Real estate is a relationship business running on spreadsheets. That disconnect costs agents and investors deals every week.
Whether you are wholesaling, flipping, or building a rental portfolio, your CRM setup determines your deal flow. Here is exactly how to configure it.
The REI Pipeline
For Wholesalers
- New Lead — from cold calling, direct mail, driving for dollars
- Contacted — first conversation completed
- Appointment Set — property visit scheduled
- Appointment Met — met with seller, assessed property
- Offer Made — purchase agreement presented
- Under Contract — signed contract
- Assignment/Close — deal done
For Fix-and-Flip
Add stages: Due Diligence, Rehab Planning, Rehab In Progress, Listed for Sale, Sold
For Rental Investors
Add: Tenant Screening, Lease Signing, Property Management
Custom Fields That Matter
Your CRM needs real estate-specific fields:
- Property address (separate from contact address)
- Property type (SFH, multi-family, commercial, land)
- ARV (After Repair Value)
- Repair estimate
- Max Allowable Offer (MAO = ARV × 0.7 - repairs)
- Seller motivation (1-10 scale)
- Mortgage balance and monthly payment
- Lead source (direct mail, PPC, referral, driving for dollars)
- Timeline to sell
Automation for REI
Speed to lead: When a new lead comes in from PPC or a website form, auto-assign to the next available acquisitions agent and trigger an immediate call.
Follow-up sequences: Sellers who say "not yet" need a 90-day drip. Monthly check-in calls, quarterly mailers, and annual market updates. Most wholesalers quit after two follow-ups — the deal is in follow-up five through ten.
Disposition pipeline: Once you have a property under contract, you need a separate pipeline to find buyers. Track buyer interest, proof of funds, and assignment fee negotiations.
Metrics for REI
| Metric | Benchmark | |--------|-----------| | Leads to appointments | 5-10% | | Appointments to contracts | 15-25% | | Average deal profit | $10,000-25,000 | | Cost per lead | $15-50 (PPC), $0.50-2 (cold calling) | | Follow-up touches to contract | 5-12 |
The numbers tell the story: REI is a volume game. The right CRM ensures no lead falls through the cracks and every follow-up happens automatically.