A new year means it’s time to identify new tools and technology that could benefit your business in 2018 and beyond. Top realtors will tell you the importance of tools that save time. Time is money in the real estate industry. Tools to help agents become more efficient are becoming easier to use and access every day. Having a stack of effective marketing tools will help you generate more leads and showcase your personal brand in front of potential prospects. Also, staying organized will allow you to stay on top of all your conversations and communications to properly walk prospects through a customer acquisition journey.
Google Alerts is a content change detection and notification service, offered by Google. Any time that new content is created, or existing content is updated on your chosen topics, you will receive an email notification with a link to access the article, journal, blog etc. Use these alerts to stay on top of industry content that relates to you. For example, you can choose Chicago neighborhoods that you want to learn more about or want to monitor any and all information published about them. Or on the contrary, you can use google to monitor any mentions of you, your business, or brokerage. This is a great way to find good reviews on yourself that you may not have known about.
Aside from the platform being very user friendly, it’s free! Mailchimp is a great marketing platform that lets you automate email campaigns to segmented groups of clients and prospects. You can create a signup form that lives on your website and promotes interested prospects to sign up with contact information to be contacted by you. You can also target prospects by buying interest and send campaigns and information that is valuable to them. For example, if you create an email list of prospects who are looking to move to Lincoln Park, you can send content on new listings or information on how the neighborhood is improving. After placing a client into a home, stay in touch and ask for referrals by occasionally sending them useful content and maintaining an open relationship.
A major component of every real estate training program is how to stay organized with contracts and appropriate documentation. DocuSign is an online service that provides a fast and secure way to sign, send and store documents in a cloud. All of your contracts, proposals, and projects can be easily accessible and you can monitor when they are opened, viewed, and signed by clients. You can easily share your documents with anyone involved in the sales process and they are able to access them from any mobile or computer device allowing you get documents to clients, anywhere at anytime.
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Canva has long dominated the DIY design space. The web based site offers hundreds of modern design templates for social media, presentations, online ads, flyers and just about any other marketing material you can think of or need. They also give you graphics and fonts to design your own from scratch. Whether you need content for Instagram or a long-form asset, like an ebook or guide, Canva can help your brand design remain consistent, yet unique without paying for a designer.
Learning to become a better real estate agent means finding what works for you and creating your own best practices. These tools have been recommended from top realtors, but ultimately it comes down to you incorporating them into your business to become more effective and close more deals. Identifying your goals and business objectives can help you best pick the tools that may be most useful for you.