Top Tech Tools for REALTORS®

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As many NCAR members already know, there is no limit to the number of supposedly “useful” technologies being peddled to agents. Whether they are hawking devices, equipment, software or applications, vendors are offering up a plethora of different options that promise to help agents work smarter, better, and faster.

The problem is, there is a limit to the number of hours and the amount of money that one can invest in these options before realizing not all of them meet expectations. So how do busy real estate agents choose which ones will help them work smarter and faster, and which will gather dust on the shelf? For starters, they should look for technology that is user friendly, scalable and able to meet the needs of a growing business. Consider only those choices that will either eliminate another task, or, steps that must be taken to get the task done, save time or both.

Agents should also seek out products and services that will produce a return on investment (ROI), meaning that the tools will ultimately make the agents more money than they actually cost. Here are five options to explore: w Tablet computers. If you haven’t already discovered the portability and flexibility that today’s tablets offer, now is the time to check out your options. Whether you need to sign documents on the fly, quickly look up property information on a sizable screen or simply stay in touch with customers via email or online chat, a tablet will do the trick. In fact, these devices are slowly displacing laptops as the device of choice for mobile professionals – REALTORS® included. w Online backup systems. The more mobile you are as a real estate professional, the more critical data you’ll be storing on your computer and/or devices. To avoid a catastrophic data loss, be sure to back up your files using Mozy, Carbonite. com or another utility that regularly retrieves and stores your important information. For example, once installed on your computer, Carbonite.com will automatically update all of your files, music and pictures when you’re connected to the Internet. “You can also access any of your files from any computer or mobile device once you log in to your Carbonite.com account,” says George Cuevas, author of “Top Ten Essential Tools for Real Estate Agents.” w Productivity apps. Mark Saunders, a broker with Signature Real Estate in Winston-Salem, advises agents to check out the many free apps that are right at their fingertips on tablets, mobile devices and laptops. CardMunch, for example, not only turns your business cards into digital contacts, but it also pulls information from your LinkedIn account to help you organize those contacts. Gmail’s new Priority Inbox feature lets you prioritize incoming email and according to Saunders, “helps avoid message overload.” Penultimate helps agents create paperless work environments by collecting and storing notes that are handwritten on a tablet screen. w Open house apps. To better manage your open houses, Cuevas recommends apps like Open Home Pro. Think about the difficult task of reading agents’ and potential buyers’ hand-written contact information off a sign-in sheet. “With this app, you can collect contact information of your visitors using your iPad,” Cuevas says. “They simply type in the information themselves. It’s professional and has a ‘wow’ factor to it when people are using it.” w Cloud computing options. In “Top 10 Technology Trends in Real Estate”, authors Amy Chorew and Rebekah Radice point out that the ability to store, manage and process data in an online network has improved our productivity and increased our capacity to collaborate. Google, for example, offers a free set of cloud computing tools that most REALTORS® find very useful. Many use Google Calendar as an easy way to map out their day and then sync that data across multiple devices, while others find that Google Drive, formerly Google Docs, is an excellent way to work with their team. “Dropbox is a great backup solution as well,” the authors add. “It works in the background, making mirror- image copies of all of your documents as you change or create them.”

Making Smart Tech Decisions

When pondering what technology to purchase and which tools to pass on, Chorew, a technology strategist and national speaker in Southington, Conn., reminds agents that trying to keep up with technology is virtually impossible. “Many

REALTORS® think they have to buy everything and get everything first,” she says. “This strategy can leave agents overburdened with useless technology, spending entirely too much time on the learning process, or broke.”

To avoid falling into these traps, Chorew says agents should closely analyze exactly what they’re buying, and only purchase tools and software that will provide true value to their businesses. “Then, take the time to learn the technology that you’ve purchased, and maximize its usefulness,” Chorew says. Most REALTORS® can get by with a smart phone, laptop and/or tablet. Then add in a current website combined with a social media strategy to further connect with potential clients.

“REALTORS® need a tool that keeps them connected while they’re out in the field, a computer, and an online presence,” says Chorew. “Everything else is extraneous.” v