I haven't been very active on the site lately but have been here for some time We are nearing completion on a new system to replace all the half baked website /contact manager /autoresponder etc systems that currently exist. Since I highly value all the opinions I've shared shared with members here over the years, I'd just like to ask everyone to describe what their perfect system would include to make sure we haven't missed anything .... Feel free to reply on or off list and we will thank all those that take the time to do so with a free account for one month once the
system launches.

I want a free month! When does this mystery system launch??

Hi Ben... We're getting very close to the first alpha testers so I'll let you know. How about sgharing some thoughts on what some of the most important things/features/functionality that are missing in the different systems everyone is currently using

I hope you guys are getting close like you said. I'm anxious to see what it's going to look like and how it will function.

I use a feature on one of the lead referral services my company chose me for which is a form of journal or blog. It's very simple and the thing I like about it is that when I make an entry..like met buyer at property..it is at the top of the journal and not the bottom. Each new entry I make pushes the older ones down. I wish I could use it for all my prospects and clients because it is very helpful.

Hi Rich,

Well I'm not sure what the new system will have but there are a few things that I would like to see.

First I would like a system that pulls all the expireds from the MLS daily and automatically sends them pre-designed postcards at set intervals. It would screen the list before every mailing to eliminate those that have relisted. It would also be nice if the system used software to verify all the address before mailing to eliminate wasted postage on bad addresses.

Next I would like a system that integrates something along the lines of zip forms. You could select a contact and what contract they need, let's say a listing agreement. All the required forms would print out with the client information already on it. Fill in a price, terms and have them sign.

Hmmmm.... How about one that incorporates a Toolkit CMA like function?

Oh, one more... If you have an LC page that offers a booklet, say "101 ways to fix your credit" they have an option to choose a real booklet or an e-booklet. If they choose an e-booklet an auto responder sends it. If they choose a real booklet, one is printed, bound and mailed out, all without me doing it.

That's enough for now, but I have other ideas.

Has there been any update on this system that was supposed to launch? I'm interested in hearing more about it.

I'm using ACT! for Real Estate on a trial basis, but am not sold on it yet.

I had a very bad experience and lost $499 giving Active Agent from Sonoma Systems a try, the full store is in this message

So far, what I miss in ACT! is a toolbar box that allows me to type in a last name and go to that contact or list of contacts quickly.

ANY contact manager should be able to mail merge with MS Word, and not take forever to start the word program. That was a major drawback of Active Agent, it took about 45 seconds for MS Word to start, and the company indicated to me that they needed to load Word twice in order to do the merge part.

Integration with MLS is CRITICAL. I want to pull MLS data off the system based upon certain standard criteria - like expired within a date range, or the like and be able to track what I do with those records once an address is associated with them.

I also want the ability to do a series of events. Every closing has a pre-set list of activities and 90% of the time, they all apply to every closing. I want to apply that series of activities to a contact record, have that pre-defined list of activities go into my calendar to remind me to deadline dates and the like associated with that closing. It is also CRITICAL that these activities be linked to each other - so that if the inspection is due within 14 days, and the response is due within 5 days after the inspection is held, that I can mark the inspection completed, and have the 5 day response deadline moved based upon when the prior task was completed.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but if I think of more, I'll come back here.

I just want to reiterate what a horrible experience I had with Active Agent, and if you're considering it, please read the message above that I linked to.

I have been using a website with contact manager and eflyers, prop. flyer, ect, ect...

The BIGGEST thing I would like to see is the ability to have inbound and outbound emails be stored in the system as threaded messages so I can just read down the list and refresh my memory on what was last discussed. Right now I have to copy and paste all outlook messages (to and from) to keep record in the same place that all my drip emails are sent from and contacts are stored. It's like the missing link to a perfect system.