# CRM & Contact Management

## Why CRM Matters

Your database is your business. Every contact is a potential instruction, referral, or repeat client. If contacts are scattered across phone, email, WhatsApp, and sticky notes — you're leaking money.

## Choosing a CRM

Don't overthink this. Pick one you'll actually use:
- **Simple:** Google Contacts + spreadsheet tracking (free, works)
- **Mid-range:** GoHighLevel / Lead Rocket (popular with eXp agents)
- **Estate agent specific:** Street.co.uk, Kerfuffle-recommended options

**The best CRM is the one you actually update.**

## The CRM Playbook (Serhant)

### Organise Your Contacts

Every contact gets categorised:
- **A-list (Hot):** Active buyers/sellers, current pipeline. Contact weekly.
- **B-list (Warm):** Past clients, referral sources, interested but not active. Contact monthly.
- **C-list (Cold):** Everyone else — met once, old enquiries, door knocks. Contact quarterly.

### Mandatory Fields
- Name, phone, email
- How you met / source
- Property interest (buyer/seller/landlord/investor)
- Last contact date
- Next action date
- Notes (personal details — kids' names, hobbies, circumstances)

### Contact Discipline
- **Add every new person within 24 hours.** If it's not in the CRM, it didn't happen.
- **Log every interaction.** Calls, texts, emails, meetings.
- **Set next actions.** Every contact should have a "next touch" date.
- **Clean quarterly.** Remove duplicates, update details, re-categorise.

## Database Communication Cadence

- **A-list (Hot):** Weekly — call + personal message
- **B-list (Warm):** Monthly — value-led email/message + quarterly call
- **C-list (Cold):** Quarterly — newsletter + annual personal touch

**The Rule:** Every contact in your database should hear from you at least 4 times per year.

## Sphere of Influence

Beyond clients, maintain relationships with:
- Mortgage brokers (referral goldmine)
- Solicitors / conveyancers
- Surveyors
- Interior designers / stagers
- Builders / tradespeople
- Financial advisors

These people interact with property buyers and sellers daily. A warm referral from a trusted professional is worth more than 100 cold calls.