Six Ways For Realtors to Start with Evernote

In any successful realty firm, there comes when you start looking at technology that can take your business to the next level. Growth comes with many upsides, but also with growing pains like more paperwork from more employees working from the road. All of this can be a bit overwhelming, making it a struggle to stay updated on accounts.

In my search, I've discovered Evernote as a tool that has helped me organize, store and share with my team and clients. It's accessible on almost any device, so you can use your tablet and phone when you're on site, and your desktop when you're in the office or at home. It also stores audio files and clips from websites for reference later, because you never know where new leads might pop up.

There are many ways for agents to get started with Evernote, so to provide some inspiration I want to share six jumping off points:

• For staying legal and compliant - A big reason to use Evernote is to keep yourself legal. Keep disclosure documents, emails between the agent and client, etc. all in one notebook for each transaction. It is critical to log all communications for legal reasons and you can do it automatically with Evernote by CC'ing the email to your notebook address on emails or by using IFTTT. Realtors here in CA are required to keep all documents pertaining to a sale for seven years, something you easily can do that in Evernote.
• For All Things Communication - Use Evernote to share all those critical documents and information with clients or among your internal team, which can be easily referenced from any mobile device or desktop. Instead of crawling through files and emails that are currently spread out everywhere, collaborating through Evernote makes ideas and documents easy to reference.

• For Tracking Sales - With an Evernote Notebook for each client, all parties involved can stay clear on transaction statuses and where legal documents stand. Clients can also reference their options and contribute to the Notebook with audio feedback over video tours of potential houses. And, so you don't lose track of potential leads, start by storing all pertinent info in one notebook. Evernote also has custom tools to let you mark up images or screenshots, or clip listings straight from websites.
• For Marketing - Look like a true local expert by starting an Evernote Notebook for each neighborhood you sell in, highlighting the best local resources, sights, eats, schools, and moving companies. Link to the notebook and share this insight with clients and promote on your personal site.
• For Saving Time - Make sure those documents you have to process with every sale have templates ready to go in one Notebook. That way your team can easily find the latest version of whatever they need, without spending extra time digging.
• For Networking - With the Evernote Business account, you can digitize all those piles of business cards you know you'll lose otherwise. Evernote has a special camera designed for reading business cards, which pulls out the pertinent contact info, plus it automatically connects with LinkedIn to provide a deeper profile along with a picture for association.

There are plenty of other creative uses agents and their teams have found for Evernote. If you're curious about getting started, the easiest way is to download Evernote and play around with the interface.

The basic account is free, but once you're hooked and want to streamline workflow for everyone in your company, upgrading to Evernote Business will allow everyone to collaborate smarter.