CRM and leads

CRM guide for sales reps: your first working day, step by step

A step-by-step guide for a new manager: turn on calls, find your leads, call a client, reply in a messenger, set a task and wrap up the day.

Updated Nov 3 9 min read 5 views

In short

A CRM guide for sales reps comes down to three screens: the “Leads” list with your own view, the lead card and the “Tasks” section. In the morning, turn on calls in the “Account” window, open your view and handle missed calls, unread messages and overdue tasks; end every conversation with a comment, a stage and a task.

What should a CRM guide for sales reps cover so that no client is lost from day one? A new hire gets a login, opens the account and sees hundreds of leads. Without a clear routine, they call whoever is at the top of the list, while a client with a missed call waits until evening.

You can hand this guide to every new employee. It covers a sales rep's working day in the CRM: how to start the morning, how to call and reply to clients from the card, how not to forget a callback and how to end the day. It saves the head hours of training, and the new rep starts calling on the very first day.

Watch the two-and-a-half-minute video, and below you'll find the step-by-step guide.

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Why a sales team needs one set of CRM rules

Clients don't get lost: every lead has a next stage and a date for the next contact.
The head sees the work without reports: stages, tasks and calls are in the CRM, not in a notebook.
The history stays with the company: if a manager leaves, a colleague opens the card and continues the conversation.
A new hire gets results faster: they follow a clear routine instead of learning from the person at the next desk.

Client case

A window installation company in Kazan. Before: new managers learned from colleagues for two weeks, and during that time each of them lost about a third of their leads. What we did: this guide as a standard procedure, a personal view with their own leads for everyone, the rule “after a call — a comment, a stage and a task”, and a morning check of overdue tasks. Result: a new hire starts calling on the second day, and the share of leads with no next step fell from 35% to 8%.

What a sales rep needs to work in the CRM

Their own login and password. The head issues them in “Users” and decides what you see there, for example only your own clients. More in the article CRM user permissions.
A way to take calls: a SIP app on the computer, a mobile phone or a SIM. It's set in your user card.
Incoming calls turned on — the phone-handset toggle in the “Account” window.
A browser on a computer or phone: the account works well on a phone too.

How to start your working day in the CRM

1
Turn on calls
Click your avatar in the menu. In the “Account” window, switch on the handset toggle: “Now on: calls come to you”.
2
Open your view
The “Leads” menu, the views column on the left. A view is a saved list, for example “My new leads”.
3
Reply to those who are waiting
The “Missed calls” → “Yes” filter, then “Unread messages” → “Yes”. These clients have already tried to reach you.
4
Find the forgotten ones
“Nearest task” → “Overdue” and “Stage date” → “Overdue”.
5
Save your morning lists
“+ Save filter”, “Who sees it” → “Mine”. Tomorrow each of them opens in one click. Which other conditions the filter has is covered in the article customer segmentation in CRM.

CRM guide for sales reps: a morning client list

How to call a client and log the result

Open the lead card by clicking the name in the list. Click the handset in the phone line: the account first calls you on your phone or SIP and, once you answer, connects you to the client. The call recording appears in the card's activity feed — the “Listen to the recording” button.

After the call, do three things. Write the outcome on the “Comment” tab and click “Add”; you can dictate the text with the microphone. Change the funnel stage with the stage button in the card header and set the “Stage date” if needed. Click “Save”.

An incoming call opens the “Incoming call” window with the client's name and funnel stage. The “Open lead” button takes you straight to the card. The window appears if “Raise the contact card on incoming calls” is switched on in your profile.

How to reply to a client in a messenger, by SMS or email

At the bottom of the card's activity feed is the reply field. On the “Reply” tab, pick a channel in “From …”: WhatsApp, Telegram, MAX, Avito, SMS or E-mail. The account picks the channel of the last message by itself, so you usually reply where the client wrote. Send with the “Send” button or Ctrl + Enter. Files are attached with the paper clip in Telegram, WhatsApp and MAX direct.

If an AI bot is replying to the client in this chat, you can stop it: “From …” → “Stop the bot in this chat”. What else the card has is covered in the article customer profile in CRM.

Tasks: how not to forget a callback

1
Create a task
The “Task” tab in the card's reply field.
2
Fill in the essentials
The title, “Start” and “End”. The assignee is you by default.
3
Turn on a reminder
“Remind me”, for example “An hour before”, and the “Notification method”: “SMS”, “Email”, “Call” or “Pop-up window”.
4
Click “Create”
The task appears at the bottom of the lead's feed and in the “Tasks” section.

In the “Tasks” section, tasks are sorted into the “Overdue”, “Today”, “Tomorrow”, “Later” and “Done” columns. You can complete a task in its window or with the clock icon in the lead's feed. More in the article CRM task management.

A CRM task for a sales rep with a reminder

Kanban: how to move a client through the funnel

In “Kanban” mode, each column is a funnel stage. Drag a card to the next column, and the stage changes by itself. Mark a lost or closed deal by dropping the card on the “Rejected” or “Deal closed” zone at the bottom of the screen. How the whole list works is covered in the article CRM for small business.

How to end your working day

Every client you spoke to has a stage and a task for the next contact.
The “Today” column in tasks is empty: everything is done or rescheduled.
Leaving before the end of your shift — switch off the call toggle in the “Account” window, and calls stop coming to you.

Tip

Stick to one rule — after every conversation, a comment, a stage and a task. Then the “Nearest task” filter shows you every morning who to call.

Important

If a colleague has the same card open, a yellow bar appears at the top saying another employee is also editing this lead. Whoever saves last overwrites the other's changes, so save yours first.

Frequently asked questions

Why am I not getting calls?

The call toggle in the “Account” window is off, or no way to take calls is set in your user card. Another reason is that you're not among the employees in the incoming call scheme — your head checks that.

Why can't I see my colleagues' leads?

That's how the rights are set: a manager may see only their own clients. Access to others' leads is granted by the administrator in “Users”.

How does a sales rep call a client from the CRM?

Open the lead card and click the handset in the phone line. The account calls you first and, once you answer, connects you to the client.

Why is the client's phone shown as “•••• 1234”?

Your head has turned on hiding client numbers for you. You can still call, but the number itself isn't visible and can't be edited.

How do I use a CRM as a sales rep from my phone?

Open the account in your phone's browser: the list, card, calls and tasks all work there too. The filter opens with the icon in the search field.

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