Not all agents are extroverts, in fact many of them are ‘introverted’ gaining energy from within. Most are very happy to sit by themselves and smash out 50+ calls a days on the off chance of securing a solid appraisal lead. However, with the recent changes to the industry forcing agents to work from home, what does this mean for those extroverts who thrive off the energy of those around them?

Simply put, this new environment is tough for those extroverted sales staff who source their energy from others, often thriving in a competitive office environment and consider themselves masters of the open home!

It might seem ridiculous that CRM software can help the extroverts in our industry to facilitate the transition to remote working. It turns out your CRM could be the saving grace to support both your extroverted and introverted team members thrive in this new environment.

Before we dive in, we’re all getting a bit sick of hearing ‘when things return to normal there will be a property boom so now is the time to increase your marketing and hit the phones!’

While the enthusiasm is great, this is easier said than done. Staying motivated (let alone kicking goals) during uncertain and challenging times is hard for everyone - particularly with no end in sight. Motivation is often accompanied by accountability which in itself comes with a plethora of expectations, rules and outcomes to adhere to.

The common theme of self help blogs on how to cope with the transition to working remotely is to have routine. This is so much easier if you have a specific list of tasks to complete. Hence this transition is easier for an accountant, an IT developer, or an architect than for real estate sales teams.

Arguably, the most productive thing a salesperson can do is to work on their marketing and calls. The calls in particular are likely to take on a different approach to calls previously. Very few clients are likely to want to list immediately, but the intention is to try to identify who is likely to want to make a change once we end this period.

This is where the help of your CRM comes in. ReNet’s reporting system has the tools to keep your team accountable and motivated to focus on productivity and results.

The reporting functionality allows agents and managers to easily access over 78 reports around business activity. The range is broad including reports on website activity, engagement with emails, listing reports and the activity reports (arguably the most important in this work from home environment).

Here are some suggestions for agents and managers to consider using the reporting functionality over the next few months.

1. Build a staff scoreboard

The ReNet Scoreboard is a great way to track your activity in these uncertain times. You are able to track a wide range of activity from Listings, offers and contracts through to tasks that you have completed. Each scoreboard activity receives a points score, so you are able to award more points for the activities that are most important to your office.

An example would be to lessen the score weighting for OFIs or appraisal requests and focus more on specific tasks like number of calls made during a certain period.

2. Create call lists

We mentioned that making calls is one of the most productive tasks a sales agent can do at this time and lists are a great way to establish routine. Create call lists using information you already have in your CRM or get creative and gather new information that you want.

Run reports identifying:

• Contacts who regularly open your emails
• People who attended an open home last year
• Those who have clicked on a property this year (you can do this from any property via Touchpoints Manager)

If you haven’t been keeping your CRM up to date with some of this information (you’ll quickly realise how important this is) then work out what info you want and call people and ask them for that information. For example, if you’re trying to gather information about families with kids, make a call list with contacts who are interested in family sized properties.

3. Record making a call and add notes about your contacts

Create a task specifically for actioning call lists, include them in your staff scoreboard then record when calls are made. Once calls are logged, you can run reports on daily and weekly call behaviour to boost accountability.

Request for staff to add notes directly into the CRM after each call. It’s easy to record calls made in ReNet either by clicking on the phone icon or by making calls from the app on your phone. Motivate your team to log quality notes with information they can leverage to close the sale or use to uncover other opportunities.

4. Up your email marketing

Email marketing is relevant, effective and it’s here to stay. Real Estate emails shouldn’t just be long lists of properties. People look to agents for advice on property in general. Hence, create email campaigns with a variety of content.

Most people seem to be getting to those DIY jobs at the moment. Our favourite trick is to send out a list of links to articles including one on ‘getting your home ready to sell’ and look to see who clicks on it. ReNet’s reporting functionality has loads of tools to work out who has engaged and how. Test out different articles or try specific email campaigns to create more call lists based on various engagement criteria.

5. Track and leverage website activity

Global website traffic is currently up at 22%. With more people forced to work from home and in virtual teams, this influx of online activity is no surprise. Leverage this opportunity to track, action and remarket to your web traffic.

Tracking website traffic is easy when your CRM is connected to your website. A ReNet CRM and website combination means site activity such as enquiry form submissions or appraisal request forms are automatically entered into your database. Use this information to create new call lists or email campaigns.

If you’re due for a website upgrade, click here to speak to our team about our templates.

ReNet’s reporting is extensive and flexible, hence, can give you and your staff the structure needed to stay sane in these difficult times. Our team is in the same boat, navigating this new experience of working virtually while staying connected. What we know for sure is we’re still ready to help you when you need it the most. If you would like help setting up reports or some additional training please call our support team on 02 6658 8767.

If you’d like to learn more about ReNet, click here to request a call from our team.