Coltrane is built to be used on day one, not configured for a week before getting any value. This guide walks you through every key feature — in the order you'll encounter them. By the end, you'll have real contacts, live deals, and a dashboard that actually reflects your business.
Step 1: Create Your Account
Sign up and log in
Go to coltranecrm.com/app and create an account with your email and password. $49/mo Beta — 30-day money-back guarantee. You'll land on your dashboard. Let's fill it.
Step 2: Add Your First Contacts
Navigate to Contacts and add 5–10 people
Click Contacts in the sidebar. Hit "+ New Contact". Fill in their name, email, company, and title. The Notes field is your friend — use it to capture context: "Met at conference, interested in Q3 deal," or "Referred by Jake, follow up in July."
For each contact, you can add tags to segment them (e.g., "real estate", "warm lead", "partner"). These tags let you filter later with one click.
Step 3: Create Deals in Your Pipeline
Open the Pipeline and create your first deals
Click Pipeline in the sidebar. This is your kanban board — deals move left to right as they progress. The default stages are:
Hit "+ Add Deal" in any column. Give the deal a title, link it to one of your contacts, add the deal value (even a rough estimate), and set a priority. Drag it between columns as the deal progresses.
Step 4: Log Your Activity
Record calls, emails, and meetings
After every interaction, log it. Go to the contact's detail page and add an activity: Email, Call, Meeting, or Note. Give it a subject and any important details. This creates an audit trail you'll thank yourself for in 3 months when you're trying to remember where a deal stands.
You can also add activities directly from the Activity feed, or from a Deal's detail view — whichever is faster in the moment.
Step 5: Read Your Dashboard
Understand what the dashboard tells you
Click Dashboard in the sidebar. You'll see:
- → Total contacts — how many people are in your database
- → Open deals — how many deals are active (not won/lost)
- → Pipeline value — total value of all open deals
- → Stage breakdown — how many deals and how much value per stage
- → Recent activity — your last logged calls, emails, and meetings
You're Set Up. Now Build the Habit.
The power of a CRM isn't in any single feature — it's in consistent use over time. The teams that get the most value from Coltrane do one thing religiously: they log every touchpoint, even quick ones. "Left voicemail" takes 15 seconds to log. Six months later, that log tells a story no one can recreate from memory.
Start with your 10 most important contacts. Get the habit down. Then expand.
Ready to try a simpler CRM?
Coltrane is $49/mo Beta — unlimited users, all features included. Get started today with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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