Thinking About a CRM? Read This First!

Most B2B businesses don’t wake up one day desperate for a CRM.

It usually starts with a feeling.

• Leads are coming in, but no one really knows who followed up

• Sales conversations are happening, but nothing is tracked properly

• Someone says, “Did we ever call that company back?”

• Or worse… two sales reps call the same prospect

So you do what most businesses do?

You Google “best CRM,” talk to a sales rep, get a slick demo, and sign up.

Six months later, you’re paying for software you don’t trust, your team avoids using it, and you’re quietly thinking, “This thing is rubbish.”

It’s not rubbish.
It was just never set up properly.

So, what is a CRM anyway?

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) is simply a tool that helps you track leads, customers, conversations and follow-ups in one central place. It’s designed to support your sales team and give business owners visibility over what’s actually happening in the pipeline.

When it’s set up properly, it becomes one of the most valuable systems in your business.

When it’s not, it becomes an expensive monthly subscription everyone ignores.

The Real Reason most CRMs fail

CRM platforms like HubSpot are powerful tools. But they’re just tools.

What usually goes wrong is this:

• The CRM is set up before a sales or marketing strategy exists

• No one maps how leads actually move through the business

• Fields, pipelines and stages are created randomly

• Everyone is expected to “just use it”

CRM sales reps will happily sell you the world.
But unless you’re on the highest tier, strategy and hands-on setup is rarely part of the deal.

So businesses end up paying monthly for something they don’t understand, don’t trust, and don’t use properly.

That’s where marketing should have been involved from day one.

Case Study: The Supplies Mob and HubSpot

The Supplies Mob is a fast-growing, B2B safety supplies business. Like many businesses doing well, they knew they needed better systems to support their sales team.

They signed up to HubSpot and had been paying for it for around six months, but, they never told Marketing.

On paper, everything looked fine.

In reality:

• Contacts weren’t segmented properly

• No clear difference between prospects, leads, or customers

• No consistent way for sales reps to log calls, meetings or follow-ups

• No reporting that actually told the owner what was going on

HubSpot wasn’t the issue.
The lack of upfront strategy was.

When The Ripe Idea stepped in, we didn’t start by clicking buttons inside HubSpot.

We started with questions.

What We Did Differently (and Why It Worked)

Before touching the CRM, we worked through:

1. How sales actually happen in the business

Not how the software thinks it should happen.
How it really happens day to day.

Cold calls
Emails
Face-to-face meetings
Follow-ups
Orders

Then we mapped that flow properly.

2. Clear lead stages everyone understands

We simplified it so sales reps could instantly see where a contact sits:

• Prospect (never spoken to)

• Lead contacted

• Meeting booked

• Active opportunity

• Converted customer

No fluff. No confusion.

3. Database segmentation from the start

This is where marketing experience matters.

We segmented contacts early so the business can later:

• Run proper email campaigns

• Separate customers from prospects

• See which industries convert best

• Scale without rebuilding the system

Once this is done properly, you don’t have to undo six months of mess later.

4. Sales team training, not just software access

A CRM is useless if your team doesn’t know how or why to use it.

We showed the sales rep:

• How to add contacts properly

• How to log calls and meetings

• How to schedule tasks and follow-ups

• How to use daily reminders so nothing falls through the cracks

The result?
The CRM finally started supporting sales instead of slowing it down.

Why Marketing Agencies Are Better at CRM Strategy Than CRM Sales Teams

This might ruffle a few feathers, but it needs to be said.

CRM salespeople sell software.
Marketing agencies build systems.

A good marketing agency will:

• Understand your full customer journey

• Know how sales, marketing and data connect

• Think ahead to future growth, not just today

• Avoid over-selling features you don’t need

• Set things up once, properly, for scale

We don’t want you paying for tools you’ll never use.
We want a system that grows with your business.

And because we sit across strategy, marketing and sales, we can train your team, build reporting that actually means something, and make sure the CRM works in real life.

When Should Your Business Start Considering a CRM?

You don’t need a CRM on day one.

But you should start considering one when:

• You have more than one person selling

• Leads come from multiple places (calls, website, referrals, email)

• You can’t clearly see who followed up and when

• You want predictable, scalable growth

• You’re planning to run marketing campaigns properly

The biggest mistake businesses make is waiting too long, then rushing the setup.

That’s how you end up paying twice.

The Right Way to Do It

If you’re:

• Thinking about getting a CRM

• Already paying for one you don’t trust

• Or feeling like your sales system is messy and unclear

The smartest move isn’t upgrading your plan.

It’s getting strategy first.

At The Ripe Idea, we help B2B businesses:

• Decide if they actually need a CRM

• Choose the right platform for their size, goals and budget

• Set it up properly from day one

• Train sales teams so it actually gets used

• Build systems that scale, not break

If you want a CRM that works for your business instead of against it, let’s talk before you sign another contract.