What did you ditch when you started using a CRM? What do you still do manually?
Honest question: how many of you are still running your business off Google Sheets and just hoping nothing falls through?
I talk to freelancers all the time, and this setup often breaks eventually. One photographer lost a $3K booking because she didn't follow up in time. The client was ready to book, but she just never circled back.
Spreadsheet for invoices. Email threads for follow-ups. Desktop folder with contracts you can't find when you need them. Works with 3 clients a month. At 10+, you're scrambling to remember who owes what and which contract version you sent.
The worst part isn't the tools. It's the brain space. Who needs a nudge, who owes money, and did I send the right contract? That should be mental energy saved for client work.
A CRM keeps it all in one place. Follow-ups, docs, payments. Less switching, less falling through cracks.
What's your setup? Still spreadsheets, or do you have a system? If you switched, what finally made you do it?