How to Setup your Account
The suggested step-by-step procedure for creating your account is described on this page. Even while it’s not necessary to follow all the instructions in order to use Forefront, doing so is highly recommended if you want to take full advantage of all of its features and increase your capacity to turn leads into deals.
Steps To Set Up Your Forefront CRM Account
- Invite Your Team
- Create Campaigns
- Set Up Email Addresses
- Configure Your Pipeline
- Set Up Follow Up Sequences
- Integrate Lead Sources
- Configure Notifications
- Import Existing Qualified Leads
Invite Your Team
Invite users to your account.
It’s important to invite users early on so that you can create email addresses and set up automations to assign tasks and leads to users.
Click here to learn how to invite users
Not Everyone Needs To Be A User
There might be members of your team that do not need to have a user account. This includes answering services, VA’s that add leads but don’t work leads to your account, etc. It’s recommended to use Call Scripts (web forms) for these users.
Click here to learn more about Forefront Call Scripts.
Create Campaigns
Create campaigns to track costs and returns on investment per campaign. Setting these up now will allow you to automate the attribution of leads to the appropriate campaign when they come into your account. This way you can always track where every lead came from.
Click here to learn how to set up your campaigns
Set Up Email Addresses
It is recommended that you create email addresses in Forefront, which can be utilized for sending emails to sellers and configuring automated follow-up sequences to send emails.
Click here to read more about the email capabilities within Forefront
You’ll want to have an email set up for each user on your account that will be sending emails.
There are 2 options for email on the Forefront:
- Custom domain email – use your website domain email address within Forefront
- Integrating Gmail – integrate your Gmail account so that you can send emails through your Gmail from within Forefront.
Sending emails with attachments and tracking email engagement stats is possible with custom domains, while Gmail integration is faster and simpler.
Click here to learn how to set up your custom domain email
Click here to learn how to integrate your G Suite / Google Workspace Email
Configure Your Pipeline
Now it’s time to configure your pipeline to match your workflow.
Pipeline Statuses
This is where you create statuses for the different steps that you move leads through.
Each status allows the setting of an acceptable time. This allows Forefront’s pipeline algorithm to “bubble up” the leads that are next to be worked on at the top of each status. This acceptable time is also what is used to show leads as past due (red), almost due (yellow), and not yet due (green). This color coding allows you to know which leads need attention at a glance.
Click here to learn how to set up your Pipeline Statuses
Separate Pipeline Views
You can also create multiple “pipelines” for use in separating workflows. For example, if you have a different set of steps for working a wholesale deal than you do an agent listing referral, you can create separate pipelines for each. That way, when you are viewing the wholesale deal pipeline you don’t see the ‘Agent Referral Paid’ status, for example.
Many customers also set up separate Pipeline Views for each user role in the system. This way users can just see the steps in the pipeline that they work with without all of the clutter of leads in other statuses.
Click here to learn more about Pipeline Views
Status Automations
The Forefront Pro package provides several advantages, and one of the most significant ones is the capability to create status automations. These automations enable you to streamline your workflow by automatically sending emails or texts to sellers, notifying users, assigning or unassigning users, creating tasks, sending webhooks to other software, and more! Status automations can be triggered in various ways, but the most commonly used one is when a lead enters a status.
Click here to learn more and set up Status Automations
Set Up Follow Up Sequences
The saying “fortune is in the follow-up” is one that most real estate investors are aware of, but few adhere to it. Unfortunately, this prevents investors from reaching up to the 37% or more sellers who will eventually sell their property but weren’t ready when the investor made an offer.
To read our comprehensive guide to Follow-ups for Real Estate Investors, click here.
Individualize each automated follow-up message quickly
Forefront allows you to quickly and easily add leads to drip follow up sequences that handle follow ups for you. These sequences can be made up of automated emails, texts and tasks that can be assigned to you or teammates to call the seller.
Automated messages should always be personalized. This is why Forefront gives you shortcodes that can be used. These shortcodes will be replaced automatically with the data from the lead when the messages go out. This way you can include the seller’s name, the property address, and tons of other personalized information in each message. This goes a long way in ensuring the messages don’t seem automated!
With One Click, install our worked follow up sequences
It can be daunting to come up with what these follow up messages should say. That’s why we provide 4 sequences available for free inside your account.
Simply login and visit https://app.forefrontcrm.com/store/followUps to see the available sequences. When you click the install button for each sequence, a copy will be made available in your Follow Up settings here: https://app.forefrontcrm.com/settings/followUp
Add Your Personality
It is advised to add your personality to the follow-up sequences after installing them from the shop (as was previously suggested). Change several messages to reflect your own and your acquisitions manager’s tone.
Adjust the time at which the follow-up messages are sent out randomly, such as at 9:43 am instead of leaving them all at 8:00 am, to prevent giving the impression that they are automated. Instead of sending out spam messages, the idea is to have sellers believe that you are following up with them personally.
The idea is to personalize the message and make it more interesting for the recipient. For example, if you plan to send a message in the morning, think about incorporating a brief greeting like “Good morning!” or “Hope your day has gone well.”
Add tasks to call as steps in each sequence
It is essential to incorporate activities sporadically as part of the process in order to leverage the advantages of follow-up. These tasks should include you or a member of your team contacting the vendor. Automated messages and emails can be used to establish a rapport with the seller and stay on their mind, while phone calls can be used to convince them to proceed with the transaction.
Click here to learn more about creating Follow Up Sequences Steps
What Happens When A Seller Responds
Automated drip sequences will automatically halt after a seller replies, preventing them from receiving subsequent scheduled messages until you reactivate the sequence. With the help of this tool, you can resume discussion with the seller on a more pertinent subject without the seller receiving any pointless messages.
The seller’s response will appear in your Inbox under the Responses tab.
Integrate Lead Sources
Now that you’re ready to work leads through Forefront and add them to automated follow up, let’s connect your lead sources so that all new leads automatically “push” to Forefront.
New Lead Inbox
Any new leads that enter Forefront through webhooks, call scripts (webforms), phone calls, or texts will appear in your inbox, along with the initial status you’ve set for leads coming from each source. The new lead inbox serves as a way to keep track of all new leads that require follow-up action from you or your team. Once you respond to the seller, you can mark the lead as ‘Done’ and remove it from your inbox. The lead will then be moved to the Pipeline and will retain its current status.
Integrate Your Lead Gen Website
If you have a website for attracting motivated seller leads, you can connect it through a webhook so any new web submissions show up in your Forefront inbox.
Click here if integrating a Carrot website
Click here if integrating a LeadPropeller website
Integrate SMS or Cold Calling Tools
If you use tools to send texts or make calls to lists of prospects, you can integrate those tools with Forefront. These integrations allow you to “push” a qualified lead (someone who responds to your outreach and shows interest in getting an offer for their house) into Forefront.
Click here to integrate Launch Control (coming soon)
Click here to integrate Batch Leads
Call Tools – Forefront has native integration with Calltools, there is no need to use Zapier you just need to create a webhook in the system reach out to Calltools and let them know that you need The push to CRM button to work with Forefront
Integrate Lead Services That Email You New Leads
If you use lead services that send you new leads via email, you can set up an integration with Zapier (Professional package recommended) to parse the emails automatically and add them new leads into Forefront!
Click here to integrate Fast Home Offer (also follow for other services)
Click here to integrate Expert Home Offers
Configure Notifications
Stay informed about important events on Forefront without constant monitoring. Get Forefront notifications.
Click here to learn more about available Forefront notifications
Make sure to set the default user in your webhooks, call scripts, and phone numbers to ensure that each new lead is automatically assigned to someone. Note that some notifications are only triggered for assigned leads.
You can also utilize Status Automation to automatically add and remove assigned users to leads as they change statuses.
End of Day Report
Each owner user can choose to receive a daily email report containing various statistics for their account. This feature enables you to stay updated with what happens within your Forefront account without needing to log in to the system every day.
Click here to learn more about and receive your end of day reports
Import Existing Qualified Leads
Easily import your qualified leads into Forefront for better organization and management.
For effective texting or cold calling on your prospect list, try Launch Control and Call Tools – trusted by our top customers.
Click here to learn how to import your existing qualified leads
Congratulations!
Never miss a lead again and close more deals effortlessly with Forefront. Thank you for choosing us!
We look forward to see you on the bi-weekly Q&A zoom calls! Click here to add these calls to your calendar so that you don’t miss them
Be sure to also subscribe to our Forefront YouTube channel https://youtube.com/forefrontcrm and join the Facebook group https://facebook.com/groups/forefrontcrm
For any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out at [email protected]. We’re always happy to help!