12 Simple CRM Setup Examples You Can Adapt Today

Seeing a finished example is often easier than building from a blank page. Below are twelve sample setups for different kinds of small businesses. They are illustrations to adapt, not results from real companies. Find the one closest to yours, copy the stages, and change the names. These examples show how simple CRM setup looks in different businesses.

Every good setup has the same core: a short list of stages, a next step and a date. What changes between businesses is the stage names and how often you check.

1. Freelance designer

Stages: enquiry, call booked, proposal sent, project, done, not now. Habit: after every call, set a date to chase the proposal. Why it works: proposals are where freelancers lose work by silence, so the date column does the chasing.

2. Consultant with a few big clients

Stages: intro, discovery, proposal, active, paused. Habit: a monthly check in date for every active client. Why it works: with few clients, the risk is quiet drift, so scheduled check ins keep each relationship warm.

3. Local service business, such as a cleaner or plumber

Stages: quote asked, quote sent, booked, done, repeat due. Habit: set a "repeat due" date after each job. Why it works: repeat work is often the best work, and the date reminds you to ask.

4. Coach with a free call offer

Stages: booked call, held, offer made, joined, not now. Habit: note the objection from the call in the notes column. Why it works: patterns in objections show what to fix in your offer.

5. Online course creator

Stages: subscriber, replied, interested, bought, not now. Habit: record the source of each person, such as a post or a download. Why it works: you learn which content brings buyers, not just readers.

6. Agency selling monthly retainers

Stages: lead, audit sent, proposal, signed, renewal due. Habit: set a renewal date when a client signs. Why it works: renewals are easier to win when you start early.

7. Shop owner with wholesale buyers

Stages: enquiry, samples sent, order placed, reorder due. Habit: a reorder date based on how often they usually buy. Why it works: buyers rarely remember to reorder, and a gentle nudge is welcome.

8. Real estate or property agent

Stages: new enquiry, viewing, offer, closed, long term watch. Habit: a "long term watch" date every few months. Why it works: many people are not ready now but will be later, and you stay on their mind.

9. Event or venue organiser

Stages: enquiry, site visit, hold date, confirmed, done. Habit: write the event date in notes and set follow ups ahead of it. Why it works: timing drives everything, so the dates stay visible.

10. Trainer or tutor with weekly clients

Stages: trial, regular, paused, left. Habit: a date to check in with anyone who paused. Why it works: paused clients often come back if someone asks.

11. B2B service firm with a team

Stages: lead, qualified, proposal, won, lost. Habit: an owner column so each person knows who is following up. Why it works: without an owner, everyone assumes someone else will reply.

12. Solo founder just starting out

Stages: talked to, interested, trial, paying, not now. Habit: a daily list of the people due today, nothing more. Why it works: at the start, a few conversations matter more than any system.

What the examples share

Look across all twelve. Each has under seven stages. Each has a next step and date for every person. Each has a small habit tied to the moment that matters most for that business. You can borrow any of these.

Adapt one in ten minutes

1. ChoosePick the example closest to your business.
2. RenameChange the stages to the words you really use.
3. AddInclude the one habit that fits your biggest leak.
4. FillPut in your ten most active people with dates.
5. ReviewOpen it tomorrow morning and clear what is due.

Next steps

For a ready made sheet, use the free template. For the full walk through, see the complete guide, and lesson 5.1 shows how to pull people in from your inbox and forms. Once the list is working, a welcome email, an email journey and fast replies to new leads help you act on it.

Simple CRM setup: picking stage names that fit you

The stage names are the part of each example you will change most, so here is how to choose your own. Stages should describe what has happened to the person, in your own words, not a textbook sales funnel.

Ask: what are the real moments in my work where someone moves forward? For a photographer it might be "asked for prices", "booked" and "shoot done". For a tutor it might be "trial", "regular" and "paused". Write down the moments, put them in order and you have your stages.

Common stage patterns

1. Enquiry stagesWhere someone has shown interest but nothing has been agreed. Examples: new, talking, call booked.
2. Decision stagesWhere you have given a price or plan and are waiting. Examples: quote sent, proposal sent.
3. Customer stagesWhere they have said yes. Examples: booked, active, bought.
4. Parked stagesWhere it is not the moment. Examples: not now, paused, long term watch.
5. Return stagesWhere you plan to come back. Examples: repeat due, renewal due, reorder due.

Not every business needs every pattern. A one off service may have no return stage. A subscription may need one badly.

Matching the habit to your biggest leak

Each example gave one habit. To choose yours, ask where you lose people most:

• If people go quiet after a quote, add a date to chase every quote.
• If one off customers never return, add a return date after each job.
• If enquiries sit unanswered, review the list twice a day for a week.
• If you forget what was said, update the notes straight after each call.

Choose one leak and fix it before you worry about the rest.

Keeping an example from becoming a project

It is tempting to copy a whole example, add a few fields and spend a week perfecting it. Resist. Copy the stages, add dates, enter ten people and start using it. You will learn more from three days of use than from three days of design. After that, adjust one thing at a time.

Bring in AI carefully

If you want AI to help you fill the list from messages, tell it your stage names and ask it to leave unknown details blank. That keeps it from guessing. Check each row before saving.

Go further

Lesson 5.1 takes any of these setups and shows how to fill and use it: one list, people pulled in from your inbox and forms, a next step and date for each, and a daily answer to who to follow up with. For the ready made columns, use the free template, and for a full walk through, read the complete guide.

Questions people ask

Are these real company setups?

No. They are sample setups to show the pattern. Adjust them to your own business.

How many stages should I use?

Between four and six is plenty.

What if my business fits none of these?

Use the closest one and change the stage names. The core of stages, a next step and a date stays the same.