Hey guys, what's going on? It’s Seth here from retipster.com.
In this video, I'm going to talk about a question that I hear a lot and a potential solution
to the question that people are asking.
The question is what's the best CRM system to you as a land investor?
I get this question a lot, understandably, because as a land investor, there are all kinds
of different things to keep track of from your direct mail campaigns, to due diligence,
to closing on deals, to getting deals sold.
I mean, the list just goes on and on and on.
So it totally makes sense.
And it's a good concern to have.
I mean, there's just a lot of moving pieces and things you want to keep track of and preferably
even automate when you can.
It's unfortunately a little bit hard to answer that question because there's a lot of different options
for this out there and not everybody needs the same thing.
If you're somebody who's doing like a couple deals a month and you don't need to spend
hundreds per month to buy some like high-end CRM system that it's kind of like using
a cannon to kill a fly like you just don't need all that.
And you definitely don't need to at the expense, but if you are doing a huge volume of deals,
then absolutely it can make a ton of sense to spend the money, to stay organized, automate stuff
and just keep yourself from going crazy.
I mean, you basically have to do something or your business isn't going to survive because
that organization is required.
And if you can automate some stuff, you can really find yourself saving a lot of time and money even.
So it's really worth that extra expense in learning the CRM system that can do this for you.
And one possible way to start building out a CRM system for yourself is with a free online software called Airtable.
And it's not always free.
They do have paid plans depending on how sophisticated you want to get.
But Airtable is one way to go about doing this.
Usually, you're going to need more than just Airtable.
It's not like Airtable by itself is your complete solution.
Especially if you want to start automating things, you're going to need things like Zapier
Google drive, possibly Follow Up Boss depending on what kind of automation you're trying to do.
So it's not like Airtable by itself is your total solution,
but it's the foundation on which you can build everything.
So in this video, I want to get you familiar with Airtable, If you're not already.
Airtable table was completely new to me a year ago.
Like I had literally never seen it.
And then I got in and I monkeyed around with a little bit and it wasn't until just recently
that I really started to get a lot more familiar with the inner workings of it
and how you can use it to build workspaces and bases and tables.
And a lot of the stuff that I'll explain in just a second.
So I'm going to jump into Airtable. If you do have a lot of experience with Airtable stick around anyway
because I have another thing that I want you to know about later on in this video.
So let's jump into it.
All right. So this is the Airtable website.
And for those of you who have no idea what Airtable is all about, I'll just try to explain that really quick.
So, Airtable is like this cloud-based system with a lot of similarities to websites
like Trello and Podium and Asana, where it's kind of like this white box space,
where you can build whatever you want to on top of it.
And it combines the features of a database with spreadsheets
so that you can manage a lot of information and keep things on track
and even add a lot of automations depending on how sophisticated you want to get.
So if you've never used Airtable before, just follow along with what I'm going to do here
and we will sign in and sign up and get started.
So first we're going to go up here to price.
And at the time of this recording, you'll see right here, Airtable does have a few different plans.
Obviously, there is a free one and for what we're going to need here free
is going to be sufficient.
There may be a point in the future here when you'll want us to start paying for this.
But I don't think you need to, especially if you're just getting started right now.
So let's go ahead and sign up for this.
And all you need to do here is enter in your email address for your work.
We'll click continue and then put in your full name and password, click continue.
And then which team are you on?
So basically, what they're trying to do here is help customize your experience right out of the gate.
I don't see anything here that exactly matches I'm going to click other.
And then who do you collaborate with?
So if you've got more than one person on your team, if it's not just you, you could put their email addresses here.
So for the purpose of this video, I'm just going to skip this for now.
But obviously, if you've got more people on your team, you can put them right in there
and then get up and running fast.
So one nice thing about Airtable is that they make it really easy to import existing data from elsewhere.
Chances are by the time you get to the point of signing up for Airtable, you probably
have existing data somewhere else, like in a Google sheet or an Excel spreadsheet.
And it's really easy to import that data from somewhere else.
If you already have it and you can either do it right here, or you can do it later on
after you get up and running.
So I'm going to just skip this for now, but just keep in mind.
You could do that here if you wanted to.
and then get ahead, start, select a template below and get started.
So I'm actually going to start with a blank base on this.
And then on this next screen, you can give it whatever name you want.
I'll just give it a generic name like this.
You can choose whatever color you want.
I'll go green.
And then right off the bat, it'll give you a lot of these pointers and show you around
the software just to make sure you understand what you're doing.
If this is your first time, I'd recommend following these just so you can get familiar with how it all works.
So you can do this.
And it explains things very clearly on how this works and expand records, can customize
fields with this little drop-down thing, which is super helpful.
You can customize the views of each table however you want, and add apps and that kind of thing,
which I believe requires a paid plan and then collaborate and share
with other people, which is super helpful
once you get other people involved, which is most like going to happen at some point.
So it makes that pretty easy and then add a lot of automations.
Now, this is where you have to start getting other outside things involved like Zappier
to automate stuff or whatever external website or software you're trying to use.
So this is when you have to start pulling in those things.
And it's a little bit more complicated than just looking at Airbase at that point.
And then you can keep learning
if you have more questions. I'm going to go ahead and close that.
Now I'm going to back up just a little bit to show you around a few other things here.
So your Airtable dashboard looks like this.
And the way that Airtable works is you have a workspace and then you have a base.
That's what this thing is.
And once you click on the base, you have tables.
So it's almost like sheets within a spreadsheet.
And probably the best analogy I heard is from my friend Paul Brewer.
And he says to think of your workspace as like a city block.
And each base is like a building on that city block, like an office building, for example.
And I want you to click on this.
Each table is sort of like a floor within that office building or a department within that office building.
So you get more and more granular
the more you go down.
So say if you were running multiple businesses from one Airtable account, you could do that
by adding yet another workspace and then bases within that and then tables within that.
So that's one way to look at it.
And you'll also so notice over here, there's a lot of resources built-in with Airtable
that are really well done and pretty helpful.
And another thing to keep in mind and just be aware of is that there's a lot of pre-made
templates out there that you can start with.
If you already have a specific use in mind, there's a halfway decent chance that there's
a template out there that could probably meet your needs or at least get halfway there
so you can start from that and build upon it.
I think that's going to be a little bit harder if you're running a land investing business
because it's such a niche thing, however, there are all kinds of stuff out there.
So just keep that in mind.
There could totally be a solution that's going to fit what you need.
And you can even go down here to this real estate section and see a lot of templates
that fit the real estate business.
Again, I still don't think you're going to find anything in quite specific enough for land
but just keep in mind, this is here.
So I'm going to go back to the dashboard here.
There's also this marketplace.
So this is where you can find existing apps, made by Airtable and other parties that can
serve various purposes.
And especially when it comes to like automations and other functions that you might want to
build into your Airtable base.
A lot of the stuff can to be pretty helpful.
It's a little beyond the scope of what we're going to talk about here, but just be aware of that.
And then there's also this universe where you can get templates and other solutions
built by other people who use Airtable.
So it could be that somebody out there has built something for a business that is like exactly what you do.
And you can find a lot of that stuff here.
So just stuff to be aware of.
And if we go about here to the dashboard.
So if we get in here to this base that we created,
so there are several different ways you can view each table.
And by default, it's going to be set up as a grid view, which is kind of like a spreadsheet
as you can see here. Another way you can do this is a form view, and this can be a really
helpful way to create forms that you have other people fill out.
And when they fill those forms out it then submits information into your Airtable base and tables
so that you can then collect that data and use it elsewhere.
So for example, if you wanted to collect testimonials from customers or seller leads or buyer leads
from your website, you could use a link to this form and share it with other people.
And that information could kind of just flow into your system here.
You could also use this with virtual assistance, if you want them to compile and create information
and submit it that way, you can also set up each table as a calendar.
This might make sense for a content publishing calendar or anything that has a timeline to it.
Like this has to be done by this date.
That's when these kinds of tables can be pretty useful.
There's also this conKanban board view you can use as well.
And when we click into this, you can see how it looks.
And it's kind of a lot like what you would expect to see on Trello, where you can create
these cards with information in it, and you can change the titles and the information
that's baked into a it, and who is assigned to it and put different attachments in it,
the statuses of each one and all that stuff.
And then as a task or project progresses, you can just move it over.
And again, anybody else that has access to this table on your team can see the same thing
and you can even permit them to make changes to it as well.
So it's kind of like Trello right here in Airtable.
So for those of you who are familiar with Trello, that should be pretty easy to figure out.
And then there's also this Gantt view.
There's a lot of different ways you can use these tables and view the information
and keep things organized.
And whenever you want to add a new table, let's say we had an existing Google sheet
or Excel spreadsheet or something like that.
And we wanted to import that here instead of manually typing it all out.
Again, Airtable makes it really easy.
When you click on this, you can do this right here and you just have to connect it with
your existing Google Drive account.
And it's pretty easy to do that.
Or again, you could upload a Microsoft Excel file that way, or you could just totally start
from scratch and have an empty table and start putting all the information in there as well.
And once you have these tables created and specified how you want these fields and rows
and columns to behave, that's when you can start making a lot of magic happen
in terms of just keeping things organized
instead of having to write everything down on post-it notes and stick them all over your office.
And we haven't even really gotten into the automation stuff yet.
That's when you have to start getting websites like Zapier involved. Zapier is a whole of other website
that is honestly pretty amazing what you can do with it once you start getting different websites
and software to work in conjunction with each other.
And honestly, there's a lot to learn about that, which we're not going to get into here.
So since this video isn't really intended to make you an expert at Airtable or Zapier
or any of the other software that you can use in conjunction with Airtable
I'm going to link to a few other resources on YouTube that actually will bring you a lot closer
to that expert level because it goes so in-depth on how to use each one of these things.
So even though I'm not going to get you there right here in this video
I'm going to include some resources beneath this video.
If you want to pursue this further. Just keep in mind that once you have Zapier involved
and you understand how it works, that opens up a ton of different from possibilities
on how you can automate your Airtable base and tables.
So you can obviously spend a ton of time building this out however you want
to keep track of mail campaigns and seller leads and buyer leads and due diligence
and property listings and closings, and seller financing.
There's a lot you can do with that.
And as you can imagine, it can take a ton of time to build all that out just the way you want.
But there's one thing I wanted to just let you know about in case you're interested in this.
So I got connected with this guy not long ago, named Paul Brewer,
and he's kind of like an Airtable genius.
And he's created this huge CRM system through Airtable that he actually sells
to other land investors and then trains them on how to use it.
And this is our affiliate link to the page where he sells this thing.
So if we go ahead and click on this, you can watch this video explaining the product.
He actually does a really good job of explaining like what it is and how it works.
And you'll see that there are a couple different pricing options here.
And the only real difference that I'm aware of between these two prices is that with this one
you're kind of on your own to copy his entire Airtable base and then set it up yourself.
And for this one, you get access to the same product, but he actually holds your hand
over the course of three Zoom calls to make sure you have it set up correctly.
And I'm just going to tell you straight out, if you're already very experienced with
Airtable and Zappier and Google Drive and Follow Up Boss, and some of the other things he explains
in his videos that I think you can probably get by with this.
However, somebody like myself, and I consider myself sort of middle of the road
in terms of like proficiency with Airtable.
I'm definitely not a genius at it.
It took me quite a while to figure out what I was doing,
but I'm also not like a total novice who doesn't know anything.
So I'm kind of like the middle of the road.
And I found that I got stuck quite a bit simply because I didn't really know my way around
Airtable that well, and the videos that come with this package are certainly helpful,
but for me, it wasn't enough to get me there.
So for most people, I think if you have any doubt about your ability to figure this out
sign up for this one.
And honestly, at that price, it's not a bad deal
if you actually plan to use this, because there are other CRM systems out there
that cost hundreds of dollars per month for as long as you use it.
And the fact that this is a one-time cost is not a bad deal at all.
And for what it's worth Paul did tell me that
he's still working on more instructional videos for his little intro to Airtable course.
So if you decide to check this out in the future, there is an outside chance that
there will be even more better videos explaining a lot of these other websites that he integrates with Airtable,
like Zapier and Google Drive and that kind of thing.
So it's possible that he'll get that more fleshed out in the future, but just so you know,
at the time of this recording, that was my experience where I still felt like I needed help.
So I just wanted to be totally clear and upfront about that.
But anyway, once you sign up for this and buy it, you're going to get an email like this.
And once you click view content is going to bring you to this page
where there are a ton of videos that explain a lot of the stuff you're going to need to know.
Again, I didn't find it to be quite enough for me to get a hundred percent of the way there,
but it got me a lot of the way there.
And this is what you're going to get with that cheaper plan.
Most of these videos are anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes long.
And honestly, it's a lot to learn.
So just be ready for that because there's a lot you have to understand and put together,
however, on the same coin, if you're suffering from a lack of organization and automation in your business,
it's worth your time and effort to figure this out because it can solve a lot of long-term problems for you.
So this is where all the tutorials are.
And once you click on this thing, it's going to download a Google doc.
And then when you open that up, it's going to open up this.
It's just a document that has a bunch of links in it, but these are some very important links.
This first one right here is a link to the actual Airtable base that Paul created.
And as you can see, there's a ton of stuff in here with all the tables you're going to need that are pre-built.
However, there's still a lot of learning you have to do in order to understand how these tables
even work together and how to get things like Zapier and Follow Up Boss integrated with this
so that the automations actually worked.
So just because there's a lot of stuff here, it doesn't mean you're going to know how to use it
That's why I would suggest if you have any doubts about your ability to figure this stuff out
pay for the more expensive one-on-one help version of this because it's going to go
a long way in terms of making sure you understand how to use what you're buying.
And then over here, if we go back to this Google doc, you'll also find a host of links.
Paul created to existing Zaps through Zapier
that can help a lot with these automations that you're going to need
if you decide to automate this thing.
So this is also very helpful.
All you have to do is click on these links and it'll take you right to Zapier
where it's got the thing already created for you to start working with.
And in terms of what aspects of your land business this can be used to handle
it's just about everything, that doesn't mean all of it can be automated through here,
but you can at least keep track of each step of the process and stay a lot more organized
than just using like a spreadsheet by itself.
And once you've clicked on the link in that Google doc that Paul provides and it brings you here
you're not actually there yet because you have to go up here and click copy base.
And when you click on that, you should already have your Airtable account open
and it will bring you back to that.
And it'll just ask you which workspace would you like to add this new base to?
And you can add it to your existing one.
And just like that, it will show up right here in your dashboard
and you can click into this and you can change the name if you want to.
And you'll see an exact carbon copy of Paul's base right in your workspace here.
And then you can start tweaking it and messing around with it and building it out and making changes.
And those changes will actually stay because it's going to be in your workspace now.
So I'm not going to dive much further into this particular product
because I don't think everybody necessarily needs it.
However, if you do want this solution that's kind of put together for you.
And if you're willing to do the work to learn how to use it. If you want to go that direction,
I'll have a link to this beneath this video.
So again, Airtable is one option, but it's not the only option for building a CRM system for your business.
It's sort of like a Podio where it takes a bit of effort to choose that as your foundation to everything on.
And once you get it, you can do a lot with it, but it takes some work just to understand
the basics of what you're even working with when you're dealing with Airtable in the first place.
So do I recommend it for you?
I don't know if I'd go that far.
I think it's certainly a viable option to be aware of.
And it's probably worth your while to just create an account and monkey around with a little bit,
to see if you understand the lay of the land and how it works.
And if it's something that you're comfortable working with. And if it's stressed,
I click with you after playing around with it for 30 minutes or an hour or so
then, it could be worth exploring further and seeing if you can build your own.
And if you don't want to go through all the hassle of building your own base,
then you could look into something like what Paul has with Airtable for land investors.
Either way, I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of Airtable and even beyond Airtable,
that you were aware of some of these other prebuilt solutions out there
that could make your life a lot easier and save a lot of time.
If you're willing to spend the time to learn it and understand it.
Some people aren't willing to do that.
And if that's you after playing around with it for a little bit, if you find that this is
just too hard and too confusing, then this might not be the option for you.
I'm not trying to steer you in this direction.
I just want to make sure that you know this is here and there is a free plan
and it's not terribly hard to work with.
If you have a little bit of patience to figure it out.
So I hope that was helpful.
I wish you all the best.