This week, I began implementing the first company and started considering how we could use and improve the CRM functionality within GrowERP. This is generally a good starting point for introducing the GrowERP system.
Coincidentally, this week also featured Google I/O, a major showcase of Gemini AI integration across both existing and new Google products. Here at GrowERP, we are planning to adopt some of these features as well, such as document scanning (e.g., invoices) and generating leads from LinkedIn. More on that later.
The company we’re implementing has many connections on LinkedIn, which could serve as an excellent initial source of leads. These LinkedIn contacts can be downloaded and provide website links to their profile pages, enabling direct messaging. Currently,
GrowERP lacked a field for related web pages, so we added that in the front-end and REST API using the existing Moqui entities. Since the company/user screens were among the first created in the system, we also took the opportunity to refactor them.
Then I started wondering: What are the minimum CRM requirements for a small company or freelancer? The current application supports opportunities, website requests, leads, and customer management. But how can we enhance it to support the typical workflows of small businesses with fewer than 30–50 employees and a single sales/customer representative—the target customer for GrowERP?
This sounded like a great use case for AI. I tried Genesis by Google (included with my company account) to help brainstorm potential workflows and generate a software design around them. The AI returned an extensive list, which I imported into NotebookLM, a free research assistant.
After analyzing the results in NotebookLM, we identified four main areas:
Sales & Lead Management Workflows
Customer Service & Relationship Management Workflows
General Customer Data Management
Reporting & Analytics
For this article, let's focus on the first topic: Sales & Lead Management Workflows.
This category includes four key components: lead generation, qualification and nurturing, opportunity management, and deal closing. Let's explore each:
This workflow is triggered by a new inquiry (e.g., website form, email, phone call, social media message, referral, or LinkedIn lead).
This workflow begins when a new lead is created. The sales rep qualifies the lead. If approved, an opportunity record is created and linked to the lead, which is then marked as "qualified".
If the lead is not qualified, it is marked as "disqualified" and archived, but still included in mailing lists with a standard follow-up email.
This begins when a qualified lead is converted into an opportunity. The lead then enters a nurturing email sequence to gauge interest. If there’s no positive response, the opportunity is closed and the lead de-qualified.
If there is interest, the opportunity’s progress is tracked using stages visible on the dashboard. Proposals, when needed, are sent to the lead and linked to the opportunity as an order in "entered" status.
This workflow is triggered when a deal is marked "Closed Won".The proposal is converted into an approved order, kicking off the onboarding or delivery process depending on the business type. The lead is then promoted to a customer, completing this workflow.
Enable automatic lead uploads
Add a web URL field for persons and companies
Display all opportunities across all employees in a single list (useful for small
businesses)
Introduce events as a new task type in the existing task model, leveraging current
linking capabilities
Conclusion
Using NotebookLM for research proved highly valuable and served as the foundation for this CRM extension. AI is rapidly evolving, and tools are becoming capable of functioning as agents that can browse the web for new leads—even on JavaScript-heavy websites like LinkedIn.
Once fully integrated, this means up to 80% of Sales & Lead Management Workflows could be automated. Exciting times!
The NotebookLm I created is a living document that showcases the CRM implementation journey. It will continue to be updated as we progress with CRM enhancements and the Gemini integration. You can access it here.
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