Topic: Action Plans

[Ryan Ward]

O.k. My team does not feel there is any particular use for this feature at this point....that doesn't seem right to me.

Currently, action plans do not show up on any sort of "home" screen so they aren't really acting as very good "reminders" to get things done. This makes them feel much less important than a reminder.

So, I started this as a topic because I just know there is a good way to use them and I want to try to get some thoughts, ideas and suggestions going about what it might be used for....

[REW Michael]

My thoughts...

Show them on the same screen as the leads. The action plan tasks that would display would match the date filter being used. (default "today")

[Ryan Ward]

Yeah, I think that would help, but, that's not the way they are set now...right?


Also (for anyone reading),

What might be some good applications? Right now, I'm thinking of a "Standard" phone follow up plan. Something like:

Call lead on day 10, then another to call on day 20, 30, 45, 60, etc...this would be on top of what we are doing to follow up on leads manually, with drip emails and with creating saved searches. Almost like an automatic set of reminders that go out to all new leads.

Are there other things that can be done with the action plans or is it really just a "standard" reminder action plan? What would be cool would be if it automatically "fetched" documents to send at specific times, but, I guess that would really be just another drip email campaign. I guess I'm looking for ideas....

[webmaster]

Sorry guys not going happen (on the intro screen that is) - I ran this system for quite a while before offering it up, and the one thing I can tell you (acting like a sales person) is the first (and only) thing I want to see when I login is my new leads (they come first) - then I move onto action plans - next step, next tab.

For action plans to work, they need to be enforced (they are not supposed to be "suggestions" they are supposed to be - if you want leads from me, you will commit to doing the following things, and you will also commit to logging into the system and holding yourself accountable by checking off the items as you are doing them (also reminds you to USE THE SYSTEM) - you can't be passive with your action plans or they might as well not be there in the first place. They might not be for everyone - but if they are for you, then to use them effectively you need to educate and enforce - am I wrong here? I would love to hear your thoughts.

[Ryan Ward]

Well, we already have the reminders above the leads on the intro screen as it is.

I guess I'm really just trying to explore the use of the action plans. The way that they are currently, please correct me if I am wrong here because that's why I started this thread as a topic so I could better understand them, is that they are really preset "reminders". Since the regular reminders already show up above the leads, my thoughts would be that preset "reminders", aka action plans would also show up there like the rest of the reminders.

Now, if I'm looking at the reminders wrong, I want to hear some suggestions about what the best use for them would be. As I placed in my other post, I think there is a good use for them as a system of standard reminders to make folllow up phone calls combined with one or maybe even 2 seperate drip email campaigns.

Another option would be to have the option to create 4-6 different preset action plans that an agent could select from to assign to a lead....let's say that you call your lead and they tell you that they have a home to sell in another part of the country. You may want to phone them monthly as a courtesy to see how things are going. Only the agent working that lead could correctly select the right action plan which might be different than an action plan you have for a lead who actually inquired on a property but never responded to the agents return phone call and email. This action plan may require a phone call every day for 10 days and 5 emails during those 10 days to try to convert that inquiry. Again, only the agent would know which action plan would work. So to be able to select from a list of predefined plans could actually be quite liberating for an agent looking to ensure the proper follow up. Then it would be up to the admin/lead coordinator to ensure that the agents are handling this properly or we could take whatever actions we needed to ensure that they used the action plans.

Once an agent has hundreds of leads, it becomes extremely difficult to keep things straight. I would think, that a set of plans to choose from may help to effectively empower them by providing them with a tool that simply tells them who to call and when based on the needs of the lead.

I have a feeling that this isn't the way that the action plans are designed, but, I'm going to try to create a few different plans later today and see if there is a way to make that work....

[webmaster]

Don't get "reminders" and "action plans" confused they are different and serve different functions.

Reminders are things set by an agent to allow them to stay organized and be efficient. Reminders can be dismissed or ignored without consequence.

Action plan items are "requirements" dictated (pay attention to that word) by the boss (office manager, lead assigner, broker, team leader whoever is in charge) and they are not meant to be optional. If you dismiss an action plan item you do so because of one of the accepted reasons (again set forth by the boss) one such example is they say "don't contact me again" or of course you closed the deal.

If you flag an action item as "complete" then you better damn well have done it, or you are lying and that is not a good thing and the agent should be held accountable.

I have something similar in my intranet here for designers when they go to sign off on a project - a box pops up with checkboxes for IE 6, 7 and firefox (our supported browsers) - it's reminding them that they must do reasonable checks on the work they did in those 3 browsers before they are allowed to officially sign off - if they haven't they need to go back and check, if they have then they check off the boxes and are put through to the final sceen.

This way if there is a blatant foulup in IE 6 etc I can go to the designer and reprimant them - "hey you, you checked off that you looked at this in IE 6, but look at it, it's clearly FUBAR'd - you aren't doing your job, you are in trouble"

These action plans might not be for everyone - but if I were a boss (which I am) or I wanted a system of accountability - then they are an amazing tool. I juts think you need to look at them for what they are Ryan (which might be against your own personal philosophy) and that is an accountability tool - but you kind of have to play the role of "the boss" to use them effectively.

[Ryan Ward]

Ok. I think I see a clear plan coming together here. This could be very good.

Before I create it, let me run it out here real fast....starting from scratch:

• Lead comes in.
• Lead is assigned and Action Plan timeline starts ticking. (Is this day 1 or day 0? Very important for the timing of the system....)
• Now, on day one, an agent will need to do some specific things with a lead. Call them, set them in a group, drip email campaign, create a saved search and send them an email. [action plan tells them to do this. They check it off, I know it's complete.]
• Day 2 Action plan tells them to do something and they check it off. There is some real beauty beginning to take shape now because you can actually track and see exactly what needs to be done with a higher level of conversion. Drip emails will now be timed with the action plan and manual emails in between drips can be added so that the agent works the lead, the lead feels they are truly getting personal service with real emails and the admin can feel reasonably sure that all leads are being treated the right way.
• Day 3 Action plan tells them to do something
• Etc... coordinating things with drip emails
• Etc... coordinating things with drip emails
• Etc... coordinating things with drip emails
• Day 7 Action plan says call. I've tailored drip emails to work in conjunction with phone calls
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12
• 13
• 14 etc...

OK, so here we are with an action plan. The goal of this action plan is to get them to convert. Once they convert to conversations, they need to not show up on the daily regiment of things to do on the agents action plan. So, maybe under the edit a lead, there can be a checkbox to remove them from the action plan????

Also, would it be possible in the current system to take a lead out of an action plan and place them into a different one? I realize the plans are tied to the agent rather than the lead so it may not be possible or even necessary as the reminder system should be able to work from there. I'm just trying to make some good sense out of this and maybe put together an action plan "template mockup" that may be a good place for others to use as they get the system...

[thataway61]

Ryan,
From Top Producer, an action plan would be for new listings or pending contracts.

I had my whole new listing checklist on an action plan:
executed documents
put up lock box
put up sign
enter in gamls
enter in fmls
enter in website
real estate book advert
etc.

For Pending contracts (from checklist also):
executed documents
arrange inspection
request termite letter
more
more
more
green sheet
final walk through
closing
turn in office copies of HUD1, termite letter

This helps you from forgetting to take care of items when there are many things going on. Just like Morgan said, these are items that must be performed and your company checklist custom tailored to include some of your personal additions will be a God send for your agents that are performing. Your drips and your saved searches are doing their thing, an action plan to remind to call is great, but the action plans above will keep your producing agents on target with their deals so well that they won't leave the lead follow up lacking and putting them on the proverbial roller coaster.

I didn't know that the enhanced lead manager was out, maybe you can send me some screen shots or set me up as an agent to look at it. I can try to find my old Top Producer action plan for listings and closings if you want.

[Justin Havre]

I think it would be great if we could determine whether the user was a buyer, seller or both when they register and then depending on what they are (if there is an option for them to select when signing up) then they would automatically go into an action plan suitable for them. It is all about automation and having the systems do the work.

[webmaster]

You do this with drip campaigns, not action plans.

I think it would be great if we could determine whether the user was a buyer, seller or both when they register and then depending on what they are (if there is an option for them to select when signing up) then they would automatically go into an action plan suitable for them. It is all about automation and having the systems do the work.