Customer Relationship Management is Essential as a REALTOR®

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is essential in the field of Real Estate Sales. Successful Real Estate Agents have systems in place that practically guarantee a level of continuous business.

A CRM system is used to keep track of customers and leads. In real estate a lot of business comes from repeat clients. Clients have to be reminded of you, their REALTOR®, even when they are in between buying and selling property. A CRM system can help you keep track of your communications and create a system to ensure you are reaching out enough to keep their business (and get referrals to their friends and family). CRM should also help you keep track of leads – such as someone that has commented on a post or inquired on your website.

Some people still swear by the paper and pen method or spreadsheet at best to track their clients; however, there are some exciting options out there that have greater functionality. There are so many CRM systems available and they can range in price from $0 to around $89 a month to more expensive full software purchases for a brokerage or team to use.

Some CRMs have been targeted directly at Real Estate Agents, such as REThink or Top Producer and offer integration with MLS.  There are a lot of benefits to using a higher quality CRM targeted specific to an industry. For instance, with Top Producer, custom market research reports can be created and sent automatically to prospects or clients.  Top Producer also offers built in templates and postcard mail services to easily connect with clients. We discuss all of the details of the Top Producer CRM product here.

There are several free or inexpensive options that are more generic but still powerful that you can try out though as well. Most offer a free trial period so you can demo a few before picking one that you want to stick with.

For Google users, Streak might be a good option. It has a free or $29/month subscription and integrates with Gmail and google apps (the G suite).

Zoho is a full CRM option starting at $12/month and offers features like Social Media integration and Workflow Automation that let you know the next step to take with a lead.

Insightly also has a free or $12/month plan and offers integration with a lot of applications including the G Suite, Microsoft Office/Outlook, Quickbooks and more and offers Workflow Automation.

Contactually offers most of its functionality only for the plans $59/month and up and includes pipeline management and specific tools for teams.

These CRMs all offer some form of lead tracking and reporting; it is best to watch some demo videos and even try them out before deciding.

Once you have a CRM in place you will want to use it to keep in touch with clients. Click here to read more.