If you’re a business owner or sales professional, you probably know how important it is to have a reliable CRM software. The right CRM tool can help you manage your deals, track your progress, and close more sales. Pipedrive is one of the most popular CRM tools on the market, and for good reason. Its intuitive interface, automation features, and customizability make it a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at one of Pipedrive’s most important features: custom fields.
What are custom fields?
Custom fields are fields that you can add to your Pipedrive account to store additional information about your deals, contacts, and organizations. By default, Pipedrive comes with a set of standard fields, such as “Name,” “Phone number,” “Email address,” and “Deal value.” However, depending on your business needs, you may need to store additional information about your leads and deals.
For example, if you’re managing a B2B sales process, you may want to store information about your leads’ job titles, company size, or industry. Or, if you’re selling a complex product, you may want to track information about your leads’ pain points, objections, or budget. Custom fields allow you to store this information in a structured way, making it easier to analyze and act upon.
How to create custom fields in Pipedrive
Creating custom fields in Pipedrive is easy. Here’s how:
- Login to your Pipedrive account.
- Click on “Settings” in the bottom left corner.
- Click on “Custom fields.”
- Select the object you want to add the custom field to (e.g., “Deals,” “Contacts,” or “Organizations”).
- Click on “Add field.”
- Enter the field name and select the field type (e.g., “Text,” “Dropdown,” “Date,” “Number,” or “Checkbox”).
- Customize the field options (if applicable).
- Click on “Save.”
Once you’ve created a custom field, you can start using it in your Pipedrive account. You can add the field to your deal, contact, or organization details by clicking on “Add custom field” and selecting the field from the dropdown menu.
Best practices for using custom fields in Pipedrive
While custom fields can be a powerful tool for managing your sales process, it’s important to use them wisely. Here are some best practices for using custom fields in Pipedrive:
- Start with a clear goal. Before you create a custom field, make sure you have a clear goal in mind. What information do you want to store, and how will you use it?
- Keep it simple. Avoid creating too many custom fields, as this can lead to clutter and confusion. Stick to the information that’s most important for your sales process.
- Use dropdowns and checkboxes. If possible, use dropdowns and checkboxes instead of text fields. This will help you standardize your data and make it easier to analyze.
- Train your team. Make sure your team knows how to use custom fields effectively. Provide training and guidelines to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
- Regularly review and update your fields. Over time, your sales process may change, and the information you need to store may change as well. Regularly review your custom fields and make updates as necessary.
Examples of custom fields in Pipedrive
Custom fields can be used in a variety of ways, depending on your business needs. Here are some examples of custom fields you might use in Pipedrive:
- Lead source: Where did the lead come from (e.g., website, referral, trade show)?
- Industry: What industry is the lead in?
- Budget: What is the lead’s budget for your product or service?
- Pain points: What are the lead’s pain points or challenges?
- Objections: What objections does the lead have to your product or service?
- Deal stage: What stage is the deal in (e.g., prospecting, proposal, negotiation)?
- Product interest: What products or services is the lead interested in?
- Competition: Who is the lead considering as an alternative to your product or service?
Conclusion
Custom fields are a powerful feature in Pipedrive that can help you store and analyze important information about your deals, contacts, and organizations. By following best practices and using custom fields wisely, you can streamline your sales process and close more deals. If you’re not already using custom fields in Pipedrive, now is the time to start!