Choosing the right customer relationship management (CRM) system for your real estate business can be a challenge. With so many different options on the market, it can be tough to know which one is right for you. Here’s what you need to know about CRMs, along with a list of the five best CRMs for real estate agents in 2022.
The Definition of a CRM
A CRM, or customer relationship management software, is a tool that businesses can use to manage and track their customer interactions.
By keeping track of customers’ contact information, purchase history, and other important data, businesses can more easily provide personalized service and targeted marketing.
Additionally, CRM software often includes features such as task management and sales tracking, which can help businesses to streamline their operations.
While CRM software can be expensive and time-consuming to implement, it can ultimately help businesses to better serve their customers and grow their business.
The Benefits of a CRM
There are a number of benefits that businesses can reap from implementing a CRM system.
Some key benefits include:
Increased Sales: A CRM can help businesses to better track their customers’ interactions and buying habits. This information can be used to create targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to result in sales.
Improved Customer Service: By tracking customer data, businesses can quickly respond to customer inquiries and provide them with the best possible service.
Establish a connection with your customers: A CRM allows businesses to track their customers’ data, creating a more personal connection with them. This can result in longer customer loyalty and increased sales.
Enhanced Efficiency: By automating tasks and streamlining operations, a CRM can help businesses to run more efficiently.
Reduced Costs: A CRM can help businesses to automate many of their customer-related tasks, such as email marketing and customer support. This can save businesses time and money.
Organized and Centralized Data: By keeping customer data organized and centralized, a CRM can make it easier for businesses to find and use the information they need.
Your Database is Your Goldmine
A database is important because it stores all of your company’s vital information in one place. This prevents data loss and makes it easy to access customer information when you need it.
A database is also a goldmine because it contains a wealth of information that can be used to market your products or services. For example, you can use your database to segment your customers into groups, so you can target them with personalized marketing messages.
You can also use your database to track your customers’ purchase history, so you can upsell them on related products or services. In short, a well-maintained database is an essential tool for any business. By leveraging your database, you can deliver more targeted and effective marketing touches, which will ultimately lead to more sales.
To maximize your database and extract the most benefit from it, you need to use a CRM system. A CRM will help you to manage your data and make it easy to access when you need it. It will also help you to track your customers’ interactions and buying habits, so you can create more effective marketing campaigns.
Typical Features of a CRM
While the features of a CRM will vary depending on the software, there are some common features that you can expect.
Some key features include:
Contact Management: This feature allows businesses to track all of their customers’ contact information in one place.
Sales Tracking: This feature allows businesses to track their sales progress and goals. It can also help to identify which products are selling well and which ones need improvement.
Appointment tracking: This feature allows businesses to track and manage appointments with customers.
Task Management: This feature helps businesses to create and track tasks related to customer services, such as follow-ups or meeting preparations.
Marketing: This feature allows businesses to track and create targeted marketing campaigns through text messages or email.
Reporting: This feature allows businesses to generate reports on various aspects of their customer relationships, such as sales or customer satisfaction levels.
The Different Kinds of CRMs
CRMs can be divided into two main categories: on-premises CRMs and cloud-based CRMs.
On-premises CRMs are software that is installed on a business’s own computer system. This type of CRM typically offers more customization options but can also be more expensive and difficult to set up.
Cloud-based CRMs are software that is accessed online. This type of CRM is typically cheaper and easier to set up but offers fewer customization options.
How to Choose the Right CRM for Your Business
When choosing a CRM for your business, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, you need to decide what features are important to you and your business. Then, you need to consider the size of your business and how many employees will be using the CRM.
Additionally, you should ask yourself how much money you’re willing to spend on the software and what type of support you’ll need from the vendor.
Furthermore, you may want to consider conducting a CRM trial to see how the software will work in your business.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your CRM
Your CRM system is a powerful tool that can help your business to grow and thrive. However, it is important to use your CRM system correctly in order to get the most out of it.
Define your goals: What do you want to accomplish with your CRM system? Having a clear idea of your goals will help you choose the right features and set up your system in the most effective way.
Configuration: The first step is to configure your CRM system correctly. This means setting up all of your contact information, sales tracking, and task management systems. It can also be helpful to create templates for commonly used tasks or emails.
Training: Make sure that all of your employees are properly trained on how to use the CRM. This will ensure that they can take full advantage of its features.
Keep it up to date: A CRM system is only as good as the data it contains. Make sure to keep your data updated and remove any information that is no longer relevant.
Usage: You need to make sure that your employees are using the CRM system regularly. This means using it for all customer interactions, including prospecting, sales, customer service, and reporting.
Avoid information overload: A CRM system can collect a lot of data, but that doesn’t mean you need to track everything. Focus on the information that is most relevant to your business, and that will help you achieve your goals.
Regular reviews: Take some time to review your CRM system regularly and make changes as needed. This will help ensure that the system is still meeting your business needs.
Examples of How Real Estate Agents Can Use a CRM
CRMs can help real estate agents manage their leads and sales pipeline, track their progress towards their goals, and improve their customer service. Here’s how:
Lead Management: A CRM can help you track all of your leads, from the moment they enter your system to the time they close. You can also track the progress of each lead and what stage they are in your sales process.
Sales Pipeline: The sales pipeline in your CRM is a visual representation of your sales process. It helps you to track where each lead is in the process and identify any bottlenecks.
Goal Tracking: A CRM can help you track your progress towards your goals. You can set up customizable dashboards to track your sales, leads, and customer service metrics.
Marketing Touches: A CRM can help you keep track of all the marketing touches you’ve made with each lead. This includes emails, phone calls, and visits. You’re also able to send customized birthday wishes, anniversary cards, holiday greetings, special announcements, important updates, and more.
Activity Tracking: A CRM can help you keep track of all the activities your employees are doing with each lead. This includes sales, marketing, and customer service activities.
Prioritize Your Leads
You can prioritize your leads by budget, engagement, income, timeline, and more. You can also organize your leads by categories, such as current clients, past clients, potential clients, and more.
Budget: You can prioritize your leads by budget, from the least to the most expensive.
Engagement: You can prioritize your leads by engagement, from the most to the least engaged.
Income: You can prioritize your leads by income, from the highest to the lowest income.
Timeline: You can prioritize your leads by timeline, from the soonest to the furthest away.
Category: You can also organize your leads by categories, such as current clients, past clients, potential clients, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions About CRMs
Question: Do I need to have my own server to run a CRM system?
Answer: No, you don’t need to have your own server to run a CRM system. However, some CRM systems do require a certain level of technical expertise to set up and maintain.
Question: What type of support will I need from the vendor?
Answer: Most vendors offer some type of support for their CRM systems. This can include telephone support, email support, or live chat support. It’s important to find out what type of support is offered before you purchase a CRM system.
Question: Can I trial a CRM system before I buy it?
Answer: Yes, you can trial a CRM system before you buy it. Not always, but in many cases, you can trial the software for free or for a limited amount of time.
Question: How long does it take to set up a CRM?
Answer: It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to set up a CRM system. However, the time it takes will depend on the complexity of your system and the level of technical expertise you have.
Question: How often do I need to update my CRM?
Answer: You should update your CRM regularly, but how often depends on the type of CRM you are using. Some CRMs require daily updates, while others only need to be updated once a week or once a month.
Question: Does a CRM system integrate with other software I’m using?
Answer: In most cases, a CRM system will integrate with other software you’re using. However, it’s important to check with the vendor to make sure the CRM system you’re interested in integrates with your other software.
Question: What type of reporting is available in a CRM?
Answer: A CRM will typically provide various types of reports, such as activity reports, contact reports, and lead reports. The type of reports available will vary depending on the CRM system you are using.
Question: Can I export my data from a CRM?
Answer: Yes, you can usually export your data from a CRM. The format of the data will depend on the CRM system you are using.
5 of the Best CRMs for Real Estate Agents in 2022
There are a number of different CRMs on the market, so how do you choose the best one for your needs? Here is a list of five of the best CRMs for real estate agents.
One: Keap
Designed for small businesses, Keap’s client management software makes your job easier with marketing automation. Your experience can also be more tailored with optimized customer experiences and day-to-day management tools.
Other tools include landing pages, social media, and custom lead forms that collect and organize contacts automatically. You can manage your Keap CRM via desktop or mobile app.
Establish triggers through tags and segmented contacts for automation that is customized based on client activity and data.
Easily migrate and connect your audiences, contacts, and data from Constant Contact and MailChimp directly in the app, and integrate your CRM with thousands of apps. You can also trigger automation and sync contacts with native integrations from HelloSign, Quickbooks, and Shopify.
Even more, with the native payment processors that Keap offers, you can receive and receive payments from within your CRM, using some of the most well-respected names in eCommerce, including Paypal and Stripe.
Keap offers a free two-week trial, so you can try it before you buy it, with no credit card required. But when you’re ready to buy, you can choose from three subscription options, including Lite for startup businesses at $59 per month, Pro for growing businesses at $129 a month, and Max for established businesses and their teams at $199 a month, each paid annually. And all paid plans include access to a Growth Coach for small businesses.
Paid plans also include:
- Unlimited round-the-clock expert support
- Dedicated migration specialist
- Community of industry experts
- On-demand strategy courses
- Unlimited emails
Two: LionDesk
LionDesk is specially designed for real estate agents, teams, brokers, mortgage brokers, loan officers, title reps, and other real estate industry professionals.
The LionDesk CRM features custom landing pages, contact management, A.I. lead follow up, lead distribution, autoresponders, third-party lead imports, Facebook lead generation, click-to-call, task management, and more.
For the single agent, there are three packages to choose from: a starter package at $21 per month billed annually, a Pro+ package at $42 a month billed annually, and an Elite package for $83 per month, billed annually.
The basic package includes 2,000 emails – including video emails, 500 text messages, and 100 video texts. You can send video emails, bulk texting, and bulk email. You also have the ability to manage transactions, access built-in drip campaigns, learn from group webinar training, get Facebook lead generation, and the option to purchase additional emails and texts.
The Pro+ option, marked as the best value, includes all starter features and more monthly credits. You’ll get 7,500 emails – including video emails, 2,000 text messages, and 500 video texts. You also get a custom number for texting, video texting, bulk campaigns, Text-2-Sell shortcodes, a white label email domain, a sub-account for your admins to use, and the ability to manage multiple transactions.
The elite package offers 15,000 emails – including video emails, 4,000 text messages, and 1,500 video texts. You’ll also have all the features of Pro+, along with valet contact import, third-party integration setup, priority support, and one-on-one training.
LionDesk does offer a free 30-day trial with no credit card required.
Three: SalesForce.com
SalesForce.com is one of the most popular CRMs on the market, and for good reason. It’s packed with features that are perfect for real estate agents, including lead contact management, opportunity management, sales forecasting, process automation, and mobile CRM through its product Sales Cloud.
Contact management: Stay on top of essential customer data, such as important contacts, communication history, and more, so you’ll have a complete snapshot of every customer, from their engagement to the deals they’re a part of. You can pull in data from social media for a more in-depth view of your clients so you can be privy to what they’re saying about your services. Your entire team can access contacts so you can collaborate company-wide with tools created for you to share relevant documents and insights. Plus, you can access all the contact data you need from the SalesForce mobile app.
Opportunity Management: With the SalesForce opportunity management feature, you can focus on what’s important by viewing important details in an activity timeline of your customers’ activity. Keep track of what stage the deal is in and what you need to do to close the next sale. Create up-to-the-minute quotes on the fly with built-in quoting capabilities that allow you to automatically populate your quote with customer data, create a PDF from a template, and email it directly to your customers from within SalesForce. You can also keep your team updated with real-time updates from your mobile device.
Sales Forecasting: With the use of data insights and predictive A.I., you can keep a comprehensive view of your sales pipeline without leaving your CRM and make revenue-driving business decisions on the go. Use quick filters and out-of-the-box KPIs. You can also activate your one-on-one status updates in coaching sessions, including real-time changes in customer data. And stay flexible by establishing forecasts based on the KPIs that match your business model.
Process Automation: Automate and auto-assign tasks and alerts that coordinate with different stages of your business. You can do this with the simplicity of drag-and-drop capabilities and keep your deals flowing forward with automatic approvals.
Mobile CRM: With the convenience of hand-held technology, you can now manage your CRM from the palm of your hand to close deals fast, collaborate with your team, or access your files no matter where you are.
SalesForce offers a no-credit-card-required free trial with no software to install. However, it’s unclear how long the trial lasts, the information they likely release after the viewer fills out eight questions that start with first name, last name, and job title.
The pricing structure on their website is also a little tricky. Rather than having services grouped together into packages of varying features and prices, they have more of an ala carte experience where you patchwork together the products and services you need.
Four: Wise Agent
With the Wise Agent platform, you’ll have access to seamless transaction management, centralized client info, and smart marketing automation.
Through the CRM, you can manage contacts, automate leads, manage transactions, conduct marketing, create landing pages, time management tools, software tools, text messaging, 24/7 live support, and easy integration with the other tools you need to run your business successfully.
Contact management: This area allows you to manage contacts but also has a referral tree to see how many leads your contacts have referred to you with its built-in referral tracking software. It also has a call list so that when you log on, you’ve got a convenient list of the contacts you need to reach out to by phone. And you can access all that through the mobile web app, where you can pull up your contacts, vendors, call list, task list, and planner. Furthermore, you can send vCards, a way to share contacts’ information with a vCard API integration where you can share a single contact or batch out several and send their info to anyone you choose in vCard format.
Lead management: With Wise Agent’s A.I. Bot, you get a digital assistant that saves you time when qualifying online leads and qualifying them. The artificial intelligence technology uses industry-proven real estate scripts to qualify and engage new leads while nurturing existing leads. You can also implement WordPress Lead Capture forms.
Transaction management: The CRM will help you manage the transaction process from start to finish. It includes a built-in document management system so you can keep all your files in one place and organized. You can also create PDFs, e-sign documents, and track when documents have been viewed or signed.
Marketing automation: Wise Agent’s marketing automation allows you to connect with more people through automated drip campaigns, autoresponders, segmenting lists. You can also use it to create landing pages, send text messages, and track your results.
Time management tools: Wise Agent has a built-in calendar that helps you keep track of your appointments, deadlines, and tasks. You can also use the task manager to create To-Do lists and delegate tasks to other members of your team.
Software tools: Wise Agent has a built-in software tools section where you can find integrations with popular software programs like QuickBooks, Google Drive, and more.
Customer support: Wise Agent offers 24/7 customer support through chat, email, and phone. You can also access training tutorials and webinars on their website.
There are three pricing packages for Wise Agent, including one for $32 per month billed monthly, $326 per month billed annually, or a custom enterprise solution tailored to your needs.
Five: Top Producer
Top Producer is a CRM that helps agents manage their business and their contacts with its suite of tools. One of its advantages is that you own your database, so if you change brokerages, you don’t lose your contacts and data. And because it was designed exclusively for real estate, you can get templates, campaigns, and processes tailored to real estate professionals.
The social insights are off the hook, featuring the ability to automatically add to your contacts from social media, including profiles, interests, photos, jobs, and locations.
Another feature of Top Producer is its MLS property insights, saving you time by populating listing data and status automatically in the MLS-integrated CRM.
Manage transactions seamlessly with expertly created templates, reminders, and an up-to-date timeline of the stage you and your clients are in.
Top Producer supports dynamic real estate workflows, complete with step-by-step plans designed to assist in taking prospects from cold leads to loyal clients.
You can also create professional, personalized market report snapshots and listing alerts, helping you convert more leads.
Take advantage of Top Producer’s smart follow-up system, which suggests touchpoints and rapport building so that your prospects become paid commissions.
Top Producer’s real estate software and CRM accommodate solo agents, as well as teams and brokers.
When you sign up for Top Producer, you enter a success program that involves one-on-one coaching and set up, two personal check-ins during the first 30 days after purchase, a weekly session on Facebook called “Ask Us Anything,” ongoing phone, live chat, and email support.
Top Producer does not promote a free trial, but they do offer three packages.
The starter package is $60 per month, per user, billed monthly. This package includes the Top Producer CRM.
The Professional package, marketed as the most popular, is $95 per user per month, billed monthly, and includes the CRM and the Market Snapshot®.
The third option is the Advanced package, which is $105 per user per month, billed monthly, and includes Top Producer CRM, Market Snapshot® market report, and Fivestreet® real estate lead management.
Conclusion
A CRM, or customer relationship management system, is a software tool that helps businesses manage their interactions with customers and potential customers.
A CRM can help you automate some of your customer-related tasks, like keeping track of contact information, scheduling appointments, and sending marketing materials.
Benefits of using a CRM for your real estate business include having all your customer data in one place, being able to better track your marketing campaigns, being able to automate repetitive tasks, and gaining insights into your customers’ behavior.
Not using a CRM could cost you money in lost opportunities and missed appointments. When choosing a CRM for your real estate business, consider its features, price, ease of use, integration with other software applications, and customer support.