Leaders at Landmark Advisory Services in Montreal, Quebec know how important it is to keep everyone on the same page. That’s why they place so much value in Rethink CRM—Buildout’s client relationship management platform purpose-built for CRE.
“It’s the connector,” said Krista Leetmaa, Director of Intelligence and Marketing at the firm. “It helps us break down any silos that build up between departments.”
Here’s how it works.
Rethink CRM empowers users to access and update critical data in real time, so Landmark’s transaction, legal services, market intelligence, and lease administration teams can quickly communicate key information.
“It’s a centralized repository,” Krista explained. “You can get a snapshot right away when you need to know: ‘Is there an issue with the landlord?’ ‘Is there a structural problem?’ ‘When was the last time someone contacted so-and-so?’ It facilitates everything that’s happening around a central project across those departments.”
But Rethink CRM doesn’t just provide improved access to data. It also helps Landmark better understand the context of that data and how it relates to other key information they track.
“The linkages between records is critical,” Krista said. “You don’t have to scratch your head and say, ‘Okay, who is the landlord here? What was their contact?’ If I’m in a deal, I navigate directly to that information without thinking twice about it.”
That’s a major improvement over their previous experience using manual tools.
“It was a headache for all those people in these different groups to keep information in a variety of sources—like Outlook, Excel, Post-It Notes, or what have you,” Krista said. “Now, there’s no question of where to find information or who to reach out to. It’s just accessible, whether you’re at your computer or on your phone.”
The difficulty managing critical data using manual tools was what led them to Rethink CRM in the first place.
“We had been looking for a long time for something to manage a contact database,” Krista explained.
But once they started using Rethink CRM, they quickly realized it could provide more value than they initially expected.
“We realized it was much more than just a CRM,” Krista said. “We saw how Rethink could help us manage our internal processes, transactions, and more. It was something that could provide structure throughout the company.”
Part of what allowed Rethink CRM to affect so many parts of Landmark’s business is the platform’s configurability.
“Landmark is very different from a typical brokerage,” Krista explained. “We don’t even refer to anyone who works here as a broker. Instead, we have our transaction team. And once they complete their one-off deals, we manage our client’s portfolio across its entire lifespan.”
Fortunately, Landmark’s implementation team took the time to learn about their unique processes and workflows and configured Rethink CRM to support their success.
“I don’t believe we could have done that level of customization in house, so it was critical that we worked with them,” Krista said. “Partnering with someone who could match the customizations to our process was crucial. It’s worked very well.”
Krista believes the implementation process ultimately gave them greater value than they would have otherwise seen.
“Once we saw the potential of what we could do with Rethink, we knew it was worth our investment to have this partner,” she said. “That way we’re not using the product at 30% or 50% but closer to 80 or 90.”
And the scope of Rethink CRM’s impact on their business has been expanding ever since.
“Now, any time we’re working through a new initiative or trying to find a better way of doing things, we always ask: ‘Can Rethink help with that?’” Krista said.
Landmark is even taking advantage of Rethink CRM’s integrations to create greater efficiencies.
“Right now, we have some users using the Cirrus integration via Outlook for bringing in contacts and tracking email activity,” Krista said. “We’re also looking at adding integrations with SigParser—an email signature scraping tool—and Adobe Sign—an electronic signature solution.”
Ultimately, it’s Rethink CRM’s ability to deliver increasing value that won over Krista and her team—even those who were initially skeptical.
“Now that we’ve seen a few successes and things are working well, there’s more faith in the system. There’s more trust,” Krista explained. “People get it now.”
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Get in touch with our team to learn how Rethink CRM can increase collaboration at your brokerage.