Lesson 5 Contents
Lesson 5: myContacts ... 1 Your myContacts Dashboard ... 3 Importing Contacts ... 4 To import contacts using the Easy Wizard (Outlook, Top Producer or MyRedTools) ... 5 To import contacts using a template (any other system) ... 8 Checking the Status of Your Import Job ... 12 Adding Contacts Manually ... 14 Deleting a Contact Manually ... 16 Viewing Contact Records ... 18 Sending Seller's Reports ... 20 Creating Groups ... 22 Adding or Removing a Contact from a Group ... 24
Your myContacts Dashboard
1. Log in to mykw.kw.com and click myContacts > View Contacts on the eEdge control panel.
2. This will bring you to your Contacts dashboard, which lists all contacts in your database.
Importing Contacts
You can add a group of contacts into eEdge by queuing them for import. We’ll outline two ways of doing this—by way of the eEdge Easy Wizard and by use of a contact import template.
Before doing a bulk import into eEdge, take time to clean up your current database so you have the cleanest, most effective book of business possible. Continue using any existing Contact Management System as you become familiar with the eEdge system. New leads will be funneling in to help you get used to working in eEdge.
Important Notes:
You may include up to 10,000 rows per contact file that you import. You may import as many files per day as you wish. Please note, however, that in order to prevent the import wizard system from overloading, all import files—regardless of size or number of records—will be put into a queue to be imported.
We recommend uploading your contacts in groups (e.g., sellers, first time-home buyers, new to area, etc.) as you get started in eEdge. This will allow for a smooth transition into the system.
When preparing your contact file to be imported, please note that first name, last name are required.
eEdge will not allow more than one contact with the same email address, so be sure that each email address you import is unique.
If you are importing contacts from Outlook 2007 or Top Producer,or My Red Tools you can use the eEdge Easy Wizard.
If you are importing contacts from any other Contact Management System, you’ll first organize your contact file into a specific format, using a template called “Custom Import Template” on the Import Contacts page.
If you encounter issues while importing your contacts, contact eEdge Support by clicking Help and Support in the top right corner from anywhere within the eEdge system.
To import contacts using the Easy Wizard (Outlook, Top Producer or MyRedTools)
1. Export your contacts from Outlook, Top Producer or MyRedTools into a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file. The process for doing so will vary depending on the system you are using. Refer to your system’s documentation for the how-to.
Important Notes:
Use the default field mapping and do not add, edit, or delete any columns or column headers in the file. You may update the data in the rows that contain contact information, if desired.
Please review the file for contact information accuracy before importing.
Top Producer 8i provides two available export file formats that can be imported into eEdge—
“Contact record and all addresses and communications” OR “Contact record and all associated items.” Please export your contacts in one of these formats.
2. Click Import/Export on the myContacts dashboard.
3. On the Contacts > Import screen, complete the following by selecting from the drop-downs:
Step 1: (optional) Assign a group to the contacts you are about to import. This requires that you have created one or more groups using the Manage Groups feature. See page 59 for instructions on creating groups.
Step 2: Ensure that the contact status is set to “Active” (or any status other than “Lead”) to prevent eEdge from treating the contacts you import as leads, and subsequently sending the automatic email after twelve hours.
Step 3: Select either “Outlook 2007 CSV”, “Top Producer 8i”, or “My Red Tools” as the import file type.
4. Click Browse and navigate to the CSV file you exported from your Contact Management System.
6. You will immediately receive an “Information” or “Error” message, letting you know the status of your import request.
If you receive an “Information” message, your contacts are waiting in a queue to be imported. The time it takes for your contacts to import will vary depending on the size and number of rows in your CSV file.
Example of “Information” message:
If you receive an “Error” message, contact eEdge Support for assistance if you are unable to resolve the error on your own. The most common errors occur because of the following:
o The CSV file does not include all required columns and/or data.
o Columns are not in proper order in the CSV file.
Examples of “Error” messages:
To import contacts using a template (any other system)
1. Export your contacts from any Contact Management System into a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file. The process for doing so will vary depending on the system you are using. Refer to your system’s documentation for the how-to.
2. Download the ”Custom Import Template”
3. You will copy the data from the CSV file that you exported from your system into the template.
However, it is important that you do not remove or add any columns to the template, and you should not rename any columns; the structure of the template file must remain intact.
a. In Excel, open the CSV file with your contacts that you exported from your system. You will
Example of template (left) and your contact file (right) side by side in Excel:
b. Copy each column of data from your contact file and paste into the corresponding column in the template, one column at a time. Be sure you do not remove any columns from the template file, even if they do not contain any data.
c. When you have copied all of your data, save the template file. This is the file that you will import into eEdge.
4. Click Import/Export in the myContacts dashboard.
5. On the Contacts > Import screen, complete the following by selecting from the drop-downs:
Step 1: (optional) Assign a group to the contacts you are about to import. This requires that you have created one or more groups using the Manage Groups feature. See page 20 for instructions on creating groups.
Step 2: Ensure that the contact status is set to “Active” (or any status other than “Lead”) to prevent eEdge from treating the contacts you import as leads, and subsequently sending the automatic email after twelve hours.
Step 3: Select either “Custom CSV” as the import file type.
6. Click Browse and navigate to the template file saved on your Desktop.
7. Choose your CSV file and click Import.
8. You’ll immediately receive an “Information” or “Error” message, letting you know the status of your import request.
If you receive an “Information” message, your contacts are waiting in a queue to be imported. The time it takes for your contacts to import will vary, depending on the size of your CSV file.
Example of “Information” message:
If you receive an “Error” message, contact eEdge Support for assistance if you are unable to resolve the error on your own. The most common errors occur because of the following:
o The CSV file does not include all required columns and/or data.
o Columns are not in proper order in the CSV file.
Examples of “Error” messages:
Checking the Status of Your Import Job
If your contacts were successfully queued for import, you can check the status of your request by clicking Import/Export and looking at the Imported Jobs section.
If any of your contacts fail to import, this will be indicated in the Imported Jobs section.
1. Click the number under “Failed” to see the reason for the failure.
2. An Import Error Report will list the contacts that did not import and the specific error(s).
Your Turn!
1. Choose ten contacts from your current system.
2. Follow the directions in this lesson to import them into eEdge. If you get stuck, contact eEdge Support.
Adding Contacts Manually
In addition to importing groups of contacts, you can also add contacts one at a time, as you meet them.
1. From the myContacts dashboard, click Add Contact.
2. In the Contacts > Add a Contact window, fill out the person’s contact information.
Important Notes:
For each contact you add manually, first name, last name and email address are required.
Each contact must have a unique email address; eEdge will not allow more than one contact with the same email address.
If you have a lot of contacts without an email address, the best practice is to Import those contacts in a CSV file (which does not have this same email address requirement). We discussed importing contacts earlier in this Lesson.
There are several status categories you can choose from. We recommend the following:
LeadLeads who’ve just registered; you have not responded to them yet
RetryContacts you’re trying to engage
ActiveContacts who are “just looking” but are interactive
InactiveContacts who are not currently looking to buy
HotContacts who are ready to buy/sell now
SoldContacts you have just closed
Trash - Contacts who wish to be unsubscribed
Deleting a Contact Manually
It is recommended that you change the Status to “Trash” rather than deleting a contact. The reason is that there is not a way to retrieve contacts that you delete.
If you still wish to Delete a contact, follow these steps:
1. Go to the myContacts Dashboard.
2. Click on the contact (for the Detailed View). Under More Actions, click on Delete.
Filtering and Sorting Your Database
1. To filter by “Status” or “Groups,” click the drop-down and choose the category you want to filter by. To view all of your contacts, select All from the Status drop-down. myContacts includes several status types: Lead, Retry, Active, Inactive, Hot, Sold, and Trash.
2. You may also sort by any of the columns by clicking on that column header.
Your Turn!
Viewing Contact Records
1. To view a contact's information and history, click their name in the dashboard.
2. The contact record will show all the key information you need to take appropriate action. It will also list any comments, emails, reminders, and groups associated with their contact record.
(see next page)
3. Set a reminder to take action by choosing Add a Reminder.
Sending Seller's Reports
From your myContacts dashboard, you can easily send a Seller's Market Report to highlight the services you provide as an agent and help a contact who wants to sell a house understand what the house might be worth in the current market.
1. Click on Seller's Market Report.
2. Enter the required information and choose to either print or email.
3. Choose up to three comparable listings from the list returned and click Continue.
4. This creates a report which includes a message from you and information on the
comparable properties.
Creating Groups
Groups allow you to target campaigns to a specific subset of individuals with a shared interest or common outcome. For example, you may have a group of individuals who all live in one neighborhood, or who are all real estate investors. Creating groups makes it easy to use myMarketing to set up automated campaigns!
1. Click Manage Groups.
2. Create a group for the campaign you are setting up. Now you have a group, but no contacts are in the group.
Your Turn!
1. Create a Seller’s Report for yourself and email it. (You should have registered yourself as a lead in your eEdge website in Lesson 4. If not, do so now.)
2. Check your email and see how it looks!
3. Go Back to the Contacts Page and select the ones you want to add to the group. Then click on Add Groups and select the one that you just setup. Finalize by clicking on the red Add button.
Now you will be able to easily filter your database by group. You can also now easily set the group up on a campaign using myMarketing (see “Lesson 7: myMarketing” in this guide).