What is a Contact Manager?

A Contact Manager is, at it's most basic, a software program to help you keep track of your contacts. My definition of contacts has always been very simple. It's everyone! Your sphere of influence is comprised of everyone with whom you have done business in the past, are doing business with currently, or hope to do business with in the future. But your contacts don't end there. You have all your contacts for the ancillary services, other agents, your doctor or dentist, and anyone else that you have ever spoken to, written to, or e-mailed. You never know when you may want to contact them again, so why should they not be in your database? The space it takes on your hard drive to keep them is so small, it is a non-factor.

There are basically two kinds of Contact Managers; those that were not created specifically for use by Real Estate Agents, and those that were. Let's call them Real Estate Specific, or R.E.S.. The former includes programs such as Microsoft Outlook, which comes with Microsoft Office Suite, ACT, Goldmine, Lead Commander, and Maximizer, to name a few.

While ACT and Goldmine have add-ons that tailor them for use in real estate, they are not R.E.S.

The latter arguably consists of two major players; Top Producer, and Online Agent, which has been branded as Agent 2000; Keller Williams Online Agent; Realty Executives Executive Agent; (and until Century 21 switched to Top Producer, they had Century 21 Power Pack. There are several others out there, but lack history or stability to date.

These are all Offline software programs that you purchase and install on your computer, as opposed to Online services which are typically paid for on a monthly usage basis. The Online services are a topic for another discussion in and of themselves. For the purposes of this discussion, we will talk about the Offline programs. Be aware that there is no silver bullet. There is no software out there that is the perfect one. They all have their holes. No matter which one you choose, you will be frustrated by a need for a seemingly obvious capability that is just not there. Keeping that in mind, for the average, and I stress average, non-tech oriented real estate Agent, I still believe that a R.E.S. contact manager is the best way to go.

Deciding which is best for you probably comes down to your general involvement in technology. If you are the type of person that uses only the technology you must to survive, then the R.E.S. software is probably best for you. The non-R.E.S. programs are virtually all more powerful, but as a result, their learning curve is greater, and there are some capabilities that are more cumbersome, or simply do not exist in them. A good observation is that the best one, is the one you use. If it's not relatively easy to pick up and use, you probably won't.

There is another caveat I would place on which one is better. The R.E.S. programs, as they have been created for use by agents, have additional modules with which to track listings and closings. They also have word processors, presentation designers, and more. The latter modules are far less powerful than the likes of Microsoft Office Suite, and others, but the average agent's needs do not necessitate the need for that power.

Is Microsoft Word better? Absolutely! Do you need that power when most of what you use it for is form letters? Absolutely not! And a R.E.S. program is much easier to do that form letter mailing with. The inclusion in the R.E.S. programs of the additional modules has a primary function, and that is to eliminate the redundancy of having to enter information more than once to accomplish the entering of listings, printing of form letters, and fliers, etc.

Published: January 2, 2003

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Gary Hall, RECS, GRI is the owner of RE-ACT, Real Estate Automation, Consultation, and Training. Gary obtained his real estate license in 1987, and was a successful RE/MAX agent, as well as having been a new construction sales manager, a mortgage loan originator, and a real estate trainer/consultant to offices and individuals since 1995. He also teaches MCE, RECS Designation, and other classes. His most popular training program is "Get up to Tech-Speed.", a two-day, hands-on customization of Online Agent Software in your office, and includes File Folder Organization, Back-up and E-mail training as well. Visit his Web site at www.GaryHall.Net, or e-mail Gary at RealtyTimes@GaryHall.Net.