Summary
The CRM module manages every relationship your training provider has — employer clients, prospective learners, funders, and partners. It tracks accounts and contacts, moves deals through pipelines as opportunities, captures leads, organises tasks, handles support tickets, and surfaces insight through the intelligence views. This guide walks through the core flow from lead to closed opportunity.
Who This Guide Is For
- Sales and business-development staff at a training provider
- SDP admins managing employer and funder relationships
- Account managers tracking opportunities and support tickets
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have:
- An SDP or admin account with CRM access
- A list of accounts (companies) and key contacts
- Your sales stages decided (or use the default pipeline)
- Ownership rules for who manages which accounts
Step 1: Open the CRM Hub
Navigate to CRM → Overview.
The hub summarises open opportunities, pipeline value, recent activity, and tasks due. Use it as your daily desk to see what needs attention.
Tip: Set account ownership early. Unowned accounts fall through the cracks — every account should have one responsible person.
Step 2: Create Accounts and Contacts
Navigate to CRM → Accounts.
- Click New Account and enter the company details
- Open the account and add Contacts (people at that company)
- Record contact roles, emails, and phone numbers
Accounts and contacts are the foundation everything else links to.
Step 3: Capture Leads
Navigate to CRM → Leads.
Log inbound interest as leads. Qualify them, then convert a qualified lead into an account, contact, and opportunity so it enters your pipeline.
Step 4: Build a Pipeline
Navigate to CRM → Pipelines.
Create a pipeline with the stages your deals move through (for example: Qualified → Proposal → Negotiation → Won). You can run more than one pipeline for different business lines.
Step 5: Manage Opportunities
Navigate to CRM → Opportunities.
- Click New Opportunity and link it to an account
- Set the value, expected close date, and pipeline stage
- Move it through stages as the deal progresses
- Mark it Won or Lost when it resolves
Step 6: Track Tasks and Tickets
- CRM → Tasks — schedule and complete follow-ups so nothing slips.
- CRM → Tickets — log and resolve support or service requests tied to accounts.
Step 7: Use CRM Intelligence
Navigate to CRM → Intelligence.
The intelligence views provide deeper analysis — relationship graphs, stakeholder maps, coverage, risks, and summaries. Use CRM → Analytics for performance dashboards across your pipeline.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Orphan opportunities: Always link an opportunity to an account.
- Stale stages: Move deals through stages promptly so the pipeline reflects reality.
- Unowned accounts: Assign an owner to every account.
- Ignoring tasks: Use tasks for follow-ups instead of relying on memory.
Verification Checklist
Before relying on the module, verify:
- At least one account with a contact exists
- A pipeline with stages is configured
- An opportunity moves between stages
- A task can be created and completed
- A support ticket can be logged and resolved
Next Steps
- Communications & Broadcasts — Reach your contacts at scale
- Finance Module — Invoice the accounts you win
- Reporting & Exports — Report on pipeline performance