Covid-19 has made it challenging to work in real estate. Real estate agents have been forced to change how they communicate, how they market, how they show properties, and how they help buyers and sellers complete real estate transactions. This is why we recommend these five real estate software tools to help agents become tech-savvy and more productive in 2021.
IXACT Contact
As a real estate CRM, IXACT Contact helps realtors build a profitable and growing business by closing the gap between clients and valuable properties. It offers marketing automation, social media promotion, and lead conversion. It also makes it possible for you to create a new agent website quickly. Furthermore, this program makes it easy to manage your database of clients so you can keep in touch with past clients and get more referrals. Features of IXACT Contact include:
- Brand building
- Social media automation
- Email marketing
- Contact organization and management
- Keep-in-Touch dashboard
- Online personal assistant
- Mobile application
A free trial of IXACT Contact is available without commitment, and pricing starts from $33 monthly if billed annually.
Maptive
Maptive is a provider of commercial real estate mapping software. Mapping software allows real estate agents to educate potential buyers about available properties so they can find and purchase a property their happy with. This software allows agents to upload or input their location-based data so you can instantly plot it on an interactive map. It can then be compared to its close competitive locations using Maptive’s powerful connection to Google Places Data. The map you create can be customized using a variety of mapping tools. For instance, you can add demographics, divide your map into different territories, filter which data appears, and use the drawing tool to modify the map graphically. Other features of Maptive include:
- Heat maps
- Territory tool
- Pin maps
- Turn by turn navigation
- Route optimization
- Ability to upload custom markers and imagers
- Google geographic search
- Satellite image mapping
- Ability to share, print, and embed maps
Propertybase
An all-in-one growth solution, Propertybase offers marketing tools, lead generation, and a CRM solution. Propertybase has marketing tools for email, social media, and marketing automation. Its lead generation solution helps agents create branded web pages and ad campaigns, in addition to following up on leads. Furthermore, the CRM solution allows agents to build, grow, and nurture relationships with clients. Other features of this program include:
- The ability to generate buyer and seller leads
- The ability to send follow-up texts
- The ability to manage listings
- The ability to create and manage marketing and drip campaigns
DocuSign
DocuSign allows documents to be signed electronically, so there’s no need for agents to meet with their clients in person, which is a huge advantage in Covid times. With DocuSign, agents can securely create and upload contracts and other documents. They can also assign fields that need to be completed or signed and then email the documents to each party for completion. Additionally, reminders are sent to each person, and the agent gets notifications when each person views, signs, and returns the documents. Other features of this tool include:
- Integration with Salesforce, Workday, and SAP
- Contract analytics
- Organized, automated document workflows
- Ability to take payments
QuickBooks Online
A full-featured accounting software, QuickBooks Online is easy to use and easily adapted to real estate companies by using the class and location tracking feature. This features functions by allowing you to define classes for each of your real estate segments and then adding the locations for each property. Additionally, you can customize QuickBooks’ vast array of reports, so they include only the classes and locations you choose. This means that you can look at a specific building’s profitability by running a report that shows only those units or locations within the building. Features of QuickBooks include:
- Integration with QuickBooks Payments to schedule automatic monthly e-payments
- A mobile app that offers mileage tracking and receipt capture
- Ability to maximize tax deductions
- Ability to send estimates
Conclusion
The reality of life during Covid-19 is that most of what real estate agents do must be done virtually. This is why agents must have the best software tools at their disposal. They need a CRM, a data mapping tool, a marketing program, the ability to create and sign digital contracts, and accounting software. With these tools in hand, real estate agents will not only survive this pandemic but will be able to thrive.
