The idea behind a CRM (Customer Relations Management) tool is sales management,  forecasting and lead processing to increase team effectiveness.  When it comes to choices, there are many. Ask Google for CRM and "Real estate" and you get over 3 million references.

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth , a CRM was a database that you installed at the office, or maybe on a laptop, and needed to be on that PC to be able to enter data and produce reports.  Today, everything is SAS (software-as-a-service) or just plain web-based.  The idea of not being able to conduct business from a wireless coffee shop is absurd!

Top Producer, Sage , ACT!, Sales Force, Pivotal those are all services that you pay
for monthly.   They give your office the ability to manager customer leads
from any internet connected PC.   They're powerful, have lots of features and can be very expensive.

Products like Top Producer and Propel are "pre-customized" for the real estate
industry which, for many, is ideal as it allows agents to hit the ground running... or at least that's what the sales brochures say.    These products are often times the best bet for offices that don't have any IT help because the monthly fee you pay usually includes that support.   (Here's an example of the type of customized report that can come Top Producer)

The other approach for a CRM is what's called open-source.   If you do that Google search again for open source CRMs , you get over 18 million references.   Open source is a different business model.  Instead of purchasing a service, you purchase a product that gives you full control over how it fits into your business.   One example that's most common:  You have a web site that collects leads from prospective clients, but these end up being sent as email.   That's no good!   A lead should be inserted directly into your CRM so the sales process can begin without having to copy and paste.     With an open source CRM, you can take just about any website and make this happen.   SugarCRM is an excellent example of what you can do with open source.    Oh, and one more nice thing about open source ... it's generally very inexpensive, often times free.

In closing, don't be fooled by lofty ROI claims from CRM vendos as most techno upgrades are not big-bang improvements.   They require lots of training, lots of technical support (e.g.,  making systems talk to each other) and lots of patience.   When you are doing your ROI calculations make sure you include all the time that people will need to spend getting the new widget to become part of the daily business process.

Want to learn more.... Compare CRMs