If your CRM only tells you what you want to hear, you're using it wrong.
Most revenue systems are designed to confirm what we want to believe.
I've experienced this. In the past, I've seen a plethora of data and reporting, but the company kept missing targets. Our systems weren't designed to surface what we actually needed to know: where we were losing ground and why.
During a recent webinar with 1851 Franchise, Emily Grotkin, VP of Partner & Client Success at Denamico, encouraged everyone thinking about their CRM differently.
The most valuable insights from your revenue systems don’t validate your approach. They reveal issues, gaps, and opportunities you didn’t know existed.
As you dive into 2026 priorities, this is worth considering: Are your systems designed to confirm your assumptions or challenge them?
Here are three areas Grotkin says CRMs are often silent, but where you need them to speak up.
Most CRMs tell you that a deal was lost. Few tell you where in your sales process it actually fell apart.
A more mature system should help you understand which part of your sales process is creating the most resistance.
The problem this solves: Without visibility into which stage prospects exit, you're treating all lost deals the same. However, a prospect who drops out after the first call has a fundamentally different objection than one who makes it to the final contract and then walks away.
Tracking prospects through the journey will help you identify exactly where interest fades. If you're losing 60% of opportunities between demo and proposal, that could be a demonstration problem. If deals consistently stall during contract review, you likely have a legal or procurement friction point.
The shift:
Most revenue leaders can't answer this question with data, “Why did your last 20 lost opportunities walk away?”
It’s exciting to track and celebrate closed deals and look for how to create more of the same. However, that means lost opportunities often disappear into a generic "closed-lost" status with no additional context.
Grotkin shared her approach, "If someone doesn't move forward with you, maybe the timing isn't right, the finances aren't there, or it's simply not the right fit, you need to capture that reason and tailor your follow-up accordingly."
The problem this solves: Without structured closed-lost data, you're operating on assumptions. Aggregating this data will show you patterns that inform your sales, marketing, products and services.
The shift:
Anecdotes are compelling, but they're also biased toward the loudest voices. If you’re not capturing real data about customer satisfaction, experience friction points, or requests you’re missing critical customer insights.
The problem this solves: Most customers churn silently. Automating CSAT or NPS requests at key milestones surfaces frustrations and opportunities before they become larger issues. It also creates a way for customer experiences to directly inform operational improvements.
The shift:
Some of what you find may be uncomfortable truths that require hard decisions. This information will reveal where you need to change strategy, reallocate budget or admit that assumptions were wrong.
Emily made this point clearly, "There is no cheaper time to implement systems that enable your business to scale than now."
The longer you operate without visibility into these areas, the more deeply flawed assumptions could creep into your business.
If your CRM can't answer these three questions, it might be time to rethink what it was designed to do.
The start of a new year is an ideal time to audit what your systems are telling you and how you can use that information to improve.
If you don’t have answers to these questions yet, let’s talk.