As an
old-school Computer Science student with experience in eCommerce and Finance,
I’ve always had a bias toward clarity and functionality over hype.
That’s why — even in 2025 — I still prefer sales staff who can work with Excel
sheets rather than rely solely on CRM tools.
Most CRM
platforms, including popular ones like Hubspot or Salesforce, are unnecessarily
complex — especially if you actually know what you're doing. Yes, they
offer dashboards, automation, integrations, and a bunch of other features. But
ask yourself: how many of those features does your team actually use
efficiently?
In
reality, the only real advantage of a CRM over Excel is automated
alerts and notifications. That's it. Excel, combined with proper discipline
and logic, can offer 80% of what a bloated CRM does — with 10% of the friction.
The
deeper issue? Most modern CRM systems are built to lock you in. They
make it easy to onboard but a nightmare to leave. You customize workflows,
build your pipeline views, create forms — and then you realize: exporting your
data, changing platforms, or even simplifying the system becomes a project by
itself.
❗ In this article, we’re not rejecting technology or
suggesting a return to the pre-digital era. We mean building a hybrid system — one where
platforms are used wisely, not worshipped. You need a manager who isn’t
fully dependent on tools to make decisions. On the flip side, you also need
platforms that reduce distractions, not increase them. If your CRM
dashboard feels more like a toy than a tool, your team is wasting time.
🔍 Signs Your Manager Actually
Knows What They’re Doing:
- Holds structured weekly
meetings to realign and track progress
- Makes sure the sales team
uses CRM minimally — and generates reports via organized
spreadsheets with client tabs
- Defines clear sales
targets and KPIs
- Assigns team leads
when the sales team grows, ensuring control is distributed
- Insists on weekly data
audits to clean duplicates and fix stale entries
- Knows what reports
actually matter and asks for them regularly
- Has a system to follow up
with leads and a strategy to solve bottlenecks quickly
If your
team is huge and you truly need a CRM to manage hundreds of sales reps, find
a good one, but don’t chase fancy features or colorful dashboards.
You need a simple, robust, and minimalistic tool that just works.
The fewer the features, the fewer the distractions.
I know
this goes against what most in the industry preach. CRM companies are
excellent marketers. They sell you dreams of efficiency, AI-powered sales
insights, and pipeline magic. But behind the curtain, they often create dependencies
— not empowerment.
Many of
today’s sales managers are MBA graduates who have learned to value
software names more than software logic. They know the jargon: CRM, ERP, KPI,
CAC. But many of them don't know what to do if the tools fail. They’ve never
had to sell with just a phone, an email list, and an Excel spreadsheet. That’s
a big red flag.
Final Advice:
Find a
manager who knows how to run your business if your CRM system collapsed
tomorrow.
If your tech stack disappeared, would your business collapse with it? Or would
your team adapt?
Digital
maturity is not about using more tools — it's about knowing how to lead without
them.
Farhad
Hafez Nezami
May 2025
#CRM #growth #strategy #growth.exe #businessstrategy #Saas
#startup #businessmind #creative #marketing #marketingmanager #marketingstrategy #excel #marketingtool
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