@Creighton Bertrand Brivity is the best tool I found while doing my research prior to going all in on Podio, but unfortunately it's geared heavily toward Realtors and not worth getting if you don't have a license. It ties into the MLS and requires your license access for most useful features like property data.
@Patrick Jackson Zapier is fine and dandy but not scalable at all. I always recommend against building tools that may need to be scaled in the future with Zapier. It's ok to use for mapping out and testing system architecture, but should be temporary until the API communications and code can be moved to a more permanent solution like a cloud server.
It's tough finding a one-size-fits-all solution that allows customization without having an awful learning curve. I'm building my own CRM from the ground up because 1) I know what I want to exist and have the knowledge to build it for me and 2) I believe others will fall in love with it as well.
What most CRMs fail to do well is automate and assist with the follow-up of thousands of individuals. Any of you who have been in the game for a while know that property data (comps, repair numbers, etc.) isn't what's important. What's important is the seller. Managing a congruent communication thread with sellers through various methods (mail, sms, call, online ads, VM, appointments) is a nightmare with most CRMs. Message me if you want me to go off on all of the issues I've had with other CRMs!
Another thing to think about that I haven't seen brought up: where is your data? How easily could you export that data?... With tools like Podio, data extraction is a nightmare. Want to move to a new CRM from Podio? Good luck moving your data over and FORGET about keeping your valuable comment history.
