CRM Template Guide (For Excel & Google Sheets)

A CRM template is a pre-designed structure for managing customer relationships and sales processes. For a small business, a template is an accessible and cost-effective way to get started with customer relationship management without investing in expensive software. These templates are typically spreadsheets (like in Excel or Google Sheets) or a basic layout within a CRM platform, providing a framework to track leads, contacts, and customer interactions.

What we’ll cover:

• Why small businesses should use a CRM template
• Key components of a small business CRM template
• How to create your own simple CRM template
• When to upgrade from a CRM template
• A scalable alternative: Starter Suite

Using a CRM template offers several key benefits for a small business:

• Cost-Effective: Many CRM templates are free, making them an excellent choice for businesses with a tight budget.
• Easy to Use: A spreadsheet-based template is intuitive, especially if you or your team are already familiar with programs like Excel or Google Sheets.
• Centralized Information: It provides a single, organized location to store all customer data, from contact information to communication history. This eliminates the need to search through scattered notes, emails, and physical files.
• Improved Organization: It helps you standardize your sales process, ensuring that every lead and customer is handled consistently and no opportunities fall through the cracks.

Scalability: While a simple template is a great start, a dedicated CRM for small business offers free plans or templates that can grow with your business as your needs become more complex.

A good CRM template should include the following core sections to be effective:

• Contact Management: A central list of all your contacts, including their names, companies, job titles, and contact information (phone, email, etc.). It should also include a field to note their role, such as a "lead," "customer," or "partner."
• Interaction Log: A section to record every interaction with a contact. This should include the date, a summary of the conversation, the next steps, and who was responsible for the interaction. This provides a complete history and ensures everyone on your team is on the same page.
• Sales Pipeline: A visual representation of where each prospect is in your sales process. This helps you track opportunities from initial contact to a closed deal. Common stages include "Lead," "Qualified," "Proposal Sent," "Negotiation," and "Won/Lost."
• Tasks and Reminders: A way to assign and track tasks related to each contact, such as "follow-up call" or "send proposal." This feature is crucial for staying on top of your to-do list and ensuring timely follow-ups.

Notes: A dedicated area for any additional information about a contact, such as their specific needs, preferences, or personal details that can help you build a stronger relationship.

If you're using a spreadsheet program, creating a basic CRM template is straightforward. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Start a New Spreadsheet: Open a new sheet in Excel or Google Sheets. Create a main tab for your Contact List.
2. Define Your Columns: In the first row, add column headers for the essential information you want to track. A great starting point would be:

• Contact ID (A unique identifier for each person)
• First Name
• Last Name
• Company
• Title
• Email
• Phone Number
• Lead Source (e.g., website, referral, event)
• Status (e.g., Lead, Customer, Inactive)
• Next Action
• Next Action Date
• Assigned To

1. Add Additional Sheets: Create a separate sheet for your Sales Pipeline. In this sheet, you can list your opportunities and use columns to track their value, closing probability, and current stage. You can also create a simple Dashboard sheet with basic formulas to get a quick overview of your sales progress, such as the total number of active leads or the value of your pipeline.
2. Use Data Validation: To ensure consistency, use the data validation feature in your spreadsheet program to create dropdown lists for columns like "Status" and "Lead Source." This prevents spelling errors and makes data entry faster.

Start Entering Data: Begin populating your template with your existing contacts and leads. Be sure to keep it updated with every new interaction.

While a CRM template is an excellent starting point, your business may reach a point where a simple spreadsheet can no longer keep up. Signs that it's time to upgrade include:

• Difficulty managing a growing volume of data: Your spreadsheet is becoming slow, difficult to navigate, and prone to errors.
• Need for automation: You're spending too much time on repetitive manual tasks, like sending follow-up emails or updating customer information.
• Lack of a 360-degree view of the customer: You need to integrate sales, marketing, and customer service data into a single, comprehensive view.
• Limited reporting and analytics: A spreadsheet can only provide basic insights, and you need more advanced dashboards to make data-driven decisions.

Desire for mobile access: Your team needs to access customer information and update records on the go.

For small businesses ready to move beyond templates, a dedicated CRM platform is the next logical step. The Starter Suite is designed specifically for this audience, offering an all-in-one solution that integrates sales, service, and marketing functionalities.

Here's how the Starter Suite builds upon the functionality of a basic template:

• All-in-One Platform: The Starter Suite combines sales, marketing, and service tools into a single platform. This means you don't need separate spreadsheets for different departments—all customer data is unified.
• Automated Processes: Instead of manually setting reminders, the platform can automate tasks like sending email templates or updating a lead's status in the sales pipeline, freeing up your team's time.
• Robust Reporting and Dashboards: The Starter Suite provides pre-built reports and customizable dashboards that offer a visual representation of your business's health. You can see your sales pipeline's value, track campaign performance, and analyze customer support cases in real-time.

While a template is a great way to start, a solution like the Starter Suite provides the features and scalability needed to support a growing business and set the foundation for long-term success.