Shape pipelines and stages, standardise fields, automate tasks and alerts, and clean data, so reps know what to do next and reports match reality across teams.
A CRM is supposed to give you clarity, but most of the time it just creates confusion. Marketing and sales often work in different views, use different definitions, and end up with data that doesn’t match. That slows everything down.
In this playbook, I’ll show you how to set up your CRM so both teams can work together more effectively. We’ll look at how to structure lifecycle stages, score leads, route them to the right owner, and keep the data clean enough to trust.
I’ll use HubSpot as the example throughout, but nearly everything here applies no matter what CRM you use. The goal is to help you build a system that reflects reality, supports your growth engine, and gets out of your team’s way.
If you’ve ever hesitated to open your CRM because it’s messy or unclear, this playbook will help you fix that. It’s a clean, step-by-step way to turn your CRM into something your team actually uses.
Clarify what each stage in your sales pipeline means so everyone works from the same structure.
Don’t treat every inbound contact as a deal. Separate leads from pipeline so you can focus your efforts.
Use what you already have. But if you're starting from scratch or want recommendations, these are the tools I use with clients and personally rely on. Consider this a bonus: helpful if you need it, completely optional if you don't.
All in one CRM with marketing, sales and service, strong when you want one system that teams adopt.
Sales focused CRM with clean pipelines and activity tracking, ideal for small teams that value speed.
Work OS with boards, automations and dashboards, flexible for marketing and ops when configured with restraint.
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Simple CRM for relationships and outreach lists, useful for partnerships and light sales without heavy setup.
Email and automation platform with strong segmentation and conditional logic, good for B2B nurture when you need power without a full CRM migration.
The books that shaped how I think about growth. Read summaries here, then buy what resonates. Learn from the best thinkers in B2B.
David Hoffeld
Research backed techniques for discovery, framing and closing that marketers can support with better assets.
Key concepts and frameworks explained clearly. Quick reference when you need to understand a term, refresh your knowledge, or share with your team.
Most B2B marketers are either Random Ricks (trying everything) or Specialist Steves (obsessed with one channel). Generalists run tactics without strategy. Specialists hit channel ceilings. But there's a better way.
Tries everything at once. Posts on LinkedIn, runs ads, tweaks the website, chases referrals. Nothing compounds because nothing's consistent. Growth feels chaotic.
Obsessed with one tactic. 'We just need better ads' or 'SEO will fix everything.' Ignores the rest of the system. One strong engine can't carry a broken machine.
Finds the bottleneck. Fixes that first. Then moves to the next weakest link. Builds a system that's predictable, measurable and doesn't need 80-hour weeks.
Learn how she diagnoses bottlenecks, orchestrates the four engines, and drives predictable growth. Choose if you want to read or watch:
Get practical frameworks delivered daily. Seven short emails explain how Sarah diagnoses bottlenecks, orchestrates the four engines, and builds systems that compound.
Free 45-minute video module from the full course. Watch how to diagnose your growth bottleneck and see exactly what the course platform looks like.
Tactical playbooks for every stage of this engine. The playbooks are practical guides for tactical stuff. They complement the (paid) growth framework and help you with the tactics.
Shape pipelines and stages, standardise fields, automate tasks and alerts, and clean data, so reps know what to do next and reports match reality across teams.
See playbookEquip your sales team with a structured system that shortens cycles, lifts win rates and compounds revenue.
See playbook
Choose the right scheduler. Set fair routing and buffers, send reminders that cut no shows, and ensure every booking creates the correct record, owner and follow up tasks in the CRM.
See playbook
Use clear templates that pull data from the CRM, add price and terms blocks, automate approvals and e signature, and track status so deals move forward without copy and paste work.
See playbook
Start with the way your sales team already works, not with feature lists. A CRM must fit seamlessly into the daily rhythm or it will gather dust.
Map the exact hand-offs from marketing to sales to delivery. Check that the CRM mirrors those stages out of the box or can be renamed easily. Avoid tools that need heavy custom fields or external plug-ins on day one.
Salespeople hate double entry. Look for one-click email sync, automatic call logging and mobile apps that surface today’s tasks without digging. Book a live demo and measure how many clicks it takes to save a new contact, move a deal and send a quote.
Dashboards must answer three questions: what is in the pipeline, what is likely to close and what is stuck. Insist on funnel conversion reports by default. If you need spreadsheet exports or a data warehouse to see basic ratios, keep shopping.
List every tool that already holds prospect data—landing-page builder, webinar platform, billing system—and test the native integrations, not the marketing copy. A flaky sync now becomes a support nightmare later.
Seat price is only the start. Add mandatory add-ons, storage, customer-success packages and the value of internal time spent on maintenance. A pricier but turnkey platform often beats a cheaper system that needs constant patching.
When a CRM matches your workflow, your team updates it without thinking, data stays clean and forecasting becomes dependable. Use the factors above as a checklist and you will land on a platform that grows with your funnel instead of holding it back.
A customer-relationship management system stores every contact, note, and deal stage in one place. It replaces ad-hoc spreadsheets and scattered e-mails with a single timeline each rep and marketer can trust. I have written a detailed explanation in What is a CRM?.
Speed and accuracy decide who wins a competitive market. A CRM keeps information current across sales, marketing, and success, so nobody chases the same lead twice or lets a renewal lapse. Automated reminders prompt follow-ups, and shared dashboards show pipeline health without exporting data. The time saved on admin goes straight into higher-value conversations.
The moment opportunities exceed what a single tab can hold—usually around two dozen active deals—manual updates start slipping. Missed fields lead to stale forecasts and clashing calls. A lightweight CRM takes less than an afternoon to set up and scales well past the first sales hire, saving a messy migration later.
E-mail and calendar sync capture calls and messages automatically, reducing data entry. Marketing automation links feed behaviour scores so reps know which leads to tackle first. Accounting or subscription tools close the loop by pulling revenue back into pipeline reports. Map critical workflows first, then confirm the CRM offers native connectors or reliable API access.
Track lead-to-opportunity conversion, average deal velocity, and forecast accuracy before and after rollout. If the system shortens cycles or lifts close rates, the licence has paid for itself. Add the hours reclaimed from manual updates, and the cost–benefit case becomes clearer each quarter.
