1. Objective

This SOP defines how a Virtual Assistant (VA) sets up and configures a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for a new Levrly client — either an agent who has not yet implemented a CRM, or one migrating from one platform to another. A fully configured CRM is the operational foundation for every lead-generation, follow-up, pipeline, and reporting SOP in the library. Until it is in place, CRM-dependent SOPs (CRM-01 through CRM-10, OPS-03 metrics, etc.) cannot run cleanly.

The VA's role is setup and configuration — not platform selection strategy. If the agent hasn't chosen a CRM, the VA surfaces common options and considerations; the agent decides. Once a platform is selected, the VA executes the configuration, imports existing data, and hands over a documented, usable system.

Where this SOP starts: The Levrly client engagement begins with the agent having either no CRM or a platform they're switching away from.
Where this SOP ends: The CRM is configured, integrated with lead sources and email, populated with the agent's existing contacts, and documented with a one-page "how your VA uses your CRM" summary.

Success looks like: From day one of active work, the VA can log leads accurately, track pipeline stages, tag by source, and produce reliable CRM-sourced data for reporting. The agent can open the CRM and recognize their own business — familiar stages, familiar tags, familiar contacts — without being surprised by the configuration.

2. Your Role & Boundaries

2a. What you handle independently

• Presenting the agent with a short comparison of common CRM options (see Section 3) if selection is still open
• Executing all configuration steps per Sections 4–8 once the agent confirms the platform
• Setting up contact fields, pipeline stages, and the tag taxonomy per Levrly's standard starting template (customizable per agent)
• Connecting the agent's email, calendar, and lead sources to the CRM
• Importing existing contacts from spreadsheets, prior CRM exports, Gmail contacts, LinkedIn, or other sources, with standard deduplication and tagging
• Building the core automation sequences per Section 7
• Creating the one-page "how your VA uses your CRM" summary (Section 9)
• Documenting all configuration decisions in the agent's operations file

2b. What requires agent approval before acting

• Selection of the CRM platform itself (if not already chosen) — the agent decides after reviewing the comparison
• Paid-tier selection (free vs. paid features, add-ons)
• Any data import that includes contacts the agent has not explicitly confirmed (e.g., personal contacts in a Gmail export)
• Creating or modifying automation sequences that include outbound communication (the agent reviews every drip and sequence before it goes live)
• Granting CRM access to anyone beyond the agent and VA (team members, assistants, broker office)
• Any integration that involves sharing the agent's contact list with a third-party tool

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 enroll the agent in a CRM platform or paid plan on their behalf — credit card and account ownership is always the agent.
• You never auto-launch a drip, sequence, or outbound email campaign without the agent's explicit review and approval of the first full cycle.
• You never import a contact list that contains people outside the agent's business relationship — personal contacts, family, non-client professional contacts — unless the agent has specifically reviewed and approved the import.
• You never delete contacts during an import or cleanup without an auditable log of what was removed and why.

When in doubt: Default to configuration that is reversible and documented. A field you added can be removed; a contact you deleted without a backup is gone.

3. Schedule & Trigger

Trigger: A new Levrly client engagement begins and the agent either (a) has no CRM, (b) has a CRM but wants to migrate to a new platform, or (c) has a CRM that has never been configured beyond the platform defaults. Confirm the starting state with the agent during onboarding.

Expected turnaround: 3–5 business days for a full setup on a platform the VA is already familiar with. Migrations or first-time setups on an unfamiliar platform may take longer — communicate the timeline in writing at the start.

Sequence context: This SOP typically runs first in a new Levrly engagement, before any lead-intake or client-onboarding SOP can operate cleanly. Downstream SOPs that depend on a working CRM include CRM standards and daily use, lead intake and source tagging, new client onboarding, and monthly business metrics report. Related tech setups — MLS Profile, Transaction Management System, and Showing Platform — can run in parallel.

If you are unable to complete this task: Notify the agent at the start of your absence or as soon as possible. Flag any open or time-sensitive items. The agent will determine whether to delegate or defer. Never let a recurring deadline pass without flagging it to the agent in advance.

4. CRM Selection (if not already chosen)

If the agent is still deciding on a platform, present the comparison below and defer the selection decision to the agent. Do not express a preference beyond neutral observation.

Common real estate CRMs — brief comparison

Decision criteria to surface to the agent

• Budget: monthly cost, minimum term, additional-user pricing
• Lead sources: which lead sources (Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook, website) need to flow in automatically
• Team size: solo agent vs. team — some platforms are built for team visibility
• Integration needs: does the agent also need a website, IDX, phone system, or mass-text tool?
• Learning curve: how comfortable is the agent with CRM work vs. wanting a plug-and-play setup?

Present this comparison in a short written summary (or walk through in a 15-minute call) and let the agent choose. Log the decision and the reasoning in the operations file.

NEVER: Open the agent's credit card details, start a trial, or create an account under the agent's name on any platform. Account creation is always the agent's action.

5. Basic Configuration

Once the platform is confirmed, execute the following configuration in sequence. Verify each step before moving to the next.

5a. User setup and VA access

• Agent creates the primary account
• VA is added as a team member or collaborator with the access level the agent approves (typically "Admin" or equivalent for the VA; "Limited" if the agent prefers tighter control)
• Confirm VA can log in, view all contacts, edit contact records, and view pipeline and report dashboards
• Confirm VA cannot change account-level billing or delete the account (ideal access pattern — full operational access without account-ownership rights)

5b. Contact fields

Ensure the following standard contact fields exist and are enabled on every contact record:

• First name, last name, preferred name
• Phone (primary, secondary)
• Email (primary, secondary)
• Physical address (street, city, state, zip)
• Client type (Buyer, Seller, Both, Past Client, SOI, Prospect)
• Lead source (standard source tags — see 5d)
• Referral source (if lead source is Referral)
• Pipeline stage
• Price range / budget (for buyers)
• Area of interest (for buyers) / property address (for sellers)
• Agent notes (free text)
• Last contact date
• Next follow-up date
• Do-not-contact preferences (email, text, phone)

If any of these are not available by default, create them as custom fields.

5c. Pipeline stages

Configure the pipeline with these standard stages (adjust terminology to match the platform; confirm final naming with the agent before locking):

Buyer pipeline

1. New Lead
2. Nurturing (long-term, not actively buying)
3. Active Buyer (searching, pre-approved)
4. Showing Properties
5. Offer in Progress
6. Under Contract
7. Closed Buyer
8. Past Client

Seller pipeline

1. New Lead
2. Nurturing
3. Pre-Listing (appointment scheduled)
4. Listing Active
5. Listing Under Contract
6. Closed Seller
7. Past Client

Database pipeline (for non-active contacts)

1. Sphere of Influence
2. Inactive / Long-term nurture
3. Archived

Contacts move between pipelines as their status changes. Use the platform's stage-movement automation where possible.

5d. Tag taxonomy

Establish the tag set before any contacts are imported. Standard tag categories:

Lead source tags (one per contact, required — from Lead Source Tracking & Tagging standard set):
- Zillow, Realtor.com, Google, Facebook organic, Facebook paid, Instagram organic, Instagram paid, Open House, Referral, SOI, Sign Call, Website organic, Email campaign, Past Client

Lead type tags (one or more per contact):
- First-time buyer, Move-up buyer, Investor, Downsizer, Relocation, Listing — equity, Listing — new construction, Short sale / distressed

Area tags (geography — configure per agent's market):
- Neighborhood names, school districts, city/zip, or other units relevant to the agent

Price range tags (for buyers — configure per agent's typical market ranges):
- Under $300K, $300K–$500K, $500K–$750K, $750K–$1M, $1M–$2M, Over $2M (adjust ranges to the market)

Lifecycle tags (for reporting):
- New this month, Closed this year, Missed follow-up, Long-term nurture

6. Email Integration

6a. Connect the agent's email

Connect the agent's primary business email (Gmail, Outlook/Microsoft 365, or the agent's domain email) to the CRM. This is the single most important integration — it powers automatic logging of sent and received email, contact enrichment from email signatures, and conversation history.

Steps (adapt to the platform):
1. Agent navigates to CRM Settings → Email Integration and authenticates their email account
2. VA confirms two-way sync is active (emails sent from Gmail show up in the CRM; emails sent from the CRM show up in Sent mail)
3. VA confirms the CRM is logging emails to the correct contact record (spot-check several recent emails)
4. If two-way sync is unavailable on the agent's current email plan, flag to the agent — it may be worth a plan upgrade

6b. Confirm two-way sync works end-to-end

Test with a specific contact:
1. Send an email from Gmail/Outlook to a test contact in the CRM
2. Wait 2–5 minutes; confirm the email appears on the contact's CRM record
3. Reply from within the CRM interface
4. Confirm the reply appears in the agent's Gmail/Outlook Sent folder
5. Reply from the test contact's account to the agent's email
6. Confirm the reply appears in the CRM

If any step fails, troubleshoot before proceeding. Do not rely on a partially working sync.

6c. Calendar integration (often bundled)

If the CRM supports calendar integration, also connect the agent's primary calendar. This allows appointments booked in the CRM to appear on the agent's calendar automatically. See Calendar & Scheduling Management for calendar standards.

7. Lead Source Integrations

Connect each of the agent's lead-generation sources to flow leads directly into the CRM.

7a. Portal leads

• Zillow Premier Agent — connect via Zillow Tech Connect or the platform's native Zillow integration
• Realtor.com leads — typically delivered via a "Realtor.com Connect" integration
• Facebook/Instagram Lead Ads — connected via Meta Lead Ads integration (Zapier or native CRM integration)

7b. Website and forms

• Agent's website form(s) — connected via the CRM's native form builder, direct API, or Zapier
• IDX search saves (if the agent's website offers property search) — contacts who save a search should flow in as a lead
• Open House sign-in tool (Spacio, CurbHero, or similar) — connected so open-house attendees show up as leads automatically

7c. Manual sources

For lead sources that don't have automatic integrations (e.g., SOI referrals, sign calls, handwritten leads from networking events), configure a standard "quick-add" workflow so the VA can log leads into the CRM within 5 minutes of notification.

7d. Test every integration

For each integration, submit a test lead and confirm:
1. The lead appears in the CRM within the expected time window (usually minutes)
2. The correct source tag is applied automatically
3. The lead enters the correct pipeline stage ("New Lead")
4. Any planned automation fires as expected

Document the expected SLA for each source (e.g., "Zillow leads arrive in CRM within 60 seconds"). This matters for the 5-minute speed-to-lead standard in Online Inquiry Response Protocol.

Speed-to-lead matters. Online leads that get a response within 5 minutes convert dramatically better than those that wait longer. If a CRM integration is slow or unreliable, it directly hits the agent's conversion rate.

8. Automation Setup

Build the following automation sequences. Do not enable them until the agent has reviewed the full message sequence and approved each one.

8a. New lead immediate response

Triggered when a new lead is added with a Lead Source tag (e.g., Zillow, Facebook, website form).

• Step 1 (immediate): Auto-text or auto-email to the lead: "Hi [Name], this is [VA Name] with [Agent Name]. Thanks for your interest in [property/area]. Is there a good time in the next few minutes for a quick call?" (See Online Inquiry Response Protocol for the full speed-to-lead template.)
• Step 2 (simultaneous): Notify agent and VA via SMS or push notification
• Step 3 (if no response in 30 minutes): Auto-email with a property search link or value-add content
• Step 4 (if no response in 24 hours): Enroll in the 8x8 new-lead nurture sequence (see 8b)

8b. 8x8 new lead nurture

Eight touches over eight weeks for new leads who have not yet engaged. Week-by-week structure per the course standard (to be confirmed with agent):

Build the email steps as automated; surface the phone-call and handwritten-card steps as tasks for the agent (VA preps the list, agent makes the call).

8c. 33 Touch (past clients and SOI)

Long-term nurture plan for past clients and sphere-of-influence contacts. Standard breakdown:

• 12x Monthly email newsletter
• 4x Quarterly phone calls (surface as tasks for the agent)
• 2x Client appreciation events (one-time calendar reminders)
• 4x Postcards / mailers (quarterly — surface as tasks or integrate with a print-and-mail vendor)
• 1x Annual home-iversary card or call
• 10x Valuable, non-promotional social content (coordinate with the social content calendar)

8d. Post-close follow-up

For contacts who have just closed a transaction:

• Day 0 (close date): Thank-you email from agent
• Day 30: Check-in call task for agent
• Day 90: "How's the new home?" email
• Day 180: Anniversary-of-close reminder task for agent
• Annual: Home-iversary card and tax-documents reminder (buyer side)

8e. Review requests

For closed transactions, automate a review-request email 14–21 days post-close, with links to Google, Zillow, and Facebook review pages. See Review Request & Reputation Management for the full review-request workflow.

9. Initial Database Import

If the agent has existing contacts from a prior CRM, spreadsheet, or email-contact export, import them following the protocol below.

9a. Gather the source data

• Confirm with the agent what source(s) to import from — prior CRM export, Gmail contacts, LinkedIn connections, business-card scanner export, etc.
• Get the agent's explicit approval on the exact source files before import
• Review the source data for personal contacts or non-client contacts the agent does not want in the business CRM — flag for the agent to review before import

9b. Clean and prepare the data

Before import, prepare the data:
- Ensure one row per contact (no duplicates in the source)
- Standardize field names to match the CRM's contact fields
- Fill in missing fields where known (source, type, area of interest)
- Tag every row with at least a lead source and a client type

9c. Deduplicate against existing CRM contacts

If the CRM already has contacts (e.g., leads that came in during setup), run a deduplication pass:
- Match on email first, then phone
- Merge duplicates, keeping the most recent activity data

9d. Import

• Use the CRM's bulk import tool with the prepared file
• Import in batches of 100–500 contacts if the system allows — large imports are harder to undo if something goes wrong
• After each batch, spot-check 5–10 records to confirm fields mapped correctly

9e. Post-import tagging

After the import is complete:
- Apply lifecycle tags (e.g., "Imported from [Source]" + import date) so these contacts are traceable
- Enroll past clients in the 33 Touch sequence (with agent approval)
- Enroll active leads in the appropriate follow-up sequence (with agent approval)

9f. Import audit log

Log the following in the operations file:
- Source file used (filename, row count)
- Number of contacts imported
- Number of duplicates merged
- Number of contacts flagged or excluded
- Date of import
- Any issues encountered

NEVER: Delete the source import file after import. Keep it archived in the operations folder for audit purposes.

10. Training Documentation — "How Your VA Uses Your CRM"

Create a one-page summary for the agent that explains the setup and how the VA will use the CRM day-to-day. This is the handoff document that closes the setup project.

Contents

• Platform and plan — which CRM, which plan tier
• Pipeline stages — what each stage means and when contacts move
• Tag taxonomy — the standard tags and what each signals
• Lead sources integrated — where leads flow in from
• Automations running — new-lead response, 8x8, 33 Touch, post-close, review requests
• VA's daily CRM workflow — what the VA does every day (log new leads, update pipeline stages, flag follow-ups, run reports)
• How to find common things — pipeline view, all contacts, reports, automation dashboard
• Agent's approval gates — what requires agent action before it happens (sending a new sequence, deleting contacts, granting access to others)
• Contact support — CRM support URL, login credentials reference (stored securely, not in this doc)

Save the document in the operations folder as [Platform] CRM — VA Operating Summary.md and send a copy to the agent for reference.

11. Escalation — When to Escalate Immediately

Most CRM setup runs linearly without escalation. The following warrant immediate agent contact:

• Integration failure that blocks lead flow — Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook, or website leads aren't reaching the CRM, and a 5-minute response time cannot be met
• Email sync breaks two-way — emails are sending but not logging, or logging but not sending; conversation history is at risk
• Contact data loss during import — unexpected number of records missing after import
• Platform outage during critical setup step — agent cannot proceed until platform is restored
• Agent's data is at risk — a platform change or import error could lose historical data

Use this escalation template:

Hi [Agent Name] — CRM setup issue:

Issue: [One sentence — e.g., "Zillow leads are flowing to the CRM with a 15–30 minute delay instead of immediate; this puts us outside the 5-minute speed-to-lead window."]
Impact: [Specific — e.g., "Any Zillow leads between now and resolution are at a conversion disadvantage."]
What I've tried: [Brief list of troubleshooting]
What I need from you: [Specific — e.g., "Agent to contact Zillow Tech Connect support with me on the line"]

[VA Name]

If agent is unreachable within 1 business day:
1. Document everything and continue with the steps that don't depend on agent input.
2. Do not contact vendor support or third parties on the agent's behalf without explicit authorization.
3. Log all attempts to reach the agent.

12. Completion Checklist

Platform & Access
- ☐ CRM platform confirmed with agent
- ☐ Agent's account active
- ☐ VA access configured at the appropriate level
- ☐ Login credentials stored per the agent's security standard (password manager, not this document)

Core Configuration
- ☐ Contact fields match the standard set (Section 5b)
- ☐ Pipeline stages built for buyers, sellers, and database (Section 5c)
- ☐ Tag taxonomy built: lead source, lead type, area, price range, lifecycle (Section 5d)

Integrations
- ☐ Email connected; two-way sync confirmed working end-to-end
- ☐ Calendar connected (if supported)
- ☐ Zillow leads flowing correctly
- ☐ Realtor.com leads flowing correctly
- ☐ Facebook/Instagram leads flowing correctly (if applicable)
- ☐ Website form(s) connected and tested
- ☐ Open House sign-in tool connected (if applicable)

Automations
- ☐ Speed-to-lead sequence built, tested, and agent-approved
- ☐ 8x8 new lead sequence built and agent-approved
- ☐ 33 Touch past-client/SOI sequence built and agent-approved
- ☐ Post-close follow-up built and agent-approved
- ☐ Review request automation built and agent-approved

Database Import
- ☐ Source files approved by agent
- ☐ Data cleaned, deduplicated, tagged
- ☐ Import complete with spot-check passed
- ☐ Import audit log saved

Documentation
- ☐ "How Your VA Uses Your CRM" one-pager delivered to agent
- ☐ Configuration decisions logged in operations file
- ☐ Import log filed

Handoff
- ☐ Agent has used the CRM at least once (logged in, confirmed their view is correct)
- ☐ New Lead Intake & CRM Setup and Lead Source Tracking & Tagging ready to begin operational use

13. Tools & Access