THE BEST APP/SOFTWARE FOR SHOWINGS
Winner: ShowingTime
ShowingTime
A suite of software programs for showings, ShowingTime includes a number of features, including: the ShowingTime Appointment Center, which answers calls for agents as if from your office; ShowingAssist, which works exclusively with MLS sites and is an online showing request system; and ShowingTime Call Coordinator, which is a virtual staff for general inquiries.
“They set the bar years ago and continue to evolve their product over the years,” Dollinger says. “Their Showing Desk software and Showing Assist offerings help brokers support their agents, connect with co-op agents and sellers, and never miss a showing.”
Price: Prices vary; demos available online.
Where to buy: www.showingtime.com
Runners Up: Showing Suite, Centralized Showing Service
Showing Suite
Showing Suite is a cloud-based productivity program that automates the numerous components of the buying and selling process. The app collects feedback from potential buyers and their agents, and organizes them into an easy-to-navigate dashboard. It also syncs listing information with your MLS account and integrates your electronic lockbox. You can try it with a 30-day trial, too, and it’s ideal for large brokers who want to give agents a showing tool of value.
Price: You can sign up for a free trial on its website, and prices start at $39.95 per month.
Where to buy: www.showingsuite.com/pricing
Centralized Showing Service
With the Centralized Showing Service through the Showings.com app, Smythe Harris says she can schedule showings 24/7 with its easy-to-use mobile app. In addition, Centralized Showing Service boasts several features, including live customer service representatives, fast response times, online scheduling, a customized feedback collection, prompt notifications via email and text, listing announcements, group email notifications and detailed reporting and market statistics.
Price: There are free memberships or memberships with negotiable prices.
Where to buy: http://showings.com/SignUp
THE BEST LEAD GENERATION SOFTWARE
Winner: Follow Up Boss
Follow Up Boss
A runner up in our CRM category, Follow Up Boss also allows agents to respond faster and do more follow up, set more appointments and get more leads. It integrates leads from Trulia, Zillow, realtor.com, your website and many more. You can assign tasks to contacts, tags to be able to filter them and then you can export and use contacts in Constant Contact or MailChimp, Smythe Harris says.
Price: Plans start at $103 per month.
Where to buy: Followupboss.com
Runners Up: Tribus, Prime Seller Leads
Tribus
Tribus can also be used as email marketing software and a CRM, but its bread and butter is lead management, lead routing and creating custom websites for clients to help generate leads. “Tribus is a jack of all trades – I always recommend it to agents,” Monroe says. “You can try it for free, too, to really get the hang of all its features.”
Price: Varies.
Where to buy: http://www.tribusgroup.com/
Prime Seller Leads
Prime Seller Leads sets agents up with a landing page that has the sole purpose of generating leads. The software helps generate Web traffic from Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ and Linkedin, and then the agent can convert the leads into clients. “Prime Seller Leads goes for sellers; it’s kind of a no brainer,” Hata says.
Price: $59.99 per month after the 30-day free trial.
Where to buy: http://primesellerleads.com
THE BEST OPEN HOUSE APP
Winner: Open Home Pro
Open Home Pro
A three-time winner! – gives you the capabilities to run all of your open houses on your iPad. Open Home Pro allows you to manage walk-ins, follow up with leads, create listing pages and export any collected data to Microsoft Excel or a CRM. The app has recently made some updates, including photo transitions and an easier way to delete leads and listings. “Open Home Pro is the solution for open houses,” Smythe Harris says. “You can have a slideshow going about the property, have buyers sign in on your iPad (which will be directly imported to your contacts) and send a thank you email after the open house.”
Right now, it is only compatible with iOS systems, and users are required to have an iTunes account.
Price: There is a free version available, but the upgraded version is $14.99.
Where to buy: Available at iTunes and Google Play
Runner Up: Google Chromecast
Google Chromecast
Google Chromecast allows you to stream video from a computer or mobile device to a TV. Plug it into any HDTV and control it with your existing smartphone, tablet or laptop. “The ability to stream anything from your Chrome browser – your website, a Matterport virtual tour, a street view tour of the surrounding neighborhood or reviews of nearby points of interest – onto a TV during an open house for $35 is amazing,” Hata says.
Price: From $35.
Where to buy: http://www.google.com/chrome/devices/chromecast