Realvolve CRM vs Follow Up Boss: Which is Best? (+ Glue Sky AI Alternative)

Realvolve CRM vs Follow Up Boss: An In-Depth Comparison (And Why Glue Sky’s AI Offers a Different Edge)

Glue Sky CRM dashboard, an alternative to Realvolve CRM and Follow Up Boss.

Choosing the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a pivotal decision for any real estate agent or team. The market is flooded with options, each promising to streamline workflows, boost productivity, and ultimately increase sales. Among the well-regarded platforms, Realvolve CRM and Follow Up Boss frequently come up in discussions. Both are powerful tools tailored for the real estate industry, but they cater to slightly different needs and philosophies. But what if the real question isn’t just Realvolve vs. Follow Up Boss, but whether either fully addresses the most pressing need of modern agents: truly automated, intelligent lead *engagement* from the very first touchpoint? This is where an AI-powered alternative like Glue Sky enters the conversation, offering a distinct advantage.

This article will provide an in-depth comparison of Realvolve CRM and Follow Up Boss, looking at their strengths, ideal use cases, and potential drawbacks. We’ll then introduce Glue Sky to highlight how its AI-driven outreach and automation capabilities offer a unique solution that complements or even surpasses traditional CRM functionalities in key areas.

Realvolve CRM: The Powerhouse of Workflow Automation and Transaction Management

Realvolve CRM is renowned for its deep workflow automation and robust transaction management features. It’s designed for agents and teams who want to systematize nearly every aspect of their business, from lead nurturing to post-closing follow-up.

Strengths of Realvolve CRM:

Advanced Workflow Automation: This is Realvolve’s flagship feature. It allows users to create highly detailed and conditional workflows (called “Rivers”) that can trigger tasks, emails, and other actions based on specific criteria and timelines. If you love process mapping and deep systemization, Realvolve offers unparalleled depth.
Comprehensive Transaction Management: Realvolve excels at managing the intricacies of real estate transactions. You can track critical dates, manage documents, assign tasks related to a specific deal, and ensure compliance.
Deep Customization: The platform is highly customizable, allowing you to tailor fields, templates, and workflows to your precise business processes.
Contact and Relationship Tracking: Beyond just leads, Realvolve helps manage relationships with all stakeholders in a transaction, including clients, vendors, and cooperating agents.
Integration Capabilities: Realvolve offers integrations with various other real estate tools and services.

Potential Considerations for Realvolve CRM:

Steeper Learning Curve: The sheer power and customization options can mean a more significant time investment to learn and configure the system effectively. It’s not always a “plug-and-play” solution.
User Interface: While functional, some users find the interface less modern or intuitive compared to some competitors, though this is subjective and has seen improvements.
Focus on Backend Processes: While it has lead nurturing capabilities, its core strength lies more in managing existing contacts and transactions through predefined processes rather than, for example, AI-driven initial lead engagement.

Who is Realvolve CRM Best For?

Realvolve is often the preferred choice for:

Detail-oriented agents and teams who want to build and implement highly specific, automated workflows for every stage of the client lifecycle.
Those who need robust, integrated transaction management within their CRM.
Users who are willing to invest time in setting up and learning a powerful, customizable system.
Brokerages that want to standardize processes across their agents.

If deep process automation and managing the “deal flow” are your primary concerns, Realvolve CRM is a strong contender.

Follow Up Boss: Simplicity, Speed-to-Lead, and Team Collaboration

Follow Up Boss (FUB) has gained popularity for its user-friendly interface, excellent lead aggregation capabilities, and features designed to facilitate rapid lead response and team collaboration.

Strengths of Follow Up Boss:

Ease of Use: FUB is widely praised for its clean, intuitive interface. Most users can get up and running relatively quickly.
Lead Aggregation: It excels at pulling in leads from a vast array of sources (Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook Lead Ads, your website, etc.) into one centralized inbox.
Speed-to-Lead Focus: The platform is designed to help agents respond to new leads quickly, with features like instant lead notifications, mobile app functionality, and simple communication tools (email, text, call logging).
Strong Team Features: FUB offers robust tools for teams, including lead routing (e.g., round-robin, first-to-claim), agent accountability tracking, and team leaderboards.
Built-in Calling and Texting: Offers native calling (often with a dedicated number) and texting capabilities directly within the platform, making quick outreach easy.
Action Plans: Provides “Action Plans” which are essentially simpler drip campaigns or task sequences that can be automatically applied to new leads.

Potential Considerations for Follow Up Boss:

Automation Depth: While Action Plans are useful, the automation capabilities may not be as deep or conditionally complex as Realvolve’s workflows.
Transaction Management: FUB is primarily focused on lead generation, nurturing, and conversion. Its transaction management features are generally less comprehensive than Realvolve’s. Many users integrate FUB with dedicated transaction management software.
AI-Driven Outreach: Like Realvolve, FUB is designed for agents to *do* the outreach. It facilitates it but doesn’t typically offer AI to *perform* the initial outreach calls or conversations itself.

Who is Follow Up Boss Best For?

Follow Up Boss is often the preferred choice for:

Agents and teams who prioritize ease of use and rapid adoption.
Those who generate leads from many different online sources and need a central hub to manage them.
Teams that require strong lead routing, collaboration, and accountability features.
Users who want a straightforward system for quick follow-up and basic drip campaigns.

If your main goal is to centralize leads and empower your team for fast (human-driven) follow-up, Follow Up Boss is an excellent option.

The Gap: AI-Powered Initial Lead Engagement – Introducing Glue Sky

Both Realvolve CRM and Follow Up Boss are excellent platforms that serve their target users well. Realvolve excels in systematizing backend processes and transactions, while FUB shines in lead aggregation and facilitating quick, agent-driven follow-up.

However, a significant challenge for many real estate professionals remains: how to instantly and intelligently engage *every* new lead, 24/7, without burning out agents or hiring a large ISA team. This is where Glue Sky offers a compelling and different approach.

Glue Sky is an AI-powered CRM and outreach platform built specifically for real estate agents and agencies. Its core differentiator is its ability to automate the *initial engagement and qualification* of leads using conversational AI.

What Makes Glue Sky Different from Realvolve and Follow Up Boss?

AI Cold Calling: This is Glue Sky’s flagship feature. Its AI voice assistant can automatically call new leads within minutes, engage them in natural conversation, ask your predefined qualifying questions (timeline, budget, motivation, pre-approval status, etc.), and even book appointments directly into an agent’s calendar. This is not just a dialer; it’s an AI conducting the initial call.
AI-Generated Emails & SMS: Beyond calls, Glue Sky’s AI can send personalized, automated emails and SMS messages as part of “smart sequences.” These messages are context-aware and designed to nurture leads effectively.
Full Workflow Automation for Outreach: Glue Sky allows you to create sophisticated “smart sequences” that combine AI calls, emails, and texts. For example, a new lead can receive an AI call; if no answer, an SMS follows; if still no engagement, an email is sent – all automated.
Focus on “Digital Team Member”: Glue Sky acts like a digital ISA or assistant that handles the repetitive, time-consuming initial outreach and qualification, freeing up human agents to focus on warm, qualified leads.
Real-Time Lead Management Dashboard: A clean CRM interface to track all AI interactions (call transcripts, messages), lead status, outcomes, and next steps.

How Glue Sky Complements or Competes in the Realvolve CRM vs Follow Up Boss Discussion:

If you’re considering Realvolve for its automation: Glue Sky offers a different *type* of automation – focused on the front-end lead engagement. While Realvolve automates internal processes and transaction tasks, Glue Sky automates the initial conversations with leads. They could potentially complement each other if you need both deep backend process automation and AI-driven front-end engagement.
If you’re considering Follow Up Boss for speed-to-lead: Glue Sky takes speed-to-lead to another level by having AI make the initial contact almost instantly, 24/7, something human agents (even with FUB’s tools) can struggle to achieve consistently. FUB helps agents respond quickly; Glue Sky’s AI *is* the initial quick response.

Glue Sky isn’t trying to be Realvolve (for deep transaction management) or purely Follow Up Boss (for simple lead routing and manual agent outreach). It’s pioneering the space of AI-driven lead engagement and qualification within a CRM framework. This is a crucial distinction for agents feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of new leads and the challenge of immediate, consistent follow-up.

Real estate agent discussing options, highlighting the different strengths of CRMs like Realvolve, Follow Up Boss, and Glue Sky.

Making the Right Choice: Realvolve CRM vs Follow Up Boss vs Glue Sky

The “best” CRM depends entirely on your specific needs, team structure, and business priorities. Ask yourself these questions:

What is my biggest pain point?
- Is it managing complex transactions and internal processes? (→ Consider Realvolve)
- Is it centralizing leads from many sources and enabling quick team follow-up? (→ Consider Follow Up Boss)
- Is it instantly engaging and qualifying every new lead, 24/7, without hiring more staff? (→ Consider Glue Sky)
How important is deep workflow automation for backend tasks versus front-end lead engagement?
- Realvolve excels at backend.
- Glue Sky excels at front-end AI engagement.
- Follow Up Boss offers simpler front-end automation for agent tasks.
What is my team’s tech-savviness and willingness to learn a new system?
- Follow Up Boss is generally considered easiest to learn.
- Realvolve can have a steeper learning curve.
- Glue Sky is designed to be intuitive for setting up AI campaigns, with the AI handling the complex conversational work.
Do I need robust, integrated transaction management within my CRM?
- Realvolve is strong here.
- FUB and Glue Sky are less focused on this, typically integrating with specialized transaction tools if needed.
Am I looking to scale my lead engagement without proportionally scaling my human team?
- Glue Sky is specifically designed for this, acting as a force multiplier.

Conclusion: Choosing Your Path Forward

Both Realvolve CRM and Follow Up Boss are reputable and powerful tools that serve distinct needs within the real estate industry. Realvolve is your go-to for deep process systemization and transaction management. Follow Up Boss is excellent for user-friendly lead aggregation and team-based rapid response.

However, if your primary challenge is the overwhelming task of immediate, consistent, and intelligent engagement with every new lead, and you’re looking to leverage AI to automate this crucial first touchpoint, then Glue Sky offers a compelling, modern solution. It effectively acts as your “digital team member,” ensuring no lead is missed and your human agents can focus their valuable time on already qualified, warmed-up prospects.

The landscape of best real estate CRMs is evolving. By understanding the unique strengths of each platform—Realvolve, Follow Up Boss, and the AI-driven approach of Glue Sky—you can make an informed decision that best aligns with your business goals and propels your real estate success.

Interested in seeing how Glue Sky’s AI can revolutionize your lead engagement and qualification? Request a personalized demo of Glue Sky today!