Let’s imagine, for a moment:

Say you begin working at a new “high-tech” real estate office; it’s a great looking space, with a well-designed interior and a prime location. You think, “my customers are really going to like this place.”

As you get comfortable in your new office, you are introduced to “great” CRM software that is a huge step up from writing things down on your legal pad or talking to your best friend/assistant SIRI. You start to play around with the software. It is designed to keep you organized, with such information as a preset amount of time set between customer follow up/thank you calls; reminders of birthdays and anniversaries; even email templates that will go out with preset information at a preset time. You think this will absolutely help me be at the forefront of my business, and more importantly, that you now have the ultimate follow up tool…or do you?

The Problems and Obstacles of Using a CRM

There are a few factors that play a major role in the efficiency of those tools – and there reasons why, in my mind, those types of tools were not cutting it for my business. I run a title company in Miami, A1 Title Services, and I understand that I can’t have mediocre technology in this market and with this amount of competition.

The first obstacle I have encountered with any CRM is timing. In any sales process, including real estate, we often fail to put ourselves in the customer’s shoes. Of course, using a CRM means you are continuously attempting contact, that you will be reminded to follow up throughout the days, weeks and even years.

However, problems still remains: Will the customer be ready to talk to me when I call? Will my customer be ready to write information down, or will they be in a setting where they are ready to listen to what I have to say?

Usually the answer to those questions is “no” across the board. Yes, your customer may do the, “sure I’m writing it down” thing, where you end a conversation thinking the person is going to call you back; in reality, though, they won’t even remember you the minute they get rid of your phone call. The National Association of Realtors has published data stating that 90 percent of customers would do business with their Realtors again, however, only 10 percent remember their Realtor’s information!

The other obstacle is the human interaction aspect of any CRM. You may be entering information the correct way; your tasks may be set properly; and you may actually have the time necessary to make 20 to 30, maybe even 100 calls a day. The issue presents itself when you have an appointment out of the office, a sick day, or, even worse, you decide to do something for yourself and take a vacation. How will you ever get caught up? You are now two maybe three days behind and still have the day’s tasks to complete. The reality, is you don’t get caught up; you get frustrated; and a tool that is meant to help and optimize your business is now the one thing you dread.

Using the Right Technology For Your Business

The great news is, there are better tools and new technology for your business. I have recently started using Next Deal by digital docs, which completely eliminates those issues for me. This great resource works differently by keeping me in contact with my customer exactly when they are ready to talk to me. I input the customer’s information one time, and the software does the rest for me. That’s right – I can actually do things like go to sleep at night, vacation and work outside of my office, and all the while having the confidence that, because I have the newest technology on my side, I will not miss opportunities to gain repeat business from my customers.

Even before the customer closes, they are sent an email informing them of important, pertinent information to their specific transaction. They will receive emails throughout the process, and after closing. It is all information they want or need, and not just generic data about mortgage rates or general news. They get targeted information about their specific property or immediate neighborhood, including things like new sales, a list of local important phone numbers that they may need and even offers for client discounts on utilities and home services such as TV or phone. That, however, is not the best part of the software for me. I love that the closing documents are stored on a secure cloud for they client to access at any time.

They will even have access to use that cloud for storage or backup of their personal data. It gets better, and here is why I need this in my life – customer retention at its finest! If the customer is thinking about buying again and needs to figure out how much to finance, they may even need to know what kind of loan they have in order to figure out future financing. They need to look at their closing documents, and since their documents are stored online, they can access them from anywhere. Guess who gets a notification that the customer is accessing the documents, and therefore needing some kind of information? I do. I now get notified that my customer needs information exactly when they need it. Now I can confidently call my customer, who will be astounded because I have called him or her with perfect timing and without my repeated interaction or time invested.

Like computers, the technology we use is key in our productivity, and can make us money, save us time and even help with our reputation and customer service.

Gabriel Hernandez is the operations manager of A1 Title Services in Miami. He can be reached at:

Phone: 305-274-9898
Email: Gabriel@a1titleservices.com