The record layer
Everything else depends on this being right. You need organizations and people as distinct, related record types, with fields you can adapt to your business rather than fields chosen by the vendor.
Check that records can be searched, filtered, assigned to owners, and given lifecycle statuses that match your language, not a generic template.
The revenue layer
Opportunities with configurable pipelines and stages, deal values, expected close dates, and both table and board views. Products or services attached to a deal, so the value is composed rather than typed in.
Check that closed deals keep their outcome and reason. Won and lost reasons recorded at the moment of closing are what later make pipeline reviews evidence-based.
The execution layer
This is where most evaluations under-weight. Tasks with owners, priorities, due dates and subtask checklists. A shared calendar where meetings link back to the customer. Time logged against records for billing or capacity.
Without this layer the CRM becomes a system people update after doing the work somewhere else, which is the failure mode that kills adoption.
The connective and control layer
Email integration so communication history lives on the record. Web forms so inbound enquiries arrive as records rather than as messages. Workflows so repeatable processes are defined once.
Then the controls: role-based permissions covering view, create, edit and delete; organization-level isolation; import and export so your data is portable; and a CRM with dashboards that different roles can configure for themselves.
- Configurable records and custom fields
- Pipelines, stages, deal values and products
- Tasks, calendar events and time tracking
- Email integration and web forms
- Workflow definitions and automation rules
- Roles, permissions and tenant isolation
- Import, export and dashboard configuration