I often see questions here about which CRM to choose. People hope it will solve their problems and magically automate everything, but that’s not the case. I believe this step should be preceded by a functional client management system. Here is what I mean:

By "system," I don’t mean just another software or a tool. I’m talking about the fundamentals (processes, workflows, call it as you want): where leads come from, who is responsible for them, when follow-ups happen, what stages they go through, what information needs to be recorded, who takes over after the sale, and what happens if the process stalls.

If there is no clarity on these issues, you risk simply transferring the same chaos into CRM but with more fields and dashboards.

And even if you decide to implement a CRM without working out these processes beforehand, you still won't be able to skip this step. Someone will have to address these issues during implementation. Ultimately, you might find that the CRM adds extra problems rather than improving things.

What do you think? Should these processes be established before switching to a CRM, or is it totally ok to build them during the implementation process?