One of the ways we fulfil our commitment to providing exceptional service is to stay organized. In order for each real estate transaction to run like a well-oiled machine, we anticipate, prepare, document, and track everything. We have developed some great practices over the years, and today we wanted to share some of the ideas and tools that make it all possible.

The Ideas Behind the Systems

First, some productivity principles and inspiration — because tools are much more powerful if they are used to support a methodology. We have some of our own principles and methodologies for running transactions at Robbins Realty Group, and we’ve also been inspired by some published standards and practices we’ve gleaned along the way.

• Learn Strategies – Getting things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen. The authoritative, comprehensive approach to getting stuff out of your brain and into a system so you can…get it done! Check out the official Getting Things Done website, or read a great Getting Things Done summary.
• Implement Inbox Zero to keep your email inbox clean and helpful, rather than full and stressful.
• Capture everything – If you have a thought, make a note (using paper or a digital tool). Designate an inbox–a place to collect all of the paper and reminders that come your way.
• Use a trusted system – once you have captured all of your thoughts, organize them in a system that works for you. When you “trust” your system, you don’t have to keep that email in your inbox, or keep the thoughts running through your brain.
• Automate – as many processes as you can. If there is something you do on a regular basis, find ways to automate or streamline it. Do you find yourself continually writing similar emails or explanations. Save the text in template format to reuse. Do you do a series of weekly tasks? Keep a standard list that you quickly check off as you go. For more complex processes, you can use more advanced digital tools to have some of the steps run automatically.

Some of Our Favorite Tools

• Google Workspace for sharing office tools, calendars, docs, and quick notes
• Todoist – one of the best to-do programs around; we literally run every aspect of our real estate business through this app. It boasts a beautiful combination of simple yet robust features.
• Follow up Boss – we use this CRM tool to manage client interactions and progress
• Loom – a screen recording tool we use to keep all of our internal training up-to-date
• Mailchimp for publishing news and updates
• Plann for content scheduling and social media mangement
• Marco Polo – this is one of our collection methods or “inboxes”. Since agents are continually on the go, we don’t always have time to write emails and texts, so we use Marco Polo to pass up-to-the-minute updates between agents and staff.
• Zapier or IFTT (If This then That) – for process automation

Hopefully we’ve sparked your interest in some tools that can help with your own productivity at home or at work. What are some of your favorite tools? Are there any you are excited to get started on? The time is right–set a goal, and get going!