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Are Post-it notes, business
cards, and message slips littered across your desk, stuffed in pockets, and
jammed into drawers? Do you have a dog-eared Rolodex? Are your
competitors listing your missed opportunities? Do you frequently promise
yourself "Someday I'm going to organize this mess!" but
the day never comes?
Would you like to turn your clutter into relationships that lead to money in
your bank account? If so, read on!
As a child growing up on a farm in Nebraska, my father taught me that "Half
of any job is having the right tool." An essential tool for any real
estate agent is a system for tracking people. Your contacts, whether they
are potential buyers, or business service people who can quickly solve an
emergency prior to closing, are the heart of your business. The care you
give them can mean the difference between mediocre survival and wild success
-- and a lot fewer headaches!
Tip #1: Today's mail is tomorrow's pile. Forget about your past
failures. Start over! Choose a contact management system that will work
for you, and enter the very next contact you get. Re-file names from the old system as you use them. When
you've exhausted its useful information, throw it away, or just put it in some
less accessible space if the mere thought of throwing it away gives you heart
palpitations!
Paper vs. Electronic
Before the days of computers, the
most sophisticated way to manage names and numbers was a Rolodex. Some
people still feel more comfortable with a piece of paper than a computer screen,
but serious business people are recognizing and appreciating the increased
capabilities of an electronic system.
The biggest advantage of a traditional paper Rolodex is that it allows you to
file business cards as soon as you receive them, without having to transcribe
the information elsewhere. (If you choose this method, use a
3"x5" size, so you can staple or glue business cards right on the
Rolodex card without having to cut it down. In addition, you will have
space to write notes about the contact such as where you met, pet's name, or who
gave you the lead.)
The biggest disadvantage is that you have to determine how you can file the lead
so that you can find it again. If I file the lead under the last name,
what happens if I can't remember the name? Or what if it is a couple and
they have different last names?
The Power of Technology
Unlike a paper system, technology
allows you to organize data so it can be retrieved in a variety of ways. You can
enter whatever kind of information you want: name, title, address, phone, fax,
who introduced you, customer history, and so on and you can search, sort and
retrieve it by whichever criteria you choose.
Contact manager programs, such as Outlook, Daytimer, and ACT! combine
database sorting with a calendar and word processing capabilities. You can use
your contact manager program to retrieve every contact you have in a specific
geographic area. For example, whenever I take a trip, I do a search by
geographic area. Some of my most exciting and rewarding experiences were a
result of that electronic search. In addition, you can write personalized
marketing letters and speedy thank yous -- and easily print out envelopes
and mailing labels. While you may use such programs only on your desktop
computer, you have other powerful options.
If you travel with a laptop, you can use transfer software, such as PC
Anywhere, to synchronize the information in your desktop and your laptop.
Portable electronic organizers let you take your names and numbers (and
frequently your calendar) with you. They range from the size of a watch to
a small pocketbook. The simplest model stores a few hundred names, while the
most advanced stores thousands of names and has word processing capability that
allows you to create documents. With synching capabilities included in many, you
can send and receive files to and from your computer, while some even have
e-mail and fax capability. Many clients who were never able to use a
calendar or contact system successfully, consider products such as Palm Pilot
their saving grace!
My favorite new tool: CardScan. In a few minutes, it enables me to
turn a pile of business cards into valuable, searchable data. No more
racking my brain about where I got that pile of business cards in the rubber
band on my desk!
A WORD OF CAUTION: A variety of circumstances, some explainable, some not,
can cause any technology to fail. A backup system is priceless insurance for
your real estate business and your peace of mind.
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