It’s hard to stay on top of your real estate business without things falling through the cracks.
Buyer consultations, listing appointments, showings, open houses, database management, social media posts, closings, inspections, meeting photographers and appraisers, and general fire fighting. All of this can add up to a recipe for things and people falling through the cracks.
We’re all pretty darned good at staying on top of our current files and active clients. But there’s so much more to this business than opening doors and picking up checks at closing.
Are clients falling through the cracks?
Probably the most critical tool you should have besides the MLS, your CRM (client relationship management) should be your lifeline, your pipeline, and your virtual assistant to keep you on track with contracts and transaction management. The old saying is the best CRM is the one you use, but I have a couple of favorites.
Transaction Desk is included in your GSREIN dues and is super simple to use for transaction management. All of the approved NOMAR forms are already in the system, there’s an electronic signature function, and a simple reminder system for what needs to happen on what day. All without spending a dime and with the bonus of support through CoreLogic.
Boomtown is the Crescent City Living CRM, provided at no charge to all of our agents. It includes agent websites, listing alerts for leads, custom drip email and text campaigns, a daily reminder of your to-dos, and a total big brother vibe that lets us know exactly what our clients are doing on our site. What’s the benefit to that? Targeting your communication based on their activity leads to a much higher rate of success in converting a lead to an actual client.
Is your money falling through the cracks?
An easy-to-use system for your budgeting, accounting, and bookkeeping is critical to keep you out of trouble with the IRS and on top of how profitable your business can be. It shouldn’t be a chore to quickly determine your quarterly profit + loss and figure out if you’re over budget in your spending on part of your business.
I highly recommend reading the book Profit First and then signing up with YNAB – You Need A Budget (free for 34 days). It doesn’t take long at all to set up both your business and personal budgets and stay on track with your hard-earned money.
Pro tip: Connect your bank accounts and credit cards to YNAB and you won’t have to input much of anything, just approve or categorize your spending.
Where are your files?
Are they scattered on the back seat of your car? Piled on your desk? Stacked on the floor of your office? Eeek!
Finding the right cloud storage for your files needs to be a priority, so you never lose that important information again. I highly recommend either using Transaction Desk for storage (since you’re already paying for it) or using an online storage system like Dropbox or Google Drive. Making the move to paperless storage will keep those essential documents from falling through the cracks. At CCL, we use Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) for post-closing storage and easy sharing with clients and other agents when needed.
Need some more tips on handling your business better? I’m happy to have a mini-planning session with you! Just give me a call at 504-327-5303.
~ Lisa Heindel
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