I’m Not Tech Savvy
Training across North America, at least half of my students consider themselves technologically challenged. There is a huge a technology divide in real estate. Some agents are extremely savvy, but they rely so heavily on technology that they’re losing their sales skills. Other agents have fabulous sales skills, but they can’t operate their computer to save their life.
Technology is not a new concept. We’ve been using computers in our offices for over 30 years. To throw your hands up and not embrace technology in your business only ensures your extinction. There are three areas where technology is critical in your business:
MARKETING YOUR LISTINGS:
Listing agents are paid to be marketing experts. Almost all buyers search online today. You can’t consider yourself a marketing expert unless you understand and fully embrace digital marketing. Relying on your marketing department to promote your listings is not a solution. If you don’t embrace online marketing, you are hurting your sellers by not getting them the exposure they deserve. The better you are at marketing, the more houses you will sell, and the more money you will make. It’s that simple.
STAYING IN TOUCH WITH YOUR SPHERE:
A great CRM system not only keeps your business organized, it allows you to stay in touch with your sphere on a consistent basis with the touch of a button. No more excuses for losing touch with past clients. Constant, high-quality touchpoints throughout the year reminds everyone to send referrals your way. If you don’t use your CRM system properly, it is costing your thousands and making you work harder than you need to.
SYSTEMIZING YOUR BUSINESS
Adopting the right hardware and software in your business will increase your efficiency tenfold. It starts with a good laptop. You don’t need a computer that will run NASA, but you need a laptop or tablet that is no more than 3 years old. It must be fast enough to quickly load your software and have a large enough screen that works well at listing presentations. You need a phone that is no more than 3 years old, after all, you are a road warrior and you need access to everything while you away from the office. Make sure you can Wi-Fi hotspot from your phone to your laptop, so you never have to ask clients for their Wi-Fi password. And this last one is critical…save your files to the cloud (e.g. Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox) so you can access them from any device. If your computer crashes, you simply sign into your cloud account and you have access to everything.
Not understanding how to use your technology is like buying a car and never taking driving lessons. The best advice I can give you…if you don’t know how to do something…Google it!
Chris Leader
President
Leader’s Edge Training