How to migrate your agency to a new CRM without losing data or momentum

Changing CRM feels risky because the agency can't stop selling or serving while it happens. The good news: most of the risk is predictable. Bad data, unclear ownership and a team that never saw the new tool before go-live cause most failed migrations. A phased plan takes care of all three.

Days 1 to 30: prepare

• Freeze new spreadsheets and "side" lists; everything new goes to one place.
• Clean the data: merge duplicates, fix phones and emails, remove dead leads.
• Define ownership: every active client and open lead gets an owner.
• Map fields from the old system to the new one, including household and policy data.
• Pick the processes that matter first: lead intake, service requests, renewals.

Days 31 to 60: build and run in parallel

• Import clients and policies, and connect enrollment sources such as HealthSherpa.
• Configure pipeline stages, queues and the first automations.
• Train by role: producers, service team and managers see different things.
• Run a pilot group on the new CRM while the rest keeps the old flow.

Days 61 to 90: cut over and stabilize

1. 01Set a cutover date outside peak season (avoid the weeks around Open Enrollment deadlines).
2. 02Move the whole team and switch the old system to read-only.
3. 03Hold a daily 15-minute check-in for two weeks to fix friction fast.
4. 04Review adoption: logins, records updated, tasks closed by agent.

Migrate the operation, not just the data. A perfect import with no owners and no routine is still chaos, only faster.