1. Objective

This SOP defines how a Virtual Assistant (VA) maintains a clean, organized, and correctly segmented CRM database — so the agent can find any group of contacts instantly, run targeted campaigns without cross-contaminating segments, and make data-driven decisions about where to invest time and marketing dollars.

A CRM full of unsegmented contacts is not a database — it is a contact list. The difference is that a database tells the agent something: how many active buyers are in the pipeline, which past clients haven't had a touchpoint in 90 days, how many referral sources contributed a closed deal last year. Without consistent segmentation and maintenance, the CRM becomes a tool the agent avoids instead of one they depend on.

The standard: Every contact in the CRM has a stage, a tag, and a source. No exceptions.

Where this SOP starts: Agent onboards and the CRM is either new or in need of cleanup.
Where this SOP ends: This SOP has no end — database hygiene is a permanent, monthly responsibility.

Success looks like: The agent asks "How many active buyers do we have in the $400–500K range?" and the VA can pull that list from the CRM in 60 seconds.

2. Your Role & Boundaries

2a. What you handle independently

• Building and maintaining the standard segment structure in the CRM
• Ensuring every new contact entering the CRM is correctly tagged and staged
• Running the monthly database hygiene review
• Running the quarterly full database audit
• Preparing the annual database purge recommendation for agent review
• Pulling targeted lists for campaigns on request

2b. What requires agent approval before acting

• The decision to remove or archive a contact — the VA identifies candidates; the agent confirms
• Any change to the segment structure or tagging taxonomy — the agent confirms before the VA reorganizes existing contacts
• The annual database purge — the VA prepares the list; the agent reviews and approves before any deletions

2c. What you never do

• You never negotiate on the agent's behalf under any circumstances.
• You never provide pricing, legal, or strategic opinions to any party.
• You never sign or initial any document on behalf of the agent, client, or any party.
• You never communicate directly with the other party's client.
• You never delete a contact without agent confirmation.
• You never move a contact to a different stage without the agent's instruction or a confirmed system rule (e.g., auto-move from Active Buyer to Past Client upon closing).
• You never share database lists with any third party without the agent's explicit instruction.

When in doubt about where a contact belongs: Flag it to the agent rather than guessing. A mistagged contact gets the wrong communication.

3. Schedule & Trigger

Trigger: Agent onboards — initial database setup or audit.

Recurring:
- Monthly: Database hygiene review (new contacts, stage updates, duplicate check)
- Quarterly: Full audit (cold leads, outdated contacts, stage accuracy)
- Annual: Database purge recommendation

4. Standard Segments Every Agent Needs

The following segments should exist in every agent's CRM. The exact label names may vary by CRM platform — adapt the naming to what the platform supports.

Pipeline Stages (Contact Status)

Tags (Multi-Select Labels for Filtering)

Tags allow the agent to filter across stages. Standard tags:

Speed to lead — portal sources: For any contact who arrived through Zillow, Realtor.com, or another portal, response time is critical. Research shows that the odds of conversion drop dramatically after 5 minutes. If a portal lead is in the CRM without a same-day agent contact attempt, flag it to the agent immediately. The first response should be brief and direct: confirm the property they inquired about and offer a quick call.

5. Tagging Standard for New Contacts

Every contact entering the CRM — regardless of source — must have at minimum:

1. Full name — correctly spelled, first and last
2. Email — primary email address
3. Phone — mobile preferred
4. Stage — appropriate pipeline stage
5. Lead source — where this contact came from
6. Date added — when they entered the CRM
7. Any notes — relevant context from the first interaction

Tags should be added as available: Price range, geographic area, property type interest, buyer type. It is better to tag conservatively (only what is confirmed) than to tag speculatively.

6. Monthly Database Hygiene

Run this review in the last week of each month:

Step 1: New Contacts Review

Pull all contacts added in the past 30 days. For each:
- Confirm all required fields are complete
- Confirm the stage is correct
- Confirm tags are applied where available
- Confirm lead source is tagged
- Flag any contacts that appear to be duplicates

Step 2: Duplicate Check

Run a duplicate check in the CRM (most CRMs have this feature). For any suspected duplicates:
- Review both records
- Confirm they are the same person (same email, same phone, or same name + context)
- Merge the records, keeping the more complete version
- Flag to agent if uncertain

Step 3: Stage Accuracy Check

Pull contacts in stages that should have changed based on recent activity:
- Is anyone still marked "Under Contract" whose deal closed? → Move to Past Client
- Is anyone marked "New Lead" who has had 3+ contacts? → Should be Attempting Contact or Active
- Is anyone marked "Active Buyer" who hasn't had a touchpoint in 60 days? → Flag to agent for reactivation or move to Long-Term Nurture

Step 4: New Contacts from Open Houses and Events

Add all open house sign-ins, event registrations, and other recent lead sources not yet in the CRM. Tag with source: "Open House — [Address] — [Date]."

7. Quarterly Full Database Audit

More thorough review — run in the first week of each quarter (January, April, July, October):

Cold Lead Identification

Pull all contacts with no touchpoint recorded in 90+ days. For each:
- Is there a reason for the silence? (Agent decided not to pursue, contact opted out, lead became inactive)
- Flag the list to the agent: "These [X] contacts have had no touchpoint in 90+ days. Would you like to attempt reactivation, move to Long-Term Nurture, or remove?"

Agent decides. VA executes.

Outdated Contact Information

Identify contacts where email addresses have bounced, phone numbers are no longer valid, or addresses are outdated. Flag these to the agent — do not delete, but note that the contact information may need updating.

Stage Accuracy

Review all pipeline stages for accuracy across the full database. Correct any stages that don't match the current relationship status.

8. Annual Database Purge

Once per year, the VA prepares a purge recommendation for agent review. A purge removes confirmed bad data — not cold leads or low-priority contacts, but genuinely invalid records.

Candidates for removal:
- Confirmed duplicate records (already merged — the duplicate shells can be deleted)
- Contacts with no valid email, no phone, and no last name — unworkable data
- Contacts flagged as "Do Not Contact" who have been in that status for 2+ years and have no referral relationship value
- Known deceased contacts (handle with sensitivity — confirm with agent before removing)

The VA never removes contacts unilaterally. Present the list to the agent with the reason for each recommendation. The agent confirms before any deletion.

9. List Pulling for Campaigns

When the agent or VA needs to pull a specific list for a campaign (email blast, social audience upload, print mailer list):

1. Identify the target segment: stage + tags that define the intended audience
2. Run the filter in the CRM
3. Export the list in the format needed (CSV for email platform, etc.)
4. Review the exported list before sending — confirm no Do Not Contact contacts are included
5. Confirm the list with the agent before it is used in any campaign
6. Log the export: date, list description, campaign it was used for

Cross-contamination check: Before using any list, confirm it does not include contacts from inappropriate segments (e.g., active buyers should not receive a seller-only campaign).

10. Checklist

Initial Setup
- ☐ Standard pipeline stages established in CRM
- ☐ Standard tags configured
- ☐ All existing contacts audited, staged, and tagged

Monthly Hygiene
- ☐ New contacts reviewed — all fields complete, correctly staged and tagged
- ☐ Duplicate check run — duplicates merged
- ☐ Stage accuracy checked — outdated stages corrected
- ☐ Open house / event leads added with source tag

Quarterly Audit
- ☐ Cold leads (90+ days no touchpoint) identified and flagged to agent
- ☐ Outdated contact information flagged
- ☐ Stage accuracy reviewed across full database

Annual Purge
- ☐ Purge candidate list prepared and submitted to agent for review
- ☐ Agent confirmed removals
- ☐ Removals executed — logged

List Pulls (per campaign)
- ☐ Target segment clearly defined before pulling
- ☐ Do Not Contact contacts excluded from every list
- ☐ List reviewed and agent-confirmed before use
- ☐ Export logged with date, description, campaign

11. Escalation Protocol

Escalate to the agent immediately in any of these situations:
- The quarterly or annual database audit reveals a significant number of duplicate records that appear to represent real contacts — do not merge or delete without agent review
- A database hygiene action (tag removal, stage change, purge) would affect more than 50 contacts — confirm scope with agent before executing
- An unsubscribe or opt-out request comes in from a contact who is also a current active client — flag before making any list changes
- A segment pull for a campaign returns zero contacts, suggesting a setup error in the database — verify before reporting to agent
- A contact's record contains conflicting information that may indicate identity confusion (two different people sharing the same email) — flag before any communication is sent

Hi [Agent Name] — database issue needs your input before I proceed.

Issue: [Duplicate records / large-scale action scope / opt-out from active client / segment returning zero / identity conflict]
Scale: [Number of records affected]
Needed: [Your approval to proceed / review the affected records / confirm the correct contact]

[VA Name]

If the agent is unreachable: Do not execute any large-scale database action (merge, purge, bulk stage change) without agent approval. Hold the action and document exactly what is planned with a list of affected records so the agent can review and authorize on return.

12. Tools & Access