In times like these it can seem difficult to be a realtor because so much of our job feels like it is better done in person. But the key to a successful business is the ability to adjust in any situation.
We are typically always on the move as realtors, now that we have the chance to slow down we should use that time to do the foundational administrative work that we can never get around to. It’s crucial to create and implement smoother ways of working now so when things get back to “normal” it will be an easy transition back.
The biggest way to impact your business is to start to use a CRM (customer relationship management software) as a database. The last thing you want to do is hunt through a messy spreadsheet to track your client information.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, CRM is a technology for managing all your relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.
Don’t get overwhelmed
Hearing about all the ways you should be optimizing your business given the free time you have right now can lead to a path of beating yourself up. You sit and think about every single thing you need to do for your business and suddenly your to-do list has 26 items on it. You have over-thought every single step and now everything seems impossible. You are in the “overwhelm” zone. The “overwhelm” is an easy place to fall in and difficult to get out of.
If your admins have to track you down to get things done, you have a plethora of paper notes or you have increased your ads/lead but are seeing fewer sales, then you just might be in the “overwhelm” zone. Luckily CRMs are the best tool we have available to use to get out of the overwhelm zone.
The benefit of CRMs
It can be scary to think of putting years of contacts and experience into the cloud, but the database can serve as an extension of our brain. When your brain isn’t trying to remember each and every detail about your clients you have the free space to focus on the people who are actually buying and selling. The use of a system will outperform willpower.
We may see our schedules packed and contact lists full and think we have no bandwidth for getting more clients, but CRMs help you stop working with a false sense of overconfidence. When I started working with CRMs it was a double edge sword because I realized I did not have as many active clients as I thought, but it also let me see that I have the capacity for more new clients than I thought I did. CRMs show you who is actually an active client and who is not ready to take the next sales step. What an incredible tool to focus our energy accordingly!
Best Practices for using a CRM
I don’t have a specific CRM software suggested because it all depends on your business needs. Large agencies with unlicensed assistants and a solo realtor will not have the same capabilities. Instead of focusing on which system it’s important for us to share how to use the system. Below are some best practices for using a CRM process:
When you reach a point in your business where you have way more work than you can handle, it will pay back to give your team the tools they need to get more done, faster. Juggling logins and switching between systems will hurt your team's productivity and put you at risk of losing leads.
The sooner you can get your team using your CRM, the more comprehensive and accurate your data will be. That’s why the very first step in a CRM implementation should be adding users.
Sit down and map out the entire sales journey from the time someone is a lead to the time they are firm. That can help you see what steps you are repeating and what you can consolidate. Once you have the list and all the steps you can to see how long the sales journey takes and then use the CRM to determine the timing on following up.
You should have a crystal-clear overview of your team’s performance so you can keep them aligned and give the right coaching and direction. That’s why a CRM dashboard is so handy: It’s like a control panel that you can customize to fit your specific needs.
Organize your notes in a way where anyone can jump in and understand what everything means. Have a key for what the acronyms mean. Trust your notes and keeping them tight and accurate will give you the confidence to have more calls.
You don’t have to try to anticipate all the problems, you just have to have solutions for most of them. The goal is to create a system process which will give you a predictable result 90% of the time. A system that handles 90% of the business smoothly can guide your energy on the 10% of the business that is a little more complicated.
Schedule your day so that you have time in the morning to go through your to-do list and at the end of your day to update the CRM with any notes you might have. Carving out time in your day to do this can help you keep fresh, accurate notes.
Utilizing this time to rework your operating systems will be a decisive factor in the adaptability of your business. A CRM is the best tool to increase capacity, stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. React wisely and change your life for the better.
