The Ultimate Real Estate Road Warrior Survival Checklist

As a REALTOR®, your car often serves as your second, or even primary office. You’re either heading to a listing appointment or out with a buyer, maybe somewhere in between. While your daily schedule changes based on the needs of your clients from day to day, it’s easy to forget something you might need that day. To make it easier, we’ve put together a checklist for your road warrior work style.

1 The Basics

Every agent should keep a spare tire, tire iron, jumper cables, first-aid kit, AAA or a similar service, and personal safety items for emergencies. Be sure to check out NAR’s comprehensive REALTOR® Safety resources for all personal safety items and topics.

2 Smartphone & Tablet

REALTORS® are connected. With 91 percent of NAR’s membership using their smartphone to conduct business on a daily basis—your smartphone is essential while you’re out and about. Go a step further and download RPR Mobile^™ (if you haven’t already) and start impressing clients virtually anywhere.

3 USB Mobile Device Charger

While this one may be a given, having a USB car charger, for you and your client, will keep you and your clients charged up and going while on those full days of showings.

4 Backup GPS and Paper Maps

Now, while we like to be connected 24/7, we know that isn’t always the reality. Especially if you live in a rural area. Go low-tech and pick up that ol’ Rand McNally or your old satellite GPS that you’ve thrown in the trunk. This way you’ll always have a back-up, and be able to get to even the most remote areas without getting lost.

5 Look Sharp – You and Your Listing

You always want to be at your best, and after lunch it’ll be good to have some basics with you. Keep a little bag with some travel-sized floss, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash to keep you fresh. Also, don’t forget to keep an extra change of clothes and shoes for those accidents and inclement weather. Keep some spare home cleaning supplies, a portable vacuum, and paper towels for those surprises when you set-up for your open house.

6 Favorite Healthy Snacks & Dog Treats

For you and the kiddos. You never know when you might get stuck or just need a quick bite to eat. Also, we all know that children (and furry friends) can play an important role in a transaction. So, keep a few healthy snacks on hand for you, the kids and our furry friends in the trunk for when the occasion arises.

7 Air Freshener

You essentially live in your car, use some air freshener to eliminate any strange smells before picking up your next client. You might even want to think about stocking up at your local store by buying in bulk for the year. You’ll thank yourself later.

8 Office Organization

Ok. You have a few listing appointments and a showing, and you just got a call from a prospect, what do you do? Here’s where having an office organizer that keeps your live account files with you will come in handy. This way you are prepared for that curveball and look great in your client’s eyes.

9 Printed Out Materials

Your buyers and sellers want tangible materials related to their property and with RPR you are going to be able to give them property reports and neighborhood reports unlike anything they’ve seen before. While you’re printing materials out, take screenshots of your listings in RPR and print those out for quick access when inquiries arise.

10 Local Business Flyers and Brochures

Maximize every opportunity to impress your buyers. By having flyers and brochures for local businesses in your area, you’ll really stand out. Go a step further and put together a binder to organize each neighborhood that you specialize in, include maps with businesses and other attractions as pins on the map. Your clients will thank you.

Make sure to check out these 15 remarkable apps for your real estate business to have on your phone while on the go.

See something that we forgot? What do you have keep in your car to improve your business? Let us know in the comments.