Picture yourself on a beach, soaking up the sun… or at a real estate conference soaking up new and exciting ways to amp up your business…or amping up your smart-phone in your car to meet your buyers for their neighborhood home tour…there is no question about it: you are a mobile professional.  Whether you have embraced this innovation in the real estate industry, or are just now starting the transition for 2012 now is the time to get your “Mobile Office Tool-Kit” all geared up and ready for all the action next year will bring. As a real estate virtual assistant, I find myself mobile at conferences, and it’s amazing to see how productive we can be using the right tools, the right way.

Let’s talk about the 5 main gadgets you need to run your office from anywhere, AND how to stay organized so that your professionalism and productivity stay on track no matter where you are.

From the desktop to your “Mobile Desk”

photo courtesy MobileGear.com

Laptop/iPad/Tablet

Your computer is where your business lives. From your database, contracts, forms, calendars and email, having access to all of these systems are crucial. Streamline this access by choosing a laptop or tablet that coincides with operating system and programs you use in your office the most. The iPad is an easy favorite, but stick with what you are comfortable with using to avoid technology overload and frustration with compatibility issues.

Smartphone

This may seem to be an obvious choice since most of us already have cell phones that are Smartphones. But, we’re past the point of simply choosing mobile phones based on cell coverage, email access, and cool ringtones. More importantly, the smartphone is becoming our handheld office, as well as our communication link to clients and team members. “Apps” or applications that are now available in the Apple & Android markets have quickly surpassed the Blackberry for having the best tools for mobile communication, GPS, file storage, and even social media marketing, video and photography.

Tip: Organize your mobile workday to mimic your  in-office work-day by choosing apps and best communication practices that works not just for you, but for your clients as well.

Mi-Fi Mobile Internet

While it may seem there is a Starbuck’s on every corner with wi-fi, we don’t always do business this close to our favorite coffee shop. Having your own personal Internet access/wi-fi can sometimes be the deal-saver. Don’t get stuck using insecure, public wi-fi to check email and send out contracts, it’s always better to be safe with that information than sorry. 

USB Power Strip

Portable gizmos and gadgets all use batteries, and those batteries tend to drain quickly with heavy use and certain application we may use. To keep your juices and business flowing a USB Power strip will allow your to charge multiple gadgets at one time, and some come with built-in power stored in the unit just in case you can’t find a power source. Some will charge up to 4-5 gadgets at once so you save time on the road.

Digital Camera or SmartPhone Camera

Property listings, neighborhood scenes, happy clients, community events; every mobile agent should have a digital camera ready and waiting to capture the lifestyle, moments and scenery of their communities, people and listings that they are the expert of. It doesn’t matter if it’s on your smartphone or stand-alone, this is a mobile tool that has shown over and over again, that photos & video attract interest online from potential clients. Maximize the medium adopting frequent use to curate the best of what you offer. Upload photo and video to blogs, Twitter, and Facebook Pages to optimize your online marketing efforts. Take a moment to enjoy the scenery while you’re at it.

Not Just Mobile, but Professional

Being mobile is no longer a lifestyle choice, it’s also about professionalism. Standing out among competitors in any situation that may occur. Organizing yourself for the fast-paced mobile world of real estate prevents delays, and technology stress if you plan well. These are just the basics.

If you would like to know more about working virtually, have some great tips of your own, we’d love for you to share!

Today I had the pleasure of presenting a webinar for the Active Rain University titled, “Tips and Tools for Managing Your Real Estate Business Virtually”. With over 200 attendees registered its quite apparent that this is one hot real estate topic!  As a real estate virtual assistant I was able to share some of the best tools for setting up a Virtual Real Estate Office, and wanted to make sure I added the presentation here to share with you as requested.

I wanted to thank Brad Andersohn of Active Rain for asking me to participate and to the discussion. We covered some pretty relevant topics in today’s technology driven real estate market, and added in some thoughts on organizing and defining your online business systems so that working away from your desk is streamlined and efficient.

In the presentation below you will find information on:

* Defining the Needs for your Real Estate Business Systems
* Streamlining and Automating your Systems for Higher Productivity
* What Does it Mean to Work in the Cloud?
* Tools and Technology that are full of Mobile Features and Cloud Integration
* Leveraging online and offline support with a Virtual Assistant

Enjoy!

How hooked are you on your cell phone? How hooked are your kids..? In the age of immediate down-loadable information, complete with photos and links, you have top ask yourself are you ready..? Is your real estate business ready for this mobile technology? In real estate information is becoming more and more web-based. Agents are getting over the flyer boxes, and adding in audio tours and hotlines to drive-by clients. You need to be creative about getting your information out there to keep up with the advanced technology, so ask yourself…

Is your real estate marketing mobile friendly? What if YOUR Website was mobile friendly? What if your blog was mobile friendly? What if your virtual tour was mobile friendly..? How will this online dominance capture your future business? How can you take advantage of that now…?

That is where having a .mobi domain will come in very handy. If you set up your website and/or blog to have a .mobi domain, then your sign riders listing that domain can instantly turn buyers/sellers cell phones into a mini computers that display your site, your listing information, etc. They have access to your contact information, and web site lead capture system, and your virtual tours. Your branding, your info, your face, your business available and viewable on a simple cell phone. At .Mobi you can get an account for free and build your pages for your website.

Check out a sample of a .mobi real estate website http://htex.mobi

Test your web site to see if it’s ready for mobile customers!

If its not viewable in the emulator, consider getting your sites set up as a .mobi site as well, and capture the next generation of online marketing!