Podio for CRM?

Real Estate Technology
12yFollow

Podio for CRM?

Michael Lohin
Investor · Wellesley Hills, MA · Member since 2013 · 6 posts · 0 votes

Has anybody used Podio for their CRM?

I'm trying to find a way to efficiently manage my leads and came across Podio. It's free, which is great, but you need to completely customize it from scratch and before I spend time doing that, I just wanted to get some insight from investors that have used it.

If you have used it, what do you like/dislike about it? And did you find it to be comparable to other CRMs, once customized?

0Reply
56 views

Most Popular Reply

Geo K.
Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 8 votes
12y

@Michael Lohin Great question. I have done many CRM implementation on many industries and different sizes of companies. Here is the best advice I can give to anyone trying to adopt a CRM.

"Technology does not matter, process does." So at the end of the day, it will be extremely easy for you to pick the right CRM once you know your process. Don't go into any of them until you can put your process in logical steps.

Now to your question.

Podio is a great software because it gives you flexibility at a small investment entry point. What is better than free?

Also, my colleagues here recommended ACT and ZOHO, both good choices.

---------------------------------------

I am curious to hear what did you end up adopting?

7Reply
See this reply in the discussion

31 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Tyrus Shivers
    Investor · Jessup, MD · Member since 2013 · 437 posts · 180 votes
    12y

    @Michael Lohin

    I have not used Podio, but I can recommend Zoho. You have to create some of the headings, but it is not from scratch. I utilize the free version to keep all of my business contacts. I did use it for wholesaling and follow ups with property owners.

    0Reply
  • Andy Collins
    SFR Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2011 · 604 posts · 243 votes
    12y

    For about $300 you can buy ACT,,,I love it just because I've used it for years, so I know the program well....it is a purchase, not a lease, so you only pay once (and I currently am using a version from 2004 with no problems)

    1Reply
  • Michael Lohin
    OP
    Investor · Wellesley Hills, MA · Member since 2013 · 6 posts · 0 votes
    12y

    Thanks @Tyrus Shivers

    and @Andy Collins

    I'll look into those options as well and compare them to Podio

    0Reply
  • Geo K.
    Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 8 votes
    12y

    @Michael Lohin Great question. I have done many CRM implementation on many industries and different sizes of companies. Here is the best advice I can give to anyone trying to adopt a CRM.

    "Technology does not matter, process does." So at the end of the day, it will be extremely easy for you to pick the right CRM once you know your process. Don't go into any of them until you can put your process in logical steps.

    Now to your question.

    Podio is a great software because it gives you flexibility at a small investment entry point. What is better than free?

    Also, my colleagues here recommended ACT and ZOHO, both good choices.

    ---------------------------------------

    I am curious to hear what did you end up adopting?

    7Reply
  • Justin S.
    Residential Real Estate Agent · Chandler, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 928 votes
    12y

    @Michael Lohin

    We use podio to track our offers but have not used for CRM. They do have an app store though where you can download and try apps that have been already created. You may want to try that first. Creating the apps though is pretty simple. It is great for team collaboration.

    0Reply
  • Taylor Jennings
    Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 354 posts · 90 votes
    12y

    I recently setup podio and I'm in love. We will be trying to tweak it for tracking leads, screening callers, taking steps in closing and wholesaling, to project management for flipping and expenses.

    Takes a minute to understand but once you do then it's a wonderful tool.

    The toughest part is creating the workflow. It's a work in progress for us but I will likely make our template available on BP once I'm done.

    4Reply
  • Ben G.Pro Member
    Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 647 posts · 196 votes
    12y

    @Taylor Jennings your strengths are my weaknesses. I would love to see the Podio template you've created. I'm still using a spreadsheet. Can you make that template available? If not, would you be willing to show me what you've done?

    Podcast Guest on Show #91
    0Reply
  • Taylor Jennings
    Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 354 posts · 90 votes
    12y

    @Ben G. I'd be happy to do either.

    I'll take a look into how I can publish my apps on there and send them over. If I can't figure it out then we can get together sometime and I'll help u duplicate them.

    0Reply
  • Kyara G.
    Baltimore, MD · Member since 2012 · 20 posts · 4 votes
    12y

    @Taylor Jennings I would love to take a look at the apps you've created as well. I want to use Podio as a team collaboration and project management tool. We are creating processes to better scale the business and (from what I hear) Podio is a great tool to achieve that. Unfortunately I haven't really gotten the hang of creating apps or leveraging the ones already available.

    Is anyone else using Podio for more than just CRM?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 136 posts · 32 votes
    12y

    I use Infusionsoft's Real Estate CRM myself but it's $700 per month so probably out of the price range you are referring to.

    I used Base CRM in the past and that would be my primary recommendation as it's $15 per month and has everything any of the other ones have that you will need at the starter level. Zoho is another popular one but base is way better from a UI perspective IMO.

    0Reply
  • Taylor Jennings
    Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 354 posts · 90 votes
    12y

    Here is a link to view the forum post where we published our Podio App.

    @Michael Lohin , @Ben G. , @Kyara G.

    4Reply
  • Kyara G.
    Baltimore, MD · Member since 2012 · 20 posts · 4 votes
    12y

    Thanks @Taylor Jennings

    @Taylor JenningsI just downloaded the app - I'll let you know how it works for us.

    0Reply
  • Andrew Hofing
    Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2013 · 82 posts · 17 votes
    12y

    @Taylor Jennings do you use or do you know if you can use Podio for email marketing, ie email blasts/newsletters? I am looking for an all in one program/app for online marketing, marketing tracking and crm. Thanks in advance for any information and feedback.

    1Reply
  • Taylor Jennings
    Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 354 posts · 90 votes
    12y

    @Andrew Hofing You can upload spreadsheets into Podio to track marketing efforts, but I don't believe the program has auto-responders or timed mailings.

    I would recommend checking out MailChimp.com for that. It's free/inexpensive and is easily to learn.

    0Reply
  • Andy Rumple
    Wholesaler and Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2009 · 438 posts · 293 votes
    12y

    @Taylor Jennings 

     Hi Taylor I have put my wholesaling business on Podio
    also. I looked at your app and think it is cool. I love how
    you can change deal status to drive a property to the top
    or bottom of your list. I added an importance field also so
    no matter the status I can control when I give it attention.

     Let's talk some shop soon.

    0Reply
  • Taylor Jennings
    Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 354 posts · 90 votes
    12y

    @Andy Rumple Podio is a pretty powerful tool, no doubt. Glad you like the App! An importance tab makes sense. Thanks for the feedback.

    1Reply
  • Richard Adjou
    Real Estate Agent · Montgomery Village, MD · Member since 2014 · 39 posts · 8 votes
    11y

    @Taylor Jennings Thanks for the app! I tried my hand at creating a few real estate apps but I think this was just what I was looking for. Everything in one spot. I hear you're working on some other app builds for rehab costs and such. I'd love to see how those turn out. 

    One question though, what are the rent rate formulas used for calculating? 

    0Reply
  • Jenny Pena
    South Eastern, OK · Member since 2014 · 29 posts · 8 votes
    11y

    I've been toying with alot of project management applications to find one that I feel can be integrated well with the processes I will be creating, what I found with Podio, that I haven't with others I have tried, it that there are already a few real estate "apps" (templates basically) that other users have created and uploaded for free use.  This has given a good starting point for structuring the program to my needs/desires without having to do everything from scratch.  I also like how it can integrate with Zapier to capture leads from social media, web forms, email, etc.  

    So Far, so good..... We'll see how long it takes before this application gets "Hired or Fired" by me.  

    Good Luck in your pursuits!!

    0Reply
  • William Johnson
    Real Estate Broker · Laval, Québec · Member since 2014 · 183 posts · 59 votes
    11y

    @Taylor Jennings Thank you so much for this!  I did modify quite a few things for my own personal use (only after cloning it of course). I added a field where I could put down last contacted date and then I used some sort of script to add 30 days to that and put it into another field for next contact date so that I could sort the contacts that were not hot by next contact date for my followups.

    0Reply
  • Dani Beit-Or
    Investor · Irvine, CA · Member since 2009 · 259 posts · 183 votes
    11y

    @Michael Lohin I have looked into Podio a while back and it was too much hassle to set it up for us. 

    I don't like some of the services offered out there as they charge by the user and when you have 10+ users it starts to add up monthly.

    After evaluating MANY option I decided to go with an open source one call vTiger. 

    I found it to be a good, stable and provides most of what we needed. (No CRM would be perfect if you ask me). 

    It's a webbased and many Hosting Co. (HoastGator for vTiger is my favorite if your needs are basic) offer you a service to install it. 

    We recently moved from Hostgator to CloudYogi as the optimize their services to vTiger and one other Open Source SW. So it functions much better, and yet we pay $20/month for upgraded hosting. 

    Vtiger may have a Hosting version too for a monthly fee but I'm not sure as it has been awhile since I looked into it. 

    0Reply
  • Ethan Summers
    Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 223 posts · 185 votes
    9y

    @Michael Lohin I have almost 3 years of experience using podio. It is a great tool but is very bare bone. I would definitely suggest integrating it with "investorfuse". This add on is very customizable and is easy to use. My favorite feature about it is how organized my leads and followup sequences are. I was doing direct mail alone but added cold calling my entire list to my marketing strategy and Investorfuse integrated with Podio allows me to seamlessly set follow ups and track my leads effectively! Once i deployed this system i saw a 4-7% increase in my response rates! I hope this helps feel free to message me if you have any specific questions!

    5Reply
  • Rohan Karunakaran
    San Francisco, CA · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 18 votes
    9y

    When researching a platform to build a lead management & marketing solution for REIs, Podio was a no-brainer for us.

    We haven’t found another platform that offers the level of flexibility and customizability as Podio. Add to that the project management, team collaboration, integrations and mobile app functionality and it’s hard to find a more complete solution on the market.

    That said, it can be a costly and daunting task to setup a Podio workspace and 3rd party integrations from scratch. And to @Geo K.’s point, it’s important that you have the right process in place before you apply any systems automation.

    You want to nail it before you scale it.

    @Justin S.- to your point, we often see REIs track offers, manage leads and deploy marketing campaigns through different tools. However, once they adopt a centralized system of record to manage the entire process end to end, they can’t imagine going back to their old cobbled together systems.

    Based on our experience building 30+ custom Podio workspaces for REI businesses, this is what you need in order to get a turnkey Podio workspace up and running:

    Tools:

    - Podio + Globiflow ($24/mo/user with Premium Podio Plan)

    - Call tracking software like CallRail ($30+/mo)

    - Call answering service like PatLive ($99+/mo)

    - Text messaging service like Twilio ($15-30/mo)

    - SlyBroadcast for ringless voicemail (pay as you go. ~$25-50/mo)

    - RightSignature for document management ($15/mo)

    - Lob (mail system)

    Labor:

    - Option 1: Hire a Podio Technical Consultant at $100+/hr

    - Option 2: Do it yourself

    On average, we've seen REI businesses spend about $250/mo on tools alone and about $4,000 on labor (40 hours) just to get their systems up and running. After that, they usually keep a Podio consultant on retainer for bug fixes and updates.

    If anyone wants to chat about the benefits/tradeoffs of Podio vs. other solutions or DIY vs. out-of-the-box solutions, shoot me a DM.

    Happy investing,

    Rohan

    4Reply
  • Joseph Carlsen
    Real Estate Investor · Holtsville, NY · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 1 vote
    8y

    @Ethan summers im trying to decide what CRM to choose. You recommend investorfuse over infusionsoft, realeflow etc etc im looking for automation and built out as much as possible for real estate 

    1Reply
  • Scott JohnsonBusiness Member
    Specialist · Greenville, NC · Member since 2019 · 673 posts · 408 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Rohan Karunakaran:

    When researching a platform to build a lead management & marketing solution for REIs, Podio was a no-brainer for us.

    We haven’t found another platform that offers the level of flexibility and customizability as Podio. Add to that the project management, team collaboration, integrations and mobile app functionality and it’s hard to find a more complete solution on the market.

    That said, it can be a costly and daunting task to setup a Podio workspace and 3rd party integrations from scratch. And to @Geo K.’s point, it’s important that you have the right process in place before you apply any systems automation.

    You want to nail it before you scale it.

    @Justin S.- to your point, we often see REIs track offers, manage leads and deploy marketing campaigns through different tools. However, once they adopt a centralized system of record to manage the entire process end to end, they can’t imagine going back to their old cobbled together systems.

    Based on our experience building 30+ custom Podio workspaces for REI businesses, this is what you need in order to get a turnkey Podio workspace up and running:

    Tools:

    - Podio + Globiflow ($24/mo/user with Premium Podio Plan)

    - Call tracking software like CallRail ($30+/mo)

    - Call answering service like PatLive ($99+/mo)

    - Text messaging service like Twilio ($15-30/mo)

    - SlyBroadcast for ringless voicemail (pay as you go. ~$25-50/mo)

    - RightSignature for document management ($15/mo)

    - Lob (mail system)

    Labor:

    - Option 1: Hire a Podio Technical Consultant at $100+/hr

    - Option 2: Do it yourself

    On average, we've seen REI businesses spend about $250/mo on tools alone and about $4,000 on labor (40 hours) just to get their systems up and running. After that, they usually keep a Podio consultant on retainer for bug fixes and updates.

    If anyone wants to chat about the benefits/tradeoffs of Podio vs. other solutions or DIY vs. out-of-the-box solutions, shoot me a DM.

    Happy investing,

    Rohan

    I did a lot of research in to CRMs and started using Podio for similar reasons. RightSignature and Globiflow make life SOOOO much easier, and I always like to tinker with things, so it’s kept me occupied.

    I just brought on a development team to help me streamline the processes and automate some of the lead collections. My goal is to have fresh leads automatically put into Podio each morning for us to contact.

    All in all, I love using Podio and, although it’s a bit clunky now since I’ve been the one developing it, I’m looking forward to getting it streamlined and humming. I definitely recommend it if you like figuring things out.

    [email protected]
    0Reply
  • Patrick Jackson
    Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2015 · 301 posts · 99 votes
    6y

    @Scott Johnson I can help with Podio design. Reach out if interested

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free