Here are our picks for the best free real estate CRM platforms of 2022:

7 Best Free Real Estate CRMs of 2022

Now that we’ve explored who each CRM is best suited for, let’s dig into each one in a little more detail.

Best Overall Free Real Estate CRM: Insightly

Insightly is a real estate CRM that packs a ton of optimum features into its free product, many of which help Realtors organize contacts and leads, as well as set up email campaigns and an outreach schedule.

Free for solo users or teams of two, the Insightly system is contact-based and task-oriented, making it the perfect tool to create to-do lists for each of your contacts (something Insightly calls “projects”). Then you can start checking off those tasks.

Best Insightly Feature for Real Estate Agents: Robust Analytics

Where Insightly Comes Up Short: Overall Customization & Support

Insightly Upgrade Options

Final Thoughts on Insightly

There is a lot to do on Insightly’s free CRM platform—enough to keep most real estate agents busy for quite a while before needing to upgrade. Because Insightly is so dense with options, it can take a little time to get up to speed, but once you do, this is a free real estate CRM that boosts accountability and data-driven decision-making.

Check Out Insightly

Best Free Real Estate CRM for an Integrated CRM / Marketing Experience: IXACT Contact

IXACT Contact is a premium real estate CRM that is actually on our list of the best (paid) real estate CRMs of 2022, so why is it also here? Because IXACT Contact offers “rookie Realtors” SIX MONTHS FREE (to anyone who’s had their license for a year or less). Plus, IXACT offers a full five-week trial for anyone interested in trying the platform, regardless of how long they’ve been licensed. 

They are easily the most robust and sophisticated platform on our list, and the only reason they’re not our best overall choice is that they aren’t free forever. Still, if you’re a new Realtor and looking for a free CRM, you can’t get a significantly better deal than the one offered by IXACT Contact.

Best IXACT Contact Feature for Real Estate Agents: Keep In Touch Dashboard

Where IXACT Contact Comes Up Short: Only Free for a Limited Time

IXACT Contact Upgrade Options

Final Thoughts on IXACT Contact

Even though IXACT Contact isn’t free forever, it is definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re a new agent and looking for your first tool. They have a powerful, real estate-specific CRM. They offer many attractive features if you want to upgrade your experience, and you don’t need to sign a contract to use IXACT Contact. Also, if you’re going to try out the paid version for a month or two, you can do so without penalty.

If you want to read more about IXACT Contact, make sure you check out our full-length review, or just click below to visit their site and get started.

Check Out IXACT Contact

Best Free Real Estate CRM for Phone & Text: Freshsales CRM

Sometimes one of the most frustrating parts of a free real estate CRM platform is that communication options only start to ramp up when you upgrade to a more robust, paid plan. Not so with Freshsales CRM. You can send emails, SMS text messages, and even route phone calls to yourself and your team on this platform—all on their Free Forever plan (called “Sprout”).

Users have the option to upgrade their CRM to a paid version, unlocking a whole host of new abilities. As part of the Freshsales ecosystem, users can seamlessly integrate Freshsales into other products like Freshcaller, Freshmarketer, and Freshconnect.

Best Freshsales CRM Feature for Real Estate Agents: Email, Texting & Phone Integrations

Where Freshsales CRM Comes Up Short: No Communication Automation Options

Freshsales CRM Upgrade Options

Final Thoughts on Freshsales CRM

With so many ways to enhance this platform, whether they be paid add-ons or upgrades to the next level of services, users of the Freshsales CRM Free Forever plan have all sorts of room to grow in their business. But, that doesn’t mean that the free version of Freshsales CRM isn’t helpful, efficient, and easy to use.

Although this isn’t a real estate-specific CRM, it works very well in the real estate space and should be strongly considered by any real estate agent in the market for a new CRM.

Check Out Freshsales CRM

Best Free Real Estate CRM for Customization: HubSpot

HubSpot is another CRM with a buzz-worthy free option. Unlike the task-oriented platform of Insightly, HubSpot’s bread and butter are the ways it enables conversations with your contacts.

HubSpot’s communication focus really shines with its contact outreach options. HubSpot integrates with your email provider, allowing agents to email straight from a contact’s profile. You can schedule emails and use HubSpot’s real-time email analytics to track when your contacts are opening your messages, and what they’re doing with them after they open them.

With a paid upgrade, you can also make calls straight from your dashboard, take notes on all your interactions, and even invite your contacts to schedule appointments with you using their Google Calendar integration.

Overall, this is an excellent platform for agents who want a customized communication experience with each of their contacts. If you thrive on details, HubSpot is a great choice.

Best HubSpot Feature for Real Estate Agents: Customization

Where HubSpot Comes Up Short: Email Automation

HubSpot Upgrade Options

Final Thoughts on HubSpot

Overall, HubSpot is a fantastic product that would benefit any real estate business. We’re excited to have it on the list. Its free option gives real estate professionals many of the tools they need to execute on their goals. Is it perfect? No, but for a free CRM, you get a lot of value here.

Check Out HubSpot

Best Free Real Estate CRM for Pipeline & Deal Tracking: RealOffice360

RealOffice360 is a platform designed specifically for real estate agents, something unique among the offerings in the free CRM space. 

Their lead profiles are designed to ask specific questions real estate agents want to know the answers to—things like, “When did you buy your home?” and “Are you prequalified for a mortgage? If so, through who?” RealOffice360 also has a handy pipeline feature to visually track your clients’ progress and a Goals tracker specific to the real estate industry that is also very helpful.

Truth be told, RealOffice360 is a very helpful tool. While they aren’t doing anything necessarily innovative (we’ve seen every single one of these features before) and do lack some of the full-throated functionality of a paid platform, this is definitely worth looking at for the price.

Best RealOffice360 Feature for Real Estate Agents: Opportunity Tracker

Where RealOffice360 Comes Up Short: Virtually No Marketing

RealOffice360 Upgrade Options

Final Thoughts on RealOffice360

The RealOffice360 free real estate CRM is a unique offering in this space. Yes, this is a platform designed for real estate agents specifically. One of the challenges with many options on this list is that they are intended for general sales professionals and lack some specificity necessary for ideal functionality.

RealOffice360 is an excellent toolkit for tech-savvy real estate professionals who want a tool that can streamline their process. Its attractive platform makes it a pleasure to use. While it will do just fine as a database tool and even a pipeline management tool, it doesn’t provide many of the higher-level marketing functionalities most agents expect from a CRM in 2022.

But, since this platform has a completely free-forever-no-credit-card-required option, you can try it out yourself today to see if it works for you.

Check Out RealOffice360

Best CRM for Seasoned, Data-driven Agents: Agile CRM

CRMs that don’t adapt well to the real estate industry are often more trouble than they’re worth, but that isn’t the case with Agile CRM. The free version of Agile CRM is flexible and customizable thanks to all their dashboards and interfaces, where you can apply your own labels and create your own custom workflows.

However, it’s not all good news; this customization requires a lot of time and effort, something not every agent is looking for. 

That being said, the dashboard and interface are slick and modern, clearly designed with non-computer experts in mind. Agile CRM calls their interface “consumer-grade,” which translates to “everything here is intuitive and easy to use on day one.”

Best Agile CRM Feature for Real Estate Agents: Social Media Integrations

Where Agile CRM Comes Up Short: Confusing Features Availability

Agile CRM Upgrade Options

Final Thoughts on Agile CRM

Agile CRM is an ideal free product to kick things up a notch. Its many features really shine through in a real estate setting. However, the thing that most excites us about this product is upgrading it. Don’t get me wrong—there is a lot of utility in the free version—but the upgrade is so inexpensive and opens up so many doors. Agile CRM is a good choice for you if you’re growing and plan to take your CRM to the next level someday soon.

Check Out Agile CRM

Best Free Real Estate CRM for Teams: Bitrix24

If you’re on a real estate team, you know that teams need things like lead distribution and team accountability—things that individual agents don’t.

Bitrix24 is a team communication and collaboration platform that offers, among many things, a CRM that converts easily to the real estate space. This platform helps you keep your team moving in the right direction for clients, projects, contacts, even neighborhoods. 

On the free plan, up to 12 users can access almost the entire platform. The only limitation is online storage space. On the free plan, users get up to 5GB of storage on the Bitrix24 server—space that gets gobbled up fast since this is a software as a service (SaaS) provider, and nothing is stored locally.

Even though Bitrix24 definitely has outreach and marketing tools, it’s clear right from the get-go that Bitrix24’s main strength is as an INTERNAL CRM for your team to ensure everyone is in the right place, at the right time—and then some.

Best Bitrix24 Feature for Real Estate Agents: CRM + Internal Team Management

Where Bitrix24 Falls Short: 100% Cloud-based

Bitrix24 Upgrade Options

Final Thoughts on Bitrix24

The CRM for Bitrix24 is fairly basic compared to other inclusions on our list. However, nobody else provides such a unified, internally focused structure. If you’ve got a big team and you’re having a hard time getting them all to point in the same direction at once, Bitrix24 might be a good option to try.

Check Out Bitrix24

(Nearly) Free CRMs Worth Mentioning

OK, so they aren’t totally free, but the following three CRM options are really great and so close to free that you need to hear about them. You can also read our Best Real Estate CRM article for a full list of the best paid real estate CRMs, starting at just $25 a month.

LionDesk

Recently named The Close’s Best Real Estate CRM of 2022, LionDesk is a nimble, feature-packed real estate CRM that is easy to start using on day one. New LionDesk customers can try out their entire platform risk-free for 30 days to see if it’s right for them, and if they decide to continue as a client, plans start as low as $21 a month.

Check Out LionDesk

Propertybase

There aren’t many products that can stand up to the platform that Propertybase has built. With a starting price of $89 per month, Propertybase isn’t the cheapest CRM provider on the market, but in our opinion, it is definitely the best. It offers a two-week, full-featured free trial with no obligation or credit card required.

Check Out Propertybase

Placester

Most real estate agents know Placester as a purveyor of IDX websites. Many people don’t know, unless you read the fine print of your National Association of Realtors (NAR) membership docs, that anyone who is a part of the National Association of Realtors is eligible for a basic website and lead capture system from Placester.

If you want to upgrade to the first paid plan, there is a CRM included as well. We recently featured Placester in our article 5 Clever Real Estate Landing Pages That Convert Like Crazy. Check it out to learn a little more about what it has to offer.

Check Out Placester

Bringing It All Together

If you are ready to move beyond the limits of how many names and addresses you can hold in your head and into a new world of communication automation, contact management, and ultimately, a better bottom line, then you need a CRM. Of all the free CRMs we reviewed, Insightly delivered the best features with the most efficient systems and provided the greatest value.

Try Insightly

The post The 7 Best Free Real Estate CRMs of 2022 appeared first on The Close.

Did we mention that the LionDesk CRM starts at only $21 per month, or that we rated it our number one pick for CRMs for 2022? Check out our in-depth review of the LionDesk CRM or jump to their website for a free 30-day trial. No credit card required—you just sign up and get started.

Visit LionDesk

Under the Hood: Chris Linsell’s Video Tour of LionDesk

You can read our complete analysis or see the product in action for yourself. Chris Linsell, Senior Writer and Real Estate Coach here at The Close, takes you on a personal tour and review of LionDesk in this video.

Organization, Outreach & Nurturing: What More Do You Need?

LionDesk’s goal is to give agents, teams, and brokerages one simple tool for organization, lead generation, and lead nurturing. On paper, this sounds pretty simple—obvious, even. However, many software companies offer a Swiss army knife—a bloated tool with a dozen blades and implements, none of which work very well.

We won’t name names, but many turnkey customer relationship management (CRM) systems include integrated blog publishing, IDX websites—everything but the proverbial kitchen sink. Some platforms manage to pull off being all things to all real estate agents, but they charge accordingly. Products like these cost anywhere from $250 to $1,500 per month. LionDesk’s CRM costs only $21 per month.

LionDesk Is Best For:

LionDesk Might Not Be Best For:

How Much Does LionDesk Cost?

Amazingly, LionDesk is affordable for any serious agent and has increased its offerings and features. For just $21 per month, you’ll get almost all of the features highlighted in this article. For additional features, LionDesk offers a Pro+ package for $42 per month, and their Elite package for $83 per month.

Conveniently, you can keep the low, flat monthly rate of $21 per month and opt for a few add-ons, which are individually priced. That way, you don’t pay for what you don’t use. LionDesk add-ons include Facebook ad design and implementation tools, cold-calling power dialers, and custom landing pages

Our 3 Favorite LionDesk CRM Features

1. Ease of Use

When you first launch LionDesk from your browser, you’ll land in the dashboard. If you’ve ever used a CRM before, this will feel right at home. LionDesk’s intuitive interface makes for a mild learning curve, so you can jump in and get started right away.

On the left, you have a simple, easy-to-read menu bar that gives you a quick shortcut to the main functions of LionDesk. 

To the right, you have the “Vitals” view, which offers a quick snapshot of how you’re doing in your outreach efforts. It keeps a running tally of outgoing and incoming calls, texts, and emails. The Vitals section is customizable so you can pick and choose what’s most important to you.

The Vitals dashboard is a visual way to encourage agents to push past their comfort zones and take their businesses to the next level. Only called three leads this week? You’ll see that number every time you log in to your LionDesk CRM.

You also can view recent contact activity, tasks due, a visualization of expected total sales, and your activity for the year.

Your dashboard is highly customizable, which is ideal since no two real estate businesses are the same. The interface is clean and simple, not packed with distracting colors and graphs, which allows you to focus on the essential information and tasks. 

2. Tools for Getting & Staying Organized 

If you click over to the Contacts tab, you can quickly add or edit a current contact, bulk upload contacts from another platform with a CSV file, or directly import your contacts from platforms like Gmail.

When you click on a contact, you get a wealth of information: emails they’ve last opened, previous calls or texts, and as much biographical or deal data as you have on your leads. The information is tucked behind accordions, so while it’s all there, looking at a contact is not overwhelming.

You can add custom fields for your contacts, such as how many children they have, their dog’s name, their favorite baseball team, or their credit score. All of this granular data comes in handy when it’s time for client outreach.

From this contact card, you can directly email or text your lead, and even call them directly. Hit that little phone icon and your cell phone rings, connecting you. You can also add activities and tasks, and include the contact in a campaign.

3. Outreach: Bulk Emails, Texts, Calls & Video

Outreach in the LionDesk CRM is straightforward. You can either click to call, text, or email individual contacts, or send bulk emails, texts, and video, based on your campaign strategy.

You can even set rules for leads from various sources. For example, you can set LionDesk to trigger a specific text message or video text message and send it to leads from Facebook ads.

LionDesk has 12 campaigns already built and ready for action, including drip campaigns for closed clients, home valuation, and general campaigns, both long and short for perspective sellers.

Bulk Emails

LionDesk makes it easy to send bulk emails to your contacts. For example, you can blast out a new listing to buyers, a quick intro to new contacts, or even a holiday video to your entire list.

Bulk Texts

If you want the higher open and response rates you get from texting, LionDesk lets you set up mass text campaigns just as easily as email campaigns. Send out that new pocket listing to your hottest buyer leads through a quick text. Oh, and you can send video texts right from LionDesk as well.

Video Emails & Texts

One of the coolest features is the ability to record and send video directly from the platform and send it out to your leads via email or text messages.

Since texts get high open and response rates and videos are more personal, why not combine the two and text out a walk-through of that pocket listing before it even hits the market?

Visit LionDesk for a Free Trial

Additional LionDesk Features

LionDesk’s AI Lead Assist

We don’t have flying cars quite yet, but we do technically live in the future now. I guess it was only a matter of time before a CRM like LionDesk harnessed the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to help you qualify leads. Her name is Gabby.

AI lead nurturing isn’t exactly new, but it has taken a few years for both the technology to mature and for people to be OK with it. While people prefer to speak with an actual person on the phone, we have grown accustomed to dealing with AI chatbots like LionDesk’s Gabby—both online and in text messages.

The technology is pretty complicated, but the way it works for you is simple. The AI is smart enough to recognize key trigger words like “buying” or “relocating,” and will respond with more questions to help gain information from your lead. In the example above, Gabby even uses peppy emojis in a natural way. 

Gabby isn’t free, though. You’ll need a Pro+ account to get her to qualify leads for you. Even so, $42 a month is a small price to pay for AI and all the other features available in the Pro+ package.

Document & Transaction Management 

If you’re the type of agent who tends to accumulate PDFs (and who isn’t?), you can store documents right in LionDesk and access them from everywhere. 

The LionDesk CRM offers basic transaction management features to track deals, organize documents, and communicate with clients and other parties. While this is not a fully featured accounting package, it gets the job done. If you’re already using Dotloop or another software, LionDesk has an integration that lets you plug them right into your workflow.

Integrations & Lead Importing = Extra Customization

Speaking of integrations, LionDesk is an open API, making it easy for other companies to plug in their software and stay compatible. For example, you can auto-import leads from Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, and Zip Realty—or set up blended campaigns for tips from each source. You can also pull in leads directly from Facebook, as LionDesk is an approved Facebook CRM partner.

You can fully customize your LionDesk experience by integrating the software you use for accounting, transaction management, and marketing. Linked to companies from Zurple to Agent Shield, the list of LionDesk integrations is massive and constantly growing. Click here for the latest.d

Leveling Up: LionDesk Pro+, Elite & Additional Packages

Text-2-Sell

Text-2-Sell is one of the more unique features LionDesk offers in the Pro+ package. Using the provided personal LionDesk phone number, you can encourage leads to text you to ask for more information about a listing, a special buyer’s guide, a foreclosure list, or pretty much anything else.

Once a lead sends a text, LionDesk automatically responds and captures the lead’s phone number and contact information, adding it to your database.

This is perfect for sign riders, flyers, or postcards when you want to track the effectiveness of your ads and get phone numbers instead of emails.

Landing Pages

LionDesk recently added the ability to create landing pages that will capture and integrate lead information. You can use one of their many templates and customize it with the easy-to-use, drag-and-drop design tool for an additional cost. 

The pages are quick loading, search engine optimized (SEO), and mobile responsive. The landing page bundle is either $29 per month or $289 annually.

The Power Dialer

LionDesk’s power dialer will let you upload and cruise through a list of FSBO or expired listings in one power session. While cold calling isn’t for everyone, you can also use this feature to follow up with your sphere of influence monthly to shake up some referrals.

That said, the power dialer is not included in LionDesk’s already very tempting base price, as not every agent will need or want it. Instead, they offer the Power Dialer for serious cold callers for $99 to $149 per month, depending on whether you want single or multiple lines.

Facebook Ad Partnership

One of the dirty secrets of online advertising is that Facebook’s Ads Manager is horrible. It’s needlessly complicated, difficult to navigate, and an all-around pain to use—even for professional pay-per-click (PPC) marketers.

LionDesk used to provide Facebook ad design in-house. However, they have now partnered with Boost, where you can create custom ads by uploading images and videos, curate your audience, and even pull MLS data to create instant listing ads.

Once the ads are built and distributed, everything is totally integrated with your LionDesk account. The automation works its magic, and you reap the rewards. 

Boost is a separate subscription: running agent promotion ads cost $99 per month, and listing promotions built from MLS listings are $59 per ad.

Broker Functions

Brokers can view advanced reports on leads, build drip campaigns assignable to individual agents, and have a global view of all deals in the office.

LionDesk offers round-robin or time-based rollout lead distribution for teams and brokerages—perfect for setting everyone up with leads but not breaking the bank.

Bottom Line: How Does LionDesk CRM Stack Up Against Other CRMs?

If you’ve been putting off trying LionDesk, you’re missing out on a fully featured and powerful real estate CRM that offers high-end features like AI lead nurturing, transaction management, video emails, and blended campaigns. 

So how does LionDesk stack up compared to other real estate CRMs? Well, in our opinion, it’s a very attractive option, especially for newer agents who don’t want to spend a ton of money.

Given the value it provides, we recently ranked LionDesk as our best overall CRM in our in-depth CRM buyer’s guide.

Over to You

We encourage you to see for yourself with LionDesk’s free 30-trial. It doesn’t even require a credit card. Play around with the functions and interface, and let us know how it goes in the comments. Have a CRM question or opinion to share? Comment below or join our Facebook Mastermind Group to chat with fellow agents.

The post LionDesk CRM Review: Is It the New King of the Real Estate CRM Jungle? appeared first on The Close.

That’s why we decided to update our picks for the best real estate software of 2022. We organized the tools by category and linked to our deep-dive review articles—making it easier for you to find that one tool that you soon won’t be able to live without.

Lead Generation Software

1. BoldLeads

Pricing: Starting at $649 per month

In-depth review: BoldLeads Review: How Does It Work & Is It Worth It?

If you’ve been busy selling houses, you may have missed the exciting new technology that BoldLeads offers today’s agents. Instead of just sending you a list of leads, they offer A/B-tested seller lead generation landing pages, an integrated customer relationship manager (CRM), and automated email and text messaging to connect with leads when they expect it—instantly.

You can even leave stealth voicemails, create follow-up funnels, and integrate with your favorite CRMs like Contactually, Top Producer, Wise Agent, and more.

Even better, BoldLeads will convert leads for you using their Concierge. They also offer free onboarding and on-demand training classes.

Visit BoldLeads

2. Zillow Premier Agent

Pricing: Varies by ZIP code

In-depth review: Is Zillow Premier Agent Worth the Cost?

Over the past few years, Zillow Premier Agent has grown up. Instead of just blasting out cold leads like they used to, Premier Agent now offers agents many ways to become the primary point of contact for a lead and nurture and close them.

Using their app, you can see which homes your leads are looking at and saving to make sure you reach out with the right message at the right time. They also offer a streamlined CRM with task reminders, notes, and mobile notifications. The customer experience report lets you know exactly what your leads think of you without having to ask.

Visit Zillow

Real Estate CRM & IDX Website Software

3. LionDesk

Pricing: $21 – $83 per month

In-depth review: LionDesk Review: The New King of the Real Estate CRM Jungle?

If you want a full featured CRM that you can upgrade as your business grows, LionDesk is a great option. Starting at just $21 a month, with LionDesk you can send video emails, bulk texts, drip campaigns, and more. As your business grows, you can add more features without breaking the bank.

Visit LionDesk

4. Top Producer

Pricing: $60 – $105 per month

Related article: The Best Real Estate CRM for 2022: In-depth Reviews & Pricing

One of the best CRMs on the market, Top Producer recently upgraded their user experience (UX) back to the drawing board and revamped its flagship CRM to compete with the new kids on the block. The new Top Producer looks and works great. Even better, Top Producer is leading the pack with access to MLS data, market snapshot reports, and native integrations.

Visit Top Producer

5. Propertybase

Pricing: $349+ per month

In-depth review: Propertybase GO Review: The Next Generation of Real Estate CRM?

When it comes to real estate software, you might have noticed that every tech company wants to be a one-stop shop. Propertybase actually is one.

First and foremost, Propertybase has a Salesforce-based CRM. Salesforce is the global CRM leader for a reason: Leads can be sent into Propertybase from pretty much anywhere and segmented, put on drip campaigns, and endlessly sliced and diced to match people with properties.

Beyond the CRM, Propertybase has a powerful website builder to drive your marketing, lead generation, and lead capture. Once your leads are coming in, use its customizable dashboard to divide and conquer farm areas and nurture leads. You can try Propertybase for yourself with a free demo.

Visit Propertybase

6. kvCORE Platform

Pricing: $499+ per month

In-depth review: kvCORE Review: What Does It Offer Teams & Brokerages in 2022?

One of the early movers in the all-in-one real estate lead generation and CRM platforms, Inside Real Estate’s kvCORE platform is finally ready for its close-up. Its team-focused platform boasts lead generation, a robust CRM with artificial intelligence (AI) features like a behavioral lead response, text messaging, and even an auto-dialer.

kvCORE also offers back-office solutions for agent billing and accounting, a comparative market analysis (CMA) and presentation tool, and listing marketing tools.

7. Real Geeks

Pricing: $249+ per month

In-depth review: Real Geeks Review: An In-depth Look at Pricing & Features

Founded 2010 by real estate agent Jeff Manson, Real Geeks core mission has never changed: To build IDX websites and a CRM that generates tons of leads for real estate agents. While other IDX sites might be flashier, Real Geeks’ focus on lead generation means that you will spend more time on the phone with real people who want to buy homes and less time fiddling with graphic design and code.

Visit Real Geeks

8. Placester

Pricing: $64 – $240 per month

Related article: The 6 Best Real Estate Website Builders of 2022

In 2022, agents have a million options to build a pretty website. But if your website isn’t generating leads, it isn’t doing its job. That’s why Placester almost always makes it to the top of our list of the best website builders. Their sites are designed for one purpose: lead capture.

Don’t get me wrong—Placester’s websites are beautiful. But they are also A/B-tested to ensure lead capture. They even offer helpful features like prewritten content libraries, a CRM, and a brand-new services marketplace to help you find design and tech talent quickly. If you’re a National Association of REALTORS (NAR) member, you qualify for a Placester website complete with an IDX feed and basic lead capture options for just $64 per month.

Visit Placester

Social Media & Marketing Software

9. Artur’In

Pricing: $199 – $399 per month

Since social media algorithms reward engagement above all else in 2022, creating and posting local content every day is a must. Artur’In makes this easy. They create and automatically post engaging local content to your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts. They will also write your blog for you, advertise for you, and much more.

Visit Artur’In

10. Canva for Real Estate

Pricing: Free – $6.49 per month

While we normally recommend real estate-specific design tools, Canva is a widely used platform for collaborative design that now offers a host of design templates specifically for real estate agents. Canva is available at an affordable price and designs can be accessed across the internet by multiple team members. One feature we especially like is the ability to create graphics and schedule them to post on social media directly from Canva.

Visit Canva

11. LabCoat Agents Marketing Center

Pricing: $59 – $499 per month

When it comes to marketing and design software, today’s Realtors are spoiled for choice. Canva is free or cheap, and there are dozens of other platforms promising agents beautiful marketing materials even if you don’t have design skills.

The problem is that many of these platforms aren’t designed exclusively for real estate agents. The templates are generic and not designed with conversion in mind. LabCoat Agents Marketing Center changes that. They offer agents an easy-to-use platform that lets them create custom-branded flyers, postcards, business cards, social media posts, and more.

Visit LabCoat Agents Marketing Center

Lead Qualifying & Nurturing Software

12. Freshdesk Messaging

Pricing: Free – $39 per month

Related article: The Pivot: Are Real Estate Chatbots Still Worth It in 2022?

When it comes to your website, you owe it to yourself (and your bank account) to invest in the latest technology to turn site visitors into leads; in 2022, that means connecting with leads instantly. Freshdesk Messaging, advanced chat software that you can easily plug into your website, lets you do just that. It gives your site visitors exactly what they want: instant gratification!

You can have it ping your phone whenever someone has a question, or better yet, easily program a chatbot to engage them until they’re ready to talk to you. Best of all, Freshdesk Messaging is free for basic chat features and costs only $15 to $39 per month for advanced AI chatbots, multi-language support, file attachments, and more.

Visit Freshdesk Messaging

13. RealScout

Pricing: $39 per month

Let’s face it—buyers only really want one thing from you: new homes for sale that they might want to buy. The problem is that scouring your MLS for new listings is time-consuming, especially for leads that might be years away from making a move.

RealScout solves this problem by sorting listings in your MLS by 400 criteria and emailing contenders to your leads. Their real estate software even uses machine learning to compare new listings for your leads side-by-side. When they’re ready to tour a listing, you get instantly notified on the platform.

14. Structurely

Pricing: $179 per month (for up to 50 leads)

Taking the concept of automated lead nurturing to the next level, Structurely uses artificial intelligence (AI) to respond to your leads to qualify them instantly. After that, their AI assistant will even follow up with them … for an entire year.

Of course, robotic lead nurturing isn’t perfect, so Structurely is designed to notify you the minute your leads are ready to talk so you can land that appointment.

Real Estate Prospecting Platforms

15. REDX + Power Dialer

Pricing: $99+ per month 

In-depth review: REDX Review: Why Smart Realtors Use REDX and Power Dialer

If you’re cold calling without using an auto-dialer like Power Dialer, you’re leaving money on the table. Period. Ask any agent who cold calls. There’s just no way you’re going to keep up with the volume of numbers you need to dial, not to mention dealing with voicemails, hang-ups, and wrong numbers.

So if you want to start cold calling FSBOs, expireds, or just want to circle prospects around a listing effectively, then you owe it to yourself to upgrade to REDX + Power Dialer. Even better, REDX is offering The Close readers $149 off the setup price, automatically deducted when you click over to their site from this article.

Visit REDX + Power Dialer

Predictive Analytics & AI Software

16. Revaluate

Pricing: $139 per month for 2,000 contacts

While terms like predictive analytics and AI have been floating around the industry for a few years now, only a handful of companies live up to the hype. Revaluate is one of them.

Revaluate leverages artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and big data to analyze past and current events to predict future events. In simpler terms, they use super-smart software that sifts through millions of pages of data to figure out when someone will move. As if this wasn’t enough to pique your interest, they also use that same real estate software to reinvigorate all the old, cold, dead leads in your CRM.

17. Offrs

Pricing: $200 – $500 per territory, per month

In-depth review: Offrs Review: Are AI & Predictive Analytics the Future of Real Estate?

Offrs is another major player in the predictive analytics space. Offrs uses the same big data sources that Revaluate uses to help agents target potential sellers and buyers before they reach out to an agent.

They also offer FSBO and expired leads and a Smart Farming app that gives agents contact information for homeowners and leads. They also provide agents Plug-and-Play ad templates to help them reach the right lead, with the right message, at the right time.

Visit Offrs

18. First.io

Pricing: Call for pricing

First.io is another real estate software platform that uses predictive analytics to help agents find listing opportunities. First.io scans your network using 700 personal and property-related data points as well as AI to help you target people who are more likely to move.

First.io focuses on conversations, not campaigns. Their mobile app makes it easy to start conversations with people before they’re ready to move. It uses a simple star rating system and prompts to remind you exactly when to reach out.

Home Valuation Software

19. HouseCanary Property Explorer

Pricing: $29.99 per report

When it comes to using AI and predictive analytics to improve home valuations, HouseCanary’s Property Explorer is the real deal. It’s a game-changer for agents.

HouseCanary’s home valuations are based on dozens of data points, both public and private. Instead of going back a year or two, they consider trends from the past few decades when coming up with their valuations. Think of it as Zestimates with a brain transplant.

Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) Software

20. Cloud CMA

Pricing: $45+ per month

When it comes to cranking out CMAs, most agents would rather get a root canal. Cloud CMA, the industry-leading CMA generation software in the Cloud Agent Suite, transformed putting together CMAs from a tedious chore into something you can fire off to a lead while you’re waiting in line at Starbucks.

Recently, the entire Cloud Agent Suite was purchased by Lone Wolf Technologies along with LionDesk. Does this mean Cloud CMA will only be offered at the brokerage level? We think so. We also believe that this provides a golden opportunity for competitors to make direct-to-agent products to compete. Watch this space!

Open House Software

21. Curb Hero

Pricing: Free

Related Article: 9 Open House Apps Tech-savvy Agents Are Using to Get More Leads

Formerly Block Party, Curb Hero offers agents open house sign-in software for free. It might not have all the bells and whistles of competitors like Open Home Pro and Spacio, but it has touchless QR code sign-in, single property websites, background info collection, and integrates with over 200 CRMs, all for free.

Visit Curb Hero

22. Open Home Pro

Pricing: Free – $20 per month

Used by over 90,000 agents, Open Home Pro is a must for agents who run many open houses. It’s a simple solution to a problem that every agent who has run an open house has faced—smudged, illegible sign-in sheets.

Open Home Pro also offers basic CRM functionality like lead management, automated lead follow-up emails, and even automated seller’s reports to show off how successful your open houses are.

23. ShowingTime

Pricing: Contact for pricing

Even though it’s getting a little long in the tooth, ShowingTime is still a vital tool for real estate agents. 950,000 real estate agents can’t be wrong. Well, they could, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? ShowingTime ain’t broke.

It does the job it’s supposed to do without the drama. Hard to complain about that.

24. Calendly

Pricing: Free – $16 per month

Of course, that doesn’t mean that ShowingTime doesn’t have competition. When it comes to scheduling appointments online, Calendly has them beat. How many times have you gone back and forth with a lead trying to schedule a showing? Calendly makes it easy. All your lead needs to do is pick a date from a calendar, and Calendly will only show them the times you’re available.

Community Engagement Software

25. Parkbench

Pricing: $3,500 – $6,500 per year

Related article: How Parkbench Helps Agents Drive Community Connections (Even During a Pandemic)

Every agent knows that the best referrals come from locals. The only problem is that taking the time to meet local business owners is hard. Showings, prospecting, social media, and a million other tasks get in the way.

Parkbench simplifies the process by giving you tools and an excuse to network with local small business owners to build up your referral network organically. They also offer agents extensive training to make sure they’re not just wasting time talking about the weather.

Visit Parkbench

Transaction Management Software

26. Dotloop

Pricing: $29 per month

Although the competition was fierce, it looks like Dotloop has come out on top for the best real estate transaction management software for another year.

If your office doesn’t offer real estate software like Dotloop along with your other perks, then it might make sense to jump in and track your deals with Dotloop.

Did we mention the industry-leading transaction management platform is now FREE for individual agents?

27. Amitree Folio

Pricing: Free – $18 per month

Amitree Folio has always been the well-kept secret weapon of many newbie agents. After all, it’s free, sits right on top of Gmail, and offers some pretty fantastic transaction management and organization tasks for busy Realtors.

Even better, Sand Hill Road has taken notice. Amitree closed a $7 million round of funding to build out more functionality into an already reasonably robust platform. Try out their free version with a 14-day trial.

Outreach Automation Software

28. Contact Junkie

Pricing: $199 – $599 per month

There are two types of agents when it comes to outreach automation software: those who will get a ton more leads using it and everyone else. Cold callers use dialing software like REDX’s Power Dialer or Mojo, or they’re getting left in the dust. Advanced CRMs like Propertybase are making manual texting and email obsolete, and apps like Slydial are automating even the (very) old-fashioned voicemail.

Contact Junkie takes all of that potential automation and wraps it up into one neat package for agents and teams. The app will automatically reach out to your leads with voicemail, text, and email, and will stop once contact is made. Even better, Contact Junkie integrates with BombBomb, Real Geeks, Pipedrive, and even Slack.

29. Avochato

Pricing: Free – $35 per month

If you want your team to double-down on text messages this year (and why wouldn’t you?), you need to check out the latest text messaging software, like Avochato. Avochato gives agents, inside sales agents (ISAs), and other team members a fully featured desktop dashboard to text with many leads and clients at once.

You can access easy-to-use message templates, send texts one-to-many, and of course, click-to-dial for hot leads or clients who need extra help. It also gives you 10 unique phone numbers so you can easily segment leads from online sources, signage, open houses, and so on.

Expense Tracking Software

30. Expensify

Pricing: Free – $9 per month

Instead of a shoe box, I had a manila folder stuffed with receipts for yellow cabs, lunches, printing, and printouts of my (terrifyingly expensive) Uber bills. Come tax time, I was ankle-deep in paper and miserable.

Smarter agents use expense tracking software like Expensify. Expensify automatically scans and tags your receipts, so you don’t have to. If you start using it today, come April, you’ll have everything organized and ready for your accountant to scrutinize.

Writing Software

31. Grammarly

Pricing: Free – $12.50 per month

Let’s face it. If there is one group of professionals who need work on their writing and grammar, it’s real estate agents. Maybe it’s the low barrier to entry, or maybe agents are just always busy, but we all know that agents need help with writing.

Yuo cna porbalby raed tihs desptie teh msispeillgns rhigt? Your leads probably can too, but are they going to call you back when you send them yet another email riddled with typos? Why risk it? Grammarly checks your grammar, spelling, and even sentence structure and style with both a free & paid version. It operates inside your email server and through your browser so it can correct your blogs posts, Google documents, and outgoing email messages.

Over to You

Have a suggestion you’d like us to add to our list of the best real estate software? Let us know in the comments.

The post Best Real Estate Software 2022: Our 31 Top Picks for Agents (+ Pricing) appeared first on The Close.

Check out our top picks in the table below and read on to get an in-depth review of each product.

7 Best CRMs for Real Estate Agents, Teams, & Brokerages

Real Estate CRM	Prices Starting At	Best For
LionDesk	$25 / month	(BEST OVERALL) Budget-conscious agents who want automated email, texting, follow-up tools, and more
Top Producer	$60 / month	Agents looking for specialized lead nurturing tools like market snapshots and email drip sequences
Elevate	$110 / month	Agents who are looking for social media marketing
Market Leader	$139 per month, plus $25+ per lead (varies by market)	Agents who are also looking for built-in lead generation tools
IXACT Contact	$39 / month	New agents
Propertybase	$79 / month (per user)	Teams and brokerages
Wise Agent	$29 / month	Agents looking for best-in-class customer support

(Prices as of January 2022)

Now that we’ve shared how these customer relationship management (CRM) tools stack up against each other, let’s dig a little deeper into each one.

Best Overall Real Estate CRM: LionDesk

Prices starting at $25 / month
LionDesk sets itself apart by doing the fundamentals really well and by offering unique add-ons perfect for real estate professionals who are growing their business. They also stand out for their full-featured, 30-day free trial that doesn’t require a credit card.

When we first published this article, we’ll admit that LionDesk was in our top five but they weren’t our number one. What changed? Their consistent commitment to upgrading their products and rolling out new features like video messaging and their exclusive artificial intelligence (AI) assistant “Gabby.” We also love their best-in-class customer service that delivered prompt answers to us via phone and email.

LionDesk’s incredible value and affordable cost is what every other CRM product is now measured against.

LionDesk Pros & Cons

LionDesk Pros	LionDesk Cons
Easy to use and get value from, even on your first day	So many options create a slightly cluttered dashboard
Excellent mass communication tools, including bulk text messaging	Transaction management is very basic
Customizable lead profiles	Not the best option for scaling teams or brokerages
Artificial intelligence (AI) lead follow-up
Integrated dialer for click-to-call convenience

[Read more: LionDesk Review: The New King of the Real Estate CRM Jungle?]

How Much Does LionDesk Cost?

Plan Name	Cost per Month Billed Annually	Cost per Month
Starter	$21	$25
Pro Plus	$42	$49
Elite	$83	$99

LionDesk Pricing Details

LionDesk offers three plans ranging from $21 to $99 per month, depending on which package you choose and whether you bill annually or monthly.

• Starter ($21 per month): Robust and full of features—you won’t find yourself lacking in capability.
• Pro Plus ($42 / month): Includes add-ons like a dedicated local phone number, video texting, and custom text-to-sell shortcodes, great for sign riders and other physical marketing.
• Elite ($83 / month): Offers everything you’ll find in the Starter and Pro Plus plans, plus white glove, hands-on service and support that includes third-party integrations. This is worth mentioning because finding customer support when you’re trying to get your tools to work together is sometimes a no-man’s land. It’s hard to find companies willing to help you with someone else’s product, but that’s not true with LionDesk.

Our Favorite LionDesk Feature: Gabby, Your AI-powered Inside Sales Agent (ISA)

One of the biggest factors that affect a real estate agent’s conversion rates for leads is how quickly they can respond, or speed-to-lead. In an on-demand world, interested buyers and sellers expect a response within minutes, not hours or days.

But, we all know this isn’t always possible. We’ve got appointments, we’ve got closings, and, quite frankly, we’ve got to sleep sometime. That’s why LionDesk’s Lead Assist features are so powerful.

Their AI-driven text responder, known as Gabby, automatically follows up with any of your leads promptly, naturally, and with an uncanny ability to sound genuine and interested in what your leads are asking about.

Unless you identify to your lead that they’re not talking to a real person, many people can’t tell the difference until they’ve had a number of interactions.

[Read more: Is the Real Estate World Ready for an AI Assistant? LionDesk Thinks So]

Is LionDesk Right for You?

There are lots of things to like about LionDesk. Mixed automation, a customizable interface, graduated texting options, and AI responsiveness make LionDesk worth your time and money. LionDesk offers a 30-day, full-featured trial, no credit card required. Whether you’re ready for a change to your existing CRM or in need of your first CRM, LionDesk is a great option.

Try LionDesk

Best Real Estate CRM for Specialized Lead-nurturing Tools: Top Producer

Prices starting at $33.33 / month
Top Producer is one of the OGs in the real estate CRM space, and sometimes, being a product category originator can make you outdated and irrelevant, but not this product.

Top Producer has been working hard to not only keep up with the changing needs of real estate professionals but also to anticipate our next set of needs. Their forward-thinking approach is evident in their latest CRM iteration: Top Producer X.

Many CRMs offer an IDX feed as a part of their features, but Top Producer takes this a step further, adding value by actually connecting directly with your MLS to access all the data your MLS possesses. To put that in context, most IDX feeds pull about 20 data points for each property. An MLS feed pulls closer to 300 (or more) for every current listing, sold property, and even for expired listings.

Top Producer Pros & Cons

Top Producer Pros	Top Producer Cons
One of the best-integrated CRMs on the market, connecting with hundreds of different third-party platforms	12-month contract required
Excellent transaction management features that will eliminate the need for another tool	No automated SMS texting
Automated communication options that integrate with MLS data, making nurturing easier and more effective	No website included in any of the base plans

[Read more: Top Producer CRM Review + Video Walk-through]

How Much Does Top Producer Cost?

Plan Name	Cost per Month Billed Annually	Cost per Month
Starter	$33.33	$40
Professional	$58.33	$70
Advanced	$66.67	$80

Top Producer Pricing Details

Top Producer offers three different tiers, ranging from $33.33 per month up to $80 per month. The costs depend on which plan you choose and whether you plan on paying annually or monthly. Top Producer also offers an add-on of a Top Producer website for just $10 more. They require a one-year commitment.

Our Favorite Top Producer Feature: FiveStreet Lead Management

FiveStreet is a product included in Top Producer’s Advanced plan, and if you’re running a team or dealing with a high volume of leads, this is a must-have.

This lead response and management tool offers next-level tracking for agents who want to know where leads are coming from, assign them custom paths to get to the right agent (or, if you’re operating solo, prioritized in the right order), and measure your results afterward.

The real power comes from the analytics you get. Imagine what you could do if you could get a report generated that would tell you how each of the agents on your team is performing based on lead type, their response time performance, and how far their leads are getting in the funnel? Next-level stuff.

This tool is a great way to maximize the effectiveness of the lead generation pipeline you’ve worked so hard to build by making sure that the right lead gets to the right person at the right time, every time.

Is Top Producer Right for You?

If you want to get to the next level when it comes to providing market-level data to your contact via an MLS integration, or if you have a team where your lead routing needs some work, definitely give Top Producer a closer look.

Try Top Producer

Best Real Estate CRM for Social Media Marketing: Elevate

Prices starting at $110 / month
Elevate is a real estate CRM that recognizes managing your contacts and nurturing your sphere isn’t just about sending automated emails and text messages—it is about maintaining a marketing presence among your sphere of influence such that when the topic of conversation turns to real estate, you’re top of mind.

Elevate achieves this by offering content creation services, social media management, and paid lead generation, all as a part of the CRM package. For agents who are looking for a CRM and help to get social media marketing in shape, Elevate is a great option.

Elevate Pros & Cons

Elevate Pros	Elevate Cons
A unique, overall marketing and nurturing ecosystem	Limited analytics and performance tracking
Social media content creation done for you	Can be pricey if you’re choosing a package that includes paid lead generation
A fantastic, built-in CMA tool	Limited CRM capabilities for the most basic package

[Read more: Elevate Real Estate CRM Review + Video Walk-through]

How Much Does Elevate Cost?

Elevate Package	Price Per Month	Includes
Social Pro	$110	CRM*, social media content, blog content
DMS	$200	CRM, website, blog content
DMS + Buyer Leads	$300	CRM, website, blog content, social media content, approx. 10 buyer leads per month
Elite Leads	$750	CRM, social media / blog content, approx 30 buyer or seller leads per month
Elite Pro	$2,000	CRM, social media / blog content, approx 80 - 120 buyer & seller leaders per month, up to five team licenses

*CRM access is limited to basic functionality and does not include automated email marketing.

Our Favorite Elevate Feature: Content Marketing Services

Creating content to demonstrate to your local market that you’re an expert, you’re involved, and you’re active is time-consuming and difficult, which is why most realtors don’t do it well.

However, well-curated content on your blog and on social media is often the difference-maker when it comes to winning a contested listing. Elevate takes the time and grunt work out of content creation by providing:

• Original content, written by Elevate’s in-house experts
• Market-specific, data-driven content perfect for including in your marketing (like mailers or email newsletters)
• Content that is automatically uploaded to your Elevate website blog and social media accounts for you

[Watch: Elevate Real Estate CRM Review + Video Walk-through]

Is it a completely hands-off solution? No. You’ll need to be in charge or interacting with anyone who interacts with you. You’ll also need to step in and tweak content occasionally, especially if there’s something only someone who has spent time on the ground in your community would know.

Overall, this is a powerful marketing tool that takes the Elevate CRM to the next level.

Is Elevate Right for You?

If your needs include marketing strategy and content as well as a CRM, Elevate is the perfect combo for you. They bill themselves as more than a CRM—more as a marketing solution for real estate agents with growing businesses. If that’s you, you should check out Elevate today.

Try Elevate

Best Real Estate CRM for Agents Also Looking for Lead Generation: Market Leader

Prices starting at $139 / month
Some of you may be asking, “Why is Market Leader on this list? Aren’t they a lead generation company?” You are correct, Market Leader is primarily a lead gen company, but they offer a CRM as a part of their platform that is so good it needs to be in the conversation for best CRM as well. The real kicker? You can integrate the Market Leader CRM with virtually any real estate lead source, not just their own.

This is a platform that has all the bells and whistles of a top-rated CRM and also happens to be The Close’s first choice for real estate lead generation companies—worth a look for sure.

Market Leader Pros & Cons

Market Leader Pros	Market Leader Cons
Fully functional CRM with excellent automation options	Doesn’t have some of the more advanced analytic features
Great mobile app	The included website isn’t great
Easily scalable to teams and full brokerages	No onboard transaction management, CMAs, or other advanced features

[Read more: 5 Smart Ways to Buy Real Estate Leads]

How Much Does Market Leader Cost?

Since Market Leader is first a lead generation tool, their costs depend on leads, not on the CRM. Access to the Market Leader platform starts at $139 per month, plus an additional $25 or more per lead, depending on your market. Most Market Leader agents pay around $350 to $400 per month to get started.

Our Favorite Market Leader Feature: Guaranteed Leads

Again, you may be asking, “Why all the leads talk in a guide about CRMs?” Hear me out. Your CRM isn’t a static collection of contact information. It is a growing, living database that needs to be constantly fed with new contacts in order to fuel the growth of your business. Market Leader’s value proposition as a lead generation tool is that they guarantee a certain lead volume every month.

From a CRM perspective, that means that you’ll have new contacts in your database every single month, new people to run through your nurturing campaigns, and new opportunities to turn your contacts into transactions. With Market Leader, you’ve got a CRM with a 100% chance of growth.

Is Market Leader Right for You?

The crossover between paid lead generation and CRM makes a lot of sense, and with Market Leader, you get an excellent CRM platform as well as one of our top-rated lead generation options. Yes, you need a healthy budget to make this play work, but if you’ve got the scratch for it, Market Leader is a fantastic option.

Try Market Leader

Best Real Estate CRM for New Agents: IXACT Contact

IXACT Contact rivals Propertybase in terms of coming close to offering that all-in-one real estate agent solution we’ve been wondering about for a while.

For our money, nobody is quite there yet, but IXACT Contact is on the doorstep. IXACT Contact’s robust CRM also includes options for an IDX website and social media content, bringing them ever closer to completing that lead-generation-to-closing-table journey.

IXACT Contact Pros & Cons

IXACT Contact Pros	IXACT Contact Cons
Sleek design with user-friendly UX	The add-on websites aren’t competitive in terms of features and connectivity
Contacts’ social media handles auto-populated in their lead profiles	Doesn’t sync as easily as you’d expect with some third-party applications
A postcard and mass mail function built into the CRM	No mobile app

[Read more: IXACT Contact Wants to Solve All Your Problems… Can It?]

How Much Does IXACT Contact Cost?

IXACT CONTACT OFFERS SIX MONTHS OF THEIR SERVICE FOR FREE TO ANY AGENT WHO HAS BEEN LICENSED LESS THAN A YEAR.

Let that sink in for a moment. If you are a new agent in the industry, IXACT Contact is giving away their service to you. This is a singular offer in the CRM game—nobody has anything like it.

Now that we’ve got the shouting out of the way, the rest of IXACT Contact’s pricing model is intriguing, and there is a lot to unpack here. They offer an a la carte price option for real estate agents, so you aren’t paying for services you don’t need.

IXACT Contact Pricing Details

• Basic version for a single user of the CRM plus an agent website: $33 per month
• IDX website add-ons: $13 per month (standard), $33 per month (professional) plus $65.00 setup fee
• Add team members: $23 per team member, per month
• Additional IDX websites: Starting at $13 per month plus $65 setup fee
• Social Stream: $20 per month
• Mass emailing: Varies by volume

Our Favorite IXACT Contact Feature: Social Media Support

Obviously, we are pretty geeked about the free six months offered to new real estate agents.

If you somehow missed that above, IXACT Contact offers their CRM FOR FREE to any agent who has been licensed for less than a year. Nobody else is doing this, and if you are a new real estate agent looking for a quality CRM, you can get one. FOR FREE.

Also, their Social Stream option adds another level of service to this CRM that the others in the space just aren’t providing. It isn’t original content, but it is a lot of relevant articles from reputable sources, like Huffington Post and Better Homes and Gardens, that will actually be interesting to your contacts.

Is IXACT Contact Right for You?

IXACT Contact is easy to try. If you are looking for a CRM with an IDX website component, something with some social options, or, gosh darn it, SOMETHING FREE, you should give IXACT Contact a go. They also offer a five-week free trial to really kick the tires, so you don’t have anything to lose here.

Try IXACT Contact

Best Real Estate CRM for Teams & Brokerages: Propertybase

The Propertybase Salesforce Edition CRM is robust and full-featured, designed for real estate teams and brokerages that need more than just a place to store contacts. Propertybase, powered by Lone Wolf Technologies, also has a single-agent and small teams option called Propertybase Go that is perfect for smaller operations.

Propertybase offers all the features that high-powered teams and brokerages are looking for, including advanced analytics, lead routing, an integrated brokerage, team and agent website experience, and much more.

Their solid, easy-to-use CRM combined with a potent website development arm and a very effective lead generation platform make Propertybase an option all real estate agents should consider.

Propertybase Pros & Cons

Propertybase Pros	Propertybase Cons
Built on the rock-solid Salesforce platform	Certain functions like a dialer or SMS texting are not available natively
CRM and website are both fully MLS-integrated	High price point
Mass email functions allow you to get rid of email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and just use your CRM	Not available without a long-term contract

[Read more: Propertybase Review: The (Old) New Kids on the Block Get Serious]

How Much Does Propertybase Cost?

Propertybase Salesforce Edition is ideal for larger teams and brokerages, starting at $79 per user, per month with a minimum of 10 users. The additional IDX-integrated website is an additional $299 per user, per month.

If you’re interested in Propertybase but don’t have the team or budget to support Propertybase Salesforce Edition, make sure to check out Propertybase GO—a great option for individual agents as well as smaller teams, with prices starting $349 per month for their award-winning CRM and a fully integrated IDX-website.

[Read more: Propertybase GO Review: The Next Generation of Real Estate CRM?]

Our Favorite Propertybase Feature: Advanced Lead Scoring

Most CRMs offer some sort of lead score evaluation to allow real estate agents to quickly glance at a lead profile and determine what sort of attention that lead needs today. But no other CRM that we’re aware of allows you to adjust the criteria for that lead score, and certainly not with the granularity and detail that Propertybase offers.

Make adjustments to your lead scoring criteria based on things like a contact’s response to your outreach campaigns or time since last contact.

Is Propertybase Right for You?

Propertybase offers a fantastic CRM with tons of customization options, from the dashboard and user interface all the way down to how your lead scores are evaluated. But their value doesn’t stop at providing a great CRM—they also offer website and lead generation services that make them as close to an end-to-end platform as we’ve seen.

They offer a free, no-obligation 14-day trial—try them today.

Try Propertybase

Best Real Estate CRM for Real Estate Agents Looking for Comprehensive Support: Wise Agent

Wise Agent has been in the real estate CRM space for a long time (since 2002!). Even though the look and feel of Wise Agent sometimes reminds us of Windows 98, they’ve learned things along the way that make them a valuable platform for real estate agents.

If you’re looking for a CRM with great automation options and 24/7 support included with every package, Wise Agent is for you.

Wise Agent Pros & Cons

Wise Agent Pros	Wise Agent Cons
Offers data-based testing like A/B testing of your automated communication	Old-school interface feels dated
SMS texting included in your base package	Not a great choice for teams or brokerages
Straightforward, affordable pricing	No website option

[Read more: Wise Agent CRM Review: Packs a Mean Punch for Agents & Teams]

How Much Does Wise Agent Cost?

Wise Agent has a straightforward pricing structure: $29 a month or $299 per year. Both options include a one-on-one onboarding call and round-the-clock support, 365 days a year.

Considering the fairly long list of features (great email automation, integration partners, and SMS texting, to name a few), you get a good bang for your buck with Wise Agent.

Our Favorite Wise Agent Feature: Extensive Customer Support

We know we’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: 24/7 support, 365 days a year, with a real person. If you have a question about Wise Agent, there is literally always someone ready to answer it.

We wrote an in-depth review of Wise Agent if you want to really get under the hood and see how things function—check it out.

Is Wise Agent Right for You?

If service and support are number one for you, Wise Agent is a great CRM to check out. Their price is very affordable, and you can even try it for free. With a 30-day, full-featured trial, you can put Wise Agent through its paces and see how it could benefit your business.

Try Wise Agent

Frequently Asked Questions about Real Estate CRMs

Here at The Close, we talk a lot about CRMs. Everyone from rookie solo agents to multi-office brokers wants to know how they can get the most out of these platforms.

Of course, we get a lot of “Which platform is right for me?” (which is why guides like this one exist), but we’re also asked a lot of other questions. Here, we answer some of the most popular ones. Feel free to ask anything we haven’t covered here in the comments section.

Do I need a CRM with a website included?

Are there any worthwhile free real estate CRMs?

What’s the biggest mistake people make when starting with a new CRM?

How do I make sure my team / brokerage is using their CRM?

Bringing It All Together

With so many different business models, philosophies, and real estate agent types out there, it is easy to see why there are so many different real estate CRMs. Which of these seven is right for you? Is there a real estate CRM that we need to add to our guide?

Drop a comment below and tell us about your favorite CRM. Is it on this list? How has it changed the way that you do business?

The post The Best Real Estate CRM for 2022: In-depth Reviews & Pricing appeared first on The Close.

Almost 20 years later, Wise Agent is one of the most popular, best-value CRMs on the market, and it’s only getting better. We’ll show you how and why.

Our Take: A Place for Everything & Everything in Its Place

The bottom line is that Wise Agent is more than just a place to organize contacts and leads. It’s an entire ecosystem that manages your marketing materials, calendars, transactions, drip campaigns, texts, and phone calls.

Wise Agent wants to be the only dashboard you need. It provides checklists for closings, monitors commissions, facilitates communication, and assigns responsibilities to team members.

It’s absolutely one of the best full-featured CRMs on the market for the price. And while it may not have all of the bells and whistles of a Rolls Royce CRM, it is simple to set up, highly functional, and has excellent customer support.

Wise Agent Is Best For:

• Agents who are just starting out and want to organize leads, set up their marketing strategies, and not spend a fortune. Wise Agent offers unparalleled customer service and lots of hand-holding.
• Teams in growth mode that are looking for a tool that allows them to communicate easily, track progress on transactions, and collaborate on calls, texts, emails, and other marketing tools.
• Brokerages that are ready to try a CRM with integrated social media tools.

Wise Agent Might Not Be Best For:

• Agents who are really tech-savvy and who want a more customizable CRM product. Wise Agent offers a customized “Enterprise” level option, but it’s probably not ideal for a single agent.
• Teams who need an integrated website. Wise Agent has landing pages, but for the whole website + CRM package, teams are better off with a more comprehensive CRM solution.
• Brokerages that have a CRM in place and are looking for one with all of the bells and whistles. If you need a tool that’s more sophisticated than plug-and-play (with integrated websites and pay-per-click (PPC) ads, for example), Wise Agent isn’t there yet.

Wise Agent CRM Pricing for 2022

With a per agent price of just $25 per month, Wise Agent stacks up as one of the best bargains in the real estate CRM space.

For some context, this is less than half the cost of Top Producer or Contactually, and a little over half the cost of Follow Up Boss. The closest CRM in price and services, LionDesk, seems like a natural competitor to Wise Agent.

Wise Agent CRM Pricing

What’s Included in a Wise Agent CRM Subscription?

We’ll explore these features in more detail shortly, but here’s what’s included in a subscription:

Start Your Free Wise Agent Trial

Best Wise Agent CRM Features

Wise Agent’s user interface has vastly improved over the years. While it was once described as dated, in a Windows 98 kind of way, it’s now much more streamlined and sleek. In fact, here’s a blog post in which Wise Agent explains its major facelift and thanks their users for their feedback.

In addition to excellent customer service, Wise Agent seems to put a premium on listening to users, adding functions, and responding to concerns. In short, they’re responsive to user needs.

Wise Agent CRM: The Setup

Granted, while we’ve kicked the tires of more real estate apps than you can imagine, we were still happily surprised to find Wise Agent’s features easy to find, easy to set up, and easy to use.

When you first log in to Wise Agent, you’re prompted to fill out a profile for yourself and the team members who will share the account. One single account can be shared by up to five agents. You can limit access and set permissions, controlling what each user sees. Additional users can be added for a fee.

After uploading your headshot, you can set up personal branding for your emails, signature, and landing pages by uploading your own logo, creating one, or choosing from one of the existing free templates.

Adding contacts, one of the most laborious and dreaded tasks of all, is actually pretty easy. Because Wise Agent has so many integrations, it’s simple to import existing contacts from just about anywhere.

Wise Agent has recently introduced its social media enhancement tool. It automatically searches an email address and pulls together all of the available information from social media accounts. With this tool, a partial lead (just an email address) can quickly become “enhanced” with names, businesses, photos, job titles, and even Twitter handles.

A regular subscription includes 100 social media enhancement credits, and for an additional $5 per month, you get unlimited credits.

The Wise Agent Dashboard: Where the Magic Happens

Wise Agent’s main dashboard is all business. The calendar is smartly positioned in the center, below the commission-tracking graphics. A user-friendly set of options along the top of the screen offer drop-down menus that access your main functions.

What we love about their layout is they decided to keep everything easily accessible. It feels intuitive, so there’s no drilling down a million menus to get one simple task done.

In addition to the calendar, the dashboard has comprehensive time management tools. It’s easy to track recent leads, the call list, task list, and transaction hotlist.

Down at the bottom is an auto-populated list of birthdays and home-purchase anniversaries, making it easy to send a thoughtful message to your leads and clients.

And finally, it’s possible to link your RSS feed to the dashboard and keep a pulse on real estate news. Wise Agent allows you to send interesting blog posts you think a lead will enjoy in a fully hyperlinked email.

The dashboard is a great place to start each morning. You can see everything you have to do at a glance. You can also set up notifications on your calendar when drip emails are sent, so you can more easily predict when your phone will ring.

Integrations Take Wise Agent to the Next Level

Wise Agent makes it easy to create a CRM that includes all of the tools you need, want, and actually use. The extensive and growing list of integrations means Wise Agent is one of the most versatile and customizable products on the market.

If they don’t offer a service, chances are they have an integration to fill the need. Tools like Twitter, Mailchimp, and BombBomb can be easily integrated, so you might never have to leave your CRM.

Wise Agent Marketing Tools: Easy & Customizable

Wise Agent’s many marketing solutions are perfect for agents who don’t know exactly what they want or need. Wise Agent provides tools and libraries full of helpful, customizable templates.

Drip Campaigns

Like most good real estate CRMs these days, Wise Agent offers marketing drip automation programs that you can assign to a lead or groups of leads.

Setting up a program is simple. For example, let’s say you wanted to create a drip campaign for buyer leads from Zillow. You can choose from a collection of prewritten drip campaigns designed specifically to qualify and nurture buyer leads or design something custom.

You can include text auto-responders, drip emails or assigned tasks that trigger based on a schedule you create. For example, you can set up Wise Agent to auto-respond to your Zillow leads via text as soon as they come in, then set them up on a drip email campaign and schedule a follow-up call a few days later.

Emails, Texts & Letters

Since email marketing is still the king of real estate nurturing outreach, having an integrated email newsletter is a very useful feature.

Agents can choose from dozens of email templates and send out content that is video-rich, customizable, and strategic to help nurture and convert your leads. Of course, you can also integrate email marketing software like Mailchimp if you need more features down the road.

Text messaging through Wise Agent results in an almost 100% open rate, ensuring your messages are read by your leads. You can set up auto-responses, bulk texting, and even add video.

Wise Agent recently introduced its artificial intelligence (AI) bot, which nurtures potential leads with a human touch. It naturally leads conversations, gathers information, and even uses emojis.

And finally, amazingly, almost every CRM these days seems to forget that realtors still love to print things out. With a few clicks, you can easily send cards, flyers, and other marketing materials to be printed in-house.

Landing Pages

One of the coolest features Wise Agent offers is the landing page generator. Using this tool, you can create custom landing pages that capture emails, make quick single-property websites, home valuation pages, and even open house sign-in sheets.

Transaction Tracking Tools

Wise Agent has tools to track transactions and share information with team members and stakeholders. This easy-to-use system of checklists, contact lists, and unlimited document storage will guide you through the entire closing process.

If their system isn’t as accounting-focused as you need, you can easily link to integrated systems that are more in-depth.

Where Wise Agent Could Improve

The common complaint seems to be that Wise Agent makes updates with little or no warning. The good news is that Wise Agent seems to be very responsive to its users. Over the years, there have been real improvements to the user interface, the integrations, and the overall user experience.

Our only criticism is that because Wise Agent is so resource-rich, it can be hard to know where to start. Luckily, Wise Agent offers 24/7 free customer service. If you have a problem, you can reach out, ask them to call or email you back, and even select if you want to be contacted ASAP or during business hours.

Wise Agent: The 30,000-Foot View

Some CRMs try to be all things to all agents. They create an all-in-one product that really works for no one. But Wise Agent seems to have avoided this by being a comprehensive solution with enough integrations, customizations, and customer support that it feels concierge.

Ultimately, our verdict is that if you want a full-featured CRM at a tremendous value that can grow with your business, then Wise Agent is for you. Want to compare Wise Agent to other CRMs? Browse our reviews of Chime, LionDesk, Propertybase GO, Real Geeks, Realvolve, and Firepoint, or read our overall Best Real Estate CRM article for in-depth reviews of other products in this space.

The post Wise Agent CRM Review: Packs a Mean Punch at a Great Value appeared first on The Close.

In this review, we’ll break down what Elevate offers real estate agents, how much it costs, show you around the platform in a detailed video walk-through, and ultimately decide whether or not Elevate gets The Close recommendation.

What Makes Elevate Different From Every Other Real Estate CRM?

First off, Elevate isn’t just a CRM. Most competitors in this space focus primarily on their CRM dashboard and the management of existing contacts as their bread and butter. But not Elevate. Elevate’s approach considers their CRM to be only a component of their overall system—a system that includes:

• An IDX-enabled website
• A content creation service for your blog
• A social media management and content creation service
• Paid lead generation optimized for buyer leads, seller leads, or both

Does this more holistic approach actually work? That’s what we’re going to find out. We recently spoke with Elevate’s Senior VP of Elm Street at Inman Connect about the company’s comprehensive approach and desire to be true tech partner to those in our industry.

She predicts that providing a full suite of solutions to meet Realtors’ needs is the way forward for real estate tech companies like hers. Check it out!

How Much Does Elevate Cost?

Because Elevate has a lot of different approaches to marketing and managing your real estate business, they offer a number of different packages (at different price points) for agents at all stages in their marketing journey.

To learn more about each of these components, read on for our analysis and review of each Elevate offering.

Elevate charges a one-time onboarding fee of approximately $500 in order to get you set up with your MLS, your website, plugged into all the Elevate systems, and ensure all your integrations are functioning properly.

Elevate Packages + Prices (as of November 2021)

*CRM access is limited to basic functionality and does not include automated email marketing.

Breaking Down the Elevate Package Components

Elevate offers an integrated platform of products to market you and your listings, and level up your real estate business. We’ll share details on each of the major components and our thoughts about them.

Real Estate CRM

Elevate’s straightforward real estate CRM links directly to your Elevate IDX website (and other marketing efforts). It helps you manage your new opportunities and nurture those already in your sphere of influence. Elevate’s CRM offers a reasonable amount of features for the price.

Real Estate CRM Features

• Email and SMS text marketing
• Decent automation options
• Available voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) service for a dedicated real estate marketing phone number
• IDX integration for easy market search

The Close Grade: B

As a standalone product, Elevate’s CRM isn’t going to turn too many heads. Don’t get us wrong—it’s functional and serves its purpose well within the overall ecosystem of the Elevate suite, but it doesn’t offer some of the more advanced features offered by CRM-forward products like Propertybase or LionDesk.

It’s important to note that the Elevate CRM has limited functionality on the Elevate Social Pro plan, so if that is a plan you’re considering, you won’t get full use of the CRM.

CMA Wizard

Elevate’s Comparative Market Analysis (or CMA Tool) is built directly into your CRM. It’s where agents and brokers can quickly and easily create attractive, templated CMAs for prospects and clients. Since this tool has an IDX integration, updating your CMAs as new comps become on the market is a breeze.

CMA Wizard Features

• All-digital CMAs are created, edited, and shared with clients straight from your CRM
• IDX integration, making real-time updating easy
• All CMAs are saved in a searchable database for easy reference later

The Close Grade: A-

CMAs are a major time-suck for a lot of Realtors. Elevate’s CMA Tool streamlines the process for you. We could easily see someone who is running a real estate farming campaign using it to create multiple CMAs for entire neighborhoods and integrating them into email marketing campaigns.

The reason this platform didn’t get a perfect score from us was that it lacked some customization that would be nice if you have specific factors that affect value in your market, but not a deal-breaker by any means.

Performance Tracking

Elevate offers limited analytics, a feature they call “Performance Tracking,” focused on gross commission income (GCI) tracking. Analytics are available in other tools on their platform (like their website, paid lead generation tools, and more). However, to access the data, you’ll need to gain access to these tools. If you are a broker using Elevate’s BOSS option, there are some individual agent performance metrics available too.

Performance Tracking Features

• Basic tracking that monitors total sales volume, average sale price, and number of units sold
• Some brokerage-level tracking available in the BOSS package

The Close Grade: C

This Elevate feature doesn’t wow us. Don’t get us wrong—we’re happy to have access to any data that helps measure performance. However, Elevate’s lack of a dashboard seems like a swing and a miss. Adding easy access to analytics from our lead nurturing, social media, and paid lead gen in one place would, dare we say it, elevate this product.

MLS-connected Real Estate Website

Elevate websites are an important part of their marketing ecosystem. They offer all the bells and whistles of their major competitors, plus some handy bonus features. Here are some of our favorites:

MLS-connected Real Estate Website Features

• Native IDX integration—making property search, saving, and automated updates easy for your prospects
• A direct connection with your CRM so that a prospect’s lead profile is updated with their website activity, including homes they view, articles they read, and more
• Attractive, well-designed
• Extremely customizable with an easy to use back-end management system

The Close Grade: A

The Elevate website experience is a really good one. We were very impressed with how attractive the websites are, how easily they can be managed (even by someone who is not very tech-savvy), and how integrated they are with other parts of the Elevate platform.

If this website were available without all the other Elevate tools, it would likely make the cut for our annual Best Real Estate Websites buyer’s guide.

Paid Lead Generation

When you’re ready to boost your reach beyond your organic website traffic and your personal following on social media, paid lead generation is the way to go. Elevate offers an easy (and honestly, pretty inexpensive) way to do this, offering pay-per-click ads on Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, and Bing.

Paid Lead Generation Features

• Similar to the BoldLeads “ad agency approach,” these are exclusive leads that convert on your website, automatically adding to your CRM
• A guaranteed number of leads per month, based on which Elevate package you choose
• The ability to choose between buyer and seller leads

The Close Grade: TBD

The paid lead generation options from Elevate sound amazing. They are well-priced for what you get, the Elevate strategy fits really nicely into an overall marketing approach and business plan. However, we can’t give this a grade yet because, at this point, we haven’t actually seen the system generate real leads. We will continue to monitor this, and when we have better data, we’ll update this section.

Content Marketing Service

The fastest way to establish yourself as an expert in your market is through consistent, high-quality content marketing. Filling your website’s blog with content that’s chock-full of value for your readers gives them more reasons to reach out and start conversations.

The problem is, who has time to write all that blog content? Elevate eliminates this concern by doing it for you.

Content Marketing Service Features

• Original content written by Elevate’s in-house experts
• Market-specific, data-driven content perfect for including in marketing like mailers or email newsletters
• Automatically uploaded and optimized on your Elevate website

The Close Grade: B+

We’ll be totally honest, we were skeptical about this Elevate feature when we first heard about it. Content marketing is difficult to do if your content is being created by someone who isn’t familiar with the specifics of your local market, niche, and client base.

However, the Elevate system produces some interesting, shareable content that will do the job for most agents. Their hyper-local market update content is pretty basic, but for most readers, it absolutely provides value.

Is it perfect? No. Do we expect a centralized content producer to be perfect for agents all over the country? No. Elevate exceeded our expectations on this, though.

Social Media Marketing Service

In today’s day and age, potential real estate buyers and sellers use social media as a form of street cred, helping to verify who you are and what you do. An active social media presence demonstrates to your prospects that you engaged in conversations on topics that matter to them.

Like blog content, well-curated social media content is challenging and time-consuming, which is why all Elevate packages include done-for-you social media.

Social Media Marketing Service Features

• Robust, daily, weekly, and monthly content calendars that are full of attractive, thoughtful posts
• Regular content for both Facebook and Instagram
• Property marketing posts will shout out new listings, price improvements, open houses, and more

The Close Grade: B

The Elevate Social Media Marketing feature has all the hallmarks of a blockbuster, shout-it-from the rooftops tool. Many of the agents we speak to regularly call out social media as the number one marketing effort they want to get better at or outsource.

Elevate offers attractive posts and great content themes—plus, they make it really easy on agents. This is practically a hands-off application.

The problem we’re finding is engagement. In the list of accounts provided to us by Elevate to see this tool in action, 90+% of the posts had little to no engagement on them. No likes, no comments, no shares. No matter how much we like this aspect of Elevate, we can’t give this product an “A” if there’s no evidence that people are actually engaging with it.

Video Walk-through: A Day in the Life of an Elevate Agent

Because we know The Close readers want to actually see what life is like as a user of the products we reviewed, we convinced Elevate to give us a completely unlocked version of their platform to try out for ourselves. Here’s what we found.

Bottom Line: Does The Close Recommend Elevate?

Yes. Elevate’s value relative to its cost is very compelling. A lot of real estate agents could benefit from this platform’s unique blog and social media content creation and management tools.

But, there’s a catch: Elevate is only going to be successful if you consider their tools and content to be the starting point for your marketing efforts. Their social media content will mean nothing if you aren’t engaging others in conversation around it. Their lead generation will be useless if you don’t have a solid plan for client nurturing and follow-up.

That being said, if you have the strategies in place to take advantage of the opportunities Elevate offers, this is absolutely a tool that realtors should consider.

Visit Elevate

The post Elevate Real Estate CRM Review + Video Walk-through appeared first on The Close.

Does Top Producer offer the options and power-ups to make this true? In this review, we’ll take you on an all-access video walk-through of the platform and Top Producer experience. We’ll examine each of the Top Producer packages, their major components, and package costs to help you decide if Top Producer is the right real estate CRM for your business.

(Want to skip right to The Close Recommendation? Click here to get to The Bottom Line.)

Top Producer CRM Overview

Top Producer has been in the real estate CRM game since the 1980s. Yes, you read that right. Some early Top Producer users may have switched from a tabletop Rolodex to a desktop CRM.

For some companies, being around for the last 40 years might mean their product is antiquated and stale, but not so with Top Producer, especially with the recent release of their latest update: Top Producer X.

Top Producer Pros & Cons

Top Producer Plans & Prices

Top Producer offers three plans, each with different options and price points.

All Top Producer plans require an initial, one-year contract. After the initial year, users can choose to commit to another year (to get the 10% savings), or go month-to-month.

Top Producer’s Most Important Features

Now that we have a basic understanding of what Top Producer offers and how much it costs, let’s break down the platform’s most important features. To go into more detail and see these functions in action, make sure to check out our walk-through video later in this article.

CRM Dashboard

Available on: All Top Producer plans
The Close Grade: A

The dashboard for Top Producer X is modern, action-oriented, customizable, and designed with busy, multi-tasking Realtors in mind. I spend a lot of time exploring real estate CRMs, and let me tell you, dashboards are not all created equal.

There’s no wasted space here; every square inch of Top Producer’s dashboard is designed for productivity. And, there’s enough customization options with this interface that most agents will be able to create their own experience.

If I had any negative feedback, it would be that the white-on-white color scheme is going to be a little tough for people with vision problems. I’m not sure this passes accessibility muster. But, overall, the dashboard experience is definitely a win.

Communication Automation

Available on: Basic email automation available on all plans, Market Snapshot not available on Starter
The Close Grade: B-

There’s no easy way to say it; Top Producer’s automation options aren’t best-in-class. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad, but they don’t offer options that many of their competitors do.

You can create standard email drip campaigns, and with Market Snapshot (their automated market report and property alert system available to the Professional and Advanced plans), you can keep your buyers and sellers in the loop with regular market data.

But, you can’t create more complex email drip sequences that react to behavior (for instance, one email if the previous message is opened, one if it is not opened). Also, you can’t automate SMS text messages. Finally, there isn’t a specific destination on their site just for automation; it is mixed in with other communication.

These automation missteps aren’t a deal-breaker for us, but if you’re a Realtor or team leader with designs to become the next great automation expert, this might not be the platform for you.

Transaction Management

Available on: All Top Producer plans
The Close Grade: A-

Within the Top Producer CRM, there’s a tab called “Transactions.” Here, Top Producer users can manage the transactions they’ve got on the board, prioritizing tasks, sorting by stage, and more.

Transaction management purists might scoff at an “A-” rating, but hear me out. Yes, the Top Producer platform lacks the ability to communicate with other important members of a transaction team (mortgage brokers, inspectors, appraisers, and so on). Yes, it’s also missing a client-facing portal that allows them to monitor their transaction’s progress.

Knowing this, I still love this feature of Top Producer. This tool hits me and my business needs right in the sweet spot, and I suspect it will do the same for other Realtors too.

Why?

Because it provides a really great visual timeline of a transaction; an easy to reference spot where I can see exactly what’s been accomplished and what’s coming next for a critical part of my business. Agents will also benefit from a handy commission calculator and tracker to forecast performance and measure goals. You can also create customized call sheets with all the other stakeholders involved in your transaction (even if you can’t communicate with them directly).

Real Estate Website

Available on: All Top Producer plans for an additional $15.75 per month
The Close Grade: B

As a Top Producer customer on any plan, you can access a multi-feature website at a reasonable cost to power your real estate business. My suggestion to Realtors is that you take advantage of this website offering (seriously, 10 bucks a month is NOTHING relative to what you’re getting), but use this as a secondary site or just for lead capture.

Why? Their platform lacks a couple of key features, including a native IDX integration—which means that property search functionality isn’t baked into the platform. Secondly, they don’t offer a “logged in” experience for your site visitors, which means the website can’t sync directly with your CRM, translating visitor behavior into lead profiles.

That being said, you can easily create landing pages and single-property websites, and create lead capture (or “squeeze” pages) that do sync straight to your CRM, and a lot more. Top Producer offers easy page creation templates you can use to highlight neighborhoods or specific sectors or your market, which is an advantage. The cost-to-value ratio for the Top Producer website is very high, I love what you get here.

FiveStreet Automatic Lead Follow-up

Available on: Advanced plan only
The Close Grade: A

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’d love to get more leads, but I simply can’t handle the follow-up?” If so, you’re not alone. We all know that speed-to-lead response time is critical nowadays, and for many agents, our ability to increase lead volume is limited by our ability to respond and connect in the moment.

FiveStreet is an automated lead follow-up tool that responds to your generated leads with an email or a text within that golden five-minute-rule window. Top Producer Advanced plan users can choose from any of the dozens of follow-up email or text templates, or create their own.

Studies show that leads who get thoughtful follow-up communication, even if it’s automated, are far more likely to convert into legitimate prospects than those with hit-or-miss follow-up. If this were the end of the story, I’d be sold. But, it’s only the beginning.

FiveStreet users via Top Producer can use this lead follow-up service for any leads, not just ones generated on the Top Producer website. Whether you’re using Zillow Premier Agent, BoldLeads, Market Leader, or any of the more than 150 lead providers they support, with FiveStreet, you can expand the top of your funnel significantly with very little extra work.

The only reason this tool didn’t get an A+ was because the integration with the Top Producer CRM isn’t perfect. When FiveStreet reaches out to a lead via automated communication, if your lead responds to that communication, it doesn’t get automatically logged in their contact profile. You’ve got to manually enter that communication.

Honestly, this feels like a straightforward fix, something we hope Top Producer will remedy soon, because this fix would make this tool an absolute no-brainer, especially given its low cost.

Top Producer All-access Walk-through Video

Ready to move beyond reading about the Top Producer CRM and actually see the platform in action? Top Producer granted me an all-access pass to their CRM to test drive it myself. Check out what I discovered!

The Close Recommendation: Is Top Producer Right for You?

My overall impression of the Top Producer CRM is very positive. I like the design, the workflow options, and the different tools at my disposal, including Market Snapshot, FiveStreet, and the Transaction Management. Top Producer is great for agents looking for:

• A way to increase the size and effectiveness of their lead funnel
• A CRM you can customize to fit your personal workflow and operation
• A relatively inexpensive tool

However, Top Producer might not be a good fit for you if any of the following are deal-breakers:

• A CRM with limited automated communication options and no automated SMS texting
• A CRM without a highly integrated website
• A CRM without a free trial, or at least the option to start monthly in order to test things out

The Bottom Line

Top Producer offers excellent bang-for-your-buck, providing many ways for real estate agents, teams, and brokerages to level up their business. The tool isn’t perfect, but its offerings are a great value, and anyone looking for a real estate CRM should consider Top Producer.

Visit Top Producer

The post Top Producer CRM Review + Video Walk-through appeared first on The Close.

Is Chime right for you and your real estate business? In this review, we’ll dive into what Chime is, what it does well, and how much it costs, and also make a recommendation for precisely who would (and wouldn’t) benefit from Chime.

The Close Recommendation

If you’re looking to increase your productivity while decreasing the number of tools you use each day, you should consider Chime. Chime provides a comprehensive way to gather leads, convert them into clients, manage them through a transaction, and activate them as referral sources (and repeat clients). Yes, this system has a premium price tag, but in our opinion, the return on an investment from the Chime platform can be substantial.

And since Chime is designed to scale with your business, it’s a solution that will likely serve you throughout your career—whether you’re a single agent, running a team, or operating a brokerage.

Visit Chime

While our overall review of Chime is positive, it’s not a tool for everyone. Here’s a breakdown of who Chime is (and isn’t) a good fit for:

Chime Works Well For:

• Agents with a growing business that they’re willing to invest in. If you’ve got a budget and a business plan that incorporates paid lead generation, referral nurturing, farming, and more, the Chime option is a good one for you.
• Teams who are looking to take their lead generation, distribution, management, and nurturing to the next level. Teams who use Chime have access to advanced analytics, reporting, transaction management, and forecasting tools—all essential for building your real estate empire.
• Brokerages that are looking for a top-down solution to managing all agent operations from a single dashboard. Brokers using Chime also have access to Inside Sales Agents (ISAs), a brokerage website, and websites to offer your agents. You’ll also get 50 hours of dedicated technical support every month.

Chime May Not Be Ideal For:

• Agents who have a tight budget or part-time real estate professionals who don’t have the time to commit to learning the Chime system and using the tools provided.
• Teams who are still sorting out their structure and lead distribution strategies, and don’t have hours set aside each week to review reporting and analytics. Chime provides a lot of data on the performance of your marketing, your individual agents, and your team as a whole. If you don’t have the bandwidth to use this data, this likely isn’t the platform for your team.
• Brokerages that aren’t interested in offering any sort of leads to their agents. A large part of Chime’s value to large teams and brokerages is their ability to integrate their lead generation with their customer relationship manager (CRM). If you don’t plan on offering leads to your brokerage, the value of Chime for your business likely won’t match the price.

How Much Does Chime Cost & What Do You Get?

Chime offers multiple packages, add-ons, and discounts based on the combination of services you choose. The base price of Chime starts with the package you select. Those options are:

Chime Base Package Pricing

(Updated September 2021)

How Do These Packages Differ?

Each Chime package comes with their CRM, a customer-facing website, and access to their lead generation tools. But not all Chime packages are created equal. Here’s what users can expect in terms of features from each of Chime’s three packages:

Foundation Platform Features

Business Platform Features

Enterprise Platform Features

Chime Optional Add-on Pricing

After choosing a Chime base package, you can begin adding on optional services. Here’s a breakdown of your many options (prices updated in September 2021).

Facebook Ad Management

Google Pay-per-Click (PPC) Ad Management

Text Message Marketing

Phone Dialer

Premium Professional Services

Breaking Down Chime’s Most Important Features

Chime’s services can be divided into three basic categories: CRM, website, and marketing. Let’s look at a couple of the most important features in each of these categories to better understand how they could help improve your real estate business.

CRM

Chime’s CRM is all about finding the most efficient ways of achieving your goals. The tools available to Realtors here include automatic lead scoring and analysis. Plus, you’ll get “smart suggestions” from Chime on the most effective way to communicate with your leads based on how they’ve responded in the past. Some other powerful Chime CRM features include:

• Lots of automated marketing options, including email and SMS texting
• A built-in power dialer (up to three lines available)
• An available artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to automatically respond to inquiries from your website
• Built-in transaction management
• Dynamic lead distribution based on team member performance
• A native mobile app
• Hundreds of available integrations with companies like Zillow, Gmail, BombBomb, and more

Website

Chime’s websites are easy to use, all IDX-enabled, and if we can be so bold, damn pretty to look at. But, the Chime website’s most powerful feature is its direct integration with the Chime CRM. When visitors come to your Chime website and complete a lead form, they’re automatically added to your CRM.

After that, nearly every move they make on your site, including the number of properties viewed, searches made, even the number of visits made daily, are logged and factored into the Chime lead scoring system—allowing you to better prioritize who you reach out to first, based on their website activity.

Some other Chime website features of note include:

• In-depth neighborhood data, including demographics, turnover and absorption rates, and more
• Advanced school district search capability
• Excellent landing page options, including Home Valuation, Mortgage Calculators, Showing Requests, and more
• An easy-to-use site editor that makes keeping your website updated easy, even without coding knowledge and experience

Marketing

Their online lead generation strategy powers the Chime marketing engine. Relying heavily on the “ad agency approach” used by other lead gen companies like BoldLeads and Real Geeks, Chime steps it up a notch by doing two things differently:

1. They’ve integrated Facebook’s Lead Forms into their campaigns, allowing leads to convert without ever leaving the social media platform.
2. They use a retargeting strategy to create ads for properties an unconverted prospect viewed on your website to encourage them to give their lead information.

These power-ups, paired with direct integration with the Chime CRM, make this a highly effective lead generation and conversion strategy. Apart from this, some other marketing tools available from Chime include:

• Branding advertisements you can deliver to your ZIP code or your sphere of influence based on custom lists generated by the Chime CRM
• Direct mail options that will automate your circle prospecting and real estate farming

A Day in the Life of a Chime User: Video Walk-through

Where Chime Could Improve

Chime has many things going for it, but like most things, it isn’t perfect.

For starters, Chime is expensive. While we believe that Chime’s return on investment potential is very high, there are going to be some real estate professionals who won’t even get in the door because they simply can’t afford the base price. It would be nice to have some sort of express version of Chime for realtors operating on a leaner budget.

Secondly, Chime is so incredibly feature-rich, sometimes it’s difficult to know exactly where to start your day in terms of how you’re using the system. We found ourselves experiencing option-overload when exploring our demo account. Though a regular Chime user would likely develop a daily rhythm on how they use the platform, there isn’t a clear, prioritized, “do-this-first” sort of direction.

Interested in some alternatives to Chime? Check out our review of Propertybase (the CRM competitor most similar to Chime) or LionDesk (an affordable, all-around workhorse CRM).

Bottom Line

Chime has successfully developed a platform that consolidates your CRM, website, and lead generation efforts into a single interface. They offer a ton of shortcuts toward a productive, profitable business and provide the data and analytics to measure your success and set better goals.

Chime is definitely an investment, one whose efficacy has to be measured over the long run. Still, if you have the budget and the attention bandwidth to invest in Chime, this is a system that will benefit your business.

Visit Chime

The post Is Chime the All-in-One Solution the Real Estate Business Has Been Waiting For? appeared first on The Close.

If you’re skeptical, don’t worry, so were we until we got a chance to actually test out the system, have some interactions with “Gabby” (your new AI assistant), and see some results.

In this article, we’re going to walk you through what Lead Assist is, what it does, and show you firsthand what a conversation with “Gabby” looks like. Will you be a believer by the end of this article? Come along and find out.

What Is Lead Assist?

Lead Assist is an exclusive feature built into the LionDesk CRM platform. It’s designed to start conversations, qualify leads, and maintain relationships with prospective clients in the early stages of your relationship with them.

Lead Assist does this by starting conversations with your leads via text, then dynamically continuing the conversation based on your lead’s responses, gathering qualifying information, and moving them down the lead funnel. We know this sounds too good to be true, but the system is pretty amazing, the responses feel authentic and human, and many who talked to “Gabby” (you can choose any name you like for your AI Assistant) had no idea they weren’t speaking to a real person.

Who Can Use Lead Assist?

In order to access Lead Assist, you have to be a LionDesk customer, which, if you’re not, you should consider. We recently named LionDesk the #1 real estate customer relationship manager (CRM) in our guide of The Best Real Estate CRMs. They’re trusted by more than 165,000 real estate agents across the country, and they’re consistently ranked among the top providers by other reviewers across the industry.

We’ve done a deep dive into LionDesk, including a full video walk-through of the platform you can check out, or you can just head over to their website and try them for yourself. LionDesk offers a 30-day, full-featured free trial; you don’t even need a credit card, so there’s really nothing to lose.

Visit LionDesk

How Much Does Lead Assist Cost?

To access Lead Assist, you need to be a paying LionDesk customer; plans start as low as $21 per month. In order to use Lead Assist, you purchase credits from LionDesk. Each conversation initiated by “Gabby” costs one credit. Credits range in price from $3.00 each, down to $2.30, depending on how many you’re purchasing.

So, for example, an agent who is running a lead generation campaign on Facebook that is collecting 30 leads a month will pay approximately $69 in credits plus their monthly LionDesk CRM fee.

How Does Lead Assist Work?

OK, so now that we know what Lead Assist is and how much it costs, let’s dig into how it actually works. The process is pretty simple, but understanding each of the moving parts makes it easier to see why this is such an effective way to communicate with your leads.

In a nutshell, here’s how the LionDesk process works:

1. “Gabby” gets assigned a lead profile (either manually by you in the LionDesk CRM or automatically through something like a lead generation campaign).
2. “Gabby” opens the conversation with wide, general questions to get your lead talking, and then continues those conversations, qualifying your lead along the way.
3. While qualifying, “Gabby” is populating the lead profile on LionDesk for you with all the info you’ll need to turn this lead into a client.
4. When it’s time, you’ll jump in and take over communication with the lead, and it’s up to you to close them as a client.

Pretty simple, right? Even though the process of using Lead Assist is very straightforward, some folks still have questions. Here are the most frequently asked questions about how Lead Assist functions.

What Triggers Lead Assist?

“Gabby” needs to be prompted to start reaching out to your leads and beginning the qualification process. She can get this notification manually when a real estate agent who’s using LionDesk goes into a lead’s profile and assigns Lead Assist to a particular prospect, or this can happen automatically when a lead is added to your CRM from a lead source you’ve assigned Lead Assist to follow up with.

For instance, say you’re running a Facebook ad campaign (which can also be created inside LionDesk), marketing a list of homes available for sale in a particular market. If a lead completes that lead form and their lead information is automatically transferred into LionDesk, you can tell Lead Assist to automatically begin the follow up process.

How Often Does “Gabby” Follow Up With My Leads?

The answer to this depends on what sort of interaction your leads are having with Lead Assist, just like it would depend if you were the one directly interacting with your leads.

Generally speaking, “Gabby” will follow up with your leads a couple times a week in the beginning. That will space out to once every two weeks for a while, and if she still isn’t hearing anything back from your leads, drops down to a monthly outreach.

“Gabby” will keep trying to engage your leads for up to a year after they’ve been assigned to her; after a year, she calls it quits.

What Happens When People Interact With “Gabby”?

Once a lead engages with Lead Assist, the qualifying conversations begin. “Gabby’s” natural language processing and constantly evolving vocabulary makes interactions feel very natural. She’s also programmed to time her responses so that they aren’t so fast that they feel inauthentic. It’s pretty obvious that you’re speaking to a bot when they respond faster than someone could physically type out a response.

After the conversation begins, “Gabby” starts asking qualifying questions to find out where your lead is at in the process of buying or selling a home. Being armed with this information prior to actually speaking to your prospects is going to help speed along your interactions with them and give your leads the impression that you’re running a well-oiled machine.

You can sit back and watch these conversations happen in real time, or you can wait and catch up at the end of the day to see where all the conversations have left off and determine which leads it’s time to take over and which you’re content letting “Gabby” continue to interact with.

How Does the Lead Passback Occur?

Once “Gabby” has done her job and your leads are well and truly qualified, you’re sent a notification in the LionDesk CRM that there is a qualified lead ready for you. You can wait for these messages, or you can jump in and start texting the lead yourself from right inside the LionDesk CRM.

Doing so will also automatically let “Gabby” know that you’ve got it from there. Since your LionDesk CRM text number isn’t the same as your cell phone number, if you do decide to text (or call, or otherwise communicate with) your lead outside of the framework of LionDesk, you’ve got to go into your lead’s profile and turn off lead assist. Otherwise, “Gabby” will keep reaching out even when you’ve got the lead in your camp.

Overall, the lead passback process is pretty seamless; it’s actually in these passback moments that “Gabby” feels the most real. Even leads who may have an idea that they’re talking to an artificial intelligence (AI) bot will thank “Gabby” after she’s officially handed them over to you.

How Does Lead Assist Fit in With Other LionDesk Tools?

Since Lead Assist is a native function on the LionDesk CRM, it fits in nicely with the other communication and lead generation tools on the platform. My favorite way to use “Gabby” with the rest of LionDesk is to make the activation of Lead Assist a function of specific lead generation campaigns. Here’s an example:

Say you’ve got a real estate farming postcard you’re sending to neighborhoods with a direction to visit a specific website for a home valuation. You can trigger Lead Assist to activate whenever someone fills out a lead form on that website, starting her on the path to putting a qualified, fully formed lead profile in your CRM and indicating when it’s time to jump in and take over.

Often, the challenge with farming campaigns isn’t getting the media out, it is effectively following up with the responses. “Gabby” and Lead Assist make that easy.

The Close Puts “Gabby” to the Test

As a part of putting Lead Assist through its paces, we tried it out with one of our unsuspecting (but very tech-savvy) team members, Lily Stern. The rules of this test were simple: Lily would get a message from an assistant named “Gabby.” She wouldn’t know whether or not she was talking to Lead Assist or to myself, acting as an assistant.

Here’s what Lily had to say about her experience with “Gabby”:

Team member: Lily Stern
Position: Digital marketing specialist
Spoke with: Lead Assist

Here are the screenshots of Lily’s conversation with “Gabby”:

Bringing It All Together: Is “Gabby” Worth It?

In short, yes. For what you pay for “Gabby,” Lead Assist is well worth the investment if it means you get qualified leads, many of whom believe you have a real-life assistant working for you. Since “Gabby” is constantly learning new things, her vocabulary is always improving, and her ability to converse directly with your prospects gets better all the time. You aren’t getting a static tool with Lead Assist—you’re getting a tool that gets better the more you use it.

We think Lead Assist is a great investment for real estate professionals on its own, but it is also part of one of the leading real estate CRMs on the market, LionDesk. If you’re interested in learning more about LionDesk, check out our review and video walk-through here.

If you’re ready to try LionDesk and Lead Assist out for yourself, they’re offering a 30-day free trial that doesn’t even require a credit card, so you’ve really got nothing to lose.

Visit LionDesk

The post Is the Real Estate World Ready for an AI Assistant? LionDesk Thinks So appeared first on The Close.

There are lots of lead generators out there; Real Geeks is more than that. It’s a self-contained strategy. In this article, we’re going to walk you through exactly what Real Geeks is, how it works, how much it costs, and ultimately reveal whether or not you should consider it for your real estate business.

Let’s get started!

What Does Real Geeks Actually Provide for Real Estate Agents?

While nobody has rolled out a true end-to-end solution for real estate professionals when it comes to managing your entire business, Real Geeks is getting close. Their suite of offerings includes high-converting, IDX-powered websites, a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that integrates with their website to track lead activity, time-saving marketing tools, and lead generation strategies that will fill the top of your funnel.

Though there are a ton of different things that Real Geeks does for real estate agents, here are the five that, for our money, will have the biggest impact on your bottom line:

Check out the Real Geeks website to see their in-depth explainer videos about how the system all works together, or schedule a free demo.

Visit Real Geeks

Real Geeks Pricing

The price for Real Geeks starts at $299 per month for one or two users, plus $25 per month for each additional user. For this price, you get access to an IDX-enabled website, the Real Geeks CRM, and their vast library of how-to’s and strategy guides for effectively using their tools.

One of our favorite parts of the Real Geeks pricing model is the al a carte availability of extra services that you can add on as your business grows, allowing you to start small and add features as your real estate empire expands. Here’s a breakdown of those features and their costs:

Real Geeks Extended Pricing

Feature	Cost	Great For
Home Valuation Landing Pages	FREE w/ your base package purchase	Powering up your lead funnel and increasing your seller lead volume
Real Leads PPC & Facebook Marketing	$300 / month + ad spend	Real estate agents who want to integrate Google & Facebook Ads into their marketing strategy but don’t have the time to do it themselves

Curious about where Real Geeks stacks up against similar platforms? Check out the comparison table below:

Real Geeks’ Competitor Pricing Comparison

Platform	Users	Monthly Cost	Additional Cost per User	Setup	Commitment	Advertising
Real Geeks	1-2	$299 (some features are additional)	$25	$250	12 months	Additional
kvCORE	1-100	$499-$1,800	N/A	$900-$1,800	12 months	Additional
Chime	1-100	$299-$899	$15	Waived if prepaid	12 months	Additional
BoomTown	1-25	$1,000-$1,500	N/A	$750-$1,700	12 months	Additional

Going Deeper: A Closer Look at the Most Important Real Geeks Features

Now that you know the basics of what Real Geeks can do for you and how much it costs, let’s dig into the major features a little bit deeper. Here’s exactly what you need to know about our five favorite features of the Real Geeks platform and how they might help you close more deals.

Real Geeks IDX Websites: The Hub of Your Marketing Wheel

Your real estate website is the hub of your marketing wheel. This is where you direct traffic using other Real Geeks tools like Real Leads and the Facebook Marketing Platform, and ultimately, this is where that traffic turns into leads.

Real Geeks websites have all the features you’d expect, including a blogging tool, limited customization options, and lots of calls to action to convert your traffic into leads. Where Real Geeks stands out is their dynamic mapping functionality, the ability clients and prospects have to seamlessly transition from the desktop experience to a customized mobile app, and, of course, the direct link between the website and the CRM, transferring your leads’ activities straight into their contact profile, making meaningful conversations with them later easier.

For those of you who geek out (see what we did there?) over the details like we do, Real Geeks also offers really solid search engine optimization (SEO), A/B testing options for landing pages, an easy-to-use back-end interface, and a fully integrated IDX, not i-framed in. Not sure what all this means? Don’t stress. There’s a ton of resources on the Real Geeks website to get you in the loop on all your options.

The short version of the story is that the websites are set up for success from a client-facing perspective as well as behind the scenes.

Real Geeks CRM: Your Lead Nurturing Control Center

Your Real Geeks website is where your prospects, leads, and clients interact with the Real Geeks ecosystem, but the CRM is where you, as the agent, spend most of your time. Though the dashboard and interface aren’t anything fancy, the clean design and well-organized profiles are a breath of fresh air. We’ve test-driven a lot of CRMs; it’s easy to overwhelm a user with too much information in too little space. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Real Geeks.

You get standard CRM functionality here like custom email drip sequences, comprehensive lead profiles, and mass communication options. It also has a built-in SMS texting interface that allows you to communicate via text right from your desktop and schedule messages to go out whenever you want or as a part of drip sequences. The open and read rates for text messages can be as high as 98%, making this a powerful strategy, especially for the first contact with new leads from your website.

Speaking of websites, it bears repeating how powerful the linkage is between your Real Geeks website and the CRM. Not only do you have your leads’ website activity right in their CRM profile, but you can also use this information to schedule automated communication flows based on how often website visitors are viewing particular properties, saving searches, or favoriting homes for sale.

Real Geeks Property Valuation Lead Magnet: The Ultimate Conversation Starter

There’s a basic formula in real estate lead generation that just about every strategy uses: Entice leads with something of value, and before actually delivering it to them, require their contact information. When it comes to potential homesellers, there isn’t much they want more than an estimate of the value of their home. This is why, despite being relatively maligned by real estate agents everywhere, the Zestimate remains such a popular feature.

Real Geeks delivers on this desire with their customizable, unlimited home valuation landing pages, offering would-be homesellers an estimate on their home’s value and giving you the lead information you need to start a conversation.

You might be asking yourself, “Why would I need more than one home valuation landing page?”

Well, if you’ve read our article on real estate farming, you know that the more targeted your media and marketing is, the more effective it is. With unlimited options for landing pages, Real Geeks users can create a home valuation landing page for every major area of their market, allowing the ads they create using a Real Geeks service or their own strategy to be more targeted and therefore get higher click-through rates.

Real Geeks Real Leads: Harnessing the Power of Google for Lead Generation

What’s the most powerful website on the internet? No, it’s not Zillow, and no, it’s not your professional website (at least not yet). The most powerful website on the internet is Google; most people use this platform multiple times a day to search for what they need most. Real Geeks’ Real Leads platform lets you harness the power of this search engine and ad platform to show up in relevant search results every time one of your prospects is looking for real estate information.

A lot of real estate agents complain that they don’t have the time to learn Google Ads, and even those who do report the platform confusing and difficult to use, which is why for $574 a month plus your ad budget, the marketing experts at Real Geeks will manage your Google PPC campaigns for you. All you need to do is provide them with the information on who you want to target with the ads, where you want to send them (one of the home valuation landing pages or your website is usually a great start!), then you sit back and rake in the both buyer and seller leads.

We get it—$574 a month seems like a lot to spend on anything other than maybe a mortgage or a car loan, especially if you have to supply the ad budget on top of the monthly fee, but hear us out. A single listing that comes your way as a result of your PPC ads that sells for $200,000 (assuming a 3% commission) will get you a gross commission income (GCI) bump of $6,000. Just about any real estate agent in the country would happily agree to exchange $1,000 for $6,000, so, all you need is a single conversion per month to make this strategy wildly worthwhile.

PPC marketing shouldn’t be your only lead source; Real Leads should fit into your overall strategy for filling your lead funnel. For real estate agents who are looking to up their lead volume and diversify their lead sources, this is a great place to start.

Real Geeks Facebook Marketing Solutions: Turning Real Estate Agents Into Master Social Marketers

Successful social media marketing has two sides: organic and paid.

Examples of organic marketing include creating posts for your business page, going live at open houses and for property walk-throughs, and creating Facebook Groups for neighborhoods and communities.

Paid Facebook marketing is all about creating ads that will extend your reach beyond those who follow you organically and introduce your message to potential new clients. Facebook’s ad platform offers a lot of options for creating custom audiences, ad types, and delivery options. So many options, in fact, that many real estate agents find it overwhelming and difficult to use.

This is why the Real Geeks Facebook Marketing Tools are so helpful. Their self-serve platform streamlines and simplifies the ad creation learning curve, saving you up to 75% of the time you would be spending otherwise. If you want to get all the benefits of Facebook Ads but do none of the work, Real Geeks offers a concierge service similar to the sort of attention you get through their Real Leads platform that will do all the heavy lifting for you.

When leads come in from your Facebook Ads, they’re automatically populated into your CRM, allowing you to create communication drips so that contact is immediate and they’re directed down the lead funnel without you having to make a single click. Again, just like Google PPC ads, these should be a component of your lead generation strategy, not the whole kit and caboodle, but for agents looking to level up their game and become top producers in their market, diversifying their lead funnel with Facebook Ads is a must.

Where Does Real Geeks Come Up Short?

Real Geeks has a lot to offer, and we’ll be honest, we’re fans of their tools and all the ways they work together to create an overall strategy for real estate agents, but Real Geeks isn’t perfect. Here are some of the things we found left us wanting a little more.

Website Customization

Though there are some customization options, the Real Geeks websites are highly templated and there isn’t a lot you can do to create a customized experience for your visitors. For most agents, this isn’t a problem as long as the website is converting visitors into leads. But for real estate agents who have a very strong brand image and are looking for a specific aesthetic, layout, and design, you may run into some problems.

It’s worth mentioning here that most real estate websites struggle with this problem; this isn’t a unique issue for Real Geeks, so don’t discount this platform just because of this. If you feel like you need more customization options, make sure to check out our article on the six best real estate website builders of 2022.

Content Marketing Opportunities

Real Geeks’ websites have built-in blog sections, but the content management system, blogging resources, and strategies for content marketing are limited at best. For many agents, this isn’t a problem, but if you plan on leveling up your Google (and community) authority with an active blog to demonstrate your expertise in the real estate business, you’re not going to get many bells and whistles here.

For ardent content marketers, you’re probably going to be better off going completely custom; a WordPress site or even a site like Squarespace can provide you with the tools you need to get your content front and center.

Limited Agent Options on the Mobile App

Real Geeks offers a customized mobile app for agents to give to their customers and leads. Once logged into the app, the customer’s or lead’s experience is synced with their desktop website activity, importing their saved searches and favorited homes, now on a native mobile experience. This app is helpful, especially for clients who live in metropolitan areas where they may be frequently walking by real estate they want information on immediately.

However, the agent-facing mobile app—the one used to manage your CRM—is a little frustrating in its (lack of) capabilities, most notably the inability to respond to SMS messages in-app. Sure, you can switch over to the texting functionality of your phone for this, but not being able to respond in-app with a customer profile up in front of you is challenging.

Our Managing Editor, Emile L’Eplattenier, put together a list of the 29 Best Real Estate Apps for 2022. If you’re on the hunt for ways to improve your mobile real estate game, that’s a great place to start.

So… Is Real Geeks Worth It?

In short, yes. Real Geeks provides a comprehensive lead generation, website, and CRM strategy for real estate agents looking to break into the business, level up their game, or cement themselves as a top producer. There’s a decent monthly investment required in order to get the most out of Real Geeks, but agents who buy in will be rewarded with consistent positive return on investment (ROI).

That being said, Real Geeks isn’t a magic bullet. In order to get your money’s worth (and then some), you have to follow up relentlessly with your leads, stay top of mind with your current sphere of influence, and be proactive about expanding your reach beyond your organic following. Many agents who wind up frustrated with Real Geeks are so because their follow-up and lead nurturing game isn’t strong enough.

What Are Some Real Geeks Alternatives?

Real Geeks is far from the only provider of lead generation, website, and real estate CRM services. We suggest checking out our buyer’s guide for the Top 6 Real Estate Lead Generation Companies of 2022 as the best place to get started.

Where Can I Get Other Lead Generation Ideas to Use With Real Geeks?

Start by visiting our article, 37 Underrated Real Estate Lead Generation Ideas for 2022. Here, you’re going to get a fantastic overview of a ton of different ideas for real estate lead generation, including some great strategies to use on Real Geeks. After that, visit the popular How to Create a Real Estate Lead Generation Plan (+ Template) from real estate veteran Sean Moudry.

Your Turn

Have you used real estate lead generation platforms like Real Geeks before? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below, and if you’re sold on the platform, visit Real Geeks today to dig in.

Visit Real Geeks

The post Real Geeks Review: An In-depth Look at Pricing & Features appeared first on The Close.