With tools like Notion, Airtable, spreadsheets, AI, and templates everywhere now, it feels like a lot of people could technically build their own CRM.

So if you ended up paying for a CRM instead of building one yourself:

What was the deciding factor?

What problem were you trying to solve?

Was it saving time, integrations, support, reliability, something else?

And looking back, was it the right decision?

Would love to hear real experiences from business owners, consultants, agencies, freelancers, or anyone who has gone through that decision.

I've been building and sharing a Notion CRM template for solo business owners.

But I'm still struggling with the part that actually matters: getting the first sale.

For those of you who have sold software, templates, digital products, or services:

What was the thing that finally got someone to buy?

Was it more traffic? Better positioning? Social proof? Better targeting? Something else entirely?

I'd genuinely appreciate any advice.

What worked surprisingly well, and what completely fell apart?

I've been working on a CRM in Notion and I'd love some honest feedback from people who actually use CRMs.

My goal was to keep things simple while covering the basics:

Contacts

Companies

Deals

Follow-ups

Revenue tracking

If you were looking for a Notion CRM, what would make you choose one template over another?

Was there a specific moment when spreadsheets started becoming frustrating?

What was the biggest challenge?

Most CRMs have hundreds of features, but what's one thing you still wish your CRM did better?

Could be a missing feature, a workflow that feels clunky, or something that wastes your time every day.

Curious to hear what people actually struggle with.

My latest project is a CRM for freelancers and small teams.

Instead of focusing on aesthetics, I tried to make it practical:

• Lead tracking • Revenue forecasting • Connected contacts and companies • Follow-up visibility

I'd genuinely appreciate feedback from people who use CRMs in their business.

What would you add or remove?

​Hey everyone,

​I published my Notion Pro CRM on the Notion marketplace. It’s designed specifically for freelancers and small businesses who want a clean, minimal, and dark-themed workspace to manage their clients and deals.

​Here is a quick breakdown of how it works:

​Active View: Your main working dashboard to keep track of everything happening right now.

​Inbox View: A quick-add section to dump new leads on the go without cluttering your active work.

​Health Check Formula: Automatically shows if a deal is on track, closing soon, late, or done based on expected dates.

​Weighted Value Formula: Calculates your expected revenue automatically based on which stage the deal is in.

​Seamless Connections: Companies, Contacts, and Deals are all connected, so updating a status moves everything automatically.

​If you're looking for an aesthetic and automated way to clear the client chaos, the link to the template is in the comments

​I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts or any feedback on this setup.

I Built a Notion CRM template for freelancers, it's live on Notion's marketplace now. Would genuinely love honest feedback from people who've used similar tools.

It has Companies, Contacts, and Deals as main databases, plus a Reports database with its own dashboard page.

Features:

Deals automatically move between Active, Won, or Lost views just change one status and everything connected (companies, contacts, reports) moves with it automatically

Active is your main working view

Inbox view for quick additions you want to edit later without cluttering active work

Health check formula shows if a deal is on track, closing soon, late, or done based on expected date

Weighted value formula calculates expected revenue based on deal stage

Its mostly for small businesses