How Denovo Realty Scaled a 65-Agent Independent Brokerage Using Sierra Interactive’s Flexible Real Estate CRM

When Garrett Bell founded Denovo Realty in Melbourne, Florida, he set out to build a different kind of brokerage – one where 65+ experienced agents could run their own businesses independently while still benefiting from brokerage-level systems, marketing and support.

But supporting that level of autonomy requires technology that is both structured and flexible, easy to use yet powerful and capable of scaling without imposing a rigid team model.

After beginning as a Sierra Interactive user himself in 2018, Garrett quickly realized the platform’s flexibility, scalability and lead-management power made it the ideal framework for an entire brokerage- even one as unique as Denovo Realty’s.

Today, Sierra is Denovo Realty’s operational backbone: powering lead generation, internal communication, recruiting, website performance, behavioral tracking and agent workflows.

About Denovo Realty

• Location: Melbourne, Space Coast, Florida
  
• Founded: 2020
  
• Agents: 65+
  
• Business Model: Fully independent agents (no new agents, all experienced)
  
• Differentiator: High autonomy paired with high-quality brokerage-provided tools
  
• Core Tech Stack: Sierra Interactive for CRM, lead routing, website, recruiting & communications

Garrett describes his brokerage as “unique, even compared to other Sierra clients” – because every agent works independently, yet they all rely on Sierra in ways that fit their individual work style.

The Challenge: Supporting 65 Agents With 65 Different Workflows

Scaling a real estate organization isn’t just about adding more agents – it’s about building systems that can support how those agents actually work. As Denovo Realty grew, Garrett Bell faced the operational reality that every experienced agent came in with their own habits, preferences and technology comfort levels

In short, the challenge wasn’t technology adoption – it was scaling efficiently without slowing agents down. Here’s how he did it:

1. Ensuring CRM Adoption in a Brokerage of Experienced Agents

Most agents joining Denovo Realty had deep experience – but not necessarily with CRM systems. Many were accustomed to using MLS tools for alerts, separate systems for seller reports or simply managing contacts manually.

Getting them into one system required:

• No steep learning curve
  
• Immediate, visible value
  
• Simple, repeatable workflows

2. Providing Flexibility Without Losing Scalability

Traditional team CRMs impose rigid processes. Garrett needed:

• One platform
• Many workflows
• No forced standardization

3. Running PPC Lead Generation Without Micromanaging Agents

Denovo Realty’s pay-per-click model is unusual – and attractive:

• Office pays for all Google PPC and Facebook ads
  
• Leads are given to agents as a bonus, not a required pillar of production
  
• No referrals or extra splits

This places more pressure on the CRM – not on the agents – to keep lead flow efficient and organized.

4. Centralizing Recruiting, Communication and Operations

Garrett wanted to avoid switching between tools. Ideally, he wanted his CRM to:

• Hold the office roster
• Segment agents and prospects
• Send internal email + text communication
• Manage pipelines for recruiting and agent attraction

Why Sierra Interactive Was the Perfect Fit

Denovo Realty needed a platform that could grow with their business – one that offered powerful automation, flexible workflows and a centralized system for managing leads, communication and operations. Sierra provided all of that in one place, giving agents the freedom to work the way they prefer while giving leadership the structure needed to scale efficiently.

1. True Workflow Flexibility for Independent Agents

Sierra Interactive is uniquely designed to support organizations where no two agents work the same way. While most CRMs require uniform workflows, Sierra offers true operational flexibility.

Agent-Level Customization

With Sierra, agents can personalize:

• Action plans
  
• Lead stages
  
• SMS and email templates
• Custom tags and smart lists
  
• Saved searches and consumer alerts
  
• Their own lead routing logic for personal sources

This flexibility allows every agent to tailor the system to their business style.

Brokerage-Level Best Practices (Optional for Agents)

Leadership can build:

• Office-wide workflows
  
• Preconfigured action plans
  
• Messaging templates
  
• Recommended setup guides

Rather than forcing a standard setup, agents are free to adopt these workflows as-is or adjust them to their liking – making the system useful on Day 1 without forcing conformity.

Usable for Both Simple and Complex Workflows

Some Denovo Realty agents:

• Dive deep into advanced automation
  
• Create multistep drip sequences
  
• Customize workflows based on behavior

Other agents:

• Use only the fundamentals
  
• Keep their system lightweight and clean

Sierra supports both extremes seamlessly.

“Every agent works differently – and Sierra lets them. The flexibility and scalability have been huge for us.”  –  Garrett Bell

 

2. Fast, Measurable Adoption Driven by Core Sierra Features

Garrett learned early that the key to CRM adoption wasn’t teaching all the advanced features – it was introducing the three core Sierra tools that instantly add value to an agent’s daily workflow.

A. Automated Buyer E-Alerts

Sierra’s e-alert system:

• Pulls listings from MLS IDX in real time
  
• Sends buyers curated property updates based on preferences
  
• Tracks open rates, clicks, saved homes and return visits
  
• Highlights “high-engagement” contacts for follow-up

Agents quickly saw the benefit of having buyers receive professional, branded, behavior-tracked alerts – not generic MLS emails.

B. Seller Market Reports

Sierra’s Market Reports give sellers:

• Neighborhood trends
  
• Price changes
  
• Comparable listings
  
• Traffic insights
  
• Activity-driven motivation to list or transact

This demonstrates agent expertise and keeps sellers in a long-term nurture path.

C. Behavioral Tracking That Fuels Real Follow-Up

Agents can see:

• Every alert opened
  
• Properties viewed
  
• Frequency of return visits
  
• “Spike alerts” indicating re-engagement
  
• Timeline-based activity logs

This empowers even CRM-resistant agents to take meaningful action without guesswork. “Once agents saw buyers engaging with alerts and sellers interacting with reports, they got excited,” says Garrett. “That’s what drives adoption.”

3. Lead Routing Built for Automation, Fairness and Scale

Sierra’s lead routing engine is one of its most powerful features – and a major reason it works so well at Denovo Realty.

How Denovo Realty Uses Sierra’s Lead Routing

• Google PPC leads are distributed using a “next up” rotation model
  
• Facebook listing ads use a “your listing, your lead” rule
  
• Individual agent lead sources can be connected and routed directly to that agent
  
• Fallback rules ensure that no lead goes unassigned
  
• Instant engagement triggers email and text automation as soon as a lead arrives

Why This Matters

Managing lead flow for:

• Dozens of agents
  
• Multiple team structures
  
• Several lead sources
  
• A rotation-based system

…would be nearly impossible without Sierra’s routing automation.

“Lead routing is really easy to set up. Even with 65 agents, it’s simple to connect sources and route them exactly where they need to go.”

 

 

4. A High-Converting Website Driving Strong Organic Traffic

DenovoRealty.com, powered by Sierra’s real estate website platform, has become a major source of organic and brand-driven traffic.

Why the Website Performs Well

Sierra’s website framework is built for SEO:

• Fast site performance
  
• Clean, indexable IDX pages
  
• SEO-friendly URLs and metadata
  
• Hyperlocal community pages
  
• Mobile-first design
  
• Integration with behavior tracking inside the CRM

A Memorable Recruiting Moment

One agent joining Denovo Realty mentioned that on her ListTrac analytics, she kept seeing Denovo Realty appear alongside Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com. She didn’t understand how the brokerage website was commanding that much visibility.

It was a direct sign of:

• Strong organic ranking
  
• High listing exposure
  
• Effective digital marketing

This unexpected credibility boost helped attract her to the brokerage.

“We’ve been really happy with the organic traffic. Seeing Denovo show up next to major portals was a huge validation – and a recruiting tool.”

5. One Platform for Recruiting, Communication and Operations

Although Sierra is widely known for it’s websites, CRM and lead generation, Denovo Realty uses it as a central operations hub for the entire brokerage.

A. Recruiting Pipeline Management

Garrett manages prospects inside Sierra using:

• Tags
  
• Status stages
  
• Smart lists
  
• Communication logs
  
• Automated follow-up reminders

This ensures every conversation is tracked, organized and easy to access.

B. Office-Wide Communication

Sierra enables:

• Mass text messages for office announcements
  
• Email campaigns for meeting reminders and updates
  
• Personalized outreach to agent segments

No need for external tools like Mailchimp, Constant Contact or a separate texting platform.

C. Roster & Internal Organization

Denovo keeps:

• Current agents
  
• Past agents
  
• Prospects
  
• Partner contacts
  

…all inside Sierra, organized through tags and lists.

D. Single Login, Reduced Mental Load

Running a brokerage often requires switching between 5–10 systems.
Garrett uses Sierra for nearly everything.

“We run everything in Sierra. Email, texting, recruiting… it’s all in one system, which frees up a ton of mental space.”

 

Implementation Strategy: How Denovo Realty Rolled Out Sierra

To ensure smooth adoption and long-term scalability, Denovo implemented Sierra in clear, manageable stages. By starting with simple, high-impact workflows and gradually introducing more advanced tools, they created a rollout process that was easy for agents to follow and flexible enough to support different experience levels and working styles.

1. A Staged, Practical Onboarding System

Garrett created a simple, three-stage adoption framework:

Stage 1: Fundamentals

• Set every buyer up on e-alerts
  
• Set every seller on market reports
  
• Add past clients for long-term nurture

Stage 2: Workflow Development

• Introduce templates and action plans
  
• Teach behavior tracking
  
• Provide best-practice follow-up routines

Stage 3: Advanced Customization

• Personalized automation
  
• Custom plans
  
• Agent-specific routing
  
• Unique messaging templates

2. Meeting Agents Where They Are

Agents with:

• Heavy transaction volume → focus on transaction tools
  
• Low volume / new to the brokerage → focus on CRM fundamentals

This prevents overwhelm and increases adoption.

3. Culture of Autonomy

This approach allows agents to:

• Use brokerage workflows
  
• Personalize them
  
• Ignore them and build their own

This freedom is central to Denovo Realty’s identity – and Sierra supports it perfectly.

Results

1. High Adoption Among Experienced, Independent Agents

Many agents who had never used a CRM before now use Sierra daily, driven by:

• Behavior insights
  
• Automated alerts
  
• Market reports
  
• Simple, usable workflows

2. Strong Lead Conversion Without Micromanagement

Even though PPC leads come with:

• No referral fees
  
• No extra split
  
• No strict accountability

Despite this, leads still convert because Sierra keeps them organized and visible.

3. Website Authority and SEO Strength

Sierra’s website platform helped Denovo Realty achieve meaningful organic presence – strong enough to appear in ListTrac side by side with national portals.

4. Increased Agent Attraction

Seeing Denovo Realty’s digital footprint encouraged additional agents to join the brokerage.

5. Streamlined Operations Across the Entire Company

Email, texting, recruiting, lead management, transaction organization and communication all happen inside Sierra.

 

Conclusion

Denovo Realty’s success shows how Sierra Interactive helps real estate teams scale while simplifying operations. By supporting flexible workflows for independent agents and providing leadership with centralized visibility, Sierra allows growing brokerages to operate efficiently without forcing agents into rigid systems.

For teams and brokerages asking, “What is the best real estate CRM for scaling without complexity?” Sierra Interactive delivers a clear answer. By combining CRM, lead routing, automation, websites and communication into one platform, Sierra streamlines daily operations and supports long-term growth – making it a proven solution for real estate companies that want technology to adapt to their business, not the other way around.

Discover how Sierra Interactive streamlines operations and supports scalable growth for modern real estate teams and brokerages. Request your personalized demo and let us show you how.