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Updated 4 months ago, 09/10/2024
What CRM software do you think is the best
I have been using a free one called vtiger.
it has been going very well for me and my business.
I do about 2-4 deals a month and it helps me track all of my projects and investments into those projects and to do lists etc.
Hey @Antoine Martel , I have a quick question for you regarding the VTiger CRM. You mentioned that you are using it for free. Can you tell me how/where to get the free account because when I went to their site, I only see that there's a free trial for 15 days and then after the trial, the least costly account is their Starter Package which is $10 / user / month (billed annually), or $12 / user / monthly.
We have tried a dozen and ended up with our own custom built Podio platforms. Many of the others did a ton of cool stuff.....but not the way we wanted it done.
It was a painful annoying process, but we're very happy with it in the end.
Yeah @Bryan Blankenship , I'm leaning towards actually getting a custom Podio platform setup for my use also. I've decided to not reinvent the wheel, so to speak, and will be purchasing several custom setups from a few guys that I've connected with here on BiggerPockets. They are @Michael DeFrancisis and @Nick Baldo . Unlike other Podio setup companies selling their setup/apps, they don't charge an ongoing fee. I've seen what they have setup and like what they've created. I'm also a tech guy so I feel that once I have the setup and want to start tweaking it, I'll be able to make the required changes and keep moving. Just my opinion.
Very nice @Brian Woods ! I haven't worked with them, but I'll save their info in case I have future stuff to do. I am a non-techie for sure.
Thanks for the info!
Brian Woods I didn’t know that Podio had a feature to do a custom setup. I’m fairly new and the problem I have is I don’t know what I don’t know with the software and marketing so I wouldn’t know what features I would or wouldn’t want to track my key monthly KPIs and track my marketing and lead generation results per lead channel.
Bryan Blankenship what features are you happy with in your custom setup Bryan. What other software CRMs did u try before settling on Podio? If you don’t mind sharing. There are so many versions out there promising the same thing I just don’t know which one to to with.........
@Mike G. I've tried a ton of them. Investorfuse, Freedomsoft, other Podio workspaces, Zoho, etc.
I can say, Freedomsoft is getting better every day and I'm personal friends with Rob Swanson, he's awesome and will continue making it better.
For me, I was so used to working in a Podio workspace that I ended up back to one and customized it exactly the way i wanted for workflows, automation, deal tracking, followups, etc. The biggest thing for us is that we do a ton of rehabs. Out of 15-20 deals/mo, we do 7-10 as rehabs still, so having one seamless place to work was vital.
Most other CRMs are all about the A-B only, and don't do much with the property after the B-C has closed.
Talk To Realvolve... I was a Top Producer user for years and finally quit when it wouldn’t update anything in a timely manner.
As for vTiger, I believe it’s free version is self-hosted, which means you need to have your own web hosting infrastructure and domain setup to take advantage of their open source option
@Mike G. , yes that's the cool thing about Podio, it's very customizable for not only real estate, but, other types of businesses as well and that's what I and others love about it. If you want to, you can see just how some people are customizing it for real estate by doing a search on Youtube for "Podio For Real Estate". Some of the more well-known customized setups are namely - Investorfuse, REI Automation Squad, Seller Leads CRM, ReFlex CRM, etc. There are others, even a few that I already mentioned here in this conversation. You can even hire someone from sites such as Upwork or Fiverr to customize it exactly how you would want it to be for you.
Great thread!
@Brian Woods Thank you for sharing. I am also interested in getting a custom Podio platform setup for a one time fee.
I am a buy-hold investor and new to wholesaling and would like to get started on the right track.
Have anyone used SuiteCRM? It is an opensource CRM similar to vtiger.
Please let me know if you have some ideas. Thank you
No problem @Lars Thomas . That's what BiggerPockets is all about. People in the real estate industry getting together online - socializing, networking, helping each other out, and making deals!!!!! If you want to get a custom Podio setup, as I mentioned, you can connect with the two guys whom I'll be getting my system from, @Michael DeFrancisis & @Nick Baldo . They are great to work/talk with and know what they are doing. Hope This Helps
@Brian Woods yes I really like this BiggerPockets forum, by sharing we all help each other grow. Thanks again. I sent them a message referring to you. Cheers :-)
In my opinion there is no such a notion as the best CRM software. In my opinion that the one tailored specifically for your business niche will work better for your business needs. For example, https://legallycrm.com/ will work perfectly for law firms, meanwhile it will not work for ecommerce business.
Hello all. I am a relatively new investor. I have been working in a partnership that has only had two deals to date. After spending a lot of money for real estate classes and mentoring with Elite Legacy, we were turned on to REIBlackbook. Does anyone here have experience with that platform? We are definitely paying a lot but it seems it does a lot. I am interested in Podio from what I have heard here and researched
If you're on a budget, podio (or if you need a ton of customization for very specific situations) custom built podio setups is a good place to start.
The problem so many investors run into with this kind of setup for their real estate investor CRM is it can become a pain to use. When everything has to be in different "apps" to get stuff done, you introduce a ton of clicks into your repetitive tasks...and that gets annoying fast!
When it gets to where things break and you're not sure why or you find you're not recording some information because you don't have the time for it, it might be a good time to look at the CRM's built specifically for real estate investors. There are many out there now and the best real estate investor crm's are the ones that don't try to be everything to everybody (that's what Podio is for!).
The best CRM's, in my opinion, keep things simple so that you can get work done fast and automate a lot of it.
I know I've spent more than my share of time trying to configure software to work the way I needed it to and that distracted me from my business of flipping houses.
The best CRM is the one you will enjoy using and actually use. If it's clunky or confusing, you probably won't use it to it's full ability.
Just my .02
@Mike G.
How does a crm apply to real estate? Like who uses them? A flipper or wholesaler perhaps? Sorry I know this is a newb question but I was enjoying reading this post and got me wondering.
Originally posted by @Daniel Fitzroy:
@Mike G.
How does a crm apply to real estate? Like who uses them? A flipper or wholesaler perhaps? Sorry I know this is a newb question but I was enjoying reading this post and got me wondering.
Anyone who is actively marketing and doing deals can benefit from a CRM system. I do wholesaling and flipping and couldn't manage the business without one. You want to be able to track all of your incoming leads all the way through to completion. You can use it to track your marketing performance, budgets on projects, KPIs for every role in your business (even if you're a one man show), call metrics, and manage your lead pipeline. A CRM is also critical for doing follow up, which is where I've been getting most of my deals from these days. I am using Left Main CRM system and love it. It has really cool dashboards so you can see everything happening in your business. You can also integrate your phone systems so you can track all those metrics as well. I use it for managing my projects too.
Originally posted by @Melissa McRay Johnson:
Originally posted by @Daniel Fitzroy:
@Mike G.
How does a crm apply to real estate? Like who uses them? A flipper or wholesaler perhaps? Sorry I know this is a newb question but I was enjoying reading this post and got me wondering.
Anyone who is actively marketing and doing deals can benefit from a CRM system. I do wholesaling and flipping and couldn't manage the business without one. You want to be able to track all of your incoming leads all the way through to completion. You can use it to track your marketing performance, budgets on projects, KPIs for every role in your business (even if you're a one man show), call metrics, and manage your lead pipeline. A CRM is also critical for doing follow up, which is where I've been getting most of my deals from these days. I am using Left Main CRM system and love it. It has really cool dashboards so you can see everything happening in your business. You can also integrate your phone systems so you can track all those metrics as well. I use it for managing my projects too.
Thanks for explaining!