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BUYER'S GUIDE: CRM Systems

Follow the Lead

BY MICHAEL ANTONIAK

How do you turn leads into clients? Strong personal skills and services are one part. The other piece: Having a system that keeps track of prospects, so they keep track of you when they’re ready to buy or sell. Today’s lead-capture and customer relationship management systems—available online and offline—include a range of cost-effective tools for organizing prospects’ information, scheduling correspondence, and tracking activity—all information that can be quickly searched to identify what you still need to do and where you need to ramp up marketing efforts.

Dianne Bryant, ABR®, CRS®, an associate broker with RE/MAX Executives of Atlanta, recognized the advantages of a lead capture system but didn’t want to learn new software. Her solution: Respond from Seminars & Systems, which allowed her to continue using Microsoft Corp.’s Outlook contact manager, which she’d already mastered. “It lays on top of Outlook and converts it into a real estate program,” she says. “I can capture lead information right from e-mail or Web forms.”

In addition, prospects and clients in the database automatically receive her monthly newsletter, and each January everyone who closed with her the previous year is sent a personalized letter with settlement papers for tax time.

Broker Phillip Orr, CRB, of Coldwell Banker Ozark Real Estate offices in Hardy and Pocahontas, Ark., relies on a combination of systems. He migrated his salespeople to the Lucero system for a networked solution, in which all their contacts are in the same database for easy access. He also taps three other solutions: an eNeighborhoods Web site for marketing and gathering leads; the CardScan At Your Service Web site (cardscan.net) combined with a scanner for gathering client information from business cards; and Outlook as his primary contact manager and calendar, synched between his computer and smartphone.

“It takes work to get these systems set up,” Orr says. But once you do, you’ll never miss a lead.


Buying Tips

Before choosing a CRM system, try demos to find the best fit. Here’s what to look for:

  • Seamless workflow. Your CRM software should let you input data yourself and capture information from incoming e-mail and your Web site contact forms. Also, look for planning and marketing modules—some come with these features—to manage your marketing campaigns and client correspondence. And, find a solution that allows you to easily customize records, reports, and scheduling.
  • Online or offline. The trend is toward Web-based applications, but you may prefer to keep your records on your desktop or notebook PC. Software can be cheaper; Web-based solutions usually require ongoing subscription fees. With offline systems, you’re responsible for backing up data. Web-based programs are continually updated, so you have the latest features, and wherever you have Internet access, you can use your database.
  • Integration. One solution might not fit all your needs, so look for systems that together let you import or export data, organize people and properties, and schedule marketing campaigns.
  • Monitor results. Search and report functions let you find information and mine the data for strategic insights, such as what’s working in converting leads into clients and which elements of your marketing campaign are most effective.


    SOFTWARE

    Maximizer 9 for Real Estate $219 download; $229 on CD Maximizer Software, www.maximizer.com,800/804-6299. Contact management and CRM software for Windows includes real estate modules. Preset fields for organizing relevant information on prospects, buyers, sellers, and vendors. Customizable Web forms for developing records on prospects. Includes Action Planner feature for scheduling activities and long-term marketing campaigns. Merge recorded customer data with Outlook or Word to create personalized marketing communications.

    LeadCommander $239 DataBasix Technologies, www.leadcommander.com,877/532-3266. Lead capture, management, and marketing for Windows. Import lead and contact information from any source. Maintain records on clients and listings. Activity planner and scheduler with real estate marketing library of promotional material. Integrates with FreedomVoice for capturing lead information—such as names and phone numbers—from incoming phone calls; multiuser and Mac OS 9 versions available.

    Respond $299 Seminars & Systems, www.patzaby.com,972/407-1337. Enhancement converts Outlook into a real estate–specific solution. Adds fields for recording property information and listings. Calendar with reminder feature helpful for planning drip marketing campaigns. Includes a Calling Manager with customizable scripts for calling leads and following up with clients. Library of marketing materials also available.

    ACT! for Real Estate 8.0 $469.99 Sage Software, www.sagecrmsolutions.com,888/855-5222.Real estate version of contact management and CRM package that includes calendar and scheduling functions. Creates centralized database for contact and client information. Plan and track activity and correspondence, from initial contact through completed transaction and beyond. Optional version includes Real Estate Promoter search engine marketing and lead capture services, so you can capture leads off theWeb and upload information into contact database.

    Web-based Solutions

    360Agent Pricing starts at $150 to set up, $29.95 per month; no contract required for individual users. Quadrant2, www.360agent.com,800/372-3195. Manages real estate relationships, from lead capture through transaction. Capture leads from any Web site form or add company-supplied forms to your site. Includes lead incubation system. Action Plans feature for automated follow-ups on leads, contacts, listings, and sales.

    Advanced Access Web site packages start at $599.95 to set up, plus $49.95 per month Advanced Access, www.advancedaccess.com,888/902-4653. Lead capture and contact management for Web sites. Customizable Web forms for capturing lead information. Automatically adds contact information to IntelliC@rds Lite address book and contact management module for automated drip marketing e-mail campaigns.

    Agent XSites Web site packages start at $399 per year a la mode inc., www.alamode.com, 800/252-6633. Integrated lead capture, contact management, calendar, and marketing functions. Imports contact information from popular CRM software. Includes customizable lead capture forms. Prospects who complete forms receive a personalized e-mail response. System alerts site owner by phone as new leads arrive. Organizes and tracks activity and correspondence with each contact.

    InstaLeads $99 per month eNeighborhoods Inc., www.eneighborhoods.com,877/363-4442. Lead capture and marketing system included with eNeighborhoods Web sites. Automatically loads new lead information into contact management module based on defined geographic and demographic criteria. Leads are automatically contacted via electronic postcard to promote your expertise and directed to your eNeighborhood Web site. Package includes customizable neighborhood reports, buyer tours, flyers, and maps of listings.

    LeadCapture IDX $200 setup fee, $30 per month, in addition to Web site package (starting at $199 to set up, $35 per month) Myers Internet, www.myersinternet.com,800/693-7730. Provides free IDX MLS searching and encourages Web site visitors to subscribe to automatic e-mail updates of relevant new listings. Integrated with contact management features built into a Web site to export contact information in standard database formats. Optional lead capture module for Web sites.

    TopProducer 7i $34.95 per month Top Producer Systems, www.topproducer.com,800/821-3657. Real estate productivity/marketing program. Contact database created from information gathered on prospects and customers from online forms or e-mail. Manual or automated Action Plans help manage ongoing marketing for each contact. Scheduler and calendar functions enable automatic marketing campaigns and correspondence.

    RealFuture CRM Solo 2.0 $159 per year Adigida Solutions, www.adigida.com,866/234-4432. Real estate CRM with automated scheduling features. Captures contact information from Web inquiries and organizes them into records. Sidebar and Dashboard features provide a quick view of accounts, tasks, schedule, and lead status. Create mash-ups—combining such features as Google maps, home values, mortgage rates, and calculators—based on contact’s interests. Limited free version available.


    Prices are the vendors’ suggested retail prices and are subject to change. This list isn’t comprehensive; NAR doesn’t evaluate or endorse these products and isn’t responsible for changes in company info.