Deep Dive into Attio: Harnessing the Power of Objects and Attributes for GTM Success
Customize your CRM to fit your business: Understand Attio's data model, object types, attribute customization, and practical use cases
Introduction
As the founder of novlini®, a Growth and Product consulting agency, I've seen firsthand how critical it is for businesses to have a CRM that truly reflects their unique processes. Too often, companies are forced to adapt their workflows to fit the constraints of rigid, out-of-the-box solutions. That's why I'm excited to share an in-depth look at Attio's data model, focusing on two fundamental components: Objects and Attributes. With Attio, you can build a CRM that works for you, not the other way around.
Understanding Attio's Data Model
Before diving into the specifics of Objects and Attributes, let's take a moment to understand Attio's overall data model. A data model is essentially a way to visualize, organize, and connect data. Attio's data model is built around four key concepts:
Objects: The fundamental building blocks that define the types of data you store.
Attributes: The characteristics or properties that describe your records within those objects.
Records: Individual instances of your objects, containing specific data for each attribute.
Lists: Customizable groupings of records, allowing you to organize and analyze data based on specific criteria.
Understanding how these components work together is crucial for tailoring Attio to your specific business needs.
What are Objects in Attio?
An object in Attio serves as a framework for storing, organizing, and displaying your data. Think of it as a table in a spreadsheet, with named columns and rows containing your data. Attio offers two main types of objects: standard objects and custom objects.
Standard Objects
Attio provides a set of built-in standard objects designed to handle common CRM data:
People: Stores information about individuals you interact with.
Companies: Stores data about the organizations you work with.
Deals: Tracks potential sales and opportunities.
Workspaces: For product-led growth (PLG) companies, tracks accounts using your product.
Users: For PLG companies, tracks individual users of your product and their connections to workspaces.
Each standard object comes with a pre-defined set of system attributes, which can be customized to suit your needs.
Custom Objects
One of Attio's key differentiators is the ability to create custom objects, allowing you to model your business in a way that makes sense for you. If the standard objects don't quite capture the nuances of your business, custom objects provide the flexibility to adapt Attio to your exact requirements. For instance, a B2B marketplace might create custom objects for "Buyers," "Sellers," and "Transactions".
Deactivating Standard Objects
Admins can deactivate standard objects (except for People and Companies) to streamline their workspace. Deactivating an object hides its records, data, and views, and permanently deletes any associated lists.
What are Attributes in Attio?
Attributes define the type of information you're storing within your objects. They're like the column titles in a spreadsheet, specifying what each piece of data represents. Attio offers a wide range of attribute types to capture different kinds of data.
Object Attributes vs. List Attributes
Attributes are categorized into two main types: object attributes and list attributes.
Object attributes apply to every record of a specific object type across your workspace. They are visible in any list or all-records view for that object. Only admins can create or modify object attributes.
List attributes are specific to a single list and cannot be used outside of it. They're ideal for tracking details relevant only to a particular workflow or project. Admins or workspace members with full list access can manage list attributes.
Attribute Types
Attio supports various attribute types to accommodate different data formats:
Status: Tracks the current status of a record. Required for Kanban views.
User: Tracks workspace members who are owners or assignees.
Select and Multi-Select: Allows users to choose from predefined options.
Text: Custom text fields for storing URLs and general text.
Date and Timestamp: Tracks dates, deadlines, and follow-up schedules.
Number: Tracks quantitative values such as percentages.
Currency: Tracks monetary values with currency selection.
Checkbox: Records yes/no answers.
Rating: Adds custom ratings between 1 and 5 stars.
Record: References another record, such as a person or company.
Relationship: Shows bidirectional relationships between records.
Location: Includes fields for city, state, and country.
System and Enriched Attributes
Attio also includes system and enriched attributes to streamline data management:
System attributes are built-in attributes automatically created by Attio for each object.
Enriched attributes are automatically populated with data from external sources, such as company logos, descriptions, and social media handles.
AI Attributes
Attio's AI attributes bring powerful AI capabilities directly into your workspace. These include:
Research Agent: Researches companies and contacts to provide instant answers to questions.
Classify Record: Categorizes and tags records using AI based on your business criteria.
Summarize Record: Generates free-text summaries for any given record.
Prompt Completion: Uses a large language model (LLM) to answer specific questions using provided variables.
AI attributes can be used in reporting or to trigger workflows.
Customizing Objects and Attributes: A Step-by-Step Guide
Now that we understand the basics, let's explore how to customize objects and attributes to fit your specific needs.
Creating a Custom Object
Navigate to Workspace settings > Data > Objects and click Create custom object.
Name the entity you're tracking (e.g., "Subscriptions") and provide singular and plural nouns.
Choose an identifier that will also serve as the object's slug (e.g., "/subscriptions").
Manage record labels to configure how records are displayed in views.
Creating a New Attribute
From any table or Kanban view, select the ⋮ icon in the top right corner and choose Manage attributes. Alternatively, navigate to Workspace settings > Objects or Lists, select the object or list, then the Attributes tab.
From attribute settings, click Create attribute.
Give the attribute a name and description.
Choose an attribute type.
For custom objects, you can also make attributes Required or Unique.
Configuring Record Pages
Customize the layout of record pages to highlight key attributes and related information.
Open a record page and select the ⋮ icon in the upper-right. Then select Configure page.
Configure widgets, organize tabs, and display relevant attributes.
Practical Use Cases
To illustrate the power of Attio's customization capabilities, let's look at a few practical use cases:
PLG Startup: A product-led growth company can use the Workspaces and Users objects to track product usage data, identify product-qualified leads (PQLs), and reduce churn.
B2B Marketplace: A B2B marketplace can create custom objects for Buyers, Sellers, and Transactions to manage their unique business model.
Sales-Driven Business: A sales team can customize the Deals object to track their sales pipeline, manage customer interactions, and automate follow-up tasks.
Conclusion
Attio's flexible data model, with its powerful Objects and Attributes, empowers you to build a CRM that truly reflects your business. Whether you're a high-growth startup or an established enterprise, Attio's customization capabilities can help you streamline your processes, improve your data quality, and drive GTM success. By understanding and leveraging these fundamental building blocks, you can unlock the full potential of Attio and create a CRM that works for you, not against you.