Why

Forty inquiries a month across two channels with one and a half people is well below the threshold where a CRM earns its keep. Your Notion page isn't the problem — it's that there's no "follow up by [date]" column forcing your hand, so quoted leads sit silent until they ghost. Instagram DMs make it worse because there's no native way to see "who asked for a quote 5 days ago and never replied".

What you actually need

1. Notion database with a "Follow-up Date" property (free) — convert your current Notion page into a database with columns: Name, Channel, Project type, Quote sent date, Follow-up date, Status. Add a filtered view: "Follow-up date is on or before today".
2. Instagram saved replies + flagged DMs (free) — in the Instagram app, set up 2-3 saved replies for common quote requests, and flag every quote-stage DM so they surface in one filter.
3. A habit — the Tuesday & Friday follow-up block — twice a week, 20 minutes, open the Notion "due today" view and send every overdue follow-up. Non-negotiable.

Do this today

Open your existing Notion page, click the "•••" menu → "Turn into database" → add a Date property called "Follow-up Date" and a Select property called "Status" (New / Quoted / Won / Lost). Then create a new view → Filter → "Follow-up Date is on or before today" and bookmark that view in your browser. By tomorrow morning you'll see exactly which quoted leads you owe a nudge.

What to ignore

Skip HubSpot Free, Pipedrive ($14/seat/mo), and especially anyone pitching you HoneyBook or Dubsado at this volume — they're built for designers with 100+ inquiries and signed contracts/invoicing flows, and you'd spend a weekend configuring them to replace a Notion page that already works. Ignore Instagram DM automation tools like ManyChat for now; with 40 DMs/month you can read every one.

What doing nothing costs you

A conservative 20% slippage on 40 inquiries/month = ~8 lost quotes. At even a ₹50,000 / $1,500 average interior project margin, that's a serious five-figure annual leak from forgotten follow-ups alone.

When to revisit this

When your assistant goes full-time or you cross 75 inquiries/month and two people start replying to the same DM.