# Real estate CRM > Customer relationship management software built for agents: one place for contacts, leads, conversations, follow-up and deals, so everyone in your database has a history and every lead gets a next step. Also called: CRM, customer relationship management, real estate CRM software. Topic: For agents. A good CRM answers one question every morning: who should I talk to today, and why? Everything else, from [lead sources](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#lead-source) to deals, feeds that answer. ## What does a real estate CRM do? At its core, a CRM is your database of people with a history attached to each one: every call, text, email, note and showing. Real estate CRMs add what agents need on top of that: leads from your website and the portals, pipeline stages from new lead to closed, and reminders for the dates that matter, like birthdays and home anniversaries. Most also handle follow-up. A [drip campaign](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/drip-campaign) keeps a new lead or a past client hearing from you on a schedule, and a daily list tells you who needs a call. ## How is a CRM different from a spreadsheet or your phone’s contacts? A spreadsheet holds names. It doesn’t remind you, it doesn’t log what was said, and it can’t tell you that a lead from last Tuesday never got a reply. A CRM tracks the time since your last touch with each person, so nobody in your [sphere](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#sphere-of-influence) goes a year without hearing from you. It also keeps the record when things change. If you join a [team](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#real-estate-team) or switch brokerages, an export of your contacts and their history can go with you, as long as your agreements allow it. ## What should agents look for in a CRM? Start with how leads get in. Website forms, portal lead emails and imports should land in one inbox, matched to existing contacts so you don’t create duplicates. Then check how fast you’ll know: good [speed to lead](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/speed-to-lead) depends on an alert that reaches you within seconds. Next, follow-up you’ll actually use. Automations should pause when someone replies, and texting should respect [consent rules](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/tcpa-consent) and carrier registration under [A2P 10DLC](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/a2p-10dlc). Finally, the deal. When a client goes under contract, the same record should carry the [transaction](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/transaction-management): dates, documents and signatures. ## What do teams and brokerages need on top of that? Teams need a login for every agent, clear rules on who sees which contacts, and [lead routing](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/lead-routing) so new leads reach the right person fast. Brokerages add questions of ownership: which leads belong to the company, and what happens to them when an agent leaves. Reporting matters more at this level, too. Lead source, response time and conversion by agent show a team lead where the business really comes from. ## Common mistakes - Importing every contact you’ve ever had without tags or stages, then never opening the CRM again. - Running follow-up that keeps sending after someone replies. - Paying for features you won’t set up. Start with the inbox and a daily list, then add automations. - Leaving deal details in email threads instead of on the client’s record. ## Questions ### Do solo agents need a CRM? Once you have more people than you can keep track of from memory, yes. Even a small sphere benefits from reminders and a record of every conversation. ### What’s the difference between a CRM and transaction management software? A CRM tracks people and follow-up before and after a deal. Transaction management tracks the deal itself: contract dates, documents and signatures. Some platforms do both on one record. ### Can I move my contacts from one CRM to another? Usually, by exporting a spreadsheet and importing it into the new system. Notes and history don’t always come along, so check what the export includes before you switch. ## Related terms - [Lead routing](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/lead-routing): The rules that decide which agent gets each new lead, by source, area, price or rotation, so every inquiry has an owner the moment it arrives. - [Drip campaign](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/drip-campaign): A planned series of emails, texts or call reminders that goes out on a schedule after someone is enrolled, such as a new lead or a past client, until they reply or you stop it. - [Speed to lead](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/speed-to-lead): The time between a new lead’s inquiry and your first real reply by call, text or email. The shorter it is, the more likely you reach the person before another agent does. - [Transaction management](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/transaction-management): Keeping each deal organized from accepted offer to closing: contract dates and deadlines, documents and signatures, tasks and the people involved, usually in software the agent, team and brokerage share. - [Sphere of influence](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#sphere-of-influence): The people you already know: friends, family, neighbors, past clients and business contacts. For many agents it’s the steadiest source of repeat business and referrals. - [Lead scoring](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#lead-scoring): Ranking leads by how likely they are to buy or sell soon, using what they do, like visiting your site, saving homes or replying, so you call the most active people first. ## Sources - [FTC, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business) - [47 U.S.C. 227, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (Cornell LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/227) - [15 U.S.C. 7001, the ESIGN Act (Cornell LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7001) Checked 2026-10-02 by the Broker & Agent team. General information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Source: https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/real-estate-crm