Mailing List and Lead Management

Mailing List and Lead Management

Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes

I am in the process of looking for a program to manage my mailing lists and leads. I need something that lets me import lists which I will later export to send to a direct mail printing company. Because I may be getting lists of different types (inherited, absentee, high equity, whatever) or even a list with the same criteria in the future, it is quite likely that there will be duplicates from one list to the next.  I would like the software to be able to identify (and optionally remove) these duplicates based on the property address when I import a new list or manually enter an individual lead; I obviously don’t want to send out multiple letters/postcards to the same person in a given mailing. I would also like the software to be able to identify (and potentially remove) entries with the same Owner Last Name and Owner Mailing Address – this is for the case when someone owns multiple properties.

I would have thought this would be something inherent in CRM programs, but a look at a program like Zoho reveals that it does not do this at all. Any recommendations on a software package (or online hosted service) that handles this kind of duplicate entry removal for list management? Do I need separate list management and CRM programs, or is there a solution that provides both list management and lead management functionality?

It seems like an obvious thing to want a central database of all the people you are mailing, with the ability to have subsets of lists.  And also, when you get a returned letter or someone asks to be removed, that person gets flagged so that you don't mail them.  There must be some program out there that does this, right?

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

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Jerry PuckettPro Member
Wholesaler · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y

I searched far and wide for a crm/ campaign organizer as I manage multiple lists. I couldn't find anything out there that did just what I wanted so I built my own.  It has enough bells and whistles to get the job done, and also helps to automate the follow up process.

I laid out some details in podcast #21 and have dozens of clients who use it. Its really just a glorified spreadsheet set up on google docs so as to be in the "cloud". The key to it is in organizing your workflow in a very practical way.

See this reply in the discussion

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  • Investor · Santa Rosa, CA · Member since 2012 · 402 posts · 96 votes
    12y

    Podcast #37 Aaron talks about hiring someone on riverr.com to create a program to scrub his database for duplicates.

  • Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2014 · 31 posts · 7 votes
    12y

    I was looking at podio today and it does import/export lead lists and scrubs for duplicates. Free crm with option to upgrade. Keep us posted please.

  • Jerry PuckettPro Member
    Wholesaler · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    I searched far and wide for a crm/ campaign organizer as I manage multiple lists. I couldn't find anything out there that did just what I wanted so I built my own.  It has enough bells and whistles to get the job done, and also helps to automate the follow up process.

    I laid out some details in podcast #21 and have dozens of clients who use it. Its really just a glorified spreadsheet set up on google docs so as to be in the "cloud". The key to it is in organizing your workflow in a very practical way.

  • Detroit, MI · Member since 2014 · 42 posts · 19 votes
    12y

    @Mike G. What format are the lists in? and what are you checking as a duplicate (phone number, address, etc)?

    I maybe able to whip up a small program for the community to do such a task if its demanded.

  • Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    12y

    Thanks for the replies!

    @Russell Ponce , Aaron's idea isn't bad, though there is no reason software couldn't easily do this.  Seems a little silly to pay someone to do this over and over again when it could just be automated in the process of importing the list.

    @Recia Davis , I've begun to check out Podio.  It seems like it will do what I want, though it's a bit clunky.  It seems like the developers have gone out of their way to make a generalized system (which is cool), but as a result it's a bit confusing until you get used to it.  Also, they seem to be ignoring some basic functionality, such as being able to bulk edit a field across multiple entries or select which fields I want to have exported.  However, right now it looks like a workable solution, and if they flesh out the functionality a bit more, it looks like it will be a great tool.  I'll try to remember to report back here if I have any more insights or updates regarding Podio.

    @Jerry Puckett , you obviously do a lot of direct mail, so if you have a system you're happy with, it must be pretty good.  I'm going to have to listen to your BP podcast.  Thanks for chiming in here!

    @Darryl D. , I have my source lists in Excel, but I want to be able to put them all into one database, rather than having multiple Excel docs floating around that I have to compare.  I really appreciate your offer on this.  Let me check out the other ideas first.  Also, I know that fellow BP member Scott Costello has a mail management software system in beta that is worth checking out.

  • Investor · Santa Rosa, CA · Member since 2012 · 402 posts · 96 votes
    12y

    Listsource allows you to "supress" your list so there are no duplicates on any other of your purchased lists

  • Real Estate Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2013 · 111 posts · 76 votes
    12y

    I use spreadsheets for my direct mail data base(s). You can identify a column for Status. In the Status column, I use codes.. Like RTS = return to sender (when I get mail returned to me), REMOVE = remove (I don't actually remove them, I just don't mail to them again) and ACTIVE = active (these are leads I continue to mail to). I have a column for Source. You can put codes for absentee owner, vacants, probate, whatever. I also have a column for mail date.. I do use podio once a lead calls in. They get input into podio.. Status in data base becomes REMOVE. I also use podio to track campaign response and expenses for the business.

  • Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    12y

    A couple of people have asked me about where I am with this, so I'll post an update.

    I decided to go with Podio.

    Here are some of the positives and negatives that I have seen with it.

    Positives:

    • I am able to import a list from Excel and specify the mapping of columns to fields that I've set up in Podio.
    • I am able to specify fields on import that are "key" fields, so that duplicates will not be imported.
    • I can re-export a sub-selection of my Podio database to Excel, which I can then submit to a mailing service.
    • Podio automatically logs a history of every change that is made, along with who made the change and a time/date stamp.  I can see exactly what was changed for each edit and revert the change if I want.
    • When I search for an entry, it shows me results as I type (kind of - it's a web interface, so there is a delay, but it's fine)
    • I can attach files to entries in Podio, such as pictures of the property, contractor bids, rehab analysis, or whatever.
    • The Podio database is in the cloud, so both my partner and I can access it from any web browser and also from a mobile phone App.
    • There is some task creation functionality, which looks like it might be cool (similar to ZoHo), but I haven't used it yet.
    • Their forums have a lot of information.
    • It's free if you only have a few users (I think 5 or less)

    Negatives:

    • It's a little tough to figure out what's going on initially.  The developers chose not to use standard database nomenclature, so there is an extra unnecessary barrier to entry.  Also, their introduction tutorial isn't very useful, and the interface is often unintuitive.
    • I can't save a default mapping of Excel columns to Podio fields for importing.
    • When duplicates are detected on import, the original entry is updated with "new" info from the duplicate and there isn't an option to have it just ignore the duplicate.
    • I can't choose which fields to export to Excel, so I have to remove columns after export.
    • The Podio database is in the cloud, so if the Internet is down or slow, accessing it can be frustrating.
    • There is no built-in functionality to back up the Podio database, either automatically or manually.
    • It would be nice to be able to specify one or more fields and have Podio search for duplicates using those fields.
    • On import, if Podio sees what it thinks is a date, it converts it to its internal date format, which is annoying because it also adds a time to that field, like this:  2014-05-29 00:00:00.
    • It strips out comma separators from numbers when importing from Excel.
    • A number of little annoying/frustrating interface issues.

    Overall, Podio working okay for us so far, but some things have me concerned.  A built-in backup system seems like a crucial bit of functionality, especially for a database in the cloud.  I can manually export each table to an Excel file, which is fine for me because I only have one table so far, but this doesn't seem like a good solution.  Another global issue is that the developers seem to ignore requests for some really basic functionality (especially interface functionality) that ought to be very easy to implement.  They are probably focusing on larger systems, but I have seen simple requests from people made a few years ago that still haven't been implemented.

    Anyway, that's where I'm at.  As a free system (for now), I can only grumble about Podio's rough edges.  But now that I have it set up, it seems to be working okay and does what I need.  And my partner and I both have easy access to one central database.

  • Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    12y

    Oh, and thank you @Recia Davis for pointing me toward Podio!

  • Wholesaler · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2012 · 259 posts · 147 votes
    12y

    Mike, did you check out Salesforce.com? It's simply the best CRM product out there. I've used it in medium sized companies, Fortune 500 companies and now for my own personal REI company. There are numerous different tiers that you can subscribe to. It's pretty easy for me to use since I've been trained numerous times, but I feel its pretty easy to setup and use. SFDC will handle duplicates a bit better than Podio, but it won't really address the other negatives you listed, plus it costs me $5/mo (but I find it to be very worthwhile). May be worth checking out if you get too frustrated with Podio.

  • Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    12y

    Hi, Brandon.  No, I didn't get around to checking out Salesforce.  After I put in the time on Podio and decided it worked for my needs (and was free), I just stopped there.  I have bumped up Salesforce on my list to check out in the future, though.  Thanks for the suggestion!

  • Wholesaler · Whippany, NJ · Member since 2009 · 412 posts · 183 votes
    12y

    @Mike G. thanks for reporting back on what your findings are with PODIO.  It's interesting to hear

  • RE Investor & Broker · Huntington Beach, CA · Member since 2011 · 60 posts · 22 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Mike G.:

    A couple of people have asked me about where I am with this, so I'll post an update.

    I decided to go with Podio.

    @Mike Grayford

    Are you still using Podio for your CRM/List Management or have you found something bettter?   

    Thanks, Scott

  • Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    11y

    @Scott Williams, yes, we are still using Podio.  It has been working fine so far, though we haven't been sending any mailings recently.  Unless we run into some major problems in the future, we will probably stick with it.

  • Developer · Columbus, OH · Member since 2008 · 117 posts · 63 votes
    5y

    Did you ever find a turnkey systems / extension for Podio that can help?

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