Two articles in, and the question I keep getting is: “Where does the CRM actually fit in all this?”
Fair. I’ve talked about eliminating ceremonies and going async-first, but the CRM is where it all actually happens. Not as another tool we update. As the backbone.
The Problem We Had
Our CRM was a reporting graveyard. We’d update it Friday afternoon because we had to. Manager needed pipeline numbers. Sales needed forecasts. So we’d dump data in, generate a report, then go back to doing actual work in Slack and email.
The CRM had information. But nobody trusted it. Because it was always 3-4 days stale.
Client would ask “what’s happening with the optimization project?” We’d check Slack. Check email. Check our notes. Then update the CRM after we’d answered them. Backwards.
Classic symptom: the tool that should be the source of truth is actually the last place information lands.
What Changed
We made one rule: If it’s not in the CRM, it doesn’t exist.
Deal status? CRM. Client conversation? CRM. Decision made? CRM. Next steps? CRM. Blockers? CRM.
Not “update CRM when you remember.” Update CRM as the work happens. Had a client call? Notes go in immediately after. Not tomorrow. Not Friday. Now.
This felt like overhead at first. Turns out it’s faster than explaining the same thing three times in Slack.
Replacing Meetings with Structured Updates
Our old Monday morning ritual: 30-minute status meeting. Everyone shares what they’re working on. Manager asks questions. We promise updates by end of week.
New approach: CRM pipeline view is the meeting.
Every deal has structured fields:
Status: [Discovery/Proposal/Negotiation/Closed]
Last Activity: [What happened, when]
Next Step: [Specific action, specific date]
Blocker: [What's stuck, why]
Owner: [Who's responsible]Manager opens CRM Monday morning. Sees everything. No meeting needed.
Something unclear? Comment directly on the deal record. Owner gets notified. Answers in context. Everyone with access sees it.
That 30-minute weekly meeting? Gone. Replaced with 5 minutes of CRM updates as work happens.
Time saved per person: 30 minutes/week. For three people: 1.5 hours collective.
But the real win isn’t time. It’s that information is always current. Last Activity isn’t “sometime last week.” It’s “yesterday, 3:47 PM, here’s exactly what was discussed.”
Transparency Without Reports
We used to generate pipeline reports. Weekly spreadsheet. Color-coded statuses. Sent via email. Immediately out of date.
Now? The CRM is the report. Live. Always current.
Anyone with access can see:
- Which deals are moving
- Which deals are stuck
- What specific blockers exist
- Who’s responsible for what
- When things were last touched
No weekly report ritual. No “let me pull those numbers.” No “that report is from last Tuesday, here’s what’s changed.”
The transparency is automatic because the CRM is the actual workspace, not a reporting afterthought.
Client asks for a status update? Share CRM link. They see the same thing we see. Real-time.
What This Actually Requires
CRM as source of truth only works if:
1. It’s actually updated in real-time
Not Friday afternoon catch-up. As work happens. This is non-negotiable. If people still work in Slack then update CRM later, you just have two sources of information and neither is trustworthy.
2. It’s structured properly
Custom fields for what you actually need. Not just Stage and Amount. Next Step. Blocker. Last Activity Details. Decision Log.
Generic CRMs give you generic fields. Customize them for how you actually work.
3. Everyone has access
If only managers can see deal details, you’re back to information silos. Everyone involved should see everything. Trust people with context.
4. Comments replace Slack threads
Question about a deal? Ask in CRM comments. Answer there. Now the conversation lives with the deal context. Six months later, someone wonders “why did we do it this way?” The answer is right there.
The Actual Workflow
Real example from last week:
Tuesday 2 PM: Client call about warehouse optimization. Immediately after, I update the CRM deal:
Status: Discovery → Proposal
Last Activity: "Call 11/19 - confirmed current process
takes 3h/day, want it under 1h. Main blocker is manual
data entry. Budget approved for automation solution."
Next Step: "Send proposal with 3 options - due 11/22"My teammate sees the update notification. Reads the context. Starts drafting proposal. Has a question about budget constraints. Comments on the deal: “Are we working with $20K or $35K budget?”
I see the comment notification within an hour. Answer: “$75K but they prefer lower if possible.”
He adjusts proposal. Updates deal: “Proposal drafted, internal review needed.”
I review. Make edits. Update: “Proposal ready, sending today.”
Client gets proposal. We log it: “Proposal sent 11/21, expecting response by 11/25.”
Total communication: Zero Slack messages. Zero emails about internal coordination. Everything in context, in one place, visible to everyone.
Client asks our manager “what’s happening with our project?” He opens CRM. Sees the full story. Answers immediately. No need to interrupt us to ask.
What We Stopped Doing
No more:
- “Quick sync on pipeline”
- “Can you send me a status update?”
- “Where are we with X client?”
- “What happened on that call?”
- Friday afternoon CRM catch-up sessions
- Weekly pipeline reports
The CRM answers all of it. In real-time. Without asking.
The Numbers
After six months of CRM-as-source-of-truth:
Pipeline visibility: Went from “check in Friday’s report” to “check anytime, always current.”
Status questions: Reduced by ~80%. Because the answer is always visible.
Update overhead: Went from 30-45 min/week (Friday catch-up) to 5 min/week (real-time as work happens).
Manager interruptions: Down 60%. He checks CRM instead of asking us.
But here’s the thing nobody tells you: This only works if you actually commit. If CRM is optional, if Slack is still the primary workspace, if updates can wait until Friday—it fails.
CRM as source of truth is all or nothing. Either it’s where work happens, or it’s where work gets reported after it happens. One is useful. The other is overhead.
We chose useful.
Next: The specific tools, templates, and automations that make this actually work without feeling like extra bureaucracy.