As the saying goes, if I was paid a dollar for every time someone asked me the question “which CRM is the best?” Well I’d be a very wealthy woman! After working 25 years in the Real Estate industry I’ve held a very unique position in having the privilege of working with almost every software out there and I get asked this question more times than I can count every single day.
As a premium outsourcing provider specialising in Real Estate administration my company PMVA [Property Management Virtual Assistant] creates bespoke solutions integrating systems and software with human intelligence to help Real Estate business owners succeed. In any given week we process 20,000 invoices, 30,000 rent receipts, schedule 3,000 routine Inspections and follow up hundreds of maintenance quotes and outstanding work orders across more than 60+ software programs and are more than qualified to answer this question!
So now I have your attention let me be frank and tell you why this is actually the wrong question to be asking.
A few, select times a week I make it a priority to meet with Real Estate business owners to discuss their issues, road blocks, problems, technology, staff concerns, profitability and provide custom solutions to help them achieve their success – I call it a strategy session. A confidential coffee meeting via zoom where we sit down to discuss what are the challenges they are facing and how can they overcome their current problems and move forward. And believe me when I tell you almost everyone starts the conversation with the question about their CRM. As if having the answer would make their problems magically disappear! But only a few minutes into the session they quickly realise finding the perfect CRM has nothing to do with them becoming wildly successful and their CRM selection is only one aspect of the overall strategy.
Why it’s not your CRM that’s the problem.
After conducting thousands of strategy sessions I’ve discovered that it’s not the CRM that’s causing the majority of problems, it’s the mind set and plan of the business owner that needs review and adjustment. In my strategy session we run through the following major questions.
1. Where am I now?
We explore the things that have gotten you to where you are right now and consider the main problems hindering your success.
2. Where do I want to be?
2021 is not all doom and gloom. For many agency owners it’s in fact been the opposite. There is so much opportunity out there and spending time dreaming up your vision or reconnecting back to your big why is supremely important.
3. What’s the gap?
Reviewing your systems, technology and manpower, what are the obvious next steps to be taken to create momentum towards your goals.
Funnily enough by the end of the strategy session most agency owners realise that to change their CRM would actually be a disadvantage. (Unless of course your using a dinosaur program stuck on a server in the Harry Potter room collecting dust under the stairwell)
What they really needed was someone to remind them what’s really important, to remember why they chose to get into business and that technology is just a part of the overall strategy to their success. Sometimes fresh but experienced eyes can make all the difference.
