A CRM system is one of the most important tools a REALTOR needs these days as it really does help run so much of your business.  A CRM system typically consists of several pieces including Contact Management (contact profiles, note-taking, reminders, follow up/reminders, etc.), Marketing (drip or blast e-mails, direct mail, tracking offline and online external marketing efforts), Transaction Management (files/forms, related tasks, etc.) Communications & more. There are also different kinds of CRMs:

• Stand Alone or Plug-In CRM – intended for customers who already have an existing website and want to add better tracking and communications capabilities to their existing site.
• Website Provider CRM – one company provides you both the website and CRM solution which means that in addition to the tools and data in most Stand-Alone systems, they also provide you additional tracking information on the property search activity of each site user
• 3rd Party App CRM Integration – Add-ons to existing programs such as Gmail or Outlook that provide additional CRM functionality to those programs.

One of the challenges is there are a lot of vendors who all claim they have built the perfect CRM system.  And while the truth is, there is no such thing as the perfect CRM system (as each person, team, and/or company runs vastly different than others) in this video we review what a CRM is and the advantages and disadvantages of each type of CRM system. Be sure to also check out the CRM Section of the RETI Product guide to see reviews of some of the more popular CRM systems or the CRM Generator Tool that can help you pick the best CRM Vendor solutions for your business’s needs. (reviews of other CRM systems will be added over time). Also, check out Why Every Real Estate Agent Needs a CRM & Top 10 Things to Look for in Choosing a CRM.