CRM, that's Customer Relationship Management, is a valuable tool that's underutilized by many real estate professionals.  Actually, it's far more than a tool; it's an approach to doing business that builds and improves business.  Let's look at it from a straight nomenclature point of view.

Customer Relationship Management

 

"Customer"

You notice this isn't "prospect," "lead," or "site visitor."  It's customer.  So, we should immediately start out with the knowledge that this isn't a tool or process directed solely at someone we're trying to gain as a customer or client.  It's much more broad, a process that will assure that we reach not only people who aren't yet using our services, but those who are already.

"Relationship"

It's not "us against them," or "us marketing to them," or "our process and their buying-in."  It's about building a relationship with virtually everyone in our sphere of contact.  Though we may end up grouping them into "prospects," "clients," "support personnel," etc., they're all a potential source of business.  Our relationship with each individual will be built upon their needs more so than ours. 

"Management"

Though we will be responding to our database and contacts in ways that meet their needs and solve their problems, we must manage that process.  We not only manage the process but the data and information that helps us to accomplish our mission.  We're never managing the people, only the data and our interactions with them.

So, if we consider CRM to be a business plan and process that is involved in every phase of our business, we can build a better CRM system and use it to build a larger and better business.  It involves:

  • Marketing
  • Advertising
  • Follow-up prospect communications
  • Working sellers for listings
  • Working with buyers for sales
  • Solving problems for customers and getting them to closings
  • Communicating with past clients for referrals and follow-up service
  • Communicating with real estate support vendors to better serve our customers
  • Managing large amounts of data and retaining files for transactions
In one respect, everyone, no matter how they get into our CRM database is a customer of sorts.  We serve the title company with information, the appraiser, the surveyor, and virtually every vendor involved in the process through our coordination skills and transaction management.  We're also the customer of many of these vendors as well.  It's a relationship, and we're going to consider everyone as a current or potential customer, and we'll manage our relationship with them for maximum positive results.
 
Marketing & Lead Generation
 
If we're considering everyone we deal with in any way as a part of our CRM database, then just about everything we do in our business will be involved in managing it.  Our advertising and marketing, whether in print, on the Internet or in other media, integrates with several important facets of CRM.  Using the Web as an example, we have websites and blogs, as well as using social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to prospect and communicate.
 
Prospect & Customer Communication
 
Communication with those in our database is crucial, and the more efficient, the better.  So, when we're doing direct mail, and especially the much more popular email communications, they should integrate with our website, blog and social networking to make the process more efficient, as well as to accumulate data and a record of our communications in one place for easy and efficient access when we need it.
 
Task & Transaction Management

This involves extensive communication, document creation, control and filing, as well as a huge number of tasks to keep complex real estate transactions on track through closing.  There are notes, contracts, meetings and tasks, and they are all related to one or more of those contacts in our CRM database.
 
It only stands to reason that CRM is far more than just working leads and prospects.  Since that's the case, having a single system that's integrated from the first marketing approach through the closing and subsequent customer follow-up is just going to improve the way we do business and help us to grow.  Here's how RealtySoft provides their real estate professional users with an end-to-end real estate CRM system that accomplishes their goals.
 
RealtySoft CRM
 
RealtySoft CRM
 
RealtySoft CRM
 
RealtySoft CRM
 
RealtySoft CRM
 
RealtySoft CRM
 
RealtySoft CRM
 
RealtySoft CRM
 
There's nothing like organization and complete integration when you're in your CRM system.  The Internet is changing the way in which we communicate, and we need to get on top of Customer Relationship Management as an integrated business process.

About Jim Kimmons:

Jim Kimmons, with more than 16 years experience as a licensed real estate agent and broker in 3 states, is a consultant to Realtors in how to use technology to market and manage their businesses. He has also written books and eBooks on Internet marketing and real estate. Jim is RealtySoft's chief evangelist and is a compensated regular contributor to the RealtySoft.com blog.

 

 
Posted by Jim Kimmons on 12/12/2011 10:08 AM   Comments (7)   CRM Software in the ActiveRain Channel   crm, customer relationship management, marketing  
Short URL: http://actvra.in/yZV
Post is included in group: Online Marketing Help Center
Post is included in group: Rainmaking - Internet Marketing Strategies

7 Comments on CRM, More Than Just Working Leads & Prospects

DEC
12
2011
621,279 Points 11 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

SUGGESTED FOR A FEATURE. You notice this isn't "prospect," "lead," or "site visitor."  It's customer.  So, we should immediately start out with the knowledge that this isn't a tool or process directed solely at someone we're trying to gain as a customer or client-I will admit I have always included customers with prospects and leads thinking that I will eventually turn them into clients if I continue to consistently stay in touch with them.

Thanks for sharing. Great post.
10:42am • #1
DEC
19
2011
Outside Blog

What a great post. I've bookmarked it so I can read it again.
12:08am • #2

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT!! I like that!  It puts the personal touch back into what we do-- It keeps me focused on the CUSTOMER. 
2:12pm • #3
476,676 Points 11 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

It's about relationships, I like Bill will be going back and rereading your post.
5:07pm • #4
865,445 Points 18 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

A  very good post and one that puts the emphasis where it belongs.. relationship building.  This is exactly what sustains a business over time.
9:01pm • #5
428,199 Points 23 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I am trying to decide what system to use so I will look into this a little more. Thanks.
10:27pm • #6
DEC
22
2011
271,455 Points 1 Featured Post Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

GREAT POST I JUST SIGNED UP FOR THE TEN DAY TRIAL AND WILL CHECK IT OUT
11:44am • #7


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Jim Kimmons

Taos, NM

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RealtySoft.com Chief Evangelist

Office Phone: (575) 737-8554

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