If you have ever felt overwhelmed by CRM systems that are expensive, bloated and packed with features you will never use, you are not alone. Many organisations adopt powerful platforms only to discover they are adapting their sales process to fit the software, rather than the other way around.
In our case, we needed something leaner, faster and fully aligned with how we actually sell. So instead of continuing to customise an off-the-shelf solution, we built our own CRM inside the Everything App using Claude Code.
The result is a focused, AI-powered revenue engine with no fluff, no unnecessary complexity and complete integration with our company intelligence layer.
Why Traditional CRMs Create Friction
Most CRM systems attempt to serve every possible sales model. While that sounds useful in theory, it often results in:
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Overcomplicated pipelines
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Redundant fields
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Disconnected automation tools
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Manual follow-ups
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Limited contextual intelligence
Even well-known platforms can become heavy and difficult to adapt once your processes evolve. The real problem is not the quality of the software. It is the lack of alignment with your unique workflow.
Inside the Everything App, the CRM is not a standalone tool. It is a module powered directly by your company-trained AI, first introduced in Episode 2. That intelligence layer changes everything.
Custom Deal Stages That Reflect Your Sales Funnel
The first step was defining our own deal stages from initial lead to closed sale. Rather than accepting a generic pipeline, we structured the funnel exactly as our business operates.
Because we use AI-generated meeting transcripts, the system can automatically identify when a follow-up is required and create a new lead at the correct stage. This removes manual data entry and ensures opportunities are captured instantly.
Your CRM should reflect how you sell, not how a software vendor thinks you sell.
Focused Contact Management
We stripped contact records back to what truly matters: conversation history, next actions and essential client information. Instead of navigating through dozens of tabs and irrelevant data fields, our team sees only what drives progress.
This dramatically reduces friction. Sales conversations move faster because context is always visible and distractions are removed.
AI-Assisted Sales Communication
The real transformation happens when your CRM connects to your AI brain.
Because our CRM sits inside the Everything App, it can draw on company knowledge, previous proposals, client history and internal documentation. The AI analyses each opportunity and suggests appropriate next steps, whether that is sending a follow-up email, arranging a call or drafting a proposal.
It can also generate personalised emails using our templates and business data. These are not generic AI messages. They are grounded in our products, services and past interactions.
This reduces response time and increases consistency across the sales team.
Automated Follow-Ups That Prevent Lost Leads
No lead should disappear because someone forgot to reply.
Every registration on our website is automatically flagged within the system. The AI reviews who the client is and what they are interested in, then drafts and sends a tailored response using predefined logic and templates.
Because this automation is connected to our central intelligence layer, each interaction is context-aware rather than robotic.
The result is a CRM that actively protects revenue rather than simply recording it.
Built on Top of the AI Knowledge Base
It is important to understand that this CRM only works because it is powered by the AI knowledge base we created in the previous episode.
Without that intelligence layer, the CRM would simply be another database.
With it, the system can:
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Suggest actions based on real company data
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Draft communications using internal knowledge
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Learn from previous deals
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Continuously improve recommendations
This is why the order of the build matters. Intelligence first. CRM second.
Part of a Connected Ecosystem
Because the CRM lives inside the Everything App, it does not operate in isolation. Sales, support, projects and analytics all share the same data foundation.
When a deal closes, project workflows can be triggered automatically. When support issues arise, they feed back into customer context. When marketing campaigns generate leads, they enter the pipeline instantly.
This is the difference between integration and architecture. Integration connects tools. Architecture unifies them.
Watch to find out more:
A CRM That Works the Way You Sell
The outcome is not just a simplified interface. It is a system designed around your sales process and strengthened by your organisation’s intelligence.
Instead of forcing your team into rigid structures, you create a CRM that adapts to you. It is lean, intelligent and embedded within a wider ecosystem that shares context across every department.
What Comes Next
In Episode 4, we will move into project management and show how intelligent workflows replace static task tracking. You will see how AI can automatically update boards, generate task dependencies and ensure delivery remains aligned with sales and support activity.
Each module builds on the last. And each one draws power from the same central AI brain.
Ready to Build Your Own AI-Powered CRM?
If you want access to the full technical prompts and structured build sequence, you can find them on our Substack, where we share the exact framework we used.
If you prefer expert support in setting up your AI intelligence layer, contact us with your business details and we will help you get started quickly.
At Open eLMS, we use AI every day across learning design, content generation, analysis and delivery. Our focus is on secure, responsible AI that amplifies human capability rather than replacing it.
If you would like to explore how Open eLMS is transforming learning, training and content creation, visit www.openelms.com or explore our AI-powered learning tools at www.openelms.ai today.
