The 10 Most Popular Articles from September

What were your peers reading on RE Technology last month? Our top 10 most read articles provide insight into the interests of Realtors.

Safety was on the mind of everyone last month. This September marked the one-year anniversary of the murder of Realtor Beverly Carter--and Realtor Safety Month. To help prevent similar tragedies from happening, all month long we published excerpts from a course on Realtor safety and crime prevention.

These weren't just your typical boring safety tips--readers learned about the mindset of criminals, how they choose their victims, and how to read and behave with unfamiliar prospects so that you stay as safe as possible. Several articles from our "Safety series" made it into the list below. Click on any to gain access to all 12 articles in the series.

1. Realtor Safety: Screening Prospects Before a Showing
Understanding how to evaluate the prospect, property, and circumstances is the first step in assessing the overall risk of an appointment so you can make better decisions about your safety and the safety of your colleagues. Evaluating a prospect in your initial conversation is easily done with a sales technique you are probably already using – Active Listening. In addition to allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of a legitimate prospect's needs and wants, it also allows you to uncover inconsistencies and red flags if a prospect is not legitimate.

2. How to Back Up Your Text Messages, Email, Calendars, and More
Worried that a lost or broken phone means losing all of your text messages and all of the important conversations you've had with clients? You're not alone. An RE Technology reader recently wrote to us in search of an easy way to archive her text messages and prevent disaster from happening. Here's how you can backup not only your texts, but your email, calendar, contacts, and more!

3. Emergency Items Every Agent Should Keep in Their Car
As an agent, you spend a great deal of time in your car zooming off to showings, meeting new clients, and running errands for your business. And while your car should always be clean for clients, it should also be prepared for possible emergencies. Mother Nature is unpredictable at best, so it's important to have a car survival kit that can get you through floods, blizzards, basic medical distress, and the occasional flat tire.