Write down the stages first: where does an enquiry arrive, who owns it and how is the next action agreed? Define entry and exit criteria for each stage.
Keep mandatory data limited. Customer, owner, stage and next-contact date should support everyday work. Every collected field needs a clear purpose.
Pilot with a small team and one sales stream. Check data quality, recorded next actions and consistent interpretation of reports.
CRM adoption continues after setup. Working rules, ownership, access permissions and regular feedback help the system remain useful.