A customer relationship management software, or CRM, is a helpful tool that you can use to input account data and notes for yourself. It’s also handy in keeping your team up to date, so everyone is up to speed on client relationships.
In this article, we’ll show you how to create a simple CRM using Notion.
How to Build a CRM in Notion: Getting Started
Before getting started with your CRM, you want to take some time to think about the information you’d like to display in the database, as well as on each potential client’s profile page.
Thanks to its versatility, you can create a column to track just about anything in Notion. However, you also want to avoid including too much to avoid cluttering your CRM with empty fields and trivial information.
Some examples of items to display in the database are:
Name or client ID. Company or business if your client relationships are business to business. Status to show where they are in your buyer’s journey. Priority to indicate how close the client is to closing. Estimated value to show how much the sale or contract is worth. Account owner to show who is dealing with the client. Date contacted, so you can quickly see how long it’s been since you’ve spoken to the client. Item specific so you and your team can effectively communicate which item the client is interested in to prevent overlap.
Inside your client’s profile page, you can display additional properties that don’t appear on the database. Here, you’ll want to include fields for contact information and dates.
It may be tempting to include as much information here as possible because of its easy-to-use database properties in Notion. However, you only want to include fields that you and your team will fill out each time.
Below these fields and the comments section, you’ll include notes, background information, and a history of your interactions with the client in the blank area of the page.
You can even keep the profile page up when you’re speaking with the client to take notes on what you’re discussing—or enter them in directly after the conversation if that’s a distraction.
Customize the CRM Template in Notion
You could create a CRM from scratch in Notion using a table database, but it’s already done most of the work with its Sales CRM template. To access this layout, select Templates at the bottom of the left sidebar, and you’ll find it under the Sales dropdown menu.
Clicking Use this template will create a new page, which you can name whatever you’d like.
Next, go to the All records view at the top left of the board and click it to change it to table view—there are many views available to explore in Notion. However, table is best for a CRM.
The Notion team took the time to fill this with demo content to help you learn how to use it. To delete it, simply click on the six dots to the left of the row and hit delete on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can select the delete action in the row’s menu.
To customize your options within the select menus, click in the cell and start typing to add a new one, or select the three dots to the right of a current one to change it. Adding people to the account owner column works the same. However, you need to ensure you’re sharing the board with that person, so they can see it.
You can also create additional columns using the add symbol to the right of your table and change the name or hide a column by clicking on the title.
A handy item to note, when you hide a column from the table, Notion still displays the information inside the client page’s properties. The focus of the table should be the status of your accounts, so you can get a quick overview without needing to click into the page. So, if you find specific items distracting, you can easily tuck them away.
How to Maintain Your CRM in Notion
Especially if you’re sharing your CRM with others, you want to ensure that you’re filling in each column consistently and adding your notes right away. The information isn’t useful to anyone else if it’s sitting in a scratchpad on your desk, but even if you’re working alone, you may misplace it or waste time searching for it when you need it.
You also want to make sure that you’re updating the information as soon as possible when the status of the contract changes or your client gets closer to making a decision. That way, if someone you work with needs to contact them or take over the account in the next step, they have all the information they need without you needing to explain much.
If you want to quickly check on all your accounts with a specific status, priority, value, or account owner, you can do so by creating a new sort for your table. All you need to do is click sort above the table and select how you’d like to group the items and in which order.
Additionally, as you close accounts, you may want to move them to a different database for client information, so the information doesn’t clutter up the table.
Keep Excellent Notes With Notion
An organized CRM is like having a sidekick in client communication—one that helps you stay on top of your clients’ needs and tells you exactly where you left the conversation off, so you can easily pick it back up again.
Building one in Notion is a cost-effective solution, especially since you can share it with members of your team, who can also access the project management tool for free.
Plus, you can keep other lists in Notion to help you level up your productivity, such as your to-do lists, a goals page, and much more. Thanks to its versatility, you really can keep track of anything in Notion.
