Alicia ESIC, a seasoned real estate professional and Tom Ferry coach based in Baltimore, presented a comprehensive webinar to the Women's Council on apps and tech tips for real estate professionals.
The session covered tools and strategies across time management, health and wellness, lead generation, marketing, video, business operations, professional development, finance, and some personal favorite apps.
Key recommendations included a range of productivity, safety, CRM, marketing, and personal wellness apps, along with actionable insights for modern real estate practice.
The webinar was recorded and will be made available on the Women's Council website.
Action Items
When available – Women's Council: Post the recorded webinar on the organization's website.
As requested – Alicia ESIC: Provide additional information or follow-up presentations on video marketing or podcasting, if requested by attendees or the Council.
Agent Safety Tools and Practices
Emphasized agent safety; recommended tools include Apple Watch emergency features, Sentry app, and Life360 for real-time location sharing.
Highlighted the importance of family connectivity and constant location awareness for personal and agent safety.
Time Management and Productivity
Recommended apps: Any.do for to-do lists and task management (syncs across devices), Cosi for family calendar coordination, and Calendly for appointment scheduling.
Urged attendees to minimize email distractions using tools like Boomerang, Folio, Unroll.me, and by turning off email notifications.
Suggested scheduled email/text checks to improve focus and efficiency.
Health and Wellness
Advocated using smartwatches and activity trackers to monitor wellness.
Suggested health/fitness apps: Sleep Cycle (sleep tracking), Calm (meditation), MyFitnessPal (calorie tracking), MapMyRun (fitness tracking), Noom (wellness), Aaptiv (audio fitness coaching), and Tone It Up (on-demand workouts and community).
Lead Generation and Follow-Up
Stressed the importance of social media for lead generation (especially Facebook, Instagram) and using the Facebook Ads Manager app for property ads.
Highlighted online lead sources: Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, BoomTown, RedX, Mojo, Vulcan7, etc.
Recommended open house sign-in apps like Spacio.
For lead management and nurturing: advised using CRMs such as LionDesk, Contactually, and Follow Up Boss, as well as automated nurture platforms like Agentology and Agent Legend.
Suggested SlyDial/SlyBroadcast for efficient voicemail campaigning and RealScout for attractive email drips.
For handwritten and automated content delivery: SendOutCards, Ink, BombBomb, and the Paperless Agent.
Marketing and Content Creation
Recommended marketing and design tools: Canva, Adobe mobile suite, AgentMarketing, Vistaprint, Ripple, Creative Market, Fiverr, Agent Crate, and Beautiful.ai for presentations.
Advocated for streamlined social media planning using Planoly and content subscriptions like Keeping Current Matters and Corefact.
Promoted Agent Crate for automated, professional multi-channel social content and blog resources.
Video Creation and Promotion
Encouraged use of smartphones for video content; stressed authenticity over perfection.
Recommended PromptSmart as a teleprompter app for scripting, and video editing with apps like Magisto, iMovie, Videolicious, and Adobe Spark.
Suggested fun video apps: Boomerang and Hyperlapse for creative content.
Shared best practices: prioritize good lighting, use stabilization tools (like gimbals or tripods), and ensure clear sound with Bluetooth mics or AirPods.
Promoted starting a YouTube channel for content archiving and exposure.
Business Operations and Organization
Advocated for cloud-based organization: Evernote (notes, document scanning), Google Apps (Docs, Sheets, Forms), Trello (project management), Slack (team communication), and Zapier (app integration).
Recommended real estate staples: DocuSign, DotLoop, Zoom for virtual presentations, ShowingTime, RPR, HomeSnap, and Genius Scan for document management.
Introduced new tools for investors and property info: Property Evaluator, LandGlide (lot lines, public records), and Handy Level app.
Professional Development and Mindset
Suggested resources for continuous learning: Audible (audiobooks), Goodreads (social reading), Blinkist (book summaries), Reuters and Morning Brew (unbiased news).
For habit-building: Momentum, Streaks, and StickK.
Promoted mental wellness with the Five Minute Journal and the TED Talks app.
Financial Management
Recommended tracking business finances with Realtyzam, QuickBooks, Expense Tracker, and MileIQ.
Shared a commission allocation strategy: 40% personal, 30% taxes, 20% business reinvestment, 10% savings (40-30-20-10 rule).
Suggested apps: Trim (bill review and alerts), Acorns (micro-investing and savings).
Miscellaneous Favorite Apps
For photography and memory keeping: Google Photos, SmugMug, Chatbooks, Mixtiles, Mixbook.
For dining and convenience: OpenTable, Yelp, Uber Eats.
For children’s artwork: Artkive.
For device/location finding: Tile.
For password management: 1Password.
For fun and relaxation: Bitmoji, GIF apps, WTF Weather, and GamePigeon.
Decisions
Record webinar and publish on website — To ensure ongoing access to the material for all attendees and those who could not attend live.
Open Questions / Follow-Ups
Attendee inquired about recommended apps for starting one's own podcast; Alicia stated she has not explored podcast production apps and suggested focusing on sound quality if pursuing this path.
Opportunity for Women's Council to request deeper dives or follow-up presentations on specific topics (e.g., video marketing, podcasting).
No other open questions were noted during the session.