How to Build Lightweight CRM Processes for Manufacturers and Wholesalers

I was chatting with the head of marketing in business recently, who is trying to increase the number of accounts they have. They’re doing a bit of outreach alongside using their website to attract new customers. Naturally, I asked what CRM they were using – seemed like it should be par for the course – but they replied with, “None,” followed by, “Do we really need one?”

That question is more common than you might think. Manufacturers and wholesalers often overlook the role of CRM in growing their B2B business. The focus isn’t on filling a shopping basket. It’s about opening accounts, winning accounts, and securing repeat business through account-level deals. Your goal is to build relationships that keep your clients coming back, not just to make a one-off sale. A lightweight CRM process helps you track who you’re talking to, what’s been discussed, and where the opportunities lie without drowning in enterprise-level complexity.

Start with What Matters: Companies, Contacts, Activities, Deals

Most CRMs are overblown for B2B eCommerce-type sales. You don’t need the whole flight deck of features – just a system to track who you’re talking to and what comes next. Trying to flog goods without a handle on who you’re talking to and what’s going on is like pissing in the wind. You need a system, but most of the CRM bollocks out there is built for enterprise waffle you don’t need. You’re manufacturers and wholesalers; you need something that works without needing an IT degree to figure out. Right?!

Why Most CRMs Are Overkill for B2B Manufacturing and Wholesale Sales

You’ve seen the demos, haven’t you? Bells and whistles, dashboards that look like a flight deck, and price tags to match. Most CRM systems are designed for complex sales cycles that might not mirror how you sell. They promise the earth – “transform your sales pipeline!” – but often deliver a complicated mess that your sales team ignores or actively resents. You end up paying a fortune for features you’ll never use, and your sales process is still stuck in spreadsheets and scribbled notes. It’s a waste of time and money.

Keep It Simple: The Core CRM Elements

Forget the jargon and the fancy reports for a minute. What do you actually need to track? You need to know which companies you’re targeting, who the right people are within those companies, what conversations you’ve had with them, and where things stand regarding opening an account and committing to purchase and maybe just maybe potential orders – but only the big custom ones. That is the core of it. Anything beyond that needs a good reason to exist in your system.

Why Free HubSpot CRM Works for Most B2B Setups

Now, I am not condoning the platform selection based on the features it offers. But…there is a degree of pragmatism that is needed depending on the stage and maturity of the business and the people in it.

HubSpot’s free CRM works because it’s not bloated. You get the core essentials – Companies, Contacts, Activities, Deals – without needing to configure a hundred custom fields or pay for dashboards you’ll never use. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and scales without needing paid add-ons right away.

It’s so simple that within a very short amount of time that will probably annoy you. As you quickly get used to the system and processes, you’ll want to unlock more. So I would err on the side of caution before jumping into bed with Hubspot if you have any complexity already. Other paid CRMS are cheaper when you escape the freemium tier.

How to Track the Essentials: Companies, Contacts, Activities, Deals

Companies: Your Target Businesses

Every business you interact with, whether they’re a prospect, a current customer, or an old one you want to reactivate, gets a company record. This record holds their address, website, industry (if relevant), and any other core company-level information you need. Getting this right is step one.

Contacts: The People Who Matter

Within each company, you’ll deal with specific people. These individuals get contact records linked to their company. Store names, job titles, phone numbers, email addresses – the direct ways to reach the people you need to influence. Keeping these records clean and linked to the right company is crucial.

Activities: The Conversation Record

Log every interaction – phone calls, emails, meetings, even notes about trade shows. This builds a history so anyone looking at the record knows what’s gone on. It’s your memory, externalised.

The easiest way to do this is by CC’ing all of your emails into the CRM. Hubspot offers this, but almost all of them do in some way. There are also extensions for your major mail clients.

Deals: Tracking Potential Orders

When a conversation moves towards a potential order, create a deal record. Track the potential value and the stage it’s at in your sales process. Moving deals through stages gives you a clear pipeline view.

Stick to the Plan, Avoid Feature Creep

The biggest mistake is adding complexity you don’t need. Resist the urge to add dozens of custom properties or automate everything from day one. Start with Companies, Contacts, Activities, Deals. Get your team using that consistently. Only consider adding anything else when a clear, undeniable need arises.

Using the Basics to Track Outreach and New Business

With the essentials set up, tracking your sales effort becomes significantly clearer. You can log calls and emails related to prospecting against new contacts and companies. You can create deals when a promising conversation about a new order starts. You can see in the activities feed every touchpoint you’ve had with a prospect while trying to land them.

Automate Where Possible Without Adding Complexity

Don’t drown in manual data entry. HubSpot’s CRM offers a few basic automations that help without overloading you: Email tracking, follow-up reminders, and pipeline updates. Automations should lighten your workload, not create new headaches.

Regularly Review and Refine Your Process

Take time to review every few weeks. Look for areas where data is messy or processes feel slow. Streamline data entry, trim unused fields, and adjust pipeline stages as needed. A lightweight CRM shouldn’t feel heavy to use.

One-Page Checklist

• Create company records for every prospect.
• Add relevant contacts and link them to companies.
• Log every interaction as an activity.
• Open deals as soon as value is mentioned.
• Avoid unnecessary custom fields.
• Use basic automations only when they save time.
• Review and simplify quarterly.

Start simple, stay practical, and let your processes grow

Building a lightweight CRM for manufacturers and wholesalers selling B2B doesn’t have to be complicated. Start simple, stay practical, and let your process grow as you understand what really needs tracking.

Just like with Customer Adoption the success of a CRM is uptake by the internal team. Sales people, especially really driven ones might not like the change, but they will come around, and if you are lucky you have somebody in your team who has “been saying this for years” and they will help to drive its success.