Customer Support

QUESTIONS ABOUT ME AND MY COMPANY

Who are you?

This is my favorite question because, in my industry, there are a lot of faceless, automated services. With most list services, you get the pleasure of doing business with a computer essentially. Just imagine the stellar customer service you'll get!

My name is Bill Bailey. I'm a living, breathing human. You can even call me on my cell phone and check (704-649-2154)?

I own Zichron Internet Marketing and I have been collecting and selling lists of professionals since 2002. I have a BS in Computer Science and Statistics and a PhD in Business Information Systems. I was a college professor for 6 years. I worked as a consultant for several years and helped launch (and crash!) a dot-com startup. I was the senior web developer for a publicly traded medical device company. I think it's safe to say, I know my stuff.

On a personal note, I have two grown daughters, I'm an 8-handicap golfer and my wife and I love to travel (check out my blog about my 11 weeks in Paris).

What is Zichron Internet Marketing and real-estate-agent-lists.com?

Zichron (zi-kron) Internet Marketing (ZIM) is... well... an internet marketing company founded in 2004. real-estate-agent-lists.com is a web service of ZIM which specializes in marketing realtor database products. ZIM is an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau with an "A" rating.

Where did the name "Zichron" come from?

Zichron is short for Zichron Ya'acov, a small, but beautiful, village in Israel, which has a special place in my heart, as I lived there for 3 months while working on a project. In Hebrew, Zichron means "memory" or "memorial", which perhaps is not a bad thing for a company that specializes in data!

QUESTIONS ABOUT ME AND MY COMPETITORS

Why should I buy from you instead of your cheaper competitors?

Don't. Go ahead and spend your money with my competitors.

You read that right. My best customers are those that have tried my cheaper competitors and then realized they got what they paid for. Then they came to me and got REAL data.

And I'll even pay you to do it.

Yep, see my "Competitor Credit" below. You may have to read it several times to believe it but it's true. I'll credit the price you paid to my…um…lower quality competitors toward any of my lists. (See details below).

Here's the bottom line: It's impossible to make a profit selling these lists for next to nothing if you actually do all the hard, honest work of collecting guaranteed accurate data on over 1 million real estate agents.

UNLESS you don't actually do all the hard, honest work of collecting the data and instead just "borrow" it from someone else who did all the hard honest work. Borrowed without permission, that is. There's another word for that but I'm trying to be nice.

What is this "Competitor Credit"?

If you buy a list from a competitor and decide you don't like it, I will give you a 100% credit towards the price of the same list from me. Period.

If you paid $395 for someone else's national list, I will give you a $395 credit towards the price of my list. If you paid $987, I will give you $987. (There is a $1000 limit to this offer.)

It's true. I'm essentially paying for my competitor's mistakes. It's much less hassle to just buy from me first, but I understand if you need to "shop around". Have fun. I'll be here when you get back.

How can you afford to offer the "Competitors Credit"?

Because I know my lists are good. And once a client buys one list from me, I know they'll be back for more. I know my business model very well. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

Any other reasons I should buy from you?

How about 9 more? Click here to read them.

And, then there's the fact that I do things the right way. I'm not the one saying that. The Better Business Bureau is. They give me an "A" rating. My competitors? BBB doesn't think as highly of the way my competition does things. There are even a couple who get an embarrassing "F" and "D" rating respectively: Data Depot and realestateagentlistdownload.com. Or check out testimonials page.

QUESTIONS ABOUT MY LISTS

What is your list quality guarantee?

The data is guaranteed to be 95% accurate. If you receive "undeliverables" (bad address, phone, fax, or email) exceeding 5%, I will refund your purchase on a pro-rated basis.

How do you collect your data?

Shhhh... that's a trade secret. Seriously, I collect all data myself from primary sources. I have lost track but it is well over 200 sources now. A primary source is an organization that gets its information directly from the agent. That is why my data is as accurate as can be. I do NOT obtain from other data aggregators unless it a trusted person who has access to a source I do not have access to.

This is why my lists are more expensive. It takes time and money and connections to collect accurate data.

Can I try before I buy?

Yes, there are three ways you can sample our data.

First, you can use our realtor search engine to look up records. Any record in my database can be pulled up here. The whole record. Free of charge.

Second, you can download a free sample of up to 100 records for any specified zip code. Perfect for a small test run.

Third, you can also use my customized database to create, purchase, and download a smaller, less expensive list to test before purchasing a larger list. Not free, but another great way to run a test before investing in a full list.

AND if you later decide to purchase a larger list, of which the smaller list is a subset, I will give you a full-credit towards the purchase of the larger list. Likewise, if you purchase a state or metro area list, you can upgrade to the complete national list for the difference in price.

All of these are designed to make you feel confident and comfortable doing business with me. Try 'em all.

Why should I buy the database if I can view the same data using the search engine?

First, home and email addresses are not included in the search engine results, only in the purchased lists.

Second, it would take forever to manually copy all of the data in our database by using the search engine.

Third, I limit your search results: 30 matches and 20 details per day.

But it's a great tool to test the accuracy of my data, do preliminary campaign research, preview actual records, etc. I want you to feel confident before you invest with me…so use this free tool to help you design the most effective marketing campaign you can.

What kinds of realtor databases do I sell?

My complete US Realtor Database includes 1.15 million real estate agents with full contact information for most of them, which includes 1.18 million unique email addresses (some agents have more than one email address).

The complete list has been divided into state and metro area subsets and you can also create a completely customized list.

My Canadian Realtor Database contains 99,000 agents (51,000 with email addresses)

My US Realtor Office Database includes 218,000 individual offices and includes one primary contact person.

Finally, my US Realtor Association List includes full contact information for all state and local Realtor Associations.

What data is included in the lists?

I have without doubt the most comprehensive set of data for real estate agents in the world. Up to THIRTY FIVE pieces of information! Including home address and cell phone number! Here's the list...

Full Name First Name Middle Name Last Name Suffix Designations/Certifications Agency Office Name Address1 Address2 City State Zip County MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area)   Office Phone Office Fax Cell Phone

Email Email2 Email3 Email4 Website Association Name License Type (Broker/Sales) License Number License Issue Date License Expiration Date Home Address1 Home Address2 Home City Home State Home Zip Home County Home MSA

What is the difference between the complete "full record" realtor database and the realtor "email" database?

The "full record" database includes all the fields I have. The email database only includes agents who have an email address and is limited to the following fields: name, city, state, zip, county, msa, and email.

Obviously , the email version is less expensive but if you are only interested in an email campaign and do not require office name, address, phone, fax, home address or licensing data, then you don't need to pay extra for this data.

QUESTIONS ABOUT "WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I BUY?"

How soon do I get my list after I buy?

Immediately. On your order confirmation page you'll get a download link. You'll have your list within seconds of purchasing it.

You will also receive an email with download instructions if you wish to download later.

There is a slight "formatting" delay if you purchase the National List.

What format will my list be in?

You choose. I can create your full-record US national database in three formats: Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel CSV (one large file or individual state files), or Tab-Delimited Text.

The state, metro area and customized databases are in Excel CSV format.

All files are compressed in a Zip format for faster downloading.

I can't open or view the database I purchased. Why?

Our databases are compressed in a "zip" format. This is a very common file type on the internet that makes the file smaller (usually about 80% smaller!) for faster downloading. You need a Zip program to open the file. Windows and Apple computers have a built in zip/unzip utility and that should work but you can also download a free trial version of WinZip at www.winzip.com. You do not need to buy it to use it.

I'm having trouble downloading my list, what should I do?

If your download is blocked, please call me. My system is designed to block suspicious transactions but sometimes legitimate transactions get caught in the fraud trap. Don't take it personally. It's just a security precaution.

Sometimes, large files (some of our databases are over 100MB in size) have difficulty getting through firewalls. Try turning off your firewall software before you download. Remember to turn it back on when the download is complete.

Will I get updates? How often? Will I get a discount on updates?

I continuously update on a state-by-state basis. My current release schedule is published here. Also, the release date for each state database is published on each state's page. Some states will therefore be more current than others.

As I update individual states, I update the national list. I do provide significant discounts for updates to existing customers. The discount varies depending on the amount of new data in the update but all previous purchasers of the list will be notified by email when the new list is available.

QUESTIONS ABOUT AUTHORIZED USE OF MY LISTS

Are there any restrictions on the use of your databases?

My "terms of use" agreement always appears on the checkout page and is included on your order confirmation email and in your downloaded database zip file.

The most important point is as follows: the purchaser is entitled to use the data repeatedly for marketing or internal purposes but cannot resell the data nor publish it so that non-customers can benefit from the data.

In other words, it's just for you. Use it all you want, but don't let anyone else see it or use it.

How do you monitor and enforce restrictions on the use of the databases?

Unfortunately, soon after I launched the only dedicated real estate agent list website in March, 2006, several copycat sites popped up selling suspiciously similar data at highly discounted prices.

While I have no problems with fair competition, I obviously don't want them selling MY data.

So, I have set traps for them. I populate ("seed") my list with a small number of fictitious agents. Anything sent to these "agents" is forwarded to me so I can confirm that it came from a legitimate customer.

My lists are regenerated EVERY NIGHT with a new set of "traps" so that I can trace any list back to its original purchaser.

I WILL enforce the terms of use. I HAVE enforced the terms of use.

QUESTIONS ABOUT EMAILING AND FAXING

Do you provide broadcast email service? Fax service? Direct mail?

Email: YES. I can professionally manage your email broadcast.

Please visit my Email Broadcasting page for complete details on this service.

Please visit my email marketing page for tips on how to broadcast emails if you want to do it yourself.

I do NOT, however, offer fax broadcasting or direct mail.

Are your email addresses opt-in?

All of our email addresses are what we call "soft" opt-in, in that they were collected from publicly available sources in which the recipient has willingly published their email address. The email addresses are not "hard" opt-in in the sense that the recipient has specifically agreed to have his email address sold by us or has specifically signed up to receive commercial email. Even if the email addresses were "hard" opt-in, the opt-in status is not transferable. Furthermore, there is no such thing as an opt-in list of realtor agents for sale. Do you really believe 1 million agents opted into having their email addresses sold on the internet?

What is the law for sending emails?

Click here for my free report on all the detailed rules but, briefly, the new federal CAN-SPAM law (see FTC Regulations) permits unsolicited commercial emails to be sent if you follow a few simple rules:

1.Your subject line must be an accurate and honest description of the contents of the email
2. Your physical business mailing address must be attached to the body of the email somewhere (usually at the bottom)
3. You must include instructions (preferably a link) to allow the recipient to unsubscribe (i.e. opt-out) from future emails.

However, "spam" should not be an issue for you since you are sending a targeted email concerning a product or service that the recipient might reasonably be interested in. If you clearly identify yourself and your product, then the worst that will likely happen is that the recipient will simply ask to be removed.

Obligatory Disclaimer: If you are in doubt as to the legality of any business activity, including broadcasting emails, you should consult a qualified attorney.

And remember, if you just don't want to deal with the hassle, visit my Email Broadcasting page for complete details on how to get it all done for you.

How do I send emails?

Please see my email marketing page.

What is the law for sending faxes?

The law for sending faxes is slightly more complicated than for emails. We recommend you read the following FCC document describing the regulation of faxing. As a matter of practice, we have never had a customer complain of legal difficulties resulting from sending faxes using our lists. Again, this is likely because you are not sending "junk"; even if the recipient is not interested in your product or service, at least it was a solicitation related to their profession.

Obligatory Disclaimer: If you are in doubt as to the legality of any business activity, including broadcasting faxes, you should consult a qualified attorney.