CRM operating model
Use CRM to answer three questions: who is the customer, what is the current opportunity, and what must happen next?
Recommended fields
- Lead source
- Lifecycle stage
- Owner
- Next follow-up date
- Expected value when applicable
- Notes from recent conversations
Review cadence
Review active deals daily, stale leads weekly, and closed outcomes monthly. Keep the pipeline honest by updating stage after every meaningful customer interaction.
Detailed Operating Playbook
Primary owner: Sales manager and deal owners.
Team workflow
- Create or review leads from the CRM dashboard.
- Move opportunities only when the customer action justifies the stage change.
- Attach next follow-up dates to active deals.
- Review overdue tasks before creating new opportunities.
Success signals
- Every active deal has owner, stage, and next action.
- Overdue tasks are visible and assigned.
- Pipeline value matches what the team can defend.
When to review or escalate
Review this workflow when channels, policies, or workload change. Escalate to a manager when numbers look inconsistent or the same issue repeats more than once in the same day.