// The situation

It msp in hampshire reselling Microsoft 365 Lead channels: WhatsApp, Email, Phone calls, Web form, LinkedIn, Referrals. Inquiry volume: <10 / mo. Team size: Just me.

The verdict · May 30, 2026

No.

You don't need a CRM.

Why

Under 10 inquiries/month and "Just me" means you can hold every live opportunity in your head, and a CRM dashboard would sit empty most days. Your real problem isn't tracking — it's that leads land in six different inboxes (WhatsApp, Email, Phone, Web form, LinkedIn, Referrals) and there's no single place where "Acme Ltd asked about Business Premium licences on Tuesday" actually lives. M365 reseller deals have long tails (renewals, seat expansions) so a missed follow-up at month 2 costs you a 3-year annuity.

What you actually need

  1. Microsoft Lists or Excel in your own M365 tenant (free, you already pay for it) — one list called "Pipeline" with columns: Company, Contact, Channel, Seats, Product, Next Action, Next Action Date, Status. Dogfood the stack you sell.
  2. Microsoft To Do (free, in your tenant) — every lead gets a task with a due date the moment it lands. Phone/WhatsApp inquiries get logged here within 5 minutes of the call ending.
  3. A habit — the 8am Hampshire sweep — every weekday before client work, open all six channels in order (Email, Web form, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, voicemail, referral texts), action anything new, and update the List. Fifteen minutes max.

Do this today

Open Microsoft Lists (lists.office.com) → New list → From blank → name it "Pipeline 2026" → add columns Company, Contact, Channel (choice: WhatsApp/Email/Phone/Web/LinkedIn/Referral), Seats, Next Action, Next Action Date, Status (New/Quoted/Won/Lost). Pin it to your Teams sidebar. Then paste in every live opportunity from the last 60 days — at <10/mo you'll have maybe 15 rows, and by tonight you'll see which two you forgot to chase.

What to ignore

Skip HubSpot Sales Hub Starter (£15/seat/mo and escalates fast), Pipedrive (£14/seat/mo for features you won't touch), and especially anything Salesforce or Zoho One an MSP peer told you to buy "because it integrates with everything." At <10 leads/month, integration is a solution to a problem you don't have. Ignore anyone pitching Apollo or LinkedIn Sales Navigator — your channel mix is already working.

What doing nothing costs you

On <10 inquiries/month, losing even one M365 deal a quarter at ~£15/user/mo across a 10-seat SMB = ~£1,800/year in recurring margin per missed deal, compounding every year you keep that client. Two slipped deals a year and you're £15k+ light over three years.

When to revisit this

When you hire your first engineer or salesperson, or when inquiries cross 25/month — then Zoho Bigin or HubSpot Free earns its keep.

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