CRM/Drip Mail Campaigns/Buyer List

[Dick Rosen]

I had used Outlook for several years but finally got tired of the overhead in resources and data stored on my PC so I've switched over to Google for contacts and general email purposes. But, I need a good database to store leads, store buyer lists, create drip email campaigns.

What are you using?

[Alison M.]

I spent 20 years in IT creating and digging into industrial-strength databases for all sorts of purposes. Because of that I've never found a canned CRM I wanted to use, and I don't want to code my own. Instead I use a different kind of CRM system that I designed using a kanban board. Kanban is a productivity/project management tool and was developed in the 1950's at Toyota.

Think of a kanban board as your on-line deal whiteboard with columns for stages of the deal, and entries under each column. I use Trello - www.trello.com a free, simplified on-line version that allows you to build your own boards in about 5 seconds.

In Trello I created columns for stages of the deal: Called, Qualified, Walk Through, Offer, Contract, Close. In each column I have a card (like a virtual index card) with all the info I could ever need about the seller, the house, etc. The cards themselves have a lot of built-in capabilities to let you share with your team, set times and due dates, label in colors, and more.

The best part is that as the deal progresses through my deal pipeline I merely drag the card from one column to another depending on what's happened. I can see all my deals in play in one glance, see where they are in the pipeline, and can drill down as needed to see the details on any single deal. Nothing falls through the cracks, contact info is never lost, and I don't have to map fields, modify labels, run reports, do Db maintenance or conversions, or anything else to get the info I need.

The only thing I haven't done with Trello is import my entire mailing list so that I can have my universe of possible prospects available. However every caller and lead gets a card, and it makes following up very easy since I can see everything in a single top-level view.