What do we do when a Prospect has moved?
This Article covers how to handle a Change of Property Ownership and how to know if you need to obtain a new Address for a Previous Customer. In this Article we discuss why it is NOT a best practice to change the Prospect's First and Last Name to the new Homeowner.
NOTE: The Fields shown in this Article are available only in the 2019 version of improveit 360's Supportworks Package. This customization can be added to any improveit 360 system, as an Advanced Service.
Why can't we simply change the Prospect's Name to the new Owner?
If using an Accounting software integration, a Prospect record is attached to a Customer record in QuickBooks. You would not want a Prospect’s payment history to be “replaced” with just a new Homeowner’s name. It could lead your team to believe that a customer had paid you tens of thousands of dollars, when in reality it was the previous homeowner that your company had a relationship with.
The second reason that changing the Prospect’s Name to a new homeowner is a bit dangerous is if you use a Payment Processing Integration (like PaySimple). The customer’s Payment Methods (credit cards) are tied to that Prospect record. When a new Sale is made, the most recent credit card used by that Prospect is the default Payment Method. The former homeowner could accidentally be charged for the new homeowner’s project. Instead, we recommend using these Fields in the address section of the Prospect page listed below:
- Moved Change of Address
- New Owner of Existing Property
- Warranty from Previous Homeowner
- Previous Homeowner
- Warranty Sale
Are there any benefits to using this method of tracking Address Changes?
Yes! This method allows your company to create “Change of Address” Call Campaigns. If the checkbox “Moved Change of Address” is TRUE, your company knows you need to call the Prospect, obtain their new address and inquire if their new property might need any services provided by our company.
How do we use these Fields?
When a new homeowner calls in, search the Address and locate the Previous Homeowner. Take note if their Sale is covered under a transferrable Warranty. Follow these steps:
1. Create a new Prospect for the New Homeowner (capturing email, phone etc.) and check the box for “New Homeowner of Existing Property”. Use the “Warranty Sale” field to link a previous sale for that Property and check the box for “Warranty from Previous Homeowner” if the Warranty is transferrable to the new property owner. Next use the “Previous Homeowner” field to link the Previous owner to the new Prospect. This will allow users to quickly navigate to old Job Drawings, photos, notes and attachments associated with the Previous Homeowner. The New Homeowner's Prospect Address Information section will look like this:
2. Next go to old homeowner’s Prospect record, check “Moved Change of Address.” Then DELETE all Address fields from their Prospect page. By using the checkbox for “Moved Change of Address”, these Prospects can flow into a Call Campaign to prompt our staff to call and obtain an updated address and inquire if there is any work they might need at their new property. Here is an example of what the Original Homeowner record would look like, before you've obtained their new Address:
3. Once we have reached the previous property owner and obtained their new Address, we'll input their address and Uncheck the "Moved Change of Address" checkbox so this Prospect no longer qualifies for our any of our "Change of Address" Call Campaigns. The Prospect's record would look like the example below, and our company is ready to schedule an Appointment at their new property!
