GSBOR's Transaction Desk Help Desk

Upcoming Training Class Schedules

YOU MUST CALL THE BOARD OFFICE at (417) 883-1226
TO REGISTER FOR THESE FREE CLASSES!
If you sign up, then please do us the courtesy of showing up.

ATTN BROKERS! Locking Forms in Quick Start Groups

It was discussed in the Broker's Class last Thursday about how to lock forms in a Quick Start Group.  And we have heard back from Instanet Solutions with an easy answer.

Quick Start Groups are an easy way to group together specific forms for your Agents to use during a transaction.  Most Brokers have a set group of forms that they require to be used.  Brokers can "lock" this set of forms by doing the following:

1. Click on "Broker Tools" Tab
2. Select "Create Quick Start Group"
3. Add Forms
4. Select all added forms in the list
5. Choose "Lock Selected Items" click "GO"

Mark Your Calendar! Users Forum Coming March 13th

A lot of our training classes have been consumed with questions by Agents using the Transaction Desk system.  Now, this isn't a bad thing...it can just make it hard to get thru the course material in the time allotted.  However, I have also seen a lot of good come out of other people's questions and answers.  We are all learning this system together. 

Therefore, we will have a Users Forum on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at The Board office.  This session will be a chance for you to share your experiences with Transaction Desk and ask your questions at the same time too. 

Make sure you call The Board office at (417) 883-1226 to register.  Even though it is a free class, the space is still limited.  If you can't make the Users Forum, then post your questions here and we will discuss them and post the answers on this blog.

New Upcoming Training Class Schedule!

YOU MUST CALL THE BOARD OFFICE at (417) 883-1226
TO REGISTER FOR THESE FREE CLASSES!
If you sign up, then please do us the courtesy of showing up.

All classes are taught by Paul Dizmang & Jessica Hickok of Dizmang Associates, unless otherwise noted.

Thursday, January 31, 2008 "Using Forms/Managing Transactions" 9:00am - 12 NOON at The Board	This module focuses on using the new online forms system and using the Fax Back Cover Sheets to return completed documents into the TD system.  In addition, it also covers the basics of manging your transactions in the online system.  This class is an intermediate level class.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 "TD for Basic Users" 9:00am - 11:00am at The Board	This module is recommended for the beginner user with very limited knowledge of computers and the TD system.  This course will move at a slower, steady pace and will cover the very basics of the Transaction Desk system.
Monday, February 11, 2008 "TD for Advanced Users" 9:00am - 11:00am at The Board	If you are familiar with and already have a basic knowledge and understanding of the Transaction Desk system, then this class is for you.  This course will be a fast-paced class designed for TD users who are already using the system but are ready to take their knowledge to the next level.  It is encouraged, but not required, that you bring your laptop with a wi-fi connection to this class.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 "Using Online Forms & Fax Back Cover Sheets" 9:00am - 11:00am at The Board	This module focuses on using the new online forms system and using the Fax Back Cover Sheets to return completed documents into the TD system.
Friday, February 15, 2008 "Transaction Desk System Overview" 1:30pm – 4:30pm at The Board Taught By Scott Rose	Scott Rose teaches this overview course. It moves pretty quickly thru the system and is an overview of the TD system in general.
Thursday, February 28, 2008 "TD for BROKERS Only" 9:00am - 11:00am at The Board	This course is for BROKERS ONLY and will go over the TD features that can only be accessed by Brokers.  Learn how to keep tabs on your Agents transactions and account activity.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 "Affiliates Class" 9:00am - 11:00am at The Board Agents are encouraged to let their third-party vendors know of this upcoming class.  Be sure that they call The Board (417-883-1226) to register!	This course is specifically geared towards affiliates and third-party vendors. (i.e. Title Companies, Home/Termite Inspectors, Lenders, Appraisers, etc.)  You do not have to be a registered affiliate of GSBOR to attend this class.  It is not recommended for Agents as it will only cover the basics of accessing the system and benefits for affiliates and third-party vendors.

Branding Tips & Tricks

Branding is uploading your personal photo, company logo and a banner so that all of your documents, forms, e-mails and fax back cover sheets are personalized with your name, contact info, and picture.  It is easy to set up your own branding within your Transaction Desk account.

To prepare for the branding process, you will first want to make sure that your logo, personal photo and banner is saved on your hard drive and ready to be uploaded.  Here are few tips to remember:

Tip 1:  Personal Photo and Logo Dimensions should be 145 pixels high x 120 pixels wide.  Most photo editing software on your computer will allow you to enter these dimensions and then resize your picture accordingly.

 

Tip 2:  Banner dimensions should be no more than 125 pixels high x 800 pixels wide.

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If you're struggling with creating a banner on your own, we have found a few web sites that are easy to use and that are FREE.  Within minutes you can create your banner, save it as a jpeg format, and then upload into your Transaction Desk Account.  You get directly to these web sites by clicking on the link here:

• www.cooltext.com
• www.mybannermaker.com
• www.etntalk.com/cgi-bin/bcreator/bcreator.cgi

Tip 3:  Photos, Logos and Banners are only accepted in the these formats:

.jpg
.bmp
.gif
.tif

Tip 4:  Save your photo, logo and banner to your computer's desktop so that it easy to find when you are uploading it into Transaction Desk.

After you log into the system, click on the "Settings" link.  Then select the box labeled "Branding".  Here is where you will upload your saved pictures.  Select each item and upload the photos and banner you saved to your computer desktop.  Once this is completed, all of your actions in Transaction Desk are now branded with your identity.

The Difference Between Closing & Archiving a Transaction

Congratulations! You have successfully closed one of your transactions and collected your commission check.  Now comes the time when you are ready to file away all documents related to this transaction either in your literal filing cabinet or your virtual one here in Transaction Desk.  So what do you do, do you "close" the transaction or "archive" the transaction?

First, when you mark a transaction as "closed" you're technically not doing anything with it other than changing the status for easy sorted viewing in your existing transactions list.  That way you can sort all of your transactions by "open" or "closed" or both and quickly find your active files.

I suggest only changing the status of a transaction to "closed" if it is a dead transaction and has the possibility of coming back to life.  (Example: one that has fallen thru or is only a backup offer).   However, you really don't have to limit yourself to closing only these types of transactions. Remember it is just a way of sorting your transactions.  Many Agents often choose to change the status of ALL of their completed (fallen thru or not) transactions to "closed" until the end of the year and then archive the ones that are truly closed for good.

Archiving a transaction just pulls all of the data from a transaction file and merges it into one clean PDF document package for long term storage/record keeping.  You are basically pulling it out of the TD online system and putting it into long term storage on your computer hard drive (local disk) or external hard drive.  In our office, we archive a transaction to our external hard drive with a file labeled "2007 Closed Files", once it is completely finished.  The great thing about this system is that there is no right or wrong way to finalize your transaction files, it's all up to you and your Broker on how it should be completed. Now go spend that commission check!

If You Sign Up...Then Show Up

We have scheduled many Transaction Desk training modules as many as we possibly can for the next 30 days.  Due to the overwhelming response we have received, we have even added classes because all of the other classes have been "sold out" and waiting lists have been formed. 

Then comes the problem of Agents signing up to attend the class and then doing a no-call-no-show.  If you can't attend a class that you signed up for, we are requesting that you contact Renee at The Board to cancel your reservation allowing another Agent on the waiting list to fill your spot.  Please show us this courtesy by showing up for your scheduled class.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Contact, Task & Calendar Management Class on Thursday

Don't miss the class this coming Thursday (December 13, 2007) at The Board.  This class will specifically be geared to those of you who are planning on using Transaction Desk to manage your tasks, calendar appointments and contact management.  This system is great because it easily syncs with Microsoft Outlook (which most likely syncs to your Palm or mobile device).  Therefore it's nice to have all your info in a centralized location like Transaction Desk.  We will be offering online video tutorials soon about how to import/export your information within Transaction Desk and Outlook.

Attention Affiliates & Third Party Vendors!

FAQ: How do I combine multiple forms into 1 e-mail?

Please remember that there is more than one way to skin a cat, but this is a start and gets the job done that you want:

1. From the TD Home page, click on "Instanet Forms"
2. Select the 1st form to be filled out online (you can only select one form at a time) and click "Create New Form"
3. Fill out the form online and save your form by clicking on the little "save disk" icon (2nd icon from the left).
4. The saved forms will be temporarily stored in the forms folders where you had originally selected the form to fill out.
5. Click "Go Back" link on the top right hand corner of the forms.
6. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for the other forms needed, and then exit out of the forms by clicking "Go Back"
7. Click on "Instanet Forms" and select the forms that were saved under the original forms folder.
8. Select the saved forms by holding down the Control key while you mouse click on each saved form.
9. Once all forms are selected (highlighted) select "Email Selected Forms" from the drop down box under the "I Would Like To" and click "Go"
10. Follow the fields in the form to e-mail out the forms to a selected recipient and click "Send E-mail" at the bottom of the screen.