What Today shows
Today is a short list of your next actions, best first. Berchtold makes the list each morning from your contacts, deals and campaigns. Each action says why it is on the list. It names its contact, deal or campaign and has one main button.
You see only your own actions. An action about a contact is for the contact's owner. A deal's actions are for its agent and its coordinator. A campaign's actions are for its owner and its host. An open house's action is for the listing's agent.
Where you see Today
The same list shows in these places:
- Home: the Today section is first. It shows five actions. Select Show more to see all of them.
- A contact: Next best action shows your actions for that contact.
- A deal: Next steps shows your actions for that deal first, under Your actions today. Key dates, the deal's questions, suggested updates and the deal's risk have their own lines there. They do not show twice. A stage check shows under the deal's stage bar.
- The phone app: the Today screen shows the same list.
- Goals: when you are behind pace, Today asks for an hour of calls.
- The Monday email: the weekly email has a Today section.
- The morning notice: each morning, a notice says how many actions wait. It names the first one. Select it to open Today on Home.
To turn the morning notice off, open Profile, then Notifications, then Today plan.
The types of actions
| Action | When it shows |
|---|---|
| Update the Key Date | A key date on a deal passed, or is due in 3 days or less. It is still open. |
| Set the date | A task waits for a key date the deal does not have yet, such as Schedule listing photography for the Photography date. It shows while the Listing date is ahead, with the days that suit the work from the task's template. See Listing photography. |
| Move to (a stage) | A Stage check: the deal's own facts show it is further along than its stage, for example a Listing date on a deal in Appointment. One tap moves the deal and starts the stage's automations. There is no Done. Real estate only. See Stage checks. |
| Open the deal | The deal may fall through. See "Deals at risk" below. |
| Check the signatures | A signature request waits more than 3 days, or a signer declined. |
| Answer the lead | A new lead has no answer yet. The lead came in the last 14 days. |
| Answer them | A lead sent another request after your last answer. |
| Call them | A past client may want to move. |
| Send a note | A past client's home anniversary is in the next 14 days. |
| Thank them | A person who sent you clients had no contact for 90 days. |
| Check in | A past client had no contact for 180 days. |
| Review the updates | Berchtold found updates for a contact or deal in notes and calls. |
| Answer the questions | A contact or deal has open questions. See Keep contacts and deals up to date. |
| Start a power hour | You are behind pace on your appointments or contracts goal. |
| Open the campaign | A campaign starts in the next 7 days and its setup is not done. See "Campaigns on Today" below. |
| Set up the campaign | The MLS shows an open house of your listing in the next 14 days, and it has no campaign. |
A past client may want to move when two things are true. They bought or sold with you at least 2 years ago. In the last 21 days, they visited your website, clicked an email or sent a form.
Today shows at most five actions of one type. Imported leads do not show as new leads.
Campaigns on Today
A campaign shows on Today when one of its dates starts in the next 7 days and something is not ready. The action says what is left, in this order:
- Some of the campaign's work waits in Approvals.
- The date is not set up yet. Berchtold sets up each date the day before. Today shows it only when that day has passed.
- No one is on the list, and the template needs people before the day. A pop-by needs the clients who get a gift. An event with invitations needs its guests. An open house does not: visitors sign in at the door.
- Tasks due before the start are still open. The action shows how many, and the next one.
Select Open the campaign to open that date of the campaign.
An open house of your listing can show on Today too. It shows when it is in the next 14 days and has no campaign. Select Set up the campaign. It opens Campaigns, where you select Set up campaign on the open house. See Campaigns, open houses and events.
Act on an action
Select the main button. It opens the part of the contact, deal or campaign that has the work. For example, Update the Key Date opens the deal's Key dates.
Some actions have Draft it. Berchtold writes the email for you. The email is not sent. It waits for you in Approvals. Select Open the draft to read it. Then send it, change it or decline it. See Messages.
When you finish, select Done. The action leaves the list.
Done on a deadline also marks that deadline done on its deal, as if you answered it on the deal. A deadline that someone finishes in another place leaves the list too.
A warning about a deal comes back only when it changes. This is true for a risk, signatures out or questions to answer. For example, Done on a risk hides it until the deal has a new risk.
A stage check's button does the work: Move to Pre-Listing, for example, moves the deal. It then leaves the list. It also leaves when the deal reaches that stage in any other way.
If the action is not right now, select Not now. Then tell Berchtold why:
- Not the right time
- Not useful
- Already done
The action hides for 14 days. If it is still needed after 14 days, it comes back.
How Berchtold orders the list
First, Berchtold uses rules. Each type of action starts with a set number of points. Then three things change the order:
- Time. An action that is due soon, or that waited long, goes up.
- Your goals. An action for a goal that is behind pace goes up. Actions that keep deals on time always go up. A campaign's action counts toward the goal its template names: appointments, or else referrals.
- Not now. After 10 answers on a type of action, many Not now answers move that type down.
Then Berchtold learns from you. A type of action shows Learning until you mark 20 of that type done. After that, Berchtold looks at what your done actions led to:
- an appointment with the contact;
- a reply: a visit to your website, an email open or click, or a form;
- a new deal for the contact;
- a deal that moved to its next phase;
- a closing;
- a campaign date that started on time, with its setup done;
- a campaign made for an open house.
A type of action that leads to more of these for you goes up. A type that leads to fewer goes down. Berchtold counts what came of an action in the 21 days after you marked it done.
Deals at risk
Each night, Berchtold checks each active deal and each deal under contract for warning signs:
- A key date passed and is still open.
- A key date is due in 3 days or less.
- No person updated the deal for longer than its phase allows.
- Signature requests wait.
- The expected close date passed.
- The contract has no lender or title company.
Each sign adds points. A deal with enough points shows At risk. A deal with more points shows High risk. The deal's Next steps shows the label and each warning sign. Its people also get an Open the deal action on Today.
When a deal turns High risk overnight, its owner and coordinator get a notice that morning. It comes in the app and on the phone. The notice names the first warning sign and opens the deal. It comes once, and again only if the deal drops and turns high again. Turn it off with the Today plan notice in Profile → Notifications.
Berchtold also learns from your closed deals. A sign that came before many lost deals counts more. A sign that did not counts less.
Use Today with an AI assistant
You can use Today from Claude, ChatGPT or another AI assistant that connects to Berchtold. See Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Muse to Berchtold. Ask it to:
- List your actions, best first, or the actions for one contact or deal. A campaign's action names the campaign and the date.
- Set up a campaign for an open house of your listing.
- Move a deal to the stage a stage check suggests. The assistant asks you first.
- Mark an action done, or hide it with Not now and a reason.
- Write the email for an action. The email waits in Approvals.