Customer Relationship Management platforms are going through a massive revolution today, and real estate teams, agents and brokers are taking notice. Leading CRM firms are programming the stock content and action plans to align with popular coaching techniques.
For the most part, every sales professional understands why you need a CRM. Understanding your “why” is always the first step to adopting technology that will make a difference in your business. The “why” is pretty straight forward, real estate salespeople are significantly focused around developing and managing a crowd of relationships that will drive sales and organizing your work around the tasks to work each stage of your sales funnel. Why do you need a CRM? Because it allows you collect a lot of customers and build relationships by using software to manage the process. How do you use a CRM? Ask your favorite coach.
CRM + Coaching Techniques Emerges
A new trend that we see merging is the integration of sales techniques developed by the nation’s top real estate coaches. Moxi Engage is a CRM that was built around the Ninja Selling techniques. And in an announcement this week, Contactually announced the integration of the Tom Ferry selling techniques into their application. Contactually has also had Ninja Selling programmed into their solution for years.
To break this down, there are steps to making sales. In an ideal world, every touch point with the customer has a purpose that is delivered at exactly at the right time with a perfect message. If agents, teams, and brokerages pick a coaching solution to increase their sales productivity, the coaches’ process must be implemented in the CRM. Every script, every email, and every single action follows a plan.
All CRM systems have the ability to be customized. CRMs learned long ago that you cannot hand an agent, team, or broker a CRM without stock content for email drips and other sales plans. Today, they all come with something. The problem is that most stock content that comes with a CRM is fairly pedestrian. This new revolution is that the worlds’ best sales coaches have worked with CRM companies to configure them to the coaching style. If you are coached by Tom Ferry, you want Contactually. If you follow Ninja Selling, you have a choice of Contactually or Moxi. There are many examples like this. Some CRMs let you pick a selling template so you can add in the content to the CRM that is styled exactly like your coaches’ selling style.
So the next time you go CRM shopping, start by doing some self-analysis. If you have a coach, pay close attention to the CRMs that have been customized to your coach’s style. Even if you do not have a coach, you still want to pick a CRM that has adopted a coaching style. All sales people need to plan their work and work their plan. CRMs are designed to keep you on track so you can always be selling. You do not have the time or expertise to go through the painstaking process of developing or modifying hundreds of drip messages, tasks, call scripts, or emails. These coaches have been honing their expertise in this area for decades to make every touch point you have with your customer awesome.
CRMs are Getting Smarter
There are dozens of CRM solutions offering an array of features. Historically the most popular CRM has been Top Producer. That product is every possible feature you can imagine in a CRM. So much so, that it intimidates some people. CRMs have also gotten really smart. A technology feature that has recently found a path into CRM is Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is a fancy new term for allowing software to do tasks that are normally performed by humans. Another term for this is Automation, “if this then that.” Basically, the software looks at data and actions and decides to go ahead and do something that will benefit the customer relationship without the agent doing anything. Another steep innovation has been the addition of Predictive Analytics. Again, machines crunch data and behavior variables and suggest actions. For example, a customer who changes their search behavior from searching once a week to searching multiple times a day may be more likely to transact. Big Data has found its way into CRMs too. Many advanced CRM systems can collect consumer data that the agent does not have – like public record filings – and use that to score the likelihood of a customer to transact. You may have a customer that may have recently transacted in the past 3 years who you would not consider to be a prospect, but suddenly they file for divorce – which immediately makes them very likely to transact. Inside Real Estate’s Kunversion, Commissions Inc, IXACT Contact, Chime, Contactually, and Boomtown all leverage these smart technologies.
For a complete list of CRM providers, visit RETechnology.com and search CRM from the products list. You will find the top 70 CRMs in real estate, only a handful of which are mentioned here. You will also be able to read CRM articles about how agents, brokers, and teams have deployed these CRMs, see any news releases about CRMs, and access recorded or upcoming live webinars about CRMs. RE Technology is the best place to research any technology that you may be considering in your business. The site has been collecting technology research and best practices since 2010. If you do not already have an account, contact your MLS. RE Technology is a member benefit in nearly 180 MLSs who provide free accounts to more than 850,000 agents. Check it out.
