Forget Inbox Zero. Be an Inbox Hero with Boomerang for Gmail

For most agents, Inbox Zero is unattainable. Between automated listing emails, lead alerts and messages sent from clients, title and mortgage partners and more, you likely receive more emails than you can possibly pay attention to each day. That's where Boomerang comes in.

Boomerang's main functionality is to help you put messages in a queue so you can read and respond to them at the right time. But Boomerang doesn't just help you cut through the clutter of email, it also helps you get focused on proper follow-up and makes you more likely to receive replies back. Here are three ways you can leverage Boomerang to get ahead in your real estate business.

"Snooze" the emails that you don't need to answer right away

There are probably a few times a day — or even a dozen times a day — when you react to the "ding" of your inbox, only to find that it's a general newsletter from your MLS or an invitation to a Chamber of Commerce meeting.

What if those "time-insensitive" emails could be programmed to come back to your email at a time when you're more likely to respond? With Boomerang, you can do just that. By simply clicking one button, you can tell the utility to bring a message back to the top of your inbox at a specific time in the future.

Get ahead with better inbox management

Consider setting up one or two hours a week that are dedicated to managing these less important emails. If your weekly sales meeting is at 9am on a Tuesday, schedule these emails to Boomerang back on Tuesday at 7:45am. Get in a bit early, fire up the coffeemaker and hit reply or delete until you've achieved Inbox Zero on your long-term response messages.

Schedule your emails to send later

Have you ever drafted an email at 1am, only to realize that you'll look just a little bit crazy if you hit send? With Boomerang, you can schedule your emails to send at specific times in the future, instead of just having the option to "send" or "save as draft."

Get ahead with strategic send times

Of course, it's not just agents burning the midnight oil who could benefit from this hack. By scheduling emails in advance, you can also knock plenty of to-do's off your list well in advance.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• If you're working with a forgetful seller, schedule a casual pre-showing email reminding them to clean up their house and bring the dog to the kennel
• If you have an overseas client, reply to them so they get the email right when they get up in the morning, rather than at 2:45 am their time
• If a past client isn't on Facebook and doesn't text — but is very active on email — set up a birthday email so you make sure you don't miss their special day.

By scheduling emails, you'll not only be more productive, you can also be more thoughtful to your clients and leads — making it all the more likely that they'll hire you again or refer you in the future.

Get a "no one replied" reminder

If you're likely to forget about something unless it appears back in your inbox, this last Boomerang function can be extremely helpful. When you send a message that's time sensitive or requires a response, Boomerang can track the responses (or lack thereof) and send you a reminder if the recipients have been radio silent.

Get ahead by keeping everyone on task

As a real estate agent, your business relies on other professional partners, all of whom have just as much email chaos as you do. Set up alerts to be reminded if your title closer doesn't confirm a closing appointment, if a contractor doesn't reply to your potential client's roofing request or if you don't hear back from a sphere contact who mentioned they were ready to sell at last week's PTA meeting.

Ready for Boomerang?

Become an Inbox Hero today! Visit the Boomerang website to learn more and to install the Chrome Extension. Android mobile device users can download the Boomerang app on Google Play and all other mobile device users (including iPhone and iPad users) can use Boomerang's mobile web interface.

To view the original article, visit the Tech Savvy Agent blog.