Build a CRM in Notion with Email Integration

Notion makes a surprisingly good CRM for small teams. It's flexible, visual, and you probably already use it. The missing piece? Getting client emails into your CRM records without copy-pasting.

Here's how to build a Notion CRM with email integration using Quicktion.

Your Notion CRM Database

Start with a database designed for contacts and communication:

Create a second database for email records:

Connecting Email to Your CRM

Option 1: Gmail Add-on (Recommended for CRM)

The Gmail add-on is ideal for CRM because you want to choose which emails to save and tag them properly:

1. Install the Quicktion Gmail add-on
2. Create a destination pointing to your Emails database
3. When an important client email arrives, click the Quicktion icon
4. Select the destination and save

After saving, go to Notion and link the email record to the relevant CRM contact using the relation property.

Option 2: Email Forwarding

For high-volume client communication, set up forwarding rules:

1. Create a Gmail filter for a specific client's email domain
2. Forward to a Quicktion destination linked to your Emails database
3. All emails from that domain automatically appear in Notion

This works well for clients who use a company domain (e.g., *@clientcompany.com).

CRM Workflows

New Lead Workflow

1. Receive an inquiry email
2. Save it to Notion via the Gmail add-on
3. Create a new contact in your CRM database
4. Link the email to the contact
5. Set Stage to "Lead" and assign a priority

Follow-Up Tracking

Create a view in your CRM filtered to contacts where "Last Contact" is more than 7 days ago. This surfaces contacts who need a follow-up.

Pipeline View

Use a Notion board view grouped by Stage:

• Lead — New inquiries
• Contacted — You've responded
• Negotiation — Active discussions
• Won — Closed deals
• Lost — Didn't convert

Tips for a Better Email CRM

1. Save selectively — Don't save every email. Focus on important communications that you'll need to reference.
2. Add context — When saving via the add-on, add a quick note about next steps or key points.
3. Use the relation property — Linking emails to contacts makes it easy to see the full communication history.
4. Review weekly — Scan your pipeline view weekly to update stages and follow up on stale leads.
5. Template responses — Use Notion to draft template responses for common inquiries.

Get Started

Sign up for Quicktion and set up a destination for your CRM email database. Use the Gmail add-on for selective saving or forwarding for automatic capture — or use both together.

If you use Gmail, check out our complete Gmail-to-Notion integration guide for more setup options.