Real estate blog entries tagged with crm by Gary David Hall, Real Estate CRM Sales, Training and Implementation (RE-ACT, LLC)

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crm: All Clients adds Gmail Integration - 10/06/11 03:33 AM

You can now bring up a client record and not only see the emails you sent to them from AllClients, but also the emails you sent and received from your outside Gmail account for this client. It will work with a standard Gmail account as well as a Google Apps Gmail account. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwH0In6UDpg Also, in case you didn't hear, They have also added powerful Team functionality that will allow you and others to share a database, or have separate databases, assign each other tasks, work deals together and all the info rolls up nicely … (7 comments)

crm: Top Producer Special Offer! - 07/13/11 03:22 AM

Purchase 8i plus the choice of a Smartphone App. (iPhone or Blackberry) for only $41.95/month!
Or 8i only for $35.95/mo.
OFFER EXPIRES August 31st, 2011
PLEASE READ - Important Details:
Offer valid for NEW 8i subscriptions or reactivations of 8i subscriptions closed a minimum of 30 days only This offer CANNOT be combined with ANY OTHER OFFERS for 8i and only available on the package. This offer cannot be applied to 8i in other product bundles. If you pay one year upfront, you still receive the paid in full discounts You do not qualify if you already own the product(s) that … (0 comments)

crm: Is Top Producer a good value? - 12/03/10 04:51 AM

I posted this in another spot and then decided to post it here as well.
I would like to comment on the cost of TP. I want to be clear that I am not addressing any faults it may have, as all of the CRMs have faults. I am solely addressing cost. Bear in mind that while I am a reseller for Top Producer, I am also a reseller for almost 30 other Real Estate specific CRMs. There is no "Best CRM". There is only the best one for your individual needs.
A common characterization agents make is "I am paying $100 or … (4 comments)

crm: Which comes first, Contact Manager Book or Comparison Matrix? - 12/02/10 01:24 AM

It has come to my attention that people are looking to my new book to help them pick which contact manager to use. The book does not help you pick one specific CRM by itself, for two reasons.
1) Real Estate Contact Managers/CRMs are constantly changing
2) The Comparison Matrix is regularly updated by the vendors
So why read the book?
All you have to do to get a sense of how little you know about what is involved in purchasing a CRM, is to think about how much bad information is out there about Real Estate agents and the industry in … (2 comments)

crm: Choosing and Using a Contact Manager or CRM - an eBook - 10/06/10 08:17 AM

Now available at http://garydavidhall.com/ChoosingAContactManager.htm
The primary goal of this book is to help insure that one sentence never comes out of your mouth, after you have purchased a Real Estate Contact Manager or CRM. That sentence begins with:
"I wish I had known..."
Far and away the biggest issue I see facing the majority of agents who are just beginning to search for a CRM is a very simple and universal one. You do not know what you do not know.
I hope to minimize that problem here. This book covers every facet I could think of concerning the many considerations … (1 comments)

crm: CRM Best Practices - The "Name" field - 06/09/10 10:40 AM

It may sound trivial but it is absolutely not. You should always, without exception, have both a first name and last name in every contact. When you have it, use a middle initial too, to distinguish between two people with the same name.
If all you have is the first name of John, and you have no last name, you should just put John, or maybe TBD (To Be Determined) in the last name field too. This enables you to order your contacts by last name, and see for whom you need a last name.
Why? If you do not, you will eventually end up … (2 comments)

crm: Need help setting up your CRM/Contact Manager? - 04/15/10 06:18 AM

A question I get every day is, "After I buy this CRM, how do I get started?" If you have had a Contact Manager or CRM before, and the one you just got is relatively intuitive (easy to learn), then you may be fine. However, if you have never had one before, you may find yourself spending too long just sitting and staring at it. Also, just because you have had one before, does not mean you did not get into many bad habits.
With regards to learning how to use a CRM, many people are fine if they have training … (2 comments)

crm: DO NOT BUY A CRM… unless you are committed to: - 03/22/10 09:46 AM

Making the time to learn it - note the use of the word making as opposed to getting the time. It is so very important to understand that this one point can make all the difference in the world between someone who implements the CRM and reaps the benefits, and someone who eventually simply regrets spending the money, and blames it on the CRM. Maybe you have heard the time management axiom that a meeting takes as long as the time you allot to it. The same goes for your Real Estate day. You cannot keep putting off learning your CRM … (35 comments)

crm: What do Top Producer, Agent Office, Active Agent & AdvantageXi have in common? - 03/02/10 02:40 AM

Trans-Plans!
If you have one of these programs, are you using the Activity Plans capability? Most people are familiar with using plans to automatically follow up with prospects, or to follow up with clients after closing, but what about in between?
What will Real Estate Transaction Management Trans-Plans do for you?
Reduce your overall stress level more than ANY other single action you can take
Stop the details from "falling through the cracks"
Save you approximately 150 - 200 hours by not having to create and key in the plans yourself
Keep you in touch with automated letters or e-mails, for … (3 comments)

crm: What could I be doing with my CRM/Contact Manager - 03/02/10 01:53 AM

The following is a list of functions that a good CRM enables you to do. Many people buy a CRM because they are told they need one, or because they want to get more organized. Often while evaluating a CRM or after purchasing one, they then end up saying that it cost too much for what they need, because it does so much that they do not need. The reality is that the CRM does so much because it is what you need, IF you want to grow your business significantly, while at the same time; having more of a personal … (5 comments)

crm: What does a CRM do anyway? - 10/12/09 07:39 AM

If you don't know what a Customer Relationship Manager does, how can you know if you need one?
Do you run your business like a business? You're probably tired of hearing that old question, but it's one of the many things a CRM helps you do better. So what doe s a CRM do? If you want to do the following things, or do them better or faster, then you should be looking at CRM solutions.
Prospecting - get suspects, turn them into prospects, and turn them into sales, by knowing who they are, what they want, and when they want … (0 comments)

crm: Contact Management & CRM's - A healhty dose of patience can be required - 06/16/09 07:35 AM

Based on many conversations I continue to have where certain issues keep coming up, I think it is time to re-visit a few points about trying to find, and learning how to use, Contact Management and CRM Solutions.
1) Do not judge a CRM by its graphics alone. There are several products available that may not appeal to the eye aesthetically, but if you look past the graphical appearance, you might be surprised. There is one product I have in mind in particular that definitely looks dated, but in actuality it has been improved more frequently based on user suggestions, and for a longer time, than any … (5 comments)

crm: Agent Office Serial #1 - 06/04/09 04:03 AM

Recently I received an order for an Agent Office upgrade, which in and of itself is nothing unusual. But this order was different. One detail one must provide when ordering the upgrade is the serial number of the software. Well I looked at this order and saw that the serial number was A000001 ! The very first one! The man's name is Bruce Hackel, and he has been using Agent Office since the very beginning! I spoke with him a little, and he first got it in 1992, and has been a happy camper for over 17 years. I'm not saying … (2 comments)

crm: Everything you ever wanted to know about Real Estate Contact Management and CRM but did not know what to ask - is now available in an informative and easy-to-use Matrix. - 03/12/09 03:01 AM

After almost six months of research, interviews and design, the Matrix is ready! It started as a way for me to be able to answer all of your questions when you called to ask about the various features of each. After mentioning it to some people and hearing the interest it generated, I decided to make it available to the public, along with some of what I know on the subject, in the form of a glossary
The Matrix allows you to compare any of currently 29 products side-by-side, across 350 features/topics/categories. Equally as important as being able to compare the product features, there is a … (4 comments)

crm: How safe is your data? Web based vs. Desktop CRM's - 12/11/08 01:09 AM

Following is a little known fact. If one were to think about it, it makes perfect sense, but I had simply never thought about it. Everyone who likes Web CRMs always says, “I like Web based databases because I don’t have to worry about backing up.” Let us think about this in some detail. Let us say your computer is stolen. With a Web based product, all you have to do is get another computer, log in, and everything is there like you left it. Very nice! And that’s the type of scenario people always think about when they think about … (4 comments)

crm: OK - I bought a CRM, now where do I start? - 10/28/08 01:54 PM

This is one of the most common questions I hear. Some Contact Managers and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions have fairly good training materials. Some have great materials. Some have none. But what none of them really excel at, is a tutorial to take you through the basics, in a "Where do I start" format. Maybe I can propose a bit of a solution.
One of the issues making a starter tutorial problematic is that different people consider different things to be the basics, and the CRM's themselves can be quite varied as to what it is they are capable of … (5 comments)

crm: CRM or PDA? - Chicken or Egg? - 07/23/08 01:51 AM

Someone recently asked:
I'm getting a 1st gen iPhone as a gift from my brother and am very excited to get going with it. Before I jump in I'm looking for suggestions, tips & ideas from the iPhone users out there:
1) What CRM solution are you using & how does it work with your iPhone?
This person may have no choice. She is getting the iPhone as a gift. What I have been running into a LOT lately, is people going out and getting an iPhone, and THEN asking me what CRM to get, that works with an iPhone. That … (18 comments)

crm: The Value of ‘Canned’ content in CRM’s - 05/08/08 06:34 AM

On a fairly regular basis, I hear people comment that this person’s or that program’s form letters or fliers are bad/not for their market/hokey, you-fill-in-the-blank.
The value in ‘canned’ content is not necessarily in that you can take them as they are, and start using them. While it is true that there are some things, some times, that can be good they way they are, or pretty close, it is rare. The value is in the fact that the content, the concept, is already there for you, and pretty much done. What is left for you to do is to … (0 comments)

crm: Top Producer 8i - What's different from Top Producer 7i? - 03/24/08 08:34 AM

Following is a list of the core differences, as communicated to me by Top Producer. If you have any questions about other things it may or may not do, feel free to e-mail me about them.
Technology:
Top Producer 7i is based on Microsoft Java technology which does not come installed on new computers. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the only web browser supported, leaving users of Firefox, Safari, and other web browsers with no way to use the program.
Top Producer 8i is based on ASP.net and Ajax. It is compatible with a wider range of web browsers. Top Producer 8i also places … (10 comments)

crm: Agent Office Compatibility - Version 10.0 - 07/05/07 08:38 AM

I have had people ask me what 'Vista' is, so I'll start out by saying it is the Windows Operating System (OS) which succeeds Windows XP.
AgentOffice has just released Version 10.0.
99.9% of the difference between Version 9.x and Version 10.0 is Vista compatibility. The other .1% is aesthetics. By the latter I mean the icons on the top of the screen are a different color and slightly different design. I wouldn't call them better, just a different look. You also have the option of choosing the background color, and/or placing an image in the background, like you can on your Windows desktop. … (9 comments)

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