Customer Success | Cardinal Realty Group

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Hal Hanstein

President

“When I started out in commercial real estate back in 2000, I saw straight away the importance of developing a database that was more than just a list of names, addresses and phone numbers in Outlook,” says Hal Hanstein.

“Luckily, the brokerage firm I joined was using Act! and that really opened my eyes to what was possible. Before that, I’d only kept contacts on a Rolodex, which I thought was the best thing since sliced bread until then. But Act! was something else.”

So not surprisingly, when he opened his own firm – the Cardinal Realty Group in St Louis – four years later, signing up to Act! was a priority for Hal.

“I’m in the people business,” says Hal, “where it’s a case of ‘who’ you know, not ‘what’ you know that matters. Your success depends on how well you connect people who want real estate with those who have what they’re looking for.”

If I didn’t have it, I’d be lost. I wouldn’t know where to turn. My Act! as a resource is worth at least $500,000 to me.

Act! makes me smarter than the average bear

Given his focus on creating connections, Hal’s database in Act! now holds over 15,500 contacts, and not just owners of warehouse space, storage yards, offices and development land, but also developers, attorneys, city officials, senators and other real estate brokers.

Together they form a repository of knowledge, filled with the information, insights and connections he needs to build the relationships that make deals happen.

“If I can remind someone what we talked about ten years ago, that makes them think I’m smarter than the average bear, when actually I’ve just been smart enough to invest in a database like this,” says Hal. “It’s the knowledge in Act!’s database that makes me who I am and it’s what makes me successful. It makes me feel like the Wizard of Oz who’s behind the curtain pulling levers. If I didn’t have it, I’d be lost. I wouldn’t know where to turn. I reckon that as a resource it’s worth at least $500,000 to me.”

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Act! is a living thing

For Hal, using Groups is key to getting the most from Act!. “When I’ve got a property or I’m looking for real estate, I always go straight to Groups to see who I know in a particular location that could help me. And if I need to get in touch with them, I can use Act! to really drill down into the detail, which is great for building relationships.

“But just like everything in life, if you don’t commit to Act!, you won’t get the most from it,” says Hal. “You have to treat Act! like a living resource that’s always evolving. For instance, every time you connect with one person, that can lead you to three or four more to go into your system.”

Given its importance to the business, Hal spends much of his day not just updating or searching through Act! but also building relationships by using Act! for email campaigns. “I’ve just sent out a targeted blast with a tailored message to my current clients about a new marketing website I’ve found.”

Aside from continually updating Act!’s database, Hal needs to tweak the system very little these days “other than adding a Group once in a blue moon.” But if he wants any insights into how he could get even more out of Act!, rather than spend time trying to puzzle things out on his own, he turns to Louise Wiedermann, an Act! Certified Consultant with Project Technology Consulting, LLC.

It’s the knowledge in Act!’s database that makes me who I am and it’s what makes me successful.

Act! has the flexibility needed

With the commercial real estate market constantly changing, sometimes suddenly and rapidly, Hal has to make sure his business is always ready to react and respond to a fast-changing marketplace. Act! offers Hal the flexibility he needs “like nothing else” .

In 2007 and 2008 he had to ‘reinvent’ his business when the financial crisis hit. “It was only when domestic investment in commercial real estate dried up that I realized I was actually working in a global economy, where it’s possible to do anything you want, anywhere you want. That’s when I began to connect with investors in China and Russia who wanted to do business in the US. The latest challenge to overcome, of course, is the fall in demand for retail space because of a move to shopping online, “but people want to go back in smaller shops in their neighbourhoods that offer specialized products and services they can’t get from Amazon.”

With more and more contacts being added to the database every day, Act! has helped take Hal a long way from his Rolodex past. “Act! is now my lifeblood,” says Hal. “Without it I certainly wouldn’t have the business I have. I’d just be just another guy out there trying to hustle.”

Key Takeaways

Hal’s database of over 15,500 contacts is absolutely vital to his business because it enables him to bring the right people together to make deals happen.
By using Groups in Act!, Hal can immediately home in on those with the expertise he needs, which is critical when, like Hal, you are doing business in half of America’s states.
By using Act!, Hal has all the details he needs at this fingertip, which reinforces his status as a commercial real estate professional at the top of his game when dealing with others.
Hal sees Act! as a living system that’s continually evolving and changing to keep his business responsive to a fast-changing marketplace.

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