The short answer
Follow Up Boss tags describe a lead's interests and status, while the stage describes their timing. Use three kinds: tags that start an email series (Seller, VA buyer), tags that describe the person (first-time buyer, has an agent), and system tags you leave alone. Add tags one lead at a time, never in bulk.
Below: the steps, the tags I'd build, how tags work with smart lists and automations, and the three tags that override everything else.
Step by step: how to use Follow Up Boss tags
- Set the stage first, then tag. Stage is timing. Tags sit on top of it.
- Listen on every call for interests (VA, downsizing, first-time, new build) and status (pre-approved, has an agent).
- Add the tag during or right after the call. On the person's profile, one lead at a time.
- Check that only one lender light is on. Green, yellow or red, never two.
- Remove tags that stop being true. Bad phone fixed? Remove it so calls come back.
- Never add or remove tags in bulk. One bulk change can fire hundreds of emails.
- Let one person own the tag list. New tags go through the CRM owner, spelled one way, no duplicates.
Tags vs stages in Follow Up Boss
| Stage | Tag | |
|---|---|---|
| Tells you | When they'll move | Who they are and what they want |
| How many per lead | One | As many as fit |
| Examples | Hot, Warm, Nurture | VA buyer, first-time buyer, seller, has an agent |
| What it should drive | The main follow-up plan | Extra series, filters, on/off switches |
| Changes when | Their timeline changes | You learn something new |
1. Tags that start an email series
Add one when a lead tells you what they want. A long educational series starts on top of the stage plan. Examples:
- Seller: anyone thinking about selling. Seller content starts, buyer emails pause.
- Financing: wants to understand loans, credit and down payment help.
- Lender green / yellow / red light: where they stand with a lender. Each starts matching follow-up and turns off the other two.
- VA buyer: veterans and active duty.
- 55+ / downsizing: right-sizing, what to do with the stuff, community rules and costs.
- Divorce: a careful, long series for buying or selling during a divorce.
- New construction, one-level living, horse property, golf, multigenerational: home-type interests.
- Short sale: a seller who may be underwater.
- Bad phone: the number doesn't connect. An email-only series asking for a working number. Call tasks pause.
2. Tags that describe the person
These send nothing. They're how you find people later.
First-time buyer, homeowner, renter, investor, cash buyer, pre-approved, application pending, already purchased, past client, has an agent, relocating in, out of service area, language preference, licensed agent, vendor or referral partner, and a sphere tag with your name for your own people.
3. Tags the system owns
Consent and opt-out tags (do not call, opted out of texts or emails, unsubscribed, bounced), registration and source tags, alert cooldowns. Many integrations, like lead sources and texting or AI tools, add their own tags too. Don't add or remove these by hand. If one looks wrong, tell whoever runs your CRM.
How do tags work with smart lists and automations?
A smart list is a saved filter. Tags make it sharp. "Warm, tagged VA buyer, no call in 30 days" is a call list you can work in ten minutes. In Follow Up Boss, Automations can also start when a tag is added, which is how an interest tag kicks off a long email series. Test every tag-triggered automation on a test contact before it touches a real lead.
The three tags that change everything
| Tag | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Seller | Pauses buyer emails and starts seller content, whatever the stage. | The moment you learn they own a home they may sell. |
| Pause drips | Stops every automated email and text. Your own calls and tasks keep going. The saved search keeps running. | They asked for quiet, or it's your sphere or a referral you talk to yourself. Never because you're too busy to call. |
| No behavior alerts | Turns off only the website alerts. Emails keep running. | You already talk to them daily and the alerts are noise. See website behavior alerts. |
A worked example (illustration only)
On a call, a buyer says: "I'm a veteran, we rent now, and we'd love one-level living. The lender said we're approved."
Tags added: VA buyer, renter, one-level living, pre-approved, lender green light. Stage: Hot.
Illustration only.
How to explain it to your client
Clients feel tags as relevance. When a client says, "Your emails are actually useful":
"I try to only send what fits. You told me you're a veteran and want one level, so that's what you'll hear about from me."
Watch-outs
- Tags describe interests and situations, never protected traits. No tags for race, religion, national origin, disability, familial status or anything similar. Fair housing.
- Language preference is fine when the client asks to communicate in a language. Use it to serve them, never to steer.
- Don't fight the system tags. Opt-outs are law and policy, not suggestions.
- Seller tag first, then the pricing conversation. Otherwise they keep getting buyer emails.
- Too many tags means no tags. If agents can't find the right one in five seconds, they skip it.
Keep going
- All CRM pages: CRM and Follow Up Boss training
- Next: Follow Up Boss stages, Follow Up Boss setup basics, long-term lead nurture, we already have an agent
- Want the follow-up plan we run, tags included, built in your own account? See 90 Days of Gain for Follow Up Boss.
- Free download: The PadLeaders Playbook, seven systems written as a checklist you can use this week.
This is training for real estate agents. Follow fair housing laws, consent and opt-out rules, and your brokerage policy.
Questions
What's the difference between a tag and a stage in Follow Up Boss?
A stage is timing, one per lead. Tags are interests and status, as many as fit.
How do I add a tag in Follow Up Boss?
Open the person's profile and add it in the tags field. Do it one lead at a time, right after the call.
Can tags trigger automations in Follow Up Boss?
Yes. Automations can start when a tag is added. Test each one on a test contact first. Any texts must follow carrier and consent rules.
How many tags should I have?
As few as do the job. One owner keeps the list short and spelled one way.
Should I tag sphere differently?
Yes. A sphere tag plus pause drips, so friends don't get robot emails.
What if a lead has an agent?
Tag it so alerts stop, and set the stage to Nurture or Archive.
Brian Lee Burke is the founder of PadLeaders, a Colorado real estate broker licensed since 2003, team leader of The Kenna Group at Keller Williams DTC (formerly Kenna Real Estate Group) and the author of Mastering Real Estate and The Real Estate Playbook. More about Brian.