Your list is your most important asset.
How many leads do you have? How many A Leads? How many B and C Leads are in your database?
I don’t care if you are in Real Estate, or have a small business in any field, the size of your pipeline will determine your success, or lack of success, over the next few months.
Your business’ growth is going to depend on how well you manage your list of leads. This is why a good CRM system is a must. As your business grows, you will have to move beyond word documents and spreadsheets in order to keep things organized.
Scribbles on notepads and post-its are not an efficient way to keep track of your sales opportunities. You need a good, effective CRM system to tie things together. Of course, choosing the right CRM for your real estate business is critical, as there are currently so many options to choose from.
Know What You Need
One of the biggest mistakes real estate agents and small business owners make, other than not using a CRM, is choosing the wrong one. If you don’t pick a CRM you like, you won’t use it! I have helped my clients choose the best CRM for them over the years in our business coaching sessions.
But how do you know which one is best?
When choosing a CRM system for your business, you have to know what you want it to do. It needs to capture the important contact information, email address, mailing address, phone numbers and social media accounts. You will want to be able to record contacts, or touches, you made via all of these means of communication.
You will also want a place to record notes about a contact and their home if you are a real estate agent.
CRM functionalities often come in packages, so you need to determine how much of those functions you’ll be using so you don’t waste money on services you’re not going to be using.
If you want email drip campaigns, for example, already created for you in a CRM, make sure you ask about that upfront before signing up.
Of course, just because you don’t need a certain functionality now doesn’t mean that you won’t be needing it forever. Your needs change depending on the growth of your business. You need to have the foresight to determine whether a certain CRM function will be relevant in the future.
Application Integration
You will also want to make sure that the CRM system you are eyeing integrates and functions well with other applications in your business. This will help streamline your business operations better.
If you are using other systems in running your business, such as accounting software, texting programs, and even your own website, you have to make sure that the CRM system you will pick will work seamlessly with your existing apps.
User Experience
Finally, take some time to consider how this CRM software will impact how you run your business. When you use this CRM system, does it make things simpler? Or does this software make things more complicated? Can you customize it to suit your needs?
Make sure that your CRM is easy to use, which lets you focus on the other aspects of your business. After all, you are investing on these systems to make running your business smoother.
The best CRM, is the one you will use!
It goes without saying how important choosing a good CRM system is for your business. And while it is easy to be distracted with the numerous functionalities that various CRM providers are offering, it is important to make serious considerations when investing.
Your list is you most valuable business asset. Take care of it. Make sure it is in a good system that is easy to access and use everyday!