Cathy, the primary reason agents are stuck with 'half-a$$" CRMs is they did not understand the process and where the real cost exists. Let me get that out of the way first. The REAL cost of the crm is your investment of testing, configuring, validation, setup, implementation and training. When those dollars are spent, no one want to do it again. Trust me when I say my validation plans have revealed CRM that are  simply too dangerous for a real estate agent to use.

Where you must start is defining what your business REALLY needs to get you were you intend to be in 3-5 years. It is possible all you need is a place to search for your existing contacts. A Spreadsheet will work nicely.

Or you may want a CRM that holds searchable contacts and actually has lead generation capability, currates communications, organizes listings and notes and even those lock boxes along with checklists. These are all things a legacy practice agent needs.

Legacy based CRM are landing page and drip campaign dependent. However if you recognize the communication portals to 'haven't mets' is become increasingly smaller and better guarded, then the old school methods may not be where you want to invest.

For traditional practices, by order of price consider the following:

Realty Juggler
Wise Agent
Top Producer.

If you "See the light"  consider the following from lowest to highest cost:
Sugar CRM
Hubspot
SalesForce

Best of success,

Annette

Don't pay for a CRM. They are too bulky, offer too much stuff you'll never use, long learning curve - just stick with the basics.  For me, I use all the features in Outlook and keep notes in OneNote.  

Examine many and eliminate slowly. You will find the one that woks for you.List your questions and concerns before a demonstration!

Cathy - this is so personal as what works for one person may not work for another.  This section can give you lots of ideas but finding the right fit for you is the one that you will use.  Good luck.  

Buffini & Company 's Referral Maker CRM (expandable to assistants and team)!

Agreed with Annette, and want to add "Bitrix 24" to the CRM list too.

I use Less Annoying CRM - It's $10 a month and very basic but has all the needful components that I need.

I love Annette Lawrence , Palm Harbor, FL 727-420-4041  response.  i have used wise agent with success.  The trust is actually USING the CRM to kep in touch.

I find many CRS systems are why to complicated and the bells and whistles unnecessary. I use Realty Juggler at $99 a year. It does all you need it to do, has a ton of instructional videos and coordinates groups with Mail Chimp.

I never use one.... but you'll have many answers here....

We're happy with Ixact Contact.

I have been through several of them, including Top Producer - and found that IXACT serves my needs very well. All of my assistants can log in and each have daily reminders, etc. It's a VERY user-friendly CRM. 

Good luck with whichever one you decide to use!

I'm surprised no one has yet commented the best CRM is the one you use. Which is so true.  When I started, I used Realty Juggler as it was low cost and basic.  Figured I would go the low cost, basic route initially then get more sophisticated once I learned more of what I needed.  I still use Realty Juggler. My brokerage recently provided KvCore to me at no cost.  It is much more sophisticated and technical. I'm in the learning/training stage now.  Realty Juggler was really easy to use with minimal training required.  They have tutorials but often I did not have to use the tutorial; it was pretty intuitive.  My suggestion, use Excel to start then consider Realty Juggler if you need more, then consider higher end CRM's if you find it not meeting your needs.

Lots of different options out there... you need to first define what you need and want out of a CRM and then search out the one that best meets your needs and budget. I use Infusionsoft. It works for me. Many use IXACT, Top Producer, etc. Google the term and you'll find lots of information on line.

Question is asked way to much. Lots of answers just have to ask the AR search button for tons of great stuff.

The best one is the one you will use to build your database.

I used Top Producer for many years.

Currently using eEdge, which is good, but looking forward to moving to KW Command which looks great.

Cathy,

We made up our own....test different ones, or follow the suggestions here.

I would start by asking ... why do you think you even need a CRM? Is it because someone, perhaps a coach, said you need one?  What is the volume of your business?  Do you really need one? 

I am with Francine Viola - I use Outlook and other programs like Excel and it works well for me.  If it ain't broken, don't fix it.  Where is the best use of your time and money?  

The best one is the one you will use.

Good luck

The best one is the one that you will use.  But seriously, it depends on whether you want to be able to access it through mobile and sync to a desktop as well.  Realty Juggler is pretty good and easy to use.

From day one I've had a secretary Cathy Harris even when I started out with nothing to my name.

 CRM software-affordable

I actually am struggling with this now.  I have used Ixact Contact, Wise Agent, Realty Juggler, KvCore, and DeltaNet6.  

Pros and Cons of each in my opinion:

Ixact Contact: 

Has great auto bday and house anniversary set and forget technology.  Has the option to host a website and they are partnered with Morris Marketing and can run direct mail newsletters through it.  Has texting available too even does Social Stream for social media posts.  Can add up quickly $ but may be worth it to you.  I don't love the interface.  It is disconnected.  No transaction checklists in it.  Has nice integrations.  I find the drip campaigns to be friendly and modern. 

Wise Agent: has a great transaction checklist and commission management system.  The interface is kind of antiquated and old-fashioned.  Needs an updated look.  Reminds me of a 90's computer interface.  I absolutely love that you can add the co-agent's contact info and also appraisers, and inspectors.  Great way to manage vendors and network.  It lacks the auto bday and house anniversary feature, you have to create a campaign for it, which can be tedious if you are starting with a large database.  The drip campaigns are kinda old fashioned in style in my opinion.  But I do like this CRM.  It has texting and smart numbers too.  Has some built in AI to it but not spectacular.

Realty Juggler is very basic and simple.  At least it was in 2017 when I used it as a newly licensed agent.  It does allow you to input your database easily, and it has a nice monthly cost tracker built in that I found very useful.  I miss that in the more robust CRMs.  I wish more had that.  It was like a built in expense tracker you could keep track of your business costs and keep good track of your bottom line.  

KvCore my brokerage offered it at the time for free and I actually loved it.  It is not user friendly for a beginner but I loved the interface.  Had an auto dialer, text number, great drip campaigns and great AI and client tracking.  t is very robust! Almost too much so.  You spend more time playing with it than hitting the streets and opening doors with your clients.  The cost is VERY high without a large brokerage paying for it.  Way more than I would spend for a CRM but it really was nicely designed.  You can creat landing pages in it, has a website too, IDX capabilities.  

DeltaNet6 is like a business hub as well as a CRM.  The interface is fairly simple and its colorful and has a decent design.  Is similar to ixact and wise agent in the fact you can do campaigns, has a text number, website.  My brokerage offers it at no cost but I am always reluctant to dive into a brokerage CRM because your entire business management can be totally disrupted if you choose to leave the brokerage or they decide to pull the plug on it.  That's probably the only reason I haven't fully dived into it yet and left  go of mine.  

I mirror what some others said, the best one is the one you will use.  

I don't  use any.

Great answers are here. 

Use one that is easy to learn quickly.  I have Top Producer, and is not very user friendly.

I designed my own years ago

Park and seeing what others use.

I use Hubspot Cathy

We are testing a few new ones this year as the technology continues to change. LionDesk, Elevated Network so far are at the top of our list; no choice yet though! Here is a link to  LionDesk