The number one question that I get asked at every seminar and event is, "which contact manager should I use"""" Is it Top Producer, Agent Office, Act, Outlook, Goldmine or some other database"?? How many times have you heard it said that the best contact manager is the one that you already use"?? While this statement is true, allow me to elaborate on what makes a contact management system effective.

In my opinion, your real estate contact manager should be more than just a place you keep names, addresses and phone numbers for the purpose of sending out your holiday greetings once a year.

Your contact management system (also known as CRM ' for Client Relationship Manager) should be the hub of your real estate practice."? It should be the center of your interaction with your clients and the place you can see what is happening and what has yet to be "?done in your business'at all times.

Here are the things that your CRM (Client Relationship Manager) should do:"?

• Manage both people and properties."? (Keep the current property information of everyone you meet as well as their future property needs.)
• Be"?able to launch action plans."? (An action plan is where you can set a series of different activities in motion with just a couple of keystrokes.)
• You should have only one database for your clients addresses and e-mail addresses (Many CRM's require you to use a separate email system, or you may find that theirs is not powerful enough to do your group and mass emails."? Frequently agents end up using their CRM for some things, and Outlook or another system for email.)
• It must sync with all the newest handheld PDA's (personal digital assistant) like the Treo's and Blackberry."? Many CRM's will sync, but in a format that does not transfer enough of the data you need to be effective.
• You should have only one calendar system (you can have multiple calendars within that system) that manages everything in your life, both personal and professional.
• Manage critical dates for both listings and transactions.
• If you are part of a team it must be able to be accessed by team members from different locations and sync with their systems.
• Track active and completed activities within the contact record for each client such as e-mail, meetings, calls, action items, and to do's.

While there are a lot of other features that can be useful, if your CRM does not do these"?basic things, it is probably time to "move up."' Many high tech agents have joined real estate from other professional jobs."? They are used to having great CRM software to track their business only to find out that the real estate industry has been lacking in standardized systems that are easy to use, and that work with 3rd party hardware and software.

For many years I have promoted Top Producer and Agent Office, and I continue to see many of my coaching clients find success with both of these systems."? For those of you who are using these power tools to really run your business, I honestly recommend you don't switch."?But for those of you who are searching for something easier and powerful, I recommend a program called Respond for Outlook.

Here is why I like Respond."? It uses Microsoft Outlook as the foundation, and that is useful for several reasons:

• Microsoft is the one program that is always open on most"?computers
• Microsoft is a familiar interface and a common tool for most businesses
• You can get training and support on Microsoft online or live, in virtually any market
• Third"?party vendors like the Treo and others write their programs to work with Microsoft
• Most of our clients use Outlook
• It syncs with the most popular phones and PDA's

The problem with Outlook by itself is that it is not real estate specific, and it does not have the ability to manage properties or launch action plans."? That is why Respond for Outlook is a great tool, because it customizes it for your real estate specific needs."? Respond does a lot of things, but the most important things are as follows:

• It installs on top of your Outlook (not Outlook Express)
• It looks, feels and operates like Outlook
• It is easy to use and easy to learn
• Respond adds important fields such as property information, multiple addresses, contract dates, and your clients preferred method of communication
• Respond adds the functionality to be able to launch action plans for closings, listings, and even long term client follow up plans like Beson's 7 year follow-up letters

While there are many more features that Respond offers, I have found that it's simplified my life by creating one database for everything'real estate, email, my family, soccer teams, and my professional speaking and coaching business'it can all be managed in one place now!"? That is exactly what we are trying to accomplish with our technology."? We are looking to simplify our systems to be able to accomplish more with as little effort and interaction as possible so you can spend less time as a data entry clerk and more time on profitable activities like showing homes.

If you are searching for a solution that works best for you, you should definitely consider Respond for Outlook."? To learn more about it, ask questions or even acquire it feel free to reply to this blog or send me an e-mail."? And be sure to post your other CRM solution questions, challenges or comments here too ' I have experience with most of them.

If you need product information simply send an e-mail to askverl@verlworkman.com and my great team will be happy to forward additional information to you.