Software for Real Estate Teams

Teams are a force in the industry. Their relative growth compared to independent agents has been astounding. One of the reasons is that the team structure has a natural composition which mimics other high functioning aspects of society: where a senior member (or multiple senior members) acts as a “rainmaker” in providing client opportunities, mentorship and resources to mid-level and junior agents.

This breeds the next generation of team leads and the cycle continues…each time hopefully being improved to better fit the changes in the market, technology, etc.

Ah it’s a thing of beauty.

But teams require support and tooling to make them work optimally. Systems need to be connected to truly unlock the team’s potential.

That goes for nurturing leads, tracking transactions, managing listings and/or coordinating operations. So many software products have evolved to focus on real estate teams and the needs that set them apart from individual agents. What could be so unique you may ask? Think of video games that have single player vs multi-player mode. There are completely different dynamics at play. Except with software for real estate teams, the differences go much deeper.

In this blog post, we will take a deep dive into the software-space specifically designed for real estate teams world. From Real Estate Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to Transaction Management Systems (TMS), Listing Management Software to Marketing Automation Tools, our aim is to empower your team with solutions that would ultimately streamline processes, save time, and boost your team’s output. Here’s a quick list of the topics we’ll cover:

• CRMs for Real Estate Teams
• Marketing Automation Tools
• Transaction Management Systems
• Website builders for Real Estate Teams

CRMs for Real Estate Teams

To better understand the immense potential that software for real estate teams has to offer, one must first venture into the world of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. At its core, CRM software serves as a central hub that meticulously organizes contact information and interactions of leads, clients, and past contacts. This software is more than just a well-organized address book. It efficiently tracks communication history, preferences, and each contact’s place in the sales funnel – a trove of actionable data for agents. Some key CRM features are:

• Centralization of contact information and interactions
• Tracing communication history, preferences, and sales funnel stages
• Boosting marketing and lead generation with integrations
• Automating nurturing campaigns, follow-ups, and targeted outreach
• Analyzing marketing effectiveness

But as we mentioned, teams have more advanced requirements for a CRM. Here are a few CRM features that are unique to real estate teams:

• Lead Delegation: since many agents are being delegated leads from the team lead or other senior team members, lead assignment from one agent to another within the CRM is important. This includes round robin style lead distribution when leads are being provided evenly across teammates.
• Software Permissions: When an agent is on a team, there is usually an agreement regarding who owns the leads IF the agent were to leave. The CRM needs to be able to uphold this agreement and this could involve de-activating a user’s access if they’ve parted ways with the team.
• Setup and Shared Resources: Account creation, branding, and marketing setup is often a centralized activity on a team and individual agents may be able to save time by having the team’s ops staff handle all CRM setup. Not only is this a benefit to the agent BUT it unlocks operational efficiency for the entire team which increases production.

Given these requirements: here are some CRMs that are especially well suited for Real Estate Teams:

• Wise Agent: Wise Agent is an all-in-one Real Estate CRM that’s easy to use even for those who are not tech experts. It features a user-friendly interface and provides extensive customer support. The CRM offers lead generation, real estate content, contact management and automation, team features for collaboration and productivity, and integrations with various business tools for streamlined workflows. Wise Agent also includes a mobile web app, making it accessible on different devices, and focuses on affordability and simplicity in its pricing structure.
• Top Producer: Top Producer® CRM is a comprehensive real estate software designed to personalize interactions and build meaningful relationships with clients. It offers meaningful insights, including a 360° contact view with social media insights, MLS integration, and performance tracking. The CRM facilitates effective follow-ups through branded MLS market reports, text and email integration, and a simplified workflow with personalized contact groups. It caters to the needs of real estate agents, teams, and brokerages, aiming to capture leads, stay organized, manage client databases, and enhance follow-up effectiveness.
• Follow Up Boss: Follow Up Boss aka FUB is a real estate CRM designed to help teams and agents organize leads, engage with prospects, and improve sales performance. It features a user-friendly interface, automated email capabilities, call management, and a mobile app for on-the-go access. The platform integrates with over 250 lead sources and offers daily training sessions, guided onboarding, and community support. It focuses on transforming the efficiency of follow-ups and lead management for real estate professionals.

When it comes to escalating marketing efforts and cultivating a robust lead generation strategy, there are few tools as potent as CRM software. It empowers you to segment audiences for laser-focused outreach while offering the ability to deploy automated nurturing campaigns and follow-ups. Thus, manual efforts are considerably reduced, thereby paving the way for enhanced productivity. More so, CRM software presents a comprehensive report on these marketing efforts’ effectiveness, ratifying its status as a must-have software for real estate teams.

Marketing Automation Tools

Now once you’ve got your prospects all in your CRM, then it’s mostly a question about effective nurturing (aka engagement). This is where Marketing Automation Tools come into play – a valuable category of software for real estate teams. They serve a few main functions:

• Automating marketing outreach into “drip campaigns” which include sending texts and emails
• Personalizing communications (using custom logic and merge fields) so campaigns don’t feel automated
• Delivering robust analytics and reporting so users know what activities and campaigns are the most effective and highly engaged prospects are visible and can be prioritized for manual outreach
• Integrating with lead sources and CRMs to ensure continuous and timely follow up

Note: many Real Estate CRMs have some amount of automation built in BUT it’s not unusual for Real Estate Teams to require the more advanced specialization that a standalone marketing automation solution provides.

Here are some popular marketing automation software tools for real estate teams:

• RealScout: RealScout focuses on empowering collaboration between consumers and their real estate agents. It offers a platform that combines advanced technology with a personalized approach to the home search process. RealScout provides a user-friendly interface for both web and mobile platforms, allowing homebuyers to search and compare all listings on the MLS their agent is connected to. The software features an innovative home search, data-driven seller tools, and the ability to integrate with over 2000 apps through Zapier. RealScout’s pricing plans cater to agents, teams, and brokerages, starting at $39 per agent per month, with a free 14-day trial available.
• REDX: REDX is a real estate prospecting platform that offers various tools to assist real estate professionals in client acquisition. It provides services like skip-trace service for circle prospecting, expired leads, FSBO leads, FRBO leads, and pre-foreclosure leads. REDX also features an Ad Builder for social media lead generation and a Brand Builder for video content management. Its Power Dialer tool is designed to connect agents with more homeowners efficiently. REDX integrates all these tools into one platform, Vortex, to streamline the process of managing and following up with leads.
• Structurely: Structurely is a lead qualification service that utilizes AI to engage in two-way conversations, turning leads into qualified sales opportunities. It is particularly useful in industries such as real estate, mortgage, leasing, and insurance. The platform offers features like script customization, appointment setting, analytics & reporting, a mobile app, and compliance tools. Structurely’s AI assists in managing multi-channel communications, including text message and email messaging, to optimize lead conversion rates.

Many teams have learned that “the fortune is in the follow up” which is why Marketing Automation Tools have become essential pieces of the business. Embracing automation and data-driven insights offered by these tools can drive measurable results for real estate teams.

Transaction Management Systems

In our exploration of indispensable software for real estate teams, the spotlight now shifts to Transaction Management Systems (TMS). A competent TMS is like the perfect orchestra conductor, harmoniously streamlining various elements of a deal’s lifecycle, from offer submission to closing the deal. This includes:

• document collection with e-signature capability
• task management
• notification hub for all stakeholders: agents, clients, lender, escrow, etc
• integration with CRMs

This is one area where even independent agents can require “team-like” functionality…because often agents use transaction coordinators to take over the operational processes involved after a deal is under contract.

However for real estate teams the collaborative features are EVEN more important because there may be 1-2 additional management/ops folks involved in the transaction…which is why a subset of real estate transaction management platforms have become popular for teams. Here are some Transaction Management Systems that have emerged as the most popular among real estate teams:

• Brokermint: Brokermint is a comprehensive cloud-based solution for the residential real estate back office. It is designed to simplify various back-office tasks and is the platform of choice for over 1,500 brokerages, supporting more than 65,000 agents and handling over 400,000 transactions annually. Key features include transaction management, commission automation, accounting, agent management, and reporting and analytics. Brokermint was founded in 2014 and was acquired by BoomTown in 2021, offering an integrated solution that addresses every aspect of the real estate transaction lifecycle.
• Dotloop: Dotloop is a comprehensive real estate transaction management software designed for agents, brokers, and teams. It integrates various aspects of real estate transactions into one unified platform, facilitating efficient management of the entire process. Dotloop offers solutions that streamline workflows, support document management, and enhance collaboration among different stakeholders in a real estate transaction.
• SkySlope: SkySlope is a real estate transaction management platform designed to provide a fully integrated product suite from contract to close. It offers solutions such as SkySlope for brokerage automation, Forms for initiating real estate contracts, DigiSign for secure digital signatures, and SkyTC for transaction coordination. SkySlope aims to streamline real estate processes, ensuring compliance and enhancing efficiency for real estate professionals.
• Open to Close: Open to Close is a real estate transaction management software that helps manage emails, tasks, documents, dates, and communication in one place. It allows for customization and automation of workflows to fit specific work styles. Key features include customizable intake forms, automated tasks, document management with e-signing, email customization, smart content blocks, text and dialer services, payment collection, calendar syncing, and a mobile app. Open to Close also offers an open API for integration with other apps.

While selection may vary based on your specific needs, incorporating a reliable TMS into your team’s operations can have profound effects on efficiency and productivity. Furthermore, it serves a critical role in reducing errors and compliance risks, ensuring all paperwork is accurate, complete, and aligning with legal requirements aka ensuring a smooth close and happy clients on both sides.

Website builders for Real Estate Teams

Having a professional online presence is no longer just a nice-to-have in today’s digitally-driven real estate world. It’s absolutely paramount. A key tool in the digital arsenal, a real estate team’s website is a cornerstone of their entire business.

For example, a typical real estate website has the following:

• hosts active listings
• a full property search
• lead capture forms
• agent profiles

But some real estate website platforms act as a one-stop-shop solution…not only providing teams with an impressive real estate website, but also content creation processes, lead generation add-ons and even a robust CRM!

Many teams are opting for these multitasking solutions and there are a few providers that are quickly gaining popularity in this sub-category:

• Real Estate Webmasters (REW): offers solutions including real estate websites, team and brokerage CRMs, SEO, and PPC for Realtor® lead generation. They specialize in creating high-quality, fast, and lead-converting real estate websites, supported by robust marketing and CRM tools. REW is known for its focus on maximizing lead generation and management efficiency for real estate professionals​​
• Agent Image specializes in real estate website design, offering a variety of packages suitable for real estate agents and brokerages. They focus on creating visually appealing, lead-generating websites with options for custom and semi-custom designs. Their services extend to digital marketing, including SEO, social media marketing, and pay-per-click advertising, to enhance the online presence of real estate professionals.
• Luxury Presence offers award-winning website designs and digital marketing solutions for high-grossing real estate agents, teams, and brokers. Their platform includes real estate websites, IDX home search, property websites, digital CMA, and a referral network. Additional services include SEO, content marketing, advertising, social media, and branding & design. Luxury Presence is recognized for its ability to grow businesses through a comprehensive suite of digital products and services, catering especially to the luxury real estate market​​.

In essence, software for real estate teams – especially website builders – can steadily transform your online presence, thus setting your team apart from the competition.

In conclusion, the evolution of software platforms tailored for real estate teams represents a significant leap forward in the industry. These tools are not just about managing tasks or tracking progress; they are about fostering a collaborative environment where every team member can thrive. The synergy between team members, facilitated by these sophisticated software solutions, ensures that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. Real estate teams armed with the right technology can expect not only to see improvements in efficiency and productivity but also in client satisfaction and overall team morale. The integration of Real Estate CRM, TMS, Listing Management Software, and Marketing Automation Tools creates a seamless experience, allowing teams to focus on what they do best – selling properties and nurturing client relationships.

As the real estate market continues to evolve, so too will the needs of real estate teams. The software platforms we’ve explored in this blog post are at the forefront of this evolution, offering cutting-edge solutions to today’s challenges while remaining flexible and scalable for tomorrow’s opportunities. Embracing these tools is more than a business decision; it’s a commitment to excellence and growth. For real estate teams looking to stay ahead of the curve and deliver unparalleled service, adopting these software solutions is not just beneficial; it’s essential. Let’s embrace these technological advancements and propel your team towards greater heights of success and innovation in the ever-changing landscape of real estate.