Choosing a CRM for a growing team: start with the process, not the product

CRM projects have a reputation for disappointing. The software is rarely the problem. More often, a tool is chosen before the organisation has agreed how it wants to find, win and look after customers.

Map the journey first

Before looking at any product, sketch the stages a prospect moves through — from first contact to signed work to ongoing relationship. Note who is involved at each step, what information they need and where things currently fall through the cracks.

Decide what you will measure

Agree a small number of questions the CRM must answer reliably: How many qualified opportunities do we have? Where do deals stall? Which clients have we not spoken to in ninety days? Every field you add should serve one of these questions.

Then evaluate tools

• Fit with your process, without heavy customisation.
• Ease of use for the people entering data every day.
• Integration with email, calendar, website forms and accounting.
• Data ownership, export options and where data is hosted.
• Total cost over three years, including administration time.

Implement in small steps

Launch with the core pipeline and contact records, clean imported data carefully and train people on their own real deals. Add automation and reporting once the basics are habitual. A CRM that is 80% complete and trusted is far more valuable than one that is perfectly configured and ignored.

Finally, assign an owner. Someone — internal or external — needs to look after users, fields and data quality on an ongoing basis, or entropy sets in quickly.