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Tips & Tricks

MLX Pro Check List: 

Customize your Web site/Private client Web page template

E-mail your clients their Private Client Web page links

Customize your e-mail template library 

Use your Lead Capture "smart link" on your other Web sites

Upcoming Training Classes & Seminars

Interested in learning about MLX Professional? Already have MLX Professional and need some training? 

This list is updated on a regular basis, so check back if your board is not listed. Additional classes may be offered at your board office. 

If your board is not listed below, please contact your board for a training schedule.

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User Guides

MLXchange 4.0 User Guide with MLX Professional
(9,123 KB)
This user guide covers all the main features and functionality of MLXchange 4.0 and MLX Professional. 

MLXchange 3.0 User Guide with MLX Professional
(6,881 KB)

This user guide covers all the main features and functionality of MLXchange 3.0 and MLX Professional. 

Other Useful Guides:

Five Steps to a Healthier PC

Optimizing MLXchange

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Telephone/E-Mail Support

AnswerLink's standard hours of operation are M-F 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM your local time. 

If your board provides their own MLS support services, you will have to contact your board for assistance.

• Live chat online help & misc. resources: www.MLXHelp.com 

• Toll-free: 1-888-825-5472

• Broward County Members please call: (954) 492-1200  

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Online Training

Setting up your MLX Professional Website

Using the MLX Professional Agent Web Site Setup options, you can customize your personal Agent Website, complete with your own template, featured properties, and branding. The Agent Web Site template is also used for your Private Client Web Pages.

Additional tutorials are available at www.mlxhelp.com 

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's the difference between MLXchange and MLX Professional?

MLXchange is paid for by your monthly MLS dues. MLX Professional, on the other hand, is an optional add-on that you can subscribe to on a month-to-month basis. Many Boards/MLS have purchased site licenses for all their Members and include it as part of the regular MLS service. Visit the Buy Now page for a list of boards that have site licenses.

MLX Professional includes an Agent Web Site with private Client Web Pages, Internet lead capture, e-mail templates, and enhanced client and task management - all 100% integrated with your MLXchange MLS system. 

Q: How do you unsubscribe from MLX Professional?

If you wish to unsubscribe from MLX Professional, you can do so at any time by clicking on Settings, Personalize and then MLXchange Add-ons and follow the instructions to unsubscribe. 

Q: If I unsubscribe from MLX Professional and then decide to re-subscribe, will all my information be lost?

If you re-subscribe to MLX Professional using your same member ID, all of your previous information will automatically appear when you re-activate your subscription. 

A: During the MLX Professional subscription/upgrade process, you will be prompted to update your contact information which includes a NEW MLXchange e-mail address. The system will automatically insert the Public ID as the prefix for the e-mail name. Since Public IDs are typically a string of numbers, they are meaningless as an email identifier and difficult for branding and remembering (for example, 534948@sef.mlxchange.com). 

You can change the prefix to something more memorable, such as your name or company name. E-mail prefix names are available on a first come, first serve basis, so a user could actually setup something like southfloridahomes@sef.mlxchange.com. Once saved, the e-mail address CANNOT be modified. If you do not plan on using the MLXchange email address, you still need to set it up. However, if you do not plan on using the MLXchange e-mail address, be sure to change the system default e-mail settings. See below.

Q: Why does the information under the Scheduled Client Interaction and the Client History on my client information not show on the Private Client View Website?

Click on Tools, select Agent Web page Setup and then Site Rules.  Make sure that you have a check next to Allow clients to view the ‘Tasks’ section on Private Client View at the bottom of this section. Go back and click on a Client and click on the button to view the private website. 

Q: What are the requirements for a listing to show up in the Featured Properties section of my Agent Website ?

In order for a particular listing record to appear on your agent Website, or in the results of an IDX search (if available), it must pass four tests:

1. The MLS Site must be globally IDX Enabled

2. The Listing Office record must indicate IDX = Yes

3. The Listing Record must indicate IDX = Yes

4. The Listing Status must be Active (A) or Attorney Review (AR)

5. Other local IDX/Broker Reciprocity rules may also be in effect.

Q: What will my Web site address be?

MLX Professional includes a domain name. You can personalize the first part of the address (i.e. http://YOURNAME.sef.mlxchange.com). The "boardcode.mlxchange.com" portion can not be changed. 

You also have the option to use an existing domain name.  To do this, enter your domain name in the field provided under Advanced Options in the Domain Setup area of the Agent Web Page Configuration section. NOTE:  After you have done this, you must also ask your domain registrar to redirect visitors from your domain to your MLX Professional Agent Web Site. (Your domain registrar is the company that sold you your domain name.) 

Click here for a list of FAQs

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Tips on customizing your MLXchange system:

Choosing your start-up page:

While most people prefer to begin at the Home page, you have the option of going directly to a specified screen when you first log in to MLXchange. For example, people like to go immediately to the main Search Criteria screen when they launch the program. To change your start-up page:

1. Click Settings in the top right corner of your screen.

2. Click Personalize and then click Personal Defaults. 

3. From the Start Menu list, select the page that you want to load when your MLXchange starts up.

4. Click Apply. You will now automatically go to the selected screen every time you log in to MLXchange. 

Adding useful links to your MLXchange Home page:

MLXchange enables you to set up your Home page to display links to your favorite Websites. Once you've set up your links, you can access them quickly at any time. To create a new link:

1. Click Settings in the top right corner of your screen.

2. From the Settings screen, click Personalize and then click Personalize Home Page Resource Links. The Resource Links page will appear and will give you detailed instructions on adding links.

Creating your own search templates:
A Search Template is a group of visible fields that you use to enter search criteria. Simple search templates expose only a few basic fields for entering criteria, while the most complex template would make every possible MLS field available. 

MLXchange has a number of default search templates you can copy and customize to suit your specific needs, or you can create a new search template from scratch.

To add fields to an existing Search Template:

1. Click the Search main menu at the top of the page or click Search for a Listing from the Home page.

2. Click Quick Add to Search to quickly add more search fields without having to create or edit a search template.

3. Select the field names and enter the desired values.

4. Click Add.

5. To save the modified template, select Save Template from the Action list and click the arrow button.

Note: To save changes to a default template, you will be prompted to save a new copy of the template using a different name.

To make a new Search Template from scratch:

1. Select Template Manager from the Action list and click the arrow button.

2. Click New (or click Copy to copy an existing template).

3. Enter a Template Name.

4. Select the fields that you want to appear in the search template.

5. Change the positions of the fields by using the up/down arrows.

6. Click Finish when you are satisfied with your list of fields.

7. Click Done. Your new template will now appear in the Search Template list on the Search Criteria page and can be used any time you want.

Customizing your column layouts

You can customize the column layout on the Search Results page to show only the columns of information that you want. To make a new column layout:

1. Conduct a search on the Search Criteria page and click Results.

2. Select Column Manager from the Action list and click the arrow button.

3. Click Create new column report.

4. Select the fields that you want to appear in the column layout from the available grid fields list. 

5. Change the order of the fields by using the up/down arrows.

6. When you are satisfied with the list, click Finish to save.

7. To change the default sort order for a column format you have created, select the column layout from the Available Column Reports list and click Change field sort order.

8. You can sort search results using this column format by up to three columns. Select the columns by which you want to sort, and specify if each column should sort by ascending or descending value. Click Save when you are finished.

Adding quick links to your favorite reports
You can define a set of favorite reports to appear as quick links on your Listing Detail page.

1. From the Listing Details page, click on Edit under the Reports section on the left hand side of your Listing Details screen.

2. From the list of Available Reports, select the reports you wish to add to your Favorite Reports section. In the Favorite reports list, you can change the order of the reports using the up/down arrows.

3. Click Finish. Your reports will now appear under Favorite Reports, giving you quick and easy access to the reports you use the most.

Customizing your reports:

Do you want to customize your reports to include your photo and company logo, or would like to change the entire layout of a report? Using Designer Tool, you can do just this. The Designer Tool application can be downloaded from the "Tools" section of MLXchange. The application is fairly large, so it may take a bit of time to download using a dial-up connection. Be sure to read the Designer Tool training workbook (available from the Help section of MLXchange).

Tips & Tricks

If you would like to print this page, please set your printer paper orientation to Landscape.

MLX Professional Check-List. After  subscribing to MLX Professional, make sure that you take advantage of all the powerful features! Please refer to the user guide for instructions.

• Customize your Web site/Private client Web page template

• E-mail your clients their Private Client Web page links

• Customize your e-mail template library 

• Use your Lead Capture "smart link" on your other Web sites

Customizing Your MLX Professional Website & Client Pages
Using the Agent Web Page Setup options, you can customize your personal Agent Web Site, complete with your own template, featured properties, and branding.

To access the MLX Professional Agent Web Site configuration options, you must be logged into MLXchange. Click the Settings link near the top of the screen to access your Web site configuration options. Click Personalize to expand the section, and then click Agent Web Page Setup. The Agent Web Page Configuration screen appears. From here, you can perform all the different actions required to set up and customize your MLX Professional Agent Web Site, including broker branded templates.

Adding Links to your MLX Professional Website

Optimizing Your Web Site for Search Engines
To make it easier for Internet search engines to find your MLX Professional Agent Web site, click Advanced Options to expand the section. Under Search Engine tools, enter your Web site Title, Description and Keywords.

Tip: The keywords you choose for your website will have a large impact on how your site will perform in search engines. Try to figure out what words you might enter in a search engine to find a site like yours.

Search Engine Submission
In order for the public to find your Web site, however, it’s important that you submit it to the most popular Internet search engines.  Done manually, this can be a very laborious and time-consuming process.  Thankfully, there are several free services on the Web that can automate the process for you.  AddMe.com is one example of a site that offers free search engine submission services.  If you want, you can choose to pay for more sophisticated search engine submission technology and/or ongoing search engine submission services.  Microsoft bCentral, for example, has a product called Submit It! (www.submit-it.com) that starts at $79 per year.

Correspondence and Collateral
Be sure to put your Web site address on all your correspondence and printed materials, including your e-mails, business card, yard signs, CMAs, open house flyers, etc.  This is a simple yet often-overlooked step that is key to the successful promotion of your site.

What to Do with an Existing Web Site
If you already have a Web site that draws traffic and generates e-mail leads, you will probably not want to abandon it to use your MLX Professional Web site exclusively.  There are a couple of different things you can do to make your existing Web site work with your new MLXchange Professional Web site:

1. Integrate the two sites.  You can continue using your existing Web site as your home page, and simply add links to it that let Web visitors navigate directly to specific parts of your MLX Professional Web site, e.g., the property search engine (if available) and your featured properties page.  You can determine the URL of a specific page of your MLX Professional Web site by right-clicking on the page and selecting Properties from the pop-up menu.  The potential drawback to this method is that, if the two sites look quite different, it will be obvious to the visitor that they are navigating between two different sites.  This can largely be overcome, however, by framing the content of the MLX Professional Web pages within your existing site template.

2. Redirect visitors automatically.  MLX Professional allows you to automatically redirect people from your established domain to your MLX Professional Web site while still showing your domain name in the browser's address bar.  To do this, enter your domain name in the field provided under Advanced Options in the Domain Setup area of the Agent Web Page Configuration section.

NOTE:  After you have done this, you must also ask your domain registrar to redirect visitors from your domain to your MLX Professional Agent Web Site. (Your domain registrar is the company that sold you your domain name.) If you administrate your own domain, you can set up the redirection yourself using one of three methods:

The preferred method is to add a CNAME record to your zone file that points your subdomain (e.g., “www.realtysuperstar.com”) to the MLXchange Web Site “mls.mlxchange.com.” Do NOT point to your secondary domain (e.g., “alanthompson.mls.mlxchange.com”). This option can usually be found under advanced domain settings. Please contact your registrar if you cannot locate this option.

If method 1 is not available to you, then you should be able to simply forward your own domain to your Agent Web Site at “alanthompson.mls.mlxchange.com” (for example). The disadvantage of this method is that “alanthompson.demo.mlxchange.com” will appear in the browser address bar, not your own domain name.

Some domain registrars offer the option to “frame” your domain forwarding so your domain name (e.g., “www.realtysuperstar.com”) will appear in the browser address bar. In other respects, this option is essentially the same as option 2. This is not a desirable method, however, because it prevents site visitors from book marking specific pages within your site. Free Web services are available that will allow you to automatically redirect visitors from your existing site to your new MLX Professional Web site.

Domain Name/URL Tips

It's a good idea to have your own branded domain/URL. In today's Internet era, a domain name is just as important as a telephone number.  Choose something that is unique, memorable, and easy to communicate (i.e. no weird spelling, no hyphens, etc.). You may also want to consider a domain name that can follow you around in case you change MLS boards or companies (i.e. brand your name). Because domains are very inexpensive to register, you should consider registering your domain for multiple years. 

Using Private Client Web Pages
While your MLX Professional Web site is great for advertising your listings, it truly excels as a customer communications tool.  The private client Web pages can be used as a customer service portal for your existing clients, as well as a powerful tool for convincing prospects to choose you as their agent.  Imagine the following scenario:

MLX Professional forwards a new lead to your pager.  Expanding the Property List section of the new client record that the system has created, you see that the prospect is interested in a listing that she saw on your Web site.  After looking at the prospect’s preferences, you perform a search and add several similar properties to her Property List for display on her private client page.  You quickly preview the Web page and then e-mail the page link to the prospect with the click of a button.

Only a couple minutes after you received the lead, you pick up the phone and call the prospect back:  “Hi, Ms. Smith?  This is Stacey Jones from ABC Realty.  I see that you are interested in a property that you saw on my Web site.  I’ve taken the liberty of preparing a list of other properties that might interest you, and I’ve set up a private Web page for you where you can view these properties when you’ve got a chance.  All you have to do is click the link that I e-mailed to you a few moments ago….”

Of course, MLX Professional’s private client Web pages were designed primarily for ongoing customer relationship management.  The Scheduled Interaction section shows any uncompleted tasks so clients are kept abreast of upcoming showings, appointments, etc.  The Client History section shows completed tasks, reinforcing the value of your services by clearly showing everything you’ve done for your clients to help them buy or sell a home.  Note that only the event’s date, type, and Subject (topic) are shown on private client pages, so make sure you enter a good, descriptive subject when you add new events to your task list in MLX Professional (e.g., “Ad placed in the Times, page D13”).

Managing Your E-mail
When you start using MLX Professional, you get a new e-mail address.  You are allowed to choose the portion of the e-mail address before the “@” symbol.  The portion of the e-mail address that comes after the “@” symbol is automatically determined by the name of your MLS board and cannot be changed.  For example, if your name is Brad Goodman and Southeast Florida is your MLS, your e-mail might be brad.goodman@sef.mlxchange.com.

The more you use your MLX Professional e-mail address, the more value you will get out of the system.  By using this e-mail address for all client communications, MLX Professional is able to automatically associate all correspondence with the appropriate contact record.  All e-mail that you send from MLXchange will show this new e-mail address as your return address.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you wish to have your reply e-mails go to your primary e-mail address, be sure to change the reply-to address default under Settings, Personalize, Contact Information. You can change this setting whenever you want.

Working with Multiple E-mail Addresses
Your e-mail can be greatly simplified by maintaining just three addresses:  a personal e-mail address (e.g., a Hotmail account) for communicating with friends; a business address for communicating with peers, vendors and other business associates; and a second business address for communicating exclusively with clients.  This client-oriented e-mail address is the one provided by MLXchange.

E-mail addresses beyond these three are probably unnecessary and should be phased out over a period of time.  Make sure you tell the appropriate contacts about any e-mail addresses you plan to discontinue, and the new address where they can reach you.  You should continue to check your old addresses for mail for a period of at least two months before canceling the addresses entirely.

E-mail Re-direction and E-mail Forwarding
If you have an existing e-mail address that you really want to continue to use, you may consider using an e-mail forwarding service to redirect incoming e-mail to your new MLX Professional e-mail account.  Many Internet Service Providers offer this service for a small monthly fee.

If your e-mail address is with a personal domain (e.g., bob@bobsrealestate.com) it is possible to set up e-mail forwarding to MLX Professional free of charge.  MyDomain.com and ZoneEdit.com are examples of Web sites that offer free domain management services, including e-mail forwarding.

To set up e-mail forwarding from your own domain to MLX Professional:

1. You must first set up your domain name so that it will use the chosen domain management service provider for DNS.  (DNS is the translation mechanism that changes domain names—which are text—into numbers that web servers can understand.)  To do this, log into the control panel of your domain name registrar (i.e., the site where you bought your domain name in the first place).
   
2. In the control panel, you should find a setting for "Domain Name Servers" or "DNS".  This is where you will enter the DNS information for your chosen domain management service provider.  In the case of MyDomain, the settings would be:
   
   Primary: ns1.mydomain.com
   Secondary: ns2.mydomain.com
   Secondary: ns3.mydomain.com
   Secondary: ns4.mydomain.com
   
3. Once you have made these configuration changes for your domain name, log in to your chosen domain management service provider, add your domain name to the list of domains you want to manage, and follow their instructions for enabling e-mail forwarding/redirection.

Note that MarketLinx does not endorse the services of MyDomain.com or ZoneEdit.com, and does not provide support for problems arising from e-mail forwarding.  E-mail forwarding may remove or otherwise disable the XML tags contained in MLX Professional e-mail leads, so you may have to experiment with one or more e-mail forwarding services to determine compatibility with MLX Professional.

Generating “Smart” Leads from Other Web Sites
When a buyer requests more information on your Agent Web Site, an e-mail is sent to your MLX Professional e-mail address.  This is no ordinary e-mail, however, because it contains special XML tags with information about the buyer and the property in which he or she is interested.  MLX Professional uses this information to automatically perform a variety of time-saving functions—when the program receives one of these “smart” e-mail leads, the New Leads counter on the home page is incremented, the attached contact information is automatically converted into a new client record, and the property of interest is automatically added to the client’s Property List.

Your Agent Web Site uses a page with special HTML code to create these “smart” leads.  This same page can be added to other Web sites to enable the generation of smart leads using a special link.  To find this link, log in to MLXchange and click Settings, then click Agent Web Page Setup.  Click the Domain header to expand the section.  Here you will see your “Contact Me” Web Inquiry Form Link.  

Stay tuned for more FAQs and Tips & Tricks!

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