Many commercial real estate professionals still use programs like ACT! or Excel or even Outlook while employing their own methodologies for follow-up with contacts and leads. They use dozens of spreadsheets, that are lost within the dozens of other spreadsheets used on the job. Employment of software for real estate operations does not have to be this complicated and really should not be. The whole point of commercial real estate software is to make the job easier, more organized and to actually create some unity and over-lap between offices so people can consolidate actions, reduce workload while remaining profitable to the individual broker.
When considering commercial real estate software, it is important to remember that the software should promote unity and collaboration--not separate the corporate real estate department from other offices as often as it does when using software that hasn't been optimized for the markets we are operating in today.
If your office software isn't helping unify the opportunities available, or helping to consolidate opportunities within the system--you need an upgrade. Commercial real estate software should not focus on database contact management alone, or only alert you to upcoming lease expiration dates. It should be a tool to help you make the best decisions when possible when looking at your current locations as well as your prospective locations.
That said, all necessary contact information should be available within your commercial real estate system. With today's advances in technology, commercial real estate software can and should be customized to specific data for the needs of each organization. This can then be networked into parent organizations, and made available to all employees who may need that specific information to make decisions.
The ability to capture deep pockets of information on each site should be supported, and this information should be able to be shared with whomever can help facilitate proper utilization. If your software does not support this, consider exploring other options. What is the use of having a software that simply does not allow the user to store necessary information.
In order to support corporate real estate professionals, commercial real estate software really should help to capture and manage relationships in one centralized location. It should streamline workflow, support the gathering of site information, and provide a means to share that information.
The world of technology is fast outpacing the real estate markets that have been stuck in old (and frankly, obsolete) methods of data management. Networked systems with supporting commercial real estate software is the saving grace of an industry facing economic declines due to market volatility. Any qualified commercial real estate brokerage manager worth their salt is on to this fact and supporting your office staff with the appropriate software key in their, and ultimately, the company's success.
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