Agent Office versus Top Producer

• You can buy AO Here! - Just look for "Agent Office"

• AO Upgrade Summary - All the details on all the upgrades since Version 5.0

• Also - I offer a 2 day on-site training package - and online training!

Note that I am also a reseller for "Active Agent for Outlook", 360Agent, Realty Juggler, Real Estate Success Tools (soon), All Clients, and AOS.

Note also that I have no qualms about pointing you to another link on my site that includes MANY different CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools which is here. The point is that I will point you to whatever I think best suits your particular needs.

Last updated - August 14th, 2006 - please keep in mind that this was originally written in 2001.  I've tried to keep it up here and there, but I have not done what really needs to be done, which is start from scratch and rewrite it.  I will - one of these days. :-)

My Opinion & summary:

I have spent a great deal of my time teaching Agent Office/Agent 2000/Online Agent over the years, hereafter referred to as AO, to groups and individuals. I have been following, and playing with Top Producer since it's inception, hereafter referred to as TP.  I started with a similar Real Estate specific software product called Real Estate Specialist (DOS) in 1990. I learned AO for a Coldwell Banker agent as Online Agent, so I could automate his 140 transactions a year with it, in 1994. I know AO much better than TP, but have watched TP since it first came out. I was the regional technology consultant for the Southeastern PA & Delaware RE/MAX region(1,800 agents & 100 offices) 1998 & 99. I constantly asked people which they preferred. I found a fair number of users to be very vocal about one being better than the other, usually TP users. But then, when I asked what it was they liked better about theirs, than the other, it turned out they had not used the other program. Which meant asking them which was better, was pointless and without merit! My criteria for a worthwhile opinion became:

1) They must have used both (not necessarily at the same time) in a production environment, for at least 6 months 

2) They must have used all the modules comprehensively, with the exception of the checking/financial (many people use Quicken instead) & MLS modules. 

I've long since stopped asking, but after about 2 years, I found only 10 people that fit that criteria (remember this was in 2001). All preferred Agent Office, in varying degrees. I have also worked with a consultant that travels all over North America, automating agents, as do I.  He and his tech assistant both consider AO easier to learn and use, to be more stable/consistent, and less buggy.  You will also now find comments by "qualified" individuals below this article.  TP 6i (the offline version), and RE/MAX Agent 2000/Online Agent/Agent Office/Executive Agent (they're all the same program - just branded by different franchises), are very comparable with regards to the functions they provide. TP has always been far more heavily marketed than any other program of it's kind, since it came out, hence a higher market share. TP tends to lead the pack in coming out with the newest features. They were always a few bells and whistles ahead of AO. They were first to come out with Data Synchronization (at least 5 years overdue in Real Estate specific software), and Palm Pilot data synchronization. That being said, they usually announced a new feature long before they deliver it, and then when they do, it usually is problem prone for a while for many users. They also are more costly. The same tends to be true of their version upgrades. I have personally installed AO for dozens of agents, including the top producing RE/MAX agents in this region with 8,000 contacts, that were TP users for years, but became disenchanted by having to go through an upheaval in their business each time a new version came out.  AO tends to lag behind on the features, and they don't upgrade as often, but they're more conservative about announcing them, and when they come out, they work well with few glitches. 

That had been true up until Version 6.0  It had a few bugs, more so than in the past, but they were resolved and made online patches available, which solved the problems.  Having been bought first by Moore Data, then by Vista Information Solutions Inc., and now by Fidelity National Information Systems, it appears that their philosophy is to continue to improve as they go, and make those improvements available frequently.  Each time they will probably want another $229. 

There were 5 upgrades between about the beginning of 2005, and mid 2006.  That is one heck of a lot of upgrades, and several were pretty lame.  That pattern looks to now be over.  Let's just say it was due to some corporate musical chairs with the product.  It is now a separate entity and profit center, and from what I've seen lately, Agent Office is on the road to becoming much more of what it can be.  For the first time in a long time, my, and other opinions, have been sought with regards to how it can be improved.  This is a tremendous indicator that there is a better attitude there than there has been for a while.

Upgrades - if you skip one, and wait until the next one, it will still PROBABLY be $229. Their thrust at this point is that you can upgrade from any version whenever you want, for $229. If you have an older version, say 4.5 or older, the upgrade to Version 9.0 would include the changes included in Version 5.0, which follow immediately below, and then also all the changes in the subsequent versions.

As new versions come out, I will post their details here.

NOTE:  Top Producer 6i (the offline version) is no longer available as of May 22nd, 2006.  Support will not continue for very long.  There was more on the comparison below, but it is no longer relevant.  You can still view it here if you like.

Up till now, we have been discussing the offline version of TP - 6i.

Now I have to speak to Top Producer's 7i - the online version.  The primary difference is that 7i is available online, and can interact with a Web site.  The downside to that was that it could not be used offline.  That has been resolved, as you can now maintain a database offline as well (for an additional monthly fee).  I do NOT know how well this works yet.  This opens up some tremendous opportunities. For one - the ability to have someone fill in a form on a Web site, then that data automatically downloads into your TP database.

Something close can be done in AO.  If your Web designer will set up your site to  send you an e-mail when someone fills out a form on your page, in a ".vcf" format (a vCard), then AO can create a new contact by using the data in the vCard to populate a new contact.

I recently re-examined being a reseller for TP 7i because it is online, and I wanted to be able to offer people that solution.  I decided not to yet, because I was getting too much negative feedback about it being; sometimes slow; and while upgrades are free, it seems that when they make a change, the user is back into a learning curve too often, or as has always been the case with TP, they're glitchy.  I also continue to hear that it is too hard to learn.

Until recently, I only had hearsay about a very bothersome idiosyncrasy.  That being that you can only open one module at a time.  Now - working with a client to set up his operation, I used TP to do it.  The hearsay is now my personal opinion. The inability to work in only one window at a time is extremely cumbersome.

Another nagging issue is that you must commit to an ANNUAL contract. 

That said, while investigating becoming a reseller, I was told by TP that I could not be one, because I was too involved in Agent Office!  I told TP that I wanted to promote whatever was best for my clients.  I wanted to promote Agent Office as the best OFFLINE solution, and TP 7i as the best ONLINE solution.  They will not allow it.  They will only let me resell TP if I promote BOTH of their solutions as the best. As I will not mislead my clients and readers, I would not agree to it.

NOTE:  There IS an online solution for OLA/AO.  It can be a little more pricy than TP IF you have multiple users, but the clients I have using it, love it.  It will synch with your Palm, and you can also synch it with your laptop, so you have your database with you offline. You can then make changes to your laptop, and then re-synch it with the online database.  With it, you also have use of MS Outlook in conjunction with AO for e-mail purposes -

for more information...

In summary - finally the summary -  I have always believed AO to be superior to TP offline, BUT, I have never tried to sway anyone FROM one TO the other...until I found out that they were not going to continue to improve 6i.  That said, they both have their glaring deficiencies. They'll both disappoint you at times. They'll both make you more money, save you time, and reduce your daily stress immeasurably.  If you're already using one, the best one is the one you use!   If you're looking to start with an offline solution, AO is a no-brainer, as 6i is now a white elephant.  Online - it's a toss up.  Call me if you want my current leanings, at 215.345.5222.

Now here are some candid opinions from different users of TP, ACT, and AO, except for the most recent ones, most of whom have used both:

First comment - "I think AO (at FNIS) people are listening to this discussion group and learning from us. They are making the product better.  In a poll at http://www.RealtyChat.com - AO has a 400% dominance over Top Producer."

Reply - "I think that AO appeals to computer users.  It is rock solid and somewhat intuitive. You can understand what is going on and mold it to your own way.  Top Producer is a whiz bang - what happened? - kind of software and the user has little control over it or their own data. Since the former kind of user would be the one spending time on e-lists like this one, I'm not surprised at the dominance."
 

Posts from a Yahoo Users Group for Agent Office - Feb 27, 2006
 

Have been using it for almost 7 years now. Great program. I now have it hosted remotely at eServerAgent - I can access it on any computer in my office network as well as on any other computer elsewhere if I just download a little program.

IGGY Dybal - RE/MAX Best - Kansas City

I completely agree with Marge. I have been using Agent Office for months and I absolutely love it. I am able to do everything calendar wise and contact wise with one piece of multi-faceted software. It writes letters, keeps up with contacts and things-to-do. Syncing with my Palm has never been easier!

Amber Erickson, REALTOR
Keller Williams Realty Emerald Coast
 

In response to Jennifer's question. I use Agent Office and hot sync it to my Palm with no problems. Very useful and fairly easy to use.

Marge Bennett, Realtor, e-PRO, WCR
VIP Realty Group Inc.

I am very happy with my online agent software. It does what I need and probably more. I bought it through Gary Hall and that was the best decision ever. He's been great, even though he doesn't need to help me, he has been very kind in getting me out of trouble if I get into it. Thanks, Gary, if you see this.

Jane Becker, CBR, MCBA, GRI
Home Team AdvantEdge Co.

After trying Top Producer 7i, I selected Agent Office and like it much better. I just purchased the 6.0 upgrade, plus the training DVD's for my new assistant, since I had not been utilizing the follow-up systems to the fullest.

I like the idea that it's on our hard drive and not on-line. (My office's DSL line seems to go down often, and then we were out of luck). My assistant updates from her office computer, and then I can sync to my home office pc through a network, so it's just like having an on-line service . . . only it's never "down".

The new version of Outlook is supposed to be a good database management system. I understand that you need to purchase some add-ons to make it work like AO, but I'm not changing, . . . as the Three Amigo's say "The best system is the one that you USE, and the one that works for YOU", and I like that!

Dianne Dunn, Coldwell Banker Willis-Smith

Real Talk Post - 4/14/2004

"To anyone wondering about software choices, perhaps this may help...Gary's Experience and Advice is right on the Money with my Experience, which is:

1- ACT: Worked with it for 5 years in corporate environment, taught it to others, and used it 2 years in RE including the RE add on (junk) and customized for RE use.

2- Goldmine: some experience in corporate use

3- Outlook: I use it today extensively based on David Allens "Getting Things Done" system, which is taught to very busy corporate big wigs across the country, and I teach how to use Outlook as an E-mail and Task manager to other agents.

4- Top Producer 6i: Played with it for a few months till my stomach got upset. Before choosing for RE, I even looked deep and hard at very powerful hi tech Customer Relationship Management systems big companies like IBM use, like Salesforce, Sales Net, Upshot, and Microsoft's CRM. And of course a bunch of Outlook add-ons, remember I am a huge Outlook fan.  Finally, with the above experience, and after mucho research, especially after speaking to highly knowledgeable people in the field (thanks Bob Corcoran among others) I chose Agent Office, hosted online for multi users, for our Real Estate business. The whys and why nots of all this have been rehashed again and again, for me, in a quick nutshell:- It's easy and fun to use- It works for REAL ESTATE, especially the action plans- It is easy and cheap to get top notch one-on-one training with Gary Hall, to get up to speed real fast- It's fun to watch Jim Caseys DVD series and learn as you watch. The more you play with it, the more you love it, even for a beginner. I love it. A tad clunky, but that actually endears me to it even more. All I can share is, with the experience above (and I'm sure some here have much more), I learned Agent Office was and is the best for me and my team. You can learn the hard way too, or learn from others who have gone down the path of hard knocks, and emulate them instead. Consideration to learning and using a proper database system probably should only apply to someone serious about the business and who wants to do volume, or streamline their tasks and follow up systems with the volume they have. If I were selling less than a dozen homes a year, I would not even bother with all this, a shoebox, a pad of paper, a pen, Word, some postcards and some stamps would work fine. We have a choice, re-hash a bunch of pros and cons, or emulate the most successful. Based on my research, more high volume agents and teams choose to use AO than any other program. Some of the top trainers and coaches to stars recommend AO, Proctor, Corcoran etc...With hindsight, I have a good laugh at myself thinking of the energy and time wasted trying to use Outlook, Act etc for RE...now that I know how well and easy AO is to use. A well managed client Database is golden. Mail to them properly and regularly and you are guaranteed a solid referral business forever. Spend $600-$700, get the software, Jim Caseys DVD's and a few hours of Gary Hall's training. Better than sliced bread. Hope this helps someone choose instead of ponder. I already did. "Just my 2 bits".

Tony Schimek - Prudential Carolina Real Estate Charleston SC

Real Talk Post - 2/18/2004

I used TP from the time it was a dos version up through System 6. I found TP much easier to navigate and it seemed more logical to me. I also found TP to be a better program in concept both in what it was designed to do and how you could make it do things it wasn't designed to do. That said, I switched to AO at the RE/MAX convention a couple of years ago when I was going to have to pay TP yet another $150 to upgrade the Top Connector module to conform to our new MLS vendor. AO offered a discount to $199 for the entire program. It took me nearly a year to bring myself up to speed, re create all of my mailing plans and be comfortable with how it works. The biggest differences for me between the two programs are:

1) AO is a MUCH more stable platform and has not crashed on my computer once, whereas TP used to crash or lock my computer on a regular basis.

2) My data files in TP got corrupted regularly and this has never happened in OA.

3) OA is less expensive to maintain

4) Tech support is better with OA although it has been declining a bit as they train newer tech reps. I hope this will diminish over time.

5) TP does have more features than OA and I do miss some of them

6) Searches and such are accomplished much quicker in OA than in TP.

11/11/2003 - Kent Clark, submitted after reading this page.

I purchased AO from Gary's company and was not only very pleased at the service, but am very-very pleased with AO.  For what it's worth to anyone contemplating software choice:  I have extensively used ACT (customized for RE), Goldmine, Maximiser, Outlook (I teach the E-mail and Task pad segments of it to Agents) and TP 6i. Uh, and Schedule plus and the old rolodex. If I had been selling real estate for more than 6 years. I probably would know Howard and Friends pretty well too:):)  After much trial and error, and research (learn from others instead of reinventing the wheel) I have settled on AO, am learning it, and love it.

Real Talk Post - 6/21/2003

I have used both TP and Agent Office (new name for Online Agent).  Hands down, I prefer Agent Office. TP I found to be difficult to use, full of bugs, and long waits at tech support with little help in the end.  Agent Office, on the other hand, has been very reliable, few if any bugs, and, the very few times that I have needed to contact tech support, I have waited a short amount of time and had my problem solved.  Hope this helps.

Real Talk Post - 6/19/2003

Eric, We have used Online agent for several years as a team. From each others desk tops and (from gotomyPC.com when we are mobile) we can access each other's schedules as well as our own. They sync well with our Palm 505's and hold lots of information that is convenient to have mobile. They have training video's that were helpful and provide outstanding support. Combined with a fair price and regular upgrades I would recommend them to anyone.

Real Talk Post - 3/10/2003

Over the years we were constantly in a turmoil about Top Producer, but having to relearn a new system, and not finding a better system upon trying kept us tied to Top Producer. (In addition to the time it would take to transfer all of the information that would not transfer automatically). We didn't like the constant costs involved with updating to the latest versions of Top Producer. We didn't like the idea of our database being online with the new 7i, due to reasons mentioned by other RealTalk users, like downtime, ours or theirs, access to info if not online, etc. We didn't like waiting what seemed like hours for tech support and then the information that they gave us to fix the problems many times did not solve it, which resulted in more phone calls, more wait time. The basic program was good.  The straw that broke the camels back was the fact that we network our version of Top Producer with myself, my partner, Rich and our assistant, Marcus. With three of us on the same system, synching was a pain, but networking was almost worse. Whoever had the master had to continually (and I mean 5-10 times a day) shut down their system and reboot. This was not only a major source of problems for the person who was the master, but also got to be a problem with the other users. (Believe me, you don't want to be continually asking someone to reboot just so you can look up a telephone number.) We tried tech support many, many times for help with this problem, but it could never be solved. We decided this was no way to run a business and looked at other options. We had previously tried other systems but none worked as well as TP at that time. Some users said that they liked AO so we decided to give it a try. It has been relatively easy to use. It was a reasonable price. Rich did have to call support to help with setting up the Network portion, but they were quick, friendly, helpful and efficient. I know that we don't have it to perfection yet and I am going to try to learn more about the program over time, but at the moment Agent Office is far and above the better program for us. We do most of our business through email and just the ability to do a lookup using an email address is 100 times easier on AO than it was on TP. I like the email import into our AO contact records, and although it doesn't have my signature yet, we use the work around that someone else mentioned about setting up a template and using that. I have found that it doesn't seem to have everything where I think it should be, but that could be just a learning curve. BY THE WAY, none of us have had to reboot because of a problem with OnLine Agent!!!!! This in and of itself was worth changing to a new system. We are very very satisfied with it.  Hope this helped.

RealTalk Post - 1/10/03

We started using Online Agent a couple of months ago. We had used TP for 7 or 8 years and had tried almost everything else on the market. We love Online Agent and would recommend it for anyone.  I have not read the manual yet, although I have looked up a couple of items in it when I wanted to do something that I couldn't figure out. I have found it easy to use without a lot of work.

Real Talk Post - 1/9/03

I made the switch from TP to OLA. Never looked back. It's cheaper, cleaner, easier and much more user friendly.

Real Talk Post - 12/20/02

I moved from TP to Online Agent (RE/MAX Agent 2000) in June and it was the best decision I've made recently. I, too, had a lot invested in TP as I had bought all the add-on modules and upgrades but I could see the writing on the wall - they were putting their resources into their online version so the problems I encountered would only continue. And no way, no how, will I ever put my data on their servers as long as they're owned by Homestore.  (Besides, from what I hear, their servers aren't too reliable).  LOVE OA! Bringing my data over was such a breeze and so fast that I thought it hadn't done it completely till I checked. Everything is simple to use and it just works which frees me up to do what I should be doing. My only gripe with OA is that my MLS still doesn't have a compatible product so I can download MLS data for CMA's. Not a big deal on regular listing presentations as we do them manually in Power Point but sure would like some automation for market updates and such.  Much better product, easier to use, and no Homestore!

Real Talk Post - 10/31/02

I just dumped TP6i and Act 2000 to use Online Agent. I've used TP for years and have lots of money invested. Online Agent is more stable, less learning curve and does everything I need. I believe it is the generic version of RE/MAX Agent 2000.

Real Talk Post - 10/29/02

We went through a very lengthy discussion on contact systems several months back. As a result of that discussion I had checked out several systems. As a long time TP user (also with TP6i) I tested several and looked at Wandering Star as well. There are actually several other systems available. The advice on RealTalk back then was overwhelmingly in favor of On-Line Agent (OLA) so I purchased it and really have been pleased. It is a complete system and is easy to use. Sad to say but it beats heck out of my costly TP6i. Thanks to the RealTalkers that recommended OLA."

Real Talk post - 10/08/02

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