CRM implementation for B2B companies the tool picked to fit the process
We set the CRM up from scratch or move you off the old one. First we break the sales process down, then we pick the tool: HubSpot, Pipedrive or Salesforce. You see the configuration on a free trial account before you sign a yearly licence. Data from spreadsheets and the previous CRM comes over with its history, and the team is trained separately: the rep, the sales manager and the admin.
- 3 to 6 weeksfrom the workshop to a CRM the whole team works in, with the data carried over from spreadsheets and the old system
- 3 systemsHubSpot, Pipedrive and Salesforce. Which one it is comes out of the workshop, not out of our price list
- 30 daysof support after go-live, because only then does the configuration meet the way the team actually works
The problem
Why does a CRM you paid for sit empty three months later?
The company buys HubSpot. IT creates the accounts, the sales team gets access, and that is the whole rollout. A week later everyone runs the pipeline differently, because nobody agreed on stage names or on what has to happen before a deal moves forward. There are no custom fields, so everything lands in the Notes box. Automations are switched off, because nobody knows how to switch them on. After a month the manager asks for a pipeline report and the reps spend the evening filling in the CRM so the numbers make sense.
Underneath sits one decision taken in the wrong order: the tool was chosen before the process. Someone watched a demo, compared price lists and signed, and now the sales process is bending to fit the vendor template. A rep who cannot find their own work in that template goes back to the spreadsheet and the inbox. Then the data lives in two places, neither of them current, and the CRM becomes one more system to fill in after hours.
There is also a part you do not see when you buy the licence. A CRM is a store of personal data about clients and contacts, so Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the GDPR sets 3 requirements that get settled in the configuration and not after the fact: data minimisation under Article 5(1)(c), a retention period under Article 5(1)(e) and access narrowed by default under Article 25(2). In a CRM where every rep sees the whole database and exports it in one click, none of those 3 points can be shown to an auditor.
- A licence paid every month for a system that 2 people out of 12 log into
- Deals live in a spreadsheet and an inbox, because the CRM lacks what the team needs daily
- Client history stays in the old system, so nobody is willing to switch it off
- The pipeline report is preceded by an evening of filling in data by hand
- Everyone sees the whole database and can export it, because permissions were never set at launch
- A new hire learns the process by word of mouth, because it is not in the CRM
Why now
What changed, so that a CRM rollout no longer takes a quarter?
HubSpot, Pipedrive and Salesforce all have free trial accounts and a full API. The whole configuration, meaning pipeline stages, fields, views and permissions, can be built on a trial account and shown to the team on their own live deals before anyone signs a yearly licence. You decide on the tool after seeing your process inside it, not after a demo prepared by a sales rep.
The second change is about data. Moving contacts, companies, deals and notes out of spreadsheets or an old CRM is a few days of work today, because both sides have an API and the move can be run on a trial account first and counted record by record. We describe the technique separately, on the data migration page, because a rollout turns on a different question: what comes across and what stays in the archive.
The third change is the AI agent. A new CRM gives you reports, but it will not answer the manager asking how many deals have sat still for more than 14 days. BOND, our company AI agent, answers that in a plain sentence in 5 to 10 seconds, with no CRM login. We add it where the team asks about the pipeline a dozen times a day.
What changes
What do you get from a rollout that starts with the process?
The tool chosen after the process, not before it
You get the system recommendation out of the workshop, in writing, with the reasoning and with a list of what that tool will not do. If your current system is enough once it is reconfigured, we say so and we do not sell you a migration.
HubSpot, Pipedrive or Salesforce, picked on headcount, pipeline complexity and whether sales sits in one team with marketing
A pipeline named in your team's own words
Stages mirror your process instead of the vendor template: they are called what the team calls them, and each has one sentence saying what must be true to move on. The starting field set is minimal, because a field nobody fills in ruins a report faster than a missing field does.
Stages and fields signed off by the sales team on a trial account, before anything goes live
Everyone sees what they handle
Rep, manager and board roles get separate views, separate dashboards and a limited export. We also set the retention period for contacts that never entered the sales process, because the GDPR asks for a period, not for forever.
Permissions and views written down per role, ready to show in an audit or an inspection
Client history in one place
Contacts, companies, deals, notes and attachments come across with their relations intact, so the company record carries the whole history of contact. Only then can the old system be switched off instead of kept just in case.
Migration run on a trial account first and counted record by record, details on the data migration page
The CRM stops being a form to fill in
That moment does not arrive on its own, it comes out of the configuration. A rep should get more out of the CRM than they type into it: client context before the call, the list of deals for today, a reminder about a deadline and email filed against the company record automatically.
Gmail or Microsoft 365 and the calendar wired in from day one, so correspondence reaches the CRM without copying
Pipeline questions in a plain sentence
How many open deals above 50 thousand do we have, which ones have not moved in more than 14 days, how many quotes went out this month. The AI agent answers from CRM data, without anyone ordering a report.
An answer in English or Polish in 5 to 10 seconds, with no CRM login
And in your company
What if our situation looks different?
Four sentences we hear most often on the first call, and what we answer.
If you are after a narrower piece, there are separate pages: CRM automation when the system already stands and is used, data migration when the question is only about moving the data, and HubSpot integration and Pipedrive integration when the tool is already chosen.
We have a CRM, only nobody uses it. Do we have to replace it?
Almost never. First we check whether the problem sits in the tool or in the configuration, and in most companies it is the second: no stage definitions, twenty fields of which five get filled in, no email integration. We propose changing the system only when the current one has no API, or when the fields and permissions you need cannot be set up in it.
Our CRM is a Google Sheet and it is fine for now.
With two people and a dozen open deals it genuinely is fine, and that is what we will tell you. It stops being fine the moment you need a change history, permissions, or an answer to who spoke to that company six months ago. A spreadsheet answers none of those three questions, because it keeps neither versions nor roles.
We have 8 years of history in the old system, a move will break it.
That is why we split it in two. Contacts, companies, open deals and notes from recent years go into the new CRM, moved to a trial account first and counted before the switch. The rest lands in a read-only archive, because keeping an old CRM running so that someone can search it once a year costs more than the archive does.
Our reps will not fill in yet another system.
We start with a minimal field set, and the only required fields are the ones without which a deal cannot move to the next stage. Email and meetings drop into the CRM from the integration, and company data is filled in automatically from the VAT number and the domain. A rep types less than in the spreadsheet and gets client context before the call, which the spreadsheet never gave them.
- CRM systems we implement
- HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce
- Email, calendar and team tools
- Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Notion, ClickUp, Jira, Asana
- Sources of deals and contacts
- Website forms, Meta Lead Ads, LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, live chat, Google Ads landing pages
- Commerce and finance
- Shopify, WooCommerce, BaseLinker, PrestaShop, Xero, sevDesk, Fakturownia, Comarch Optima
- Data and reporting
- BigQuery, Google Sheets, Google Analytics, SQL databases
- Automation layer
- Make, n8n, Zapier, custom API integrations
Seven decisions to take before the first login
These decide whether the CRM gets used. We settle each of them in the workshop rather than a month into production, because by then a change means rewriting data.
| Decision | What you see when it was never taken | What we agree before go-live |
|---|---|---|
| Choice of tool | the sales process bends to the vendor template instead of the other way round | a HubSpot, Pipedrive or Salesforce recommendation with reasoning and a list of limits |
| Pipeline stages | two people hold the same deal at different stages | names from the team's own language and one sentence of exit criteria |
| Field set | everything lands in the Notes box, because there are no custom fields | a minimal set at launch, required only when the stage changes |
| Roles and permissions | everyone sees the whole database and exports it in one click | views and export narrowed per role, retention period for contacts written down |
| Scope of data moved | the old system keeps running, because the history stayed in it | what goes to the CRM, what goes to the archive, how we know the move worked |
| Email and calendar integration | the rep copies emails into the CRM, or does not copy them at all | Gmail or Microsoft 365 wired in from day one, meetings on the company record |
| Who administers after launch | every field change is a ticket to the vendor or to us | a named person on your side, trained on configuration and permissions |
The rows are a starting point. On a simple pipeline some of these take a quarter of an hour, and when you sell through several channels at once the longest one is usually the scope of data.
How we do it
Five steps from deciding on a CRM to a team that works in it
Each step ends with something you can judge before you decide on the next one.
Workshop
We break the sales process into stages: who does what, at which point something gets recorded and where the data sits today, in a spreadsheet, in an inbox or in someone's head. We check what you already have, including the spreadsheet acting as a quiet CRM, and which metrics actually matter to the manager.
Tool choice and configuration design
You get a system recommendation with the reasoning and with a list of things it will not do. Plus the configuration design: stages, fields, roles, views, email and calendar integrations and the scope of data to move. At this point you can still change your mind at no cost.
Configuration on a trial account
We build the whole thing on a free trial account and load a sample of your data from spreadsheets and the old system. The team clicks through their own deals and tells us what gets in the way, before you sign a yearly licence. Fixes happen here, not in production.
Go-live with the team
We move the data, switch on the integrations and run separate training: reps on daily work, the manager on reading the pipeline and the reports, the admin on configuration and permissions. For the first week the team works in the new CRM with us watching, and the old system stays on in read-only mode.
30 days of support and measurement
For 30 days after go-live we adjust the configuration to the way the team actually works, because some of it only shows up in production. After 30 days we count how many people really work in the CRM, after 90 we look at response time and at whether the pipeline forecast matches what closed.
Before and after
How a sales rep's week changes
Before
- Deals are run in a spreadsheet and an inbox, because the CRM lacks the daily tools
- Before a client call the rep looks for the history in three places at once
- Emails get copied into the CRM by hand, or not at all
- The evening before the weekly review goes on filling in the CRM so the report holds
After
- A deal exists in one place, with a stage and a date for the next step
- The company record carries history, notes and attachments moved over from the old system
- Correspondence and meetings land in the CRM from the email and calendar integration
- The pipeline report builds itself, because data arrives during the work, not in the evening
The configuration stands on a trial account 1 to 2 weeks after the workshop. The whole team works in the new CRM within 3 to 6 weeks. After 30 days we count how many people really use it, after 90 days we look at response time and forecast.
For the person signing this off
What the person who signs the CRM contract gets out of it
There is one risk on this purchase and it hangs on you: you sign a yearly licence, and three months later the board asks what actually changed. That is why we show the configuration on a free trial account, on your own live deals, before anything is signed. If the team says then that it does not fit, it cost you a workshop and not a year of licences.
The second thing carries weight in the board meeting. You get the tool recommendation in writing, with the reasoning and with a list of limits, so the choice can be defended with numbers from the workshop rather than with an impression from a demo. We start with the process workshop, because only that says which system and to what extent.
- Configuration reviewed by the team before a yearly licence is signed
- Tool recommendation in writing, with reasoning and a list of limits
- Permissions and the data retention period written down, ready for a GDPR question
- An administrator on your side trained, so a field change does not mean raising a ticket with us
What it costs
The workshop has a published price, the rollout is quoted after it
The process workshop costs EUR 3,500 net per week. On a CRM rollout it usually runs 1 to 2 weeks, because the sales process touches marketing, service and invoicing. We quote the rollout after the workshop, once it is clear how many people enter the system, how complex the pipeline is and what condition the data to be moved is in.
You pay CRM licences directly to the vendor, meaning HubSpot, Pipedrive or Salesforce, on their price list and per seat. The same goes for running automations in Make or n8n, and for model queries, which cost the vendor EUR 0.005 to 0.07 each. No commission from us and no margin on licences, so we have no interest in recommending the more expensive system.
Process workshop
EUR 3,500 net
per week, on a CRM rollout usually 1 to 2 weeks
A self-contained piece of work. It ends with a tool recommendation and a configuration design you can execute without us or with your own IT team.
- Sales process map: stages, roles, exit criteria, metrics
- System recommendation with reasoning and a list of limits
- Configuration design: fields, views, roles, permissions, integrations
- Scope of data to move and the metrics to measure after 30 days
- Most popular
Workshop and CRM rollout
Quoted after the workshop
scope follows from headcount, pipeline complexity and the state of the data
The option most companies choose. A working CRM within 3 to 6 weeks of the workshop, reviewed by the team on a trial account before go-live.
- Everything in the workshop
- Configuration on a trial account and fixes before production
- Data moved from spreadsheets and the old system, with relations preserved
- Email and calendar integration and the first pipeline automations
- Training for reps, the manager and the admin, plus 30 days of support
CRM rollout and an AI agent
Quoted after the workshop
for teams that ask about the pipeline a dozen times a day
Everything in the rollout plus BOND, which answers pipeline questions in a plain sentence, straight from CRM data.
- Everything in the CRM rollout
- AI agent wired into the CRM: pipeline, forecast, stalled deals, contact sources
- Alerts on deals with no movement and on overdue tasks
- Access for reps and the manager, an answer in 5 to 10 seconds
The workshop ends with a document that stands without us: a process map, a tool recommendation with reasoning and a configuration design. If it turns out your current system is enough once reconfigured, or that with two people in sales a spreadsheet still holds, we say so plainly and the work ends at the workshop.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a CRM implementation take?
A simple setup, meaning a small company, a simple pipeline and no data to move, takes 1 to 2 weeks. A standard rollout in a company of 20 to 50 people, with data moved and the first automations, takes 3 to 6 weeks. An advanced rollout, at 50 to 200 people with a complex pipeline and many integrations, runs 6 to 12 weeks. On top of that comes 1 to 2 weeks of workshop at the start.
Which CRM systems do you implement?
HubSpot, Pipedrive and Salesforce. HubSpot is our most common pick for companies of 10 to 200 people that want sales and marketing on one contact database. Pipedrive suits small sales teams with a simple pipeline and a fast start. Salesforce comes in when the sales structure is complex, there are several business units or the reporting requirements are heavy. We take no commission from any of them.
How do you choose the CRM for a specific company?
The order is the reverse of the usual one: first we break the sales process down in the workshop, then we fit the tool to what came out of it. We look at how many people go into the system, how many stages and exceptions there are, whether marketing works on the same database and which systems the CRM has to connect to. You get the recommendation in writing together with a list of things that system will not do.
What happens to the data in our spreadsheets and old CRM?
Contacts, companies, open deals, notes and attachments go into the new system with the relations between them preserved. We run the move on a trial account first and count the records before the switch, and the old system stays on in read-only mode for a while. Older data nobody goes back to lands in the archive. We describe the technique on the data migration page.
How is a CRM implementation different from CRM automation?
Implementation answers which CRM to stand up, how to configure it and how to wire it into the rest of your systems. CRM automation starts where the system already stands and is used, but takes too much clicking and gives back too few numbers you can trust. We often do one after the other, and the free consultation settles which, not a price list.
Who sets the permissions and who sees what after the rollout?
We design permissions and views per role in the workshop, because the GDPR asks for access narrowed by default and for data minimisation, not for everyone to have everything. A rep sees what they handle, the manager sees the whole team, the board sees the summaries. We also limit exports and write down the retention period for contacts that never entered the sales process.
What if the team never starts using it?
That is exactly why we show the configuration to the team on a trial account, on their own deals, before go-live. We train reps, the manager and the admin separately, and for the first week we work alongside them in the new system. After 30 days we count how many people really work in the CRM, because a rollout nobody uses looks identical in a report to a successful one.
How much does the CRM licence itself cost?
You pay it directly to the vendor, on their price list and per seat, with no margin from us. In the workshop we work out the licence cost of each system under consideration at your headcount, because at 30 seats the gap between tools becomes visible in the annual budget. Our quote covers only the workshop and the rollout.
Let us check which CRM makes sense for your process
The free consultation takes 30 minutes. You tell us how many people sell, where the deals sit today and whether a system was bought already. We say plainly whether this is a rollout from scratch, a change of system, or rather a reconfiguration of what you already have. You do not have to give access to anything at this stage.
We run at most two rollouts at a time, so that someone is actually sitting on each of them.
Book a free consultationPS. If your reps type into the CRM on the evening before the weekly review, that is exactly this problem: the system was configured to the vendor template, not to the way the team works. A CRM built from the process returns the report on its own and hands the rep client context before the call. We start with the workshop, because without a process map there is nothing to base the tool choice on.