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01You probably don't need a CRM yet
CRMs earn their cost when several people share accounts, when a manager needs a forecast, or when email has to be logged automatically. A solo consultant or a two-person agency has none of those problems.
What a small seller has is a memory problem. You met someone, saw a post, had a call, and three weeks later you can't remember who needed following up. A list solves that. It only has to be one you'll keep.
02The six things a lead list has to hold
| Field | Why you need it |
|---|---|
| Company | The unit you sell to. People change jobs; the account stays |
| The reason | What made them a lead: a round, a hire, a question they asked |
| Source link | The post or page, so you can quote it when you write |
| Status | Where things stand, in one word |
| Next date | When you'll act. The field people skip, and the one that matters most |
| A note | Anything you'd want to remember before a call |
Notice what isn't on the list: deal value, probability, lead score. Add them the day you need them.
03Five statuses are enough
- New. Saved, not contacted.
- Contacted. You wrote and are waiting.
- Talking. They replied.
- Won. They're a customer.
- Not now. With a date to ask again.
"Not now" needs the date. Without one it's a polite word for forgotten.
04Three ways to keep the list
| Method | Good at | Weak at |
|---|---|---|
| A spreadsheet | Free, flexible, sortable by date or status | Every row is typed by hand, so capture is slow |
| A notes app | Fast to write in, good for long notes | Hard to sort, and nothing reminds you |
| A save tool | Captures the company and source in one click | Another tool to learn, and paid plans for most sites |
The method matters less than whether capture is quick. If adding a lead takes two minutes, you'll stop doing it by the second week.
05The weekly review
Pick a fixed half hour. Friday afternoon works for most people.
- Sort by next date and deal with everything due.
- Move anything that's been "Contacted" for three weeks to "Not now", with a date.
- Delete what you'll never act on. A short honest list beats a long hopeful one.
- Choose three companies to write to on Monday.
06When you've outgrown the list
- More than two or three people are working the same accounts.
- You need emails and calls logged without typing them.
- Someone is asking for a forecast.
- You're losing track at around a hundred active leads.
At that point a CRM is worth it. Export the list and take it with you.
07Where Save This Lead fits
Save This Lead is the third method in the table. Saving a post or page creates the company record with the source link and your reason. On Radar, from the Solo plan, adds status, owner, a note and a follow-up date. The list exports to CSV, and pushes to Odoo on Power.
It isn't a full CRM. It doesn't send email, log calls or forecast revenue, and it doesn't sync with HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive.
