a client’s name to a salutation or in the body of your email, or include their city when talking about a local area.

Send Birthday and Anniversary Campaigns

Click for a preview of birthday campaign touches

You can now create birthday and new home anniversary campaigns to send an email or postcard to your contacts to acknowledge and celebrate these important dates. Birthday and anniversary campaigns are a special type of campaign that blends the targeted delivery time frame of a date based campaign with the ongoing nature of an interval campaign. These campaigns are designed to deliver cards based on the dates saved in the Birthday or Purchase Anniversary fields in the contact’s record.

Join today's KW Technology Ambassador webinar to learn more about these new features now available in eEdge.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of next week's events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.
All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, October 16, 2015

Build Your Wall of Value with KW Technology and Marketing Systems

Happy Friday, Ambassadors! We're halfway through October already - hope it's been a great month for you all so far. Here's your weekly update.

BUILD YOUR WALL OF VALUE WITH KW TECHNOLOGY AND MARKETING

John Davis, President of Keller Williams, says “Brick by brick, layer by layer, day after day, Keller Williams associates and local Market Centers are building a WALL OF VALUE. And that means more opportunities for you— and more opportunities for your family!”

If you show value, the wall is like a fortress that protects your net and your profitability. For profit to go up, we must create and communicate our value in order to net recruits.

Join today's Ambassador webinar to learn how to communicate the tremendous value that our associates receive from KW technology and marketing systems.

KW MOBILE APP AND THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

The key to repeats and referrals in your business is to deliver an awesome customer experience - every time! To help your agents develop and integrate customer experience systems and standards into their business, make sure the new Customer Experience course from KWU is on your Market Center's training calendar.

And, encourage your agents to sign up for next week's webinar, KW Mobile App and the Customer Experience. In this webinar, you'll learn to see your mobile app through the eyes of your customers and how they use it to find their dream home. Knowing how your customers interact with your app - from registering an account to sharing favorite properties with their friends - empowers you with the insight you need to deliver a superior customer experience. You'll also learn how to use your WolfNet BackOffice to see your customers' saved searches and properties and more!

UPCOMING WEBINARS

All events shown in Central Time

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of next week's events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.
All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, October 9, 2015

Share Your App for a Chance to Win a KW Family Reunion Ticket!

Happy Friday, Ambassadors! Hope you've had a great week so far. Here's your weekly update.

BRANDED APP DOWNLOAD CONTEST

The agent with the most branded app downloads in October will win one KW Family Reunion ticket and a VIP Experience for you and a guest!

The Family Reunion 2016 VIP Experience includes:

A private back stage tour
Red Bash VIP Access
Reserved seating at the Vision Speech and State of the Company

The winner will be announced the first week of November.

Join today's Ambassador webinar to learn more.

HOMEKEEPR AND YOUR MARKET CENTER'S PREFERRED VENDORS

Last week, the HomeKeepr app icon was added to all KW agent mobile apps. HomeKeepr is a consumer app that creates a fully customized home maintenance calendar, and it's agent-branded.

And, on last week's Ambassador webinar we showed how to claim your free HomeKeepr agent profile so that your clients see your branded HomeKeepr app when they start to use it. Missed the webinar? View the recording now.

Many of you were curious as to how your Market Center's vendors are loaded into the HomeKeepr app, so on today's webinar, we'll explain that process so you can support your Market Center's leadership.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

All events shown in Central Time

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of next week's events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.
All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com

Friday, October 2, 2015

KWConnect Platform Upgrade

Happy Friday, Ambassadors, and welcome to October! Here is your weekly update.

KWCONNECT PLATFORM UPGRADE

Please complete this brief survey:
www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWConnectUpgrade

Coming in early 2016, KWConnect is getting a major upgrade! You can look forward to an interface with responsive design and a cleaner, more modern look. It will support new technologies, including HTML5 and you'll notice an improvement in the quality of the videos. New social sharing buttons will make it easy to share the videos with others.

All KW Technology Ambassadors will be invited to participate in an early adopter rollout of the new platform later this year; be on the lookout for more details on that.

In the meantime, we ask for your help in gathering information to help us in the decision-making phase. Please take a moment to complete this very brief survey so we can better understand the ways in which our associates access KWConnect.

Join today's Ambassador webinar to see a prototype of the new platform.

HOMEKEEPR AND YOUR KW MOBILE APP

Earlier this week, the HomeKeepr app icon was added to all KW agent mobile apps. HomeKeepr is a consumer app that creates a fully customized home maintenance calendar, and it's agent-branded.

If you're not seeing the HomeKeepr icon in your app, update your app to the latest version. Encourage your clients to do the same so that they can create their own customized HomeKeepr account.

Most importantly, if you haven't done so already, take these three steps to make sure your clients see your branded HomeKeepr app when they start to use it:

Claim and create your FREE profile. Don't forget to include your KW mobile app code, which can be found here, in Step 3.
Upload your favorite local home service professionals.
Make sure your clients AND recommended vendors have downloaded your app.

View the recording of last week's Ambassador webinar to see these steps in action, or view the webinar slides.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

All events shown in Central Time.

Here's our KW Technology webinar and event calendar, and a list of next week's events.

To view the entire calendar, log into your KW Technology Community where you can connect with your fellow techies in other KW Market Centers across North America, stay updated on KW Technology news and events, and access resources to help you in your role as a technology trainer. See this blog post for instructions on joining the community.
All associates can register for upcoming webinars on the myKW home page, in the Scheduled Events section.

Contact us at ambassadors@kw.com