Using Nimble CRM Deals for Project Management

Articles, CRM

As a Nimble CRM Solution Partner, I work with companies on implementing, and customizing, Nimble for their business. One thing I have learned is that each business that I work with has unique needs.

I’m working with a company right now who wishes to use Nimble for project management. They have a rather unusual set of wants …

  1. They want to see and keep notes that are specific to that project
  2. They also want to log selected emails to a given project

On the surface, this all sounds pretty easy to do but when you get in the weeds, it’s not. There are several barriers to performing these tasks in the manner required. Nimble has two possible features that might be used in their project management capacity and each presents unique challenges …

  1. Workflows 
  2. Deals

Workflows are actually a part of a contact record (person or company. You can set the stages for a project management application but the details for this project will be kept within the individual contact record. Nimble even provides templates for project management. This means that …

  1. Notes for this project will be mixed in with all other notes related to this contact record.
  2. All emails associated with this contact record, regardless of whether or not they relate to this project, will be in that record.
  3. The above holds true as well for tasks and activities.

In other words … it gets messy.

Deals are their own records but they are also generally associated with a contact record. They do have their own notes, tasks, and activities. Nimble’s previous deal records included all emails associated with a contact, however, the new deals interface will soon allow you to pick and choose which emails to associate with a specific deal. Awesome!

While deals are used to create a pipeline and, while they generally include things like a potential dollar value, a predicted close date, and a percentage probability of closing, they don’t have to use these variables. 

Furthermore, you could have one pipeline for opportunities (deals) that you are pursuing and another for projects that you are managing. Each would have their own separate set of stages. Of course, the email problem remains. 

In researching this for my client, I thought of two interesting applications. First, and I confess to never having explored this, a deal record does not have to be associated with a contact record. A deal record can stand on its own. Just create the record from the Deals tab vs. from within a contact record.

However, what if I want specific emails to be associated with this deal and specifically from contacts who are not necessarily associated with this deal based on the deal settings? Fortunately, there is a way.

From ANY email, and this works with emails that are found in either a contact record or your Nimble Messages (tab) inbox, you have the ability to take that email and turn it into a task for follow-up. You can also choose to relate it to a deal. Voila! That email is now a part of that project (deal) record. I can also assign this task to another team member for follow-up. Problem solved. 

If you would like to chat with me to determine if Nimble CRM might be right for your business, please book a free 30 minute Zoom consultation with me.

Craig M. Jamieson

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services
Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!
Craig M. Jamieson

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