Your iPad is More Than Cool; Make the Most of It

Prabakar Mahalingam, COO of GoPaperless Solutions, brings us this article.

Your shiny new tablet is pretty. And it has all sorts of fun bells and whistles. But are you making the most of what it has to offer? Have you discovered the ways it can make your professional life easier? Or are you just playing Angry Birds and updating your Facebook status on it? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Tablets for REALTORS®
There are so many ways your tablet can make your life easier.

• Access the MLS
• Respond to leads right away
• Electronically sign documents right in front of your client
• Access and share documents
• Create stunning listing presentations
• Utilize a mortgage calculator
• Managing your schedule (with a calendar)
• Showing online listings for other properties to homebuyers while you're out in the field
• Keeping on top of your email when you're away from the office
• Check out the way your website looks on the iPad. Many potential customers will be viewing your site on a mobile device, so you want to be sure it's fully functional and looking good. Check back regularly.

Do I Really Need an App for That?
Sure, there seems to be an app for everything. But do you really need them all? One of the most useful features of any tablet is Internet browsing. With your browser, you can access websites that may achieve many of the same things as an app. Of course, it’s absolutely imperative that a site be optimized for mobile if it’s going to have the same kind of functionality as an app.

We recently released our eSignDashboard app (check out the press release here).  Choosing to create an app rather than just a website optimized for mobile was a carefully thought-out, strategic choice. We decided that it would achieve the best user experience. We built it so that it could have a wide host of features including the ability to sign documents electronically, manage documents, fax electronically, and much more.

We spotted a great article on RE Technology about the most popular apps for REALTORS®. You can read it here: “8 iPad Apps REALTORS® Love.” The tips in this article may give you a better idea about how to make the most of your iPad.

Should I Buy a Tablet?
So, you don’t already own a tablet. Should you buy one? If you do, it should be for the right reasons and not for the inevitable “Because everyone else has one.” Just to clarify the “right” reasons include (but certainly aren’t limited to):

• Convenience

• Efficiency

• Better serving the needs of your customer

Even with all these benefits, the truth is, having a tablet is not a must for every agent. Not yet, at least. Who knows what the future will hold.

You can learn more about Prabakar and about GoPaperless in our product directory or at www.GoPaperless.com.