CRM SchoolPresented by

CRM School: How to choose a CRM and make it work

Presented by

A free written course for owners of new and small businesses on whether you need a CRM, how to pick one, and how to set it up and run it well. Published by Coeffection, which makes a CRM, and written so it helps you even if you never buy ours.

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short lessons
72
chapters
12
minutes to read
454
to enroll
Free

What you get

  • 72 short lessons in 12 chapters, about 454 minutes of reading in total.
  • A quiz at the end of each chapter. Every answer comes with the reason behind it.
  • A certificate you can share when you pass every quiz. The pass mark is 80% and you can retake as often as you like.
  • Lessons are open to everyone. You only sign in for the quizzes and the certificate.

The chapters

Read them in order, or jump to the one you need.

  1. Chapter 1

    Do You Need a CRM Yet?

    The owner of a small plant nursery reviewing a laptop spreadsheet at a potting bench with a mug of coffee on a Monday morning.

    What a CRM really does, how to tell you've outgrown spreadsheets, when you haven't, what software can't fix, and a simple sum to work out what one is worth to you.

    1. 1What a CRM Actually Does6 min
    2. 2Signs You've Outgrown Spreadsheets and Your Inbox6 min
    3. 3When a Spreadsheet Is Still the Right Call6 min
    4. 4What a CRM Won't Fix6 min
    5. 5What a CRM Is Worth to You: A Simple Sum7 min
    6. Chapter quiz8 questions

  2. Chapter 2

    How to Pick a CRM

    A family-run tile showroom where a young salesperson works through a task on a tablet while the owner watches with a notepad.

    Write down how you sell, separate must-haves from nice-to-haves, read a pricing page properly, test with real work, score the options, and make sure you can leave.

    1. 1Write Down How You Sell Before You Shop6 min
    2. 2Must-Haves Versus Nice-to-Haves6 min
    3. 3Reading the Pricing Page7 min
    4. 4Integrations to Check6 min
    5. 5Trials That Test Real Work6 min
    6. 6The Decision, the Scorecard, and How to Leave Later7 min
    7. Chapter quiz8 questions

  3. Chapter 3

    Setting Up Your Data

    An older picture framer at her workbench with a laptop and a printed customer list, marking rows with a pen, with frame samples on the wall behind her.

    Decide what records you need and how they connect, choose fields worth filling in, clean and import your spreadsheet, keep duplicates out, and settle who can see what.

    1. 1The Records You Need and How They Relate6 min
    2. 2How Records Link7 min
    3. 3Plan Records Around What You Do7 min
    4. 4Data Models for Different Businesses8 min
    5. 5Fields Worth Having and Fields to Skip6 min
    6. 6Cleaning and Importing a Spreadsheet7 min
    7. 7Duplicates and Naming Rules6 min
    8. 8Who Can See What6 min
    9. Chapter quiz10 questions

  4. Chapter 4

    Pipelines and Sales Funnels

    The owner of a food truck leaning on the serving counter between lunch rushes, talking on the phone and writing on a small notepad.

    Tell a funnel from a pipeline, design stages that mean something, track lead sources, qualify fairly, keep follow-up from slipping, forecast honestly, and know when one pipeline is enough.

    1. 1Funnel Versus Pipeline6 min
    2. 2Designing Stages That Mean Something6 min
    3. 3Lead Sources and Qualifying6 min
    4. 4Follow-Up That Doesn't Slip6 min
    5. 5Forecasting Honestly From Your Pipeline7 min
    6. 6More Than One Pipeline, and When Not To6 min
    7. Chapter quiz8 questions

  5. Chapter 5

    Email, Phone and Integrations

    An appliance repair technician sitting in his van outside a customer's house, typing a short note into his phone, with parts bins on a rack behind him.

    Get email, calls, texts, meetings and web enquiries onto the customer record, connect your accounting without muddling it, and know when a connector tool helps and when to stop.

    1. 1Getting Email Into the CRM6 min
    2. 2Calls and Texts6 min
    3. 3Calendar and Meetings6 min
    4. 4Forms, Website and Lead Capture6 min
    5. 5Connecting Accounting and Other Tools7 min
    6. 6When to Use a Connector Tool and When to Stop6 min
    7. Chapter quiz8 questions

  6. Chapter 6

    Quotes to Cash

    The owner of a security installation company stands with a shop owner in a small store while the shop owner signs on a tablet.

    How a deal becomes a quote, a signed agreement, an invoice and a finished job: pricing, margins, approvals, e-signatures, accounting and the handover to the people who do the work.

    1. 1From Deal to Quote6 min
    2. 2Products, Price Lists and Discounts7 min
    3. 3Margins and Approvals7 min
    4. 4Contracts and E-Signatures6 min
    5. 5Invoicing and Handing Over to Accounting6 min
    6. 6Handing a Won Deal to the People Who Do the Work6 min
    7. Chapter quiz8 questions

  7. Chapter 7

    Automation

    The owner of a bookbinding workshop stands at a wall of paper notes with an apprentice, listing the jobs they repeat every week, with half-finished books around them.

    What to automate first, how simple rules work, and how they go wrong, so that software does the dull, repeated steps and your people keep the decisions.

    1. 1What to Automate First6 min
    2. 2Triggers and Simple Rules6 min
    3. 3Automations That Go Wrong6 min
    4. Chapter quiz8 questions

  8. Chapter 8

    AI and Your CRM

    The owner of a marquee hire business and her office manager sit at a desk in a warehouse office, comparing two printed pages, with rolled canvas and tent poles stacked behind them.

    Why and when to use AI in a CRM, how to keep customer data safe, built-in assistants versus outside AI tools, what MCP is, how to connect AI with the right limits, and how to test it before you rely on it.

    1. 1Why Use AI in a CRM, and What It Can Really Do7 min
    2. 2Using AI Safely with Customer Data7 min
    3. 3Built-In AI or an Outside AI Tool?7 min
    4. 4MCP in Plain Words7 min
    5. 5Connecting AI to Your CRM Safely7 min
    6. 6Keeping a Person in the Loop6 min
    7. 7AI Agents That Take Actions7 min
    8. 8Testing an AI Feature Before You Rely on It7 min
    9. Chapter quiz8 questions

  9. Chapter 9

    Reports That Matter

    The owner of a party decor firm stands with two staff around a laptop on a workbench in a studio full of balloons and backdrops, going through a list of deals.

    The few numbers a small business should watch, how to read conversion rates and sales speed, how to tell which lead sources work, and how to build a dashboard and a weekly habit that people keep up.

    1. 1The Few Numbers a Small Business Should Watch6 min
    2. 2Conversion Rates and How to Read Them7 min
    3. 3Sales Cycle and Speed6 min
    4. 4Lead Source and What's Working6 min
    5. 5Building a Dashboard People Read6 min
    6. 6A Weekly Review Habit6 min
    7. Chapter quiz8 questions

  10. Chapter 10

    Getting Your Team to Use It

    The owner of a small brewery showing a laptop to three staff at the taproom bar before opening, with steel tanks behind them.

    Why people avoid a CRM, the few rules that matter, how to train in small steps, what managers do that helps or hurts, how to include field staff, and how to keep the habit going.

    1. 1Why People Avoid a CRM6 min
    2. 2Simple Rules Everyone Follows6 min
    3. 3Training in Small Steps6 min
    4. 4What Managers Do That Helps or Hurts6 min
    5. 5Mobile and Field Staff6 min
    6. 6Keeping Up the Habit6 min
    7. Chapter quiz8 questions

  11. Chapter 11

    Moving From Your Old System

    The owner of an appliance repair company with a tablet, talking to two technicians beside a service van loaded with parts boxes early in the morning.

    Plan the move, decide what to bring and what to leave behind, export and map your data, run a test, handle cutover day, and get through the first 30 days.

    1. 1Planning the Move6 min
    2. 2What to Bring and What to Leave Behind6 min
    3. 3Exporting and Mapping Your Data7 min
    4. 4A Test Run6 min
    5. 5Cutover Day6 min
    6. 6The First 30 Days6 min
    7. Chapter quiz8 questions

  12. Chapter 12

    Keeping It Healthy

    The owner of a dental lab at a tidy desk in a workshop going through a list on a monitor, with a mug of tea and small plaster models on a shelf behind him.

    Keep your data clean, review who has access, watch costs as you grow, know when to add features and when to stop, keep backups and an exit plan, and recognize when it's time to change systems.

    1. 1Keeping Data Clean6 min
    2. 2Reviewing Who Has Access6 min
    3. 3Watching Costs as You Grow6 min
    4. 4When to Add Features and When to Stop7 min
    5. 5Backups and Your Exit Plan6 min
    6. 6When It's Time to Change Systems6 min
    7. Chapter quiz8 questions

A free tool

Plan the data in your CRM

Pick a business type like yours and see the records, fields and links a CRM might hold for it. Copy it, print it, or save it to your dashboard once you enroll.

Try the Data Planner

Made by Coeffection

Coeffection makes a CRM, so we have a stake in this topic. The course tries to be fair about it. It says when a spreadsheet is enough, and when Coeffection is the wrong pick.