So, technology with all its fancy programs and systems is supposed to simplify our lives, right?
Good in theory, but sometimes totally lost in actual practice…
If you’ve read just about any of my emails or heard just about any of my podcasts, you know that I LOVE Podio. 🙂
As a CRM, it’s just an awesome tool in your REI toolbelt.
But, I’ve noticed that more and more people tend to complicate it.
See, in consistent conversations with my coaching students, I so often see them getting bogged down in the very system that’s supposed to be making their work easier, and freeing up their time.
Really, the best way to use Podio is to dumb it down.
Simplify it.
Why?
Well, I’ve learned from my own experiences that when we tried to automate everything through Podio, we had to tie in a bunch of 3rd-party integrations… like Zapier and CallRail (and a bajillion others)… so we had a ton of external workflows going on.
If you’ve used Podio much, then you know what I’m talking about.
There are 2 big problems I see with this:
- Your workflows can sometimes stop ‘flowing’—and you won’t even know it until possibly 1 or 2 months later. Not only would you lose productivity, but you’d also have to go in and fix the workflows. (bleh)
- A byproduct of a ton of automated workflows is you end up getting a ton of tasks created… which means you get overwhelmed and buried in the very day-to-day you’re trying not to get stuck in. (double bleh)
So, what to do?
Easy. Once I found myself in that nightmare of workflows, I stripped down and simplified how I use Podio by removing all of the 3rd-party integrations.
I pretty much only use internal Podio workflows now.
Let me give you a tangible example…
- When a new lead comes in, a new task is created for my V.A. to call that seller with some basic questions.
- After the seller is called, she puts their info into Podio if they seem viable.
- Then she manually creates a new task for my local wholesaler partner to call that seller, for a deeper dive conversation.
- After his/her conversation, my wholesaler partner creates a new task to the next needed follow-up.
What I’m getting at is: Everything is done not with fancy bells and whistles, but with simple clicks in the Podio workflow.
It’s just a matter of creating a new task for each job that has to get done. You can create a new task to send a text message… or send something in the mail… or draft a contract…
Simply click ‘new task.’
For my business, every lead that we have in Podio that’s not a dead lead has to have an open task for something that someone on my team is handling. Either a necessary next step, or a simple follow-up down the road.
And this is working really well for us! 🙂
I use Podio for:
- wholesaling
- lease options
- land deals
- my coaching business
- my podcasts
I use it for A LOT of stuff. In all the markets I work in.
And just to make sure it doesn’t trip me up, I have a special email address that only my VA knows. She just emails me the next 1 or 2 items on my current deals to-do list. And she pulled those tasks from Podio—but I never actually got in Podio.
#winning 🙂
Then—get this—when I’ve done those tasks, I use Voxer (you’ll find it in the app store) to create a voice memo back to my VA for next steps needed… then, she updates Podio accordingly with the next task… then (viola!) emails me my next task.
#stillwinning
See, the beauty of Podio is that it’s so flexible. You can design it to track anything you want, but it can be most powerfully leveraged when you K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple, Stupid!).
A WORD OF CAUTION:
I’m advising my students and clients to be actually in Podio as little as possible. No, really…
Please stop ‘nerding out’ behind your computer screen, folks.
Your time should be largely spent talking to sellers… making offers… building relationships. (Perhaps you can set up a similar work plan like mine with my VA. It’s a game-changer, for sure.)
So, I want to encourage you to see to it that your time is spent making money—not being a slave to the nitty-gritty detail work on your computer.
Bottom line: If your CRM of choice is Podio (like me) then please simplify it by removing the external workflows and integrations, and start managing your team more easily through tasks.
The power of Podio is simplicity.
