By Stephanie Sims

The need to constantly adapt is the new reality for many, even beyond the information technology business. It’s not just real estate professionals – virtually everyone whose job is touched by computing are being forced to keep up with the new, more efficient ways to stay competitive and ahead within their careers. What you’ve mastered in real estate will keep you valuable throughout the whole of your career, but with technology, what’s new and efficient is always changing.

Here are three ways to keep up with technology so you don’t fall behind the competition.

1. Read. In addition to staying on top of what’s going on in the real estate market, you should also be reading about what the latest and greatest apps are, including reviews, what their purposes are and whether or not other top agents consider them worthy investments. Some good websites to go to for this information are Inman News, Mashable, MyTechOpinion.com and Geek Estate Blog. Technology changes fast, in case you haven’t noticed, and there are always new apps, websites and software on the market that agents may or may not need. By reading up on technology pertinent to your industry, you’ll be knowledgeable as well as know what’s new, what’s tried and true, and what’s not worth investing in.

2. Practice Makes Perfect. A majority of agents won’t even start using an app or software that could help them greatly in their business because they think the learning curve will take too much time. But it’s a chicken or egg conundrum – if you don’t start using it at all, how do you know how slow (or fast!) the learning curve will actually be? And you’ll also never know how much time you’ll save because you’re using the app, website or software. Read the instruction manual, talk to other agents who use the technology and ask for pointers, and make a point to use it every day until you are comfortable using it.

3. Determine Your Needs. As you can see from our expert tech panel, not everyone necessarily agrees as to what technologies are most useful to agents. In addition, several apps that seem similar and were built to accomplish the same purpose may or may not include different features that could help your business have a better – or worse – outcome. Determine what you need help with in your business and what could be made easier by apps on the market. Search for apps or software that serve the purpose you’re looking for, go back to step one and research each one, then try out one you deem best (or even a few if you wish) to determine which are the best for your needs.