Buyer's Guide: Contact Managers

BUYER’S GUIDE: Contact Managers

BY MICHAEL ANTONIAK

Data wonders

A real estate career can easily tax one’s organizational skills and detail-mindedness. There’s so much to keep track of: prospects, past and present clients, listings, marketing campaigns, and the status of all transactions. And it’s critical in this business not to flub people’s names. Fortunately, there’s a class of tools to reduce those challenges to manageable routines.

Contact-management solutions provide the framework for building a database of crucial client and customer information. Once that information is entered, it can be searched, sorted, and rendered in a variety of reports to alert you to what needs to be done by the day or month and where you’re succeeding or falling short of your goals.

And if you opt for a program that also includes customer relationship management (CRM) functions, you have an automated system that helps you foster client loyalty.

In their products, vendors have emphasized ease of use, flexibility in the organization and retrieval of data, and increased integration of the Web and e-mail as sources of contact information. If it’s been years since you updated your contact-management solution or you’re debating your first purchase, you’ll be well served by the latest options.

Some prefer the flexibility and creative control of customizing an off-the-shelf system. But if you’re looking for a quick start, a program set up for real estate activity, such as Top Producer 7i and Agent Business Builder 5.0, might be more prudent.

Also consider if you want software or a Web-based solution. Web-based products, which have become a more viable alternative (Top Producer, for instance, has gone completely Web-based, although users of its software are still supported), give you anywhere-anytime browser access to your information. Software, on the other hand, must be installed and your records regularly updated on any computer where you’ll need the information. Yet with software, there’s no need to connect to the Web to access your data. And for some, keeping their information only on their own computer seems safer.

Do you carry a handheld? If so, you’ll want support for that platform and the ability to synchronize data between your PDA and primary PC.

Once you’ve addressed these big issues, focus on features. Key points of comparison: customization options; data import and export; calendar functions; automated activity scheduling, which notifies you when to send letters or follow up with a prospect; marketing campaign planning and implementation; Web integration for capturing online leads; and extras, such as brochure and letter templates, business analysis, word processing, or image editing.

As far as expense goes, the most one of these solutions will cost you is $500 a year. Even at that price, it’s a bargain as an investment in your career.

Shop around

Get the most from your contact manager before and after you buy.

Keep it simple. It’s better to choose a simple system you’ll be able to set up and use than a sophisticated solution that scares you off.
Look for flexibility and customization. In addition to preformatted records, fields, and reports, you’ll want a system that adapts to how you want information organized.
Sample before buying. Take advantage of vendors’ demo versions or trial periods. Compare several options.
Make it routine. Any database is only as valuable as the information it contains. Update the records and calendar at least once a day; check schedules and to-do lists on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
Analyze your sales. Reports—recent sales by neighborhood and income, how long from listing to closing—give you insights into how well you’re doing and where your sales come from.

Voices of experience

Jerry Evans, broker-owner, Century 21 Homeowners Realty, Washington, N.C.

“Salespeople make their money by being in front of people,” says Evans. Learning new software isn’t their first concern, so they need a tool that’s intuitive.

Ease of use is a primary reason Evans relies on Maximizer Software’s Maximizer. “Maximizer has a good customer-tracking program and makes it easy to record notes on conversations or phone calls as part of contact records,” Evans explains.

He also takes advantage of the program’s ability to share contact and calendar information between his desktop PC and Palm PDA. “With the Palm I can look up the last time I spoke with clients and what we talked about right before I meet with them again,” he says.

Marilyn Geiger, ABR®, e-PRO®, sales associate, Weichert, REALTORS®, Cherry Hill, N.J.

A former business consultant, Geiger had encouraged small-business owners to adopt solutions such as ACT! or GoldMine as management tools. When she embarked on a real estate career three years ago, she chose specialty software Top Producer 6i as a time-saving solution.

“There’s a lot to learn about real estate, and Top Producer was already set up for the way real estate works,” she says. “It gives me a system for keeping records, scheduling appointments, making calls, or doing mailings to anyone in my database.”

The key to realizing such benefits is regular use. “As soon as I get new data, I input it,” she says. “If you’re not organized to begin with, you have to develop good habits.”

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Real Estate Solutions

ActiveAgent 2.01 $149; requires purchase of ACT! software for Windows
Sonoma Enterprises LLC, www.sonomaenterprises.com,512/261-7763. ACT! add-on brings real estate–specific functions to generic contact manager. Adds Letter Manager, Expense Manager, and Campaign Manager modules. Fourteen predefined and user-definable reports and templates for eight marketing brochures. Palm-compatible with ACT!’s Palm Link feature. Optional version tracks multiple transactions for a contact, such as an investor. Sonoma also offers an add-on product for use with Microsoft Outlook.

Agent Business Builder 5.0 $449
PowerMate Software LLC, www.powermatecorp.com,800/581-1943. Contact management/CRM software for Windows or Macintosh. Customizable contact database; planner for scheduling to-do lists, escrow events, calls, and letters to contacts; integrated e-mail capabilities; templates for correspondence and marketing materials; customizable reports. Automatically add contacts’ Web site or e-mail address to address book.

AgentOffice 6.0 $399
FNIS Real Estate Division, www.realestate.fnis.com,866/499-2803. Software includes modules for scheduling, activity planning, listing management, CMAs, and presentations. Built-in word processor. Agent Office CRM option adds automated campaign with 11 follow-up e-mail messages and monthly newsletter over a 75-day period.

Broker Connect Desktop $19.95 per month;
requires company contract for setup and management of a Web site
RECHANNEL Communications Inc., an eNeighborhoods company, www.rechannel.com, 800/261-5405. Desktop CRM application for users connected over a Broker Connect intranet. Includes modules for contact and listing and transaction management; activity scheduler with action plans; supports e-mail marketing campaigns; report functions; includes tools for Web site design and customization.

InstantImpact! Gold 5.1 $329.95
Information Products, www.instantimpactgold.com,818/986-9295. Windows software suite of real estate solutions. Includes customizable contact database and report functions; farm, listing, and closing management functions; campaign manager with automated scheduling; CMA generator; built-in word processor; and data import/export to Outlook.

RealFuture $99.95 per year, $9.95 per month for RealFuture Solo;
$149.95 per year, $14.95 per month for Real Future Pro
Adigida Solutions, www.adigida.com,866/234-4432. Web-based contact/CRM manager offered in versions for the new or established real estate professional or team. Basic Solo includes contact management, calendar, event scheduling, and e-mail and print campaign planner. Pro adds automated print and e-mail version, Web-lead integration, and performance assessment. Team version for companywide customer and sales management also available.

Top Producer 7i $34.95 per month
Top Producer Systems, www.topproducer.com,800/444-8570. Web-based suite of productivity solutions for Windows users. Contact database with integrated calendar, scheduling, and activity planner. Library of marketing materials. Optional modules include TopProducer 7i SellPhone for access over compatible cell phones, TopProducer 7i for use with Palm OS devices, TopConnector 7i for creating CMAs from MLS data, and TopProducer 7i Remote for working offline on any PC.

Generic Solutions

ACT! 2005 $229.99
Best SoftwareInc., www.act.com,877/228-2005. Windows-based contact-management/CRM solution. Customizable database, contact records, and reports. Integrated e-mail and calendar with activity scheduling and tracking. Simplified search/retrieve. Sales-forecasting tools. Export data to Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook. Transfer data from primary PC to Palm or Pocket PC device. Workgroup version also available.

GoldMine 6.5 $199
Front Range Solutions Inc., www.frontrange.com,800/776-7889. Windows-based contact-management/CRM solution. Customizable database, contact records, reports, and desktop appearance. Calendar, scheduling, and activity tracking. Reports Center for simplified creation of reports. Integrated e-mail. Set of real estate templates to specialize the program. Corporate Edition and companion Mobile Edition available.

LeadCommander Professional 6.6 $229
DataBasix Technologies, www.leadcommander.com,877/532-3266. Windows- and Mac-based business contact-management/CRM/marketing solution. Customizable database, records, and reports. Calendar, scheduling, and activity tracking. Includes tools for lead generation, prospecting, direct mail, and e-mail marketing. Simplified search/retrieve of contact and activity information. Optional AutoPilot feature for capturing and routing incoming calls.

Maximizer 8.0 $199
Maximizer Software Inc., www.maximizer.com,800/804-6299. Contact-management/CRM software for Windows. Customizable database and reports. Integrated calendar, scheduling, activity tracking, and e-mail. Automatically logs activity and correspondence as part of contact history. Tools for capturing contact information from Web site. Integrated with Outlook for sharing contact information or sending/receiving e-mail from within Maximizer. Supports data sharing with Palm OS devices.

Outlook 2003 $109
Microsoft Corp., www.microsoft.com/outlook,800/426-9400. Basic contact-management solution for Windows. Includes contact database, scheduling, and e-mail functions. 2001 Mac version also available for download. Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager included with Office 2003 suite. Adds business contact-manager functions for more detailed information about clients. Sales activity planning, review, and tracking features. Customized reports. Automatically links incoming/outgoing e-mail, appointments, tasks, notes, and phone logs to client records.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

For more about contact managers:
Buyer's Guide: Contact Management
Contact Management