Update Your Database!

As Principals or Senior Sales Consultants, the world of real estate technology can sometimes be overwhelming. After all –your key passion as property professionals is to list and sell homes. Anything that gets in the way of your efficiency in doing these things can often fall to the wayside. However, if you want to be more efficient at marketing, your customer database is one of the most important things to keep current, as Eddie Cetin, Managing Director of agentbox.com.au explains.

During my career I’ve had many real estate professionals contact me in despair about databasing effectively. Technology in our industry is expensive, and there are lots of options to consider as a business owner. Do you go for a web based database or something tried from the past? And once you have worked out where you want to go with your technology and your brand… will your team follow? I’ve been in multiple meetings where bored sales and property management teams learn about databases (sometimes for the fourth and fifth time, as their business may have gone from CRM to CRM without a successful match). Your team simply want to go out and list, lease and manage relationships – they don’t want to learn about another database that might not work for them and their clients.

I put to you that unless you convince your team that your chosen real estate database benefits them directly, you’re already at a disadvantage. If you’ve got ‘old school’ agents working with you and they’re comfortable working in the style they’ve honed efficiently over the years – why would they want to embrace new technology? Obviously – not all database systems are made equal.

Here are some easily explained benefits of using a top–tier real estate database and why your team should embrace these tools in your business. Remember – if your team aren’t on board – the important data is not being entered. So go no further until you’re confident you’ve sold the package to your team, and that they understand that the new database is a tool that will increase their income long–term!

Effective databasing means less time on the phone to buyers.

Whether it’s pretty or not, it’s a common complaint from selling agents that they feel spending time on buyers can be risky. They might not be qualified, they may have just started and not be ready to purchase… the list goes on. What if you could show the team a couple of simple steps to swiftly input buyers into customisable categories which they could property–match on the go… anywhere? How amazing would that be in a listing presentation to show a potential vendor? Instead of trawling through dross and old purchasers, your sales agents would be able to make fewer calls and connect qualified buyers with motivated vendors. Ka–ching!

A new database doesn’t mean countless hours being bored in training.

Some superior new real estate databases are intuitive, created by estate agents (ok, geeky ones!) and for estate agents. Rather than being in training rooms and drinking bad coffee your sales team could be on the go, learning about the basics of the database by simply using it. After all, trying things out and innovating is one of the best attributes of your sales agents!

Eddie Cetin is the Managing Director of agentbox.com.au. He has an insatiable thirst for technology and how it can be used to drive efficiency and dollar productivity in the workplace .He developed this thirst over the years working with Multinational Organisations and specialising in technology services sector of the Real Estate Industry. For more information visit agentbox.com.au.

Using a database and social media efficiently make prospecting more time–effective.

Prospecting is the core of being a successful agent, and naturally – you expect a database should make that process easier for you as a sales person. By training your staff to use a range of different and stimulating prospecting methods (including judicious use of social media in line with your brand’s ethos) you are encouraging their creativity and allowing them the space to show their natural personalities to their potential vendors. A quality database system should have a simple category system for prospects and automated reminders for your sales agents.

Accuracy means a bigger pay cheque for everyone.

Have you got one team member that just takes first names at open for inspections, and never asks for emails? A dirty database isn’t profitable for you, or your sales agents. The best databases all have features that stop double entry, or check clients that have names or addresses which are duplicates. By showing your agents that asking one or two more questions on the phone or at open for inspections enriches their automated database prospecting, you not only have a higher quality set of data – you have agents with richer dialogue!

An end to messy paper at open for inspections.

Encourage your agents to embrace tablet technology or smartphones by letting them use a database on the go. By entering clients’ details simply and electronically at open for inspections it makes call–backs that much faster and relevant emails out never get lost in the wash on Mondays in the office! Don’t let messy writing and data control how efficient your sales agents can be – give them a helping hand and invest in company technology.

Impress with bells and whistles.

Humans are funny creatures – we all like to be impressed. A bit of a wow factor, a touch of magic! At no time is that ‘magic’ more important than when getting a listing over the line – we must instill confidence in our clients. A quality real estate database will now be able to bring up matching clients, up–to–the–minute information and templated marketing in an instant – allowing your vendors or landlords to see what their homes will look like in starring roles with your brand. By helping your agents embrace technology in simple yet impressive and effective ways – they are directly being given assistance to list easily and more often. Win win!

You’ve now got a range of real benefits to offer your sales team when you’re training them into a new database, to ensure that your next foray into implementing new real estate technologies doesn’t flounder.

Eddie Cetin