What Is Zapier For Realtors? (Plus, Step-By-Step Tutorial)

Are you looking for a way to automate your business’s daily tasks and free up valuable time in your day? The solution is Zapier, a web-based tool that can help you save time by automating various tasks. Zapier for real estate agents can automate your lead generation funnel, update your spreadsheets and CRM system, send emails, and more.

In this post, I’ll share how I use Zapier in my business and give you a tutorial on setting up your first workflow automation.

What Is Zapier For Real Estate Agents?

Zapier is a web-based system that creates automated workflows, called Zaps, by connecting different web services and apps. 

For example, you can use Zapier for real estate agents to connect Facebook to your CRM system. Whenever you get a new lead on Facebook, Zapier will automatically update your CRM with the new information. This automation can help free up your time so you can focus on what’s more important, like working directly with your clients.

Some of the apps that Zapier works with are Dropbox, Google Drive, Trello, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Facebook pages, Evernote, WordPress, WonderList, Excel, Google Docs, FullContact, Followup Boss, and Linkedin. 

There are many other apps, so take time to explore Zapier and create the right workflows for you. Keep in mind that popular apps such as Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter are premium apps, which means you will need a paid plan to create Zaps with them.

While Zaps are the name of the actual workflows, Zapier also has Tasks. Tasks occur anytime the system takes an action for you. For example, when Zapier moves a Facebook lead into your CRM system, that counts as one Task.

Zapier Pricing

Zapier offers several different pricing plans to best suit your needs. Each plan has a certain number of Tasks per month and a total number of Zaps. You can pay on either an annual or monthly basis.

Free

With the free plan, you get 100 Tasks per month, five single-step Zaps, and a 15 minute update time.

Starter

The starter plan gets you 750 Tasks each month for $20 or 1,500 Tasks for $39. In total, you get 20 multi-step Zaps, access to three premium apps, and a 15 minute update time.

Professional  

This plan gives you a range of options for the number of Tasks you get each month. The lowest option is 2,000 Tasks for $49 each month, and the highest is two million Tasks for $3,389. You also get unlimited multi-step Zaps, a two-minute update time, and unlimited access to all premium apps.

Team

On the team plan, you can get 50,000 Tasks for $299 on the low end to two million Tasks for $3,499 on the high end. You get unlimited multi-step Zaps, unlimited premium apps, a one-minute update time, and an unlimited number of users.

Company

The company plan begins at 100,000 Tasks for $599 and goes up to two million Tasks for $3,599. You also get unlimited multi-step Zaps, unlimited premium apps, a one-minute update time, unlimited users, advanced admin permissions, and more.

Which Plan is Right For You?

To get the most benefit out of Zapier for real estate agents, I recommend the Starter plan. The 20 Zaps and three premium apps are more than enough if you’re in the early stages of your business, or if you don’t plan to use Zapier for much beyond Facebook Lead Ads, which is what most real estate agents use it for. 

But if your business has grown and you’re getting serious about internet lead generation, then you might want to consider the Professional plan. The main benefit of the Professional plan is its faster update time.

While the Starter plan updates every 15 minutes, the Professional plan updates every two minutes. A quicker update time means you would have a faster speed-to-lead time, so you can contact a lead right away. This is especially important when you consider that leads have a higher chance of converting when you call them within the first five minutes after they register.

How to Set Up Your First Zap

One of the most popular ways to use Zapier for real estate agents is to create a Zap for Facebook Lead Ads. Facebook does not notify you when you get new leads, so finding a way to automate this process will help you save time and reach out to leads faster and more efficiently.

Zapier allows you to connect Facebook Lead Ads to your CRM database so that your new leads are automatically imported in real-time. With the Starter plan, you can also create a Zap with multiple steps. For example, in addition to your CRM database, Zapier can send you an email notification whenever you get a new lead and update your Excel spreadsheets.

Below, I’ll demonstrate step-by-step how to set up a multiple-step Zap for Facebook Lead Ads.

1. Log-in to Your Dashboard

Here you’ll see a list of all your current Zaps. Click on the Make a Zap button in the upper right-hand corner.

2. Select a Trigger App

This is the app that will be the first step in your Zap. In this case, the trigger app is Facebook Lead Ads.

3. Select the Trigger Action

The Trigger action is the action that will set off the Zap. In this case, the trigger is whenever a new lead appears.

4. Log in to Your Facebook Lead Ads Account

Under the next tab, Zapier will ask you to log in to your Facebook Lead Ad account.

5. Edit Options

Under “Edit Options,” Zapier will ask you which Facebook page you’re running your ads from, as well as what lead form you want to connect. So if you have multiple ad campaigns with different forms, you’re going to want to choose the correct one.

6. Test Your Zap

The last step is “Pull in Sample,” which tests if your Zap is working. If you have leads already, it will pull some of those leads into Zapier. If you don’t have any leads yet, you can just hit Continue.

7. Add the Next Step

Click on the plus sign to add the second step of the Zap. In my Zap, I use Zapier’s Formatter app to format my leads’ names. Facebook forms ask for a lead’s full name, rather than having two separate boxes for their first and last name separately. 

8. Choose the Formatter App

The Formatter app can fix the text so that the first and last names are separate, which is how the data is formatted in my CRM. To get started, choose the Formatter app under “Choose an Action App.”

9. Select the Trigger Action For the Formatter App

Choose the action you want the Formatter app to take. Select “Text (Legacy)” to separate the first and last names of your leads.

10. Edit Template

Under “Edit Template,” choose what you want the input to be. In this box, select Step 1 of your Zap, where you set up Facebook Lead Ads. In the Segment Index box, select the lead’s first name.

11. Repeat the Process for the Lead’s Last Name

The Formatter can only select one Segment Index at a time. This means you will have to create a third step in your Zap to collect the lead’s last name. Repeat steps seven through nine and this time, choose the lead’s last name in the Segment Index.

12. Set Up Outbound Emails

The next action I have set up in my Zap is also one of Zapier’s actions, which sends me an email whenever I get a new Facebook lead. Select the Email option under Choose an Action App.

13. Choose the Trigger Action for the Email App

Choose the action you want the Email app to take, which is to send an outbound email.

14. Edit Email Template

Under the “Edit Template” tab, choose which email addresses to send the email to the emails’ subject line and the body. Your subject line should reflect the same topic as the topic of your lead form, so you know which ad your lead is coming from.

In the email body, include the name, email address, and phone number of the lead. Pull this information from step one in your Zap. These emails are essential so that you can call your lead right away. 

15. Connect MailChimp

The next zap I connect to my Facebook Lead Ads is Mail Chimp. Select MailChimp from the list of apps. 

16. Choose the Trigger Action for MailChimp

Choose the action you want Zapier to do with your MailChimp account. For my Zap, I have it set to Add/Update Subscriber. 

17. Log in to MailChimp

Next, you’ll have to log in to your MailChimp account to connect it to Zapier. 

18. Edit Template for MailChimp

Under the “Edit Template” tab, choose which MailChimp email list you want Zapier to update in the List box. If you have multiple email lists, select the one you want to update with your new leads.

In the Subscriber Email box, input where you want Zapier to pull your leads’ email addresses from. Here, select step one in your Zap where you set up Facebook Lead Ads.

19. Finish Editing Your Template

Finally, it’ll ask for the lead’s first and last name. In the First Name box, select step two of your Zap, and in the Last Name box, choose step three of your Zap.

Lastly, you can test this step of your Zap to make sure it’s working correctly under the “Test this Step” tab.

20. Connect Zapier to Your CRM

The last step in my Zap is to connect my CRM system to Zapier. Note that I no longer use Agent Legend as my CRM. Instead, I currently use a kvCORE website.

21. Finalize Your Zap or Add More Steps

If you have the Starter plan, you can make a Zap with as many or as few steps as you want. If you wanted to keep going and add more steps, just click on the plus sign at the end of your last step and choose whatever action you want to do next.

22. Turn Your Zap On

Once you’re done adding all the steps of your zap, Zapier will ask you if you’re ready to activate your Zap. Switch the tab from Off to On to start your Zap.

Final Thoughts on Zapier For Real Estate Agents

An important tip for working with Zapier for real estate agents is to try and keep everything simple. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed if you make Zaps with too many steps. Avoid unnecessary complications by keeping your Zaps simple. 

This will make it easier to stay organized and focus on what is actually helping you. These tools are here to save you time and make your business run smoother, so if you find that you’re stressed, try to simplify and only keep what’s working best for you.

Want to learn how to automate your advertising? Check out my post on Adwerx for real estate agents.

Do you plan to try out Zapier? What Zaps will you create? Let me know in the comments below!