Origin and campaign
Can the team distinguish the first known source from the campaign associated with a recent enquiry? Evaluate how source fields are captured and whether their meaning stays clear when records are updated.
Agency field note / Marketing attribution
More touchpoints. Less context.
A campaign can generate a lead without explaining why that person is ready to talk. For agencies, the CRM decision is not simply what to capture. It is what the client’s sales team can understand and use next.
Explore the tracking priorities
One customer journey
Illustrative example
First encounter
Finds a campaign
Consideration
Returns to explore an offer
Handoff
Asks for a conversation
Contact context
Campaign and stated interest
Opportunity context
Owner and next conversation
01 / Priority exercise
Rank the moments that need to survive the handoff.
Before comparing CRM software, agree with the client on which evidence changes a sales conversation. Use this order as a starting point, then adjust it for the buying journey.
Intent and interaction
Consider which meaningful actions deserve context, such as a content request, event registration, or reply. Ask whether the record can show what the person requested, not just a channel label.
Sales response
Discuss how an enquiry becomes an opportunity, who owns the follow-up, and where the result is recorded. Check whether campaign context remains visible when ownership changes.
The exercise is about useful evidence, not a promise of complete attribution. Some interactions may never be captured, and a recorded source is not necessarily the sole reason someone bought.
02 / Alignment check
Where a clean report can hide a broken handoff.
Use these questions with the client’s marketing and sales leads before settling on fields or attribution rules.
“Lead” means different things.
Is a download an enquiry, or only an early signal? Agree on the point at which sales should act and record the reason for that decision.
The latest campaign replaces the story.
If a person responds more than once, ask how earlier and later touchpoints can be distinguished. A single source field may not answer both questions.
Follow-up disappears between teams.
Define who reviews an enquiry, who owns the next action, and how the agency learns whether it was relevant. Make those responsibilities explicit in the workflow.
03 / The decision
Test the story, not just the field list.
Bring a real journey to the evaluation. The right questions reveal whether a CRM can give both agency and client a usable account of what happened.
Return to the priorities01
Map one enquiry. Trace it from campaign exposure through the client’s first sales conversation. Mark where information is created and where it changes hands.
02
Walk through a candidate CRM. Ask how it records touchpoints, relates contacts to opportunities, and presents context to the person following up.
03
Agree on a review cadence. Decide which outcomes the client will share with the agency and how both teams will revisit definitions when the campaign changes.