When building a CRM for small agencies and consultants, I wanted each deal to have its own information without losing the connection to the customer.

So I kept Deals, Contacts, and Companies as separate databases, but connected them through relations.

This means one contact can have multiple deals, while each deal can still have its own:

→ Stage

→ Value

→ Follow-up

→ Expected date

→ Status

I found this makes the pipeline much easier to manage without putting everything into one giant database.

I also made the Deal Database available separately for free for anyone who wants to try this part of the workflow on its own.

How do you prefer CRMs to structure this separate databases or everything in one place?

When looking at a pipeline, the deal stage doesn't always tell you enough.

Two deals can both be in the same stage, but one might be moving normally while the other has been sitting there for too long.

So I added a simple Deal Health check based on the expected date.

The idea is to make it easier to spot:

→ Deals that are on track

→ Deals getting close to their expected date

→ Deals that are late

→ Deals that are already done

It's a small feature, but I think these little visual cues make a deal tracker much easier to scan

curious what's one thing you think a deal tracker should flag automatically?

Its free if anyone wants it

I built a Notion CRM for small agencies and consultants, with separate databases for companies, contacts, and deals.

I decided to make the Deal Tracker part available for free on its own.

It lets you manage individual deals, track their stage and value, connect them to a company/contact, set follow-up dates and reminders, and keep Won/Lost deals organized.

I also included an example version so you can explore the workflow without changing your own data.

If you want to see how the full CRM connects everything together, I've included a link to it as well.

Curious how other small agencies handle this.

Once you have several leads and deals going at the same time, I feel like follow-ups are one of the easiest things to lose track of.

You might know a deal needs attention next week, but then a few other things happen and suddenly you're trying to remember who you were supposed to contact and when.

I've been working on a Notion CRM for small agencies specifically around this kind of workflow, and one thing I found useful was having follow-ups tied directly to the deal rather than keeping a separate to-do list.

I also added a simple deal health indicator so it's easier to spot things that are coming up, late, or still on track.

Curious what other agency owners are doing for this — dedicated CRM, Notion, spreadsheets, or just calendar reminders?

What actually works for you?

I built this mainly around keeping the sales side organized when you're managing multiple leads and deals.

It has:

→ Follow-ups, so you can quickly see what needs attention

→ Deal health to get a quick overview of how things are progressing

→ Weighted pipeline to estimate the value of your current opportunities

→ Connected companies, contacts and deals

→ Won/Lost views to keep the active pipeline clean

→ A “Why Lost” field to keep track of patterns over time

I’ve been refining the workflow for a while and thought I’d share it here in case it’s useful for anyone managing a similar pipeline.

I’m also doing a small discount for the first 5 people who pick it up

​

I’ve been working on a Notion CRM for small agencies and service businesses, and I’m at the point where I’d rather get honest feedback than keep adding random features.

The main workflow is built around:

Leads, companies, contacts and deals being connected

Deal health based on expected dates

Weighted pipeline value based on deal stage

Automatically organizing connected information when a deal becomes Won or Lost

I’ve included an example with realistic data so you can actually click through the workflow instead of just looking at screenshots.

If you were using this for your own business, what would you change, remove, or add?

Especially interested in anything that feels confusing, unnecessary, or like it would become annoying once the database gets bigger.

is this actually useful, or am I missing something obvious? And if you've sold Notion templates before, any advice on what actually gets sales

Would love honest feedback is this actually useful, or am I missing something obvious? And if you've sold Notion templates before, any advice on what actually gets sales

I'm curious.

For people who work with clients and leads:

What was the moment you realized spreadsheets weren't enough anymore?

Was it:

Missing follow-ups?

Losing track of deals?

Too many active clients?

Reporting?

Something else?

I'd love to hear your experience.

You're getting leads.

You're getting deals.

But suddenly things start getting messy.

• You forget a deal because nobody reminded you.

• You check every active deal manually just to see what's due tomorrow.

• Your database gets crowded with old deals and completed projects.

• You know follow-ups matter, but keeping track of everything takes too much time.

• Calculating your real pipeline value manually becomes impossible.

And yes...

You could build your own CRM.

But most agency owners should be spending their time getting clients, not building systems.

That's why I built this.

✅ Automatic weighted pipeline value

✅ Deal health tracking

✅ Follow-up visibility

✅ One-click Won / Lost organization

Instead of manually cleaning databases and moving things around.

If you're running a small agency or service business, I'd love to hear what you currently use to track deals.

If you're a small agency owner and managing multiple clients, companies and deals at the same time, you've probably experienced at least one of these:

• Forgetting to follow up

• Losing track of deal status

• Having contacts scattered across different places

• Not knowing the real value of your pipeline

So I built this Notion CRM to solve those problems.

Problem: Losing track of which deals are active vs closed

Solution: Change one status, everything (companies, contacts, reports) moves automatically between Active/Won/Lost views

Problem: Forgetting to follow up until it's too late

Solution: Health check formula flags deals as On Track, Closing Soon, Late, or Done based on expected date

Problem: Not knowing real pipeline value

Solution: Weighted value formula calculates expected revenue based on deal stage a "New Lead" worth $10k isn't the same as a "Proposal Sent" worth $10k

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