Evaluating a new software for your business isn’t effortless. Equipping yourself with the right set of questions will help you cut through the crowd of vendors and efficiently come to a clear decision on when and how to work with a new technology partner. This 45-minute discussion was led by a team with 18+ years of experience in real estate software. AppFolio Industry Principal Michael Sebastian and AppFolio Enterprise Partnership Expert Mark Sizemore shared the software evaluation framework to help you determine which technology will provide the support to help you manage change.

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How to
Choose the
Right CRE
Technology
Partner
Capital Insights

2. 2 2022 © AppFolio, Inc. Confidential
Industry Principal
Mike Sebastian
Presenter
Enterprise Partnerships
Mark Sizemore
Presenter

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Q&A

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Relationship
Management
(CRM)
Efficiently manage
relationships and
interactions with your
investors within a robust
CRM system.
Investment
Management
Promote new offerings,
track interest of prospective
investors and manage
active investments.
Investor Portal
Investors have easy 24/7
access to a dashboard
summarizing important
investment information.

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CRE needs tech to thrive
and the pandemic
expedited need for digital
change.

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Don’t want to change
business operations
Limited amount of
resources
Too much time to
implement
Security & privacy
After talking
to hundreds
of General
Partners…
Here are their most common concerns
when evaluating software.

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What to look for in a
good technology
partner
01

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Stability
Software is consistent,
reliable and always works
Longevity
Been in the space and have
a strong track record of
success
Develops a unique approach
for each customer’s needs
Every evaluation is different and
should be treated accordingly
Focuses on product
growth
Being able to support the
current business goals and
challenges, but also scale
Can listen and adapt
quickly
Take feedback and put it to
action
Provides benefits that directly
impact your bottom line
How does the software save time
and increase productivity
Attributes of a valuable
technology partner

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On average, 92% of our
surveyed customers
save 5 to 16 hours +
per quarter while
collecting contributions
with AppFolio IM.
On average, our
surveyed customers
cited that it takes 59%
less time for them to
fundraise for new deals
after using AppFolio IM.
On average, our
surveyed customers
cited that it takes 87%
less time for them to
gather signatures from
their investors after
using AppFolio IM.
69% of our surveyed
customers cited that
they saved 4 to 10+
hours per deal during
fundraising after using
the Investor Portal.
Benefits of Tech Partner
On average, our
surveyed customers are
saving ~27 hours per
month after using
AppFolio IM.
On average, 90% of our
surveyed customers
save 5 to 16 hours+
per quarter during
distribution calculations
with AppFolio IM.

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Framework for
evaluating software
02

11. Steps for
Evaluation
NEW
Define your goals and criteria
Develop questions based on your goals
Identify your internal stakeholders and
decision makers
Evaluate your chosen options and make a
decision
Begin implementation process
01
02
03
04
05

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Reduce use of spreadsheets
and disjointed documents
Reduce operational
costs and overhead
Reduce multiple
systems into a single
system
Meet new investor demands
for transparency and access
Ease of
communication with
investors
Capture data in a single
database for better reporting
and more security
Define your
goals and
criteria

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○ How does it help me manage all my deals
and keep track of who’s investing in what?
○ What software can I reduce usage of or
eliminate in favor of increased automation?
○ How can my team and my investors
access our information?
○ Does it integrate well with my email?
○ How easily can I manage e-signatures and
payments?
○ How will this help me save time and reduce
operational costs?
○ How does it manage my waterfalls?
○ Will the portal work for my needs?
Questions to ask based
on your goals

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Evaluation Process
Establish contact
with your Account
Executive and share
your business goals
Meet with your
Account Executive
and Software Expert
to see how the
software will meet
your expectations
Product
demonstration with
your chosen
stakeholders
Discuss final pricing
and sign contract
Begin
implementation
process
01 02 03 04 05

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Adoption,
onboarding, and
change management
03

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Payments
enabled! Live with
Investor Portal
Onboarding
complete!
Onboarding Project Milestones
Begin payments
onboarding
Kickoff
Onboarding Team
Core Data Review
Onboarding Team
Account Configuration
Onboarding Team
Financial Data Review
Onboarding Team
Introduction
Customer Care
Onboarding Wrap-Up
Onboarding Team
Early Usage Stage
Core Data Migration
Complete Initial
Product Training
Customer Care Team
Validate &
Complete Data
Provide Data Validate &
Complete Data
Access to
Investment
Management
Financial Migration
Project Calls
Deliverables
Milestones

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Invite and
Communicate
+ Invite your
investors to the
Portal
+ Email investors
+ Distribute
documents
Fundraise
+ Promote new
offerings
+ Raise capital
+ Track interest
+ Collect online
signatures
Calculate
+ Waterfall
+ Performance
metrics
Setup Complete
Disburse
+ Manage
Distribution
details

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Assisting your LPs with
a seamless transition
Investor Portal Guide
ᐩ No disruption to your LPs
ᐩ Step-by-step instructions
ᐩ Simple setup process

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Investor Portal
A digital portal that strengthens your brand
reputation and provides your investors with
on-demand access to important financial
information - any time, any where, on any device.
● Real-time investment data
● Share tax forms & reports
● Promote new offerings
● Inform investors of dispositions
● Review performance metrics and track historical
contributions & distributions
● + more…

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Product Training
Live and
on-demand training
to get you
confidently using
the software.
Online Help Center
24/7 access to
extensive
help resources
for all users.
Customer Support
Unlimited,
responsive support.
(5am - 5pm PT)
(8am - 8pm ET)
Ongoing support + service
Success Manager
Dedicated Success
Manager to help you
get the most out of
your investment and
reach your goals
faster.

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Looking Ahead

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Relationship
Management
(CRM)
Efficiently manage
relationships and
interactions with your
investors within a robust
CRM system.
Investment
Management
Promote new offerings,
track interest of prospective
investors and manage
active investments.
Investor Portal
Investors have easy 24/7
access to a dashboard
summarizing important
investment information.

23. Thank you ✌
Interested in learning more?
Contact us at mark.sizemore@appfolio.com