Choosing and Using CRM for Consultancy Growth

Key Takeaways:

1. Choose a CRM that aligns with your firm’s size, needs, and future ambitions.
2. Start with the basics: data transfer and establishing usage habits.
3. Progress through stages of implementation, from basic tracking to sophisticated marketing automation.
4. Continuously refine and customize your CRM to maximize its value to your consultancy.

What is a CRM?

Customer Relationship Management systems are tools to:

• Centralise client and lead data (i.e. a ‘single source of truth’ for client and lead information)
• Manage and execute outreach campaigns (e.g. email newsletters)
• Track client engagement with outreach and their responses (e.g. how many of your emails are opened?)

They are useful because they take the lead and client insight out of the heads of the partners and put it into a system which is a company asset that can be controlled, measured and managed.

Decent CRM Systems

I don’t recommend PSAs and CRM systems any more. When I did, one founder of a 70-person operations consultancy would love my recommendation whilst a CEO of another 70-person operations consultancy would despise it.

However, systems which clients are consistently positive about include:

Still, if you try one and don’t like it, don’t blame me….

Basic Hygiene When Using CRM

At the outset, you want to invest some time and effort to build foundations that will ensure you are set up for success. If you miss this stage, you risk building an expensive white elephant.

• Establish standards for data entry (e.g., formatting of names, addresses, phone numbers)
• Regularly clean and deduplicate data
• Implement validation rules to prevent incorrect data entry
• Provide thorough initial training for all users
• Create clear guidelines on when and how to use the CRM
• Establish accountability for CRM usage among team members
• Assign responsibility for keeping contact information current
• Set reminders for periodic data reviews
• Set up appropriate user roles and permissions
• Implement secure password policies
• Regularly review and audit access rights

Stages of CRM Implementation: From Basics to Sophistication

I would suggest using CRM in stages to suit your maturity. Throughout, you may wish to hire some specialist expertise from UpWork or your marketing agency.

Stage 1: Transfer the Data

Select a CRM to suit your size, needs and ambitions. Check that it integrates with your email suite and PSA if you have them.

• Set up basic contact management. What fields MUST be entered when using it?
• Input client and lead data. Get partners to help here. You can extract LinkedIn and email data using tools such as Zapier. Sometimes there will be a direct integration option. Don’t forget all those spreadsheets and business cards!
• The challenge here will be getting people to use it. I recommend the CEO having weekly CRM meetings with sales people and partners until this becomes a habit.
• Organise lead and client data: define categories (e.g., prospect, active client, former client) and create custom fields for industry-specific information.
• Set up a basic lead status system (e.g., new, contacted, qualified, unqualified) and task categories (e.g., follow-up call, send proposal, schedule meeting).
• Ensure that the CRM is set up (via integrations, or Zapier, or a third-party tool) such that it is easy for partners or sales people to add and amend data from LinkedIn, email and calls.

Stage 2: Prepare Tracking and Reporting

Now your client and lead data is in the system and being updated, create the structure to track opportunities through your pipeline:

• Develop sales pipeline stages that match your sales process (e.g., prospecting, qualification, proposal, negotiation, closed) and set up probability percentages for each stage
• Set up opportunity tracking: create fields for deal size, expected close date, and products/services involved and implement a system for tracking reasons for won/lost deals
• Implement basic reporting on sales metrics: e.g. pipeline value, win rate, and average deal size. Automate weekly/monthly sales activity reports with stakeholders.
• Integrate email and LinkedIn for communication tracking

Stage 3: Get Marketing!

• Prepare: create a template for an email marketing campaign and set up the tracking for its performance (e.g. open rates, click-through rates)
• Create, test and a simple email campaign. Measure, seek feedback from clients and leads, and improve. Examine the reporting and ensure it aligns with your business objectives and marketing strategy.
• Create a simple form on your website that feeds leads directly into the CRM. Use a popular lead magnet to encourage clients to sign-up. Ensure that these are tagged appropriately so that, if needed, you can send separate campaigns to these people.
  • Create simple marketing analytics: set up reports to track the progress of leads through your pipeline and implement website visitor tracking and integration with the CRM.

Stage 4: Get Sophisticated

• Implement lead scoring: Develop a point system based on demographic information (e.g. seniority, size of company, target sector) and engagement levels. Set up automated alerts for sales when leads reach a certain score
• Try customer segmentation: Create segments based on factors like industry, company size, or purchase history. Use this segmentation for targeted marketing campaigns.
• Set up workflow automation for repetitive tasks. For example, automate follow-up emails after specific trigger events. Create automated task creation based on deal stage changes.
• Develop more sophisticated lead nurturing. Implement drip campaigns based on lead behaviour and characteristics. Set up lead recycling processes for leads that don’t convert initially.

Stage 5: Full Integration and Customization

• Integrate CRM with your accounting software for invoice and payment tracking. Integrate with your PSA and ensure lead handover from marketing to sales to delivery is seamless, tracked and managed.
• Research and implement time saving plugins. For example, some integrations use AI to transcribe and enter call data into the CRM. Others use web-scraping and AI to ‘enrich’ lead data.
• Integrate reporting with other systems to generate a 360-degree view by client, industry, sales-person (or partner) and service line.
• Continue to monitor and improve the integrated systems in line with good practice and new developments.

Conclusion: Leveraging CRM for Consultancy Success

Implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is not just about adopting new technology – it’s about transforming how your consultancy manages relationships and creates a client-centric culture.

When used effectively, your CRM becomes more than a tool—it becomes a competitive advantage, helping you deliver more value to your clients and driving sustainable growth for your business.