This is an easy one for people like me who set up CRMs to track relationships and then never keep them updated.
Earlier this year Notion released Custom Agents. Essentially additional teammates who can run in the background on triggers and schedules, and do work for you in Notion. I've built one that keeps my CRM updated automatically.
Here's what it does
Every time I send or receive an email, the agent checks if the person is in my CRM. If they're not, it adds them. If they are, it updates their Last Touch date and appends context from the email to their notes.
Here's how to build it
- You need Notion Business or Enterprise. If you're on Plus or Free, this one isn't for you yet.
- Set up your CRM database. If you don't have one, feel free to duplicate mine.
- Create the agent. In Notion, go to the Agents section in the sidebar and click the plus icon. Name it "CRM Updater" and paste in your prompt.
- Set the trigger. Custom Agents can trigger directly on email events. Open Settings > Triggers > Add trigger > choose the email trigger and set it to run when you send or receive a new email.
- Give it access. Under Tools and access, add your CRM database with edit permission and Gmail with read permission.
- Test it. Send a test email to someone not in your CRM and watch the agent add them.
If you set this up and it works, you'll never manually update your CRM again. Which was the whole point of having a CRM in the first place.