Transcript
If you're building a business, you need to make sure that you are connecting with your customers, and a client relationship management tool is going to help you do just that. If you're not using a CRM, you are definitely going to struggle to grow. In this video, I'm going to show you my favorite CRM tool that you can build in moments thanks to Softr.
There's a template available, and the fact that Softr is so easy to use allows you to then make small changes to the CRM to make it fit your exact workflow. I am a little bit torn about templates, though. I think it is really valuable if you're building your own no-code tools to understand how exactly that thing works. A lot of times when we start with a template, we just get something up and running real quick and we don't really understand how it works or why it does what it does.
That being said, a nice template allows you to dip your toe in the water. This is perfect if you have never used Softr before and you just want to understand what it is all about. Using a template is going to show you a bunch of core features that the software has available, allowing you to start unlocking your own capabilities in building with these tools.
[.blog-callout]
Note from Softr: If you want a middle ground between starting from scratch and using a pre-built template like the AI CRM template, check out the AI co-builder. It builds complete apps instantly based on your prompt, giving you a custom starting point that you can still tweak manually.
[.blog-callout]
When you look at this template, you can go through the different components and see that the average person logs in to track contacts, companies, and deals. There is a desktop version and a mobile version, showing that it works seamlessly across devices. We can flip through and see different features like interactions with companies, a little digest, and a deal flow.
Notice that we are actually integrating with AI. This template comes pre-integrated with AI tools, and you can ask those tools to analyze information that is happening in your CRM. We can also see that we can send emails to contacts directly from the CRM, which is a great feature.
After you take action, you get a little loading screen that lets you know if something is happening behind the scenes. It is a really good, robust CRM setup. Included here is a dashboard that shows us how much we are closing month over month, our total won ARR, and our average interactions per company.
[.blog-callout]
Note from Softr: Building a custom CRM gives you the flexibility to adapt to your specific data structure rather than forcing your business into out-of-the-box software limits.
[.blog-callout]
Imagine the template as a stepping point. You can choose to install this template and port it directly into your Softr account. Let's go ahead and get started.
All we have to do is choose to install the template once logged in. Right now in the background, Softr is copying an instance of this template directly into our workspace. Just that simply, the app is now live in our Softr account.
If you look at the dashboard, you can see all of the different apps built in Softr. This AI CRM is the one we just created, and once we publish it, anybody we give permission to can access it. If you are brand new to Softr, let me walk you through the key areas you need to understand.
First and foremost, we might want to adjust the design by clicking on the theme settings on the left-hand side. There, we can change the colors, the typography, and a bunch of different settings that change how the app looks and feels. For a quick example, we can go in and instantly change the primary color to teal.
We can save those changes and start taking ownership of how the app looks and feels. Modifying the cosmetic components is a great first step to making the app match your brand. Next, let's head over to pages on the left menu.
These are all the different pages that are already created for us in the app. You can see that we have a bunch of different setup pages to view a list of all the deals, companies, and contacts. If you're wondering where the actual data lives, Softr is really flexible in this way.
Under the data tab, you will find your backend data source. Anything that is created, any records updated, or any action taken by users will wind up living here.
[.blog-callout]
Note from Softr: While you can seamlessly connect external sources like Airtable, you can also use native Softr Databases. It is the most powerful and performant way to build internal data structures directly within Softr without relying on third-party tools.
[.blog-callout]
The reason we use Softr so often is because we frequently use it on top of Airtable. You could also use it on top of Google Sheets or SmartSuite, or any number of other databases that you might already be storing your data in. This template defaults to creating the data layer natively inside Softr.
Yes, Softr has its own data layer, but you don't have to use it here. If you have already built a database somewhere else, you can integrate it, using Softr just as the front-end of your application. For this template, the native data layer is pretty straightforward with several default tables.
We have a users table where you'll notice that users have a role, such as admin or sales rep. Depending on the user groups assigned to a person, they are going to see different things when they navigate the app. Next, we have tables for contacts and companies.
These are the different companies that your prospects work with, and you will see that they are properly linked. For example, if multiple contacts work at the same organization, those individual records link back to the parent company on the backend. Then we have deals, which have an owner assigned.
This is the person in your organization managing the particular deal, and it will be tied to a specific company. We also have tasks that link to the deal so you can easily track your interactions and nurture that deal through the pipeline. These other tables are really supporting those deals, helping us as we move things along.
