Did You Know These 17 Apps Can Save You Time?
As real estate agents, our productivity is many times determined by how much we can accomplish while out of the office showing homes to buyers, meeting sellers for listing appointments, attending networking events and continuing professional development. Here are 17 mobile apps (this is the 2014 edition) that can make inconvenient, last-minute dashes to your office a thing of the past.
As a note, most of these recommendations are tailored to Android users but are likely available with other phone systems. Also, these have been tried and true apps so they are not necessarily the latest and coolest. If you are already using something similar, then that's great and don't stop on my account but I wanted to make sure you at least know about these helpful, time-saving apps. Lastly, many of these apps also have desktop applications so if you are still not quite comfortable with handling transactions on a mobile device, you can still use your trusty computer.
- Flash Fox | If you need to visit a website that requires Flash, this is the mobile app that will allow you to do it.
- Triplog | Do you sometimes forget to track your business mileage? This app can automatically record your mileage through its bluetooth feature. Additionally, it can save copies of receipts that have a pesky habit of getting lost.
- justWink | Do you often forget to connect with your clients and sphere of influence on their important days, including their home anniversaries? This app will allow you to schedule in advance and mail, email or text personalized thoughtful greeting cards and gift cards for all occasions while you are on the go. These greeting cards can easily become your clients' timeless and treasured keepsakes when you feature pictures from their home closing and add handwritten signatures or notes that can be easily added from phones and tablets.
- Contactually | You value your social media connections but just can't find the time to connect. Contactually can help you stay connected by alerting and reminding you to follow-up with your social media friends.
- WeVideo | Have you been itching to create client testimonials but are not sure when you will have time to sit in front of a computer to edit the video? This app makes it easy to edit and post videos in your spare moments like standing in line at a grocery store or waiting for your next appointment to arrive.
- Who Are You | Are you frustrated when you receive a call from a number you do not recognize? This app makes sure your caller ID includes names (when the person has not blocked it), which is extremely helpful when you are returning voicemails and did not quite catch what the caller said.
- Google Calendar via the Sunrise Calendar | This app allows you to sync individual events with clients, whether they use the Google Calendar or iCloud, to ensure everyone gets a reminder of an upcoming closing, appointment or call. Plus, you can attach pertinent documents, like directions to the closing office, to the event so that all parties can access them. And if you work on a team, you can share your calendars with each other and everyone is kept apprised of all event changes in real time. And that's not all - this app can integrate with your social media (FB, Google+, Twitter, Linkedin, Foursquare) and other productivity apps (Evernote, Tripit), helping you to never forget a face, miss an important tweet from a potential prospect with whom you are meeting or forget an important event.
- CamScanner | Tired of taking a picture of a document that looks grainy and is not in PDF format? This app (if you upgrade) will do a fantastic job of turning your camera shots into quality, scanned PDF documents that can be shared at a moment's notice.
- Brightest Flashlight Free | In the world of real estate sales, you never know when you will enter a room or home that is without power or need a spotlight on a problem area. Instead of running back to your car, trifling through your trunk for your bulky flashlight and playing the balancing act with whatever else you are holding, just use this app to beam a light into dark places.
- GoToMeeting | Have you ever sprinted to a laptop to not miss an online webinar? No more with this handy app if the webinar host is using GoToMeeting.
- Google Keep or Evernote | Whether you want to take handwritten or speech notes or retrieve and edit documents, these two apps will help you manage your paperless office.
- Dropbox or Google Drive | These two apps will ensure that you can access all of your pertinent documents on any device that has internet accessibility. Also, you can save offline versions to your devices so that dead spots don't slow you down.
- Google Maps | Locate the nearest gas station, attorney's office or any other place your business takes you with door-to-door instructions and real-time traffic information that can sync with most bluetooth vehicle systems.
- Google Hangout or Skype | Do you have clients that are out of town but interested in making an offer on a particular home? Take them on a walking tour of the home and neighborhood with these Jetson-style video calls. Plus, you can conference in as many of your client's family members as you want. No more having a dad/boyfriend/mother/insert applicable party be the deal killer because he was the last to see the home.
Do you have more questions on productivity tools to maximize your real estate sales success? Contact info@AgentsAroundAtlanta.com for more helpful tips. Here's to your success!