Contact Management

Dave wrote: "I attended a Verl Workman seminar a few months back and he has something he calls AAOutlook---Active Agent"

Yup...not nearly as good as Top Producer 8i, the leading real estate database.

BTW: Never buy anything somebody's pushing at a seminar, especially a free seminar!

It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!

Alan wrote in response to Daves question and I felt compelled to respond because Alan seems not to know of that which he speaks...

"Dave wrote: "I attended a Verl Workman seminar a few months back and he has something he calls AAOutlook---Active Agent"

Alan writes in response: "Yup...not nearly as good as Top Producer 8i, the leading real estate database. BTW: Never buy anything somebody's pushing at a seminar, especially a free seminar! "

Alan et al; First off, Dave never mentioned that AA was being "pushed," at the seminar, simply that Mr. Workman used AA...Secondly, AA is designed to work within Outlook, converting it to a more RE centric CRM application.

Third, many folks, myself included, consider AA a better solution to TP for a variety of reasons such as: Cost, ease of use, Outlook integration, Exchange compatibility, etc..

As an IT consultant to Realtors and the SMB market for 8 years now, a technical salesperson for 20 years, and having both written and used many different CRM apps, (can you say Symantecs ACT xxx) I can tell you with100% certainty that approx 80% of the TP/CRM users i have worked with, have used basically 20% at best, of the apps features..There is about 20% of the users who use maybe 50% of the apps features..

I would bet money that if a poll were taken here in this forum, that most of the folks who have and use TP, use 50% at best, on average, of its' features...Probably the biggest feature, is the 'online availability," of the information, being able to access it from multiple PCs..

So what, you can get that with Outlook without the high costs, like 10.00 a month or so, depending on the Exchange host..

Now, the question becomes why pay a high monthly fee for something that is not being fully used, or being used as a glorified address book?

Outlook in its' most basic form performs all the functions that TP/CRM apps do, that most business people need day to day: Email, Contact info, Calendaring, Tasks, Notes, and Journaling..In addition, it integrates nicely with ALL the other MS Office apps that most Realtors use for their business, Word, Excel, Power Point and Publisher...

Don't forget smartphone integration too, either by cable sync, or my favorite ,wireless syncing...A change made on my phone, shows up in Outlook, wirelessly...When my office manager sets an appointment in Outlook, on my calendar that I have shared with her, it shows up on my phone, wirelessly..Does TP do this? NO..

Now, where Active Agent comes in is to integrate within Outlook, adding true Real Estate specific features and functions to it...You get all kinds of extra contact info, property info, action plans, etc... Go to www.sonomaenterprises.com for more info...It is a great app that works with Outlook in a stand alone setting, or Exchange environment..

In addition, Outlook really shines when configured to connect and work in an Exchange environment...Imagine being able to access ALL of your Outlook from ANY of your PCs? Office pc, home pc and laptop...A change made on one is reflected on the others in seconds...

If you don't have access to your pc, big deal, log into the web and use Outlook Web Access, a web based version of Outlook that comes FREE with Exchange...Does TP do this, NO!

What about actual data files like; Word, Excel, .PDF's, etc., would you like access them from the various locations too? You can.all from either Outlook or Sharepoint, that comes with Exchange integration..Can TP do this, NO!

Can I set up a team easily with TP and give everyone their own files from which to work, and a team calendar, contacts, etc., and be able to access ALL of this info in real time from ANY of my PCs? NO....

Can i access my information without having to be online easily with TP, NO...Can i send and receive email from anywhere i want from TP, NO!!

Can I pay as little as 10.00 a month per user for all of this with TP, again, NO...

I could go on, but I hope you get the point by now, that Outlook is a great alternative to TP, and one that I, and many others, think is much better for businesspeople who happen to sell Real Estate....

Alan, I think you owe it to this forum, Real Estate Experts, to provide somthing other than a flippant one-liner in response....

Randall C Fullerton

www.7046054950.com

Quoting Randall C Fullerton:

Alan, I think you owe it to this forum, Real Estate Experts, to provide somthing other than a flippant one-liner in response....

Sorry to ruffle your feathers, Randall.

My comments are based on what I see used and preferred by top agents, agents who are not "techies" but who have built a good business by using top tech tools that meet the needs of today's consumer. The main group I rely on for what works is my CyberStars(r), 200+ top agents from the US, Canada, the Bahamas and Australia. Prime criteria for membership is that they are top agents in their area and that they use today's technology to build their businesses.

They are also based on 30+ years of teaching technology to real estate agents.

You wrote: "Outlook in its' most basic form performs all the functions that TP/CRM apps do, that most business people need day to day: Email, Contact info, Calendaring, Tasks, Notes, and Journaling.."

Again, I look at a contact manager from the standpoint of the tasks an agent needs to do in order to grow his/her business. Outlook certainly does all that you mention and is no doubt the best generic contact manager. It does not to the most important functions an agent should be doing, primarily automatic action plans and automatic followup on listings, closings, etc.

Neither is it set up to have searchable fields to enter all the data an agent needs to enter on his or her prospects, buyers, sellers or Sphere of Influence. If an agent uses a real estate specific database, primarily TP or Respond, he/she can instantly look up all those who have visited a particular open house in order to notify them of a price reduction....can't be done with Outlook. He/she can instanly pull up a group of those looking for a home in Willow Oaks that has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a swimming pool in order to notify them of a new listing....can't be done with Outlook.

In short, Outlook is generic, not real estate specific.

As for agents not using all the features of TP or any real estate specific contact manager, that's a shame, but it's certainly not the fault of the database, is it?

You also wrote: "As an IT consultant to Realtors and the SMB market for 8 years now, a technical salesperson for 20 years..." You come from a technical background; I come from a real estate background and am not a "techie." I look at a contact management system from the standpoint of what it can do for an agent to build his or her business.

As for the "one liner," I have expounded at length on the subject here, on my blog, on Active Rain, etc. Didn't see the need to do so again. Those who know me know that I am far from flippant.

So...relax and have a great Fourth of July weekend, my friend!

http://www.realtown.com/john/groups/real-estate-experts/view/14544#ixzz0KIJYYvPh&D