A real estate agent’s database is a gold mine. If it is not presented in a way that is simple to access, having all of that contact information is useless. This means that the database needs to be properly managed and organized.
Organizing your sphere of influence (SOI) database builds the foundation for the success of any real estate agent or team. But where to start?
Your sphere of influence should be the core of your database. You should start with “who do you know”? Put all those names and contact information in one single place. When you start to compile all the names of everyone you know, you will be surprised at the number of people that really are. Everyone - meaning old high school and college classmates, neighbors, business associates, former clients, your hairdresser, your dry cleaner, etc. Every single person you know - they go into your SOI.
Which database to use?
This doesn’t matter as much as getting the names and contact information in there. You have multiple options, including Top Producer, Follow Up Boss, Chime, Boomtown. You want your Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) software to be able to organize your SOI database.
Getting your SOI organized
It's time to get organized once you have your names all together. Not all contacts are created equal. The database must be set up in a way that accurately reflects the various relationships found within the SOI. Sort your SOI based on how well you know each of your contacts. For example, family, friends, close associates - those should be your A+ names. People that you know, but maybe don’t have a close relationship with, would be categorized as “B”. And so on.
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Later on, it is simple to create drip campaigns tailored to the different types of clients you have. To make this sorting easier, the best databases will have a category function.
Sorting your SOI
Sometimes when people compile their SOI databases, they go overboard, creating way too many databases. How efficient is a database like this? Chances are it's not as efficient as a smaller database.
You want people in your SOI who you can strike up a conversation with when you see them on the street. Choose the contacts for whom you can match a name to a face. By doing this, you'll keep your database manageable.
You will interact with people you know well differently than you will withothers. It's crucial to record these connections in your database so you can decide where in the lead nurturing pipeline to put the various contacts. You'll know how frequently to contact the various prospects with an organized system of targeted SOI contacts, which will increase your lead generation.
