Increasing Productivity Using CRM Tools

Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced real estate professional it’s likely you’ve used, or have been told to use, a CRM system. What is a CRM? The acronym stands for customer relationship management and it’s ultimately a tool that serves to provide a snapshot of each of your client or prospect relationships.

As a real estate agent, do I even need a CRM?

This comes up a lot, especially with new agents. For people who have only recently joined the industry it may seem overwhelming to learn so many systems, and then to have your broker or fellow agents tell you that you need to learn a new CRM system may just be a tipping point.

Think of your CRM as it relates to your cell phone’s contact list. Let’s say you buy the latest $1000 iPhone and decide you don’t want to bother transferring all your old contacts over from the old one. It’s just an extra hassle, right?

Within minutes of powering up the new phone you’re completely lost as to how to contact your friends and family, who that last message came from, what plans you made with someone in the 212 area code… TOTAL CHAOS. You’d probably be left scrolling through old texts and e-mails trying to piece together your social life. Well, not having a CRM will start to feel a lot like that as you grow in your business.

What does a CRM do?

A CRM does so much more than just hold the contact information of your clients like your cell phone would. It records every touch point so that you know exactly when you last connected with a client or prospect, what activities they might require in the next few months, and when and how to connect with them.

To simplify it, if you’ve completely forgotten every interaction you’ve had with Joe Homebuyer and he leaves you a message one afternoon saying he’d like to “pick up where you left off six months ago,” you won’t have to panic and start frantically rummaging through all your post-it notes from the past year trying to figure out who the heck this guy is!

All you’d have to do is log into your CRM, click on Joe’s name and wait for the holy grail of e-mails, phone call logs, notes, contracts and contact information to pop up. Joe will always hold a special place in your CRM.

Which CRM should I be using?

Sometimes it’s easier to first discuss which CRMs you shouldn’t be using. Infusionsoft and Sales Force while popular are CRMs you should steer clear of. These are not CRM systems specific to real estate and have endless bells and whistles designed for use by large corporations and sales organizations. For the high price tag, it’s unlikely you’d be utilizing many of the features and would therefore be overpaying for the sophisticated product.

Additionally, due to the customization offered by CRM systems like Infusionsoft and Sales Force (sometimes called SFDC) it’s likely you would need a consultant to build out the system and continue to manage it – a hassle and expense you’d likely not want to take on as a real estate agent.

The CRM tools we recommend

LionDesk

LionDesk is a CRM designed specifically for the real estate industry, but is especially perfect for those text savvy real estate agents. It allows you to send marketing text messages to your phone-shy clients, and recently even introduced video e-mails and text messages! For our techy marketers that rarely look up from their iPhones, look no further.

Realvolve

Realvolve is an excellent solution for the results-driven real estate professional. Of course, this tool gives you all the CRM basics like contact information, relationship management, and activity tracking but Realvolve likes to get down to the numbers! It helps you to see your real estate business by transactions and historical or projected earnings so you can run your CRM like a boss!

Buffini Referral Maker PRO

Buffini Referral Maker PRO takes CRM just a step further. As opposed to just passively tracking your activities, it suggests steps to take each day to reach goals that you set in the system. Brian Buffini is a well-known ex-agent turned real estate success trainer that focuses on the need for a comprehensive marketing strategy to reach your sales goals. Tying in an investment in his CRM with his motivational sales training might just be the perfect mix for a wannabe rockstar real estate agent.

Buyers beware

There are a few caveats to keep in mind when investing in your next real estate CRM. Often these tools have so many bells and whistles, like a cockpit control panel or a recording studio sound board, that you’ll either be too lost or intimidated to use its basic functions. As they say, “keep it simple, stupid.” Only invest in the degree of power you plan to use. Don’t buy a Ferrari if you’re only planning to use it in a neighborhood cul-de-sac.

Simple solutions

If some of these other tools are a bit too intimidating for your taste, it may be time to simplify things with a straightforward and easy-to-use real estate CRM.

Jungo

Jungo is actually one of the leading CRMs for loan originators and was built on the Salesforce platform. It directly connects with their loan operating system, has some fantastic features and is used by many of the top loan originators across the country. It does require a year upfront payment of $1K with no monthly payment options so you probably want to be sure you’ll stick with this one.

Velocify

If you’re looking for simplicity, Velocify might be more your speed. It offers similar loan originator focused features but is much more user friendly with a slick and simple interface.

Contactually

While Contactually isn’t a real estate specific CRM it’s one of our favorites! It’s clear that Contactually designed its user interface to encourage users to well, actually use it. They even created a game out of throwing your prospects into different buckets that automatically remind you when it’s time to follow up.

With your different buckets based on identified client types you’ll get reminders for when it’s time to follow up and can activate automated e-mail drip campaigns to nurture those relationships throughout the sales cycle.

Contactually is a CRM that is great for managing and growing your significant relationships. As a real estate entrepreneur relationships are your greatest asset and that’s especially true for you top 150 relationships, or your “sphere of influence.”

It’s likely the majority of your profits and successes will come from your “sphere of influence” so it’s critical to maintain and grow those relationships over time. According to the book, “ The Seven Levels of Communication ,” you’re better off growing these relationships than investing in new, cold leads and Contactually understands that.

Contactually manages these oh-so-important relationships and encourages you to take action that will grow your significant relationships such as handwritten notes that they will pen and send for you! It’s a well-rounded option for any professional looking for a proactive, results-driven solution that will encourage just the right behaviors for the busy real estate agent. Take a look, we think you’ll agree.

Regardless of the option you choose, a reliable and intuitive CRM system is crucial to any successful real estate business – including yours! So, what’s holding you back from taking your business to the next level with just the right CRM tool?