Q:  Denise, I was in your Safari class this week and you talked about the importance of having your client database on your own computer. I have my database on my company’s server via their CRM. Can you elaborate a bit?

A:  You bet! I firmly believe that you should have control over your client database. That means it lives on your computer, you back it up, and no one else has access to it. Remember, although you are with a real estate company, you are likely an independent contractor. That means that unless it stipulates in your contract, your database of clients is yours.

I have had an agent client who once had an dispute with her office and wound up having to leave in a hurry. She didn’t even have time to think about her database which was on her company’s CRM – and she didn’t have a backup. Long story short, that information was now in the possession of her brokerage and she could not get those back and needed to start building it again from scratch.

Now if this answer has you in a panic – don’t worry. The key is to back up your data as that is the best practice anyway. Or if you are thinking, “Database? Does she mean the shoebox that I have all those pieces of paper in?” then I want to give you a gift of a very simple Excel file that is part of our Club Zebra PRO collection that you can use to build your database. It is very easy to use and here is the link: http://www.thelonesgroup.com/customer/vault.asp?op=item&vid=1232 (you will need to set up a free account but once you do, there are several other free tools you can access. Give it a try!)