CRM & automation
A practical CRM for a small team
Keep your enquiry pipeline simple enough that your team will actually use it.
Begin with a few clear stages: new enquiry, contacted, proposal, won and closed. Every enquiry should have an owner, a next action and a record of the last conversation.
Capture only what you need. Name, contact details, service interest and a short note are often enough to start. Avoid collecting sensitive information that does not help the conversation.
Use automation for reminders and routing. Keep human judgement in the decisions that affect the customer. An automated message should never imply that a person reviewed a request when they have not.
Review your pipeline regularly. Look for enquiries with no next step and identify where follow-up is slowing down. Improve the process before adding more tools.
Respect privacy. Restrict access to your team, use strong passwords and delete information when it no longer serves a clear business purpose.