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Outlook and Real Estate...Yes they can be friends!

Maybe you have read my other posts about how I have just gotten over my first year. Well I survived, and though I may not be out of the woods completely yet I want to begin to share a little of what I have learned. Maybe share a few things that I wish others had shared with me. Now don't get me wrong I have enjoyed a great support system and had some awesome "mentors" along the way. And as great as all that has been, there are some things that I still wish someone had explained to me (they might have had to slap me but I can take that too, right?) The Image of a Realtor

Today I just want to share something about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or contact management software.

I guess I need to say first that my degree of "computer literacy" is rather high. I don't mean that in any way to be egotistical, just that I have a pretty good concept of the standard programs and can on most instances figure it out if I haven't used it. Now by no means am I ready to write programming language or set up major security networks, but I also am not typing with one finger (if that is a good analogy).

When I first got into real estate I was bombarded on all sides it seems as to what was necessary for me to have. I needed a new laptop, a camera, digital tape measure, real estate calculator, even some new ties. Now it wasn't necessarily anyone telling me this it was just the idea that all these other agents (forget that some of them had been around so long they probably sold Noah the first dry spot after the ark) were using certain things. So with checkbook and credit cards in hand, off I went. I don't know how many new agents will read this or how many "veteran" agents will remember, but even before you buy any amenities for real estate, you have to drop a lot of cash to begin with. There is pre-license class, exam fees, MLS dues, key deposits, upping your car insurance, and so on. When it comes time to get the necessities (yes you probably told your significant other this too) money can be quite shall we say "spread out".

I had used Microsoft Outlook® for many years, but after talking with others I just had to have a real estate specific contact management program. There was no way that my little Outlook would allow me to compete against agents using Prophet, Top Producer, Act for Real Estate, or Agent Office. So I quickly signed up for (I will withhold the name) a monthly online CRM program.

(Disclaimer: If you use such a program or know someone who does, skip this paragraph.) This new program was a MONSTER. It had a huge learning curve. There were so many things and so many possibilities that I would spend most of my time trying to learn this new way of doing things, that the simple things like calls and emails got pushed aside. Then on top of that, if I wanted to know the insides of the program I would need to shell out an additional fee (too much for my tastes) to get a DVD and book to learn how to use the software. Yes I am exaggerating just a bit. Because it wasn't too terribly difficult for me to learn the new way, although it was cumbersome. However, there were a couple of other agents who decided to buy at the same time I did and they are just slightly technologically challenged so they didn't fare as well. I decided enough is enough and wanted to get rid of this program and the monthly hit on my bank account it was taking. I was informed that I had passed my 90 day trial and according to the contract (that I don't remember seeing) I was locked into a monthly "contribution" for a year. "Fine", I said, "please mark it down now that I want it to stop exactly on the year date." They agreed, and I am still waiting for that year to end. Some realtors will know what I mean by saying that this is money that I could just have easily flushed down the toilet, and it would have done just about as much good.

So without going too much further with this post (already longer than I imagined) I have been using just good old Outlook for 7 or 8 months now. It has never let me down. I have been wondering if there was a way to make it even better. After a little search I am sure I have found the answer. I have gotten busier and noticed that I might need a little tweak of the old database to make things a little easier. That's when I found Active Agent for Outlook by Sonoma Enterprises. It is a God send!!! I like it more everyday. It plugs in seamlessly with Outlook so I don't have to learn anything new (not too much anyway). Yes there are a few features that make you think a little, but they have free online videos that walk you through the program....and did I mention they are free. Now when I tell you that the price tag is $299, at first you may say "ouch" but thinking back that I have paid almost $450 over the last year for a program that I quit using many, many months...IT IS A STEAL!!!

So if you are in the same boat or are thinking about if your money for contact management is being spent wisely go and check it out. They even provide you with a 14 day free trial. What do you have to lose? Nothing. But you could have quite a bit to gain.

Thanks for listening (or is that reading?) By the way, I don't receive any money or incentives for this plug. (Hey, Sonoma...if you see this, maybe you could change that last statement.) Well you can't blame me for trying. :)

Posted by Lee McFatridge on 03/22/2007 03:36 PM

Comments (17)

rookie, realtor, augusta, georgia, evans, realestate

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17 Comments on Outlook and Real Estate...Yes they can be friends!

MAR

2007

Lee,

No kidding about the start up costs. I had to buy a wardrobe because I went from being full-time mom in jeans and a t-shirt.

I use Outlook and the contact management software in my MLS program, which is included in my monthly MLS fee that I would be paying regardless. It works out really great for me because I can log onto my MLS from any computer and have access to all my client info, it even lets you download docs, contract, whatever and save them to your client.

Congratus on completing your first year. Sounds like we started at the same time.

Fran

MAR

2007

Thanks Fran.

I wish my MLS provided just a little more than they did. We surely pay enough, huh?

MAR

2007

I use Outlook now for my contact management. Being fairly new, I don't have a huge monthly budget and look to save any way I can. Since I'm pretty handy with the ol' PC, I figure I'll use the Office Suite (things I alread own) as opposed to shelling out $35 a month for TP. To me, that money is better spent in farming/advertising.

MAR

2007

Lee, that's an interesting add-in to Outlook. From the descriptions it does almost everything that Top Producer (I'm still using 6i) does. I should clarify. I recently switched to Outlook from Eudora for email purposes, and from my trusty old Palm Pilot to, well, Outlook! Everything is in one application - email, contacts, calendar, notes, tasks - and I can synch it up with my new smart phone. I'm truly 'connected' in my vehicle or at a meeting. The only real advantage of using TP now is that it tracks mailing campaigns and expenses, and has those great tickler features for listings and buyers. But this add-in appears to do those, and you're right, it's a lot cheaper. Guess I'll have to investigate a bit more, but thanks for the tip!

What all does Active Agent add to Outlook?

Thanks Robert Smith I am falling in love with this new add-in. Like you I rely a lot on my smartphone, which is a Treo running Palm OS. I tried the TP for Palm but found it extremely inadequate, I even called them and in a round about way they admitted it was an older program and they hadn't invested any effort in it for many years...that was sad. I was able to cancel it, but had to keep the 7i for the year, but used it maybe 3 or 4 times, so yes you can hear the toilet flush as the money goes down the drain. :) I tried countless programs, and I am finally happy with this choice. Hope it helps you out also.

Sandra Williams, I am digging deeper everyday into AA for Outlook. I think it would be good if you got it directly from the horses mouth and checked it out at AA for Outlook (Sonoma Enterprises).

Hope this helps guys...and thanks again for all comments.

The Tony Montana Way

APR

2007

I like my contact system, Outlook. It has taken a long time to finally have it the way I like.

APR

2007

Active Agent is a very good add-on to Outlook. I am affiliated with them, and if that fills all your needs, it's great. To say that it does nearly everything that Top Producer does though, is highly inaccurate. There are many programs out there, all with their pro's and con's, all with varying learning curves. There is no 'best' one. There is only the one that is best for you. While Top Producer indeed does have a significant learning curve, it is because it does more than any of the others. If you don't need that much power, then it is not the right one for you. Agent Office is also a powerful tool, but has a little less, and has a lesser learning curve. The readers here would probably benefit by reading my most recent posts on the subject at

A History & Partial Listing of Contact Management Tools in Real Estate

Hi Lee, Thanks for the helpful tips. Much appreciated.

MAY

2008

I have been using Agent Office for about 4 years now, and I love it. The only downside to it, though, is that I still use Outlook to manage my email. I could use A/O, but since I have nice html email stationery that doesn't work through Agent Office, I am stuck using Outlook as my email program.

Agent Office is a good dependable program, but you're right, the e-mail aspect is weak. To keep everything in one place, to me it seemed worth it, to deal with that shortcoming though. I have come across another product that does do e-mail well though, and it's actually been around 1 year longer than Agent Office. Check it out at http://AdvantageXi.GaryDavidHall.com Like every other one out there, it has it's pros and cons, but I like it enough that I switched to it myself about 4 months ago now. If you want to see if it's right for you, give me a call!

NOV

After learning Agent Office while assisting a top producer, it seemed like an easy choice. A year into "the business", I am starting to think it suited me better as an assistant. I like Outlook and am frustrated by how many different programs we have trying to accomplish the same thing. I really want to use ONE program for my CRM and have it sync well with my smart phone....no more headaches! I am wondering if I may have stumbled upon a great solution?!? :) I look forward to trying this & will report back.

NOV

As an update to my last comment, there are many options. There are actually 4 different add-ons to Outlook, to make it Real Estate specific. Two have been mentioned. Active Agent for Outlook, and Respond by Pat Zaby. There is also RealeSeller, and Eurekaware. Those are 4 of 32 options you have for Real Estate specific Contact Management & CRM software. I would happy to discuss any of them with you, as I am a reseller for virtually all of them.

MAR

FYI - My Real Estate Contact Management and CRM Comparison Matrix is finished! This Matrix allows you to easily compare almost 30 Real Estate Contact Management and CRM software products across 350 features, while learning about all the possible features with a 15,000+ word glossary.

MAY

There's quite a few advantages to using Microsoft Outlook. One of my favorites is that pretty much all smart phones synchronize with Outlook. So, you can get your contacts and appointments on your palm, pocket pc, iPhone, blackberry etc. This is a capability that is not to be underestimated as most agents are our of the office quite a bit of the time. Since Outlook is a popular commercial program, it's also well supported, pretty bug free and sold at a pretty good price. I also would note that its a reasonably well liked program.

ActiveAgent takes the approach of directly enhancing Outlook. This has its advantages as the extra fields are within Outlook, so there's no need to open up a different program. However, there are two disadvantages to this approach. First, it doesn't lend itself to multi-users (like an assistant). Secondly, it doesn't lend itself to multiple computers - like a home computer and a notebook computer as the data can not be synchronized between computers.

There's another possibility that you might want to consider. It's called RealtyJuggler Desktop. Basically, it has all the extra fields that real-estate agents needs and synchronizes with Microsoft Outlook. So, in effect, you can have you cake and eat it too. You can use Outlook, and keep all the advantages of that. Since RealtyJuggler is a secure web site, you can also sign in from any computer and your assistant or partner can access the information simultaneously. So, you got the multi-user, multi-computer thing going for you. You can even use it to synchronize Outlook with each of your computers. So, if you have a computer at home and another at work, both can have Outlook and both can synchronize with Realtyjuggler. That way, the same set of contacts can be available from wherever you are.

Sincerely,

Scott Schmitz

RealtyJuggler Organizational Real Estate CRM Software

MAY

To be clear about what Active Agent can and cannot do:

"However, there are two disadvantages to this approach. First, it doesn't lend itself to multi-users (like an assistant). Secondly, it doesn't lend itself to multiple computers - like a home computer and a notebook computer as the data can not be synchronized between computers."

This is not correct. All fields Active Agent adds to Outlook can also be shared by using an exchange service.

Outlook can be used as a pure single user application via a standard POP3 mail account or it can be used in a networked environment via an Exchange server. By using an exchange mail account in place of the basic POP3 accounts you gain several advantages.

1) Your data (contact, calendar, tasks, mail, etc) are stored on a server that you can access from multiple locations. If you make a change to a contact on your laptop and then connect to your mailbox via your desktop at home that change is automatically reflected. This provides you a single repository for your data that can be accessed from multiple locations.

2) Sharing of data. If you have multiple people in your group and want to share your contacts, calendar, etc you can do that with an exchange server. You can specify any folder in Outlook to share with any person in your organization. You can specifiy what permissions the person accessing the data has (view, edit, add, delete, etc).

3)Public folders. Exchange also gives you a whole new set of folders where you can create public calendars, contacts, tasks, etc.

You can set up exchange as a hosted server (much like you have your POP3 account setup today) or dedicated. Most people will move to exchange by simply asking their hosting provider to move them to an exchange account, if they provide that service they will typically charge you a few dollars more a month but you gain not only the ability to share data, provide remote access to your data but it also provides a means of backup.

MAY

Gary,

thanks for the correction. I didn't realize that ActiveAgent could be configured that way.

Scott.

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