TABLE OF CONTENTS Click on product name for review Top Producer Ezflix Canva RealtyJuggler Box MailChimp Doorsteps Evernote Swipe HomePrezzo Propertybase Pinterest Portable charging devices Shoeboxed TinyLetter Beegit Homesnap Pro Sprout Social AM Open House Constant Contact Realvolve Adobe Acrobat DC Marketo Rignite AgentPair Nekst Hatchbuck WebsiteBox RealtyBackOffice Studeo Dizzle Charlie Obeo WingWire Placester Agent Evolution Google search algorithm Basecamp HomeZada HomeKeepr TECHNOLOGY TopProducer CRM connects prospect data with business best practices Integration and interface are top qualities of TopProducer STAFF by Craig Rowe on Mar 2, 2015 Editor’s note: This week, Inman is launching a brand-new daily series of articles focused specifically on evaluating the technology you use in your real estate business. Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our expert? Email him at [email protected]. The pitch Most people would agree that the person who knows it all isn’t that much fun to be around. And that’s who I think of when initially describing TopProducer CRM (customer relationship manager). Whatever question you have about its capabilities, there’s a feature with an answer. When it comes to software, an answer for everything often translates into paying for features you won’t use. However, when it comes to getting a handle on the ever-malleable world of real estate lead management, it’s good to know that omnipotent friend of yours is available anywhere, any time. The sale If there’s a euphemism for “collaborating with other software,” it exists in TopProducer’s training content. This on-premise and mobile CRM platform is connected, linked and integrated cloud-wide. Because real estate agents often secure leads in multiple ways in multiple places, it’s easy to be spread data-thin. (Data loses value if not consolidated.) So TopProducer funnels multiple tributaries of prospect data into a single, manageable reservoir of information. For example, it can shake hands with Gmail Outlook, and even your social media profiles. Even better is the platform’s ability to reach Google Drive and Dropbox. Online document workflow has become important — if not vital — given the pace of modern mobile business and the inability of paper-based processes to efficiently propagate data. For TopProducer users, this means you can pull critical transaction content from a central source, instead of manually filtering through various desktop folders to locate the most recent version of a listing agreement. This CRM also excels in lead management. Prospects generated from listing sites, like realtor.com and Zillow, become part of an automated reminder and lead development engine. This materializes in the interface as a feature called “contextual coaching.” Contextual coaching assists users with when and how to communicate with leads. If you make a call, the system generates a prompt asking you to record the details. Was it successful? Do you want to take notes? It then asks you to select a method and time to get back in touch. Integrating these crucial steps into a single action takes away one’s propensity to “do it later,” and bolsters good sales habits. Smartphones and tablets have introduced us to visually bold, fluid methods of interaction with our devices and data. Traditional CRMs are inherently clinical and Excel-like, great at providing data, but typically terrible at presenting it. TopProducer’s interface is sharp and easy; it makes for a compelling user experience. There are a number of seemingly useful appendages that come a la carte, but like tacos without guacamole and hot sauce, you can’t have the meal without the sides. In this case, the chef’s specials are a Market Snapshot, a hyperlocal market data aggregator; and FiveStreet, a lead cultivation tool. Both will be essential bolt-ons for getting the most of your investment. The close Ultimately, no software package in the world can make you use it. Good CRMs are hard to find and usually even more tedious to use. With visually ergonomic interfaces and smart data partnerships, I think the TopProducer team is making us forget about what a CRM is and showing us what a CRM should be. TECHNOLOGY Create content, not clickbait, with Canva Canva can help marketing-savvy agents earn a social media audience STAFF by Craig Rowe on Mar 3, 2015 Editor’s note: This week, Inman is launching a brand-new daily series of articles focused specifically on evaluating the technology you use in your real estate business. Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our expert? Email him at [email protected]. The pitch When it comes to your social media marketing, never try to make something viral. (Even typing that clichéd bit of jargon makes me wince.) Instead, create content that is useful to people who need to know something about real estate. Make it fun, generate curiosity, and try to communicate something you want clients to know about you. Don’t just randomly share. Instead, create. Canva.com is a powerful and easy tool that can help you do just that. It uses formatted “canvases” for multiple forms of social and business media, such as Facebook posts, infographics, brochures and email headers. Canva comes out of the box — or browser, rather — with an immense library of photos, graphics, symbols, layouts and text arrangements for you to use. Most are free, some cost $1 per use. There is no subscription fee. (Yet.) You can also use Canva to quickly build real estate fliers. So let’s start there. The sale Canva makes registration easy, as well as the process by which you can link a payment method to pay for fee-based content. Even though it’s made very clear what’s free and what isn’t, the dollars can add up fast; be wary. To remedy that, I recommend taking full advantage of Canva’s upload and Facebook connect features, which allow you to access images on a local drive or your Facebook account. Canva’s selection of existing real estate flier designs exhibit contemporary design themes; these aren’t lame Word templates. When all the cozy breakfast nook and amazing bonus room photos are in place, you can download your work as a high-quality PDF or shareable digital image. If you use any fee-based artwork, you are shown a billing summary upon download. The admin tools let you easily track your invoices for expensing. Naturally, what good is online content if you can’t share it? Canva makes it very easy to send what you create directly to Facebook or Twitter right after you save it. Everything about Canva is easy. The software not only helps you build shareable real estate content, but it also inspires you to create with its layout options. Click to add headers, enrich backgrounds or place body text. Everything is grab, drag and drop, so you can swiftly design graphs for market reports, embed your headshot and hit share. If you’re short on visuals, Canva’s embedded an extensive database of images, symbols and graphics categorized by themes such as travel, food, arrows, animals, charts, icons and buttons. It’s a great way to make graphics for your own website, too, not just social media. I’ve noticed on several occasions that Canva will shudder at times when you’re working with picture-heavy presentations. A bug exists that sometimes downloads an inaccurate version of your image; for example, text in blue will download in red. However, I’ve found that a second download (you have 24 hours of usage for paid imagery) usually fixes the issue. Canva’s newly launched Design School is an excellent resource to help you understand how visual ergonomics drive effective, shareable designs. It uses case studies, blog posts, tutorials and actual examples from the pros to release your inner Warhol. The close Anyone who tells you social media and content marketing isn’t changing the way real estate is sold is either hopelessly antiquated or simply tech-phobic. The war for keywords is over; the battle for online attention is being waged with shareable content. Granted, there is getting the business, and then there is doing the business. The right content can help you get it. It’s up to you to close it. I find Canva.com to be an exceptionally easy content creation tool and a terrific alternative to expensive graphic design software. Have you used this product? What did you think? Leave a comment and let us know! Do you have a product for our tech expert to review? Email Craig Rowe. TECHNOLOGY Think inside the Box Business content management can make your real estate office better STAFF by Craig Rowe on Mar 4, 2015 Editor’s note: This week, Inman is launching a brand-new daily series of articles focused specifically on evaluating the technology you use in your real estate business. Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our expert? Email him at [email protected]. The pitch By the end of this quarter, Apple will sell more than 21 million iPads. Tablet PC sales will surpass 57 million units this year. Last year in the United States alone, smartphone sales were valued at more than $40 billion. Yes, with a “b.” So it’s probably time we admit it: Via laptop or smart watch, hotel Wi-Fi or smartphone, we are perpetually connected and forever Web-enabled. This especially applies to real estate agents. That said, with so many critical communications and vital transaction information being received and replicated throughout this proverbial device stew, how well are we controlling the veracity of our information? Is that offer to purchase and contract that you just looked at the latest version? Did you delete that email? Document management is a compelling issue for today’s real estate agents.