6 compelling reasons to make your forms digital
Sending a form by email may seem to be pretty easy and quick, but do you really know how much time you’re losing? Even greater time and money savings can be made by going fully digital. Here we look at six top reasons to make your forms digital.
1. You’ll save significant time
The simple act of creating a contract of sale or tenancy for a client may seem easy enough but it kicks off a process that can involve up to 27 steps – or more – and multiple versions. Finding information, opening files, looking up details and adding them in, saving copies and printing out, filling in details, getting them signed and sending back can be deceptively time-consuming, especially if everyone is working remotely.
But when your forms and contracts are digital, it can take just seven simple steps to complete a form. This is due to the combination of information being shared directly from your CRM, electronic signatures, and everyone filling in a single version of the form. These three small things can create huge time savings when the time each step takes is aggregated.
2. Fewer errors
The client’s name is Davis but your assistant has added an ‘e’ and now it’s Davies or there is a typo on the address so now there’s a risk your about to rent the wrong home. Tiny mistakes can become big dramas in contracts and forms and require multiple backwards and forwards to correct creating traditional methods – each time creating a new version.
But digital forms do it differently. Information is pulled directly from your CRM removing the risk of keying errors. And a centralised version of the form is shared to all parties which means everyone is updating the same form so you remove the risk of using the wrong version, even if everyone is working from home.
3. Fewer dramas
We’ve all experienced the following scenario; you’ve sent off the contract and the client swears it’s been returned but it hasn’t shown up. Are they just delaying? The deadline gets closer and closer and everyone is getting cranky
Then there is the realisation – the file size of the copied document is now about 15mb and the client has a 10mb limit on their email server. Effectively that vital paperwork you’ve all been desperate to process hit a virtual neverland.
This isn’t a risk with a digital form as instead of a PDF, you’re sharing a link to the form or contract. This means you won’t get caught by limitations on file sizes and have just a single version which can be easily tracked through to completion – not lots of copies half done.
4. Time savings are money savings
A few minutes here, 20 minutes there, a day of playing phone tag to chase the details of a form or a sign-off – while individually each of these steps feels just like part of the job of real estate, they mount up. And they can result in the feeling of constantly chasing your tail with no time for the strategic thinking and work that is really going to grow your business.
Reducing the time you spend on administrative tasks will both give you back some valuable time to focus on what’s important and let you turn around more transactions more quickly.
5. Better service to your clients
Everyone dreads the processes around paperwork – it’s just a necessary evil. But when it’s completed and quickly, there is always a sense of amazement that “wow that was quick and painless!” The quicker your forms and contracts are filled in, the quicker your clients are moving in or out of their new home, and the fewer balls that are dropped in the process. This means stress is reduced all-round creating very happy clients!
6. You’ll make more money
By saving time several things are happening. Your costs associated with creating each transaction is reduced and you’ll be able to invoice faster putting more money more quickly into your pocket. Plus you’ll be able to focus on higher-value work that you may be able to charge more for or you’ll be able to manage more transactions than ever before.
Developing a reputation for great processes that make real estate buying, selling and renting really easy and stress-free will also help build your business brand and attract new clients.