Transitioning Well runs its sales pipeline in an Excel CRM and manages client delivery in Asana. Two good tools, but nothing connecting them.
The problem: rebuilding every closed deal in Asana by hand
Every time a deal closed in the Excel CRM, someone on the team had to:
- Open Asana and create a new project for the client
- Copy the client’s details over from the spreadsheet, field by field
- Set the project up so the operations team could start work
That handoff and data entry cost the team about three hours every week. Worse, manual copying invites mistakes: a wrong email, a missed detail, or a project that doesn’t get created until days after the deal closed.
The handoff from sales to operations is where client details get lost. So we took people out of it.
How we automated the Excel-to-Asana handoff
We kept the tools the team already knew and connected them so the pipeline drives the project setup.
The Excel pipeline becomes the trigger
We set up an automation that watches the Excel CRM pipeline. The moment a row is updated, for example when a deal is marked as closed, the automation kicks in. No one has to remember to start it.
The right Asana project spins up automatically
The automation creates the right Asana project for that client, so the operations team gets a project built the same way every time.
Client details are already filled in
The client’s details from the CRM are carried into Asana automatically. The project opens with everything the team needs, without anyone retyping it.
3 hours back, every week
The team saves three hours every week on project handoffs and data entry, more than 150 hours over a year. Projects now start the moment a deal moves forward, with accurate client details from day one.
The sales team keeps working in Excel, the operations team keeps working in Asana, and the gap between them is handled automatically.
Lessons for teams connecting sales and operations
- You don’t need to replace your CRM.Even a spreadsheet CRM can drive automation if it’s structured well.
- Let the pipeline be the trigger.When the deal stage changes, the next step should start on its own.
- Enter data once.If the client’s details are in the CRM, they should never be typed again.
- Standardise what gets created.Automated projects are consistent projects, so the delivery team always knows where to start.