Looking back on the last decade of being a Realtor, there is one clear area that has made our profession so much easier and efficient. The technology that we use on a daily basis not only helps us keep our worlds in sync, but also provides for a better consumer experience. As we dive into the world of these wonderful tools, one of the biggest areas is the ability to go mobile and not be tied to an office. This ability not only helps us save time, gas and effort, it also helps us do our job faster, quicker and with more proficiency. 

Among the mobile agent options there is clearly the ring leader - the iPad. This small and compact business tool can serve so many functions yet the number of owners that actually know how to use them on a regular basis is slim. One significant reason is the real lack of training for agents trying to go mobile. Most of the training that is in the marketplace focuses on exposing the student to a multitude of apps with little or no instruction on usage. There are a large number of attendees at these presentations that watch the class in excitement, go home and download all of the apps and then look at them hopelessly wondering what they could do. They are in fact - appoholics, people that are addicted to downloading  apps with no clear vision on how to implement them into their daily work tasks.

So here are a few suggestions to ease the transition and turn an appoholic into an app user:

1. Commit yourself to learning one new app a week. Practice the functionality before implementing in your practice. 
2. Only download 1 of each type of app unless you are looking to replace the one you currently use. There is no reason to have 4 apps that modify a PDF document when one will do the job. Often times ipad owners purchase similar functioning apps and then have no idea of which one to use.
3. Download apps for every part of your practice, not every part of your life. It’s a big enough learning curve trying to implement into your business life, mix in 20 more apps that stream sports scores, recipes, play radio, movies, etc.. and you will never learn what is most important.
4. Once these goals are defined and a plan is implemented, separate your business into segments that apps could make more efficient. These areas should include email, composing contracts, digital signatures, file storage (cloud),  client presentations, video email and other applications that can improve your efficiency, gain the ability to find valuable information for your clients and impress them with your technical ability.

By following these suggestions and a dedicated plan for implementation, you can start to enjoy the benefits of going mobile. No more late night trips to the office for files, dragging around heavy bags with computers and files, printing reams of paper, and most importantly, gain the ability to quickly deliver contracts to secure property or sales for your clients.