37Signals

“Elegant in its simplicity” is a good way to describe the suite of web based software tools from Chicago based 37 Signals.Com. From their home page:

“We believe most software is too complex. Too many features, too many buttons, too much confusion.”

Have you used MS Office lately? You can’t argue with that statement. I was recently introduced to one of 37 Signals tools by a fellow iPhone user. It’s called Ta-Da-List. It’s a simple “To Do” list manager that has exactly what anyone would need to manage a list of tasks and nothing more. Log in, create a list, add or delete tasks, log out. Do it from your iPhone, the office, at home..wherever. It stays updated and you can even subscribe to it as an RSS feed. At some point in my life I have tried just about every tool in the world for managing tasks and time management, Franklin, DayRunner, DayTimer, Outlook, Palm etc. In the end I just end up using the most basic of features. I don’t need a complex system to know what’s most important on my list, nor will I forget who I delegated it to. Ta-Da-List is a digital version of exactly what I would have ended up jotting on a notepad or entering into a bloated software app. Since it’s web based I don’t have to worry about syncing up the lists. After becoming hooked on Ta-da-list I decided to revisit the other applications in the 37Signals lineup.

I’ve created accounts and checked out the features for most of the apps. At first blush one might think they are too sparse to achieve everything as advertised, but that is the beauty of it all. They are all actually quite powerful applications used by companies of all sizes and types. Real estate professionals could use Basecamp or Backpack to work with Buyer’s and Sellers. They are collaborative tools that are very intuitive and easy to use. Just upload photos, files, links, task lists etc. and then easily share with those involved in the process. Timelines and milestones can be tracked and last minute changes are there for everyone to see. The prices for each app are month to month fees and very reasonable.Customer support could be an issue if my experience is any indicator. I e-mailed support on 8/16 to ask a question and received no response. I made the request again yesterday morning and received this mildly terse response:

Hi Michael, This is the only email we have from you in our system, are you certain your emails were sent successfully? Yes, adding photos and files is only offered on paid plans. Free plans do not have file storage.- Sarah

I had already explored the bright idea of checking to see if the email was sent. Anyhow, I finally got my question answered and forked over my credit card to sign up for an account so I could begin adding files to my BackPack account. Below is a screen shot of how a real estate professional could present prospective properties along with listing data files, disclosures, comparables etc. Obviously the same scenario could be used to communicate with a seller for things like marketing collateral approval, offer management etc. etc.

BackPack

Sending The Right Signals?
37 Signals has 2 corporate blogs, one for products and another entitled Signal vs. Noise. The latter boasts over 50K readers a day. One of the company principals, David Heinemeier recently posted a personal rant of sorts regarding real estate. It would appear that he is a Dane with a real problem with how buyer’s agency works here in the states. I’m not a REALTOR®, so commenting on the post is better left to the experts. It looks as if a few of them have tried to school David on the issue. As of this posting there were 39 comments to his article, including Glen Kelman taking an opportunity to comment on behalf of Redfin’s business model. I will say that I have enlisted the use of a Buyer’s Agent in the past and found it to be an extremely wise decision. Not all deals are the same, not all buyer’s agents are the same either, so painting them with such a broad stroke and claiming that they perpetuate myths or practice “defacto price-fixing” might be a bit harsh. The last thing I would want to do is get in the middle of a debate on agency with my customers.

Conclusion
If I were an individual agent or small team I would consider using these tools as a communication and/or marketing strategy with my clients. I wouldn’t buy into one of the larger plans or applications without a comfort level that customer support would be responsive. The applications are simple enough to rarely need it but let’s face it, if your contact databases and other client communication tools are not working properly, you’re out of business. The case studies would suggest that companies are finding creative ways to implement the apps and I have no doubt that forward thinking agents and teams could do the same.