CRM & Pipeline Automation

Fixes: leads and deals tracked in someone’s head, a notebook, or a spreadsheet — so follow-ups slip and the owner can’t see the pipeline. Put a lightweight CRM in place and automate the movement between stages.

Stack

• All-in-one for local SMBs: GoHighLevel (CRM + pipeline + calendar + SMS/email in one).
• Clean & free-tier friendly: EspoCRM (open-source, self-host) or HubSpot free / Pipedrive.
• Glue: n8n/Zapier to move leads in from forms/calls and fire stage-based follow-ups.
• Brain: Claude drafts stage-appropriate follow-ups and summarizes call notes into the record.

field-tested build

1. Audit — where do leads currently live? What are the real pipeline stages? Where do deals actually stall?
2. Optimize — define the minimum pipeline (don’t import a broken 12-stage process). Agree the stages, the entry/exit criteria, and the one follow-up action per stage.
3. Automate — inbound lead auto-creates a record; stage changes trigger the right follow-up (tie into speed-to-lead); Claude summarizes notes and drafts next-step messages.
4. Verify — push 3 test leads through the full pipeline; confirm each stage’s automation fires and nothing requires manual re-entry.

Time to ship

Moderate — ~1–2 sessions (data migration from spreadsheets can add time).

Compliance

SMS follow-ups: A2P 10DLC + consent. Client data: DPA/NDA.

Log in Notion

“Stood up CRM with [N] stages, auto-capture from [channels], stage-based follow-ups. Manual re-entry eliminated.” Track leads-not-lost and follow-up consistency.