Making Money With Your PDA For Real Estate Professionals

March 20, 2010

Personal Digital Assistants, commonly known as PDAs, are great for keeping your business and personal matters organized and on track.  But many real estate professionals are in the dark about how to do this without spending a fortune.  Some, being technology averse, don’t understand how to use PDAs well.  Others haven’t gone beyond cell phones and perhaps text messaging, not seeing the value in having anything beyond that.  So this article will help you get on track with more effectively using your PDA and making more money with it.

Mobile MLS – when PDAs first hit the market, they were not well suited for viewing web pages.  Today, websites are increasingly designed for accommodating people using PDAs.  One of these mobile-friendly sites is the MLS.  Many MLS sites are designed for viewing listings on your PDA so that the pictures and text are big enough.  This can be a great thing to show to clients when you are driving them to a listing.

Navigation – when we’re on our way to a showing (especially with clients on board) the last thing we want to do is get lost or take a roundabout route and be late.  So at the very least learn how to use some of the more popular map sites like Google Maps or MapQuest.  It’s advisable to take this to the next level and get a GPS Tracking device on your dashboard.  You won’t be as distracted looking at this device as you would with your PDA.

IPhone Applications – I’ve been using cell phones since the 80’s (remember car phones?) and far away the best phone I’ve ever used is the Iphone.  There are plenty of useful applications that come standard with the Iphone and most only cost about $2 per month.  A really neat application turns your Iphone into a flashlight by making your phone’s display completely white.  It actually works very well!

Blue Tooth – with more and more states and provinces introducing laws banning cell phone use while driving, your state may be next (if it isn’t already).  These laws don’t mean you can’t talk on your cell while driving, it just means you can’t be holding the phone in your hand.  So it’s vital you get some sort of hands-free solution that allows you to talk without holding the phone.  Various hands-free solutions exist.  One of the best is the Blue Tooth.  It even allows you to see caller ID info through your car’s dashboard.

Filed under: Technology and Marketing/Selling Lists - Best Practices,Training Tips

Tags: blackberry, Iphone, PDA