5 Strategies for Improving Agent Adoption of Your CRM System
Think of all the mundane, repetitive, manual tasks you undertake to connect with prospects and convert them into clients. Now, imagine you have a platform that intelligently automates those tasks and serves as a conversion engine for your brokerage. That’s exactly what the right CRM can do for your business — if your agents use it.
According to The National Association of Realtors 2021 Technology Survey, 37% of agents see CRM as their most valuable tool, but what about the remaining 63%? How can you drive real meaningful adoption across your brokerage to fuel growth? Here are five strategies to consider:
1. Seek Out a Real Estate Specific CRM
Most companies use a big-name CRM like Salesforce, Adobe, Oracle or SAP. While those CRMs are great for traditional sales teams, real estate is unique, and you need a system that is prepared to handle the nuances of the industry.
When shopping for a CRM system, look for those that are built for the real estate market, have the end user in mind, understand how the business is run, and the challenges that brokers face. The best systems map their technology solutions to address these issues and solicit customer feedback regularly to be sure they are hitting the mark.
2. Opt for an “All-in-One” Solution
Agents are short on time as it is; you don’t want them to have to spend time learning how to use multiple technologies. For example, some brokerages cobble together a complete CRM solution from multiple vendors – a lead generation tool from one source, marketing automation from another, social media marketing from elsewhere, and so on. All-in-one solutions on the other hand make it easier for your agents to learn the platform and use it on a daily basis.
3. Look for an Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Program
The easier your technologies are to use, the greater the likelihood that your agents will use them. Most real estate agents come from other career fields, and few enter the industry with a high level of comfort using technology. Intuitive, easy-to-use platforms flatten the learning curve and drive greater adoption.
4. Invest in Onboarding and Training
Few brokerages have the time and resources to create their own training and onboarding programs. Look for a CRM that offers resources to help your agents get up and running, as well as access to support when your agents run into problems. With the right level of onboarding, training and accountability, your brokerage will far surpass industry averages for technology adoption.
5. Be Transparent with Your Team
This can be a huge and unexpected problem with technology adoption: Agents fear that brokerages will have access to their data and start working their leads. You must build trust with your agents to maximize adoption of your CRM and other technologies.
During onboarding and training, make clear to your agents that they own their data and leads. Be transparent about how the system will operate in context of the business to avoid any misconception that might hinder adoption.
Studies show that a CRM system can increase sales by 29%, improve accuracy in reporting by 32%, and boost the productivity of sales teams by 39%. By investing in the right CRM system, one that is designed specifically for the real estate industry and easy for your agents to use, your brokerage will be positioned to get more than its fair share of business in your market.
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