Thread: Top Producer or ACT!

hey i'm currently using Top Producer ie7 and i like it, however they have the market super cornered... its not compatiable with anything and if u want to add any feature u have to pay a crap load of money... i have been using the program for about 5 months, and so far no complains however i have been looking into ACT! and its looks just as good. ya it doesnt have premade action plans and things in that nature however i can get the list from Top Producer before i drop the service...

anyone have any suggestions? jump ship or stay where im at now with top producer?

major reason for wanting to leave is compatiablity with my phone, current owner of a blackberry and they offer a service for the unit but its a 3 third party app that runs within the phone, and in no lighter way to say it. it works like ****. maybe times i save clients info in top producer and then i need to call them and im on the road im wasting valuable time. plus i dont have my calender and to do list syncing with my phone. i have to double enter every, 1 outlook 2 top producer

getting very fustrated and burned out...

suggestions

Contact management is vital, so I wouldn't just jump-ship immediately. You should export a hard-copy of your contacts before you make any decisions.

I use Act, and I love it. But my needs might be different than yours.

I suggest you purchase Act or get a Demo and then use it for a few weeks. Pretend like it's the only program you have.

You'll find out soon enough whether it will work for you or not.

I have been using act for years. They do have a real estate version that includes templetes and prewritten letters but I am still using the basic version. Act is very good at setting appointments and keeping records of all your conversations with your contacts.

how does ACT compare with outlook? this is the first time I have heard of that software. Can you suggest a software that will help me track the leads that I give out to my buyers agents?

If all you need is what ACT! can do for you, then so be it. But to say that ACT! is as good as Top Producer could not be farther from the truth. If it appears that way, it is because you have not explored much of TP. TP is not for everyone, and for many, it is far more than they need, but it IS more powerful than anything else out there.

I'm new to this forum, so I'm still learning how to use it. To address previous comments in this thread.

To Flat Fee King:

ACT! is much more powerful than Outlook, but it s not Real Estate specific. It has "add-ons" that make it more friendly to a licensee's needs, but I've yet to hear a kind word spoken of them. ACT! for Real Estate gets similar reviews.

The kind of tool you are looking for is most often referred to as either "Contact Management" software, or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. There are "Real Esate specific" solutions (those created specifcally for use my Real Estate licensees), versus those which are not. Then there are online solutions, and offline/desktop solutions.

An article designed to introduce you to the topic is on my site at GaryDavidHall.com , called "A History of Contact Management in Real Estate".