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Real estate databases can be an emotive subject. Most people hate them. Some are passionate about them. Very few people use them effectively. The following tips provide ten basic steps to get the most from your database.

(1) Understand your business plan pipeline. A database can be used to automate or simplify many of your routine tasks and enable you manage your pipeline efficiently therefore must absolutely understand your pipeline before implementing a database. You must use the database to support you. You should not blindly follow a database.

(2) Understand what information you need. Decide what information you need in order to service the pipeline effectively. Then capture this information and no more. It is very difficult to find the missing bits of information later and you do not want to spend half your time entering data that you will never use.

(3) Classify the information to fit your pipeline. Some people have very detailed classification systems and use these effectively. However most people do not need much more than a basic system to service their needs. For most people two types of buyer may be enough i.e. 'Buyer' and 'Hot Buyer'. Others may have five or six categories of buyers to fit into very specific marketing campaigns.

(4) Own the information. Make the accuracy of the information and keeping it updated your responsibility. It is not something that you give to an assistant using scraps of paper with your rough notes on it. The accuracy and usefulness of the information will have a direct relation to your involvement.

(5) Protect your investment. By using a data base you are putting all of your eggs in one basket. Be sure to back up regularly and make sure that your can restore the system from the backups.

(6) Test and improve. Just like the way you need to constantly review and update your marketing campaigns, you also need to test and improve the systems within the database. Maybe you need to refine the classification systems and add extra categories etc.

(7) Keep it simple. Sales people need the information at their finger tips, they are not database analysts. Don't get carried away with the technology - keep it simple and let it work for you.

(8) Keep it current. The information is your lifeblood, the better the quality and the more reliable, the more it will work for you.

(9) Keep it flexible. Try to avoid locking the whole system down to a very rigid setup. Things will change and you will need to modify your systems to fit. You do not want to constraint your sales pipeline to fit the limitations of the database.

(10) Keep it real. The database is simply a tool to make your sales job easier. Don't get carried away with the technology.