How To Use Salesforce for Commercial Real Estate

Efficient deal management and client relationships are crucial for success in the commercial real estate market.

Salesforce, the leading CRM for commercial real estate, offers customizable solutions. With over 150,000 customers and 300+ native add-ons and products, it adapts seamlessly to your business needs.

Whether you’re a commercial real estate (CRE) professional that manages office leases or retail spaces, a properly implemented Salesforce CRM can transform your operations through:

• Centralized deal, client, and property management,
• Process automation,
• Advanced reporting capabilities,
• Customizable tracking systems.

In this guide, we’ll explore how various commercial real estate professionals can use Salesforce CRM and its add-ons. And how Salesforce AI-powered agent – Agentforce can help you close deals faster while spending less time on administrative tasks.

Why Salesforce for Commercial Real Estate Sectors

Salesforce is a comprehensive commercial real estate CRM.  You can customize it for different needs in the industry, such as:

What CRE Sectors Can Benefit from Salesforce CRM | Ascendix

• Sales/Tenant representative brokers,
• Landlord reps,
• Investment sales brokers,
• Property owners and operators,
• Real estate investors and REIT,
• Commercial mortgage lenders,
• M&A agents,
• Commercial property and land developers,
• Property management companies,
• Proptech companies etc.

A well-customized Salesforce CRM for commercial real estate can save professionals up to 10 hours weekly by automating:

• Leasing and transaction processes,
• Acquisition and disposition management,
• Property listing management,
• Deal pipeline tracking,
• Commission and loan-to-cost calculations,
• Document management,
• Investment operations,
• Cash-on-cash flow analysis,
• Investment portfolio sorting and organization,
• Analytics and reporting.

These features prove particularly beneficial for professionals that want to focus on value-generating activities instead of mundane tasks.

Key Salesforce CRM Features for Commercial Real Estate

Key Salesforce CRM Features for Commercial Real Estate | Ascendix

Contact Management

Salesforce CRM as an advanced commercial real estate contact management software can organize data tracking, including:

• detailed property specifications,
• ownership history,
• tenant relationships with their specific market focus.

Contact Management in Salesforce | Source: Salesforce

CRE brokers can set up automated reminders for lease renewals and follow-ups with potential buyers.

Meanwhile, property managers can use the platform to track maintenance history and vendor contacts through custom records.

On another front, investors can segment contacts based on investment preferences and property types.

In addition, they can track every interaction through activity histories to nurture long-term relationships.

Communication Tracking

Commercial real estate professionals can leverage Salesforce CRM to:

• document client interactions and space requirements,
• streamline communications for property tours and proposal follow-ups,
• track prospect interactions across multiple properties through custom fields for feedback and pricing discussions,
• automate alerts for critical deadlines.

Beyond that, they can utilize analytics to improve response times and tenant satisfaction.

Meeting Scheduling & Follow-up Automation

Through Salesforce’s integrated calendar system, investment firms and REITs can automate meeting schedules with multiple stakeholders.

Similarly, commercial mortgage lenders can:

• enhance their loan processing efficiency by scheduling automated follow-ups,
• automate document collection and coordination of virtual meetings with appraisers and underwriters,
• track each interaction in a centralized timeline.

In addition, M&A agents can orchestrate complex deal negotiations. They can synchronize meeting schedules across time zones and automatically generate follow-up tasks for each stakeholder.

It ensures no crucial details are overlooked.

Client Portfolio Management

With Salesforce platform, commercial real estate brokerages can develop comprehensive portfolio views that integrate:

•  lease expirations,
• market comparables,
• space utilization metrics.

This way brokers can identify opportunities actively to optimize and expand their portfolios.

Investment firms can customize Salesforce’s tools to create custom dashboards to track key performance metrics across their properties.

With Salesforce they also can automatically generate reports on:

• occupancy rates,
• NOI trends,
• capital improvement schedules.

Both types of firms can benefit from the platform’s ability to segment portfolios by:

• property type,
• geographic location,
• investment strategy.

On top of that, they can automate quarterly performance reviews and risk assessments for stakeholders.

Secure Data Sharing & Collaboration

Commercial real estate professionals can enhance team collaboration by utilizing Salesforce’s secure data sharing features to coordinate complex deals across multiple offices.

Moreover, within a centralized platform they can instantly share:

• property tours,
• market reports,
• client feedback.

Agents can safeguard sensitive deal information through Salesforce’s enterprise-grade security features, which include:

• role-based access controls and user role hierarchies for team members handling confidential transactions,
• field-level security, permission sets, sharing rules and groups to protect proprietary data,
• automated security protocols that monitor and log all system activities,
• regulatory compliance with industry standards.

Real estate professionals can easily organize, version, and instantly share critical documents. They can also ensure that external partners and investors have the right access levels to relevant information.

User Role Hierarchies in Salesforce | Source: Salesforce

Additionally, Salesforce has advanced security features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA). Along with it, Salesforce’s tools help conduct regular security audits to ensure continuous protection of valuable transaction details.

It allows teams to focus on deal execution rather than security concerns.

Salesforce also offers commercial real estate professionals an extra layer of security with Salesforce Shield. Its Shield Platform Encryption, Event Monitoring, and Field Audit Trail features, real estate firms can confidently:

• handle high-value deals,
• maintain client trust,
• protect confidential property negotiations and financial data.

Platform Flexibility

Salesforce helps CRE professionals create automated workflows without any coding knowledge, using drag-and-drop tools. Likewise, the platform is suitable for firms of all sizes and verticals and accommodates their expanding feature requirements.

With tools like Lightning App Builder and Components, Validation Rules, and Flows, teams can easily:

• customize their processes to automate routine tasks with custom fields and workflows,
• connect different applications and databases to streamline their daily operations,
• build custom applications within the Salesforce organization without heavy custom coding,
• streamline multi-step workflow creation and automate complex processes.

For example, on top of the Salesforce platform brokerages can build:

• automatic lender scoring solution,
• custom prospecting tools,
• commission calculators,
• automated underwriting engine,
• custom loan origination system,
• borrower, lender, or investor portals,
• chat bots and virtual assistants.

Moreover, CRE Tech businesses can build Salesforce-based solutions not only for internal but also for a commercial use.

For example, they can expand their reach to brokers using Salesforce on the AppExchange marketplace.

Ascendix has over 20 years of CRM consulting and more than 15 years of proptech consulting experience.

And as an AppExchange partner, we will help you embed your solutions directly in Salesforce.

We will get you covered if you need:

• consulting for ISV (Independent Software Vendor) or OEM (Open Equipment Manufacturers) partnerships,
• creating a new or upgrading your current AppExchange app,
• assistance with passing a security review.

No-Code Process Automation

Salesforce is famous for its innovative approach known as “click-not-code”. With tools like Flows and Approval Processes users with limited technical expertise can easily automate daunting tasks.

Flows in Salesforce are automated processes that can execute a series of actions based on specific triggers. Think of them as digital assistants that can automate complex tasks like:

• scheduling of property reports when occupancy rates change,
• sending lease renewal notifications at predetermined intervals.
• triggering targeted marketing campaigns when properties match specific investor criteria,
• generation of offering memorandums based on prospect interactions.
• request missing documentation, schedule appraisals, and update loan status based on predefined criteria.

Approval Processes, which work hand-in-hand with Flows, create structured review paths for important decisions such as:

• investment committee reviews,
• lease approvals,
• due diligence signoffs.

This allows real estate companies to maintain consistent decision-making protocols. And it also enables automatic routing of requests to the appropriate stakeholders based on deal size or property type.

Reporting and Analytics

An average commercial real estate broker might spend from a few hours to a couple of days each week on:

• market research,
• financial analysis,
• performance tracking,
• client reporting etc.

Cutting-edge CRM solutions like Salesforce with agile reporting features and data analytics can significantly reduce the manual effort.

Salesforce reports and dashboards facilitate real-time data visualization of:

• sales performance,
• customer engagement,
• property management.

By applying Salesforce’s analytics, real estate industry professionals can refine forecasting and uncover growth opportunities.

For example, with Salesforce reporting tools, brokers can get a comprehensive overview of lease agreements set to expire.

My Weekly Tasks and Appointments Report in Salesforce | Ascendix

Also, stakeholders can gain valuable insights into upcoming vacancies and revenue streams, by presenting a detailed view of:

• lease expirations,
• tenant information,
• lease terms,
• potential renewal probabilities.

Or, for example, brokers can see their earned commissions in “My Commissions” report.

“My Commissions” Report in Salesforce | Ascendix

Check more examples of what reports and dashboards you can build within Salesforce in the blog post: Advanced Salesforce Reporting Features for Real Estate

System Integration

Salesforce’s AppExchange platform offers 7,000+ integrations with solutions like:

• Property listing platforms like Zillow,
• Accounting solutions like Xero, Quickbooks, NetSuite,
• Marketing automation tools like Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, and Mailchimp,
• Stacking plan visualization tools like StackRE and Real Properties
• Document, reports, contracts, invoices, property brochures, and flyers generation tools like Ascendix Composer,

Composer – Property Report Generation Tool

• Document scanning tools like Flow Document Scanner,
• Document signing platforms like DocuSign,
• Advanced property search tools like Ascendix Search,
• Mortgage payment calculators,
• Form builders like Formstack.

If you are looking for a custom document management solution, Ascendix has built an Intelligent Document Processing framework. This real estate software can easily be integrated with your commercial real estate CRM software.

Besides, the platform supports seamless integration with external systems via extensive API support, including:

• REST,
• SOAP,
• Bulk,
• Streaming APIs,

Besides, Salesforce architecture also allows integrating solutions with:

• Outbound Message,
• Web Service Callouts,
• Heroku Connect
• Salesforce Connect,
• MuleSoft Anypoint.

Need custom integrations with solutions not available on AppExchange? We can help. Be it AppFolio, Juniper Square, or LoopNet, we’ll sync them with your Salesforce CRM.

Automation with Predictive & Generative Salesforce AI Solutions

Commercial real estate professionals can leverage Salesforce AI solutions to transform their operations and enhance client service through various intelligent solutions like:

• Einstein Lead and Opportunity Scoring can help brokers prioritize the most promising property deals and predict closing probabilities.

The Einstein Opportunity Score Field on an Opportunity List View | Source: Salesforce

• Einstein Recommendations is particularly useful for commercial property listings. It can automatically suggest relevant properties to potential buyers or tenants based on their search history and preferences.

Salesforce Einstein Recommendations Scorecard | Source: Salesforce

• Salesforce Einstein GPT (Salesforce Generative AI) can optimize real estate operations by automating content generation for property listings and client communications.
• Einstein for Flow can automate complex workflows specific to property management and transaction processes with simple text prompts.

Besides that we can build and integrate custom AI-powered software for your CRE business:

• data entry tools,
• document extraction solutions,
• chatbots & virtual assistants and more.

Native Salesforce CRM Add-Ons for Commercial Real Estate

Salesforce Service Cloud: Elevate CRE Client Service

• Starting Price: $25 User/Month

Service Cloud can help commercial real estate professionals manage client relationships and property operations through a centralized service platform.

For example, with this product, investment sales teams can:

• streamline investor communications,
• automate offering memorandum distribution,
• track due diligence requests

For property management teams, Service Cloud enables sophisticated tracking of:

• maintenance requests,
• tenant communications,
• vendor management,

It also enables real-time updates and automated escalation protocols based on service level agreements.

Capital markets professionals can leverage the platform to:

• manage loan servicing inquiries,
• track loan modification requests,
• automate routine communications about payment status or loan documentation.

When combined with Experience Cloud, the platform creates a seamless portal experience where tenants, investors, and borrowers can interact.

Salesforce Experience Cloud: Custom Portal Solutions Across the CRE Spectrum

• Starting Price: $2/login or $5/member

Experience Cloud various commercial real estate professionals build customized portals tailored to their specific needs.

The Example of the Real Estate Investor Portal Interface | Ascendix

For examples, M&A agents can leverage the platform to create secure deal rooms where they can:

• track acquisition pipelines,
• share confidential documents,
• monitor due diligence processes with real-time analytics on deal progression.

Commercial real estate mortgage lenders can build sophisticated lending portals that:

• streamline loan applications,
• track debt service coverage ratios,
• manage loan covenants
• provide borrowers with self-service access to their loan documentation and payment histories.

An Example of a How Real Estate Investment Opportunities Can Be Displayed in a Portal| Ascendix

For commercial real estate developers, Experience Cloud enables portals that:

• track construction milestones,
• manage contractor relationships,
• monitor development costs against pro formats,
• share real-time updates with stakeholders on project timelines and budgets.

Investment firms can create sophisticated investor portals displaying:

• real-time NOI calculations,
• occupancy metrics,
• property performance dashboards.

Property managers can utilize tenant portals for:

• maintenance requests,
• rent collection,
• lease administration.

What makes these portals particularly powerful is their ability to integrate with existing Salesforce CRM data and third-party systems. It ensures that all stakeholders have role-based access to exactly the information they need, when they need it.

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot)

• Starting Price: $1250 /Per month up to 10,000 contacts

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement enables sophisticated marketing automation tailored to the CRE industry’s unique needs.

Investment sales brokers can use its lead scoring and grading features to prioritize investors based on criteria like:

• asset class preferences,
• investment thresholds,
• historical transaction data,

They also enable automatic nurturing of relationships through personalized content about market trends and off-market opportunities.

Tenant rep brokers can utilize the engagement tracking and automation tools to:

• monitor tenant space requirements,
• create targeted campaigns based on lease expiration dates,
• deliver personalized property tours and space proposals,
• measure engagement through detailed analytics.

Commercial real estate mortgage brokers can implement sophisticated nurture campaigns that deliver relevant content based on:

• loan types,
• property classifications,
• debt service coverage ratios.

It also helps to track prospect interactions to identify the most promising lending opportunities.

For real estate investors and developers, the MC Account Engagement enables creation of sophisticated drip campaigns sharing:

• project updates,
• construction milestones,
• investment opportunities.

It enables utilizing Account-Based Marketing (ABM) features to target specific institutional investors or family offices.

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Automation Workflow Example | Source: Salesforce

Einstein Send Time Optimization and Content Selection, available in Marketing Cloud Account Engagement can:

• enhance email campaigns,
• determine optimal sending times,
• personalize content for different property investors or tenants.

Pardot’s integration with Salesforce CRM ensures all prospect interactions, from property tour feedback to offering memorandum downloads, are tracked and scored.

It provides real estate professionals with actionable intelligence to close more deals efficiently.

Agentforce: AI-Powered Virtual Assistant for CRE

• Starting Price: $2 per conversation

Salesforce’s latest AI breakthrough, Agentforce, generally available since October 29, 2024, delivers autonomous agents that work alongside human teams to enhance business operations.

The platform offers pre-built solutions for service, sales, and marketing automation. In addition, its foundation on the Atlas Reasoning Engine and Einstein Trust Layer ensures intelligent, secure decision-making.

Agentforce helps businesses adjust AI agents through its low-code Agent Builder interface and integration with:

• Flows,
• Prompts,
• Data Cloud.

Commercial real estate professionals can improve their work with Agentforce’s AI agents. These tools change how they manage daily tasks and interact with clients.

At its core, standard Agentforce agents can:

• manage property inquiries,
• schedule viewings,
• provide instant responses to common questions about listings or property specifications 24/7.

However, the real power lies in customization – using Agent Builder, CRE firms can create specialized agents tailored to their specific needs.

For instance, investment sales brokers can develop agents that automatically generate detailed offering memorandums, and qualify potential buyers.

Property managers can customize agents to:

• handle tenant service requests,
• coordinate maintenance schedules,
• generate real-time property performance reports.

Leasing professionals can benefit from agents that automate lease administration, conduct initial tenant screenings, and create preliminary lease proposals.

What’s particularly exciting is that these agents can be fine-tuned to understand industry-specific terminology and regulations.

This is where proptech experts like Ascendix come into play. Whether you’re a boutique family-owned brokerage or a national CRE powerhouse, we’ve got you covered.

Our team builds custom Agentforce solutions that align perfectly with your business model.

Ascendix develops specialized algorithms for property valuation, and client engagement workflows. In doing so, our team transforms the theoretical potential of Agentforce into practical, revenue-generating solutions.

Salesforce Maps for Territory Management and Market Analysis Success

• Starting Price: $75 User/Month

Salesforce Maps help commercial real estate professionals visualize and execute their territory strategies through powerful location intelligence capabilities.

With Salesforce Maps, investment sales brokers can:

• plot properties by asset class and cap rates,
• overlay demographic data to identify emerging market opportunities.

Office leasing professionals can:

• map competing properties by class and vacancy rates,
• efficiently plan property tours,
• optimize routes between buildings.

In addition, the platform’s territory management features enable brokerage firms to optimize coverage by assigning specific submarkets to brokers based on property type specialization.

Advanced features like embedding third-party market data allow brokers to layer critical information onto their maps such as:

• zoning changes,
• development pipelines,
• infrastructure projects.

But if you want to get necessary mapping features but for a lower cost, compare Salesforce Maps alternatives in our blog post

Salesforce Analytics (Tableau CRM) for Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate professionals can use Tableau and CRM Analytics to transform complex market data into strategic insights.

Fund managers benefit from Tableau’s advanced capabilities to track portfolio performance metrics like IRR and DSCR across asset classes.

An Example of CRM Analytics Interface | Source: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-tossell-051489101/

Capital markets teams can analyze lending trends and CMBS performance.

This powerful combination enables CRE professionals to create customized dashboards that:

• provide real-time market insights,
• drive more informed investment and leasing decisions,
• streamlining portfolio analysis and reporting.

How Commercial Real Estate Firms Use Salesforce: Success Stories

Visintainer Group

Visintainer Group’s mission is to help sellers of investment properties market their properties with a sophisticated marketing approach.

The company specializes in selling commercial, multi-family, and agriculture properties located in Central California.

Visintainer Group maintains a detailed proprietary database of available:

• properties,
• buyers,
• sellers,
• opportunities etc.

And they continue to heavily invest in optimizing and improving their data.

The real estate estate investment firm needed to:

• synchronize processes across multiple divisions within the company,
• replace custom-build CRM system with an agile platform that could be adjusted to their growing business needs.

Customized Salesforce CRM allowed them to turn data from a static form to a dynamic one, simplifying:

• data mapping,
• data search,
• data tracking.

Check how Ascendix helped Visintainer Group migrate to Salesforce in this case study

Crowdhouse

Crowdhouse is a startup company founded in Switzerland to simplify the property investment process. The company has been using Salesforce almost since its inception in 2015 to revolutionize the Swiss crowd investing business.

As a result, Sales Cloud and MC Account Engagement implementation helped reduce the cost of marketing leads by 70%.

Project Challenge:

• Synchronize Salesforce CRM with the proprietary CMS,
• Need for a flexible system that supports business processes instead of victimizing them to the system,
• Lack of property data visibility and accessibility.

Solution:

• Salesforce Sales Cloud implementation helped streamline key processes to simplify closing of the deal.
• Salesforce enabled standardization of anything in the customer journey.
• Account Engagement integration helped send out the newsletters and organize data around a common view of leads. It also helped simplify the lead qualification process, giving predictability in sales.

How Ascendix Optimizes Salesforce CRM for Commercial Real Estate

Salesforce CRM platform empowers real estate professionals with robust tools for managing:

• property portfolios,
• client relationships,
• deal pipelines.

But it often requires specialized customization to align with complex CRE workflows.

Ascendix, a Salesforce Crest Partner with deep CRE expertise, transforms how brokerages, investment firms, and property management companies leverage their Salesforce investment through:

Smooth migration of property data, deal histories, and client relationships from legacy systems

• Strategic implementation of Salesforce CRM, Account Engagement, Experience Cloud, and Agentforce customized for specific CRE needs
• Enhanced data security protocols for protecting sensitive deal information and investor data
• Custom approval workflows for investment committees, lease approvals, and deal pipelines
• Specialized reporting for property performance, market analytics, and investor communications
• Integration with essential CRE platforms including property management systems, financial modeling tools, and market research providers
• AI consulting for implementing intelligent deal scoring, property matching, and market analysis
• Development of secure investor and tenant portals featuring real-time portfolio performance, property updates, and document management
• Ongoing Salesforce administration ensuring optimal system performance and user adoption

Ready to optimize your CRE operations with Salesforce? Contact our team today for a free consultation to discover how our deep industry expertise can help you leverage Salesforce for commercial real estate.