Entering contacts in a CRM takes longer than paper!

Entering a contact into a CRM takes more time than writing it on paper. There I said it. So that means paper is better right?

This is kind of what some agents tend to think. Entering data into a CRM takes longer than writing it in your notebook or scribbling it on a piece of paper. That’s true, by a few seconds at most. But look down the road a bit. What happens when you need to reference that information? Which takes longer to find? The notebook. And if you wrote it on a post-it or a napkin or desk blotter good luck finding it at all. But accessing information faster is only the beginning. Without having to ever enter that information again, you can include them in a blast email, a direct email campaign, send them a report of your interaction, find them to do a quick personalized marketing piece, and much more. It’s the down the road benefits that people find difficult to value because it’s not nearly as readily apparent as the time it takes to enter the information in the first place.

As I’ve said many times, no one has to have a CRM. It just makes you faster, more reliable, less error prone, etc. I liken it to you being in a race to get your business where you want it both economically and organizationally. You can take a go cart to get there and it will always be slow and ugly, or you can take a Mercedes and get there much faster and in style. Which sounds better?