If you're in real estate, you know that leads are everything. But chasing down every name scribbled on a napkin or lost in your inbox? That's a recipe for burnout. This guide is for agents and small teams who want a sane, simple way to keep track of leads and actually move them toward a closing—without turning your life into a spreadsheet nightmare.
We're going to walk through how to use Wiseagent CRM to track and nurture your real estate leads, step by step. No fluff, no sales pitch—just real talk about what works, what doesn't, and how to avoid the common traps.
Step 1: Get Your Leads into Wiseagent (and Out of Your Head)
First things first: if your leads are scattered across texts, emails, open house sign-in sheets, and your memory, you need to get them into one place. Wiseagent is built to be that place, but only if you actually use it.
How to import leads:
- Manual entry: If you’re starting fresh, you can add leads one by one. It’s boring, but sometimes it’s the best way to clean up your data.
- CSV import: If you’ve got a spreadsheet (from Zillow, Realtor.com, open house sign-ins, whatever), use Wiseagent’s CSV import. Clean up your columns first—bad data in means bad data out.
- Lead capture integrations: Wiseagent connects to most major web forms, Facebook lead ads, and even Zillow. Set up these integrations so new leads flow in automatically. This is worth the setup time.
Pro tip: Don’t bother importing every contact you’ve ever met. Focus on real, actionable leads—people with a phone number, email, and at least some interest.
Step 2: Organize Your Leads Before Things Get Messy
A CRM only helps if you can find what you need, fast. This is where categories, tags, and sources come in.
Set up categories and tags:
- Categories: Use these for big buckets—like “Buyer,” “Seller,” “Investor,” “Renter.” Don’t get too clever here.
- Tags: Use tags for specifics—“Open House May 2024,” “First-Time Buyer,” “Hot Lead,” etc.
- Sources: Track where each lead came from (Zillow, referral, social media, etc.). This helps you see what’s working.
What to skip: Don’t waste hours making up dozens of tags you’ll forget to use. Start with a handful, and add more only when you actually need them.
Step 3: Set Up Follow-Up Workflows (So You Don’t Drop the Ball)
Here’s where Wiseagent can actually save your bacon. The best CRM in the world is useless if you don’t follow up, and most agents drop the ball after the first call.
How to automate follow-up:
- Drip campaigns: Wiseagent lets you set up email (and sometimes text) drip campaigns. Use these for new leads who aren’t ready to talk yet. Don’t spam—keep it light, helpful, and short.
- Task reminders: Set reminders to call, text, or email specific leads. Wiseagent can nudge you when it’s time so you don’t have to remember every detail.
- Workflows: For hot leads, create a checklist: call, send intro email, schedule showing, etc. You can make these templates and reuse them.
What works: Automate the stuff you forget (like check-ins), but make time for personal outreach. People can spot canned emails a mile away.
Step 4: Track Conversations (Because Memory Is a Liar)
Every good CRM should help you remember who said what, when. Wiseagent keeps a record of calls, emails, texts, and notes—if you actually use it.
How to track conversations:
- Add notes right after each call or meeting. Even if it’s just “likes ranch houses, hates HOAs.”
- Log emails and texts. Wiseagent can sync your email or let you BCC messages to your CRM. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.
- Upload documents. You can attach files to leads—handy for contracts, pre-approvals, or that napkin sketch they love.
What to ignore: Don’t try to log every single interaction (like every “thanks” text). Focus on real conversations and decisions.
Step 5: Use the Pipeline (Don’t Just Stare at Lists)
Wiseagent has a pipeline view—a visual way to see where every lead is in your sales process. This beats scrolling through endless lists.
How to use the pipeline:
- Set up stages: Typical stages might be “New Lead,” “Contacted,” “Showing Scheduled,” “Negotiation,” “Under Contract,” and “Closed.”
- Move leads through the pipeline: Drag and drop as your relationship progresses. This helps you spot stuck leads and bottlenecks.
- Review weekly: Block 10 minutes a week to review your pipeline. What’s stuck? Who needs a nudge? Don’t let leads linger in “Contacted” forever.
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate your pipeline. Six stages is plenty. More than that and you’ll spend all day moving cards around.
Step 6: Nurture Cold and Old Leads (Without Being Annoying)
Not every lead is ready to buy or sell right now. But staying top-of-mind means they’ll come back to you when they are.
How to nurture leads:
- Set up long-term drip campaigns: Quarterly market updates, holiday greetings, or neighborhood news. Keep it useful, not salesy.
- Personalized check-ins: Reach out with something relevant—“Saw a price drop in your favorite neighborhood,” or “Rates just dipped.”
- Birthday and anniversary reminders: Wiseagent can remind you about these dates. A simple text or card goes a long way.
What doesn’t work: Blasting generic listings every week. That’s a fast track to the spam folder.
Step 7: Track What’s Working (And Kill What Isn’t)
If you’re spending hours on follow-up and not seeing results, something’s off. Wiseagent has basic reporting—use it to see what’s paying off.
What to look at:
- Lead sources: Where are your actual clients coming from? Double down on those channels.
- Response rates: Are people opening your emails? If not, try shorter, more personal messages.
- Pipeline conversion: How many leads are stuck in early stages? Tweak your follow-up or discard dead leads.
Pro tip: Don’t get bogged down in analytics. Track one or two numbers that matter to you and adjust. No need for a dashboard worthy of NASA.
What to Ignore (At Least for Now)
- Fancy integrations: Don’t waste time connecting every tool you own. Start simple. Add more later if you actually need them.
- Overengineering: You don’t need a 20-step workflow or a tag for every scenario. More complexity means more stuff to forget.
- Every new CRM feature: Wiseagent, like most CRMs, loves to roll out new bells and whistles. If you’re not sure what a feature does, skip it.
Keep It Simple—and Make It a Habit
CRMs like Wiseagent aren’t magic. They only work if you actually use them. The trick is to keep your setup simple, make updating it part of your daily routine, and focus on real conversations, not just moving data around.
Start small: import your real leads, set up basic categories, automate a few follow-ups, and actually log your notes. Tweak as you go. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s not letting good leads slip away while you chase the next shiny thing. Stick with it, and you’ll spend less time drowning in admin, and more time closing deals.