If you’ve been in real estate for a while, you’re undoubtedly aware of the problems there can be when you’re trying to manage a contact database.

Depending on your technology setup, you could have contact information spread out over numerous databases:

1. The database for your website
2. The database for your IDX MLS provider
3. The database for your contact manager

It’s a difficult situation.  I really wish industry providers would get together and come up with standards that would make consolidating information much easier.  After all, look at the Internet!  Lots of people had to agree on lots of issues to make it work. 

The problem is made even worse by the fact that, in my humble opinion anyway, no one vendor has put it all together yet.  Some IDX MLS vendors offer websites, but they aren’t the best.  Some website vendors offer contact databases, but they aren’t the best either, and the list goes on.

So, looks like we’ll just have to put up with the problem of where to store the contact information that should really be centralized to be effective.

One thing I was very happy to see is that Top Produceer has removed the “frame busters” from their forms in Top Producer 8i.  So, if you are a Top Producer user, you can now frame forms into your website.

No consolidation required - anyone who completes a form on your website will go directly into your Top Producer database.

I’m so excited.