It depends where you are in the business. CRM stands for “customer relationship manager”. This is the technology that permits you to operate your business with your clients, customers and prospects.
Starting out
If you are young and just starting out, you should definitely get an excellent CRM. It is a primary asset to your business. It will work and provide you with business in the years to come. In fact, you will become overworked and need to expand. That means getting an assistant and growing a Team. All of that is happening because you have a system. At the time of retirement, sell your business to your Team or to someone else. Your CRM will be your key asset.
Second Career
The next situation is that real estate is your second career and you only have a few years before retirement. You have friends, colleagues and former business associates who will refer business to you. A CRM can be avoided. You already have your base. The CRM may not any much value. You don’t want to expand much beyond what you can easily manage on your own, without a colleague or a Team. You will enjoy your role. You will work with good clients. However, you can’t really “sell” these friendships to others in the business when you are about to retire. They are independent and will now go to their second choice. The value of your business will be far less than a CRM based business, where you could say “I really don’t know any of these people, they are all strangers to me”.
So, having a CRM or not, is largely based on where you fit in the life(business) cycle. It’s not a straight yes or no!
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker