In this post, we share with you some tips and tricks while you are using AscendixRE, a Salesforce-based CRM for commercial real estate. Make sure to check out this post so you can get a better understanding of how to customize AscendixRE and understand some of the benefits of the system.
We recorded our tips and tricks so you can watch AscendixRE in action:
#1 Select Fields to Display for Each Tab
By default, the layout of information is in the column view and you might want to see less information or different information. The first tip is that you can customize fields to display and change their order for each tab in AscendixRE.
E.g., you want to see Property Type (Multi-Family, Industrial, Office, Retail, Land, etc.) and Owner/Landlord of the property each time when you open the Property Tab.
Here is how to customize your list:
- Open the Tab you want to customize
- Click the List View Controls ⚙️ button
- Click Select Fields to Display
AscendixRE: Navigating to Select Fields to Display
- Remove, add columns, and reorder columns using arrows and click save.
AscendixRE: Select Fields to Display View
That’s it! In a few clicks, you can customize the layout for every tab in your CRM.
#2 Use Kanban to Review Your Deals
This tip will help you to get a better overview of your deals. If you feel that the list view doesn’t serve you well, you can switch to a Kanban view and see your deals arranged by Deal type and Deal stage. Using AscendixRE, you access prebuilt Deal types, stages, and fields so you won’t need to reinvent the wheel. However, it is very easy to customize the system and add or remove unwanted information.
AscendixRE: Switching to a Kanban View for Deals
You can customize stages for each Deal type. E.g., here is what we have as default stages for Asset Management and Buyer Representation:
Asset Management:
In the Market/Tracking > Interested/Qualified > Needs Analysis > Tour > Proposal/Presentation > Negotiation > Underwriting
Buyer Representation:
Project Initiation > Long List > Short List > Tour > Negotiation > LOI > Client Acceptance
Good to know:
- Simply drag and drop deals to move them to the next stage. AscendixRE will update the corresponding fields of the records so you won’t need to do it.
- You’ll only see the tabs that represent deals that you have in your pipeline. E.g., if you don’t have Financing deals you won’t see them on Kanban.
#3 Reorder Tabs
Simply drag and drop to reorder tabs in AscendixRE. You can’t remove them from this toolbar, but you can reorder. Your changes won’t affect other users.
AscendixRE: Reordering of Tabs
#4 Visualize Your Data with Charts
If you are really interested in looking at your data in a visual fashion, but you don’t want necessarily to create a dashboard, there is an opportunity to add charts right to your list views. They will reflect the data of your list.
AscendixRE: Visualizing Accounts with a Bar Chart
Here’s how to do it:
- Open the list
- Click the Show charts icon
- Select the chart you want or create a new one
Right now, you can select to display your data using either horizontal bar chart or vertical bar chart or donut chart. Consider using the horizontal bar chart whenever you want to compare your records by categories, e.g., accounts by industries.
#5 Add Tasks to Your Salesforce Calendar
One of the other questions that we get on a common basis is regarding the Calendar. Although we encourage people to use Outlook and Gmail Calendars, many people want to be able to see some of their critical dates on the Salesforce calendar.
This might include specific dates that are stored on a deal like deadlines or potentially even seeing their tasks within their calendar view.
Note that this part won’t synchronize to your Outlook or Gmail Calendars. It’s just more of a visual aspect.
Here is how to add tasks to your Salesforce calendar:
- Go to Calendar
- Click the Create a new calendar icon⚙️ next to My Calendars
- Select Task
Step 1 – Creating a Task Calendar
- Select Due Date Only (Date) as the field for Start and Subject for the field name to display so you can understand what is your task about.
Step 2 – Adding Due Date and Subject to the Calendar
That’s it! Your tasks will be added to your calendar.
#6 Define What Fields Will Be Saved When You Convert Inquiries
Our last tip is very important and can save you lots of hours. Only Salesforce Admins can configure it.
If you are converting Inquiries into Contacts, Accounts or Deals or if you are closing Deals and they are becoming Leases and Sales, there is a great deal of information that is stored either on your Inquiry record or Deal record that could just magically move over to the new records created.
We call this concept “Mapping” because essentially it takes the data that is on the original record, e.g., the Deal and sends it over to the Sale record so you won’t need to double type.
To configure mapping:
- Go to the App Launcher (nine dots on the left) and open AscendixRE Admin Console
Navigating to AscendixRE Admin Console
- Go to Object Field Mappings
- Select the field mapping you wish to configure, e.g., if you see Deal (All) -> Sale, it means that you can define what fields of your deal to copy to the Sale record when converting this Deal.
Selecting Object Mappings
- Review the current field mappings. In the column Source you’ll see all fields of the Deal, the column Target you’ll see the corresponding fields for Sale. E.g., Actual Close Deal will be saved to the Sale Date field. Edit the existing mapping if you need by clicking on the arrows on the right.
- Click Add Field Mapping to add a new mapping. Select source and target fields and click Save.
Adding Field Mapping
As you can see, you can configure the field mappings in a few clicks. The trick is to know your fields very well to take the most out of your data and automate routine processes.
Bonus Tip: Leverage Ascendix Search App for Salesforce
Ascendix Search app is an Add-on to AscendixRE CRM and to Salesforce that provides advanced searching, filtering functionality, lets you find properties, availabilities or any other records via map, provides bulk edit functionality, lets you add multiple notes, events in bulk and even export your search results to Excel with a few clicks.
Property Search by Map with Ascendix Search
Check out our detailed post where we explain how Ascendix Search simplifies life for commercial real estate companies and why is it worth paying $15/mo to add this app to your Org.
Customer relationship management software is much more than a Rolodex with your contact information. As you can see, modern tools could help you automate data entry, visualize your data and record all essential information with minimum efforts from your side.
Are you looking for the best CRM for commercial real estate or thinking about Salesforce but lack the functionality to track your commercial real estate business? Make sure to check AscendixRE. We offer a free 30-Day Trial without obligations.
Contact us to get help with your CRM software or to request a free trial of our software.
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