Customer relationship management technology keeps the leasing pipeline flowing smoothly

Keeping a leasing pipeline running straight and unimpeded can be quite a challenge for a commercial property management company. Leads and deals in progress arrive from an array of sources, including phone, e-mail and websites. Commercial property management companies historically have recorded such information on spreadsheets, in various computer programs, or on paper in file cabinets. As a result, opportunities often slipped past leasing agents swamped under a flood of disconnected customer and contact information. Over the past several years, in response to industry requirements to operate more efficiently, software providers have extended property management systems to automate key front office aspects including website marketing and online tenant services, procurement, and rent collection. Today, the strategic objectives that led to front office automation have extended to leasing management as well. Commercial property management companies are learning the value of utilizing a customer relationship management (CRM) system that is designed for real estate and provides a single view of customers and contacts in a common global database. Such a system improves opportunities to close deals by enabling real-time tracking of leads, customer interactions, leasing milestones, tasks and other crucial information contained in documents, e-mails, and other media. With this kind of integrated CRM, the leasing process can be automated from beginning to end and managed from anywhere. The benefit for an agent seeking to lease 3,000 s/f of space 2,000 miles away in six months, for example, is that all information about the property as well as qualified prospective clients and their requirements is immediately available, even if the lead materialized just minutes earlier. The convergence of the leasing pipeline with the property management system means that, when a lease is executed, the prospect record converts automatically to a tenant record without reentry of data. E-mails automatically upload to the property management system, saving time by eliminating multiple logins and data entry and offering a clear view of the pipeline and historical data. Chicago-based full service commercial real estate company Zifkin Realty Group LLC is in the process of implementing a CRM system that Yardi has built directly into its property management platform and which interfaces with Microsoft Outlook. "We found it cumbersome to use different software programs for tracking our customer and contact information. The sales people, for example, might see the contact database, but no accounting or lease administration information, which was maintained elsewhere. As we explored operational improvements we concluded that having one all-encompassing business platform that makes all information universally available was our best option," said Yvonne Jones, CPM, CCIM, president/principal at Zifkin. She added, "We might have two or three brokers involved on a single deal. When we used separate systems one or more of those brokers might be unaware of the most recent activity. With our new CRM system, everyone - leasing agents, property managers, the management team—will be able to see all activities related to contacts, lease administration and accounting. CRM will give us a better chance to execute lease extensions and match our available space with tenants who need it." Zifkin's CRM system will allow leasing agents to pull up the rent roll, see when a vacancy will open up, contact a tenant whose requirements match the property, and close the deal before the prospect looks elsewhere. "Tenants are looking ahead six to ten months when making their leasing plans, and we now have the technology to keep pace with them. Our CRM system will be huge plus in our ability to retain clients," Jones said. Joel Nelson is senior writer, marketing for Yardi Systems Inc., Santa Barbara Calif.