If you’re in B2B sales, you know how much time gets swallowed up by manual CRM updates, data entry, and switching between tabs. If you’re reading this, you’re probably tired of the grind and want a workflow that just works — so you can actually sell instead of babysitting your CRM. This guide shows you how to cut the noise and optimize your sales process with Surfe, a tool built to bridge LinkedIn and your CRM, so you can focus on conversations, not copy-pasting.
Here’s how to actually get more out of your sales workflow, avoid the usual headaches, and see a real return (not just more dashboards).
Step 1: Map Your Current Sales Workflow (Don’t Skip This)
Before you throw another tool at the problem, get real about what’s eating your time. Take 20 minutes and sketch out your current process. Where are you:
- Manually copying details from LinkedIn to your CRM?
- Forgetting to update contact statuses?
- Losing track of LinkedIn messages or connection requests?
- Chasing down the same info in ten different tools?
Jot down the real steps, not the ideal ones. If your “official process” is ignored because it’s clunky, admit it. You can’t optimize what you haven’t mapped.
Pro tip: Ask your team (or yourself) what the top three annoyances are. That’s where you’ll get your biggest wins.
Step 2: Set Up Surfe the Right Way
Surfe isn’t magic, but it’s solid at what it does: connecting LinkedIn with your CRM (like Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and others) right in your browser. Installation is straightforward, but a few choices make a big difference.
How to Set It Up
- Install the Chrome extension. Don’t use Chrome? Time to reconsider, or check for alternatives.
- Connect your CRM. Surfe supports most major platforms. If yours isn’t listed, stop here — it’s not worth hacking together a half-supported setup.
- Decide who will use it. Sales reps who live on LinkedIn? SDRs? The whole team? Only pay for seats people will actually use.
What Works
- Automatic contact syncing: Cut the copy-paste. Add LinkedIn contacts to your CRM with one click.
- Message logging: Save LinkedIn messages to your CRM so you don’t lose context (or forget what you promised).
- CRM field mapping: You can choose which LinkedIn data syncs where. Set this up right away — default mappings are usually too generic.
What to Ignore
- Shiny dashboards: If you already have a reporting tool you trust, don’t migrate just for the look.
- Features you don’t need: Don’t overwhelm your team. Start with the basics; you can always turn on more later.
Step 3: Cut Busywork with Smart Automations
Most sales teams waste hours each week on tasks a browser extension can handle. With Surfe, focus on these automations:
- Add contacts from LinkedIn searches: Don’t just add contacts randomly. Use filters to stay targeted.
- Sync messages automatically: Don’t cherry-pick which messages to save. Default to syncing all, then delete what you don’t need.
- Auto-update CRM fields: Set rules for how Surfe fills out lead source, notes, and other fields. Consistency beats creativity here.
Honest Take
Automations save time, but only if you trust the data. Double-check early on — nothing derails a workflow like garbage-in, garbage-out. If Surfe pulls in the wrong info or overwrites something important, tweak your settings before rolling out to the team.
Step 4: Train Your Team (or Yourself) on Real-World Use
No tool works if people don’t use it. Keep your onboarding simple and grounded in real scenarios:
- Show, don’t tell: Demo adding a contact, syncing a message, and updating a deal — live, not in slides.
- Set expectations: Make it clear what should be done in Surfe vs. the CRM vs. LinkedIn itself.
- Create a cheat sheet: One-pager with the 3-5 core actions. No one reads 20-page manuals.
What Usually Goes Wrong
- People revert to old habits: Check in after a week and again after a month. If folks are still copying and pasting, ask why.
- Partial adoption: If only some reps use Surfe, your data gets messy fast. Make usage part of your sales process, not optional.
Step 5: Track What’s Actually Improving (and What Isn’t)
Skip the vanity metrics. Focus on the laggards in your process that Surfe is supposed to fix:
- Time from lead discovery to CRM entry
- Percentage of LinkedIn convos logged in CRM
- Number of deals with missing contact info
Benchmark where you started, then check after 30 and 90 days. If nothing’s improved, dig into why — maybe it’s a process problem, not a tool problem.
What to Ignore
- “Engagement” stats: If it doesn’t tie directly to deals closed or time saved, don’t obsess over it.
- Feature bloat: Resist the urge to turn on every bell and whistle Surfe offers. More features = more confusion.
Step 6: Tweak and Iterate — Don’t Set and Forget
The best workflow is the one that people actually use. After a month, get feedback:
- What still feels clunky?
- Are there steps where Surfe is slowing things down?
- Did automation break anything you care about?
Update your process and retrain if needed. Most teams need 2-3 rounds of tweaks before it “just works.” Don’t be afraid to scale back if something adds hassle instead of reducing it.
Pro Tips & Common Pitfalls
What works:
- Use Surfe for routine LinkedIn-to-CRM actions, not everything under the sun.
- Keep CRM field mapping simple — over-complicating leads to errors.
- Encourage your team to flag bugs or annoying steps early.
What doesn’t:
- Relying on Surfe for all LinkedIn activity. For complex deals, you’ll still need to work inside your CRM.
- Assuming Surfe will fix a broken sales process. It’s an accelerator, not a cure-all.
- Ignoring privacy and compliance. Double-check Surfe’s settings if you’re in a regulated industry.
Keep It Simple (and Keep Improving)
The best B2B sales workflow is the one your team actually uses — and that gets out of their way. Surfe can save hours and headaches, but only if you start simple, track what matters, and keep listening to your team. Don’t get dazzled by features you won’t use. Start with the basics, tweak as you go, and focus on what moves the needle: more conversations, less copy-paste, and deals that close faster.
Iterate, don’t overthink, and you’ll find what actually works for your sales team — not just what looks good in a demo.