I put off going for my e-PRO designation for some time. My initial instinct was that I was pretty techie and already had my CRS. Why would I need e-PRO?
Over the last few months a few friends of mine including WooHoo Sally Cheeseman picked up the e-PRO and felt it was worth getting.
As part of my business plan to take professional development classes and earn key designations, I decided to go for it. Even though I am a technically knowledgeable guy, how would the public know?
So here is my experience with the e-PRO online course. The material was quite good. It may have been a little basic for me, but I feel that the average real estate agent would have been challenged by it and would have learned a lot.
One of the benefits I got from the course was that it forced me to further investigate some of the venders like Settlement Room and Relay 5.0. Something I have been putting off and needed to get done. The end result is that I have purchased Relay and will be bringing it on line this upcoming week.
My recommendation is for agents sitting on the fence, is to take the course. You will pick up several good tips that will help your business and you will let the public know you are an internet professional.
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Randy L. Prothero, REALTOR®, ABR, AHWD, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, SFR
Century 21 Liberty Homes
Randy Prothero is well established as an expert in working with military / VA clients and first time home buyers. His home seller's (listing) campaign is one of the most aggressive marketing programs in the area.
Based out of Mililani, Hawaii. Randy services the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and the Leeward Regional Chairman of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. To improve overall professionalism in his area Randy also offers classes for real estate agents.
www.HawaiiRandy.com * Oahu (Honolulu County) Property Search * Hawaii Military Relocations
Thanks for the advice, I too thought I might not need e-PRO because of other training I had received. Since reading your post I decided to take a closer look at Relay 5.0.
Randy congratulation on completing the course.
Randy - Thanks for sharing. I've been tossing around the idea of taking e-pro for the last few months. I need to look into getting my designation.
Randy - Congratulations! I'm going to do my CRS next and then my e-Pro. I really enjoyed doing GRI and hope I enjoy CRS as much. One thing I like about e-Pro is that you can do it online.
Now that you have the e-Pro we'll need to watch out for your growing web presence!
Well, I remember when I took it....and everyone wondered why as I knew a lot. Well, turns out I didn't know too much and after everything I'm learning here too I wasn't but a baby! So WooHoo to me and you!
Rondel - Try going to the NAR website and start there.
Jennifer - I should have better feedback in a week or two once I start using Relay.
Robert - I believe designations are important. You need to distinguish yourself from all of the other agents in your community.
Marchel - I will post in a week or two once we get using Relay and have time to see how it is working for us.
Linda - The CRS was by far my favorite. The quality of the instructors is definitely at the top of the game. If have the designation and still take the classes and attend the conventions.
Sally - I still think an Active Rain designation would be more valuable. :)
Randy,
Congratulations......I got my e-Pro almost a year ago.....I enjoyed the course, and the Digest many times has some good stuff......
Congratulations. I think ePRO is something that grows on you. Or grows with you.
Sally - I am still younger than some here. LOL
Thesa - I was worried I would be bored also. It wasn't bad. A liitle basic for us real techie types, but there was still enough tid bits and good ideas that it was worth it.
Kathy - I will have to follow the digests.
Randy, congrats from a fellow e-PRO on earning your e-PRO Certification! I thought the course was useful and I recommend it to all the students who take my technology classes.
The CRS coursework is probably the most exciting and valuable, and the instructors are top-notch. But the e-PRO is a different type of education that was, and is badly needed in our industry.
Jeannette - It will for sure let the public know I am an internet professional. Most of my clients are shopping on the internet, so it is important to let them know in advance.
Eric - I agree completely.
I felt the same way about the ABR. It was an important series also that focussed on a specific area. By the way I also finished ABR this month. I am just waiting for the letter and certificate so I can add that to my bio. That was an interesting thing. I got the OK to use the e-PRO designation within about 1 hour of passing the final exam. For the ABR I had to snail mail documents and have to wait up to 4 weeks for the OK to use the designation.
Chris - I am not sure what that means. If it is good for your image, what is the hold up?
Adam - I couldn't disagree more. Consumers are on the internet and they are looking you up. What does a BS tell them about your real estate training or how much time and money you have invested in professional training?
I regularly have clients tell me about my bio, so I know they are paying attention.
Chuck - Good choice! It is always a good thing to take professional development training. I budget money and time every year.
Angel - That is true, not many.
Randy congrats on the e-PRO. The e-PRO did help me jump start my blogging and my internet campagin. For me it was well worth the time.
Congratulations Randy!
By the way, I'm working with a hospital CEO who just left your islands to move here to central PA. remember what I told you about prices here? He's buying top of the line.... $300,000. That's a major transaction in the coal region.
erica