You've got a new lead sitting in your CRM from three weeks ago. The record is clean. Name, phone, source, a note that says 'looking in spring.' What it doesn't have is a single message you sent after the first one, because the next ten leads arrived before you got back to it.
That is a common spot for agents using a CRM like Chime, either on their own or through a team or brokerage. The CRM is good at holding the pipeline: who came in, where they're from, what stage they're in. Follow-up is a different job, and it's the one that quietly slips.
This page shows how to run Keystone next to Chime. Keystone is follow-up software, not a full CRM, a transaction manager, a website builder, a dialer or a lead source. It works next to Chime, it doesn't connect to it. There is no live sync. You export the people you want followed up with as a spreadsheet from your CRM, import that file into Keystone, and choose a sequence that's already written.
The split is simple. Your CRM keeps the pipeline. Keystone handles the follow-up: email, text, call prompts, printed letters and handwritten cards, all in a daily Today list with every message drafted. If you use a CRM provided by a team or brokerage, check their policies on client communication and mailing before you add an outside tool.
A practical way to start: pick one slice of your list, such as leads from the last 90 days with no recent contact. Export that slice, import it, and let Keystone handle those people for a few weeks. If it works, add another slice.
A CRM can capture every new lead, but capturing a name is not the same as writing to them on day 3, day 14 and day 40. The gap between collected and contacted is where leads go cold.
Plain mass messages get ignored. People answer notes that use their name, reference what they asked about, and arrive in a different channel when the last one went unanswered.
Each person has a channel they actually check. A plan with one channel misses the others, and handwritten mail stands out because few people send it.
If two tools both text the same lead, it gets confusing fast. You need a clear split: one tool holds the record, the other runs the follow-up.
Export the people you want followed up with from your CRM as a spreadsheet. What you can export depends on your account and permissions, so check what yours allows. Drop the CSV into Keystone and the columns match themselves. Then choose a written sequence.
Keystone gives you a Today list. Each item is a message that's already drafted with the person's details filled in. You send it, edit it, or skip it. When someone writes back, their sequence stops and their reply goes to the top of your list. Connect Gmail or Outlook and Keystone sends as you, with replies syncing back both ways.
To avoid doubling up, only import the people you want Keystone to follow up with, and let it send for those people. Letters and cards wait for your approval, and you see the exact piece and its cost first. Free for 100 contacts, then $49 to $189 a month. Annual billing is 20% off. Check your brokerage's policies on client communication and mailing before using any outside tool.
Suggested sequence: New Lead Nurture Beside Your CRM
7 steps over 60 days. Each one lands on your Today list as a draft you can edit or send.
Hi Maria, thanks for your interest. Here's a quick summary of what you asked about and a couple of ways I can help....
Hi Maria, it's Sam. I sent you an email. Easier to reach you here, or is email better?...
Ask what's prompting the move. Talking points: timeline, neighborhoods, financing, what they've seen so far....
A short note on what's available near what you described, with two or three homes worth a look....
A one-page letter with recent sales near their search area. You approve the exact piece and cost first....
A short handwritten note, no pitch. Held for your approval before it ships....
If plans have changed, tell me and I'll adjust. If you're still looking, I have a few new homes to send....
+ more steps in the full sequence
Start on the Free plan. Every message comes drafted for you.