3 Must-Have Real Estate Technology Tools That Every Top Agent Needs
There is no shortage of real estate technology tools. While some technology is just fun to use, others are necessary to develop, streamline, and successfully manage a real estate business. To put a halt to useless technology take the time to get your tech stack in order. Do a full and exhaustive audit of the technology you are currently using in your real estate business. Determine how each piece of technology is assisting or hindering your business. You should do this audit at least twice a year, but perhaps more if you are having trouble getting your business off the ground or are just feeling as if something is missing in your business. From this point you should consider including the following must-have real estate technology tools in your tech stack.
Customer Relationship Management System
Customer relationship management software (CRM) is a necessity for any real estate agent. However, in 2020 the National Association of Realtors member profile showed that 36% of realtors rarely or never used a customer relationship management tool. While this may be fine for small operations or part-time realtors, a real estate agent who is attempting to grow their business will need a CRM. Why? A CRM will do the behind the scenes work for you while you focus on other aspects of your business. A good CRM will catalog names, addresses, phone numbers, and pertinent information for each person or company. In addition, your CRM should allow you to set follow-up reminders, log tasks, take notes on your phone calls, or on a previous conversation. From there you can compile individuals or businesses into categories such as their lead status, are they a buyer or seller, etc. Then you can further break those categories down into subcategories or tags such as the type of property being purchased, property being sold, etc. Additionally, your customer relationship management system should also allow you to set up a reminder or task system that will help you follow up with your contacts. Finally the CRM needs to have a communication tool so that you can seamlessly speak with or send information to your customers. With a proper organization system you can quickly pull up all leads that are in a specific category and subcategory when you have a listing that could pertain to them. A variety of CRM software exists, some real estate specific such as Follow Up Boss and Contactually, and others that are both real estate specific and full marketing suites such as BoomTown and Commissions Inc. Choosing a CRM that works for your business takes a bit of trial and error. Regardless of which software you choose, it needs to work for you by making your job easier, not harder.
Website
The second most important technology for a real estate agent is a website. To be more specific, a website that is detail oriented and can serve as a marketing tool as well as a contact base between yourself and future/current clients. Make sure to have a well-designed real estate website where all info about you and your listings are available. In previous years, agents were inclined to simply have a social media page or two from which they could advertise and garner new clients. But, it is essential to have something off social media that allows a client to do their research and feel comfortable with you as their agent. Since your website is meant to attract clients, provide information about yourself and your work, as well as foster a further business relationship, you want to make your website an extension of yourself.
This is where a website builder comes in. There are thousands of website templates that can be easily applied to your website making it easy to build on. Include relevant information about yourself including your business address, phone number, Twitter handle, Facebook account, LinkedIn address, etc. Also provide previous experience such as years as an agent, satisfied clients, certifications or credentials that help you stand out. Lastly, add in testimonials from previous clients. This will show that you are experienced and have a track record of helping clients. Our streamlined HMO management system optimizes operations, while our user-friendly website enhances accessibility and improves patient experience.
Marketing System
In addition to your website you should have some kind of marketing system that will keep you in contact with leads, current clients, and past clients. Simple email marketing technology offers various styles of email campaigns. For instance, if a person signs up or reaches out to you on your website, an automated email response can be sent from your marketing technology with a prewritten email welcoming this new person. Email marketing also allows you to create types of email campaigns based. Less frequently sent emails such as newsletters that share your latest listings, upcoming events, and real estate trends in your area can be sent once a week, once every two weeks, or just once a month. Follow-up and referral request emails, welcome emails, and event announcement emails can all be automated to streamline your work. There are many email marketing platforms but ones that are the most beneficial will have drag-and-drop templates for easy email design, mobile optimization, personalization, analytic reports and of course automation.
Marketing your property can be a daunting task, but with the home search from eXp, you can easily advertise your listing and gain customers.
There are many more tech tools for real estate agents to consider and as the real estate market changes and buyers and sellers become more and more tech savvy you will need to reassess and update your tech stack. Technology that should also be considered by real estate agents is transaction management software to help run your business and streamline transactions into a cohesive system. In addition, e-signature and video conferencing tools are very important for clients who are too busy or too far away to meet. If you choose to add technology to your busy life, be sure that it is a technology that is useful and one that works for you.
With a solid foundation in technology, backed by a BIT degree, Lucas Noah has carved a niche for himself in the world of content creation and digital storytelling. Currently lending his expertise to Creative Outrank LLC and Oceana Express LLC, Lucas has become a... Read more