By Shirleen Von Hoffmann Business Development Coach for HBE and Vortex Sales Solutions™

 

If you are not using an I Pad for your presentations, you would be amazed at how it can change your life!  It can:

  • Help you be more efficient with your customer
  • Stand out from the competition,
  • Perform follow up with little or no effort
  • Increase your sales, making you a Top Producing Agent

As one of my Agents said, it also offers up a third party view of the world which makes my case more relevant!  With the internet at your fingertips, when you are in action with your client you will have access to any article you may need to make your case more relevant to a client.  Whether it be a first time homebuyer article or the tax advantages of homeownership article.  With the swipe of a finger, if you have already preloaded the article you can have it up and ready for your client to view or ready to email to them.

 

I have spent some time loading up my IPad with apps and playing with them so I can share with you, my favorites, so far.  This one article will save you a ton of time when it comes to research and help you to be the best you can be!  So enjoy, compliments of The Queen!

 

Google Earth  – Your Map – Cost Free

Plug in your community address and google earth will always open up to it with one touch. Then you can use it as a live, in color, rich, 3D, map to show them with a swipe where the shopping is, where the schools are, where the theatre is…Far different from the map that might be on the wall in the sales office.

 

Drop Box  – Your BrochureCost Free

You can upload your brochure or any PDF documents that you want to show your clients while you are in the field.  One press of the button and your plans, elevations, builder story…comes up for review. It’s also great for sharing documents.

 

Eye JotAmazing Follow Up Possibilities – Cost 99.00 per year

Eye Jot lets you send video emails.  My friend Mike Lyon turned me on to this app and I love it. I have actually discovered some new ways to use it other than video email.  Not only does it give you the opportunity to send video emails to your clients, easy to follow up but can you imagine being on site with your IPad and their flooring is going in and you are saying Hi via an video email and you turn the Ipad to show them the flooring guys laying their new floor!  Can you imagine how excited they might be to get an email from you like that?  Who else would do that?  Or you could send them a video of you standing on the lot they are going to buy and as they drive away you have sent them a video ( memory) of their lot and you are congratulating them on their purchase and giving them something to share with family and friends, thus giving you more exposure to new clients!

 

Smilebox & Picsicle – Your Personal Follow Up   Cost Free

Smilebox let’s you take pictures and enhance them with different icons and images and send in an email with a message. Smile box is great for follow up.  Again, if you took a picture of your clients standing in front of the home they are buying or on the lot, it allows you to place cute hearts…borders…and a personal message and email to them.  Once again making a memory and giving them a souvenir to share with their family and friends.

 

Google Calendar  – Your Day PlannerCost: Free

This app will allow you to make changes on my smartphone that then reflect on my Mac or iPad.

 

Evernote, Sound Note and Notability  –  A Note Pad/Audio Recorder – Cost: Free

It’s a great tool for real estate agents to use with clients, especially when working with buyers and showing homes or doing a final walk-through. It’s a great way to jot down notes as you are out and about and see something that inspires a new blog post.Having all of your active contracts here is extremely helpful when a question comes up, such as an approaching deadline, etc. I also use the file-sharing capabilities to share things with both my agents and the clients I am currently working with.

 

Postagram – Post Card Follow Up- Cost $1.00

Allows you to take a picture, add some cute borders, clip art, a message and will send an automatic color picture postcard to your client for $1.00

 

Snap SeedYour Photo Editor –  Cost Free

Allows you to take a photo and enhance it in many ways.  Useful for any type of property photo where you would like to change the tones or image.

 

Path   Cost: Free

This App shares content to your different social channels.  You don’t really use it as a stand-alone social network (while it is that); You really use it for the ease of posting to, say, Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare all at once.

 

IDoc Expert  – Your Binder – Cost Free

If you are used to carrying a binder around for anything, this will take the place of a binder allowing you to upload documents, pictures…

 

360 Pan CamCost Free

Allows you to take a picture of the entire room, or the entire sight in panoramic and send it to your clients as a picture.  Think about all the possibilities you can use for your clients!

 

CamCardYour Business Cards Contact List – Cost Free

This allows you to take a picture of a business card and it files it in your database.  You will never need to take another business card again.

 

PDF ExpertCost Free

Allows you to load and email your contracts for signings or any PDF documents.

 

Zillow MortgagesYour HP12C – Cost Free

Calculates payments so easily it’s amazing!  One of my favorite apps.  Also does quick prequals. One swipe and you can realize many different payment options for your clients.

 

Mail chimpYour Database Manager – Cost Free

Allows you to contact your database for free.  Send large quantity emails.

 

Houzz  – Your Model Home & Option Pricing – Cost Free

This app allows you to add your model home pics and tag the various options throughout the home with price tags of costs.

 

Face Time, Skype – Your Face Phone – Cost Free

Allows you to call, see and talk to your clients via computer screen.

 

SpectraTranslation Tool – Cost Free

Will translate the spoken or written word in many different languages, so you can communicate with your foreign buyers, better.

 

REALTOR.com Cost: Free

This app is better and different from realtor.com on your PC.  You can see what’s available around you. Being able to share things like the average price per square foot in the area, or what comparable homes are selling for, or what a used homes look like and the repairs that might be involved verses a new home.

 

Google Currents & Zite- Your Social Media Time Savers –  Cost: Free

Zite learns what you like to read and indexes what your friends are talking about most in social networks. Google Currents makes it easy to keep track of new content posted to my favorite site. Both of these help you stay up to date with what’s going on in real estate, social media, finance.