The $50K Rolodex: Why Your CRM Isn’t Delivering

By Kristin Oelke, Managing Director, Growth Services, Brightrose Ventures, and author of Trust: Unlocking B2B Growth in Today’s AI World

Here’s a fun fact: many B2B companies treat their CRM like a glorified address book. Contacts get dumped in, a few reports get pulled, and voilà - you’ve spent $50K on a very fancy Rolodex.

But here’s the kicker: according to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Sales Report, 40% of sales leaders admit their CRM is rarely used to its full potential. And yet, CRM is supposed to be the single source of truth for pipeline and revenue visibility.

The myth is that buying a CRM = instant sales acceleration. The reality? A CRM is like a gym membership. Owning it doesn’t get you in shape - you need to actually use it, consistently, and with a plan.

When CRMs go underutilized, you miss the magic: lead scoring that actually prioritizes your reps’ time, automated workflows that keep deals moving, and dashboards that show you where revenue is stalling. Without this, you’re making decisions in the dark.

At Brightrose Ventures, we help small and mid-market B2B companies stop wasting money on shelfware. Our CRM Revenue Operations – Build or Optimize service turns HubSpot into a revenue engine—whether you’re starting fresh or ready for an overhaul.

Because a CRM isn’t just software. It’s your growth heartbeat - if you know how to use it.