The transaction software- also called CRM - is the real estate agent's daily dashboard. It allows him to oversee all of the commercial and marketing activity of the agency and to accurately manage the property listing.
It is mainly on this last point, "the property listings", that a transaction software specifically crafted for the real estate agency business differs from the large multi-trade non-specialized CRM.
# What is a real estate CRM software?
The daily life of the real estate agent is driven by his search for properties for sale and rent. The agency's CRM must be able to manage the whole cycle: from the search for the property to the publication of the lease or the sales agreement.
A specific real estate CRM will bring you prospecting tools (real estate prospecting, sectorized prospecting, etc.), the management of the advertisement portfolio and its distribution to portals and partners, virtual visit tools, the editing of documents and brochures, the management of buyers, the follow-up of sales, the management of teams, etc., and many other tools intended for real estate professionals
# Evolving around the web
Since the beginning of the 2000s, transaction softwares have been evolving towards the web. Today, a software looks more like a website offering a fluid navigation on all the management tools of the real estate agency. An user friendly interface is paramount if the CRM must help the real estate agent and allow him to maximize the efficiency of all interactions with his customers while reducing the volume of time-consuming tasks.
Thanks to technologies such as the cloud, the real estate agent doesn’t need to worry any more about hosting and managing his data. Decentralized servers host the software which is offered to the real estate agency in the form of a user license (technically called SaaS). This technical advance also makes it possible to support software evolutions, namely access in mobile applications on smartphones.
The choice of the service provider who will host, secure and back up the agent's data is all important. The cloud hosting of the software and the subscription does not allow for physical verification of data integrity and persistence. It is important to pay attention to the contractual information and commitments of the service provider.
On the other hand, the exploitation of a real estate CRM is only possible through the stored data. The reversibility of the data is also an important factor in the choice of a software, if you wish to shift from a provider to another you must be able to recover your data and transmit them to your new provider. It is advisable to check the commitments of your provider before you sign a contract.
# The data challenge
The real estate agent is faced with a growing influx of data from different channels. This real estate data come from the property values for the evaluation of real estate assets, potential buyers or tenants from real estate portals or the agency's website, documents such as diagnoses, points of interest near a property, bigdata tools, inter-agency databases ...
The real estate CRM allows to centralize and organize all these data. The integration and linking of this data by the CRM on the contact sheets or on the property allows a better follow-up, a saving of time and improves the ability of the agent to finalize business opportunities.
The challenge for the real estate agent will be to pertinently blend all this data, to find the ideal property for his future client or to estimate a property at the best price. The transaction software and the various dedicated service providers will allow the agency to differentiate itself from its real estate competitors by proposing the ideal property or an ideal market price thanks to matching algorithms and additional data sets that will enrich the awareness of the customer’s needs or the property features. Dealing with this massive amount of information (big data), the software will bring a precious help by carrying out a lot of data matching which could not be treated by the real estate agent himself.
# Ever-changing professions and legislations
A CRM software is the centerpiece of any project aiming at modernising and virtualising a real estate agency. The local store still plays an important role, but it is no longer indispensable in the undertaking of a real estate project. Tenants and buyers looking for an agency or a property have an increasing tendence to scan the net first and foremost, and do not care whether the advertiser is an independent real estate agency, a franchisee or an agent.
Regardless of the application domain, the transaction software must be able to adapt to it and offer the same level of service,and to make the whole of its tools available to all agencies, regardless of their size and transaction volume.
A tailor-made tool for real estate agents must also keep pace with a changing and constantly evolving legislation, whether dealing about the legal notices of a property, the legal information of an agency or the data protection, the software must allow the agent to comply with the new texts to the letter.
If the CRM is to consistently help the agent in his daily business, the whole of its printable documents such as mandates, endorsements, visit vouchers etc… must be legally compliant and up-to-date with the latest legislation
# Promoting communication
A real estate CRM software is an ideal solution to optimize all exchanges both with prospects or customers and within the agency or network of agencies itself. Collaboration, centralization and follow-up of the different contact points are major elements here.
The synchronization of emails and calendars with the real estate CRM software further facilitates communication within your company. Besides, the automation of some kind of recurrent messages saves time and ensures continuity in key exchanges with prospects and customers.
A real estate CRM can cover many tasks related to communication thanks to its smart messaging and organizing features.
# Lead collection and conversion
The automatic integration of leads into the real estate CRM’s database promotes lead conversion. The software is connected to real estate portals, social networks and the company's website and it centralizes all lead collection, allowing to monitor the performance of each channel and also to adjust the lead acquisition strategy of the real estate agency.
The benefits associated with a real estate CRM software are many:
- Collaboration with customers but also with other real estate agents
- The tasks of real estate agents and marketing actions are automated
- The correspondence between properties and buyers is optimal
- The information is constantly accessible, regardless of the situation (especially during travel)
Besides, increasing the acquisition of prospects and leads is facilitated by:
- Better marketing strategies
- Optimization of each segmentation of prospects, sellers and buyers
- More effective lead tracking
- Analysis and reporting of marketing results
- The construction of a reusable database
So, instead of relying on standard transaction tools or simple office solutions to track your actions, using real estate software will allow you to get a whole array of real estate-oriented tools combined with the power of a CRM software. You will then be able to implement and manage a growth strategy and provide your employees with all the tools they need to achieve their goals.
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