The key to being a successful real estate professional is staying organized. Real estate agents and brokers have to juggle a lot of different responsibilities, and scheduling is one of the most important aspects of the job. Long gone are the days when agents can rely on old-fashioned paper calendars. Modern agents are embracing innovation and working smarter by implementing high-tech scheduling tools into their businesses.
If you find yourself overwhelmed with scheduling closings, client meetings, final walkthroughs, volunteer hours, and other professional events, consider adding one or two of these scheduling tools into your real estate tool kit:
Calendly is one of the most well-known appointment tracking resources in the industry. It automatically checks your ability and helps you connect with current contacts and prospective clients. It can sync with up to six of your existing calendars, and allows you to schedule many different types of meetings including one-on-ones, collective, and group meetings. It includes time buffers, daily limits, time zone detection, and easy customization options. Confirmation and reminder emails help keep both you and your clients in the loop about any changes to your existing appointments. You can even reduce the number of last-minute meetings you have by activating a minimum scheduling notice feature. Calendly is one of the most popular scheduling tools for real estate agents and brokers because it offers features such as:
- Team pages that can be set up and customized for your different teams
- Innovative metrics and reporting features
- Centralized billing
- The ability to embed calendars into your website
- Easy payment collection options
- Seamless integration with platforms you’re already using including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Paypal.
Calendly’s Basic level is free and allows access for one user. The Premium membership is $8 a month and the Pro membership is $12 a month. You can try all of Calendly’s premium features free for 14 days.
Timify is a flexible online appointment booking system that makes it easy for clients to see when you’re available and book an appointment. This innovative software seamlessly integrates with your website and social media platforms, and makes it easy to turn many of your in-person meetings into virtual events. The booking experience can be customized to represent the look and feel of your brand and makes it easy to add your corporate logo and identity to all email notifications. Timify even takes drive times, setups, and clean-up into consideration when putting together your availability. Other features include:
- Online marketplace
- Invoicing options
- Video appointment scheduler
- Apps for your desktop, tablet, and mobile devices
- Online payment options
- User-friendly interface
- Ability to schedule large events such as workshops and classes
Timify offers Classic, Premium, and Enterprise options, all with features designed to help individuals, small- and medium-sized businesses, and businesses with unique needs. The Classic level is free and the Premium and Enterprise levels range between $25 and $42 a month
In the midst of scheduling appointments, team meetings, and other appointments, it can be difficult to find time to manage your social media presence. Buffer is a social media scheduler that allows you to create, schedule, and post social media content all in one place. Buffer not only helps you create a schedule of consistent social media content, but also helps to analyze your posts to determine what your audience is seeing and liking, and how they are engaging with your posts. Other features that real estate agents love about Buffer include:
- The ability to visually plan and organize your social media posts
- Tools that make it easy to measure your social media reach
- Resources that allow you to grow your Instagram audience
- Stories and hashtag planners
- Instagram tagging
- Post Analytics
- Custom reports
Buffer offers three different user levels: Pro, Premium, and Business. Buffer accounts range from $15 a month to $99 a month and offer different features designed to help entrepreneurs, small businesses, and large companies.
Busy professionals spend so much time texting, emailing, and calling clients just to schedule a meeting. Doodle helps to eliminate the back and forth that comes with trying to schedule a team meeting. With Doodle, you can create a visual snapshot of your availability and send it out to your team. If you’re working with people across different time zones, Doodle automatically considers these time differences when reporting availability. While it is easy to share your professional availability with clients and customers, Doodle also allows you to keep your private calendars private. The interface also looks extremely professional and organized, so it helps inboxes stay uncluttered. Other features real estate professionals and brokers love about Doodle include:
- Easy-to-create polls that everyone can interact with, regardless of what calendar or software they’re using
- Ability to schedule across multiple calendars
- Meaning invitation trackers
- Deadline and reminder alerts
- The ability to add a custom logo and branding
- Doodle 1-on-1 meetings
Real estate professionals can activate a free trial to see if Doodle is right for their team and then pick from one of four access options. The Starter, Pro, Enterprise, and Team levels offer a variety of different features for different sized brokerages and range from $5 to $30 a month
Acuity Scheduling is like having an online assistant at your fingertips. This premium software is very user-friendly. It offers interactive scheduling pages and the ability to control your availability 24/7. Calendars can be auto-adjusted for time zones, and clients can easily cancel and reschedule appointments themselves. When your calendar changes, you’ll get automated reminders and updates so that you always stay organized. Other features that busy real estate professionals love about Acuity Scheduling include:
- Client intake forms that allow you to capture vital customer data
- The ability to accept online payments
- Video conferencing Integrations
- Tools that allow you to easily share your calendars be social media platforms
- Professional-level customization that allows you to build your brand
Users can choose from three different access levels: Emerging, Growing, and Powerhouse. These offer different features and range from $14 to $45 a month.
Success Starts With Continued Education
Leading brokers and agents know that while apps and software can help you be more productive, it is the consistent pursuit of higher education that sets top agents apart from the rest.
If you want to learn more ways to work smarter and not harder while building your brand and generating more leaves, check out some of our classes designed specifically for new agents.
