A few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled “Enough Already” that received a lot of great feedback from so many of you. My basic premise was that many people are spending so much time trying to learn the seemingly endless amount of new technologies that come out that they are not spending enough time actually growing their businesses.
To be clear, I am not anti-technology. I think there are tools out there that can be your best friend as an agent – if you make it a point to implement them. For this week’s article I have asked my good friend Jeff Lobb to give me his top 12 go-to apps for real estate professionals. Jeff is the VP of Technology & Innovation at Exit Realty Corp. Intl. He speaks to real estate agents all over North America on how to better use technology within their businesses and is an expert in the field.
Below are the 12 apps that Jeff recommends. My favorite by far is “CamScanner.” You will never have to go back to the office and fax or scan something again. Check it out – it is amazing! Enjoy.
Realtor.com – This is the go-to search app if you don’t have your own branded app, useful for both consumers and agents. Its mapping features are awesome and you can “draw” a circle around your desired neighborhood to find all the homes for sale within it. The app has competitor information so make sure that you utilize the “Send to Agent Feature.” Once its activated, all your clients home inquiries go directly to you.
Evernote – This app is the external brain for every busy professional. Checklists, photos, audio, shareable notebooks, document importing, and its cross-platform synching make managing your business a snap.
OpenHome Pro – This is an iPad only app. It has an incredible feature set for doing consumer open houses, broker opens and marketing homes to open house guests – and guests love completing mini surveys and registering on an iPad. It’s great for getting contact information.
iAnnotate – This is my favorite PDF app – take notes, sign contracts, highlight and take notes.
Pixeet 360 Tours – Free iPhone app but a lens kit is needed, which can be purchased at www.pixeet.com – create easy and free interactive 360 tours with built in Google maps and augmented reality. It’s gorgeous when played on an iPad. The Android app is coming soon.
BombBomb – Templated Video Emails with great tracking capabilities. This app is an extention of Bombbomb.com – amazing customer service.
Homesnap – Take a photo with your iPhone and instantly get public data, approximate value and info about any house with this free app. This app is an absolute game changer.
Zillow – Your clients are using this one and so should you. It includes prior sold information, mapping and agent information.
Flipboard – This is one of the favorites for busy people. You set up your account with all the social media streams and blogs that interest you and flipboard brings it all into a beautiful magazine format so you get all your info in ONE place.
CamScanner – Need to scan something on the road? Use this app to do it. Instantly turns the photo into an emailable pdf document – very useful and accurate.
Trulia Apps – Trulia is available for Droid & iPhone – but as of right now, Trulia Rentals and Trulia Agent are iPhone only. Trulia’s app suite is part of the arsenal. Trulia’s consumer app is a handy search tool with geo-locating features. It’s excellent with rentals – it geolocates all rentals in a particular location with pricing and listing info – and allows agents to access their Trulia Profiles and Lead Center for free from whereever they are. Never miss a free lead again.
Instagram – Photo-sharing at its best – with a basic photo editing feature set – this app instantly uploads to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, 4Square and several other social networks.
My advice is to pick your top 5 and see the difference they make in your business!
Fop more information on Jeff Lobb, www.jlobb.com.
Jared James is the CEO and Founder of Jared James Enterprises, an internationally sought-after speaker and trainer. James built one of the fastest-growing real estate teams in the country, was inducted into the International Hall of Fame for one of the world’s largest real estate companies and wrote a best-selling book—all before the age of 28. As an acclaimed speaker, James keynotes events for major real estate organizations and conducts regular webinars and training for nationally known organizations like NAR, CRS, Yahoo Real Estate,Trulia and Zillow Academy and blogs regularly for RISMedia.
To stay in touch with Jared James, visit www.facebook.com/jaredjamestoday and www.twitter.com/jaredjamestoday or visit his website at www.jaredjamestoday.com.
