I’ve been using Podio for a few months now and it has really transformed how I manage my business. I have been able to automate tasks I never thought I could…saving me loads of time. Globiflow actually sent me an email the other day saying I’ve saved 36 hours of time by using their Podio automation workflows. I believe it!
With time being such an issue when starting up a real estate investing business, I figured I would try and save you some. I put together a list of my 10 most favorite tips and tools related to Podio that I have discovered. Knowing what is out there and what Podio is capable of is a great start to saving time.
In the list I put together, I tried to give you examples on how I use each tool. I don’t go into detail on exactly how to implement the tools (If you would like me to send me an email at scott@strugglinginvestor.com). My goal was to give you ideas and examples.
Let’s get to the list!
#1 – Zapier
The simple way to explain what Zapier is, is a tool that helps get data in and out of Podio. It’s the George Washington bridge that connects New Jersey to New York City. To do this in Zapier you create what they call a ZAP. This Zap says when something happens over here, do this over there.
What makes this such an incredible tool is that it will grab the information from the Trigger Action (such as lead info) and bring it over to the other app and create things with the data…Completely automating an annoying task!
Link -> Zapier.com
Use Cases
Here are some of my favorite ways to use Zapier that I’ve discovered so far. I have gotten to the point where I check Zapier to see if I can integrate everything I do online that annoys me…haha
The very first thing I found Zapier useful for was getting the leads from my Investor Carrot website into my Podio App. Everytime a lead submits information on my website, a zapier Zap gets triggered that grabs the data and creates a Podio Lead record automatically.
Here are a TON of other use cases for Podio and Zapier
Cost to You
Great thing about Zapier is that there FREE plan should be more then plenty to really automate some of your most tedious tasks. I have not come close to the 100 tasks per month limit just yet either. The biggest limitation of the Free account is the number of Zaps you can setup…5.
Free
$0
Per MonthBasic
$20
Per MonthBusiness
$50
Per Month#2 – Globiflow
While Zapier is a tool to get data into and out of Podio, Globiflow is the tool you use to automate the process of moving, creating, editing, deleting data WITHIN Podio. While Podio has a similar feature called Workflows built in, it is far less powerful and will put you in the pay for portion of Podio. I prefer Globiflow for sure here.
While it is a separate tool, globiflow works seemlessly with in Podio. You setup Flows to do things like create tasks, send emails, create records, create PDFs (and so much more). You then set the Action that triggers the flow. These actions could be when a new record is created, or a category field has been changed.
Link -> GlobiFlow.com
Use Cases
Here are some of my favorite ways to use Globiflow that I’ve discovered so far. It really is the tool that takes Podio to the next level! With out it, I think Podio would be tough to manage if you use multiple Apps for your lead flow.
One of the best ways to run your business with Podio is to use Tasks. Globiflow can auto create these tasks. Here are the tasks that I have Globiflow auto-create…
- a Call Lead Task when a new lead is created
- a Follow Up Task if I set a leads status to follow up
- a Do Property Research Task if I change status to “Do Research”
- a Make Offer Task when status changes to Make Offer
If you have partners, then you can assign tasks to the people responsible for doing the action. It’s a really powerful way to keep up with what you have to do for your business on a daily basis.
Here is the full list of Globiflow Actions
Cost to You
Globiflow is not free, but it is well worth the $9 Basic package. The only feature that isn’t available to the Basic and Silver plans is SMS Text messaging. Cool feature, but I don’t think it’s worth the extra money to get it.
Basic
$9
Per MonthSilver
$15
Per MonthGold
$27
Per Month#3 – Zapier Email Parser
While this tool is simple and only does one thing, it is AWESOME! Hopefully I can explain to you what it does. I use this tool for one of my websites that doesn’t integrate with Zapier.
The Zapier Email Parser lets you take emails you get (ie a lead notification from your website) and it extracts specific data from that email. Then you can create a Zapier Zap that connects that information to Podio and create a lead.
Link -> Parser.Zapier.com
Use Cases
While this tool has a ton of potential use cases outside of Podio, it really only has 1 with regards to Podio. Take lead notification emails, parse out the relevant data so you can have a lead autocreated in Podio.
This is how it works…
- You’ll get an email address from Zapier Parser
- Send some emails you want to use as templates for extracting data to that email address.
- Highlight and {{name}} parts of the emails you’d like to extract.
- Choose where you want to send the extracted emails.
So for example, here is an email notification I get from my WeBuyNJHouses.com website. The email is ALWAYS in this format.
New submission from What’s My Home Worth?
Name
John Sombody
Email
john@email.com
(mailto:john@email.com)
Phone
(888)888-8888
Street Address
123 Main St
City
Morristown
State
New Jersey
Zip
00011
Using the Zapier Parser template tool I can mark what information (Address, City, State, Name, etc…) shows up where. I do this like this…
New submission from What’s My Home Worth?
Name
{{name}}
Email
{{email}} (mailto:john@email.com)
Phone
{{phone}}
Street Address
{{address}}
City
{{city}}
State
{{state}}
Zip
{{zip}}
Once my template is setup, I create a Zapier Zap to connect this Parser.Zapier mailbox to Podio. It’s very simple to use and works great!
The final Setup is….
- Send my Website Notifications to my Parser.Zapier email address
- Zapier Parser pulls out the data based off the template I created
- The Zapier Zap grabs that Data and creates a Podio Lead record in my Property App.
Couldn’t work better and it’s FREE!!
For complete information go to Parser.Zapier.com
Cost to You
This tools is completely Free to use. All you have to do is setup an account and the associated mailboxes for each template. Doesn’t get any better then this!
Free
$0
Per Month# 4 – Gravity Forms + Podio
One of the most popular and best contact form tools for WordPress websites is Gravity Forms. Investor Carrot even uses it for all it’s webpages. Unfortunately Gravity Forms doesn’t integrate with Podio directly. I’ve had to use Zapier (and Zapier Parser) to do this.
Zapier also has an add-on tool for Gravity Forms that eliminates the need for Zapier Parser. To get this add-on you have to buy the Developer License which is $199/yr. That’s a steep price increase over the Personal License of only $39/yr.
Now with this Gravity Forms add-on tool you can directly integrate Podio with Gravity Forms and skip Zapier all together. It’s better the Zapier for a number of reasons; (1) it supports Podio Contact fields (2) it’s one less service (3) you can set it all up within wordpress.
Link -> GravityForms+Podio
Use Cases
There is one and only use case for this tool and that is getting Leads from your Gravity Form using Website into Podio. It’s easy to setup and then just a matter of creating the Gravity Forms contact form and linking it to your Podio App of choice.
Here is a link to a video demonstration on how it works.
What I like about this integration is that I don’t have to use Zapier as a middle man. Not only does it save time, but it also removes a possible trouble spot. Less moving parts will make for a calmer experience.
Here is more information about GravityForms + Podio
Cost to You
I do find the cost of this a little expensive as I was expecting something more in the $30 range. However the additional $70 is worth it when you consider how it will simplify your process. Also just like most software these days, the price gets you a Years worth of Support and Updates. After that you have to pay another $100 to continue getting the support and updates. I recommend this because if Gravity Forms puts out an update, this tool might break.
Gravity Forms + Podio
$100
Per Year#5 – Calculation Fields
Podio has a field type called Calculation. You might think this field is only used to do simple calculations like adding up expenses or calculating your Max offer based off Repair, Arv and other fees. Yes it does do these and do them easily.
The Calculation field can do a crazy amount more though. You can use any number of pre-built in Microsoft Excel like functions as well as use a scripting language like Javascript to do conditions and more! It really is a great feature.
Link -> Podio Calculation Field
Use Cases
There really is a limitless amount of uses for the Podio Calculation field. Sure the built in functions like Sum, Avg, Min and Max (plus more!) are great and come in handy. But the real power is the ability to write javascript code to loop through groups of records and perform “Smart” Calculations based off criteria.
- Concatenate Information
- Calculate the MAO
- Show Latest Offer Amount
- Conditional Logic
- Get List of Related Items
123 Main St
Whippany, NJ 07999
If you want to create a field that displays the combination of other fields, like to show a mailing address field you can do something like this
@Name + /n + @Address + /n + @City + ', ' + @State + ' ' + @Zip/n = new line
+ = concatenate
” = all text must be in single quotes (‘text’)
@ = Signifies a field name
The best place to go for Podio Calculation Field Help is the Community Boards
Cost to You
This is a built in feature of Podio so there is no cost to you, in terms of money. However there is a steep learning curve if you want to figure out more complex calculations using Javascript.
Free
$0
Per Month#6 - Better Voice
There is no easy/free way to get your voicemails put into Podio with all the information entered into the correct fields. If you use Google Voice you can forward the transcribed emails to your podio email-to-app address. That creates a new record but only provides you with a Subject and an Email Body to place into 2 podio fields (of your choice).
What I like about BetterVoice.com is that you have more control over your voicemails and you can easily add additional numbers to your account. With Google Voice you are stuck with a single number.
Here are some of the cool features that I like...
Link -> BetterVoice.com
Use Cases
BetterVoice allows you to setup "Call Flows" to determine how to handle incoming calls. This gives you a TON of possible use cases. I'm still exploring everything that can be done, but here are a few ideas that I have come up with...
- Attach Voice Mail to Podio
- Different Phone # for each campaign
- Tag Voicemail depending on which number was called
- Autocreate Call Back Task
- Autosend Text Message
With Google Voice you just get a link to your voicemail message. Using Zapier with BetterVoice allows you to attach the recorded message file directly to the Podio Item. This makes it easier to share the voicemail with partners and VAs.
Here is more information about Better Voice and it's features
Cost to You
BetterVoice is obviously not free like Google Voice is. But if you want to take your phone system to the next level then this is well worth the cost. They do have a 14 day free trial if you want to try it out.
Pricing Plan * 14 day Free Trial Available *
$20
Per Month#7 - Create a Zillow Link
The more information about a Property you can pull into your Podio automatically the better. I could have included this in the Calculation tip/tool, but it's so handy that it deserves it's very own section.
Basically what the end result is that a link to Zillow will automatically be created, for each property, that brings up the Zillow property information.
Example Link that will be created...Example Zillow Link
Link -> Zillow.com
Use Cases
Use this tip, to turn a calculated field into a Custom Link that will bring up the property information on Zillow. You'll see the...
- Zestimate
- Rental Zestimate
- If it's listed
- Property Description
- Comparable Homes
- Map with home values
Now I understand that Zestimates aren't always accurate, but it's a great tool to get a quick idea on the property's value when talking with a seller for the first time.
To create this Zillow Link field you do the following.
- Modify your App Template
- Add a Calculation Field
- Paste the below text into the Calculation field
- Save
if(url){ "http://www.zillow.com/homes/"+url.toString().replace(',','').split(' ').join('-') +"_rb" }
If you have multiple fields that make up the property address then you'll need to do something like this...
if(url){ "http://www.zillow.com/homes/"+url.toString().replace(',','').split(' ').join('-') +"_rb" }
Cost to You
This is probably the best tip in the 10 because it won't cost you a cent or more then 2 minutes of your time to implement.
Free
$0
Per Month#8- Sharing
One of the first features that really gave me goose bumps about Podio (yes I'm a nerd!) is being able to Share a specific App Item with random people by email address...Even with the free account!
The people you share the App item with can interact with the item just like you do. They have the Podio interface where they can update information, leave messages in the chat area and upload files. Security wise, that item is the only thing they can see in your Podio as well.
Link -> Podio Share
Use Cases
There are a few cases where I use this and it's greatly increased my productivity and lead tracking. I don't handle all my leads so this makes my life and my partners' lives so much easier.
My main use of the Share feature is giving my Partners access to the leads in their areas. When the item is shared by clicking on this toolbar item...
then adding the persons email address (or name from contacts) and a personal message...
They get an email saying that I am sharing a lead with them. In order to see the lead they have to create a Podio account (with the same email address that you used to share your App Item with). I have gotten only positive feedback from my partners about this setup, even from non-Podio users.
Here is more information about Sharing a Single Item in Podio
Cost to You
Don't expect to pay anything because this is a free feature in Podio. It also doesn't cost you any time to setup either. I've used this feature from the start and love it!
Free Podio Feature
$0
Per Month#9 - Filtered Views
Filters are a great way to only see the records you want to see. Podio allows you to create and save filtered views of your data. These views can be visible to everyone in your workspace or private to you only.
Additionally you can use filtered Views as the source to your relationship fields. This has some cool uses that I'll go over in the Use Case area below.
Link -> Podio Filtering
Use Cases
There are a couple ways I've used filters to really help me limit what I'm seeing in my Podio workspace. After a while there is just so much data that you don't want to see it all, only the relevant stuff. Here are a few ways that I do this with filters...
- View only Last 7 Days
- Add Filtered View to Workspace Dashboard
- See Only Active Buyers in Relationship Fields
I created this filter to obviously see only the leads that I've gotten from my website over the past 7 days. I wanted to do this because it gives me a quick glimpse as to how my partners are doing with returning phone calls. No Updates = No Call backs. So I then send them a follow up email asking "What's up?"
Here is more information about creating Filtered Views
Cost to You
The only cost here is the time it will take you to figure out where you can use this feature. Start off simple by creating filters for you Dashboard to build your confidence. Then I would start filtering your relationships. If you do it wrong you may filter out some records you don't want too...just be aware of that.
Free Podio Feature
$0
Per Month#10 - Globimail
This is another tool that will help you keep all your communications within Podio. Since I get a lot of leads through my website and we are exchanging emails, it gets tough to keep track of the correspondence in podio.
I have to keep cutting and pasting emails into Podio. For any apps connected to GlobiMail for Podio, GlobiMail for Podio will create a comment on all items with a link to reply to the customer or create a new email to the customer. These links open up your default email client, ready to compose a message. No need to use a new tool - just keep using your favourite email client.
Link -> GlobiMail.com
Use Cases
The use case is pretty self explanatory with this tool. It gives you the ability to send and read emails from the Podio Chat area of each App Item. Very useful if you ask me.
Here is a list of features that GlobiMail for Podio has...
Here is more information about the GlobiMail Features
Cost to You
GlobiMail is a tool that just helps me stay that much more organized with no more effort then I was expending before. With that said it doesn't make sense not to use it. Well there is one minor issue...it tacks on another monthly payment which sucks.
Basic
$9
Per MonthSilver
$15
Per MonthGold
$25
Per MonthThat's it!
I hope I was able to tell you about some tools and tips that you didn't know about before. These things have really saved me time and have made my life so much more efficient. If you have any questions or would like some help on setting any of these tools/tips up in your Podio just send me an email at Scott@StrugglingInvestor.com
Comments 28
Did you set up your Podio for real estate investing yourself or did you get someone to do it for you?
I am still working on perfecting mine.
Author
Hey Lamar,
I’ve done all the setup of my Podio Apps and workflows. Actually I can’t take all the credit, Google has been a big help 🙂
If you have any questions/problems I’d be happy to try and answer them.
Hi I was wondering if you charged to help peopke set their systems up
great stuff scott.
Author
Thanks Andre
Hey Scott,
Great Blog!! I setup the Lead, Buyers, Pursue and Offer apps today – everything works awesome and should save me a ton of time!! I am trying the zillow calculation field and keep getting this error “Preview: Script Syntax error. Unexpected token & – any thoughts?
I am also looking into using Podio to track my lists and campaigns. Do you have an tutorials for this?
Author
Hey Mike,
I think your issue with the Zillow calc field is that you are referencing a field that doesn’t exist in your app template. That’s the error I get when I misspell a field name.
As for lists and campaigns I’m still working on a good solution for that. You can be certain that when I come up with one I’ll post a tutorial about it.
Hey Scott!
Your content and website design are the best that I have seen since I entered the wholesaling business! Quick question: I see that in #2 you mention that it is possible to (not very easily) use Globiflows “Search for” action or “Update Item” action to search your buyers list for buyers who work in a targeted zip code and then auto-link them to your lead through relationship fields in Podio. Do you have a video showing how to use Globiflow to do this? Thanks for your help!
Best Regards,
Luke
Author
Hi Luke,
Thanks for you kind comments. I have a tutorial on how to do just what you asked over here..
http://strugglinginvestor.com/2015/05/podio-creating-apps-and-automating-with-globiflow-and-zapier/
At the end of the post you’ll see where you can get access to the complete video tutorial. The post is an overview of what I did. Let me know if you have any questions.
Hey Scott!
Thanks for all the extremely cool new ideas and tools!
I’m wade around in the very shallow end of the “technical” pool…so your style of explaining how you use things is an enormous help.
I liked the Zillow.com link you came up with for the calculation field, (#7)…it made me wonder if it’s possible to create that same ability for Redfin.com?
I use Redfin.com because of the ease of use and it pulls data directly from the MLS.
I’ve had people look into adding a link to Redfin inside Podio, however, Redfin does not have an API.
Is it possible to use a create a Podio calculation for Redfin without the API?
Thanks!
Dwain
Author
I haven’t tried to do it with RedFin. If there is a consistent url for a property then it can be done no problem. An Api would be good for actually pulling data into Podio. I’ll have to check it out.
Hi, any idea how to create a link to Redfin in Podio in the calculation field?
Great…looking forward to what you find out.
Thanks!
Hey Scott, Love the post.. I have a one line address but still cant get the script to work for zillow.. What county are you in? Somerset?
Author
Chris,
Could you send me a screen shot of your the calc field formula you are using? It’ll help me see whats up….scott@strugglinginvestor.com
and I’m in Morris County
That script in No. 7 works for me only if I set it up this way:
var url = @Property Address
var url2 = url.replace(“,”,””).split(” “).join(“-“) + “_rb”
“[” + url + “](http://www.zillow.com/homes/” + url2 + “)”
Author
Interesting Rainer. I have the script working in one of my Apps right now. I know you know what you are talking about, so I wonder what the deal is. Did you try cutting and pasting it? Sometimes the quotation marks get screwy when you do that.
Hi Rainer,
I noticed all of your comments in the Podio Help Center. If you would be interested in helping me get setup in Podio I would be happy to pay for the help and would like to be able to hire you on an ongoing basis if possible. Email anytime Noel(at)Elkhorngroup(period)org
Thank you! Will
Hi Scott,
I’m trying to use the calculation field to show the average comp sold price just like you show above. I think I have my two apps set up much like yours. I have an offers app where I keep track of the ARV repairs wholesale fees comps and wanted to make an average comp sold price calculation.
In my comps app I have a currency field called sold price. A relation ship field to my offers app. And a status with sold, pending, and active.
I’m getting an error of.
Script syntax error: Invalid regular expression: missing/
My calculation looks like.
var compsPrice = @All of Sold Price;
var compsStatus = @All of Status;
var SumVals = 0;
var CountComps = 0;
for(var i = 0; i < compStatus.length;i++) { if(compStatus(i) == "Sold"){ SumVals += compPrice(i); CountComps += 1; } }; "Average of Solds: " + SumVals/CompCount [/container][/content_band][/x_tab][x_tab active="false"]
My linked @ all of Sold price when I type it in is under a header of comp relationship (incoming) if that matters.
Author
William,
Taking a look at the code on that page it seems that something got messed up (plus I had a few typos). I fixed it above, but here is the code you can use…
var compsPrice = @All of Sold Price;var compsStatus = @All of Status;
var SumVals = 0;
var CountComps = 0;
for(var i = 0; i < compsStatus.length; i++) { if(compsStatus[i] == "Sold"){ SumVals += compsPrice[i]; CountComps += 1; } }; "Average of Solds: " + SumVals/CountComps
Scott,
This is incredibly valuable. Thank you so much for sharing this. is there a way to use the calculation field to automatically provide lat and long based on an address?
Thanks!
Author
Hi Howard,
You cannot use a calculation field to get the lat/lng. The only way to do it is to use a combination of Podio Calc Field, Google Maps API and Globiflow. Here is a tutorial on how to do that..
http://strugglinginvestor.com/2016/01/podio-quick-tip-getting-address-info-from-google-maps/
Some killer tips here, thank you!
Scott have you tied in Quickbooks online to Podio?
Author
Hi Jerry,
I have not, because I don’t use quickbooks.
Hey Scott,
Appreciate the info! Did you happen to find an answer for adding Redfin? How about Realtor.com? I’m trying to learn how to add Redfin and Realtor.com but haven’t found answer yet.
Thanks,
Mike
Hey Scott,
I’ve been trying to figure this out but haven’t found the answer just yet. Is it possible to integrate your MLS auto email leads directly into podio? If so, how is it done?
Author
Hi Sawyer,
Which MLS auto email leads are you referring to? There are many ways to get things into Podio, I may be able to help.