What this list is…
It’s a list of the stuff that every agent not only can be using, but should be using in running their businesses. Or, at least consider using them in your business.
What this list is not…
It’s not about what ever is the latest and greatest new shiny thing on the block.
Do you really have time for that?
Ain’t nobody got time for that…
What’s the deal with tools & apps…
It’s pretty simple. If a tool/app doesn't help you create more efficiency in how you run your business, or in how you’re communicating/marketing to your 4 and clients, then it’s most likely not worth your time.
Disclosures about this list…
Every tool and app that I recommend is purely authentic. I don’t have agreements or affiliate relationships with any other companies to push their services.
I do own Agent Redefined, and I have my Marketing Courses and training that I sell and I have those courses on my list at Number 27. They are awesome and cool and completely relevant to this discussion, but I placed them at the end of the list as a sort of bonus.
Now, let’s get to the list.
The Top 26 Tools & Apps for Real Estate Agents in 2016
by George Cuevas at Agent Redefined
1. Having an Online Presence 2. Your Database
3. Social Media (Personal Profile on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.) 4. Zillow & Trulia
5. Smart Phones and the iPad 6. Native Photo & Video Apps 7. DocuSign & DotLoop
8. Email Communications & Email Marketing 9. WordPress for Real Estate Agents
10. Facebook Dark Posts and Ads Manager/Power Editor on Facebook 11. Audiobooks, Podcasts, and Podcasting
12. Pre-Marketing Listings: Pro HDR w/Wide Angle Lens 13. Home Warranty's as a Branding Tool
14. Open Home Pro App
15. Rethinking Business Cards with Moo.com 16. The DSLR Camera
17. The Off Button 18. Bulletproof Coffee
19. Cloud Storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, The Box, iCloud Drive, and Carbonite 20. Intex Queen Size Blow-up Mattress w/Built in Electric Pump
21. Work-Life Balance
22. Steven Pressfield's the Resistance from his book "The War of Art"
23. Yelp
24. Real Estate Signs
25. Fascination Advantage by Sally Hogshead 26. The Mile iQ App
1. Having an Online Presence
It’s 2016, you simply cannot be running a business effectively if you don’t have a basic presence online. I know you can run your business still without one, but this doesn't make it right.
Unfortunately, there are no magic apps which can automatically create an online presence for you and your business.
The best way to start building an online presence is to have an Online Marketing Plan, and I have one for you here.
Today, an agent needs have both an Online Marketing Plan and an Offline one.
Below you can see the exact marketing plan I train agents on to help them build an online presence and correlate it with their offline marketing. Download this
Marketing Plan… CLICK HERE.
2. Your Database
It’s old school yes, but it’s the single most powerful weapon a real estate agent can have in 2016. Real Estate still is a people business.
Managing your relationships and sphere of influence is the difference between a struggling agent and one who is successful.
Do you have a database? If so, are you maintaining and working it?
3. Social Media
Every agent needs to work the basics, and I consider all three of these as absolutely necessary to utilize for your business.
Facebook: Your personal profile is your Online Database.
LinkedIn: Completely fill out your profile. Your LinkedIn Profile is NOT a resume. It’s WHAT you can DO for someone.
YouTube: It’s the second largest search engine in the world. At some point you just have to start making videos. I can tell you this: Video opens up doors for your
business.
4. Zillow & Trulia
I don’t care what you personally think or how you feel about these two websites.
The only reason why you should care about them is this: They have an
overwhelmingly dominate position in real estate searches taking place online.
Zillow and Trulia drive huge amounts of web traffic for real estate searches over to their websites using YOUR LISTINGS. It may be right, it may be wrong, but it is what it is.
Complete your profiles 100%, add Reviews, and add Closed Transactions to them.
Learn how to manage these profiles. They are part of building your online presence.
This is an example of a completed profile for Jeanne Dominguez, CLICK HERE to view it online.
5. Smart Phones and Tablets
Most real estate agents are using smart phones and tablets, but many don’t know how to get the most out of them. The camera quality of an iPhone or Galaxy for taking photos and videos is phenomenal. See this article I wrote about using an iPhone for making videos with. CLICK HERE.
Plus, you should be executing most of your contracts for your buyers via DocuSign or DotLoop from a mobile device when your in the field.
6. Photo & Video Apps
There is no shortage of Photo & Video apps out there. A lot of them are great, but do you really need them? Not really.
KIS: Keep it Simple
a: canva.com: This is the best online app for adding graphics to your photos. It can resize images for different platforms or you can customize sizes. It will take you about 15 minutes to learn how to use it. Just awesome. I don’t know how you can put together any marketing materials without it.
b: skitch.com: This is a very simple screen capture for your computer, iPhone, or Tablet. It lets you choose a specific area to capture and turn that into a JPG. Simple and easy.
c: The Native Video and Photo APP that comes with your phone is great. I use only the native app on my iPhone/iPad when taking photos or shooting videos to use in my own marketing. There are a lot of very cool apps that can give you more control and features, but I like to keep it simple when I can.
7. DocuSign & DotLoop
The Fax Machine is Dead, and it’s cruel to keep killing more trees.
Need I say more.
Pick one of these electronic signature platforms. Master using it and don’t look back.
Personally, I think DocuSign is a better app and software than DotLoop. Plus, if you’re not a fan of Zillow then you probably would not want to use DotLoop since Zillow owns them.
8. Email Communications & Email Marketing
First, email is just as important of a communication tool as your phone.
Don’t abuse it.
Rule No. 1: Simple Email Signatures.
Don’t overload your email signature. Many agents want to place every phone number, email address, picture, logo, social media links, awards, pictures of their cats, and even add a “I Love Referrals” tagline to their signature.
Please, NO MAS.
KIS (keep it simple)
Make sure your email signature has your Name, Phone Number, Email Address, and Website on it. People use email signatures to gather contact information easily and it can be aggravating when it’s not easily accessible.
Plus, make sure you have a complete email signature regardless of which device you’re sending an email from. (my email signature is on the next page)
Rule No 2: Stop Spamming
When it comes to email marketing and sending out marketing emails ask yourself one single questions before you press the SEND button:
“Would You Actually Enjoy Reading This Email If You Received It in Your Inbox? And, WOULD it be Valuable to YOU”
If the answer is NO, then DON’T send it.
Stop spamming and abusing your email list. Start creating and sending interesting, valuable, and/or entertaining emails to your email list.
Rule No 3: Have a professional email address.
It’s 2016. Please stop using AOL for your email address unless you want to look like a Dino. Also, if you have a Yahoo email address you will get tons of spam and your account will at some point get hacked. My 10 year old niece can set up a Yahoo email account. You should and can do better.
Get a professional address. It’s cheap, professional, and easy to set up. For my own emails for Agent Redefined I use Google Apps for Business. With this tool I’m able to use my domain and customize my email address to
Very cool, and only costs $5 a month which is worth it if you’re running your own business.
Best Apps for Email Marketing: AWeber, MailChimp, EMMA, Infusionsoft, ConvertKit.
Best Email Client Apps: Google Apps for Business (please don’t use GoDaddy for your email client, it sucks.)
9. WordPress for Real Estate Websites
It’s 2016, you need a website. It’s the central hub for your business online.
There are a lot of options available for websites. In the long-term WordPress is the best solution. You should own your own website, not RENT one.
I break down everything you need to know about real estate websites in this article… CLICK HERE to view it.
10. Facebook Dark Posts and the Power Editor
There’s no doubt that Facebook is a powerful social media platform. What’s even more amazing is Facebook’s advertising platform.
In 2015, Gary Vaynerchuk called Facebook the most incredible advertising platform the world has ever seen and he’s absolutely correct.
The Power Editor and Ads Manager are Facebook’s ad generating/targeting tool that you use when creating posts for your Fan Page.
Before you spend another $2000 on a USPS Every Door Direct campaign, take
$250 (budget to spend $10 a day mon-fri for 5 weeks) and learn how to use it funning some Facebook Ads. You can thank me after your first deal from it closes.
11. Learning from Audiobooks and Podcasts
Some of the best advise, training, and information you’ll ever receive about running a business and marketing comes from outside the real estate industry.
The real estate marketing gurus may have some decent advise when it comes to taking specific actions, but when it comes to marketing, social media, video,
websites, entrepreneurship, and motivation you’re going to have to go outside this industry to get the best info.
Today, learning can be done easily and when you’re on the go by listening to Audiobooks and Podcasts. They have had a huge influence on everything I do with running Agent Redefined and will have the same effect for you.
Check out my own real estate marketing podcast… CLICK HERE.
12. The PRO HDR app with a Wide Angle Lens from www.MomentLens.co
First, let’s define what HDR is. There’s a lot of real estate photographers and companies trying to sell you on HDR Photos for your listings.
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It’s a technique for making photos look awesome with a dramatic effect. You combine at least 3 photos taken at different exposures and the final product is your dramatic effect on the image.
It’s very cool what technology can do to make HDR photos on your phone or with professional photography software.
In my opinion HDR should should not be used for interior listing photos, but
absolutely should be used for exterior photos. HDR photos on the interior make the spaces and rooms look not real.
On the exterior though, people can appreciate bright blue skies and greenery.
As an agent, you’ll come across situations where you only need the exterior shots of a home or lot. In these situations, you can use your smartphone (iPhone) to take a very impressive photo which will be hard to tell apart from a photo taken by a DSLR camera.
These photos shown here were taken with an iPhone using the HDR Pro app.
The PRO HDR app makes creating an HDR image a simple process. The app will take three or more photos of the subject and combine them to create your HDR image.
Next, you need a Wide Angle Lens. When it comes to real estate photography you simply cannot capture any room, house, building, and/or lot without a Wide Angle Lens.
Moment Lens makes the best wide angle lens for smartphones.
Attach the wide angle lens to your phone, take the photo using the PRO HDR app, your image is created in 25 seconds.
The phone needs to be stable on a tripod when using the HDR Pro App. For this, I found the GLIF most useful. It’s a tripod adapter for smartphones. Go to
www.StudioNeat.com for more info on the GLIF.
13. Using Home Warranty's as a Branding and Marketing Tool
You’re in the business of selling homes and it’s not uncommon for homes to break.
Especially, within the first year of purchasing one.
Often Home Warranty’s can solve these problems. They are very much a major part of an agents Value Proposition for their clients and can make you look like a true expert/hero to your clients when they are needed.
If done correctly a Home Warranty can build a client for life.
I personally like HWA.
14. Open Home Pro app for Open House Marketing
No More Yellow Pads of Paper, PLEASE NO MORE…
You may or may not do open houses. But every agent does one at some point.
If you’re going to spend your time for sitting inside of an open house for 2 hours waiting for people to show up then have some refreshments ready for them, a big smile, some business cards, and a cool way to get their info.
Capturing their name and email should always be done on a tablet and the Open Home Pro app makes this easy and fun.
You can use a lot of different sign in tools from your mobile device, just as long as it’s easy to use for your visitors. The Open Home Pro app is in the iTunes App Store. www.OpenHomePro.com
15. Rethinking Business Cards with Moo
They are “Old School”, and some people say they are totally irrelevant in an online world. But, I think they are just as important today as they were 20 years ago.
Your business card is one small part of how you differentiate yourself with prospects and clients.
Everything about these cards is different.
If you’re going to pass out business cards, why do you want yours to look like every other agent out there?
I use 3-4 different designs and always tweak them a bit, but every time I hand one over to a new prospect it’s makes them look twice.
16. The DSLR Camera for Real Estate Photography & Virtual Tours
You don’t have to actually own one yourself, but someone on your team needs to have one.
You simply cannot photograph properties without a DSLR camera. Your iPhone can shoot some impressive photos when using a wide angle lens for your listings. But this really should only be used on your lower priced listings.
For everything, you need professional real estate photography. Plus, most DSLR
As an agent, you’re going to have listings and those listings need professional grade photography.
Can you sell a home without Professional Photography? YES And a lot of real estate agents do it everyday.
However, what does it say about you as an agent with a $250,000 listing and your using a smartphone to take the marketing pictures for it. (a smart phone without a wide angle lens and HDR Pro app).
It’s actually frustrating for buyers to search for properties online and see crappy photos because it’s hard to actually view the property online with them.
This is the whole point.
Today, the first showing is taking place online. Not at an open house, brokers open, or a physical showing.
Buyers today want to be able to see as much of the home online when they are searching.
This was the future like 5 years ago and it’s here now so start understanding this and adapt your business to it.
For creating Virtual Tours, the DSLR camera is just an awesome tool.
You can go to my media company website to view Photos and Virtual Tours I created using this DSLR camera in the picture.
Go to www.AgentRedefinedMedia.com to view all of the professional photos and virtual tours.
17. The Off Button
Sometimes you just need to disconnect yourself from the internet and your phone.
You might need to take a day off from work to recharge, or just for an hour while you complete a project.
The first time you try it, it will be tough. You will begin feeling lost and a deep fear of
“not being connected” will set in.
Don’t worry it will pass. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is for your mind, body, and soul to just disconnect sometimes.
I don’t do it enough, but when I do it’s always relieving.
18. Bulletproof Coffee
This is a tool and a whole different way to look at how you drink coffee and begin your mornings.
Just check it out online and thank me later. Go to www.BulletProofExec.com PS: I didn't even drink coffee until I tried Bulletproof.
19. Online Cloud Storage
Even with electronic signature apps you still will collect many online documents and photos when running your business. Keeping these solely on the hard drive of your computer is not good or safe option.
Your computer will crash and there’s no reason to fill the space on your hard drive with documents you don’t need to access daily.
You have 3 options available: www.Dropbox.com, Google Drive, and www.box.com.
Pick one, or even all 3, and don’t look back.
I use a combination of these tools for all my data, pictures, and video. But I’m a total geek with a ton of articles, ebooks, photos, and video which I need to store somewhere.
1. I keep video and photo files for all the listings I market on Dropbox.
2. I keep login and password info, PowerPoints, and some Word documents on Google Drive.
3. I keep all my working documents from Apple Pages and Keynote in iCloud.
Finally, I have to mention carbonite.com. It’s an awesome tool that keeps an automatic backup of all of your computer files 24/7. Every time you get online the app works behind the scenes backing up recently updated files so that you don’t have to do anything but let it work.
If you have a PC or Mac it works and I highly suggest at least using this if you don’t use any other online storage.
20. Intex Queen Size Blow-up Mattress w/Built-in Electronic Pump
At some point in your career you will sell an empty house which will not be staged.
Then, you’re posed with a question.
Should I stage this house, get the seller to stage it, or fuck it, just leave it empty.
I do believe every agent should at least provide Half-Staging for every empty home furniture less home (not for mold infested foreclosures). There are a lot of items you can pick up affordably for staging up kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms.
If done correctly, you’ve just upped your game as an agent in your market and your clients will appreciate your hustle.
This blow up mattress is awesome and affordable. You can get it on Amazon for about $65. It has the pump connected to it and sets up/folds up easily. When placed into a bedroom and covered with some nice dress pillows and a comforter you have a great staging mattress.
Not Staged.
Staged.
21 . Work - Life Balance
It’s simple. If you don’t take care of yourself, your body, your mind, your soul. Then you won’t be able to take care of your family and clients.
There’s a lot of systems out there for figuring out how to make this work best for you. I’ve been trying out different ones over the past year and I truly believe it’s a never ending process because our lives do change.
Identify what’s most important for you in your life.
Being an entrepreneur meads that your business is a major part of your life and it partly defines you.
Figuring out the balance between when does work start and end, and when does life start and end everyday is challenging.
I don’t believe there is one single system that can work for everyone, but you definitely have to try different ones to figure what works best for you.
For me, I try to stop working at certain times throughout the week, once I stop, I stop, no more emails, phone calls, etc…. after that point until the next day. It’s challenging at times, because work and life get busy, but so important to always be looking at how it’s being balanced out.
22. Steven Pressfield’s book “The War of Art”
I have both a physical copy and audio copy of this book. I listen to the audio version almost once a month (various chapters).
The very first time I tried to read this book I got to page 50 and stopped (it’s a big book). I didn't understand it at all and put it down.
Then I heard someone talk about the book somewhere and decided to
give it another shot. This time it connected with me and I understood
what the “Resistance” was.
If you’re having problems/issues with getting a project completed or reaching some business goals there’s a strong chance you’ve
encountered the Resistance.
This book will change the way you look at your work. Plus, you’ll begin to understand these mental blocks we place on ourselves, often without event knowing it.
Listen or read it, but at least check it out.
23. Yelp
So many real estate agents don’t use Yelp, and so many more buyers and sellers do use it.
Online reviews are used by just about everyone today. We look for
reviews of people, products, services, and companies when we are
searching for information before we make choices and purchases.
Yelp is just one of those places where you can make it easier for a new potential client to “check you out” online.
You don’t need every client to review you on Yelp, but at least get a
handful to review you every year. Make sure you have a completed profile and start maintaining it.
24. Real Estate Signs
Real estate signage always gets overlooked. We see many signs with ugly design elements and too much info on a small space.
Your signage represents the physical presentation of your brand to your market.
Potential homebuyers searching for properties online do drive-by’s on properties they’re interested and look for those signs.
The neighbors all will notice YOUR sign the same day it goes up, and they all want to know 3 things.
a. How much is the home selling for?
b. Why is their neighbor selling?
c. What does the home look like inside?
Your sign in front of that home represents you, so do the following.
a. Don’t put a QR Code on it. People in the U.S. don’t use QR codes.
b. Don’t overload it with too much information. Keep it Simple.
c. Use a Sign Post (where you can, obviously you can’t for a multifamily).
d. Don’t use H-Frames. Don’t use H-Frames. Don’t use H-Frames.
e. Put a Flyer Tube on the sign post and make sure it’s filled.
f. Use a “Coming Soon” rider on the sign before the listing goes live
(when you have the lead time). And use “Sold” Riders after you go
under contract and out of attorney review.
g. Make sure YOUR name is clear and easy to read. When you can you’re name should be larger than the name of your brokerage. (I know, I know, I know, some states and brokerage have rules about this. Make sure first you can do it. Your NAME is YOUR BRAND.) h. Use a clean simple design. Also, many brokerages have rules about
this. So it’s a case by case basis. When you can, design a clean simple look and color palette for your signage.
Just as a side note, I was a managing broker of an Exit franchise in Illinois. I thought the Exit logo and color palette was absolutely horrific. I designed my own signs and used them. Corporate gave me hell for it, but it was my brand I was concerned with first and foremost. Not a corporate office in a far away city.
25. Fascination Advantage by Sally Hogshead
There are a lot of personality assessments out there and many of them are great, like DISC.
However, when you begin marketing yourself and putting your business out there it’s important to understand how the world sees you.
This is what Sally Hogshead’s Fascination Advantage does.
It’s a test you take online and it will give you back a personality profile on how you appear to the outside world. She classifies these into
ARCHETYPES.
The test assesses what is fascinating about YOU.
In a fast paced online world it’s become more difficult to capture peoples attention. Therefore, you’re always trying to stand out in your marketing.
According to Sally, some of the best ways for you to stand out is to be
more of yourself in your marketing and communications.
It actually becomes the way you add more value to your clients and relationships.
Take her test online and start your journey into finding out what your ARCHETYPE is. Go to www.HowToFasinate.com
My Archetype is: THE AUTHENTIC. Agreeable, dependable, and accessible.
My Fascination Advantages are: Trust (Primary), and Passion (Secondary).
26. The Mile iQ App
A major tax right off for most real estate agents is their annual milage. Legally,
you’re supposed to keep a record of your business trips so ask your accountant for more detailed info.
This app makes keeping that record very simple.
You get the first 40 drives for free to try the app out.
If you want to use the full version is costs about $5.99 a month. I’m using it now to track all of my business drives.
Check with your accountant on all of your write-offs and see if getting a more accurate milage count will help you lower your tax bill to Uncle Sam.
Go to the MileiQ website… CLICK HERE.
BONUS No. 27: Creating an Online Marketing Plan
There are many different types of marketing strategies and techniques a real estate agent can use for generating leads. However, what works for one agent may not necessarily work for the next.
With the right Marketing Plan in place, a real estate agent can focus their time, money, and efforts towards targeted marketing strategies and tactics which works best for them.
Shooting blindly and throwing money at random marketing systems is no way to run the marketing of your business.
The Marketing Plan Course at Agent Redefined was designed to help agents build a foundation for executing an efficient and flexible marketing plan for your business.
This is a free course and you can take it now…. CLICK HERE
What is Agent Redefined?
This list of tools and apps for agents is just part of what we do here at Agent Redefined.
This website is a place where you can get answers to all of the questions you have about real estate marketing through my courses, podcast,
videos, and blog articles.
Who’s it for?
Real Estate Agents who are looking for better ways to market their brand and listings online, and don’t have time hyped up marketing tactics which don’t work.
What Should You Do Next?
Take this information and use it. It’s truly authentic material without commercial interests tied to it except for this offer…
Marketing Courses at Agent Redefined
I’ve spent the past 3 years developing the marketing courses here at Agent Redefined, and they are pretty awesome. Check them all out at www.AgentRedefined.com
Who is George Cuevas?
I was a former real estate agent, managing broker, and I just love working in real estate.
A few years ago I wanted to learn more about marketing my own brand and listings online. I felt like I could do more and attended every real estate marketing and
technology event I could find.
What I found was a lot of hype, ton’s of BS, and plenty of people trying to sell me stuff I didn't need.
So I decided to figure this all out on my own and shared my findings on a blog which became Agent Redefined.
Today, I don’t promise you the world or even claim to be the foremost expert on real estate marketing, but I know a few things that I believe you’ll want to know about using Video, Social Media, Websites, and Listings Marketing.
Everything I teach has been tried and tested here in Chicago with a group of about 30 agents whom I work with on a regular base.
With this group of agents I consult with them regularly on marketing, and I photograph, produce virtual tours, and market their listings.
This all keeps me on the ground with the actual day to day marketing a real estate agent encounters.
If you would like to learn more contact me direct today.
