Contacts is the heart and soul of your CRM. Get comfortable with the list view, learn how smart lists and filters work, and see how a single contact record is organized so you can manage every relationship in one place.
Once you know your way around Contacts, here's what you can start doing right away.
Coming from another CRM or spreadsheet? The import button gets your existing contacts into your software so you're not starting from zero.
Use the flash button on the left menu bar, or on your mobile phone, to add a contact in seconds without leaving whatever screen you're on.
Save a filter and sort combination you use often, like contacts tagged "active," so it's one click away every time you log in.
Select multiple contacts and run a bulk action, like exporting, tagging, emailing, or triggering an automation, all in one step.
Click Contacts in the left side menu to land on the list view, where every contact you have is listed. Think of it in three sections. The first section is the row of features within the feature: Contacts, Smart List, Bulk Actions, Task, Companies, and Settings. The second section is the all-contacts row, showing your smart lists, advanced filters, sort, and search. The third section is the table itself, the actual list format showing each contact's details in columns you control.
Advanced Filters let you sort through your contacts by selecting specific fields, common ones being tags, email addresses, source or source type, and birthdays. This is the foundation for building a smart list. You'll also find a sort button to sort by any selected field, and a search box where you can look a contact up by name, email, or phone number. Selecting Customize from search takes you to your custom fields, where you can edit the contact object itself.
From the list view, use the Add a Contact button in the top right. You can also click the flash button on the far left menu bar to add a contact instantly, no matter where you are in your software, and the same flash button works from your mobile phone. When adding a contact, select Customize Form to control exactly what information gets asked for, like a birthday or a source. That opens Manage Fields under Objects in Settings, where you choose which fields show up every time your team creates a contact.
Once you've set up advanced filters and a sort, you'll see unsaved changes appear. From there you can save the combination as a new smart list or discard the changes. Give it a name, select Create, and it's added to your smart lists for next time. A blue bar at the top of the list view always shows which smart list you're currently viewing, and it defaults to All until you pick another one.
Open any contact and you'll see three columns. The first is contact details: first name, last name, email, phone number, owner, followers, and any custom fields you've set up. The second is conversations, covering every SMS, email, voice recording, or other message with that contact. The third covers activity and associations, including opportunities, companies, other linked objects, tasks, notes, calendar appointments, documents, and payments like transactions, subscriptions, invoices, and estimates.
Check the box next to a contact's name and a bulk actions bar appears, letting you export, trigger an automation, send an email, add tags, delete, and more. You can select just a few contacts, or use the top checkbox to select every contact currently shown. If your list has more contacts than fit on one page, make sure you use Select All so every matching contact is included, which matters most when you're sending email marketing or running an automation.
Four quick questions on this lesson. One attempt each, and the answer is revealed either way.
What does CRM stand for?
What is a Smart List?
Inside a contact record, what does the middle column show?
Why should you use Select All when running a bulk action like email marketing?