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A Follow-Up CRM Built Around the People You Meet

You do not need enterprise CRM overhead to stay on top of the people you meet. Here is the follow-up CRM approach by role, from a personal CRM to field sales.

A CRM built for a large sales team is usually the wrong tool for one person who needs to remember the people they meet. It asks for pipeline stages, deal values, and fields that do not apply, and the follow-up, which is the part that matters, gets buried. A follow-up CRM keeps the focus narrow: who you met, what you said you would do, and the next message.

This page covers that approach by role, because a founder, a consultant, a speaker, and a field sales rep each meet people in different ways. The guides start from a general personal CRM and then cover the specific needs of each role.

By role

The core need is the same across roles, which is keeping track of people and sending the next message. The details differ. The guides below cover the personal CRM approach and then how it applies to founders, consultants, speakers, and field sales.

• Personal CRMStay on top of everyone you meet.
• CRM for consultantsKeep clients and prospects warm.
• Follow-up tool for foundersInvestors, hires, and customers in one place.
• Follow-up app for speakersTurn an audience into a contact list.
• Field-sales follow-up appFollow up from the road.
• Track follow-upsThe best way to keep every follow-up on track.

Compare the tools

Many people track contacts in a spreadsheet. The comparison below covers what a spreadsheet handles well and where it starts to cost you follow-ups.

• Capstone Outreach vs a spreadsheetWhy a follow-up CRM beats a spreadsheet.

When a spreadsheet stops being enough

A spreadsheet works for a while. It is fast to start and everyone knows how to use one. The trouble begins when the list grows and the follow-up depends on you remembering to check it. A row does not remind you that it has been two weeks since you said you would circle back, and it does not draft the message when you do remember.

A follow-up CRM adds the parts a spreadsheet cannot. Contacts carry the history of what was discussed, follow-ups have a due date and surface when they are ready, and the next message can be drafted from what you already recorded. For most people the switch is worth making when they notice they are losing follow-ups they meant to send.

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