In their 2024 Technology Survey, The National Association of Realtors uncovered that only 22% of active realtors feel confident that they are getting the most benefit from emerging technology tools. There are multiple reasons why this is the case. The older generation of realtors can often view these tools as a challenge instead of an opportunity, while younger, more tech-savvy realtors are frustrated by outdated technology systems that don’t meet their needs.
This is where Salesforce has proven to bridge the gap. We have worked with more than 60 real estate and real estate investment firms over the years that cover a number of different domains, including real estate investors, private equity and other credit providers to real estate companies, build-to-rent companies, and building management companies. They have all seen the benefits when adopting Salesforce’s CRM solutions.
Many different themes shape the kinds of projects we work on: financial and economic trends like interest rate cycles; acquiring tenants and clients in hot new markets; onboarding and managing the application process for those tenants; retaining clients and ensuring that tenants have a seamless end-to-end experience of living, working, and playing in the buildings that a real estate company manages. In addition, for investors in the real estate arena, we often manage the end-to-end investment or financing process, including capital raising, deployment, and financial or operational management of properties.
As we think about real operational challenges to real estate firms in the context of Salesforce, there are a lot of common issues that we address through Salesforce-provided tools.
Streamline document management
Real estate deals, tenant applications, and other transactions require a lot of document management and strong processes to collect the necessary documents and sign-offs. We have built solutions at Silverline that help our users create document checklists and then use Salesforce tools to connect to other data stores like SharePoint, Google Drive, Box, and more. This creates one single place where everyone can upload the required documents to complete an operational process and then retrieve them easily later.
Improve visibility with CalendarAnything
When we think about the work that needs to get done, there’s always the “when” of when it needs to get done. Calendaring is a strong need for property managers, asset managers, concierge desks, and building management personnel. Our CalendarAnything product has helped power many different applications for various personas in real estate by combining Salesforce data with data from systems like Yardi, MRI, iLevel, and others. This creates property calendars that can be very useful in Salesforce, giving people a central hub to understand what’s happening in a building at any given time.
These calendar applications are also great when combined with front-end user experiences — like tour-booking applications on real estate company websites — allowing potential residents to view properties, learn more about their options, and ultimately meet with an agent or broker. When integrated with Salesforce portals, community experiences, or mobile apps, these calendars can be used by residents and tenants to schedule amenities, book tours, or even set up special experiences that help generate additional revenue streams. For example, we even have some clients using CalendarAnything experiences to power bookings for viewing special attractions at their flagship buildings — and to book wine tastings and vineyard tours!
Transform field servicing with Salesforce Maps
Field servicing and site visit planning are critical for real estate, and Salesforce Maps helps drive sales productivity by enabling scheduling and optimizing time spent on the road. These maps can be extended to field service agents managing property requests, responding to tenant inquiries, and overseeing service across various assets and properties.
There are many ways to visualize workforce and field service activities in Salesforce, making it easier to dispatch or reallocate technicians or building maintenance personnel in case of emergencies. AI and smart analytics using Tableau, Tableau Pulse, and CRM Analytics offer real estate firms the ability to visualize vacancies, understand occupancies, and maximize property usage. This includes combining units, marketing available properties, and ultimately engaging potential tenants. All of this sales and servicing data can also be integrated with aforementioned real estate systems like Yardi, MRI, and iLevel to visualize and take action on property data in real-time in Salesforce.
Agentforce ushers in the future of AI agents
Looking ahead, Salesforce’s Agentforce and its new AI tools present exciting possibilities. These AI Agents can extend experiences outward to tenants, clients, or building management teams. Imagine a tenant in a high-rise residential property in New York City interacting with an Agentforce Agent that helps them explore options to move within the same building, find another location in a different city, or avoid additional fees if they stay within the same property management company.
These agents can handle first-line inquiries, facilitate rent payments, and promote services or amenities that foster loyalty. The future of Agentforce offers immense possibilities for real estate companies to engage directly with their clients and interact through mobile-friendly platforms like Slack. For more information, we have great resources and webinars we’ve done with Salesforce, Slack, and other third-party market data providers like Reonomy.
The structured workflows of a real estate company can be very similar and repetitive, and Salesforce is a great way to manage these common operational tasks. Salesforce’s action plans provide great workflow opportunities to structure these operational processes and help scale a real estate firm’s quality service experiences.
Find out how our team can drive digital transformation at your real estate organization.
