Lets take a look at how to set up an eBusiness Team. These guidelines will by no means define your eBusiness Team but they will help you move in the right direction when creating the department. Keep in mind that this is a learning process. We recommend that you re-evaluate your eBusiness on a monthly basis. 

Follow these steps to get your eBusiness Team started:

• Forget about Relocation – keep eBusiness as a separate department
• Your First Critical Choice: Profit Center versus Service Center
• You must have proper staffing and adequate staffing for your eBusiness to be successful
• Know where your inquiries are coming from
• You must have immediate response times – this may take time but immediate is the ultimate goal
• Prioritize your leads
• Know when to let go of a good lead and a bad lead – not every customer is the right customer for your business
• Compatible matching is essential
• An Inquiry becomes a Lead

Your eBusiness department is a living, breathing entity. You must be vigilant in analyzing your processes and results. What is exciting is that the original Internet Lead Management forced the real estate industry to catch up to all other industries. What is even more interesting is that it was consumers who FORCED the change by utilizing the Internet to search for property.

These last two articles are a starting point but you must take time out of your daily grind to analyze what you are currently doing in relation to eBusiness. To work IN your business you must work ON your business. This means schedule time out every month to examine your eBusiness strategy progress and keep the momentum. Technology requires that we be ever open minded to change and willing to evolve as technology evolves. And now more than ever, consumers are demanding the same from real estate professionals. How will your brokerage restructure to support this change?