Maximizing gMail for Your Business

Many of you use different contact management programs and are very happy with the whistles and bells they provide you.  This information is for those of you who want to simplify your lives.

For years Microsoft Office provided me with all that I needed for my business.  And, as my emphasis turned into keeping school records rather than drip-mailing clients; and later, when the Hawaii Association of REALTORS® scheduled me as a GRI Instructor for two of their modules, I found myself very comfortable using only MS Outlook for all my contacts.  Until I received an invitation to Google’s new gMail Beta…

April of 2004, Google sent out invites to people to beta test their new offering:  gMail.  Can’t believe I have morphed with Google over 7 years – we’ve grown up together.  So much so that I only use MS Outlook when I want to create a great signature.  While gMail has applications you can use for signatures, I still find it easier to do mine on MS Outlook.  Call me an “old dog”.

Fast-forwarding to the present, let’s explore the reasons I thing “gMail rocks”:

Priority Mail Inbox

Instead of writing about it, let the video tell you how it works

Yes, you can make “rules” in Outlook, but gMail really does do a better job of filtering spam, has a more simple search box, allows easier filing… forgive me, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Labels

One area where gMail does a great job is in filing by labeling.  When an email comes in from a client you check the box next to the email or if the email is open, go directly to “label” and a dropdown box will appear.  If this is a new file you want to create, type in the name for the file and click “create label”.  If you already have a file for this email, just scroll down the dropbox till you reach the file name you wish to use and click on it.  If you are ready to file the message, you then click on “archive”.

Files

To your left, as you look at gMail, you will find a list of your labeled files.  Easy access by clicking on one of them, or by the use of the search box you can bring up the emails in the file.

Search

This is one of my favorite components of gMail.  As a designated broker I’ve learned to save everything and am constantly looking in my digital files for information.  Sometimes I know who sent me the information and other times I don’t.  gMail will search the email addresses and the text.  It’s like searching Google itself!

See this video for particulars:

It’s awesome!  My life is searchable on gMail!

Threaded Conversations

This feature is to-die-for!!

When you’re working with a client, you can stack, stack, stack, and then go to the left side of your email browser and look to the top right side and find a menu of link choices:  “New Window”, “Print All”, “Expand All”, or “Forward all”.

For agents who still prefer paper files, you can “print” all at the end of a transaction and put them into your paper file.

For agents who are digital, you can print to pdf and save in your transaction file, or “select all”, “copy”, and “save as” to your digital transaction file.

There’s soooooo much more I can say about gMail; and if you come to the AAR Winter Conference in Prescott, I’ll be happy to show you more about gMail.  Join us!  Learn more about how to organize your life and your time.

Kathy Howe aka SedonaKathy