Initial Training – Partnerships Tab

Partners can be anyone who works with you in your transactions for mortgage clients, including listing agents, buying agents, escrow officers, CPAs, insurance agents, and more. Each of your partners will have a unique record in the Partnerships tab of your BNTouch CRM, whether added manually or imported to your system. To access this list at any time, simply click the Partnerships Tab at the top of your screen.

Partners can take many forms; you can organize the Partnerships tab to find the records you need by changing the View Setting using the buttons in the upper-right. These include the Pipeline View, Group View, and Custom View.

To see your partners organized by the various relationship levels you have with them, use the Pipeline View button. In this view, records will be sorted into tabs at the top of the screen according to the stage that the partner is with your office, starting with “Biz Card Collected” to represent those you have just started working with. Clicking any of the stage names will show all partner records that are at that stage.

The “Interested,” “Active,” or “Preferred Partners” stages can represent those who bring you more and more business. The “Terminated” list can show partners you no longer work with by still want to keep information about, and the “Vendors” list can include partners that are not actually referral sources. “Family & Friends” aren’t necessarily partners, but you can include them as contacts to include them in campaigns or communications.

Alternatively, you can view partner records according to customized groups using the Group View. Instead of listing records by relationship status, this view will display records organized into various groups. Clicking any of the group names will show all partner records that have been added to that group. Your partners will still be in the appropriate pipeline sequence; the Group is an added modifier for your company’s organizational purposes.

The Custom View allows you to sort your partner records by fields of your choosing instead of by Group or Pipeline sequence. This view must be configured before it will display any records; to do so, simply click the “View Settings” button in this view. Here, you can choose which record field will display in the Custom View using the drop-down menus. When finished, click “Apply to Custom View.” Once saved, you will be able to click any of the field titles to view records that match the selected value for the custom field.

Partner records can be added to your BNTouch CRM in many ways. In addition to importing records from previous CRMs via ‘.csv files,’ you can also add records at any time by clicking the plus sign to the right of the Partnerships tab.

When adding new records, you can include as little or as much information as you like. You can add the new record to any relevant groups using the drop-down menu at the top of the page, and new groups can be created using the “Manage Groups” button. When finished entering partner information, click the “Add Record” button to create the new record.

No matter which view is used, several options will be available for each list of records in the Partnerships tab. The list of records can be reordered by clicking on any of the column headers. Any new records that haven’t been opened yet will appear in bold. Individual records can be opened and edited by clicking the Partner Name. Actions can be taken on multiple records at once by using the checkboxes to the left and the buttons above the record list. These include printing records, sending emails, starting or stopping marketing campaigns, assigning records to other users, and moving, merging, or deleting records.

You can search for any information in any record in your partner database by clicking the magnifying glass icon next to the Partnerships tab. By default, your last search criteria will automatically appear when you start a new search; if you want to reset these criteria, click the “Clear Search” button.

Several search options and criteria can be selected using the checkboxes to the left. Choose what parts of your CRM you want to search and enter the search terms in the boxes to the right. When finished, click the “Search Records” button. The search results will display in a list with the same options available as the Partner Record List. Additionally, you can download the currently displayed or full search results as a ‘.csv file’ using the buttons above the list.

When you open a partner’s file, you will quickly notice that each record has several tabs of information that you can add, edit, and use. To save any changes you make while editing a record, click the “Update Record” button at the top or bottom of the page.

The first sub-tab, Contact Info, contains basic information for the partner, including their contact information, second contact details, and social media links. The “Preferred Language” field can be set here to ensure they receive the most effective marketing material. A photo and logo can be uploaded for each record to personalize each partner in your CRM. These images can be used when sending co-branded marketing material.

In the Partnership Info sub-tab, data fields are organized into collapsible sections that can be expanded or hidden by clicking the section header. The current status of collapsed and expanded fields can be saved for the record using the “Save View” button at the top of the record.

The area to the right will be an overview of the record in your system. The green buttons can be used to opt the partner in or out for mailing, calling, emailing, or partner portal communication. The portal “Invite” link can be used to invite the partner to access their portal site. The buttons below can be used to instantly send an email, letter, or SMS message to the partner if you have the requisite modules enabled.

Any automated marketing campaigns that have triggered for this partner will be listed in the Campaigns sub-tab. Campaigns that have been manually added to the record will also appear. Depending on your user permissions, buttons will appear above the list that can be used to start new campaigns or remove pending ones. Individual campaigns can be paused or resumed by clicking the “Pause” and “Run” links to the right. To view the status of a campaign, simply click the campaign name.

The Tasks sub-tab will display any tasks that have been linked to this record. New tasks can be added for this partner by clicking the “Add Task” button. Existing tasks on the list can be rescheduled, marked “Done,” or canceled using the links to the right. Below, separate tabs are available for viewing pending tasks or all tasks for this partner. Tasks created here will appear in the “Tasks” panel of the Dashboard tab. When you create a task from a partner record, the task can be linked to that record.

Any mortgage records a partner has been involved with will be listed in the Participated sub-tab. Individual mortgages in this list can be searched using the “Borrower Name Search” above. Referral status can be noted by clicking the checkbox to the left of a borrower entry; these toggle between “None,” “To,” and “By.” Borrower records can be opened by clicking the “Borrower Name” links.

In the Documents sub-tab, files can be uploaded and managed for your own use. This list will show files that you and other users have uploaded regarding this partner. These files are not accessible by the partner via the partner portal, and they are not linked to any particular borrower.

New files can be uploaded using the “Add Document” button. A brief description can be entered, and the file will be added to the record list once you click the “Upload Files” button.

In the list, files can be downloaded by clicking the “File Name,” edited by clicking the pencil icon, or deleted using the “X” icon. Multiple files can be downloaded, deleted, shared, or given a status using the checkboxes to the left and the buttons above the list.

A Partner Portal is simply a secure website that your partners can access to keep up with the status of loans they are working on with you. To invite a partner to their portal site, open their record in the Partnerships tab and click the “Partnership Info” sub-tab. In the box to the right, click the “Invite” link near the “Portal” section. The partner will then be sent an email with information about accessing and using their new Partner Portal. This invite will not include the password; passwords are set in the “Contact Info” sub-tab for the partner and can be edited or sent to the partner separately for security purposes.

You can visit a partner’s individual portal site by clicking the “Click to Visit” link. The Partner Portal will have tabs at the top for navigation. The “Home” tab is used to log into the portal and introduce the partner.

Under the “Participated Transactions” tab, you can see any borrower transactions that this partner is involved with. By clicking the “Client’s Name” link, your partner can view the borrower information you have entered for the client in your “Mortgages” tab. Transactions that have already been funded will stay on this list, making it a valuable tool for your partners.

The “Property Sites” tab can be used to add and list individual properties the partner is selling. A unique URL will be created for each property, which can be sent to clients, added to websites, or otherwise used by the partner. Images, prices, details and descriptions of the property can be added to create a helpful webpage or print as a flyer

The “Submit New Lead” tab can be used by the partner to send lead information to your BNTouch CRM. Borrower information, partner participation, and comments entered here will automatically be entered in your “Mortgages” and “Partnerships” tab.

“My Info” will show any contact information, pictures, or logos you have added for the partner in your “Partnerships” tab. Partners can use the “Submit Feedback” field to send messages to your account.

To learn more about the tools, features, and options available in BNTouch, please continue with the rest of our Initial Training series. These articles and videos will walk you through each tab of your new CRM and show you common workflows you can use in your business. The next step in your Initial Training opens the door to the Marketing Tab, where you can design campaigns to send to your clients and partners.

To learn more about any particular feature, check out our training video library and online manual. You can access these at any time in the user menu in the upper-right corner of your screen.