CRM Setup Guide

Purpose

This recipe selects the right CRM platform for your startup's stage, budget, and sales motion, then configures it with pipeline stages, deal properties, email integration, automations, and user accounts — producing a fully operational CRM ready for your team to start tracking and closing deals on day one. [src1]

Prerequisites

• Sales process definition — pipeline stages with exit criteria from Sales Process Design
• Team roster — list of users who need CRM access with roles
• Email accounts — Gmail or Outlook for each user (for email sync)
• Company domain — for email tracking and sender authentication
• Budget approval — confirm monthly CRM budget per user

Constraints

• HubSpot free tier: 2 users, 1 pipeline, no custom reporting. [src4]
• Pipedrive: no free plan, Essential starts at $24/user/mo. [src2]
• Close: no free plan, Startup starts at $49/user/mo. [src7]
• Salesforce: minimum $25/user/mo (Starter Suite), annual contract required. [src6]
• CRM migration costs 40-100 hours — choose deliberately. [src3]

Tool Selection Decision

Which CRM?
├── Budget = $0, team = 1-2 people
│   └── HubSpot Free — best free tier, 1M contacts
├── Budget = $15-25/user, need pipeline visualization
│   └── Pipedrive Essential ($24/user/mo)
├── Budget = $15-25/user, need marketing + sales
│   └── HubSpot Starter ($15/user/mo)
├── Budget = $49+/user, need built-in calling
│   └── Close ($49/user/mo)
└── Budget = $25-75/user, need customization
    └── Salesforce ($25-75/user/mo)

Execution Flow

Step 1: Select CRM Platform

Duration: 30-60 minutes · Tool: Decision matrix

Score each CRM against your top 5 requirements weighted by importance. [src1] [src3]

Recommendation by stage:
  Pre-revenue / Seed:  HubSpot Free → HubSpot Starter
  Series A (outbound): Close or Pipedrive
  Series A (inbound):  HubSpot Starter → Professional
  Series B+:           Salesforce or HubSpot Enterprise

Verify: Platform selected based on scoring matrix; budget confirmed. · If failed: If two platforms score within 5 points, choose the one with a better free trial.

Step 2: Create Account and Invite Team

Duration: 15-30 minutes · Tool: CRM platform

Sign up, complete onboarding wizard, invite team, assign roles, and connect email. Platform-specific steps provided for HubSpot, Pipedrive, Close, and Salesforce.

Verify: All team members can log in and send a test email from within the CRM. · If failed: Check spam folders for invitation emails.

Step 3: Configure Pipeline Stages

Duration: 30-60 minutes · Tool: CRM settings

Import pipeline stages from your sales process design into CRM. [src2]

Pipeline stages with probability:
  Lead Identified (10%) → Qualified (25%) → Discovery Complete (40%)
  → Demo/Solution (60%) → Proposal Sent (75%) → Negotiation (85%)
  → Closed Won (100%) / Closed Lost (0%)

Verify: Create test deal and move through all stages; probability updates automatically. · If failed: Check sort/order settings in pipeline configuration.

Step 4: Add Deal Properties and Required Fields

Duration: 30 minutes · Tool: CRM settings

Add custom properties for qualification data and enforce data quality. [src4]

Required properties: deal name, amount, close date, owner,
next step, qualification score, decision-maker identified, loss reason

Verify: Saving a deal without required fields is blocked by CRM. · If failed: HubSpot free tier lacks conditional required fields; use naming conventions as workaround.

Step 5: Set Up Automations and Notifications

Duration: 30-60 minutes · Tool: CRM automation builder

Create automations: new lead assignment, follow-up reminders, stale deal alerts, won deal handoff, and lost deal logging. [src5]

Verify: Trigger each automation with a test deal. Confirm notifications fire correctly. · If failed: Use Zapier ($19.99/mo) if CRM plan does not support automations.

Step 6: Import Existing Data and Go Live

Duration: 1-2 hours · Tool: CRM import wizard + CSV files

Import contacts, companies, and deals. Clean data first: remove duplicates, standardize names, fill required fields, format dates. Import in order: Companies → Contacts → Deals. [src1]

Verify: All records imported, associations correct, and team can search for any contact or deal. · If failed: Check for special characters in names or email format issues; re-import failed rows.

Output Schema

{
  "output_type": "configured_crm",
  "format": "configured platform + selection document",
  "columns": [
    {"name": "crm_platform", "type": "string", "description": "Selected CRM platform", "required": true},
    {"name": "plan_tier", "type": "string", "description": "Pricing tier and monthly cost", "required": true},
    {"name": "pipeline_stages", "type": "number", "description": "Configured pipeline stages", "required": true},
    {"name": "custom_properties", "type": "number", "description": "Custom deal properties added", "required": true},
    {"name": "automations_active", "type": "number", "description": "Active workflow automations", "required": true},
    {"name": "users_onboarded", "type": "number", "description": "Team members with active accounts", "required": true}
  ],
  "expected_row_count": "1",
  "sort_order": "N/A",
  "deduplication_key": "crm_platform"
}

Quality Benchmarks

If below minimum: Simplify configuration — remove non-essential custom fields and focus on pipeline stages and deal amounts only.

Error Handling

Cost Breakdown

Anti-Patterns

Wrong: Starting with Salesforce because "we'll grow into it"

A 2-person startup will spend more time configuring Salesforce than selling. The complexity tax kills early-stage velocity. [src3]

Correct: Start simple and migrate when you hit clear limits

Start with HubSpot Free or Pipedrive Essential. Migrate to Salesforce when you have 10+ reps and need custom objects.

Wrong: Over-customizing in the first 90 days

Adding 20+ custom fields before you have 50 deals creates a system optimized for imaginary workflows.

Correct: Configure the minimum viable CRM

Pipeline stages, deal amount, close date, and next step. Add fields only when the same question appears repeatedly in pipeline reviews.

When This Matters

Use this recipe when a startup needs to select and configure its first CRM, or when migrating from spreadsheets. Requires a defined sales process as input. Produces a configured CRM ready for the entire team.