Setting up your Close CRM correctly can save you hundreds of hours and significantly boost your sales performance. However, many businesses make critical mistakes in their Close CRM setup that affect their sales efforts. After working with over 100 businesses, we've identified the top five Close CRM mistakes and how you can avoid them to streamline your sales process.

1. Misusing Lead Statuses

Lead statuses should provide a high-level overview of a lead's relationship with your company. Think of them as your 30,000-foot view. Keep them simple: potential, qualified, not qualified, active, not active, signed up, and do not call.

Avoid overly detailed statuses like no-show, cancel, and reschedule, which can clutter your system and make it difficult to manage your leads effectively. Instead, use custom activities to track more granular data, which brings us to the next point.

2. Incorrectly Importing Data

Bringing data into Close CRM the right way is crucial. This means using custom fields appropriately—text select, date select, number select, contact, and user fields. For instance, if you're collecting multiple-choice answers in an application, use a drop-down single select option.

This method ensures you can filter the data efficiently when creating smart views later on. Proper data import allows for efficient filtering, saving your sales team valuable time and ensuring they have the information they need at their fingertips.

3. Automating Before Accountability

Before diving into automation, ensure your account can hold your team accountable. Build your CRM to support manual follow-up processes first. This means creating smart views that help your team manage their daily tasks and follow-ups effectively.

Understand where your team spends the most time in these manual processes. Once you have a clear picture, you can start automating those processes. This approach ensures you only automate what truly benefits your workflow and avoids the pitfalls of automating inefficient processes.

4. Neglecting Workflows

Workflows are essential for automating touchpoints and initiating conversations promptly. Many businesses overlook this feature, missing out on potential leads. Especially for top-of-funnel activities, use workflows to automate initial outreach and touchpoints.

This ensures you engage with leads when they're most interested. Setting up workflows to handle the initial contact can save your team a significant amount of time and ensure no lead slips through the cracks.

5. Allowing Underperforming Reps to Use the CRM

Your CRM is only as effective as the team using it. Set clear expectations and hire the right people. If some team members are resistant to new processes or fail to meet performance standards, they can negatively impact your entire sales team.

It's essential to ensure your team is excited about and committed to using the CRM effectively. Provide proper onboarding, training, and continuous support to make sure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.

Conclusion

Avoiding these common Close CRM mistakes can transform your sales process, making it more efficient and effective. If you're struggling with CRM adoption or setup, consider working with experts to tailor the system to your needs.