Stop Using Spreadsheets to Track Your Real Estate Clients

Last updated: December 2025

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You're Here Because You've Given Up on CRMs

You tried Follow Up Boss. Too complex. Too expensive. Too many features you'd never use.

You tried LionDesk. Same story - video email? Pipeline stages? Drip campaigns? You just wanted to remember birthdays.

So you went back to what works: Google Sheets. Phone contacts. Sticky notes. Memory.

And honestly? It's working... sort of.

You remember the important people. You reach out when you think of it. You've built a decent business without some bloated CRM telling you what to do.

But here's what you're losing:

You're not losing because you're bad at your job. You're losing because manual systems can't scale past your brain's working memory.

You need something that helps without overwhelming. Something that works like your spreadsheet but remembers for you.

That's MEMO.

Table of Contents

The Problem with Manual Systems

Here's what happens when you track relationships manually:

The Google Sheets Reality

You have a spreadsheet. Maybe columns like:

Week 1: You're diligent. You log every interaction. You feel organized.

Week 3: You log the big stuff. The small stuff (coffee chat, quick text) doesn't make it in.

Week 8: You only update it when you feel guilty. The "Last Contact" dates are all wrong.

Week 12: You stop opening the spreadsheet. It's out of date. Feels like homework.

The fundamental problem: Manual entry requires discipline. Nobody has that discipline forever.

The Phone Contacts Reality

You keep everyone in your phone. You text them. You call them. It works... until:

The fundamental problem: Your brain can only hold 5-7 things in working memory. Your sphere has 200+ people.

The Sticky Note Reality

Birthday reminders on your monitor. Follow-up notes on your desk. A note about Mike's referral somewhere in your car.

The fundamental problem: Sticky notes don't stick. They fall. They get buried. They don't remind you.

The "I'll Remember" Reality

You have a great memory. You've been doing this for years. You don't need a system.

Until:

The fundamental problem: Your brain is amazing. But it's not a database.

What You're Currently Using (And Why It's Not Working)

Let's be honest about your current system:

Option 1: Google Sheets + Calendar Reminders

What you do:

What works:

What doesn't work:

Option 2: Phone Contacts + Notes App

What you do:

What works:

What doesn't work:

Option 3: Paper Notebook + Memory

What you do:

What works:

What doesn't work:

Option 4: Nothing (Pure Memory)

What you do:

What works:

What doesn't work:

What MEMO Does Differently

MEMO is built for agents who hate CRMs.

Not "hate CRMs but need one anyway." Actually hate CRMs and refuse to use them.

We're not Follow Up Boss with training wheels. We're a different category: Personal Relationship Manager (PRM), not CRM.

The Core Difference: One Simple Job

Your spreadsheet's job: Store information you manually enter

MEMO's job: Help you remember people with minimal effort

How MEMO Works (The 60-Second Version)

Every morning, MEMO shows you 3 people to connect with:

You pick one. Tap their card. See:

You reach out. Log it. Done.

That's it. You "won the day" with 3 people. The list ends.

The Three Features That Replace Your Manual System

1. The Floating Action Button (FAB)

Replace: "Wait until I get home to update my spreadsheet"

With: "Capture thoughts at red lights"

2. The Short List (3 People Max)

Replace: "Stare at 200-row spreadsheet, freeze, do nothing"

With: "Here are the 3 most important people today"

3. The Daily Deal (Data Entry as a Game)

Replace: "I should fill out those spreadsheet columns... (never does it)"

With: "2-minute daily game that enriches your data"

Features Comparison: Manual vs MEMO

Your Need Google Sheets Phone Contacts MEMO
Store basic info ✅ Yes (manual entry) ✅ Yes (manual entry) ✅ Yes (quick entry + CSV import)
Capture thoughts instantly ❌ No (too slow on mobile) ⚠️ Clunky (buried in contact notes) ✅ Yes (FAB - 10 seconds)
See who needs attention ❌ No (have to scan full list) ❌ No (just alphabetical) ✅ Yes (The Short List - 3 people)
Birthday/anniversary reminders ⚠️ Manual calendar entries ⚠️ Manual calendar entries ✅ Automatic (surfaces at right time)
Last interaction context ⚠️ If you logged it ❌ No ✅ Yes (shows latest memo)
Track "who's drifting" ❌ No (manual review required) ❌ No ✅ Yes (Pulse system)
Mobile-first ❌ No (editing sheets on phone is painful) ✅ Yes ✅ Yes (designed for red lights)
Search across all notes ⚠️ Yes but slow ❌ No ✅ Yes (instant)
Works offline ⚠️ If Google Drive synced ✅ Yes ⚠️ Needs connection to sync
No learning curve ✅ Everyone knows sheets ✅ Everyone has contacts ✅ 10-minute setup
Backup/sync ✅ Google Drive ⚠️ iCloud/Google (sometimes breaks) ✅ Cloud-synced
Cost Free Free $49/month ($588/year)

The Real Question: Is MEMO Worth $49/Month?

Let's do the math on what you're losing with manual systems:

The Referral You Forgot About

The Home Anniversary You Missed

The Birthday You Blanked On

One prevented mistake = MEMO pays for 600+ years.

But let's be more realistic: What if MEMO helps you get one extra referral per year?

That's assuming it only works once. In reality, it works every single day.

Why Agents Abandon Traditional CRMs

The Reluctant User

"I have tried a few and am not a fan of what I have used." — Real estate agent explaining why they use spreadsheets instead of CRMs

When old systems don't scale

"As I developed as an agent and my business grew along with me, I knew that my mental tracking system wasn't sustainable. But none of the CRM options felt like… me. I needed something that felt as personal as my random check-ins and pop bys, but could actually scale with me."

The Statistics Tell the Story

Industry Research Findings:

The top reason: CRMs are too complex, too expensive, or create more work than they solve for relationship-focused agents.

The common pattern:

  1. Agent signs up for traditional CRM
  2. Spends hours in setup and training
  3. Uses it for 2-3 months
  4. Slowly stops logging in (feels like homework)
  5. Returns to spreadsheets or nothing

The problem isn't the agents. The problem is that most CRMs are built for sales pipelines, not relationship management.

How to Switch from Manual to MEMO (It's Easy)

Week 1: Import Your Existing Data

From Google Sheets:

  1. Export your sheet as CSV
  2. Import into MEMO (takes 5 minutes)
  3. MEMO maps columns automatically (name, phone, email, birthday, etc.)
  4. Done - your data is now in MEMO

From Phone Contacts:

  1. Let MEMO access your phone contacts (iOS/Android)
  2. Select which contacts to sync (past clients, sphere)
  3. MEMO imports names, phones, emails
  4. Done - you can still text/call from your phone (MEMO just adds context)

From Paper/Nothing:

  1. Start fresh (import your "top 50" clients manually)
  2. Or upload a CSV if you have it somewhere
  3. Don't stress about perfection - you'll enrich over time via Daily Deal

Week 1 Reality Check: 10-15 minutes total. Not hours like traditional CRMs.

Week 2: Start Using The Short List

  1. Open MEMO each morning
  2. See 3 people to connect with
  3. Pick one (or all three if you're motivated)
  4. Tap their card → See context → Reach out
  5. Log the touchpoint via FAB
  6. See "You won the day ✓"

Week 2 Reality Check: You'll actually do this because it's only 3 people.

Week 3: Capture Thoughts via FAB

  1. You're at a red light
  2. You think: "I should ask Wade about his new puppy"
  3. Tap FAB → "New puppy" → Tag Wade → Done
  4. 10 seconds later, the light turns green
  5. Thought is saved forever

Week 3 Reality Check: This becomes addictive. You'll capture more than you ever did with manual systems.

Week 4: Play The Daily Deal

  1. Open MEMO during coffee
  2. See 5 random cards from your sphere
  3. "Does Andrew have a partner?" → Yes/No
  4. "What's Wade's favorite restaurant?" → Type answer or skip
  5. 2 minutes = 5 people enriched

Week 4 Reality Check: Data entry stops feeling like work. Feels like a game you're winning.

Month 2: Realize You're Not Going Back

Month 2 Reality Check: This is now how you work.

FAQ: For Agents Who've Given Up on CRMs

"I tried CRMs before and hated them. How is MEMO different?"

Traditional CRMs: Built for sales teams. Pipeline stages, lead scoring, activity quotas, drip campaigns, red badges.

MEMO: Built for relationships. 3 people per day, quick capture, no guilt, no complexity.

The difference: Traditional CRMs are tools for "managing leads." MEMO is a tool for "remembering humans."

If you hated CRMs because they were overwhelming, MEMO is the opposite.

"Will I have to spend hours setting this up like other CRMs?"

No.

Total: 10 minutes.

Compare that to Follow Up Boss (2-3 hours), LionDesk (1-2 hours), or "building your perfect Google Sheet" (ongoing).

"My Google Sheet is free. Why should I pay $49/month?"

Fair question. Here's the math:

Your Google Sheet costs:

MEMO costs:

Net difference: $15,000 - $588 = $14,412

MEMO pays for itself if it helps you get one extra referral every 10 years.

More realistically: It pays for itself every month.

"Can I still use my phone for texting/calling?"

Yes. MEMO doesn't replace your phone.

When you tap "Reach Out" on someone's card, MEMO opens your native texting app (or calling app).

MEMO gives you the context (what to say), you use the tools you already have (your phone).

No "yet another inbox" to check.

"What if I want to stop using MEMO? Do I lose my data?"

No. Your data is always exportable.

No contracts. No data hostage. Cancel anytime.

"I'm not technical. Is this going to be complicated?"

If you can use your phone's Contacts app, you can use MEMO.

There are three things:

  1. A button (FAB) - you tap it to log thoughts
  2. A list (Short List) - you see 3 people to contact
  3. A game (Daily Deal) - you swipe to answer quick questions

That's it. That's the whole app.

No menus to learn. No settings to configure. No training videos to watch.

"What about birthdays and home anniversaries? My calendar already does that."

Calendar reminders work... until they don't.

Problems with calendar-only:

MEMO's approach:

You can keep calendar reminders if you want. MEMO just makes them better.

"I only have 50-100 sphere people. Do I need this?"

Yes - you're exactly who this is for.

MEMO isn't for agents with 5,000 leads in a pipeline. It's for agents with 50-500 sphere people they genuinely care about.

50 people × 2-3 interactions per year = 100-150 touchpoints to remember.

Without a system:

That 30% is where your next referral is hiding.

"Can I try it before paying?"

Yes. 14 days free. No credit card required.

Import your contacts. Use The Short List for a week. Capture thoughts via FAB. Play The Daily Deal.

If it feels like your spreadsheet but better: Keep it.

If it feels like yet another CRM: Cancel it. No hard feelings.

Most agents know within 3 days whether MEMO is for them.

The Bottom Line: Your Manual System Is Costing You Money

You're not using a CRM right now because:

Those are all good reasons.

But here's the problem:

Your manual system is invisible. You don't see what you're losing. You don't know about the referrals that didn't happen because you forgot to follow up. You don't see the clients who felt forgotten and listed with someone else.

The losses are silent.

MEMO makes the losses visible - then prevents them.

It's not a CRM. It's a memory aid for people who hate CRMs.

Try MEMO Free for 14 Days

No credit card. No contract. No guilt if you decide it's not for you.

If you're an agent who's been resisting CRMs because they're too much, MEMO is built for you.

Start Your Free Trial →

Or Read the MEMO Manifesto → to understand our philosophy first.

Have questions? Email us at support@memoforagents.com