SMARTDRAW IN REAL ESTATE:

Mortgage Broker Earns Additional $200,000 in Revenue with SmartDraw

Locked Out
Andy Castellucio, a self-employed mortgage broker in Bellevue, Washington, was getting frustrated. He needed an easy way to make a professional-looking real estate flyer for his first big project, but didn't know where to start.

"I'd been procrastinating on getting this flyer done…I had no idea how to do it…In real estate, the realtors and loan officers are responsible for creating their own flyers. Everyone hates doing it because everyone thinks they don't have the knowledge to create things on the computer."

Castellucio tried making his flyer in Adobe, Microsoft WORD^®, even Excel^® and Access.

"Adobe was really complicated-way over my head," he said. "I even tried making the flyer in Microsoft WORD^®. I wasted hours and got to the point where I didn't want to do it anymore."

Finally, Castellucio found SmartDraw's free trial, and decided to give it a shot.

Open House
Castellucio was pleasantly surprised by SmartDraw's intuitive interface and ease-of-use. "I really liked the program's fluidity and versatility."

Castellucio learned that SmartDraw included thousands of symbols and templates, including graphics designed specifically to meet his needs: flyers, maps, floor plans, and more.

In addition, SmartDraw features instructional wizards that help users zip through any task. This includes an Image Layout Wizard for inserting and editing photos, adding test, and publishing, as well as a Flyer Wizard for creating eye-catching flyers quickly and easily.

Castellucio was able to easily insert photos of home interiors into his flyer, add text delineating home loan terms with interest rates, and even include a community logo.

"I was able to make my first flyer in two hours, without any prior experience," said Castellucio.

Sold
The flyer helped Castellucio land his first major deal since he'd been self-employed, a deal that delivered an additional $200,000 in revenue in 2006.

"The flyer made all the difference to the contractor and the realtor I'm working with," he said. "The flyer, paired with the interview, totally sold them."

In addition, Castellucio is talking with the realty company about creating all of their flyers/inserts.

"They think its really great, and don't want to be bothered with 'learning something hard,'" he said.

The bottom line?

"I could never have made the flyer without SmartDraw," said Castellucio. "I can't thank you enough!"

For more information on SmartDraw, and to download a free trial, visit www.smartdraw.com