Best Tools For Real Estate Agents To Stay Organized

Today’s most successful real estate agents aren’t necessarily the ones that are working the hardest; they are the ones that are working smarter. They are busy closing multiple real estate deals across the United States and beyond with just a few clicks of a button – from the comfort of their homes. Technology is changing how real estate agents can stay organized and be more productive. With hundreds of tools available today, you can quickly achieve what would have taken several days or even weeks to accomplish in just a few minutes.

We reached out to some of the leading experts in the real estate industry to discuss the various tools real estate agents can use to stay organized, be more productive, and even lead the pack wherever they are.

Here’s what the experts shared with us:

 

Task Management Tools

Task management tools effectively eliminate remote working barriers, automate recurring task creation, track time spent on each project and client to minimize waste, access data anywhere and anytime, manage tasks, boost productivity, and make collaborating with your team a seamless process. 

The best part is, these tools or software can help you stay organized as a real estate agent. Ensuring that you never miss a thing, task management tools can help you stay at the top of your game, giving you the edge to lead the pack in your niche.

Since there are so many task management tools available today, which ones are the most user-friendly and useful for real estate agents?

John Romito, a licensed real estate agent and the founder of Heart & Home Real Estate, shared his experience.

“Getting the best real estate CRMs (like Slack) is an essential facet of managing the chaotic world of a busy real estate agent. Customer relationship managers are great not only keeping track of client information, interaction history, and relevant data and metrics but can also keep track of producing reports, keeping track of properties, integrating with email and other communication platforms, all on one platform. Slack is accessible on all mobile devices and the web,” he said.

“Slack is a tool that offers features like real-time messaging, archiving, and search for teams. There’s also an added feature of syncing all your other remote tools with this software so that we can receive all the notifications in one place,” according to Jennifer Willy- Editor at Etia.com.

There are other similar tools too.

“Trello is a great organizational tool that can help any real estate agent. Its various cards feature, as well as its “to-do lists” help any company become more organized and productive in the long run,” according to Omair Khan, a consultant at Gigworker.

“Trello is an excellent task management tool for real estate agents to keep themselves organized and in control of everything. You can track each of your projects’ status, create lists, upload attachments, add due dates, have discussions, assign responsibilities, and monitor member activity. Trello will not only help you stay organized but also enable you to ensure everyone is accountable for their responsibilities,” according to Mr. Rostislav Shetman, Founder of 9Kilo Moving.”

“Trello is another tool that helps teams work more collaboratively and get more done. Dive into the details by adding comments, attachments, due dates, and more directly to Trello cards. Collaborate on projects from beginning to end,” said Willy. 

Glenn Norrgard of Sotheby’s International Realty Downtown Manhattan Brokerage, explains why CLOZE is another productive tool.

“In order to stay organized when dealing with so many forms of communication now, I rely heavily on CLOZE. It links all email, social media accounts, phone records, text records, and my calendar into one place to organize all my forms of communication by person or project. I can track past correspondence and communication and set up future reminders of things to do. I can also set up tasks that are repetitive so that when a new project (i.e., a new listing or buyer) comes up, I can assign them to that set of tasks, and CLOZE will remind me to get things done,” he said.

“I honestly could not LIVE without a CRM. I started using CLOZE a year ago, which is also Ninja customized for Sotheby’s International Realty, and it’s incredible. It tracks every call, email, and text. I can see my productivity, and I never miss a birthday and/or purchase anniversary,” according to Lissa Lebel of Sotheby’s International Realty Los Feliz Brokerage. Lissa learned the importance of having a good CRM early on when she was still getting her California real estate license. 

“Also another tool I could not live without is Microsoft Office 365. It all starts there. I put all my contacts there first. It’s Cloud-based and everything I add is automatically synced to CLOZE CRM,” she said.   

 

Real Estate Transaction Tools

There are several tools real estate agents can use to complete real estate deals easily and faster, especially now, when physical distance is a major concern. John Ryan, Chief Marketing Officer for Georgia Multiple Listing Service, shared several tools real estate agents can easily make the most of.

“With TransactionDesk, you can access and manage all of your real estate forms, contracts, documents, and contacts on your mobile device, via their free app. Your virtual real estate office is loaded with the tools you need to complete a real estate transaction quickly and accurately.”

“While the world is practicing social distancing, AuthentiSign, enables agents to create and legally e-sign contracts, removing the need to meet buyers and sellers in person.”  

“The MLS Tax Suite provides customizable and comprehensive access to property records, current tax data, prospecting tools, neighborhood comparables, and extensive mapping layers,” he said.   

 

Social Media Management Tools

Social media is now one of the core strategies in real estate marketing. What tool can you use to make the most of your social media efforts? 

“With technological advancement, many changes have taken place in various fields. Similarly, the job and work of real estate agents have also been modified. Hootsuite helps enterprise organizations understand the revenue and marketing results generated by social media. You’ll know the exact actions you need to increase results from your organic and paid social media content,” said Jennifer Willy. 

 

Virtual Tours Tools

Virtual tours are the new normal in house showing. According to John Ryan, Chief Marketing Officer for Georgia Multiple Listing Service, “Real estate agents are now looking for ways to cater to homebuyers that are quarantining at home. Virtual tours are a great way to keep buyers engaged in the market without violating social distancing guidelines.”

Ryan shared a list of apps and tools that accommodate virtual tours.

Showingtime allows members to set-up virtual tours online.

Homesnap has added the ability to create stories, almost identical to Facebook and Instagram stories (and can be pushed out in a single click on those social platforms, as well), making for an effective way to replicate the feeling of an open house.  

Paragon – Live Stream Open Houses With virtual open houses being a natural response to social distancing restrictions, Paragon has created a way to live-stream your open house.   

Schedule a time to go live, announce it to your social media audience. Then, using live streaming software like Facebook Live, Instagram Live or Zoom, conduct a live walk through of the property with viewers tuning in from the comfort of their home, interacting in real time through live comments.  

After the live stream is over, the virtual open house video becomes on-demand content, which can then be shared, downloaded, edited, and re-purposed. As an agent, you now have a house tour video that can be shared on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or even email.  

“One of the great advantages of running a virtual open house is that it allows you to show the property to many people at once, saving time and money for everyone,” said Ryan.

Omair Khan- a consultant at Gigworker, also shared his experience.

“YouTube is a great tool for real estate agents as it allows them to communicate with their clients through unconventional means. Youtube allows people to put together buyers guide video playlist and then share it on the channel to give potential clients an idea of things to look out for. This helps establish a bit of trust in the brands and helps make you stand out over the competitors. This will also help organize marketing content and make you stand out,” said Khan.

 

Virtual Assistants

Sometimes, all you need is a virtual assistant to help you stay organized. 

“I use a virtual assistant through a company called MyOutDesk. I have a dedicated person to me 40 hours per week that assists with contact management, transaction processing, social media placement, and taking all of the notes and things I write on “virtual” post-its and executes those tasks and then organizes into the project folder for that client or listing. She focuses on the organization and keeps me on track while I am out selling,” said Glenn Norrgard of Sotheby’s International Realty.

 

What if you can’t afford a virtual assistant or a secretary?

Albert Lee, founder of Home Living Lab shared the perfect solution.

“My tip for getting organized at work is to master technological aids and use them wisely. For an entry agent like myself who cannot afford a secretary, I have to rely on myself to schedule meetings, phone calls, and important tasks. While physical calendars, to-do list, and address books are helpful, they add to the clutter and sometimes look very overwhelming. I now make use of online organizers, which I can access via my computer or smartphone.”

“It can combine my calendar, to-do list, contact lists, address book into an integrated and user-friendly platform. It takes up much lesser real estate on my desk, and I can access it wherever I go. When it gets really hectic, it can also send pop-up reminders about deadlines. Although it may take some time to master, technology keeps me organized and saves me tons of time in the long run,” Lee said.