Switching CRMs without losing your book: a migration checklist

Agents stay on a bad CRM for years because moving feels dangerous. It isn't, if you do it in this order.

1. Export everything, twice. Leads, contacts, notes, dispositions, appointments, policies, call recordings if the system lets you. CSV for records, and a separate download of recordings. Do it a second time the day before cutover.

2. Map the fields on paper. Old system's "Status" becomes new system's pipeline stage. Old "Lead source" becomes new "Source." Write the map before importing; every mismatch you find on paper is a thousand records you don't have to fix later.

3. Import into a test pipeline first. A hundred records. Check that phone numbers kept their formatting, dates didn't shift a day, and notes aren't truncated.

4. Move phone numbers carefully. If your business numbers are on the old platform, port them. Porting takes days to weeks. Set up the new numbers and forward in the meantime so callbacks don't vanish. Your 10DLC registration is tied to the sending number; re-register or transfer it.

5. Move the whole book, not just the active leads. Issued policies with draft dates and month-13 dates are the most valuable records you have. Bring them.

6. Run both for two weeks. Work the new system, keep read-only access to the old one for the thing you forgot.

7. Cancel in writing, keep the export. Some vendors delete data at cancellation. Your export is your backup.

What to expect. Two to three weeks of lower production while your hands learn the new screens. Plan the switch for your slowest month.

What did you lose in a CRM migration that you wish someone had warned you about?