Taking Client Setup Out of the CRM
Our customer’s business relies on a distributed sales team to identify corporate clients that align with their sales goals. But setting up a new client required sales professionals to navigate a back-office CRM, understand its data structures and relationships, and enter information correctly. Because the system was used infrequently, records were often late, inaccurate, or duplicated. New Elevation simplified the process by moving it out of the CRM entirely. A search-led experience in the firm’s company-wide portal helps users find existing records before creating new ones, making it easier for sales teams to work efficiently while improving data quality.
The Challenge
Entity and opportunity records are the foundation of client onboarding, yet they were created by client-facing teams in a CRM designed for specialists. It was a system they used only occasionally, between the many responsibilities that filled their day. That combination of infrequent use and structural complexity led to work being deferred, entered late, or entered inaccurately.
The problem compounded when records were created twice. When finding an existing record takes longer than creating a new one, duplicates are inevitable. Duplicate entities fragmented the client picture, complicated acceptance and onboarding, and created additional work to reconcile the data.
Cleanup and training addressed the problem after the fact. What was needed was a simpler place to complete the task, built around the user’s needs while continuing to feed the systems of record.
Our Approach
New Elevation took the task out of the CRM and rebuilt it around one principle: search first, then create.
The experience opens with search rather than a form, using Azure AI Search to surface existing entities and alternate business names as users type. If no internal match is found, users can extend the same search to Dun & Bradstreet and create a record from the result, automatically populating key details such as the name, DUNS number, address, website, and industry classification.
Manual creation remains available as an exception. Users are prompted to consider the D&B option, warned about duplicate or incomplete records, and informed that a data steward will review the record within 48 business hours. Records flow through to the operational data store and Dynamics 365, keeping the systems of record authoritative.
The application was delivered as a micro-frontend within the firm’s new company-wide portal, using the portal’s design language for a consistent experience. Throughout delivery, the team also used AI-assisted analysis and review across architecture, design, quality, and security, with engineers making the final decisions on what to apply.
The Results
The work moved client onboarding from a complex, infrequently used CRM to a purpose-built experience within the firm’s company-wide portal.
The new process prioritizes finding existing records before creating new ones and uses commercial business data to reduce manual entry. Manual creation remains available but is now governed with data steward review.
Because the capability is separately deployable, it can evolve without waiting for a broader portal release. After launch, the firm will measure its impact through duplicate creation rates, time to create an entity, D&B-assisted versus manual creation, completion rates, and release lead time.
Technologies Used
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