Every sales operation starts somewhere — and it’s almost always a spreadsheet. Nothing wrong with that. The problem is that the spreadsheet doesn’t tell you when it’s been outgrown: it simply starts hiding leads, duplicating contacts and relying on the salesperson’s memory.

What a CRM solves (and what it doesn’t)

The last row is the most important. A CRM organizes and gives visibility to a process — it doesn’t create a process that doesn’t exist. Implementations that start with the tool tend to become an expensive system nobody uses.

How to choose a CRM

How to migrate from spreadsheet to CRM without losing data

1. Clean before importing

   Remove duplicates, standardize company names and flag contacts with no interaction for over a year.

2. Map the columns

   Match each spreadsheet column to a CRM field and create the missing fields, such as source and loss reason.

3. Import in batches

   Start with open opportunities, then active customers and, last, the history.

4. Freeze the spreadsheet

   Set a date after which nothing new goes into the spreadsheet. Two parallel systems break adoption.

5. Review in the first week

   Check with the team that opportunities are in the right stages and fix anything out of place.

The mistakes that get a CRM abandoned

• rolling out with dozens of required fields nobody knows how to fill in;
• not integrating the website forms, forcing the team to type in leads;
• not training the team or following the first weeks of use;
• using the CRM only to police the team, not to help it sell;
• not looking at the reports in sales meetings.

Manáry’s CRM onboarding is split up precisely to avoid these mistakes: the pipeline structure is approved before configuration, and training happens before activation.

Frequently asked questions