Agency CRM
New business shouldn't live in the founder's WhatsApp.
Every brief, proposal and retainer renewal on one list, with who to call next, so new business doesn't wait for a quiet week.
30 minutes. You choose the day and the time.
- Starts with stages for services and agencies
- Bring a CSV of up to 2,000 rows
- Nusa LivingProposal sent, S$18,000, 3d overdue, Task: chase the website proposalActive 10 days ago
- Verdant DentalNegotiating, S$42,000, Today, Meeting, 2pm: scope call
- Hock Lee BakeryDiscovery call, Today, Task: send the case studies you promisedSource: referral
- Tiong CoffeeWon, retainer, Today, Task: renewal callRetainer ends 31 Dec
During a busy month
Proposals go out, and the trail goes cold
A busy month is when proposals go unchased. Everyone's on client work, the proposal sits in an inbox, and by the time it's quiet, the prospect has signed elsewhere. Give each proposal a follow-up date as it goes out, and it's on your list, however busy the team is.
01A brief comes in
Keep new business on the prospect's record, not the founder's phone.
One brief arrives on the founder's WhatsApp, another in a meeting, a third by email. Each becomes a card, with where it came from kept on it. Link the agency's WhatsApp number by QR code, and the chats sit on the prospect's record beside your notes from the call, so the account lead isn't asking you what was said.
- Where each one came from, kept
- Notes from the discovery call on the record
- Chats on the record once your number is linked
02Proposal sent
See which proposals are out, and who owes the next call.
Three proposals are out. Give each one a follow-up date as it goes out, and it turns up on your list that day. A prospect can have more than one deal, like a rebrand and a yearly retainer, each with its own amount. Proposals with no date at all show on No next step.
- Several deals per prospect
- An amount and a close date on each
- No next step for the ones with no date
03Renewal coming up
Hear about a retainer renewal a week before it ends.
A retainer that ends in December is the one a client reviews in November. Put each retainer's end date in a date field and set it to remind you once. An email arrives seven days before and on the day, so the renewal call happens before the client starts asking around.
- Any date field can remind you
- Seven days before, and on the day
- Remind once, or every year
04Your team
Give the team the new-business list, not a forwarded chat.
The founder is in a pitch when a prospect calls back. Share the new-business pipeline with your account leads to view, use or manage, and they see the brief, the notes and the next step. Who can download it is a separate choice.
- The same list for the founder and the leads
- View, use or manage, and download separately
- Prospects stay when someone leaves
A week at a design agency
One brief, from a WhatsApp message to a signed retainer
A fictional seven-person agency, and one prospect through two weeks.
- MondayA dental group's practice manager asks on WhatsApp about social media.A new card in Enquiry, with WhatsApp as the source.
- TuesdayDiscovery call: two clinics, reels every week, about S$3,500 a month.You write the notes on her record, move her to Discovery call and set the follow-up to Friday.
- FridayThe proposal goes out.She moves to Proposal sent, with a S$42,000 deal for the year and a close date at month end.
- Next WednesdayNo reply.She's on Next activity due, "2d overdue", at the top of the list.
- Next FridayShe signs.You move her to Won and set the retainer's end date to remind you.
Stages
Stages that follow a brief from enquiry to won.
Pick Services and agencies when you start, and the board opens with Enquiry, Discovery call, Proposal sent, Negotiating, Won and Lost, and you can rename any of them, or add a stage for Pitch. A stage can ask for the fields you need, like a Budget field, before a card moves into it.
Goes well with
Keep new business moving while the team delivers.
Start with the proposals you've sent this month.
30 minutes. You choose the day and the time.
Before you move your new business in
Worried this is one more tool for the team?
Because the project tool starts after the yes. Palby CRM holds the part before it: briefs, proposals, retainers and who to chase. Tasks, timesheets and client portals stay in your project tool.
It stays. Share the pipeline with your team to view, use or manage it, and when someone leaves, take away their access. Their prospects, notes and history stay in your pipeline.
No. Palby CRM keeps each proposal's amount and close date on the deal, and the file on the card, up to 10 MB. The proposal itself still goes out from your own tools.
Each card keeps its source, like a referral or WhatsApp. Build a dashboard from a template and split it by source, then click a number to see the cards behind it.
Not Palby CRM. It keeps the chats on the record and tells you who to follow up. Answering enquiries for you is a separate Palby product: see how Palby answers WhatsApp enquiries.
There's no price list on the site yet. You'll get the price for your team on the walkthrough, before you commit to anything.