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The path to growing a successful small business is filled with countless interactions — prospects to follow up with, deals to close and commitments to deliver. Yet surprisingly, over 50% of businesses don’t use a CRM, with nearly half of business owners believing their businesses are too small to need one. This couldn’t be further from the truth, especially as these interactions multiply and the challenge of keeping track becomes increasingly complex.
In my experience, businesses typically engage with at least five to ten prospects for every customer they acquire, and sales cycles can stretch anywhere from a few days to nine or even twelve months.
This is especially true for service-oriented businesses, professional services firms and creative agencies where deal values are substantial and relationships matter. Unlike a simple retail transaction, these businesses often involve complex sales cycles with multiple touchpoints.
I learned this lesson firsthand in my early days as an entrepreneur. When I was both coding and selling, I constantly found myself switching between multiple roles. I would forget to call prospects back, lose track of where previous conversations had left off and miss follow-up interactions.
After searching unsuccessfully for a solution in the Mac ecosystem, I ended up building Daylite, our CRM at Marketcircle, to solve these exact challenges.
Related: Making A CRM Platform Your Sales Team’s Best Friend
When you need a CRM
The first sign that you need a CRM often appears when things start falling through the cracks. Consider this common scenario: you need to make an urgent follow-up call but can’t find the client’s contact information. You send a request to your team – if you have a team; if not, you waste your valuable non-renewable time waiting for details. While this might seem trivial, these small delays compound over time into significant productivity losses and missed opportunities.
When you appear unprofessional, it affects not just your ability to close deals but also your pricing power. If clients perceive a lack of organization, they might try to negotiate lower prices. Once trust is lost, it becomes exponentially harder to regain.
Start early
The best time to implement a CRM is now! The sooner you start using a CRM in your entrepreneurial life, the better. I’ve seen this challenge firsthand with businesses that try to implement one after growing to three or four team members.
At this point, everyone has established their own ways of working, making it much harder to break old habits and form new ones. Plus, you want your team to follow your tune, not make up their own that you then have to follow.
When you’re working solo, you have the perfect opportunity to develop the habits that will serve as the foundation for your growing business. These practices become the standard for new team members as they join. Without this disciplined approach, people will inevitably fall back into their old habits; there’s always “lots of work to do,” and maintaining new systems takes consistent reinforcement.
Related: How CRM and Sales Work Together to Drive Small Business Growth
Keys to successful adoption
1. Model commitment — As the business owner, you must be fully committed to the CRM adoption. If you don’t demonstrate its importance through consistent use, your team won’t prioritize it either.
2. Choose the right system — Look for a CRM that truly integrates with your daily activities. The upfront time investment will pay off in future returns, as you find your system seamlessly connects your calendar, tasks and email while reducing manual data entry and keeping everything in one place.
3. Start simple — Take time to think about your sales process steps and how you classify appointments, tasks and customer interactions. As you get more comfortable and learn what works in your business, you can keep customizing until you have a system that serves all your needs.
We offer three implementation options tailored to your workflow: self-guided tutorials, onboarding team training or working with a specialist consultant. Many business owners only recognize their unique sales process during setup, which is why personalized support can make a big difference.
Long-term benefits
Beyond keeping customer interactions organized, a CRM creates the foundation for business growth. It enables you, as the owner, to focus on strategic activities and even take vacations without worrying about missing deadlines with clients. If you have a team, it allows you to delegate responsibilities effectively.
Remember that while technology evolves, your CRM should provide stability for your core business processes. Look for a vendor that makes thoughtful, non-disruptive updates that won’t break your established workflows. The journey of implementing a CRM might seem daunting, but the alternative – losing opportunities and appearing unprofessional — is far more costly.
By starting early and maintaining consistency, you’ll build a strong foundation for sustainable business growth.