Real Estate needs to be Medium Tech

I love the latest tech tools like measuring apps and floor plans to CRM’s and mapping tools but is there a point where its too much?  Is there a point that you cross the line from being irrelevant to being just busy keeping up with the latest?  What I mean by this is when do we stop learning and using new apps and tools and just get down to selling real estate, the way we earn our living.

I was on the phone late last night with a respected colleague of mine who had done research for a selling team regarding how much time they spend on their CRM data entry and management versus just hand written logs of calls they were making and meetings they had.  Their productivity skyrocketed because the focus was on the job not the data entry.  There are times where I find myself spending hours learning a new tool for business that I really just use once and had I focused that time on a new client I may have had earned an extra commission or a referral but instead I was caught up with the latest and great tech.  Here are a few suggestions I have to keep you moving on your business and focused on being medium tech in a high tech world.

1. CRM – If you are spending more time on data entry and maintaining a CRM software then making new contacts in business you need to stop now.  The point of a CRM is to manage your busy new leads and if it is keeping you from creating new leads its  a hazard to your growth.  Set aside 10 minutes a day to update and manage new data and move on.  I promise you will not miss out if you are creating new business instead.
2. Mobile apps – Take a day to study the mobile apps you use and ones that may create value to your business.  Pick a couple that are critical and you know well as your go to apps and then discard the rest of them or stop using them.  I have found myself mapping, then measuring, then drawing, then posting and posting, then sharing, then uploading and soon I have spent 2 hours getting all my fancy applications in use for a property when I could have been prospecting or just listing the property as it is.  There is no need for a lot of the tools we are shown and I suggest minimizing the ones you have in hand.
3. The Phone – As high tech and amazing as they are I rarely use my smartphone to make my prospecting calls.  I sit at my computer and use my google phone account with headphones on and focus on the calls.  What happens when I am using my cell phone is right when I get in the groove of working my phone list, a text comes through or a Facebook notification comes up and now I am not making calls but managing my apps again.  I actually put my phone away and work from my laptop for about an hour or 2 and monitor my messaging and activities from there where I can multitask a lot easier or just shut them off all together.

Being high tech is cool and a lot of fun but when it comes to business the only thing you need is what works.  I had a mentor that never let go of his phone and never had his own computer.  He saw his phone as the most valuable tool he had and focused on it versus muddying up his day with new “maybe” tools.  I suggest finding a few tools that you can’t live without that don’t dominate your time and stick to those.  Take a regular tech day to discover and evaluate new tech but becoming absorbed in new versus what is already working can kill your business.  Good luck!

Curt has been in the Indianapolis Real Estate business for over 10 years and spent his first years learning all aspects of commercial management and brokerage.  He has had great success in managing existing commercial projects and new retail and office developments.  Curt specializes in building owner representation and purchases in the Westfield Indiana market as well throughout the Indianapolis Metro area.  Curt is passionate about growing the local Westfield community and in his free time  volunteers with Westfield Youth Assistance and raising 2 children with his wife Jennifer.