This article provides information and setup instructions for the Real Estate Investment App Pack published on the Podio App market. The App Pack includes 9 apps and more than 50 Podio Workflow Automation flows.
Installing the App Pack and Flows
This App Pack requires Podio Premium with Podio Workflow Automation (formerly known as "Globiflow"). After installing the App Pack from the App Market, you will need to refresh within your Podio Workflow Automation (PWA) console. Note that you must refresh PWA after installing the App Pack, and before making any modifications to any app in the pack. If you make any changes to apps before refreshing in PWA, the flows for that app will not install. If you intend to use the electronic signature capability included in the Sales Contracts and/or Purchase Contracts apps, it is recommended to have your RightSignature integration with PWA already configured before you install the flows.
If you have installed this pack into a workspace that is within a Podio organization on Podio Free, Podio Basic, or Podio Plus, you must upgrade your Podio organization to Podio Premium first, and then reinstall the app pack.
This pack includes 9 apps and more than 50 automation flows.
Seller Leads app
This is the main app for managing sellers and properties. Google Street View images can be included with the seller lead item; this requires a Google API Key and configuration of the “Google Street View” item in the Settings app. Drip Sequences can be configured on an individual Seller Lead to automate contact with a lead. Manual contact can be initiated via text messaging using the SMS: (or Sms: or sms: ) prefix in a comment. More documentation on this is available in the Twilio document within the Settings app.
Whiteboard app
This app is used for leads that have become deals, specifically seller properties under contract for purchase and moving to the next stage of the process, such as wholesaling the property to a cash buyer.
Cash Buyers app
This is a contact app for cash buyers involved in deals.
Purchase Contracts
This app is used for generating contract documents with Sellers and sending them for eSignature with RightSignature.
Sales Contracts
This app is used for generating contract documents with Buyers and sending them for eSignature with RightSignature.
Drip Sequences app
This app defines automated drip sequences for contact via Text Message, Email, Voicemail, Letter, or Postcard. Drip sequences can also have tasks that are assigned at certain time intervals.
Drip Steps app
This app contains the individual steps to be assigned to a Drip Sequence, such as a Text Message or Email, including the content or configuration of that step. Merge variables are available in Drip Steps, such as [[firstname]], [[lastname]], [[propaddress]], and [[city]] so that values from a specific Seller lead will be merged into the contact Action.
Actions app
Each item in this app represents a contact action with a seller lead. In addition to being created automatically by SMS: comments or Drip Sequences, Actions can be created manually for any Seller Lead and either run immediately or scheduled for execution in the future.
Incoming Calls/Text app
This app is a holding area for inbound calls or text messages from phone numbers that cannot be found in the Seller Lead app. If CallRail is configured, inbound calls from numbers that cannot be found in Seller Leads will create a “Call” record in this app. If a call comes into a CallRail number where the phone number is found in the Seller Leads app, the call information will be added as a comment in the related Seller Lead.
Settings app
This app contains various administrative settings, including information used to integrate with third-party systems.
System Log app
This is a system app and is only intended for administrators. Users will not use this app.
Quick Start - Setting up two-way Text Messaging from Podio using Twilio
After installing the App Pack in your workspace and refreshing PWA to install the flows, you can proceed with the setup of Text Messaging using Twilio. The App Pack is pre-configured with the API integration flows required to send and receive Text Messages using Twilio. Text Messaging via the Seller Leads app can be done manually (immediate or scheduled) or through automated Drip Sequences. The following video shows how to configure Twilio, Podio, and Podio Workflow automation.
Twilio configuration with Podio and Podio Workflow Automation:
Drip Sequence Options - Text Messaging
By default, this app pack is configured to use Twilio for text messaging. By changing the manual flow action in the Actions flow “1-1-1 Process Action Now” you can also configure smrtPhone or ClickSend for text messaging.
Note: In addition to offering text messaging, smrtPhone is a feature-rich Podio extension that includes integrated click-to-call and “screen pop” for inbound calls—so that when a call comes in from a Seller Lead, the Podio item for the caller in the Seller Leads app is readily available.
More documentation on ClickSend is available in the Podio Workflow Automation help:
- Send: https://globiflow.com/help/send-sms-text.php
Handle replies https://globiflow.com/help/trigger-a-sms-text-reply.php - Note: CallRail is not recommended for Text Messaging with Drip Sequences due to restrictions on message length and volume.
Drip Sequence Options - Email
Email functionality is set to use the built-in SMTP server functionality of Podio Workflow Automation. It is required that you specify your own SMTP server within the PWA console. If support for multiple SMTP servers is needed, there is an additional flow included with the pack that uses the Procfu extension. The Globimail for Podio extension can also be used with a few small changes to the PWA flows.
Drip Sequence Options - Voicemail
The flows included with this app pack are preconfigured for use with Slybroadcast ringless voicemail.
Drip Sequence Options - Letters and Postcards
The flows included with this pack are preconfigured for use with Lob. Note that you will need to create an HTML template within Lob for your letter(s) or postcard(s).
Purchase Contracts and Sales Contracts - integration with RightSignature
The Purchase Contracts and Sales Contracts apps are integrated with RightSignature to enable processing of contracts with sellers and buyers, respectively. The following video shows how the Purchase Contracts app works.
Integration with CallRail
For existing users of CallRail, the following video shows how to integrate Podio with CallRail tracking phone numbers for inbound calls, outbound calls, and incoming text messages. If enabled in your CallRail account, recordings for inbound and outbound calls will be accessible within Podio. Note that outgoing text messaging with CallRail is not recommended for use in Real Estate Investment scenarios due restrictions CallRail has on message length and volume. Twilio, smrtPhone, or ClickSend are recommended for two-way text messaging with Podio for Real Estate Investment use cases.