How do you utilise Attio's full potential to meet the specific needs of your business, and ensure your CRM is fully integrated at the centre of your team and technology stack? Start with a comprehensive blueprint.
by Will Sawney, Founder - Sideways CRM
3 minute read
Attio’s core value lies in its flexibility. It’s a canvas that allows you to build the CRM your business really needs, rather than the one a software company thinks you need.
Your Attio workspace can also become the ‘central source of truth’ (Attio calls this ‘data orchestration’), drawing in data and pushing out commands to the rest of your tech stack. The goal? Providing you with a comprehensive, reliable and insightful platform for all your sales and customer interactions.
BUT… trying to build this kind of system without a plan? That’s like trying to build a house without an architect. Technically it’s possible, but you’re almost certain to encounter cost and time over-runs, and will the finished result really meet the brief?
The solution? It’s critical to start an Attio implementation by creating a comprehensive blueprint of your setup.
With Attio you can build a CRM setup that truly enables performance, but without careful design, it’s easy to miss the true value.
Why Start With A Blueprint?
Often, it’s tempting to skip the planning phase and dive straight into the build. For all sorts of reasons, timeframes can be compressed and requirements urgent. But a blueprint doesn’t have to take more than a few days to create, and is critically important for ensuring the rest of the project can run on time.
Your Attio blueprint should include everything: strategies; stakeholders; data points; workflows; tools; reporting requirements. It should show how your core setup is constructed and how everything plays together.
This is a visual excercise. If you’ve ever felt that systems are overly complex or “hard to get your head around”, having a clear visual blueprint should go a long way to alleviating that pain.
Let’s look at an example:
This is how your blueprint will look. In it you’ll find:
- Strategies – What does your GTM, onboarding or customer success setup look like? What are the goals, and how will your Attio-centric technology stack help achieve them?
- Stakeholders – Who will use Attio and related technologies every day? And who else will need visibility over activity? What do each of these stakeholders need, and how will the new setup make their lives easier?
- Objects & Attributes – What does your core Attio workspace structure need to look like? Where will the key information live? How will it related to each other? And how will users access the information they need?
- Pipelines – What are the key pipeline(s) that your business needs to operate? What stages do your prospects and clients go through, and how can we create a setup that makes it easy for your team to maximise conversions?
- Workflows – What can we automate that would save your team time, increase efficiency and improve your clients’ experience?
- Systems – Beyond Attio, which systems does your business need to operate? Consider everything from lead capture, marketing, task management, accounting, contracts and communications. What would save time and increase efficiency?
- Data Sources – Where does your data come from? Are there sources to import from? Are there ongoing inflows of data from lead capture sources, enquiries or product usage?
- Reports – What insights do you need to see? What information do leadership, or day-to-day users need access to, and in what format? Is our core data structure setup to enable this?
The key is to find the balance between detail and design. Your setup needs to be both elegant and functional. Just like a good architect, you need to bring the overall design vision, but also provide clear instruction on how everything works.
Get your blueprint right and you’ve got everything you need to implement a CRM system that deliver maximum value for your business.
Creating A Blueprint Yourself
If you’re feeling up to the task, I recommend using a tool like Miro to map out your blueprint. You can follow the example outlined above, or develop your own design. The key is to work through all the elements mentioned, and give yourself time to really figure out how best to achieve your goals.
Getting An Expert Specialist
If your budget allows, bringing in an expert to help create your blueprint represents an incredibly valuable investment. As an Attio Expert Partner, I bring deep product knowledge that allows me to validate your vision. I can help by understanding your frustrations and ambitions, and creating a well-designed blueprint that’s ready to implement.
