If you have worked for a company that gives you access to a CRM that they own then you probably have given little thought to the importance of the data you place there. More often than not we simply allow an employer to hold our professional data, or worse yet we have a dis-organized Excel Spreadsheet that barely works better than the contacts app on our cell phones. In all my years in the digital marketing and database consultancy business I have seen many disastrous outcomes due to not having a proper database at your disposal. Here is just one example of many over the years I have been working as a database consultant where a client has contacted me for help to rebuild their business because they did not have their own database. This occurs frequently and for many reasons. Most commonly when someone is leaving a company for new opportunities or when there is a downturn in the market.
Ethan Sterling still talks about the day he was forced to sit down with his wife and tell her that after 7 years of sacrificing many nights and weekends to build a strong pipeline including prospects and past clients, he was in the position of having to essentially start from scratch again to build his business. This is because he just changed companies and did not have his own database.
Ethan had built up a pretty consistent conversion rate, and was excited to push that conversion rate up even more at the new company. He believed the new company had the programs, tools, and 'culture' he needed to grow his business.
His previous company had promised him he could 'take his database with him' when he left, however, they did not follow through on their promise. Legally, because they were the sole owners of the database software, Ethan had very little recourse. As a consolation they provided him with a spreadsheet of his contacts. This however only included contact names and mailing addresses. There were no email addresses, phone numbers, contact notes, or any other piece of detailed information that he had collected over the years of knowing these clients.
The good news is that Ethan has his own database now and is relieved that he will never again lose critical information about the relationships he worked so hard to create. For the rest of his career, he will have his own secure database tool with critical information at his fingertips to help him to stay in contact with his customers and keep his pipeline consistently active.
How much does it cost to not have your own database for the life of your career?
How do you measure what your time is worth, and the worth of every single connection you make?
What does not having your own database cost you in lost connections and lost conversion opportunities?
If you want your own simple database tool, built specifically for mortgage professionals so you never leave precious information about your contacts behind AND have the ability to quickly pull conversion opportunities out of your database, then contact us or request a demo of our CRM database tool.