I need software to manage/track leads. Any suggestions/recommendations?
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2009 · 97 posts · 31 votes
I am looking for something cheap or free that a "guru" isnt trying to upsell me on. I need it to input property addresses, the stage where the lead is at (needs research, owner not selling, send mail (if needed) etc. I would appreciate any and all recommendations. If you are recommending something, please let me know cost, what you like/dislike about it etc. Thanks in advance!!!
Frank, it still sounds like excel can do what you want. You can sort and filter information, use formulas, etc. Even better, you can customize it to do almost anything you want if you know how. If you are a little more specific about what you need it to do I could maybe make a better recommendation.
Two that I know of are freedomsoft and highrisehq. They both offer different packages depending on budget and what you want to do. I think the prices range from $24-$300. It sounds like you want to be very detailed and specific so I would recommend one of these.
Greetings!
It seems that this is no longer a topic of vital interest, but it is a subject that I have at least some useful opinions on.
A spreadsheet program is primarily intended for manipulating numbers easily. To see whether or not a deal is profitable, you pop in some assumptions, and the spreadsheet calculates all the interesting stuff, and gives you the answer in terms that are easily compared with one another. The layout and calculations are used over and over again, usually once for each property, but several times if you are uncertain of your assumptions and want to see what kind of ranges you are dealing with.
A database is a collection of records on any subject you could possibly want. You are usually provided with a way to do some programming (scripts) that allows you to prepare reports in any format you desire, manipulate the data itself in any manner that you desire, and to store absolutely mind boggling amounts of data and still organize and keep track of it quickly and easily.
Both types of application programs can be used for the purpose that the other program was designed for, but that is like using a screwdriver to open paint cans. It works, just not very well, and the inherent design limitations of the tool will eventually damage or unnecessarily restrict your efforts someday. Software "bloat" is a direct result of people demanding that their application do the job of what should properly be the domain of a different application. The net result is a complicated and buggy program that is difficult to learn, and won't do what you need it to do when you attempt to scale up to the big time. If you don't ever want to scale up, then you probably won't ever realize this.
That being said, some people have such trivial requirements, that they will never experience any limitations or regrets regarding their application choice. They are not the people that you want to be getting your advice from, because they have no clue that they are potentially advising you to shoot yourself in the foot.
Excel and Access are both Microsoft products, and this should tell you something about their quality, in terms of "unintended features". Excel works fairly well at least, and the reason that Mr. G originally bought out FoxPro was because his own product couldn't compete with it in any reasonable sense of the word. It still can't. FoxPro has been "obsoleted", and Access is still being provided, but that doesn't mean that you want to use it.
If you demand total flexibilty, and want the ability to devise any number of useful categories to track your leads, then a database table is likely to be just the ticket for you. The downside is that being very powerful, database programs require a steep learning curve. Once mastered, however, there is nothing that you can conceive of that you won't be able to do. Best of all, your scripts are easily modified to add on your newest features, while allowing you to keep backups of the ones that are still working perfectly.
I haven't switched from my old, favorite program that I understand well enough to accomplish useful work in a relatively short period of time yet, but when I do, I will likely use something on a Linux system, (free) and it will likely be something like PostgreSQL (free). I will gnash my teeth for several months, (learning both a new operating system and a new application), but I will then have a useful, powerful, and relatively bug free set of applications tools that are priced most attractively!
If you are a big fan of custom, specific features that make your business hum, then this might be a path that you want to investigate. When I sold computer books wholesale and retail, I had the world's only price list that sorted books by program name and version number. That single, simple to implement feature sold hundreds or possibly thousands of copies of books to people who wanted advice on "Which book should I buy to solve my problem?" without my having to say a single word!
I understand that there are job sites that offer programming services for a pittance for those that prefer not to gnash their teeth while learning software.
If you disagree with my opinions, great! Just please don't expect to ever convince me that doing your mailing list in Excel is really the best thing that you've ever accomplished! Yes, you can do it, many people do, but with a large database, you never need to throw anything away, because you just give it a code "inactive", "dead deal", "insert your own label that fits better", and away you go. When the record becomes active again, (all houses will be sold at some point...most more than once, that's why we have building codes), a simple edit on the record and all your data is ready to join the active pile once again! Just ask Zillow what sorts of projects they use Excel for, heheheh!
All this talk about Google Docs and excel but I'd like input on how you investors who have been doing this for a while keep things organized in them. It's only been touched with certain title and names here and there... What do you do for 2nd mailings and follow up? Do you use multiple sheets? If you can do a screen print or a quick video shot of the streamlined process that would be even better.
I personally like https://www.pipedrive.com/en/home/drive
I am getting up to speed with the free version of zoho... I think it is pretty good and I know a number of other investors that use it