How CRM actually works.
Short, vendor-neutral answers to specific questions about running a CRM. No product pitch, no sign-up wall.
- CRM basics
How to win back lost customers
Winning back a customer is cheaper than finding a new one, but only if you know why they left. How to find out when nobody wrote it down, who is worth writing to, and what to say that is not a discount.
- Email and CRM
What two-way email sync actually means
The phrase describes two different things, and people arrive at it meaning whichever one bit them. What a CRM means by it, what gets copied in each direction, and the four questions worth asking before you switch it on.
- CRM basics
Sales pipeline stages and probability percentages
Where the standard 10/25/50/75/90 numbers come from, why they are almost certainly wrong for your pipeline, and what a small team should do instead of inventing percentages it cannot support.
- Email and CRM
How to respond to a sales lead by email
Reply first, file second. What the first reply needs, what belongs in the CRM the moment it is sent, and the point at which an inbox stops being able to hold the answer.
- CRM basics
Reasons why customers leave a business
The internal answer is almost always price. The five real reasons customers leave, and why the one that leaves no trace is the one nobody remembers.
- CRM basics
How to report on sales activity in a CRM
Three numbers, one page, same day every week. What an activity report should contain, the two metrics that quietly reward the wrong behaviour, and why the report is worth less than the conversation it starts.
- CRM basics
What is a good pipeline coverage ratio?
Pipeline coverage is open pipeline value divided by the target for the period. Where the 3x rule comes from, how to derive your own from win rate, and when the ratio flatters a pipeline that cannot deliver.
- CRM basics
How to forecast sales from your pipeline
A pipeline forecast multiplies open deals by the rate they historically close. Stage-weighted against commit-based, why weights come from your own data, and the three ways a forecast quietly lies.
- Email and CRM
Follow up email after a meeting with a client
The one after a meeting is the easiest follow-up to write, and it is often wasted. What it is actually for, the four things it should contain, and why sending it the same day matters more than the wording.
- CRM basics
How to follow up after sending a quote
Silence after a quote is not the same as silence before one. What to send, when to send it, why "just checking in" fails, and the one thing not to do with the number.
- Email and CRM
How to write a follow up email after no response from a client
Silence is usually about their priorities, not your proposal. What to put in the second email so it gives them a reason to reply, how many to send, and the one that closes the loop without burning anything.
- Email and CRM
How to set a follow-up reminder in a CRM
Put the date on the deal, not in your calendar. Why a reminder attached to the record survives a holiday, what to write in it, and the one rule that keeps the list from becoming wallpaper.
- CRM basics
Difference between a sales pipeline and a sales funnel
A pipeline is a list of real deals you can act on today. A funnel is a set of rates describing deals that already finished. They share stage names, which is why they get mixed up, and the mix-up shows up in the forecast.
- CRM basics
How long should a pipeline review take?
Twenty minutes for a small team, and the length is set by the agenda rather than the pipeline. What to look at, in what order, and the three habits that turn a review into a status meeting.
- CRM basics
What is pipeline velocity in sales?
One number for how fast money moves through your pipeline, from four you already have. The formula, a worked example, and the two ways it lies to a small team.
- CRM basics
The four checks of a healthy sales pipeline
Four checks decide whether a pipeline is healthy: enough deals, moving, spread across stages, and real. Why full is not the same as healthy, and the ten-minute version.
- CRM basics
Difference between a lead and an opportunity in a CRM
A lead is a person. An opportunity is a piece of money with a date on it. The three things that have to be true before one becomes the other, and why converting too early is a common way a forecast stops meaning anything.
- CRM basics
What is the difference between a lead and a contact?
A contact is a person you know. A lead is a person you are still deciding about. Why the distinction is a decision rather than a definition, and when a small team is better off with one list.
- CRM basics
How to build a customer record sheet in Excel
A customer record exists to decide something, not to file everything you know. Which fields earn their place, which to leave out, and why the good-looking sheet is usually the one nobody fills in.
- CRM basics
What data should you put in a CRM first?
Start with open deals, not the contact list. What the first import should contain, the minimum a record needs to be useful, and why importing everything is a common way a rollout stalls.
- CRM basics
How to track clients with a spreadsheet
The mistake is keeping the history in the client list. A history is a second sheet where every row is an interaction, not a client. The five columns, the one formula that connects them, and why most of these die in three weeks.
- CRM basics
How to manage a client portfolio
A portfolio is not a list of clients, it is how you divide your attention. Three tiers you will actually maintain, the one field that decides most of it, and the two places this always breaks.
- CRM basics
How to create a customer database in Excel
Excel handles customer data better than most customer spreadsheets do. The four structure rules that decide it, what you can actually learn from it, and the three points where it reliably stops working.
- CRM basics
CRM roles and permissions, explained without the vendor jargon
Every CRM calls its permission model something different, and underneath they all control the same two things. What those two things are, the three roles most small teams actually need, and the mistake that makes the rest unfixable.
- CRM basics
Why do CRM implementations fail
Almost never the software, and almost never the training budget. The four failure modes that account for most of it, what each one looks like from the inside, and the one that is hardest to admit to.
- Guides
CRM naming conventions that survive contact with a team
Rules for naming companies, fields, stages and tags, chosen so that two people typing the same thing produce the same result. Includes the four decisions worth writing down and the one that is hardest to reverse.
- CRM basics
CRM data hygiene best practices
Hygiene is what stops a database needing a clean-up. Four rules that hold a small CRM steady, the two that are worth automating, and the check that tells you whether any of it is working.
- CRM basics
How to calculate sales cycle length
Sales cycle length is the days between a defined start event and closed-won. Choosing the start event, why the median beats the mean, and whether lost deals belong in the count.
- CRM basics
How to calculate average deal size
Average deal size is closed-won revenue divided by closed-won deals over a fixed window. Which deals count, why the mean lies on a skewed pipeline, and what the number is actually for.
- Email and CRM
How to write a subject line that gets opened
Six words, specific to one person, promising exactly what the email delivers. The three shapes that work, and why the clever ones perform worst of all.
- Email and CRM
What to write in a second follow-up email
The second message is where most sequences die, because it repeats the first in different words.
- Email and CRM
Should you use a shared inbox or a CRM?
They solve different problems, so the question is which one you have. Three questions decide it, and for many small teams the answer is both.
- Email and CRM
CRM with email sync for a small business
Email sync means four different things depending on the tool. The four questions to ask before choosing one.
- Email and CRM
What happens to email sync when someone leaves?
Three things happen at once and only one is technical. The sync stops and the history usually stays.
- Email and CRM
Why are my emails not syncing to my CRM?
Five causes in the order worth checking, starting with the first one to rule out: the connection quietly expired and nothing told you.
- CRM basics
What to set up in a CRM on day one
Contacts, three fields, your stages and one saved view. Everything else is week two, and configuring it on day one is how a CRM gets abandoned in month two.
- CRM basics
Do I need a CRM for my business?
Four signals that say yes, three things a CRM does not fix, and the honest cost beyond the subscription. If none of the signals is true, the answer is not yet.
- CRM basics
Who should own a contact in a CRM?
One named person, answerable for the relationship. Three rules settle most cases, and the third is that unassigned is a state rather than a gap.
- CRM basics
How to migrate data from one CRM to another
Three jobs pretending to be one: export everything, decide what actually moves, import in two passes. The hardest part is deciding what to leave behind.
- Email and CRM
How to keep email templates from sounding automated
What gives a template away is not that it is a template. Three specific tells, and the one sentence you write fresh every time.
- Email and CRM
How many email templates does a small team need?
Six, in most cases. The count is decided by how many repeated moments your process has, and a bigger library makes writing slower rather than faster.
- Email and CRM
How to follow up after sending a proposal
You already made the ask, so repeating it does nothing. A three-step sequence that does something different each time, and the close-out that most people skip.
- Email and CRM
How to track follow-ups in a CRM
Two fields and one saved view replace every reminder system you have tried, including the day the date arrives and nothing has changed.
- Email and CRM
How to follow up without sounding pushy
Pushiness is not a frequency problem. It is what happens when a message asks for something without carrying anything.
- Email and CRM
How to use Gmail as a CRM
The label-and-snooze setup that genuinely works, the four things it cannot do at all, and the signs you have outgrown it.
- Email and CRM
What is email tracking in a CRM?
A pixel and a rewritten link tell you when a message was opened or clicked. What that proves is narrower than most people assume, and it keeps narrowing.
- Email and CRM
How to stop personal emails syncing to a CRM
Email sync copies more than you meant to share. Four controls, in order of bluntness, plus what to do about the mail that already arrived.
- CRM basics
How to tell if your pipeline is realistic
Four checks you can run in an afternoon: deal age against your real cycle, stage against evidence, and the total against what you actually closed.
- CRM basics
How to track activity in a CRM without micromanaging
Track the record, not the person. Three fields replace most status meetings, and one rule keeps it from turning into surveillance.
- CRM basics
How do you get your team to actually use the CRM?
Make it the shortest path to something they want. Cut fields, pick one workflow, and stop asking for information the tool already has.
- CRM basics
How long does it take to set up a CRM?
A working setup takes an afternoon. What takes longer is the data you bring and the habits you change, and those are the parts worth planning.
- CRM basics
Should every contact go in your CRM?
No. A CRM holds people connected to revenue. Everyone else belongs in your address book, and mixing the two makes both harder to use.
- CRM basics
How do you manage company contacts in a CRM?
Keep the company and the person as separate records linked together. One person, one record, linked to the company, with a role on the link.
- CRM basics
How do you find duplicate contacts in a CRM?
Search on the field that is unique, not on the name. Email first, then phone, then company plus surname. Merge in one direction and fix the intake.
- Email and CRM
When should you stop following up with a lead?
When your sequence ends, when you have nothing new to say, or when they tell you. Stopping is a decision to record, not a thing that just happens.
- CRM basics
What is a good win rate in sales?
There is no universal number. What matters is your own trend, measured the same way each time, and whether the losses happen early or late.
- Email and CRM
How many follow-up emails should you send?
Between two and four, spaced further apart each time, and each one carrying something new. The count matters less than having a written stopping rule.
- Email and CRM
What should you include in a first outreach email?
A first email needs four things: a reason you are writing to this person, one specific claim, one question, and a way out. Everything else is padding.
- Email and CRM
Should you reply in the same email thread?
Replying in the thread keeps the history together and raises the chance of being seen. Start a new one only when the subject genuinely changed.
- CRM basics
What is a CRM data retention policy?
A written rule for how long each kind of record is kept and what happens next. The four categories, why deactivate beats delete, and who has to agree to it.
- CRM basics
How to prepare a CSV before importing to a CRM
Deduplicate before you import, not after. One header row, one field per column, dates and phone numbers in one format, and a ten-row test run first.
- CRM basics
How to clean up a CRM database
Four passes in order: duplicates, dead contacts, missing required fields, and inconsistent values. Why order matters, and what to fix at the source instead.
- CRM basics
How to handle unresponsive leads in a CRM
Silence is data. How to separate a wrong person from a wrong moment, the archive-not-delete rule, and the one message that gets an answer either way.
- CRM basics
How to structure a CRM for an agency
Agencies break the standard CRM shape because the client relationship outlives the deal. The four objects that fix it, and where retainers and referrals belong.
- CRM basics
How to handle a lost deal in a CRM
Close it, record one structured reason, keep the record. Why a lost-reason field beats a note, the short list that works, and when to reopen one.
- CRM basics
What is a deal stage in a CRM?
A deal stage is a named step in your pipeline with a written exit test. What makes a stage real, why buyer actions beat seller intentions, and how many to have.
- CRM basics
When should a deal move to the next stage?
A deal moves when the buyer does something observable, never when you do. The exit-criterion rule, who moves the deal, and why backwards is allowed.
- CRM basics
What is qualification in a sales pipeline?
Qualification is the test a deal passes before it counts as pipeline: a named problem, a budget, a decision maker, and a date. What each one means in practice.
- CRM basics
How to fix stalled deals in a sales pipeline
A stalled deal is a diagnosis, not a chase. How to tell one stalled deal from a broken stage, the three questions that unstick it, and when to close it.