AGENTS: Let's Talk CRMs - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

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AGENTS: Let's Talk CRMs - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Mindy JensenPro Member
BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes

Agents!

What does your CRM have that you love? What does it do that drives you nuts?

If you were designing a CRM from scratch, what features would you have and what is worthless?

[email protected]Podcast Guest on Show #261
BiggerPockets
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Chinyere Orie
Real Estate Agent · Baltimore Maryland · Member since 2019 · 98 posts · 74 votes
5y

I'm actually starting to convert my facebook to a CRM...using it to stay in contact with leads, prospective clients, and former clients.  I've used several different CRMs in the past and I've always felt they had features I didn't need and the features they did have, I didn't like.  I feel like facebook lets me be genuine and authentically connect with people without feeling like I'm continuously marketing to them.

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  • Ben ScottPro Member
    Property Manager · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2019 · 577 posts · 351 votes
    5y

    My office used REW leads. I like that you can text and email from the CRM, especially email MLS listings. It can be difficult though to categorize the leads and set reminders.

    0Reply
  • Tracy Morris
    Real Estate Agent · Peoria, IL · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 29 votes
    5y

    We just started using Follow Up Boss - love the built-in drip campaigns (just gotta learn how to use them).  I'd love for it to offer text drip campaigns! 

    0Reply
  • Jeff ChenPro Member
    Realtor · San Francisco Bay Area · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 13 votes
    5y

    Let's face it, CRM's are as good as how we put them to use. I've used Zoho One and the CRM actually integrates well from mobile to desktop, with zapier you can connect to Mailchimp, Calendly, Facebook lead ads, ActiveCampaign, Unbounce, etc. One thing it lacked was integrating with my MLS Listings, and providing my active clients a seamless drip of new listings. Options was to use RealScout (so they are not sending me a Redfin or Zillow link).

    Since joining Compass, we use Compass's own CRM which is fully connected to our local MLS, drip campaigns (integrated with gmail), google suite, calendly, pipeline management, client tours, comparable market analysis reports, marketing and more. Why pay more if your broker provides it?

    0Reply
  • Johnny James
    Real Estate Broker / Licensed Mortgage Broker · Palmdale, CA · Member since 2015 · 17 posts · 4 votes
    5y

    I have tried a few like insightly, liondesk, marketleader, and 3x5 index cards. Realtyjuggler for $180 a year works just fine and is easy to use.

    0Reply
  • Zachary Elliott
    Real Estate Agent · Burlington, KY · Member since 2018 · 206 posts · 232 votes
    5y

    Is it better to use one of the services that offers a CRM as well as the IDX service for your website so that they can both talk to each other easier or is that just a waste of money?

    0Reply
  • Brent Voepel
    Kansas City, MO · Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes
    5y

    We use LionDesk. Definitely some pros and cons. Love the contact assigning, tags, and hotness levels and that it syncs with Gmail. Exporting contacts can be frustrating(you can't export by tags and you have to own the contact) and the emails are not design heavy if that is what you are wanting to do. 

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  • Dan Maciejewski
    Realtor · PInellas County Largo, FL · Member since 2016 · 902 posts · 810 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Jill F.:
    ok, could someone please indulge me and explain how CRM is used. I googled it and it said customer relationship manager. It's a software app? who uses it and for what purpose?

     It is client relationship manager.  It can be anything from index cards in a box and a whiteboard on the wall to a $1,000+/month software system.  Some are free or low cost.  All sales professionals need one.  A lot of investors that handle a large amount of leads need one, as well.

    Mine handles everything from reporting and planning to contact management, follow up systems, referral tracking, Transaction management from lead to negotiations to contract to close, designing marketing collateral, listing management, and is the back end for my app and website. 

    1Reply
  • Dan Maciejewski
    Realtor · PInellas County Largo, FL · Member since 2016 · 902 posts · 810 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Tracy Morris:

    We just started using Follow Up Boss - love the built-in drip campaigns (just gotta learn how to use them).  I'd love for it to offer text drip campaigns! 

    Look into Twilio and see if you can at least integrate it with Zapier.  I have agents in my office that use FUB, but  they don't interact much so I'm not sure!

    1Reply
  • Mario Garcia
    Investor · San Diego · Member since 2020 · 21 posts · 31 votes
    5y

    We have been using Podio for the last 5 years. We found Podio itself to be a little complicated so we hired Investorfuse to run our CRM for us. When its working its amazing. When it's not...well it's beyond frustrating. The Orange Box Project sends out anywhere from 1000 to 1500 offers a week. And when the system has to be reset our operation gets put on a hold for hours sometimes even a full day. I'd give Podio with Investorfuse a 7 out 10 stars. Has anyone here used REI Pro? I have heard some good things about it..

    1Reply
  • Dominik Lehnert
    Investor · Sweden · Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    One interesting Real Estate CRM that I came across lately, that seems to be really powerful is: Brivity. Worth checking out if you're looking for a CRM as an agent or broker.

    0Reply
  • Daniel Goldberg
    Investor · Member since 2020 · 6 posts · 4 votes
    5y

    I am using Hubspot... it's a bit more than what I need... but it gets the job done! 

    0Reply
  • Alanna Logan
    Realtor · Boston, MA · Member since 2021 · 7 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    I love everything about Compass, but they really added a gem with Compass' CRM! At Compass, they really care about helping their agents as much as possible so we can dedicate our time to catering best to our clients. Our CRM allows agents to organize clients into sub groups, and add specific detailed information so when we interact with them it always feels like a personalized experience! It allows agents to stay up to date by notifying us when we need to circle back so our clients so they feel most important. 

    These are some of the various things I love about our CRM, but if you are an agent with Compass this MUST be your best friend :)

    0Reply
  • Justin Lee Taylor
    Investor · Jonesboro, AR · Member since 2018 · 118 posts · 35 votes
    5y

    @Mindy Jensen I love Podio. It allows for a lot of custom automations. You can build it to your liking

    0Reply
  • Muriel Hair
    Sterling Heights, MI · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    Has anyone used lions desk?  If yes i would love your feedback!

    0Reply
  • Brock Mogensen
    Real Estate Syndicator · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 907 votes
    5y

    I use HubSpot.  I love the email sequence feature and ability to segment lists.  Can't say I've fully explored all of the advanced capabilities it offers..yet.

    0Reply
  • Marc RiceBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Mindy Jensen

    FollowUpBoss

    [email protected]614-363-2787
    Marc Rice | Investor Friendly Agent at Reafco Tailwind Team574 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
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  • Jonathan PfluegerPro Member
    Ben Lomond, CA · Member since 2016 · 338 posts · 337 votes
    5y

    @Mario Garcia

    Anyone have any experience using InvestorFuse 3 (IF3), the one that is not linked to Podio? I have been doing a lot of research on CRM's and the one that appears to fit my needs best is IF3. IF3 is the most expensive of all the CRM's I have looked at, and I have looked at a lot of them, coming in a $250.00 a month - that's a large price tag.

    0Reply
  • Mario Garcia
    Investor · San Diego · Member since 2020 · 21 posts · 31 votes
    5y

    @jonathanpflueger 

    I took the Demo with Investorfuse for their IF3 platform.  It looks decent I'm just concerned with their ability to keep it going long term.  We have constant problems with Investorfuse and what they call Podio's hooks.  We have to have our system reset one a month at this point.  It's really frustrating.   

    0Reply
  • Mike Perry
    Real Estate Agent · McAllen, TX · Member since 2021 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    KVCore is solid. It depends if you are needing your MLS feed for property searches. There are really great CRMs out there that are not necessarily tailored to residential real estate client management...but are far superior for managing massive amounts of customer / client data and your daily battle rhythm / calendar.

    0Reply
  • Mike Perry
    Real Estate Agent · McAllen, TX · Member since 2021 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    KVCore is solid. It depends if you are needing your MLS feed for property searches. There are really great CRMs out there that are not necessarily tailored to residential real estate client management...but are far superior for managing massive amounts of customer / client data and your daily battle rhythm / calendar.

    0Reply
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