Tips for note taking in the CRM

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1. Use the background info field: Ever wonder what that default field in LACRM called "background info" is for? It's the perfect place for any information you always want to remember about a client. For example, jot down a note like "Prefers texts over calls, never reads email" so you don't forget how a client likes to communicate.
2. Highlight, underline, or bold important content: When you're leaving a note about a call, it's natural to summarize the conversation for later. But there are usually one or two sentences that are especially important for you (or your colleagues) to notice. For those, use highlighting, bold, or underline. It takes five seconds in the moment and will catch your eye the next time you're looking through your notes.
3. Remember your audience: The best writing is written with a specific reader in mind, and that includes your CRM notes. Don't forget who your notes are for. Future you? A colleague? A manager? Write in a way that helps whoever's reading. Even when future you is the audience, asking "what will I actually need to know?" is a useful clarifying exercise. It helps you focus on what matters and leave out what doesn't.
4. Don't put action items in notes: When you're writing up a conversation with a client, it's easy to slip into autopilot and type something like "she said to call her next week." But anything that requires action doesn't belong in your notes. Put it in a task instead, where you'll be reminded at the right time.
5. Your notes should be more than a transcript: It can be tempting to take notes like a court stenographer, just a verbatim record of what happened. But the most valuable notes capture qualitative information too. Did your prospective client sound excited? Distracted? Frustrated? Those are the details that will shape your next call more than a perfect play-by-play.
6. Be specific: It might sound obvious, but in the moment, when you've been in close contact with a new client, the details of what you agreed to feel fresh enough that writing them down seems unnecessary. Six months later, when that conversation is a distant memory, you'll wish you had. Make sure the key details land in your notes, even when they feel too obvious to bother with.

Do you have any tips for taking great notes in the CRM? We want to hear from you - let us know on the forum.