Affordable CRM Options for Real Estate Agents on a Budget

In real estate, having a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is mandatory. But paying good money month-after-month for a CRM software subscription is not.

Stop and think for a moment about the purpose of a CRM system. It’s simply a way to organize your lead follow-up, right? You certainly don’t need an expensive database for that!

All you really need is a spreadsheet to keep a record of your leads, their needs, your most recent communication, and your next scheduled communication.

So if you’re a real estate agent on a tight budget, skip the robust CRM databases that charge a monthly fee. And choose one of these totally affordable CRM options for real estate agents instead. In fact, these options will cost you under $10!

Affordable CRM Options for Real Estate Agents on a Budget

Here are our top 3 affordable CRM options for real estate agents.

1. Try Google Streak CRM for Real Estate Agents

Did you know that Google offers a free, basic CRM for real estate agents? That’s right. With just a Gmail account, you can get access to Google Streak.

Streak works like s spreadsheet, keeping your leads and their pertinent data categorized by status. You’ll be able to see which of your clients are under contract, which are scheduled for a listing appointment, and which are actively searching for homes.

Sounds perfect, right? So what’s the catch?

There’s really no major catch to Streak. There’s a small learning curve as you get used to how the data is stored. And there’s always a possibility that Google may eventually decide to charge for the version of Streak that’s currently available free-of-charge. There’s also always a remote possibility of a data breach any time data is stored online, but that’s hardly worth mentioning considering the fact that most CRMs are cloud-based.

With those minor issues being the only downsides, and the service currently being free, Streak is well-worth a try.

2. DIY Your CRM

Don’t want to take any risk storing all your leads on Google’s platform? If you have some basic spreadsheet skills, you can create a CRM of your own using Excel or Google Sheets.

And once you have your own CRM, you have the option to continue using it free of charge for as long as you’re in business! And you can store the file locally to minimize the potential of any possible data hack.

Interested in creating your own CRM template? Here’s how:

1. Open a blank workbook in your spreadsheet program of choice (probably Excel or Google Sheets as mentioned above).
2. You can keep all your leads on the same tab, or you can create one tab for sellers, and one for buyers.
3. Create column headers for:
   1. Name
   2. Address
   3. Lead Status
   4. Lead Quality
   5. Source
   6. Price Range
   7. Client’s Needs
   8. Most Recent Communication
   9. Next Scheduled Communication
   10. And any other fields you find relevant to your business
4. Filter and sort the columns so your next scheduled communication is always on top.

That’s it! Now every time you open your CRM, you can start at the top, contact everyone scheduled for follow up on that day, enter the details of your follow up, and schedule the next follow-up.

This is a simple but effective CRM system. The act of sorting by the date of your next scheduled follow-up reminds you to always end your lead follow-up by scheduling the next follow-up. Otherwise, you’d always see the same old leads sitting at the top of your list.

You can get creative with your CRM. Add a color-coding system using the “conditional formatting” function. Or create drop-down menus for fields like Lead Status or Lead Source so you can sort/filter by that field if you ever launch a marketing campaign for that specific group. This is your CRM, so you can customize it any way that makes sense for your unique business!

3. Get a Great Deal on a Done-For-You CRM Template

If you like the idea of having a CRM you can use month-after-month for the rest of your career (without those pesky monthly fees so many companies charge for a CRM), but you’re not confident in your ability to build your own working CRM, consider spending just a few bucks for a done-for-you CRM template.

It’s just a matter of knowing where to look!

Etsy is known for their hand-crafted goods, but they’re also a secret source of digital products, like real estate templates. And sure, a real estate CRM is a pretty specific request, but you can still find one on Etsy few for as little as $10.

This is a great solution if you want to skip the set-up and get straight to logging your leads, following up, and growing your income!

Quick poll

Which of these affordable CRM options for real estate agents is the best fit for your business? Let us know in the comments!