Whenever I start working with a new client, one of the first things I do is log into their CRM and start poking around. It's not because I'm nosey. Well, it's not just because I'm nosey. It's because I want to see the natural environment the firm operated in before I arrived. While we may have already agreed upon a plan of attack to help them reach some lofty goals, I need to make sure they're at a certain baseline before we start. Otherwise, I might just be building an extensive set of workflows on a system that isn't quite ready to level up.
The Reality Check
All of this snooping around helps me identify where the client is today, so I can build a plan that will get them where they want to be — eventually. I say 'eventually', because if I come in and see that the CRM is a disjointed and neglected mish-mosh of data and overdue tasks, I need to pause.
If I continue with the original plan when the CRM isn't configured well and running smoothly, the addition of workflows won't solve the firm's problems. I could build the most amazingly well-designed, custom flows but I guarantee you - the fix won't stick. In six months, the company will still be struggling to manage their tasks, service quality will not have improved, and users will have stopped following the workflows. All because the baseline CRM wasn't properly configured, the data wasn't complete, and the internal policies were not in place to support the implementation of the original scope of work.
It's like if a personal trainer promised to make me look like Jennifer Aniston in six weeks without first asking about my current weight (over), exercise routines (non-existent), and daily eating habits (think: raccoon foraging in a dumpster behind Dairy Queen).
After assessing my current fitness level, it would be foolish to expect that I could trim down, tone up, and start loving kale in six weeks. His original training plan is no longer a realistic roadmap, it's a wish and a prayer. And it's destined to fail. He needs raise my baseline first, before we start in on the plan.
So this is why I take that initial looky-loo - to identify the starting point. I look for clues that tell me where they are now, so I know if the work we've agreed upon will actually get them where they want to go.
The Baseline Check
- Users and Permissions: How many users do they have? Do they have permission levels set for the users? Have they created service teams, groups, or roles?
This tells me how they view security protocols and data access. It also provides information about how many hands it takes to serve their client base. The ratio of employees to clients can help me determine their current capacity for growth.
- Integrations: Have they set up email and calendar integrations? What about custodians or financial planning integrations? Are they using APIs or MCPs where native integrations don't exist?
This can provide clues about tech-savviness or how much time they may be spending re-entering data. Repetitve data entry is a huge time suck and may be the reason why their employee to client ratio is high. Not to mention that re-entering data also has a cascading effect that can result in an increase in data entry errors.
- Workflows and Task Templates: Do they have workflows and task templates built out? If so, are they standard off-the-shelf templates or were they custom-built to reflect the unique needs of their firm?
This tells me whether they reactive or proactive when it comes to servicing their clients. It also speaks to how well they've folded their existing processes into their systems in order to create a consistent level of service. It tells me whether or not management is able to track productivity to help balance workloads in the firm.
- Tags and UDFs: Are they using tags or user-defined fields? If so, what are they tracking and how are they using those attributes to improve service?
This lets me know how they segment their clients or what unique datapoints do they feel are worthy enough to track. By knowing what is important to them, I can get a good guess about the clients they serve. It tells me whether they have a super-tight niche with a defined client avataror if they serve a large range of clients. This helps me determine if a single service calendar will suffice or if the various needs of the clientele will require a more bespoke approach.
- Outstanding Tasks and Steps: What does their outstanding task list look like? Are there lingering tasks from years ago that were never checked off? Do they categorize tasks and workflow steps to allow them to bunch their activities to make their worktime more efficient?
This tells me if they are using the CRM to actually guide the work, or if it's an electronic list of suggested steps. It also forces me to ask whether this is a policy problem, a time management problem, a training issue, or simply poorly-designed workflows.
- Client Notes: What do their notes look like? Are they a smattering of occasional one-liners about a meeting or a phone call? Are the attendees and outcomes listed? Are advisor recommendations and client responses detailed? Are future commitments clearly defined? Am I seeing a lot of "see notes in ShareFile"?
All of this tells me how spread-out their data might be and whether or not they have committed to a CRM that can be relied upon as a single source of truth. It speaks to whether their AI integrations will be truly useful, or will only see portions of important data, resulting in confident, but probably incorrect output. It also says a lot about how audit-ready they are.
Building the Right Foundation
Once I've made this assessment I can determine if the scope we agreed upon makes sense for them. And sometimes this leads to a tough conversation. Occasionally I have to say to a client: "Look, I know we talked about building you an annual client service calendar with six distinct workflows, tagging, automations and integrations, but I don't think the firm is quite prepared for that right now. There's some prep work we need to do first to get your CRM — and your firm — in a place where it makes sense to start that build."
Otherwise, returning to the personal trainer analogy, it's like slapping a size '4' bikini on a size 'none-of-you-damn-business' body - the results will not be what you are hoping for.
And in that case we have to shelve the high-level proposed scope and get to work on the basics. Permissioning users, setting roles, integrating systems, and instituting best practices for cleaning and maintaining the CRM. We first work to bring the systems up to a standard of fitness before we turn our focus to the ultimate aspiraton.
This takes time. But it's worth it. It's building the strong foundation needed so that when shiny new workflows are implemented, they're actually useful. They aren't querying data that is incorrect, they aren't assigning responsibility to folks who will just let tasks age indefinitely, and the database is no longer just a rag-tag collection of random client factoids. The CRM is now a secure repository of validated information upon which work-in-progress is guided gracefully.
Does This Really Matter?
Put it this way - I haven't yet had a client complain that I took a few steps back before moving forward. I have, however, been called in to clean up systems that had implemented workflows but found they were failing due to ill-configured systems and a lack of firm policies on CRM maintenance. These firms hadn't seen any noticeable improvements in capacity or service quality thanks to the new workflows because they had failed to addressed the shaky foundation first.
In Aniston terms, they had somehow managed to squeeze into an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weenie-yellow-polka-dot bikini, but the CRM was still lying face down in the sand with its data inelegantly exposed and no one wanting to go near it.
If you're feeling like you need a personal trainer to get your CRM in shape, call me. I'll meet you where you are with kindness and empathy. And I promise I will never, ever, ask you to eat kale.