CRM Implementation Specialist

CRM Implementation & Operations Specialist — Zoho CRM Function: Operations / RevOps / CRM Location: India Experience: 2–5+ years Platform: Zoho CRM / Zoho One C2H / Freelance About Ark Abroad We are currently implementing Zoho across our sales, marketing and customer operations. We are working with an external Zoho implementation agency, but we need a strong internal CRM owner who understands our business, translates requirements into systems, challenges poor implementation decisions, and makes sure the CRM actually works for the team. This is not a data-entry or basic CRM administrator role . You will effectively become the internal owner of Zoho CRM. The Role We are hiring a CRM Implementation & Operations Specialist to own the implementation, optimisation and ongoing management of our Zoho CRM ecosystem. You will sit between: Our internal Sales team Marketing team Customer Success / Coaching team Finance / Operations Leadership Our external Zoho implementation agency Your job is to understand what each team needs, convert those requirements into clear CRM workflows, coordinate implementation with the agency, test what has been built, identify gaps, and ensure Zoho becomes the single source of truth for the business . You should be technically strong enough in Zoho that you are not dependent on the agency to tell you what is or isn't possible. What You’ll Own1. Zoho CRM Implementation Own the internal side of our Zoho implementation from end to end. You will: Map our existing business processes into Zoho Define modules, fields, pipelines, stages and relationships Design lead, opportunity and customer lifecycle structures Configure workflows, automation and assignment rules Build validation rules and data-quality controls Configure roles, permissions and access Create custom fields, views, layouts and modules Build and test Blueprint processes where appropriate Identify where Zoho CRM, Zoho Analytics, Zoho Flow and other Zoho products should be used Document the final CRM architecture You should be able to independently configure many of these systems yourself rather than sending every request to the implementation agency. 2. Agency Coordination We already have an external agency supporting the implementation. You will act as the internal technical and business owner of that relationship. This includes: Creating clear implementation requirements Translating business problems into technical specifications Reviewing the agency's proposed solutions Challenging implementations that are unnecessarily complicated or poorly designed Tracking implementation tasks and deadlines Testing completed work before approving it Identifying bugs and missing functionality Ensuring the agency understands the actual business requirement—not simply the requested feature The goal is that leadership should not need to personally manage the CRM agency. 3. Sales CRM Build a CRM that gives the sales team complete visibility across the funnel. This includes: Lead lifecycle tracking Lead source tracking Appointment setter activity Qualified meetings Meeting outcomes No-shows Follow-up pipelines Opportunities Closed won / closed lost Cash collected Payment plans Sales rep attribution Setter attribution Close rates Speed-to-lead Follow-up compliance Pipeline ageing Lead leakage Sales forecasting The CRM should make it obvious where revenue is being created—and where it is being lost. 4. Marketing Attribution Build reliable attribution so we can understand where customers actually come from. We want visibility into: Original lead source Meta campaign / ad / ad set where possible Organic Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Referral Direct traffic Other acquisition channels UTM tracking First-touch attribution Lead-to-call conversion Call-to-sale conversion Revenue by source Cash collected by source CAC by channel Campaign-level revenue performance You will work with our marketing team and technical partners to ensure attribution data reaches Zoho correctly. 5. Follow-Up & Automation One of the CRM's most important jobs is preventing opportunities from disappearing because someone forgot to follow up. You will build systems for: Automatic follow-up tasks Lead ownership Missed follow-up alerts No-show sequences Lost-lead reactivation Stale opportunity alerts Lead nurturing Task escalation Sales notifications Pipeline hygiene SLA tracking The system should tell team members who needs action, what action is required, and when it needs to happen. 6. Reporting & Dashboards Leadership should not need to manually export spreadsheets every week to understand what is happening. You will create dashboards for: Marketing Leads Qualified leads Cost per lead Cost per qualified lead Lead source Funnel conversion Revenue attribution CAC Sales Meetings booked Meetings attended Show rate Close rate Pipeline value Cash collected Revenue by salesperson Setter performance Follow-up compliance Sales cycle length Forecast Customer / Operations Customers onboarded Customer status Program stage Customer lifecycle Payments Outstanding payments Renewals / extensions where relevant Management End-to-end funnel Marketing → Sales → Customer Revenue Cash collection Conversion rates Pipeline health Team performance Key bottlenecks Where appropriate, you will use Zoho Analytics rather than forcing every reporting requirement directly into Zoho CRM. 7. Data Quality & CRM Governance A CRM is only useful if people trust its data. You will own: Duplicate management Mandatory field logic Naming conventions Data validation Stage definitions CRM hygiene User permissions Data imports Database clean-up Documentation SOPs Change management You will regularly identify inconsistencies and fix the system rather than allowing bad data to compound. 8. Internal Team Requirements Different departments will have different requirements. You will proactively work with them to understand: What information they need What information they currently don't have What work is being done manually Where handoffs break What should be automated What should be reported What should—and should not—live inside the CRM Your job is not to build every feature somebody requests . Your job is to understand the underlying problem and design the simplest reliable solution. What We’re Looking ForMust Have Strong hands-on experience with Zoho CRM Experience implementing or significantly restructuring a CRM Strong understanding of CRM architecture and data models Experience with Zoho workflows and automation Experience building dashboards and reports Experience with Zoho Analytics Understanding of sales pipelines and lead lifecycle management Understanding of marketing attribution and UTM parameters Strong analytical thinking Ability to translate business requirements into CRM specifications Ability to independently troubleshoot CRM problems Strong project management and communication skills Comfortable coordinating with external implementation agencies or developers Strong Advantage Experience with: Zoho One Zoho Flow Zoho Forms Zoho Books Zoho Campaigns Zoho Desk APIs / webhooks Make.com Zapier Meta Ads integrations Payment integrations SQL BI / analytics systems Revenue Operations Sales Operations You do not need to be a full-time software developer, but you should understand integrations and data flows well enough to work effectively with developers. What Success Looks Like Within your first few months: Zoho becomes the trusted source of truth for the company Every lead can be traced through the complete lifecycle Marketing can identify which sources generate revenue—not just leads Sales managers can instantly see pipeline health Follow-ups don't disappear because someone forgot them Sales act