Before I recommend any tool, I ask five questions. On both of my recent CRM projects, I mapped the whole customer journey first, from the first enquiry to the paid invoice. The tools came after. If you’re thinking of hiring someone to automate your CRM, write these down first. Plain answers are enough.

What happens today, step by step, from a new enquiry to a paid invoice?

Which tools do you already pay for, even the ones you barely use?

Where does someone copy, check or re-enter information by hand?

What would a good result look like: fewer steps, faster replies, clearer deal status?

Who will own the system once it’s built? In one project the answers showed a contract tool the CRM could already replace, and we removed it. That would never have come up if we’d started with software. Which of the five would be hardest for you to answer today? If you’d like help working through them, send me a message.