Top Producer 8i is on the Way, Here’s My Wishlist

I was notified of the upcoming Top Producer 8i website today. I’d heard rumors that agents were testing Top Producer 8i Beta earlier this summer, but never received full details on the differences in the new version.

The Top Producer team seems to be integrating their tool with a great deal of vendors, which is key if agents want to be productive.  A few popular real estate applications that automatically send leads to your Top Producer 7i Database include BuyerAcquire, Realtor.com and Rainmaker E-central.

Top Producer 8i Wish List

For those of you who use Top Producer 7.i,  ACT 2008, or other online databases, you may have a features wish list. Here’s what I’d like to request. Feel free to add!

• Have a more user-friendly interface. The Top Producer Database has a steep learning curve. It’s not very intuitive and requires at least some training. Although I’ve been happy with technical support, the product doesn’t function in the same way most users think. Top Producer can increase their 8i adoption rate if they can hang on to customers who give them a try.
• Get rid of little-used functions. Top Producer 7i has a kitchen sink approach to real estate. Does anyone really use their expense tracker or the feedback tool? I use the database, scheduling, and email features as well as lead and transaction management functions. Although most agents won’t use all features, developers should have enough data by now to get rid of extras that aren’t popular or that can be better served by existing tools like HomeFeedback.com.
• Integrate with Wolfnet IDX or other IDX tools. Wolfnet provides enhanced IDX searches including their very cool MapTracks upgrade. I saw an option in the Wolfnet admin panel for “Top Producer Integration”, but Wolfnet technical support didn’t understand what this link was for when I asked for clarification.
• Expand mobile functions. So far, Top Producer Mobile works on Palm, Blackberry and Windows platforms. When I send text messages, they can’t be linked to a contact record. It doesn’t seem too far-fetched to capture other forms of communication in the application.
• Run on a Mac. Apple just announced their increased market share. In the earlier part of my career at Apple, I endured laughter and taunting for “using an inferior computer”. Now that Apple has completed their comeback, it would be nice for Top Producer 8i to work on Mac products such as the iPhone and Macbook Pro. Sadly, I doubt this will happen with the new Apple operating system, Leopard on the way.

I’m not taking bets on features that Top Producer 8i will actually implement, but rumors were that the interface and usability have greatly improved, partially because Java is no longer required. Stay tuned!