The real estate industry has changed significantly during the past few years. Today, the market is more competitive than it has ever been in the past, and you need to take advantage of every tool at your disposal. That means you need to find the best real estate CRM software to meet your needs.
CRM stands for customer relations management, and this is a tool that real estate professionals can use to manage numerous aspects of their business, particularly the interactions they have with their clients and leads.
With lead generation more important than ever before, numerous real estate businesses are exploring various real estate CRMs. How do you find the best CRM system for your needs, and what are some of the top options you should consider?
What Is Real Estate CRM Used For?
First, it is important to take a closer look at how you might use a real estate CRM software program.
Some of the top examples include:
Email Integration
One of the most important functions of a real estate CRM program is email integration. You will be receiving emails from a wide variety of people, ranging from potential clients to other real estate agents. It is important for you to centralize all of your emails in one place, and a CRM program can help you take care of them.
For example, you might be looking for a tool that can automatically send out emails to potential clients and real estate agents. With a strong real estate CRM program, you can do exactly that.
Relationship and Lead Management
Relationship and contact management are also very critical in the real estate world. You need to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks, particularly if you are acting as a buyer and seller agent.
With access to the right real estate CRM program, you can keep track of all of your interactions with clients and customers in one place. That way, you can pick up right where you left off, taking a look at recent interactions and building off of them. Real estate is all about networking, and the right CRM program can help you do that.
Document and Transaction Management
What happens when it is time to complete a transaction? There are a lot of rules and regulations that you need to follow, and the right real estate CRM program can help you keep all of your documents in one place. You need to make sure that you don’t lose any of your closing documents, and you might have to keep track of inspection and appraisal reports as well.
With a CRM program, you can also make it easier to sign all of the documents. You can distribute them to your client, make sure they sign in the right place, and maximize your chances of getting to the closing table on time.
Marketing Automation Tools
Do you want to get the best offer possible for your house? If so, you need to market that house as much as possible. With access to the right CRM program, you can take advantage of a variety of marketing automation tools related to social media, email, and other websites.
That way, you can get as many eyes as possible on that house without spending more time than you have to. Remember that there are plenty of marketing tools available, and you need to think about them as you are trying to find the right CRM program to meet your needs.
Follow-Up and Project
Just because you have helped a client buy or sell a house doesn’t mean that the relationship is finished. You can always go back to old real estate leads in the future to see if they need your help with a future transaction. A CRM program can help you stay in touch with old clients, ensuring that they reach out to you again if they need to buy or sell a house in the future.
For example, you might want to use a CRM program that can automatically send updates to former clients about homes in their neighborhoods. That way, they know what houses in the local area are selling for. This can make it easier for them to keep an eye on the value of their house, and they might reach out to you in the future when it is time to buy or sell another home.
Clearly, there are a lot of things you can do with the right real estate CRM program, but how can you select the best one to meet your needs?
What Are the Main Features of the Best Real Estate CRM?
If you are a real estate agent looking for the best real estate CRM software to meet your needs, you will quickly see that there are plenty of options available. With so many CRM tools available, you might be wondering where to start.
It is important to identify a few features that you need to have if you are looking for the right CRM program to meet your needs. Some of the top features include:
1. Contact Management
One of the most important functions of a real estate CRM program is to manage all of your contacts. You need to make sure you can pull up someone’s contact information quickly, and you should be able to view your interaction history with that person as well.
For example, you should be able to take a look at your email history, your call history, and even your text message history with that specific person. Look for a strong real estate CRM program that gives you access to an address book that is easy to use.
2. Text Messaging
You might also want a CRM program that gives you access to text messaging features. While you might want to use your cell phone for that, you might find it easier to send out bulk text messages from the CRM program.
This is helpful if you plan on using text messaging as a part of your marketing campaign. A lot of people would rather receive text messages than emails or phone calls, so consider using text messaging to do some of your marketing legwork.
3. The Number of People Using the CRM Program
How many people are going to be using the CRM program? Do you work as an individual real estate agent? Or, do you have a large team of people who will have to access the CRM program? This is going to significantly impact how much money you pay for the program, and you need to make sure you don’t pay for something you don’t need.
If you are the only one using the CRM program, then you don’t necessarily want to buy a package that contains a bunch of extra licenses. Think about how many people will be using the program before you decide to purchase it.
4. The Ease of Use
Do not forget to consider the ease of use of the program as well. You might have found a real estate CRM program that provides you with access to a variety of features, but if you cannot figure out how to use them, they are not going to be of much use to you.
Think about who is going to be using the CRM program, and make sure they are comfortable doing so before you decide to buy it. This is one of the biggest benefits of asking for a demo or a free trial before you decide to pay for the entire thing.
5. Versatility of Platforms
Finally, you should think about the number of platforms on which you can use the real estate CRM program. For example, do you want a program that you can use from your desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone? There are a lot of CRMs that come with a mobile app, and this can be particularly beneficial if you are on the go.
For example, if you are in the middle of a showing and you need to look something up, you can do so if you have a mobile app available. That way, you don’t have to worry about carrying your computer with you from place to place, and you don’t have to worry about hunting for an internet connection.
Think about these features when you are trying to find the best CRM program to meet your needs.
The Top CRMs for Real Estate Agents
It can be helpful to take a look at a few specific real estate CRM programs that real estate agents might want to consider.
Some of the top examples include:
1. Top Producer
If you are looking for a real estate CRM program, you might want to start with one of the original options. Top Producer has been around for a long time, but the program has done a great job updating its features to ensure that it remains relevant in the current environment.
This is a program that has countless integrations, making it easy for you to pass information from our program to another. It also has some strong transaction management features that will make getting to the closing table relatively easy.
You also get access to features that make it easy for you to share information with your clients from the MLS. Regardless of whether you are helping someone buy or sell a house, you should find that this feature is beneficial.
One of the strongest features of this program is called FiveStreet. This is a management tool that makes it easier for you to track your leads and move them down the sales funnel. This is also helpful for managing large teams if you have multiple agents.
Pros and Cons
Some of the top advantages of using this program include:
- You get access to countless integrations that make it easy for you to manage your information.
- You do not have to worry about downloading a separate program to handle transactions for you.
- There are automated communication tools that make it easy for you to keep in touch with your clients.
Some of the drawbacks that you might want to note include:
- The marketing features of this program are not as powerful as some of the others.
- You do not get access to any automated text messaging.
- If you want to use this tool, you will need to sign a 12-month contract.
Think about whether this real estate agent CRM program could be right for your needs.
2. LionDesk
Without a doubt, one of the most popular real estate CRM programs to consider is called LionDesk. This is a program that comes packed with a variety of features, including a variety of mass communication tools, bulk text messaging, and machine learning.
Furthermore, the program is very easy to use, with a very short learning curve. Even though there are a lot of features that real estate agents will find beneficial, the AI-powered Lead Assist feature is one of the highlights.
It is called Gabby, and it will automatically follow up with potential leads with natural language processing. Even if you are focused on something else, the program will still reach out to that lead for you, helping you move that person down the sales pipeline.
This program has a customizable interface, landing pages, and mixed automation features. It does have a lot that you need to learn, but you may find the features that are right for you.
Pros and Cons
Some of the top benefits of using this program include:
- It is very easy to learn.
- It has customizable lead profiles that you can tailor to meet your needs.
- It comes with some excellent mass communication tools to help with your marketing.
- The program will automatically follow up with your leads for you.
A few of the drawbacks that you might want to note include:
- There are a lot of options available, so the dashboard can look a bit cluttered.
- It does not have the strongest tools for helping you manage transactions.
- If you have a large team, it does not scale very well.
Consider the benefits and drawbacks before you decide if this program is right for you.
3. Elevate
Do you want to put social media to work for you? If so, you might want to consider Elevate. This is a program that will help you maintain a strong presence online, taking advantage of social media to help you get your brand out there.
This is a program that is exceptional when it comes to content creation services. It can help you manage your social media profiles and use them to generate leads. It has all of the features you would expect of a real estate CRM program, but it can also help you with social media marketing.
One of the most important features is social media content creation. The CRM program has social media experts in-house, and they will use data to show you just how much they are helping you generate interest in your real estate business. The social media side of this program helps it stand out from the competition.
Pros and Cons
A few of the top advantages of this program include:
- The program is exceptional at nurturing your leads with continuous content.
- There are experts who will handle all of your social media content creation for you.
- It still comes with all of the expected features of a strong real estate CRM program.
Some of the drawbacks include:
- If you do not use social media that much, this program might not be for you.
- If you want to take advantage of all of the social media features, it can be expensive.
- You might have a difficult time accessing some of the analytics to track your performance over time.
If you love using social media as a part of your real estate business, this could be the right program for you.
4. Propertybase
If you are looking for a robust real estate agent CRM that can do everything, you may want to consider Propertybase. This is one of the most popular CRM programs on the market today, and for good reason. Regardless of whether you are a single agent or working as a team, you can customize the features to meet your needs.
You can take advantage of numerous third-party integrations, lead routing, advanced analytics, and websites for individual agents and larger teams. They even have a website development team that makes this program perfect for many real estate agent businesses.
In addition, it has been built on the Salesforce platform, so if you have used this tool in the past, you will probably be comfortable with this specific CRM.
Pros and Cons
There are a lot of advantages you will enjoy with Propertybase, including:
- The Salesforce platform is incredibly solid, so the program should respond exactly as you expect.
- The CRM is fully integrated with the MLS, allowing you to centralize all of your information in one place.
- It comes with a variety of mass communication tools, including the ability to send mass emails to a subscriber list.
A few of the disadvantages you might notice include:
- If you want to send text messages through the platform, you will need to add this feature separately.
- It is one of the most expensive options on the market.
- If you want to use this program, you will need to sign a long-term contract.
You should think about whether this investment is worth it for your real estate business.
5. IXACT Contact
If you are a relatively new real estate agent, you might want to take a closer look at IXACT Contact. This is a CRM program that provides you with different features that can help you get your real estate business off the ground.
One of the major advantages of using this program is that you can use it for six months for free if you have had a real estate license for less than a year. That is the biggest reason why this program should appeal to new real estate agents.
Then, you can customize your paid contract to match the features you need. You do not have to worry about paying for something that you will not use.
One feature that you may want to explore is called the social stream dashboard. This is a dashboard that gives you access to a variety of articles and videos that you can share with your team members. You can also share information with your clients as a way to keep in touch with them and move them down the sales funnel.
Pros and Cons
A few of the top benefits of using this real estate agent CRM include:
- The program has a sleek, modern design along with a user interface that is easy to learn.
- It has plenty of basic features that will help you keep track of all of your contact information, including social media handles.
- If you want to send out postcards and direct mailers, these features are built into the program.
Some of the drawbacks that you might notice include:
- This program does not integrate with very many third-party applications.
- It does not have a mobile app.
- The CRM features are not nearly as robust as some of the other options on this list.
Consider taking a look at this real estate agent CRM if you are new to the industry.
Find the Right CRM for Your Real Estate Business
These are just a few of the many options available if you are looking for a CRM program for your real estate business. Remember that the right option for one person is not necessarily going to be the right option for your real estate business. Some of the programs may even offer a free trial, so make sure you play around with the features before you decide to purchase the whole thing.
If you find the right real estate agent CRM program for your needs, you can separate yourself from the competition.
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