90-day Notion CRM tool study plan

 

Phase 1: Setup & Foundations (Days 1–20)

Day 1: Interface basics

Lecture: Notion operates on a modular, block-based architecture where everything you type, insert, or build acts as an individual building block (text blocks, headings, images, or databases). Pages act as containers that can nest infinitely within other pages, and Databases function as relational data tables disguised as pages, giving you maximum flexibility for custom CRM architecture.

Instruction: Sign up or log into your Notion account to view the sidebar menu. Create a blank private page. Type / to open the block menu and practice adding basic elements to understand how Notion structures content layout.

Day 2: Workspace setup

Lecture: Setting up your workspace correctly ensures proper administrative segregation as your team scales. Workspaces house shared team pages, private drafts, and administrative settings, while the sidebar acts as your core navigation directory.

Instruction: Click on Settings & members in the left sidebar, invite team members to your workspace, and configure workspace name and logo settings. Organize your sidebar by grouping pages into designated folders or sections for clarity.

Day 3: Pages

Lecture: A clean hierarchical layout keeps customer data organized. By establishing a central parent CRM page with dedicated subpages for Contacts, Deals, and Tasks, you create a logical information architecture.

Instruction: Create a new parent page titled “Main CRM.” Inside this page, use the /page command to create three distinct subpages: Contacts, Deals, and Tasks. Return to your parent page to see them nested properly.

Day 4: Blocks

Lecture: Combining Notion blocks—such as callout boxes, toggle lists, headings, and bulleted lists—allows you to structure rich, readable notes and procedural documentation inside your workspace.

Instruction: Open a blank page and practice combining blocks: insert an H1 heading for titles, a Callout block for important notices, a Toggle list for hidden content, and bulleted lists for descriptive text structures.

Day 5: Databases

Lecture: Notion databases transform standard pages into powerful relational tables. Each row functions as an independent page that can store deep properties like emails, company names, and pipeline statuses.

Instruction: Navigate to your Contacts subpage, type /table view, and select Table view: New database. Add properties for Name, Email, Company, and Status (Select). Populate 3–5 sample contact rows with realistic dummy data.

Days 6–10: Practice building a demo CRM page with contacts database.

Instruction: Consolidate your foundational database knowledge by building a fully interactive demo CRM page. Expand your Contacts database with additional data fields, format column layouts, and test opening individual row pages to add rich text notes inside them.

Days 11–20: Create a 3-page CRM system (Contacts → Deals → Tasks).

Instruction: Build out the full 3-page structural pipeline. Create independent databases for Contacts, Deals, and Tasks across their respective subpages, ensuring uniform data naming conventions and clean tabular layouts ready for relational linking in Phase 2.

Phase 2: Collaboration & Productivity (Days 21–40)

Day 21: Properties

Lecture: Custom properties define the metadata of your database rows. Utilizing Select, Multi-select, URL, and Phone properties turns your flat tables into robust administrative records.

Instruction: Open your Contacts database. Click + to add new properties: a Multi-select property for tags (e.g., "VIP", "Warm Lead"), a Phone property, and a URL property for company websites. Populate values for your test contacts.

Day 22: Relations

Lecture: Relations link two independent databases together—such as connecting individual Contacts to specific sales Deals—enabling relational data modeling directly inside Notion.

Instruction: Open your Deals database, add a new property, and select Relation. Choose your Contacts database, toggle on "Show on Contacts" to create a two-way sync, and link specific deals to their respective contacts.

Day 23: Rollups

Lecture: Rollups extract data from a related database to perform calculations—such as pulling the total monetary value of deals associated with a specific contact or company.

Instruction: In your Contacts database, add a new property and select Rollup. Configure it to target the Relation property connected to Deals, select the "Value" property, and choose the calculation type Sum to display total deal value per contact.

Day 24: Views

Lecture: Database views allow you to display the exact same underlying database through different visual layouts, such as Tables for data entry, Kanban Boards for pipeline stages, and Calendars for schedules.

Instruction: Click + next to your database tabs. Create a Board view grouped by status, a Calendar view mapped to a date property, and a Gallery view to visualize contacts with card covers.

Day 25: Filters

Lecture: Database filters narrow down rows dynamically based on specific criteria, letting users focus only on active deals or unassigned tasks.

Instruction: On your Deals database view, click Filter, select the status property, and set the condition to display only deals where Status is “In Progress”. Save the filter view for quick access.

Day 26: Sorting

Lecture: Sorting rules organize database rows automatically in ascending or descending order based on property values like names, dates, or deal amounts.

Instruction: On your Contacts database view, click Sort, select the Company property, and set it to sort alphabetically (A to Z) to keep client directories neatly organized.

Day 27: Templates

Lecture: Database templates pre-configure standard layouts and properties for new records, ensuring consistency when adding new contacts or deal opportunities.

Instruction: Click the dropdown arrow next to the blue New button in your database, select + New template, title it "Standard Contact," add placeholder subheadings inside the page body, and save it as the default.

Day 28: Comments

Lecture: Inline comment threads inside database row pages keep all customer feedback, negotiation notes, and internal discussions tied directly to the record.

Instruction: Open any record page inside your Deals database, type a comment in the discussion box at the top, use the @ symbol to tag a teammate, and click send.

Day 29: Sharing

Lecture: Sharing pages and databases with specific access permissions ensures team members can collaborate effectively while keeping administrative settings secure.

Instruction: Click the Share button in the top right corner of your main CRM page, enter team member email addresses, and set their permission level to Can edit or Can comment.

Day 30: Permissions

Lecture: Granular sharing permissions allow you to restrict client guests to read-only views while granting your internal sales team full editing capabilities.

Instruction: Adjust workspace sharing settings and page-level permissions to ensure external users only have access to designated client-facing views without exposing internal master databases.

Days 31–35: Build a collaborative CRM with relations and rollups.

Lecture: Combine relational architecture and collaborative features to build an interactive CRM system where team members can update linked contacts, view rollups, and leave comments.

Instruction: Review your Contacts, Deals, and Tasks databases. Ensure relations are properly synced, rollup calculations are functioning accurately, and team members can collaborate on active client records.

Days 36–40: Add templates, filters, and permissions.

Lecture: Optimize your CRM productivity by deploying standardized database templates, customized filter views, and secure permission boundaries.

Instruction: Create standardized entry templates for all three databases, save custom filtered views for each team member, and verify page sharing permission settings.

Phase 3: Advanced CRM Development (Days 41–65)

Day 41: Advanced relations

Lecture: Complex relational schemas link multiple databases together in a web of dependencies (e.g., Contacts linked to Companies, Companies linked to Deals, and Deals linked to Tasks).

Instruction: Create a fourth database for Companies. Establish multi-way relations linking Contacts to Companies, Companies to Deals, and Deals to Tasks to complete your relational CRM web.

Day 42: Advanced rollups

Lecture: Advanced rollups perform multi-layered calculations across related databases, such as aggregating total pipeline revenue per company account.

Instruction: Inside your Companies database, create advanced rollup properties that pull deal amounts through the Company-to-Deals relation, calculating sum totals and average win rates per company account.

Day 43: Dashboards

Lecture: Notion dashboards use linked database views (/linked view of database) to bring data from multiple separate tables into a single centralized command center.

Instruction: Create a new page titled "CRM Executive Dashboard". Use the /linked view of database command to embed filtered views of your Deals board, upcoming Tasks calendar, and recent Contacts table onto one screen.

Day 44: Reporting

Lecture: Summary rows inside Notion database tables calculate aggregate metrics—such as total pipeline value, average deal size, or sum of completed tasks—for fast reporting.

Instruction: Open your Deals table view, hover over the bottom of the numeric "Deal Value" column, click Calculate, and select Sum or Average to generate instant pipeline reports.

Day 45: Kanban boards

Lecture: Kanban board views organize deals or tasks into visual columns categorized by workflow stage, allowing drag-and-drop pipeline progression.

Instruction: Configure a dedicated Kanban board view for your Deals database grouped by "Pipeline Stage" (e.g., Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Closed Won), and practice dragging cards across columns.

Day 46: Calendar view

Lecture: Calendar views map out task deadlines and follow-up dates across a monthly or weekly calendar grid to ensure no client touchpoint is missed.

Instruction: Add a Calendar view to your Tasks database, map it to your deadline date property, and review how tasks distribute across the month.

Day 47: Timeline view

Lecture: Timeline views provide a Gantt-style visual scheduling interface for tracking multi-phase client projects or long-term contract executions.

Instruction: Add a Timeline view to your Deals or Projects database, configure start and end date properties, and adjust timeline bars horizontally to map out contract durations.

Day 48: Integrations

Lecture: Connecting external productivity apps like Slack, Google Calendar, or Zapier automates data flow and sends instant notifications when CRM records update.

Instruction: Go to Settings & members → Connections or use automation platforms like Zapier to link your Notion workspace with Slack for instant deal-won notification alerts.

Day 49: API basics

Lecture: The Notion API allows developers to programmatically read, write, and update database records, enabling custom web applications and advanced external integrations.

Instruction: Navigate to notion.so/my-integrations to create an internal integration token. Review Notion API documentation endpoints to understand how JSON payloads query database pages.

Day 50: Advanced templates

Lecture: Advanced database templates can pre-configure locked page layouts, default relational tags, and sub-task lists for complex deal pipelines.

Instruction: Open your Deals database templates settings, build a comprehensive deal closure template with pre-built checklist blocks, default tags, and formatted meeting notes sections.

Days 51–55: Build a CRM dashboard with reporting and Kanban boards.

Lecture: Synthesize advanced CRM design by assembling a fully operational executive dashboard featuring custom reports, Kanban boards, and multi-database views.

Instruction: Build out your central CRM dashboard page, embedding filtered Kanban deal boards, rollup summary metrics, and linked contact lists for daily operational use.

Days 56–60: Automate workflows with integrations.

Lecture: Automating data entry and notification triggers across external apps reduces manual administrative overhead and keeps teams aligned.

Instruction: Configure an automated zap or integration flow that creates a new Notion CRM contact row automatically whenever a form submission or calendar event occurs.

Day 61–65: Use timeline and advanced templates for planning.

Lecture: Practice advanced project forecasting using Timeline views and deploy standardized templates to prepare your CRM for professional client deployment.

Instruction: Map out complex client onboarding timelines using the Timeline view, test your advanced deal templates, and refine your dashboard layouts.

Phase 4: Professional Workflow & Client Delivery (Days 66–90)

Day 66: Client portals

Lecture: Creating dedicated client portal pages allows external customers to view their project status, deliverable schedules, and shared documents securely without accessing internal master databases.

Instruction: Create a new top-level page titled "Client Portal Template". Use linked database views with strict filters so clients only see records associated specifically with their company account.

Day 67: Custom branding

Lecture: White-labeling your Notion workspace with custom cover images, professional icons, and brand colors creates an immaculate, agency-grade experience for clients.

Instruction: Add custom brand covers and icons to your top-level CRM and client portal pages, and configure clean typography layouts to reflect professional branding standards.

Day 68: Advanced automations

Lecture: Multi-step automated workflows using Zapier or Make connect your Notion CRM to external email marketing tools, invoicing software, and client communication channels.

Instruction: Build a multi-step automation workflow: When a deal status changes to "Closed Won" in Notion ➔ Send a welcome email via Gmail and create a project folder in Google Drive.

Day 69: Knowledge base

Lecture: Building an internal help documentation page inside your workspace ensures team members and clients understand how to navigate and update the CRM system correctly.

Instruction: Create a subpage titled "CRM User Guide & SOPs". Document standard operating procedures, data entry rules, and walkthrough guides using callouts and toggle lists.

Day 70: Team onboarding

Lecture: Structuring a dedicated onboarding protocol accelerates user adoption, ensuring team members know how to log interactions, update deals, and manage tasks efficiently.

Instruction: Build an interactive team onboarding checklist page with training videos, sample practice exercises, and step-by-step instructions for daily CRM maintenance.

Days 71–75: Build client demo CRM with dashboards, automations, and reports.

Lecture: Consolidate your advanced Notion knowledge by assembling a production-ready client demo CRM equipped with custom dashboards, relational rollups, and automated workflows.

Instruction: Build a complete client demonstration workspace featuring linked databases (Contacts, Companies, Deals, Tasks), executive reporting metrics, custom branding, and automated status rules.

Days 76–80: Test client onboarding workflow.

Lecture: Quality assurance testing of your client onboarding and portal sharing procedures ensures guest access, permissions, and form submissions operate smoothly without friction.

Instruction: Run a live simulation of a client onboarding sequence: invite a test guest account to a client portal page, verify restricted database filter views, and test automated notification triggers.

Day 81–85: Conduct usability testing and refine automations.

Lecture: External usability audits catch navigation bottlenecks and ensure your dashboard layouts are intuitive for non-technical users.

Instruction: Have a colleague test navigation through your client portals and master dashboards. Review integration logs to resolve any failed automation triggers or broken database relations.

Day 86–89: Final polish (branding, dashboards, client portal).

Lecture: The final pre-launch polish phase ensures immaculate visual branding, clean database filters, and professional client portal presentations.

Instruction: Audit all workspace pages. Verify custom brand icons, clean up test rows from master databases, ensure dashboard rollup metrics calculate correctly, and test client sharing links.

Day 90: Final Project — Portfolio Showcase

Lecture: The ultimate culmination of your Notion CRM study plan integrates relational database architecture, automated workflows, executive dashboards, and white-label branding into a professional agency deliverable.

Instruction: Deliver your final multi-client Notion CRM system project showcase. Your completed system must feature:

• Fully structured, relationally linked databases (Contacts, Companies, Deals, Tasks).

• Automated multi-step workflows and external integrations.

• Executive dashboards with rollup reporting and Kanban views.

• White-label branding and secure client portal permissions.

Compile these assets into your professional portfolio to prove your mastery of Notion database design and CRM operations administration.