CRM & Sales

Managing your sales pipeline from first contact to signed client

The CRM section is your sales command center, helping you track potential clients from first contact through to winning the deal and converting them to active clients.

What is the CRM Section?

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) in Agency OS handles everything before someone becomes an active client. It's where you:

• Store contact information for prospects

• Track companies you're pursuing (Leads)

• Manage specific deal opportunities

• Log all interactions and touchpoints

• Schedule and track meetings

• Monitor your sales pipeline

CRM vs Clients: The CRM section is for potential clients (leads and prospects). Once you win their business, they move to the Clients section where active project work happens.

CRM Section Structure

The CRM folder contains six pages:

📊 CRM (Folder)
   ├─ Contacts
   ├─ Leads
   ├─ Dashboard
   ├─ Opportunities
   ├─ Meetings
   └─ Interactions

Let's explore each one.

Contacts

Purpose: Central directory of all people you interact with

What You'll See

A list of individuals including:

• Name and job title

• Company (linked to Lead or Client)

• Email and phone number

• Recent interactions

• Upcoming meetings

Key Features

Contact Information

• Full name

• Job title/role

• Email address

• Phone number

• LinkedIn profile (optional)

• Notes and context

Relationships

• Linked to Account (Lead or Client)

• Can have multiple contacts per company

• Primary contact designation

Activity History

• All interactions with this person

• Scheduled meetings

• Comments and notes

Common Use Cases

Building Your Network

• Add contacts from events and conferences

• Import from email signatures

• Connect with key decision-makers

Contact Management

• Update when people change roles

• Track communication history

• Identify who to reach out to

Portal Access Once they become a client, contacts can be converted to portal users.

Primary Contact: Designate one primary contact per account. This person typically receives portal access and key communications.

Leads

Purpose: Companies you're pursuing that aren't yet clients

What You'll See

A list of prospective client companies showing:

• Company name

• Status (Prospect, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation)

• Primary contact

• Potential value

• Next action

• Last contact date

Lead Statuses

Default lead statuses track progress:

Prospect: Initial contact, early stage

• Just heard about them or they heard about you

• Gathering basic information

• Determining if there's a fit

Qualified: Confirmed they're a good fit

• Budget confirmed

• Decision-maker identified

• Timeline established

• Genuine need exists

Proposal: Formal proposal stage

• Scope of work defined

• Proposal submitted

• Awaiting their decision

Negotiation: Fine-tuning terms

• Discussing contract details

• Adjusting scope or pricing

• Legal review happening

Won: Deal closed! ✨

• Agreement signed

• Ready to convert to Client

• Time to create project

Lost: Didn't win the business

• Track reason (budget, timing, competition, etc.)

• Keep for future follow-up

• Learn from for future pitches

Key Actions

Creating a Lead

1. Go to CRM > Leads

2. Click + New record

3. Fill in:

   • Company name

   • Status (start with "Prospect")

   • Primary contact

   • Website and industry (optional but helpful)

   • Notes on how you connected

4. Save

Moving Through Stages

• Update Status field as progress happens

• Add notes about conversations

• Link related interactions and meetings

• Create opportunities for specific projects

Converting to Client When you win their business:

1. Update Lead status to "Won"

2. Change record type from Lead to Client (or create new Client record)

3. The company moves from Leads to Clients section

4. Create first project

Don't Skip Leads: Even if you already know they'll become a client, tracking them as a Lead first creates useful history and sales metrics.

Dashboard (Sales Reporting)

Purpose: Visualize your sales pipeline and track performance

What You'll See

Sales Pipeline Visualization

• Opportunities by stage (funnel chart)

• Total value in each stage

• Number of deals at each step

• Conversion rates between stages

Key Metrics

• Total pipeline value

• Average deal size

• Win rate percentage

• Sales cycle length

• Monthly/quarterly revenue targets

Performance Charts

• Closed deals over time

• Revenue by month

• Opportunity source breakdown

• Win/loss analysis

Pipeline Health

• Deals stuck in stages

• Opportunities approaching close date

• Leads needing follow-up

• Meeting activity

Common Use Cases

Monday Morning Sales Review

• Check pipeline health

• Identify opportunities needing attention

• Plan week's sales activities

Forecasting

• Estimate likely revenue by quarter

• Adjust predictions based on stage probabilities

• Plan resource needs

Performance Tracking

• Monitor individual sales rep performance

• Track win rates over time

• Identify successful lead sources

Customize Metrics: In Build Mode, you can customize which metrics and charts appear on your sales dashboard.

Opportunities

Purpose: Track specific potential projects or deals

What Opportunities Are

An Opportunity represents a specific deal or potential project. Key differences:

• Lead: The company (e.g., "Acme Corporation")

• Opportunity: The specific project (e.g., "Acme Corp - Website Redesign")

One Lead can have multiple Opportunities (different projects over time).

What You'll See

Opportunity list showing:

• Opportunity name

• Associated Lead/Client

• Value ($ amount)

• Stage (Discovery, Proposal, Negotiation, Won, Lost)

• Probability of closing (%)

• Expected close date

• Owner (who's handling it)

Key Fields

Opportunity Details

• Name: Descriptive title (e.g., "Website Redesign Project")

• Account: Link to Lead or Client

• Value: Estimated project value

• Stage: Where in sales process

• Probability: % chance of winning (often auto-set by stage)

• Close Date: Expected decision date

• Owner: Sales person responsible

Additional Context

• Description: Project scope overview

• Competitors: Who else is bidding

• Budget Confirmed: Yes/No

• Decision Makers: Who needs to approve

• Next Steps: What needs to happen

Opportunity Stages

Default stages (customizable):

1. Discovery (10% probability)

   • Initial conversations

   • Understanding their needs

   • Determining fit

2. Proposal (25% probability)

   • Scope defined

   • Proposal submitted

   • Awaiting review

3. Negotiation (50% probability)

   • Discussing terms

   • Adjusting scope/price

   • Addressing concerns

4. Won (100% probability)

   • Contract signed

   • Ready to start

   • Convert to project!

5. Lost (0% probability)

   • They chose someone else

   • Timing not right

   • Budget disappeared

Typical Workflow

Create Opportunity

1. From a Lead record, click "Create Opportunity"

2. Or go to CRM > Opportunities > + New record

3. Name it: "[Company] - [Project Type]"

4. Set initial stage (usually Discovery)

5. Estimate value and close date

Move Through Pipeline

1. Update Stage as you progress

2. Adjust Probability if needed

3. Log all Interactions related to this opportunity

4. Update Close Date if timeline shifts

Win the Deal!

1. Change Stage to "Won"

2. Celebrate! 🎉

3. Convert Lead to Client (if not already)

4. Create Project from the Opportunity

5. Start delivery work

Handle Loss

1. Change Stage to "Lost"

2. Add reason in notes (competitor, budget, timing, no decision)

3. Set follow-up date to check back later

4. Learn from it for next time

Convert to Project: When an opportunity is won, you can create a Project directly from the opportunity record. This preserves the history and context.

Meetings

Purpose: Schedule and track all client and prospect meetings

What You'll See

A list of meetings showing:

• Meeting title

• Date and time

• Attendees (linked Contacts)

• Associated Lead/Client/Opportunity

• Meeting notes

• Recording or link (if applicable)

Key Features

Meeting Details

• Title: Clear meeting purpose

• Date/Time: When it's happening

• Duration: How long it will take

• Location: Office, video call, their location

• Meeting Link: Zoom, Teams, Google Meet URL

• Attendees: Linked to Contacts

Meeting Context

• Account: Which Lead or Client

• Opportunity: Which deal (if applicable)

• Agenda: Topics to cover

• Meeting Type: Discovery, Proposal Review, Check-in, etc.

Post-Meeting

• Notes: Summary of discussion

• Outcomes: Decisions made

• Next Steps: Actions to take

• Recording: Link to video recording

Common Use Cases

Schedule a Meeting

1. Go to CRM > Meetings

2. Click + New record

3. Add title, date/time, attendees

4. Link to Lead/Client

5. Add meeting link (Zoom, etc.)

6. Save and send calendar invite

Log Meeting Notes After the meeting:

1. Open the meeting record

2. Add notes to the Notes field

3. Document key takeaways

4. List next steps

5. Update related Opportunity stage if needed

Review Meeting History

• See all past meetings with a contact

• Review what was discussed previously

• Prepare for next conversation

Calendar Integration: Consider integrating Agency OS with your calendar tool via Zapier or Make to automatically sync meetings.

Interactions

Purpose: Log all touchpoints and communications

What Interactions Are

Interactions are any communication or touchpoint with a Contact. They create a complete history of your relationship.

Interaction Types

Email

• Sent proposal

• Follow-up message

• Question answered

Call

• Phone conversation

• Quick check-in

• Voicemail left

Meeting

• Links to Meetings records

• In-person or virtual

Note

• LinkedIn connection

• Saw them at event

• Competitor mention

• General observation

What You'll See

Interaction list showing:

• Date and time

• Type (Email, Call, Meeting, Note)

• Contact(s) involved

• Associated Account (Lead/Client)

• Summary of interaction

• Next action needed

Key Fields

• Date: When interaction occurred

• Type: Email, Call, Meeting, Note

• Contact: Who you interacted with

• Account: Their company (Lead or Client)

• Opportunity: Related deal (if applicable)

• Summary: What happened

• Next Steps: Follow-up needed

• Sentiment: Positive, Neutral, Negative (optional)

Common Use Cases

Log a Phone Call

1. After call, go to CRM > Interactions

2. Click + New record

3. Type: Call

4. Contact: Who you spoke with

5. Summary: Key points discussed

6. Next Steps: What you promised to do

7. Save

Track Email Conversation

1. After sending important email

2. Create Interaction

3. Type: Email

4. Summary: What you sent/discussed

5. Link to Opportunity if relevant

Create Activity Timeline

• All interactions create a timeline

• See complete history with Contact

• Review before next conversation

• Never forget what was discussed

Be Consistent: Make logging interactions a habit. Even a brief note ("Sent proposal") creates valuable history for your team.

The Complete Sales Workflow

Here's how all the CRM pieces work together:

1. First Contact

Someone reaches out or you reach out:

Create Contact → Add to Lead (company) → Log Interaction

Example: Emma contacts you about a potential project

• Create Contact record for Emma

• Create Lead record for her company (if new)

• Log Interaction: "Inbound inquiry about website project"

2. Discovery

Schedule and conduct discovery:

Create Meeting → Conduct discovery → Log notes → Update Lead status

• Schedule Meeting with Emma

• Attend discovery call

• Add notes to Meeting record

• Update Lead status to "Qualified"

• Log Interaction summarizing call

3. Proposal

Create and submit proposal:

Create Opportunity → Link to Lead → Submit proposal → Log Interaction

• Create Opportunity: "[Company] - Website Redesign"

• Estimate value: $50,000

• Set stage: Proposal

• Expected close date: 30 days

• Log Interaction: "Sent proposal via email"

4. Follow-up

Stay in touch:

Schedule follow-up Meeting → Move Opportunity to Negotiation → Log Interactions

• Schedule proposal review meeting

• Discuss questions and concerns

• Update Opportunity stage to Negotiation

• Log each interaction

5. Close the Deal

Win or lose:

If Won:

Update Opportunity: Won → Convert Lead to Client → Create Project

• Change Opportunity stage to Won

• Update Lead status to Won

• Convert Lead to Client (moves to Clients section)

• Create Project from Opportunity

• Set up client portal access

If Lost:

Update Opportunity: Lost (reason) → Schedule follow-up → Learn

• Change Opportunity stage to Lost

• Add reason in notes

• Set reminder to follow up in 6 months

• Review what could be improved

Tips for CRM Success

For Sales Teams

Daily Habits:

• Log interactions immediately (don't wait)

• Update opportunity stages when things change

• Schedule next meeting before current one ends

• Review pipeline each morning

Weekly Reviews:

• Check CRM Dashboard

• Identify stuck opportunities

• Plan outreach for quiet leads

• Update close dates as needed

For Agency Leaders

Monthly Analysis:

• Review win/loss rates

• Analyze sales cycle length

• Identify best lead sources

• Forecast upcoming revenue

Quarterly Planning:

• Set revenue targets

• Adjust pipeline goals

• Review team performance

• Refine sales process

Customizing Your CRM

Common customizations agencies make:

Add Custom Fields

• Lead source (referral, website, event, etc.)

• Ideal client profile score

• Budget range

• Decision timeframe

• Service interest (web, branding, marketing, etc.)

Modify Stages

• Add "Discovery Call Scheduled" stage

• Include "Contract Review" stage

• Create custom won/lost reasons

Create Automations

• Email reminder when no interaction in 14 days

• Notify team when opportunity reaches Proposal stage

• Auto-create first project when opportunity won

• Slack notification for new leads

Customize Dashboard

• Add charts specific to your sales process

• Track metrics important to your agency

• Create role-specific views (per sales person)

Learn more: Customizing Your Agency OS

Related Guides

• Managing Clients - What happens after you win the deal

• Projects & Delivery - Executing the work

• Best Practices - Tips for CRM success

Master Your Pipeline: A well-maintained CRM means predictable revenue, better client relationships, and no missed opportunities. Make it a daily habit!