Working hard without sweating: 3 real estate productivity tools

Most real estate agents work really hard for their clients but their clients just don’t know it.  Like a star in any profession, the great ones make it look easy.

But here’s the rub — most clients don’t think agents are working hard enough to justify the 6% that they’ll have to part with when the “Sold” sign appears in the front yard. This means by making it look easy, client satisfaction may actually suffer.  

A recent study examining client satisfaction and real estate agent commissions suggests that there is a link between client satisfaction and the frequency of communication by the real estate agent.

Source:  University of Central Florida Department of Psychology via Inman News

The challenge for agents is striking the right balance of shielding your client from the rigors of the listing and selling process while articulating the value that you bring.  In short, you’ve got to keep marketing to your client before the sale, while the listing is active and after the sale is finished.

Fortunately, technology has come to the rescue and can give you the extra assistance you need to show your clients what you are doing on their behalf.  Here is a list of a few productivity tools agents have told us are useful for saving time managing in client interactions:

1. DocuSign 

Think it’s impressive when you drive across town to deliver documents and get your clients signature? Sure you’ve gone the extra mile, but maybe they’d be more impressed if signatures could be handled digitally. With DocuSign you can securely send important papers for client review so the can sign them on their time, on any device. You reduce potential travel costs for both you and your client and look like a digital super star.

2. Evernote

Impress your clients with your ready access to everything — client communications, MLS documents, photos — from any device including your computer, tablet or smartphone.  No fumbling or forgetting, Evernote makes you look super organized and responsive.  Krisstina Wise of The GoodLife Team in Austin TX. has great tips on how to use Evernote for Real Estate.

3.  Slydial

Ever need to get a message to a client but don’t have time for a long chat? Or don’t have a free hand to email or text? Or a way to dictate your next brilliant idea?  We think you’ll love Slydial. This free service lets you call your clients voicemail (or your colleagues) directly when you don’t actually need to speak with them in real-time (e.g. status updates on selling progress, appointment times, etc). They’ll be impressed and amazed by your personally delivered messages!

Do you have other productivity tools that you like to use? Let us know in a comment below!