- Excel wasn’t built for managing deals or relationships—and it’s costing teams time, clarity and opportunities.
- MadeMarket replaces spreadsheets with a purpose-built system that helps bankers work faster, collaborate better and close more deals.
- Migrating is fast, guided and designed for bankers—no custom builds, no disruption, just smarter execution from day one.
Still tracking deals and relationships in Excel? You’re not alone. But what used to be the default is quickly becoming a liability. As more firms adopt purpose-built platforms like MadeMarket, those still relying on spreadsheets are feeling the friction: lost time, poor visibility and missed opportunities.
Fortunately, switching from Excel to MadeMarket’s investment banking CRM is easier than you think.
Excel isn’t a CRM—and it’s holding deal teams back.
There’s no denying Excel is a powerful tool, but it’s not built for managing relationships, executing deals or enabling team collaboration. It’s static, error-prone and disconnected from the way bankers actually work.
That leads to:
- Scattered contact and deal data with no central source of truth
- Manual, duplicative tasks that drain productivity
- Version control issues that create confusion and mistakes
- Slower decisions due to buried or incomplete information
And when the pace picks up—during live processes, client reporting or buyer outreach—those gaps turn into missed deadlines, awkward errors and lost opportunities.
In short, Excel wasn’t built for investment banking—and it shows.
That’s why firms that switch to MadeMarket can save thousands of hours per year while discovering game-changing insights about their deals and relationships, altogether helping them close more deals, faster.
Why firms are making the switch—and seeing real results
The payoff for moving off spreadsheets is immediate. Firms that transition to MadeMarket aren’t just replacing Excel—they’re upgrading to a smarter, faster and more collaborative way of working.
Here’s what that looks like:
Faster workflows, with better data
MadeMarket helps teams:
- Build buyers lists 10X faster
- Update tracking logs 12X faster
- Produce client reports 15X faster
- Send targets emails and documentation 20X faster
And it’s not just about saving time—you’re replacing disjointed spreadsheets with an intelligent system that supports how bankers build lists, track activity and move deals forward. That means your team isn’t just moving faster, they’re executing with clarity and confidence, powered by high-quality data captured through MadeMarket’s intuitive data entry tools.
Make better decisions, faster
With Excel, critical insights often stay buried in outdated files or unstructured notes—if they ever make it to the spreadsheet. MadeMarket changes that.
- Auto-generated reports give real-time deal and pipeline visibility—no more last-minute data pulls.
- Dashboards designed around every stage in the lifecycle of a deal help you answer key questions in seconds, not hours.
- Relationship IQ surfaces your team’s strongest connections to a target in seconds, while MadeMarket organizes every task and interaction with your contacts so you can access the full relationship history instantly.
Wondering where you stand on a deal or who knows someone at Firm X? MadeMarket answers those questions in seconds—without a fire drill.
Learn more: How to Close More Deals Faster with MadeMarket as an Investment Banker
Want to explore what MadeMarket can do for you? Connect with a member of our team to get started with a demo!
What switching actually looks like (and why it’s easier than you think)
We know how much time and trust you've invested in building your spreadsheets—and how critical it is not to lose momentum on active deals or institutional knowledge. That’s why our migration process is designed to preserve and enhance what’s already working.
Every contact, note, and deal status is carried over with care, so your team doesn’t miss a beat. You’re not starting over—you’re leveling up, with a platform that makes your data more actionable, your relationships more visible, and your live deals easier to manage in real time.
Here’s what the process looks like:
- Import and structure your data the right way
You’ll work with a dedicated onboarding team to bring in your contacts, firms, deal history and tracking logs. We’ll help you clean, map and standardize everything to fit MadeMarket’s investment banking-ready structure—so it’s actually usable on day one. - Recreate and enhance your Excel workflows
Your existing lists and trackers don’t go away—they get an upgrade. Whether you’re managing buyer outreach, deal progress, or client reporting, we mirror those workflows inside MadeMarket using purpose-built tools like Target Lists, Activity Templates and real-time deal flow dashboards. - Train your team and go live—without breaking momentum
Training is role-specific and interactive, ensuring adoption sticks from analysts to MDs. Our team handles onboarding meetings, checklists and platform setup, so your bankers don’t need to manage the change themselves. Most firms are live in just a few weeks. - Ongoing support, built-in
After go-live, your team can tap into a full library of how-to guides, Office Hours and responsive support. Growth doesn’t stop at onboarding.
Spreadsheets got your firm where it is today. But they weren’t built to take you where you’re going next.
MadeMarket gives investment bankers the tools they need to move faster, close smarter, and compete at today’s speed. And the best part? You don’t have to overhaul your process to get there.
Want to learn more about MadeMarket and Excel? Read: Why It’s Time to Ditch Excel for an Investment Banking CRM
Still have some concerns about switching to a new system? Read: Debunking the Myths About Getting a New CRM for Your Investment Bank
And to learn more and explore what MadeMarket can do for you, connect with a member of our team to get started with a demo!
