Most teams buy a CRM for control.
They want a single place to see what's happening, what's stuck, and what's coming next. They want fewer surprises. They want visibility. They want order.
Then the reality shows up.
The CRM feels heavy. People avoid it. Updates happen right before meetings. Forecasts are guesses. Dashboards look clean while the real work lives in email, notes, spreadsheets, and someone's head.
So the conclusion is almost always the same:
- “Our CRM isn't working.”
- “We need better adoption.”
- “We need more training.”
- “We need to configure it better.”
Here's the truth most vendors won't say out loud:
Your CRM isn't broken. It's doing exactly what it was built to do.
What CRMs Were Actually Built For
CRMs were designed to be systems of record.
They store contacts, accounts, deals, activities, and notes so leadership can:
- report on what happened
- manage pipelines
- forecast revenue
- audit activity
That's not useless. It's just a different job than what most busy teams need day to day.
If your work depends on relationships, follow-through, and timing, your most important daily question isn't:
“What's in the pipeline?”
It's:
“What is the next move that matters?”
CRMs don't answer that well because they optimize for tracking, not motion. They optimize for clean records, accurate stages, and fields that roll up nicely into reports.
The Design Tradeoff Nobody Mentions
When a system optimizes for reporting, it makes a tradeoff.
It becomes easier to measure — and harder to use in real life.
That tradeoff shows up as:
- more required fields
- more stages that need to be “kept accurate”
- more rules about where the truth should live
- more admin work before anyone can move
This is why the real work happens outside the CRM.
Not because people are lazy.
Not because they hate accountability.
Because the CRM is built to record the work, not to drive the work.
So people do what makes sense:
- they send the email first
- they have the conversation
- they make the decision
- then they backfill the system later, if at all
The CRM stays technically correct.
The day still feels chaotic.
Five Reasons CRMs Feel Like Drag
1. The CRM Demands Updates at the Worst Time
Updates are required when work is messy and incomplete. Right after a call. Right before a review. When the answer is still “it depends.”
So people either:
- skip updates, or
- enter low-quality updates
Both outcomes break trust in the system.
2. Dashboards Create Meetings Instead of Decisions
Dashboards are great at showing counts. They're terrible at telling you what to do.
Teams look at charts and still ask, “Okay, but what do we do next?”
That gap creates:
- more meetings
- more status updates
- more time explaining numbers instead of moving work
3. Notes Become Storage, Not Action
Most CRMs let you store notes. Few turn those notes into next steps.
Promises get buried in timelines. Context dies in text boxes. Important details disappear until someone remembers to search for them.
So people stop trusting the system to help them remember. They create side systems:
- personal docs
- spreadsheets
- sticky notes
- Slack threads
The CRM becomes one more place to check — not the place where work moves.
4. Adoption Becomes a Tax
Every CRM depends on adoption. That means everyone must do extra work that doesn't feel like progress.
When time gets tight, adoption is the first thing to fall.
That's why “CRM adoption” becomes a permanent initiative. Not because people resist change — but because the daily payoff is weak compared to the effort required.
5. Reporting Becomes the Product
Over time, the CRM turns into a reporting machine.
People start working for the report:
- updating fields to make dashboards look clean
- moving deals to the “right” stage to avoid questions
- optimizing optics instead of outcomes
The system looks healthy.
Momentum slows down.
Why Adding AI to a CRM Doesn't Fix the Core Problem
Layering AI on top of a CRM helps with:
- writing
- summarizing
- searching
It does not fix a system designed around storage.
If the workflow still depends on:
- manual updates
- field maintenance
- stage management
- people remembering to follow up
then AI becomes just another feature sitting on top of the same drag.
That's why a lot of “AI CRM” demos look impressive and daily use feels underwhelming.
The system still watches.
It still waits.
It still needs you.
What to Use Instead: A Momentum-First System
A momentum-first system starts from a different goal.
It doesn't ask:
“Did you update the record?”
It asks:
“Did we move this forward?”
A Business Momentum System is designed to:
- surface a short list of next moves
- turn notes and signals into tasks
- protect relationships from going cold
- keep daily work close to action
If you want the formal definition, start here: What is a Business Momentum System?
The key difference is simple:
CRMs remember the past.
Momentum systems focus on what happens next.
Where TODD Fits
TODD was built as a Business Momentum System.
It's designed for the work that happens before a CRM stays accurate:
- outreach
- follow-ups
- relationship motion
- daily decisions
Some teams use TODD as their primary system.
Others keep a CRM for long-term reporting and use TODD in front of it — as the place where momentum lives.
Either way, the daily experience changes.
The system stops asking you to babysit it.
It starts helping you move.
What to Do Next
If your CRM feels heavy, don't start by blaming your team.
Start by naming the tradeoff.
- Reduce required fields to what supports real decisions
- Stop adding stages nobody uses
- Shift reviews from “what happened” to “what moves next”
- Add a momentum-first layer so the day runs on action, not dashboards
If you want to go deeper, these pieces connect the dots:
- What is a Business Momentum System?
- What is a Business Momentum System?
- Why CRMs Slow Organizations Down
- Why Momentum Beats Management
- TODD vs Salesforce
- TODD vs HubSpot
- TODD vs Microsoft Copilot
Bottom Line
Your CRM isn't broken.
It's built for management and reporting. When you ask it to create daily momentum, it struggles — by design.
If you want motion, you need a system built for motion.
Tracking isn't progress. Progress is progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does our CRM feel like extra work?
Because most CRMs are optimized for reporting and record-keeping. They require constant updates, fields, and stages so the system stays clean, even when the real work is messy.
Is the problem poor adoption or the CRM itself?
Often it is the CRM design. If a tool demands extra time from busy people and does not help them decide what to do next, adoption will always be fragile.
Does adding AI to a CRM fix the problem?
AI can help write and summarize, but it does not fix a system designed around storage. If the tool still depends on manual updates and does not drive next moves, the drag remains.
What should we use instead of a CRM?
Use a momentum-first system for day-to-day motion. Many teams keep the CRM as a long-term record and add a Business Momentum System (BMS) in front to surface next moves, follow-ups, and action.
Can TODD replace a CRM?
For many small teams, yes. Larger teams may keep a CRM for reporting while using TODD as the Business Momentum System that runs daily outreach, follow-ups, and relationship motion.
Tyrone Showers