Your customers are your business. Before you commit to a CRM system, there are certain things you should consider. In the real estate business, choosing the right CRM system is vital because it can potentially improve customer satisfaction, service and loyalty, reduce expenses and increase profits.
Here are three things to consider before selecting a real estate CRM.
Price
Price is just one factor that comes into play when choosing a real estate CRM system. You should consider upfront costs along with the long-term costs to determine how much your budget will allow you to spend. Before you sweat at the high cost of certain CRM systems, you should also look at the benefits and potential sales the system could bring you.
Purchasing the right CRM system could help agents bring in far more profit than the system cost. Consider how long you want to use this CRM system and remember that the more money spent, the higher the quality will likely be. If you choose to purchase a less expensive CRM system, you may find that you need to replace it sooner than later.
Industry Specific Application and Scalability
You are purchasing a CRM system to help grow your real estate business. Have you considered whether your CRM software was built with the specific needs of the real estate industry in mind and will grow with you? Industry specific applications and scalability are important because once you have signed the dotted line and purchased your CRM system, you don’t want to be forced into buying a new replacement system a few years later to adhere to your business’ growth.
Is the system generic or built upon a generic platform? This will often limit the systems flexibility while increasing cost versus an industry specific solution built from the ground up.
You should also consider how tech savvy your agents are. If your CRM system is too complex, your agents may shy away and be reluctant to use the software, but on the other hand if your CRM is limited, you may cause your agents to spend more time doing things the software should be able to do. Make sure that your new CRM system will seamlessly integrate with your current technology – if not you may need to purchase an all-in-one system.
On Demand vs. On Site
There are both pros and cons to on demand and on site CRM deployment. A cloud-based CRM system allows for easy access but can also limit the horse-power of the system. Depending on how large your real estate company is, you may want to subscribe to a CRM solution that has both the power of the desktop and the mobility and ease of use of the cloud.
Consider these three things before you make the final decision on a CRM system. Choosing the right CRM system for your real estate company could mean the difference between increased sales or increase stress due to a faulty CRM system.
Do research and make sure that you are purchasing the system that will work best with the size of your firm and your potential growth. Once you have considered these three things, you will be on your way to purchasing the CRM system that will improve your real estate agents’ sales and your overall bottom line.
