If Your Team Isn’t Using the CRM, the CRM Isn’t the Problem
- Soof Hirschmann
- Aug 6
- 3 min read
You invested in a CRM.
You trained your team.
You maybe even paid for some certified partner to get it all set up.
So why does it feel like no one’s using it?
I actually see this all the time and it breaks my heart. Leaders get frustrated that they’re still managing sales via Slack or leads in Outlook 🤦♀️. Your sales teams are hiding behind spreadsheets or handy-dandy notebooks that hold all their deals and activities.
But please stop punishing or getting mad at your sales teams. Let’s clear something up:
Bad CRM adoption is rarely a people problem. It’s usually a system problem.
If your system is clunky, confusing, or inconsistent, people will avoid it. It’s that simple.
So how do you know if your CRM has an adoption issue?
🚩 7 Red Flags That Scream “Poor Adoption”
Deals live in reps’ heads, not your pipeline. If your sales pipeline looks suspiciously empty but everyone says they’re “working a ton of deals,” guess what? You’re not managing a sales, you’re managing invisible chaos--which I think is actually worse than the visible kind. It's the worst kind of "flying by the seat of your pants," and your business deserves better.
Your data’s a graveyard. If you’re staring at leads from two years ago with zero updates, dead deals clogging the pipeline, or contact records that might as well be blank, then your CRM isn’t a source of truth, it’s a digital junk drawer. Or a time capsule for the pipeline that could have been. 😢 And if the system’s not giving your team anything useful in return, of course they’re not going to keep it updated. Garbage in, garbage ignored.
You’re still relying on spreadsheets ‘just in case’. Translation: Your team doesn’t believe your CRM tells the whole truth because you never pulled the trigger and fully migrated off of that ginormous mess of a spreadsheet. You showed them you yourself have doubts that this thing can actually work, and that’s a huge credibility issue. If you don't ✨believe✨, why should they?
Important follow-ups fall through the cracks. If customers are chasing you down (instead of the other way around), your system isn’t pulling its weight. Let’s be honest, you’re definitely leaving money on the table by waiting for customers to ask you, "Hey, can I still give you my money?" A good CRM should be nudging you before you forget, not ghosting your hottest leads.
The only time the CRM gets updated (if at all) is right before a pipeline/status meeting.
Data entry shouldn’t be a scramble, it should be seamless. Our agents or sellers have the toughest jobs: interacting with leads and customers day in, day out. We shouldn’t make their jobs harder where technology can pick up the slack.
You can’t find anything. Simple questions you were told your CRM would be able to answer are still unsolvable mysteries. Monthly revenue? Days to close? Your CRM is supposed to bring you clarity as to what’s going on in your business. If you still can’t find anything, or figure out the simplest things, that’s a problem!
Everyone uses it differently, or not at all. Without clear rules of engagement, you don’t have a process, you have personalized clutter. Sales rep A's stuff is here, but Sales rep B only uses the notes field, and Sales rep C keeps all her reports in a secret folder. Excuse me?! It’s unscalable, un-trackable, and unreliable.
So, what do you do if adoption is low?
👉 Don’t start by blaming your team.
👉 PLEASE! Don’t go running to buy a new system. Start by fixing the one you have.
✅ Simplify workflows
✅ Align with actual team behavior
✅ Clarify expectations and stay consistent
✅ Automate the boring stuff
✅ Train with empathy, not shame
Most importantly: create a system that works for the people using it. That’s where I come in.
I’m currently on a quasi-maternity leave, but the waitlist is open for Fall CRM cleanups and rebuilds. If you’re seeing yourself in this post, drop your name in the hat, and let’s fix your adoption problem at the root.
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