CRM Setup
CRM Implementation — Platform, Stages, Status Owners, SLA
For founders and sales leads whose deals live in a spreadsheet, or in a CRM only one person opens. You keep the logins, the stage map, and the pipeline rules.
- Pipeline audit and stage map
- Month to month
- You own the accounts
First working piece in about a week
Where CRM implementation work usually breaks
Installer ships the portal then disappears
Seats go live, then nobody owns stages after week two. The board looks finished while the team keeps working deals in the old sheet.
Forty custom fields and zero owners
Every form dumps another property into HubSpot or Salesforce. Reps skip half of them because nobody named who may change which field.
Migration dumps history without a dedupe pass
Old CSV records land next to live deals. The same company appears three times before anyone merges.
Marketing and sales keep separate stage lists
Lead stages live in one board and opportunity stages live in another. Handoff has no SLA, so accepted leads stall between views.
How I stand up stages, owners, and the handoff
01
Audit the pipeline you actually run
I map live deals, sheet handoffs, and fields already in your CRM — if you have one. Goal: where stages break, not a full history rewrite.
From you: Admin access (or the sheet that is the system) and how a deal really moves.
You leave with: Pipeline audit with gaps and owner blanks marked.
02
Lock stages, properties, and status owners
We set New → Qualified → Proposal → Won/Lost (or your real motion), required properties, and who may change each stage. One stack among HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, and Monday — not five builds.
From you: One founder or sales lead who can approve stage names in one session.
You leave with: Stage map and property list you can open.
03
Clean the active set — or set up the chosen CRM
Greenfield: configure agreed stages and core properties. Cleanup: fix the live pipeline — dedupe, routing, fields reps will fill. Historical tails can keep cleaning on the longer track.
From you: Sign-off on merge rules and which records are in the first cutover.
You leave with: Live stages and core properties in the chosen platform.
04
Write the marketing–sales SLA into the handoff
We document when marketing may pass a lead, when sales must accept or reject, and what “stale” means — as CRM rules and owners, not a deck.
From you: One marketing contact and one sales contact on the same call.
You leave with: Written marketing–sales SLA with acceptance criteria.
Greenfield usually takes 4–6 weeks; cleanup or rebuild, 6–10. Day 7 is the stage map — not a finished CRM. The under-$1K starter is that audit and map only; not this full mechanism or a migration.
See what the first month includes →What CRM implementation includes — and what it does not
Included
- → Pipeline audit of how deals move today
- → Stage map, required properties, and status-owner rules
- → Platform choice among HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, and Monday (one stack)
- → Cleanup of the active pipeline or greenfield setup in the chosen CRM
- → Marketing–sales SLA with handoff and acceptance criteria
- → Routing basics so new leads land with an owner
- → Short handoff so your team can maintain stages without me in every deal
Not included
- → CRM license or seat fees
- → Hiring SDRs or sales headcount
- → Perfect cleanup of every historical record by week six
Accounts and materials stay with you.
Target pipeline — stages, status owners, platforms
This is the target pipeline — not a screenshot of promised revenue, and not the conflicting-status diagram.
01
Stage: New → Qualified → Proposal → Won/Lost
02
Status owner (who may change the stage)
03
Platforms: HubSpot · Salesforce · Pipedrive · Zoho · Monday
Who should hire CRM implementation
A fit
- → Deals live in a spreadsheet, or in a CRM only one person opens.
- → You will keep or pick HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, or Monday — and pay the licenses yourself.
- → Someone on your side will own stages and status changes after handover.
- → You need one shared pipeline and a marketing–sales SLA, not another “CRM best practices” deck.
Not a fit
- → No one will own stages after handover.
- → You want me to hire your sales team or SDRs.
- → You need every historical row perfect in week one.
CRM DIY · freelancer · agency · this operator
Who does the work
This operator: One senior operator builds stages, owners, and SLA with you
First artifact
This operator: Stage map and property list you can open
Who owns accounts
This operator: You — portal and licenses stay yours
How you pay
This operator: Starter under $1K (audit + stage map); monthly from $1K
What you will not get
This operator: CRM licenses, SDR hiring, or perfect history by week one
CRM implementation milestones at day 7, 30, 90
Day 7
Stage map and property list you can open — not a finished CRM.
Day 30
Live stages, owners, and core properties in the chosen platform; greenfield build or cleanup still in progress.
Day 90
Team runs one shared pipeline with SLA handoff; historical tails may still be cleaning on the 6–10 week track.
What this CRM work costs
One-time starter under $1,000: a pipeline audit plus a stage map you can open — not a migration or cutover.
Monthly from $1,000: implementation or cleanup in your CRM, month to month. No annual lock.
CRM subscriptions and seat licenses stay on your cards — HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, or Monday.
Questions before you hire CRM implementation
Ready to scope CRM implementation — take the quiz
Answer a few questions about your stack and how deals move today. You leave with a clear next step — starter map or monthly build — without a pitch deck. Primary CTA: Match a budget in the quiz Secondary CTA: See plans