Posts by "Evan Fuchs" http://www.BullheadCityBlog.com Evan Fuchs is broker-owner of Bullhead Laughlin Realty and an instructor of pre-licensing and continuing education. He serves on the NAR and AAR Board of Directors and is chair of the 2010 AAR Professional and Business Development Committee. Evan blogs at www.BullheadCityBlog.com.

The paperless office, it’s all the rage.

Thanks to technologies like email, scanners, digital cameras, electronic signatures, the Portable Document Format (PDF) and AAR’s Transaction Management platform (TM), paper plays a smaller role in our day-to-day lives than ever before.

Smaller role, yes.

No role, no.

Sure, it’s possible to avoid paper entirely using the tools mentioned above, but the reality is we’re not there yet. And our road to paperlessness bottlenecks every time we touch a real life paper document. Our job then becomes getting that document from atoms to bits as quickly and painlessly as possible.

You know about MongoFax, right? It’s a free service offered to all AAR members:

Close deals faster with this COMPLETELY FREE Arizona Association of REALTORS® Member Benefit. MongoFAX empowers all Arizona REALTORS® to instantly fax paper-based documents (disclosure packages, signed contracts, etc.) directly to any email address in the world. All you need is an ordinary fax machine and AAR’s designated MongoFAX Cover Page to enjoy Unlimited, Toll Free Usage!

When I first heard about MongoFax, I was a little quick to dismiss it because it didn’t behave like my existing online fax service.

Instead of a dedicated phone number tied to the subscriber’s email address ( a la eFax and MyFax), MongoFax relies on the use of a custom, barcoded cover sheet to route incoming faxes through a shared number to a specified email address.

If you’re not looking to completely replace your fax machine for incoming faxes, MongoFax can definitely help you reduce the amount of paper you touch.

Include your custom cover sheet next time you email an offer to a client, for example, and ask them to fax the signed offer back to you with said cover sheet. Instead of checking your fax machine, you’ll be checking your email. No paper. No cost. Thanks, AAR!

But wait, there’s more.

Regardless of what fax solution you’re using, there’s probably a place in your world for MongoFax – and that ordinary fax machine, too.

Remember, “all you need is AAR’s designated MongoFAX Cover Page to enjoy Unlimited, Toll Free Usage!” You can fax yourself as many pages as your fax machine can handle, as often as you want, and MongoFax will turn those pages into PDF documents and email them to you.

MongoFax + Ordinary Fax Machine = Free Scanner

Here’s how it works:

1. Download AAR’s MongoFax cover sheet.
2. Open the cover sheet in Adobe Acrobat Reader. (You want to use the genuine Adobe for this, not a compatible viewer.)
3. Type your email address in the “TO:” box.
4. Type “noecp@mongonet.net” in the “CC:” box.
5. Press print.
6. Keep this cover sheet in a handy location for quick access.
7. Anytime you need something scanned, and fax quality will do, throw your cover sheet on it and fire it off to the toll-free number on the bottom of the cover sheet.
8. Check your email in a few minutes for your fax-quality PDF.

I have a scanner right behind my desk, and I still use it when I need a high-res or color scan. How often is that? Not very often.

Most of my scanning needs revolve around Transaction Management, and MongoFax is the perfect tool for it. Compared to my scanner, my fax machine scans much faster (your mileage may vary), produces smaller files and does the whole job unattended. Drop a contract in the fax and walk away; grab it from your inbox and drop it into TM.

Which brings me to one last point. By carbon copying noecp@mongonet.net (step #4 above), you’re telling MongoFax that you do not want the cover sheet included in your PDF. If you’re faxing to yourself, that cover sheet will just get  in the way. With this tip you won’t have to deal with removing it after the fact. Very handy.

There are other tools and services out there that do what MongoFax does and more. If you have a high-end scanner that processes pages really fast, or a fax machine that has built-in fax-to-email capabilities, you may not need MongoFax.

For me, it’s a productivity tool. It’s easy, it does the job and it’s free.

Is there a place for MongoFax in your world?

Posts by "Evan Fuchs" http://www.BullheadCityBlog.com Evan Fuchs is broker-owner of Bullhead Laughlin Realty and an instructor of pre-licensing and continuing education. He serves on the NAR and AAR Board of Directors and is chair of the 2010 AAR Professional and Business Development Committee. Evan blogs at www.BullheadCityBlog.com.

A Regional Caucus at AAR's Leadership Conference - Fall 2009

Do you plan on attending your Regional Caucus at Winter Conference? If your answer is no (or you are on the fence) and you’re open to a little friendly persuasion, read on.

First, some quick background: Arizona has more than 100,000 square miles of land, so it makes good sense to divide our state association into regions. Each of these five regions has a Regional Vice President (RVP) who is responsible for developing and maintaining effective communication and cooperation among the local associations and AAR.

Twice a year – once at Winter Conference in the spring and again at Leadership Conference in the fall – each region gets together to discuss issues affecting their business. These meetings are called Regional Caucuses and are usually facilitated by the RVP.

Sidebar: I realize that the word “caucus” does not exactly conjure up images of conga lines and champagne fountains. However, these meetings are good for your business. Here’s why:

Communication with Your State Association

When I was Region 1 RVP a few years ago, I learned that AAR leadership truly wants to hear from its members! We have a tremendous resource in AAR, ready to support us or take action on our behalf, but how are they to know what support or action we need without proper communication? This is where the Regional Caucus comes in.

The RVP also typically shares any updates from the Executive Committee and other agenda items for the upcoming Board of Directors meeting.

Strengthening Relationships Within Your Region

A few years ago several of the local associations in Region 1 joined together to form a regional MLS – no small task.

Although the topic had been discussed numerous times in the past, those talks always fell apart in the early stages before most members had even voiced their opinions.

This time around there was a rapport and level of trust among key players from each association that got the talks past the previous hurdles and into the hands of the membership for a vote.

Where did those relationships start? At the Regional Caucuses, naturally.

Networking and Referrals

Looking for a less lofty reason to attend your Regional Caucus? One that can directly impact your bottom line?

There are nearby cities within your region that are so close that you probably get fairly regular inquiries from prospective clients in those areas, yet just far enough away to be outside your service area. You need agents in these territories that will take good care of your referral clients, and what better way to find them than to spend an hour or so with them on Friday?

If you’re making the trip to Prescott this week and plan on staying the night on Thursday, I hope you’ll carve 90 minutes out of your schedule to attend your Regional Caucus on Friday from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. See your meeting packet for room locations.