125: How to Create Your Own CRM with Alex Sherwood

If there’s one software question that invokes a near-universal groan among small business owners, it’s “What do you use for a CRM?” Much of the existing software is clunky, expensive, or at worst—both. Today I’m chatting with Notion pro Alex Sherwood, a former Salesforce CRM manager, on how he built his own Customer Relationship Manager tool in Notion, and inspired me to do the same. Because even the acronym CRM gives me shudders, I renamed mine “K.I.T.”, Keep In Touch, in a nod to high school yearbook sign-offs.

More About Alex: Alex Sherwood, also known as A Notioneer, is a full-time Notion Certified Consultant, ambassador, and creator, who helps Notion users structure their system with his 50+ templates, guides, and consulting. Previously, he managed a Salesforce CRM for more than 3 years that started with 9 users and scaled to more than 75.  He is the resident expert for our Free Time Operations Dashboard, a done-for-you guide to your entire business, helping all of our new Dashboarders get up-to-speed. 

You can use the code PODCAST for a special deal on the Free Time Operations Dashboard (which includes two 1:1 sessions with Alex!)

🌟3 Key Takeaways:

• Ideally, you have one central, searchable storage spot to keep tabs on people you connect with regularly, whether for clients or your broader professional community. 

• When building your CRM, focus on the outputs you want it to provide: Help tracking your sales pipeline? Keeping up with friends? Networking with colleagues?

• Additional questions to consider: What processes do you need to manage? What information do you need to record about those processes to make them as simple as possible? What reports would be most helpful for your business?

📝Permission: Set-up a simple CRM that works for you. Start with keeping light notes and reminders for the people you care most about! Then allow it to organically grow in scope and complexity over time.

✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Create a “referred by” or “how we met” note or relation (Notion-speak) in your CRM to remember how you first connected with someone. 

📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One

🔗Resources Mentioned: 

• Alex on the web, IG: @aNotioneer, Twitter: @anotioneer

• Notion Resources: Free Time Operations Dashboard (promo code PODCAST), Marie Poulin’s Notion Mastery course, Alex’s Advanced CRM Template, How to build a CRM in Notion (video), meme: “Just taking notes”

• Tools Mentioned: Make, Zapier, Stripe, Stripe Sigma, Glide

🎧Related Podcast Episodes: 

• 108: How to Run a Scaled Coaching Team with Notion

• 088: Why I Moved from Asana to Notion for Task and Project Management

• 034: Organizing Research and Ideas - Notion Walkthrough #1

• 036: Shaping Big Ideas - Notion Walkthrough #2

• 038: Tracking Progress Toward Finishing a Book (or Big Idea) with an Essay Tracker - Notion Walkthrough #3

• 083: Breaking through Buyer’s Remorse—Never Lose a Customer Again with Joey Coleman

• 111: Building a Second Brain with Tiago Forte

• Pivot 287: Solving Pivot Puzzles with A.J. Jacobs

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