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CRM, lead flow and sales techniques · CRM setup and data

Give every data point a field type that reports can use.

In CRM field design, every piece of information the business tracks gets a format that reports can sort and total, such as a drop-down list, a date, a number or a yes or no. Free text blocks reporting. The page ends in a field list with type, values and the owner of each field.

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Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

A realistic Indian practitioner performing the specific task in the first content section: {"heading": "Questions settled before configuration", "intro": "", "items": [], "bullets": ["What has to be true for a deal to move from one stage to the next", "Who owns an enquiry that arrives from a listing portal outside office hours", "Whether a dealer buying monthly belongs in the pipeline or somewhere else", "Which few fields the owner reads, and which are kept from habit"]}

In one paragraph

In CRM field design, every piece of information the business tracks gets a format that reports can sort and total, such as a drop-down list, a date, a number or a yes or no. Free text blocks reporting. The page ends in a field list with type, values and the owner of each field.

A tile dealer in Hyderabad wants to know how many enquiries came for floor tiles in budgets above a lakh. The answer is buried in a notes box where reps wrote 'wants Italian look, 1.5L approx, calling back'. A report on it is a week of reading.

That note is data, but not usable data. If budget band were a drop-down and product a pick-list, the report would take a minute. Field design is the work of deciding which facts you will ever count, and giving each one the right type before the team starts typing.

Three people settle the list in one sitting: the owner, the sales head and whoever looks after the CRM or sheet. The question for each field is the report it feeds. If no report needs it, it is a note, not a field.

It follows the starter setup, which has the minimum fields, and comes before data hygiene, which keeps the fields clean. Indian businesses need GSTIN, PIN code and preferred language, which a generic template leaves out.

Where this sits

Topic 8 of 13 in crm, lead flow and sales techniques: crm setup and data. Configuring the CRM and keeping its data clean.

The topic before
Lead management

If you want this done for you

Set the CRM up to match your sales stages, not the vendor's default template.

Read the CRM implementation and customisation page

The work

What this is actually like.

  • “One fact per field”

    A field called 'details' holding city, product and budget cannot be counted. Split each fact into its own field, even if two of them feel small. The splitting is where the reporting comes from.

  • “Pick-lists stop the spelling wars”

    'Bangalore', 'Bengaluru' and 'blr' are three cities to a report. A drop-down fixes the spelling. Keep 'other' as a value, and review what people type there every quarter.

  • “Required fields are a trade”

    A required field raises data quality and slows entry. Make only the fields you need on day one required, and make the rest optional but visible. A rep faced with ten mandatory boxes will type rubbish into them.

  • “India-specific fields earn their place”

    GSTIN lets you check a business and invoice correctly. PIN code gives you area-level reporting where city is too coarse. Preferred language drives routing and message templates. Add them early, because back-filling them is painful.

What we do

What you end up with.

The documents this topic produces, what each one is for, and how you know it is finished.

  1. Field list

    Name, type (text, number, date, drop-down, multi-select, yes or no), allowed values, required or not, who fills it, report it feeds. Built by the CRM admin with the sales head.

    Result: Finished when every field names a report; fields with no report are dropped.

  2. Pick-list values

    Written out in full for each drop-down: sources, products, budget bands, lost reasons, languages. Each value defined in one line.

    Result: Finished when two reps would choose the same value for the same lead.

  3. Validation rules

    Phone number length, PIN code of six digits, GSTIN of fifteen characters, date not in the past for next action. Set in the CRM or the sheet.

    Result: Finished when a deliberately wrong entry is refused.

  4. Field owner sheet

    One line per field saying who may change its values. Prevents silent edits to a list that reports depend on.

    Result: Finished when changing a drop-down value needs a named person's approval.

Why us

Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.

  • Marketing and sales, as one job

    Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.

  • The person on the first call does the work

    No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.

  • A baseline before anything starts

    Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.

  • The fee in writing, split three ways

    Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.

  • No guarantees we cannot keep

    The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.

  • One office, and we say so

    Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.

#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.

Your brief

Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need
How many custom fields are too many?
More than a rep will fill honestly. If you have to push them through the form, you have too many. Start with a dozen and review after a month which ones were left blank.
Should I use free text anywhere?
Yes, for a notes field. Keep the facts you count out of it. Anything you want in a report should have a type that can be filtered.
What type is a budget?
A drop-down of bands, such as under 50 thousand, 50 thousand to a lakh, above a lakh, is easier to report than a typed number that reps enter in different ways. If you need the exact figure, keep a number field as well.
Can I change a field type later?
Sometimes, but the existing data may not convert cleanly. Decide the type before entry starts. A text field turned into a date field is a clean-up job.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
Fixes to reply time and follow-up are the quickest to show, because the enquiries already exist. Process, CRM and training changes show as the team uses them. Each one is tracked against the baseline.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.
What do you need from us?
To start, last month's enquiries in any format and time with whoever handles them. After that, access to the accounts the work touches, such as the website, Google Business Profile or CRM.
What if we are not happy with the work?
Tell us and the plan changes. Everything is reported against the baseline, so a number that is not moving is visible to both sides. The term is in your written scope, and the refund and cancellation policy sets out the rest.

Where to go next

The work that carries this topic further.

Services

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Your next practical step

Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.

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