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Hailing from drastically different backgrounds and operating in three corners of the country, 2005's top agents, Ruth Pugh, Harald Grant and Theresa Griffin, all share one important characteristic: they work exceedingly long hours to hit their numbers. Under those conditions, anything that can save a minute or make a task even a shade easier is much appreciated. We asked these elite sales professionals what piece of technology they simply couldn't be without.

Only a few years after its introduction, Ruth Pugh says she can no longer imagine life without her BlackBerry, which she uses to communicate via email while on the road. But that's not all she uses it for. A fan of making lists and outlines, Pugh has created a profile of her "dream client,"a client who, among other things, is positive, finds humor in everything, is a deal junkie and respects and "love, love, loves"her.

"All the time I meet people and say, 'you aren't going to believe this, but you're my dream client.' And then I pull out my BlackBerry and I show them. It's amazing. It works."

Harald Grant's clients are mostly busy bosses with precious little time for phone tag. Grant said he keeps his cell phone with him and answers it almost anytime. He has no patience for agents who don't keep up with their calls.

"I was taught that if someone calls you, you contact them back. It doesn't matter if it takes an hour at the end of the day, you do it. Some people don't and they pay for it."

In trying to close 891.5 transactions last year, Griffin developed a deep love and respect for Microsoft Excel, a spreadsheet program that played a large part in making her 12-hour-plus days manageable.

Said Griffin: "I was never really what you would call computer savvy before I got into real estate, but that program made everything so much easier for me."