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The sales advisor role can take various forms depending on the company and industry. While some employees stick to in-store activities, others guide prospects through remote processes and convert them into customers.

Whether you’re looking to start a career as a sales advisor or hire one, there are specific skills and steps you should know.

This article will cover what a sales advisor is and what they do. You’ll also learn three critical stages, whether you’re getting an interview or hiring for the role.

What is a sales advisor?

“Sales advisor” is a job title for employees who facilitate sales by advising customers on the most suitable product or service for their needs.

The role encompasses a range of responsibilities depending on the company and industry. Here are two top results for Indeed sales advisor job ads.

One role is a remote position for an online health marketplace, while the other involves working for a brick-and-mortar automotive store. Both share the same job title. However, the two have different day-to-day responsibilities.

Companies use various titles to represent the same role because there are many types of sales jobs, products and industries.

Here are a few of the most popular titles for salespeople and their typical definitions:

• Sales representatives. Sales reps interact with potential customers to sell products or services. Business development reps (BDR) and sales development reps (SDR) handle distinct parts of the sales cycle.

• Sales associates. Sales associates sell goods and services in physical stores.

• Sales assistant. Sales assistants often work behind the cash register in a store, handling stock and assisting customers with questions.

• Sales consultant. Sales consultants work with companies to devise sales strategies.

• B2B sales advisor. B2B sales advisors sell products or services in the business-to-business industry (e.g., a company that sells accounting software).

• B2C sales advisor. B2C sales advisors sell products or services in the business-to-consumer industry (e.g., grocery stores).

• Account manager. Account managers have a post-sales role, focusing on building relationships with customers.

However, you should take these definitions with a grain of salt. Different companies may use the terms “sales representative”, “sales assistant” or “sales advisor” to refer to the same role.

What does a sales advisor do?

The responsibilities of a sales advisor depend on the company and industry. Let’s examine the two Indeed job listings mentioned above.

The remote Medicare role involves guiding prospective customers through choosing health insurance coverage. Since it’s a remote position, the call center environment requires confidence in walking people through software virtually.

However, the automotive role involves working in a Utah dealership. Advisors here will sell physical vehicles, so face-to-face communication skills will be crucial.

Here’s another list of responsibilities for a sales advisor at a luxury fitness company.

Event and workshop hosting experience is crucial for this role, as it will help build relationships with members that lead to customer retention.

While sales advisors have various responsibilities, here are some of the typical daily tasks:

• Interacting with prospects, leads and customers in person or through various channels (phone calls, emails or social media messaging)

• Advising potential customers on the services and products that best fit their needs

• Providing top-tier customer service before, during and after sales

• Processing sales transactions

• Conducting sales demos or product presentations

• Following up to ensure customer satisfaction

• Monitoring inventory levels (e.g., restocking shelves or ordering products)

• Participating in sales training and workshops to improve skills and product knowledge

It’s important to note that not all sales advisors will do all these tasks for their companies. It depends on the scope of the role.

5 skills to succeed as a sales advisor

While customer service experience is a bonus for all sales advisor roles, it isn’t always necessary.

Prospective advisors can get soft and hard skills through training and life experiences to succeed in customer-facing roles.

Here are five skills successful sales advisors possess.

1. Interpersonal skills

Successful advisors must communicate effectively with their sales team and customers to build rapport and sell products. However, interpersonal soft skills involve more than speaking confidently.

An advisor practicing active listening (an interpersonal skill) may detect a prospect’s concern that their video calling service isn’t a good fit for financial institutions.

With this information, the advisor redirects their sales pitch to cover the security features that hide sensitive data automatically when screen sharing.

Solid communication (i.e., being able to listen and share ideas without misinterpretation) helps advisors:

• Understand someone’s needs and sell the best product

• Explain product benefits clearly and persuasively

• Handle sales objections and concerns confidently

• Guide prospects through the sales process

• Provide ongoing customer support

Communicating effectively with others is a crucial customer service skill that advisors can use to ensure everyone feels understood and satisfied.

2. Problem-solving skills

The sales process often involves multiple obstacles and objections from potential customers. Advisors must navigate these issues through creative problem-solving and adapt their approach to close deals.

For example, an advisor may struggle to move prospects along the buying cycle after a demo. They can create a problem tree to diagnose potential reasons why.

Visualizing root causes and replacing them with solutions helps the advisor figure out how to fix the problem. For example, organize sales team training to better answer prospects’ questions.

Other problem-solving strategies include:

• Creating a list of possible solutions and using trial and error to test them (e.g., lowering prices)

• Using the “5 Whys” (i.e., asking “Why” continually until you get to the root cause)

• Implementing SWOT analysis (identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for each possible solution)

Each method can help the advisor solve complex problems without firsthand experience or expert help.

3. Time management skills

Successful advisors must manage time effectively to nurture leads and follow up to boost sales. These time-saving skills help advisors understand which high-value activities they should prioritize to maximize productivity.

A company’s sales advisor can have diverse responsibilities, including administrative tasks, lead generation, relationship building and after-sales service.

Without a strategic plan, an advisor could spend hours on admin and leave limited time for meaningful activities. However, someone with excellent time management skills will ensure they focus on the tasks that help them close sales.

Sales advisors can implement time blocking to break down their workdays into shorter, more manageable segments. For example, they might split eight hours into one-hour or half-hour blocks and assign activities like “Send follow-up emails” or “Prospect on social media” to each.

Effective schedule management gives advisors enough time to provide excellent customer service and consistently hit sales targets. It also helps ensure salespeople don’t burn out or get overwhelmed.

4. Proficiency with CRM or POS software

Sales advisors for online products must know how to use customer relationship management (CRM) software to manage contacts, relationships and deals. However, retail advisors will more likely have to work with a point of sale (POS) system.

An advisor gets a job with a graphic design software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, for example, and part of the role includes upselling the Premium plan to current customers.

The advisor needs accurate information to determine which customers are on the Basic plan and whether they will upgrade.

The SaaS company uses Pipedrive to separate sales pipelines, putting all won deals in a “Customers” pipeline. Within that pipeline, custom fields show which features the customer signed up for.

The advisor can use the software to prioritize communication and manage time effectively by reviewing previous outreach. For example, someone who declined an upgrade in the past likely isn’t worth pursuing again.

5. In-depth product knowledge

Sales advisors must know the product they’re selling to pinpoint prospects that fit ideal customer profiles (ICPs) and buyer personas. While ICPs allow you to group your target audience into segments, buyer personas help you communicate better with individuals in those groups.

New sales advisors will undergo company onboarding and training to learn about the product or service they’re selling. While the hiring process is detailed, the advisor should engage in additional self-learning to fill in knowledge gaps or learn about new products.

Head to the company’s site and read blog articles or customer stories from different industries.

For example, a salesperson who wants to stay current with how our product helps people can read our recent case studies to learn how customers in the construction, transportation and media industries use our CRM system.

Keeping up with product knowledge helps advisors learn how different customer groups use their products and why they buy. That way, they can sell better to similar prospects and handle objections more confidently.

How to get an interview as a sales advisor

If you’re confident you have the skills to be a sales advisor, you may wonder what experience you need. A positive attitude and willingness to learn are crucial, but some industries require formal education or sales certifications.

Here are three steps for getting your first interview as a sales advisor.

Get the relevant education or related job experience

While some sales advisor roles don’t require a certain level of education, some in more technical fields like healthcare or engineering do.

You’ll likely know the industry in which you want to work. If not, visit job posting sites and review the requirements.

For example, prospective hires need the following to work as an advisor for electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian:

• A minimum of six years of sales, retail, customer service or hospitality experience at a premium brand

• Proven experience in a sales cycle-focused, commission-based environment

• CRM experience

• Working knowledge of Microsoft software

Advisors need one year of experience and a bachelor’s degree to work for the commercial property marketplace LoopNet.

Research your chosen niche and consider applying for the necessary courses or certifications. Otherwise, you may need to start with entry-level positions at other companies where you can build experience.

Study your chosen niche in depth

Prospective advisors need in-depth industry knowledge before applying for roles so they can answer interview questions effectively.

For example, an interviewer may ask how you’d handle the recent legislation that impacts cold email. If you haven’t followed industry news, you could lose out to someone who has.

Research your niche to learn about and stay updated on the industry. You can use methods like:

Even if you’ve completed formal education, this step is essential to know what’s new in your market and keep up with its evolution.

Apply for sales advisor positions

With deep industry understanding, relevant education and years of experience under your belt, you’re ready to apply for roles. Search job posting sites and local job boards, or contact a recruiter to find and apply for sales advisor positions within your chosen niche.

Let’s say you want a position in the financial services industry. You may search “financial sales advisor” and find these roles on Glassdoor.

Register those that sound interesting and gather a list to compare salary, expectations and location before progressing.

Remember, the sales advisor role falls under a variety of job titles. A sales representative role with an enticing job description could also be a good fit.

How to hire a sales advisor

If you’re looking to hire a new advisor, narrowing down the experience, education and qualities you want candidates to have is essential.

Wherever you post your ad, remember to make it detailed and consistent, so all prospective hires have the information they need before applying.

Here are three tips for hiring the best-fit sales advisor for your team.

Figure out the type of sales advisor you need

Since the role specifications depend on the company, hiring managers must know the tasks they want to assign before advertising.

Let’s say you have both a brick-and-mortar and e-commerce store where you sell headphones. In that case, you must pinpoint where potential customers most need help.

Perhaps your in-store experience is already seamless, with assistants able to answer product questions and handle transactions. However, your customer surveys suggest some online users need help understanding the differences between models.

In that case, you may need remote sales advisors specializing in electronics who you can train to become product experts.

Advisors could hold video chats with potential customers to determine why they want to buy headphones (e.g., workouts or commuting) and which product fits their needs.

By adding additional qualifiers in the job title (e.g., remote technical sales advisor), you can narrow down your search to the most suitable prospective hires.

Create a sales advisor job description template

Your job description must be accurate and consistent across all sites.

You can use the information in this post and company-specific details to create a template with the correct requirements listed. As a baseline, you should include qualifications, responsibilities and benefits.

However, you can also include a company overview and job description to offer more details.

Let’s say you sell accounting software called Balance Buddy. Your sales advisor job template may look like this:

If you don’t need prospective hires to meet every requirement, state that early so you have a varied pool of applicants.

Ask the right interview questions to find the ideal candidate

Once you have a list of potential candidates, you must narrow down your selection with the right interview questions.

These queries allow you to examine each person’s resume in detail to determine whether they’d be a good fit for your company and the role.

Here are a few interview questions the hiring manager of Balance Buddy might ask:

• “Tell me about a time you aced a sales pitch. How did you find potential clients and convince them to seal the deal?”

• “How do you keep up with trends in the accounting industry?”

• “What problems do startups usually face when implementing new accounting software? How do you handle those objections?”

• “Have you ever faced a tough question from a client during a sales demo? How did you turn it around to close the deal?”

• “I see you’ve been through financial advisor sales training. What’s one of the most interesting things you learned?”

Notice each question is open-ended and doesn’t allow a “yes” or “no” answer. Structuring interviews in this way encourages candidates to discuss detailed experiences and offer specific examples that help you assess them quickly.

Final thoughts

While each sales advisor’s responsibilities and qualifications vary, all should possess specific sales skills, such as communication, problem-solving and time management.

When hiring for the role, consider that those with CRM or POS experience and in-depth product knowledge will take less time to train.

If you want to become proficient in a widely used CRM or upgrade your organization’s contact management, sign up for Pipedrive’s free trial today.

Each year, we survey salespeople, marketers, business owners and their colleagues to understand what matters to them.

In the fifth edition of Pipedrive’s The state of sales and marketing report, we discovered what sales professionals really think about AI, how vital maintaining a work-life balance is and what benefits people are getting from remote working.

Salespeople are hitting their quotas

The headline statistic from this year’s report is that 71% of respondents said that they hit their sales quota either usually or always, up from 52% last year.

In fact, only 3% said that they rarely or never hit their sales quota, compared to 14% last year.

There was also a slight uplift in the number of people hitting their annual personal sales targets, up from 60% in 2022 to 61%. Sales professionals at larger companies are hitting these targets more regularly than those at smaller businesses: 67% of individuals from companies with more than 100 employees reached their goals.

How technology is affecting sales and marketing

There is a clear association between companies effectively using technology and achieving success.

82% of respondents who are “very satisfied” with the tools available to them are likely to hit their sales quotas. By comparison, 62% of unsatisfied respondents are hitting quotas.

Sales and marketing professionals are using automation tools to be more productive and efficient, with 81% already using customer relationship management (CRM) software with automation.

In total, 87% of respondents use a CRM tool, meaning that only around 7% of them aren’t taking advantage of the CRM automation features available.

AI is already having a big impact

A third of sales and marketing professionals are already using AI in their work days.

AI isn’t the only new trend professionals are using to succeed: 83% of respondents have implemented at least one new approach or technology in their sales process in the last couple of years.

These approaches and technology include:

• Hybrid sales (remote and in-person selling): 41% of respondents

• Value-based selling: 41% of respondents

• Social selling: 36% of respondents

• Remote selling: 35% of respondents

• Smarketing: 29% of respondents

• Influencer and affiliate relationships: 20% of respondents

• Multi- and omnichannel: 14% of respondents

• IoT (Internet of Things): 5% of respondents

• AR/VR (Augmented reality/Virtual reality): 2% of respondents

• Blockchain: 1% of respondents

Overall, respondents are very positive about the impact AI is likely to have on their work.

Employees benefit from support and a work-life balance

Technology isn’t the only factor in employee work satisfaction and success. For example, respondents who are able to maintain a good work-life balance are more likely to hit their sales target.

Thankfully, almost two-thirds of respondents (64%), rate their work-life balance good or even very good.

However, only 31% of respondents said that they don’t work additional hours, while 16% work over 10 additional hours a week.

The amount of support you receive from your colleagues and managers can also have an impact on your success. However, less than half (45%) said that their colleagues and only a third (33%) said that their managers were among those who supported them the most in their professional lives in 2023.

The results of our survey show that providing this support has a direct impact on success.

Those who feel supported by managers and colleagues find it easier to meet their annual goals and sales quotas, while their overall satisfaction with their employer is higher.

Final thoughts

Thanks to the extra time and data provided by the right tools, sales and marketing professionals are able to make the right decisions to move deals forward.

For more key statistics and analysis of the last year for sales and marketing professionals, and the businesses they work for, download The state of sales and marketing 2023/24 report now.

Sales leaders at startups and growing companies know that proper data management is essential for a business to run smoothly and efficiently.

CRM systems are useful to any sales operation looking to handle data effectively. Many CRM tools are available on the market, offering different solutions, each varying in what they do best.

So, how do you choose the right one for your specific needs?

In this article, we explore some top CRM examples to help you understand what your company can achieve with the software. You’ll also learn about seven key CRM features that simplify your daily workflows so you can focus on growth.

What can a CRM platform do for your business?

CRMs streamline your customer and prospect data for improved decision-making. With easier access to the right information, your team can clearly see what steps to take next – providing a better experience during the pre-sale and post-sale stages of the customer lifecycle.

More specifically, automated workflows in your CRM can enhance efficiency, productivity and sales success.

Pipedrive’s State of Sales and Marketing 2021–22 report found that businesses with automated sales and marketing tasks are more likely to hit their sales targets and revenue goals.

Companies using CRM technology witnessed 15% more revenue growth than those lacking CRM software.

Compared to last year my company

Companies that use a CRM software to track sales.

Companies that do not use a CRM to track sales.

Also, Pipedrive’s State of Sales and Marketing 2022–23 surveyed employees of companies that invested in technology. They were less concerned about their individual workloads and more optimistic about the company’s future.

Beyond boosting sales, revenue and employee satisfaction, there are other ways CRM software can support your company – particularly your relationships with customers. Key aspects include:

• Enhanced customer satisfaction by centralizing communication across channels, including email, Zoom, LinkedIn and other social media networks

Having covered the all-encompassing advantages of CRM technology, let’s explore some common CRM features and how they help you reap those benefits.

7 examples of CRM tool features, functionality and use cases

CRM tools offer different features and functionality, so picking the right one will depend on your team’s goals, needs and budget.

Below, we outline the seven top features of most CRM platforms, providing CRM software examples and use cases to help you determine your company’s priorities.

1. Centralizing lead and customer data

An integrated CRM gathers all your customer and prospect data so you can efficiently process and communicate information with your team members.

Pipedrive data shows that salespeople can be more efficient and effective when all information is accessible in one convenient location. 2021–22 survey respondents from workplaces with automated systems for maintaining sales data and customer notes were 11% more likely to hit their sales quota.

Take Pipedrive’s contact detail view. Any sales rep can make notes, upload files, create new activities or reach out to prospects with support from email and phone call integrations.

Team members have full visibility of every contact’s communication history to prepare for the next follow-up call.

How one company benefited from centralizing its data

In the early days, Ari Motors, an electric vehicle manufacturer, used simple spreadsheets and tables. Managing its customer data with manual tools became increasingly difficult as demand for electric vehicles within B2B increased.

By switching to Pipedrive, all customer information, current buying processes and buying history are now accessible in one central location.

Pipedrive serves as an information hub available to all team members at all times, equipping them with the most up-to-date data on new leads and their positions along the customer journey.

Thomas Kuwatsch, CFO at Ari Motors, says:

Read the Ari Motors case study to learn how Pipedrive helped company sales increase tenfold.

2. Managing sales pipelines

A sales pipeline is a visual tracking system that shows the progression of potential customers through the various phases of your sales cycle.

Sales-focused CRM software tools offer pipeline features to help salespeople know how close they are to closing the deal.

For example, Pipedrive’s pipeline view lets users visualize where each deal is at and what needs to happen next.

With this high-level view, salespeople can quickly see everyone’s deals and track the company’s overall progress.

Here’s how one company benefited from sales pipeline technology

AppAgent, a mobile marketing agency, struggled to manage its active deals and pipeline before implementing a sales CRM into its business processes.

Pipedrive’s intuitive sales pipeline allows the AppAgent team to see each deal’s position within the sales funnel. By integrating contact and deal information, there are no silos or conflicting information.

Read the AppAgent case study to see how it doubled its team and improved revenue after introducing Pipedrive.

3. Marketing automation

Marketing automation means using software to build systematic workflows that reduce manual and repetitive tasks across your marketing campaigns.

By using segmentation and marketing automation tools in a CRM, companies can provide personalized outreach based on the prospect’s stage in the sales process.

Campaigns by Pipedrive, an email marketing automation add-on, supports your marketing efforts by automatically transferring data between all aspects of CRM software.

The easy drag-and-drop editor lets you build email campaigns from templates or design them from scratch. You can also set up workflows that spark actions in response to triggered events.

When a potential customer downloads a resource from your SaaS website, you can send a targeted email with additional relevant information or a sales demo invitation.

When all of this happens from within your CRM, there’s no need for data to travel between platforms.

Here’s how one company benefited from integrated sales and marketing automation

Latvian corporate education company Trainify found that using email marketing functions in the Pipedrive CRM aligned its sales and marketing teams.

Viktors Pedčenko, CEO at Trainify, says:

Read the Trainify case study to learn how Campaigns saves the company two hours per week.

4. Automation

More than just marketing functions, sales CRMs offer automation capabilities, such as workflow automation, that reduce the manual work required to move prospects through your sales funnel.

When not trapped under the weight of repetitive work, your team can focus on higher-impact sales activities.

For example, sales automation with Pipedrive’s Automations feature pushes deals forward by auto-generating a new deal after a rep enters a qualified lead. It can also schedule new activities like following up and sending demos as deals move further down the pipeline.

You can transfer deal ownership to different reps at specific stages and set up workflows to minimize user error.

Here’s how one company benefits from Automations

Key Search, a boutique executive search firm, needed an alternative to its outdated, unintiuitive applicant tracking system.

After implementing over 100 Pipedrive automations, the company’s workflow is faster.

Franziska Palumbo-Seidel, Key Search founder and CEO, says:

Discover how the firm achieved a 40% faster workflow in this Key Search case study.

5. Reporting and sales forecasting

Data in your CRM can clarify aspects of your sales process, identify future opportunities and predict what’s ahead.

Sales dashboards and sales reporting functionality help you uncover trends and gain insights, enabling you to make more informed decisions about growing your business and increasing profits.

With access to real-time reports, you’ll see which sales tactics drive the most sales. Your team can then focus on the activities that work and spend less time on those that don’t.

Pipedrive’s Forecasting software lets company leaders track sales performance to predict future revenue. Managers who monitor sales performance can more easily pinpoint how and where to step in to support team members who may need help catching up.

Here’s how one company benefits from sales reporting tools

Before Pipedrive, the Kovai.co sales team used Microsoft Dynamics to manage leads. The tool was complex, lacking essential features like sales pipelines and forecasting capabilities.

When the team implemented Pipedrive, sales management found the sales insights they were looking for. Sales reps are now able to engage leads quickly and more effectively.

Saravana Kumar, CEO at Kovai.co, says:

See the Kovai.co case study for details of how the software company grew its Document360 sales team by 50%.

6. Project management

Sales-focused CRMs streamline project management around sales activities that help managers divide work evenly amongst their sales teams to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Pipedrive’s automatic assignment feature allows you to set rules to qualify and assign deals to a particular team or rep.

For example, a location-based rule could ensure reps get matched with prospects in the same time zone. If you want a specific team to handle higher-value deals, your rule could route deals above a certain threshold to those team members.

Pipedrive’s Projects software also supports project management for teams outside sales.

Here’s how one company benefited from streamlining project management

Mobility service provider and charge point operator Blulinc was among the first businesses to adopt Pipedrive’s dedicated project management solution into their workflow.

Pipedrive’s Projects add-on has since helped Blulinc deliver timely solutions to clients and even forecast issues to further increase efficiency.

Cihan Kranda, founder of Blulinc, shares his experience:

Read the Blulinc case study to learn how the project management team reclaimed 30% of their time.

7. Mobile CRM

CRMs with mobile capabilities deliver desktop CRM features to smartphones and other web-enabled devices, like tablets.

Mobile CRM functionality can be particularly useful for companies with field agents, often away from their desks meeting prospects in person.

Pipedrive’s mobile CRM helps you track calls, make quick notes, prep for meetings and stay focused.

Pipedrive’s mobile CRM reflects all web app customizations across iOS and Android devices, giving sales teams a seamless experience.

Here’s how one company benefits from mobile CRM functionality

While on the road, the sales team at Planet42, a South African vehicle financing company, uses Pipedrive’s mobile CRM app to log information into Pipedrive using their cell phones.

Samantha Speedy, Projects and Operations Coordinator at Planet42, shares:

The Planet42 case study explains how the company uses Pipedrive to manage its sales and equity pipelines.

3 CRM platforms for different needs

Whether your company is just starting or scaling up, you’ll find various CRM tools for different purposes.

To help you navigate your options, we’ve shortlisted three popular CRM examples to suit specific needs.

Best CRM for growing your business: Pipedrive

If you want to expand your sales team or increase revenue, you need a dedicated, powerful sales CRM tool like Pipedrive.

Pipedrive’s interactive dashboards make it easy to visualize your team’s KPIs and build a data-driven sales strategy.

Named the “Easiest to Use” CRM software by The Motley Fool, Pipedrive provides an intuitive user experience featuring many app integrations for added flexibility.

Pipedrive also ranked first in the SoftwareReviews’ 2023 Lead Management Data Quadrant for its top scores across ease of data integration, customization, implementation and IT administration, as well as quality of product features.

Whether you’re a startup or enterprise, Pipedrive’s affordable tiered plans make it easy to start and scale when your team needs more functionality.

Here’s what Nirmal Gyanwali, Managing Director at boutique web design agency Nirmal Web Studio, thinks:

Learn more about Pipedrive with the best CRM software deep dive.

Best free CRM: Excel

Small businesses concerned about pricing and looking for a barebones way to store contact information may find that an Excel CRM works for them.

You won’t have access to sales pipelines, dashboards or project management tools. So if you don’t need that functionality immediately, Excel can be a straightforward way to organize your contacts.

When you’re ready to scale, you can easily import data from your Excel spreadsheet into a dedicated CRM like Pipedrive.

Best CRM for single-person teams: Trello

Trello is a visual Kanban-style project management tool that can serve several basic CRM functions.

Users create boards filled with task cards and then move them to different lists to monitor their progress.

Butler, Trello’s built-in automation feature, broadly assists with task management and project workflows rather than sales-specific activities. You can add templates to your Trello boards to mimic a basic sales pipeline layout.

Trello premium users can build custom dashboards without advanced reporting or analytics functions to visualize project workflows.

As Trello lacks typical CRM contact management features, you can add contact information to individual cards instead.

To learn how Trello stacks up against Pipedrive, check out this Pipedrive vs. Trello comparison.

How to choose the right CRM for your company

The right CRM solution makes your business more efficient, productive and successful. Follow these steps to research and choose the best CRM for your team’s needs.

Finally, if your goal is to boost sales or revenue, choose a sales CRM with features like pipeline management and sales activity automation – the quickest way to set your sales team up for more success.

CRM examples FAQs

Final thoughts

The benefits of CRMs are far-reaching for companies and businesses of all sizes.

While disparate data collection and lead management slow down your sales process, integrated software makes it easier to close new business, build customer loyalty and scale operations.

Pipedrive is a simple but powerful CRM solution for streamlining prospect data and increasing sales success.

With plenty of products vying for your attention, finding the right customer relationship management (CRM) software for your sales team can be challenging. Pipedrive and Keap (previously known as Infusionsoft) are popular CRMs designed to help businesses track sales and grow revenue.

Both solutions have the features you’d expect in a CRM system but they also possess unique functions and strengths that make them ideal for different users.

This Pipedrive vs. Infusionsoft (Keap) comparison guide will look at the most popular features of both solutions so you can choose the right CRM for your business.

What is Pipedrive?

Pipedrive is a CRM solution designed to help you track the sales pipeline, manage leads and automate your sales process. The software is suitable for companies of all sizes, with plans available for small businesses, enterprise clients and everything in between.

Pipedrive’s key features include:

You can also expand Pipedrive’s functionality with add-ons and third-party integrations (more on this later).

What is Infusionsoft (Keap)?

Keap is a sales and marketing automation platform designed for small businesses and startups. In 2019, Infusionsoft rebranded as Keap.

The company launched two new versions, Keap Pro and Keap Max, to make the software more user-friendly. The original Infusionsoft software was renamed Keap Ultimate.

Keap’s core features include:

Pipedrive vs. Infusionsoft (Keap): at a glance

There are a lot of elements to consider when choosing between Pipedrive and Keap. Here’s how the two solutions measure up.

Pipedrive vs. Infusionsoft (Keap): key features

Every CRM includes a core set of features that manage customer relations. Here’s how Pipedrive and Keap stack up in these critical areas.

Contact management

Sales teams need to access lead information to do their job effectively. A CRM provides your reps with a centralized database to store and review important customer data.

Pipedrive’s contact management gives you a comprehensive view of leads and customers, with all the information you need to nurture business relationships in one place.

Along with the standard details and contact information, you can also see past activity, planned activity and connected deals.

You can link individuals to organizations to better understand business structure while using the search function to find other details. A changelog tracks profile updates and ensures you always work with the latest information.

Pipedrive enables you to capture unique details with custom fields and contact labels so you can tailor each contact page to fit specific business needs. You can then use these details to create segmented lists for targeted campaigns.

Keap also comes with contact management features to store client data and activity. You can see whether a contact is a lead or client, view their contact info and review all recent activity. Keap uses tags instead of custom labels, allowing you to categorize and organize records.

Keap’s Pro plan includes 1,500 contacts, increasing the price for additional contacts. Pipedrive offers unlimited contacts on all plans.

Sales pipeline management

The best CRMs offer more than a way to manage your contacts. They help your sales team visualize and manage potential customers as they move through the sales process.

Pipeline management enables you to track deal progress, forecast future sales and identify potential bottlenecks.

Pipedrive’s primary view is the pipeline, which gives your reps a complete view of every deal’s status and the next steps needed. The pipeline view helps you stay organized and focused on your most important deals, even when navigating a complex sales process.

You can assign tasks to each pipeline stage, creating a blueprint for your sales reps to follow. Move deals forward or trigger actions that occur at a certain stage. Combine that functionality with Pipedrive’s automation features (more on those later).

Pipedrive’s sales pipeline analysis lets you review the most important metrics like:

• Number of deals in your pipeline

• Average size and value of the deals in your pipeline

• Average percentage of deals won

• Sales velocity

Analyzing pipeline performance helps you identify gaps or obstacles and improve the conversion rate across different stages.

Keap also offers tools for sales pipeline management. You get a visual overview of the pipeline that allows you to change deal stages using a drag-and-drop menu. You can also create custom pipelines and trigger automated tasks.

Mobile access

Accessing your sales CRM from a mobile device is essential to retrieve and update customer information on the go.

Pipedrive’s app delivers a full mobile CRM, giving you access to all the information you need while taking advantage of mobile functionality.

For example, you can see if an incoming call relates to a deal or link outgoing calls to contacts and activities. Take photos with your phone and add them directly to deals or contacts or use the “Nearby” feature to see which customers are in your vicinity.

If you’re about to walk into a customer meeting, you can review their information (including contact history and deal timelines) to ensure you make a good impression.

With Pipedrive’s mobile app, you have an entire CRM system with you at all times. Even when you’re offline, you can schedule activities and access the sales information you need.

Keap also has a mobile app that lets you add customer information, tasks and notes on the go. You can send appointment links and invoices to customers or receive reminders and alerts for upcoming events.

Both Pipedrive and Keap apps are available for iOS and Android devices.

Customization

The best CRMs don’t force you into a set way of selling but flex to fit your specific processes and workflows.

Pipedrive is a highly customizable CRM that lets you manage the sales process your way. You get default sales pipeline stages initially but you can adjust them to match your business.

Add custom fields to deals, contacts or products and capture the information you need to ensure a seamless sales process.

Pipedrive’s custom reports and real-time sales dashboards enable you to focus on the sales metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter most to you.

Pipedrive is ideal for global sales teams. It’s available in 22 languages and supports multiple custom currencies.

Keap also offers customization features. You can create sales pipelines with custom fields or personalize dashboards to see relevant information.

Onboarding and importing

Effective onboarding ensures your team can adapt to and adopt a new CRM system quickly. Seamless importing capabilities allow for a smooth transfer of essential customer data.

Pipedrive makes it easy to import your existing data in any format. The system checks for duplicates and incomplete entries automatically, so you can get your CRM journey off to the best possible start.

Pipedrive uses a combined import flow, so you only need one session to move all your data. Its third-party partner, Import2, also helps you transfer existing data from another CRM.

If you need help getting started, Pipedrive offers a range of services depending on your plan and monthly payment. From one-time onboarding to long-term strategic planning, you get the help you need.

Keap also provides data import services for certain apps, spreadsheets and CSV files.

As part of the mandatory paid implementation, new customers receive up to 15 hours of free migration services, along with one-on-one coaching, an automation assessment and a sales and marketing playbook.

Pipedrive vs. Infusionsoft (Keap): productivity and automation

Today’s sales teams often have many responsibilities. According to our State of Sales and Marketing report, only 54% of respondents spend most of their workday selling. However, respondents who adopted technology and automated their sales and marketing tasks were 16% more likely to hit their sales targets.

Automations within a CRM system enhance productivity by eliminating repetitive tasks, freeing up your team to focus on more strategic activities.

Pipedrive users on the Advanced tier can automate many of the steps in the sales process, like sending personalized follow-up emails or moving deals to the next stage in the pipeline.

By automating lead allocation, you can ensure every deal gets the attention it needs while freeing up time to focus on high-priority sales tasks.

Pipedrive’s automated AI Sales Assistant (available on Professional plans and above) offers performance tips, recommends features and reminds sales reps of any opportunities that need more attention.

Keap also positions itself as a sales and marketing automation platform. Automations streamline activities like lead capture and appointment reminders, while the builder enables you to create nurture sequences.

Keap’s AI content assistant can also generate landing pages, sales emails and text messages.

Pipedrive vs. Infusionsoft (Keap): integrations and add-ons

Integrations and add-ons extend the functionality of the core CRM system. By connecting your CRM software to other business tools, data can flow seamlessly across systems and teams can access it as needed.

Pipedrive has a marketplace of over 400 apps, with more added all the time. It categorizes these tools based on revenue cycle stages, including:

• Attracting new leads

• Nurturing leads

• Managing contracts

• Invoicing payments

For example, the Google Meet integration lets you schedule, manage and launch calls directly from Pipedrive. You can jump on a call with prospects and see relevant context without having to switch between apps.

Meanwhile, email sync with popular providers like Gmail and Outlook means you can access the latest conversations directly from your CRM.

As part of Pipedrive’s AI CRM features, AI Smart App can recommend integrations to enhance efficiency and ensure you use the best tools for the job. The intelligent search function employs natural language processing to find apps that best meet your needs.

Pipedrive also offers native add-ons for extra functionality, allowing you to pick the features you want without paying for ones you don’t need. Current add-ons include:

Keap primarily offers integrations through Zapier. It also supports landing page builders, membership portals and appointment scheduling.

Rather than offering separate add-ons, Keap positions itself as an all-in-one sales platform with built-in tools for email marketing, newsletters, invoicing and subscription management.

Pipedrive vs. Infusionsoft (Keap): reporting and dashboards

Data-driven decision-making is at the heart of modern business strategies. A CRM with robust reporting and dashboards can turn data into actionable insights that grow your business.

Pipedrive’s insights and reports feature helps sales reps use dashboards to recognize winning patterns. Customizable sales reports let you track default criteria like new deals and recurring revenue alongside metrics specific to your business.

With easy-to-understand visuals, get a quick overview of your sales performance, forecast projected revenue and make smarter decisions. You can dive deeper into different metrics and individual performance to identify potential issues and sales training opportunities.

Keap offers a variety of pre-built marketing, sales and automation reports. For example, you can review your conversion rate by audience segment, sales stage and email clicks. Track sales by day, week or month and compare them to previous periods to measure performance.

Keap Max and Ultimate open up more advanced reporting features like return on investment (ROI) tracking and the ability to search across reports. You can also use the Graphly integration to add data visualization to your reports (available from $30/month).

Pipedrive vs. Infusionsoft (Keap): customer support

Considering how critical a CRM is to your daily business, reliable support is essential. Quality customer support helps resolve issues quickly, minimizing disruption and ensuring you get the best results.

Pipedrive comes with a thorough knowledge base, including feature guides, advice on getting started and guidance on troubleshooting issues.

There’s an active online community where you can get advice and ideas from other users. Pipedrive Learn also offers useful courses, video tutorials and webinars.

Pipedrive’s support team can answer questions via live chat, email and phone, with over 130 support staff based around the world. Help is available in multiple languages, with English and Portuguese support available 24/7 or French, German and Spanish support available during business hours.

As a result, verified reviewers on Software Advice awarded Pipedrive the 2023 Best Customer Support recognition.

Keap offers US-based phone support and 24/7 chat support through the app. Users also have access to a customer success manager to get the most out of the platform.

Pipedrive vs. Infusionsoft (Keap): pricing

Pipedrive’s pricing plans are based primarily on the number of users, while Keap is based on both number of users and contacts.

Pipedrive pricing:

Pipedrive’s add-ons:

Infusionsoft (Keap) pricing:

Keap costs shown above do not include the one-time fee for the required implementation service.

Final thoughts

Pipedrive and Keap both offer comprehensive CRM functionality to track, manage and grow customer relationships. The best choice for you will depend on your business goals, existing tech and budget.

Keap is an all-in-one solution out of the box but you’ll need the resources to handle the learning curve and be willing to pay the additional costs.

If you want an intuitive CRM built for sales with the ability to add-on features as you need them, Pipedrive can help you grow your business at an affordable price.

From prospecting tools to data analysis solutions, there’s no shortage of sales planning software designed to make your company’s sales strategies more effective.

The sheer number of tools available can make it hard to know which one best meets your needs. So, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to sales planning software to help you.

In this article, we’ll explain what sales planning software is and how it can benefit your business. We’ll also outline key tool features to look for and share a list of seven top options worth investing in.

What is sales planning software?

Sales planning software includes tools for planning, implementing and managing your company’s sales processes.

Sales planning software may consist of an all-in-one solution with multiple sales planning features. For example, you’ll find customer relationship management (CRM) platforms with sales forecasting, budgeting, goal setting, resource allocation and performance tracking functions.

Then, there are single-purpose tools that specialize in a specific activity or outcome. For instance, a scheduling tool lets your sales prospects set up meetings directly. A data analysis platform can uncover valuable insights from your sales data.

Finding the right tool, or combination of tools, can help your sales team organize operations and optimize strategies effectively. Let’s look at some benefits of using sales planning software that is relevant to you.

6 benefits of sales planning software

Businesses have moved on from planning their sales strategies, operations and supply chains using spreadsheets. Today’s more dynamic solutions offer a better way to manage your activities and get more out of your data.

Here’s how sales planning software can enhance your team’s sales processes:

1. Align your sales strategies with your business goals

Sales planning software lets you align your day-to-day sales strategies with your company’s long-term objectives. The right tools can consolidate marketing, operations and customer support data to give you a full picture that informs your strategic planning.

You can also ensure your entire sales team works toward the same goals by setting KPIs or targets within your sales planning software. Aligning these metrics with your overall business objectives will help you turn your strategic goals into actionable sales plans.

2. Create effective, data-driven sales strategies

Analytics tools within your sales planning solutions can help you identify sales trends and track your team’s performance. These insights enable you to make more informed strategic decisions. For instance, you might apply specific targeting tactics for different customer segments, optimize your pricing models or allocate resources to team members who need it most.

Say you want to break into new markets. You use a sales planning tool to observe current sales trends and customer preferences. The data helps you craft relevant sales strategies to convert prospects more effectively in those markets.

3. Predict future sales more accurately

Take advantage of your sales planning tool’s advanced data analysis capabilities to collect historical sales data, identify trends and create reliable sales forecasts.

For instance, analyze things like seasonal fluctuations, the success of previous marketing campaigns and changes in customer behavior to make predictions about future sales. More accurate predictions mean better supply planning, budget preparation and targeted sales activities.

4. Get more out of your other sales tools

Many sales planning solutions integrate with other systems – like your CRM or email platform. Combining tools helps break down data silos and improves communication between departments.

For example, incorporating sales and marketing tools into your sales planning software gives you more data on customer behavior and marketing engagement, allowing you to create more detailed customer profiles.

With better buyer profiles, the marketing team can craft more effective campaigns while the sales team can tailor their interactions with prospects.

5. Manage territories and quotas more effectively

Using sales planning tools to analyze geographical sales data and demographics can streamline your sales territory allocation and quota planning. This way, you’ll maximize your market coverage and avoid doubling up on sales efforts.

Balancing workloads through quota and sales territory management will render your reps more efficient and boost team productivity.

6. Get real-time sales opportunity updates

Real-time data can help you make quick sales tactic adjustments in the dynamic sales landscape.

As prospects move through the sales funnel, your sales planning software can track any changes and alert your staff. This capability ensures that your sales team can react swiftly to new sales opportunities.

What to look for in a sales planning solution

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to sales planning software. The right features for your sales team to function efficiently depend on your existing tools, budget and business goals.

With that said, here are a few foundational sales planning features you’ll need to get started.

Essential features of sales planning software

Work out which sales planning solution features are indispensable for your business and the nice-to-haves. You’ll be able to identify the right sales planning software – or a combination of suitable sales tools – that fits your budget and gives you what you need.

7 best sales planning tools

To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of seven top-rated sales planning solutions. We made our selections based on key tool features and honest customer reviews.

1. Pipedrive CRM

Pipedrive is a cloud-based sales CRM that lets you manage leads, communicate with customers and track deals and customer interactions quickly and easily.

The platform works to enhance sales actions and outcomes. You can customize Pipedrive’s intuitive dashboard to different sales processes, while automated features save you time so you can focus on closing sales.

Pipedrive offers a host of features that enhance sales planning, including:

• Visual sales pipeline. See your entire sales process at a glance and easily identify sales bottlenecks with intuitive, customizable pipeline management tools. Drag-and-drop deals along funnel stages to organize processes your way.

• Customizable reporting. Pipedrive’s robust Insights feature helps you analyze sales data and generate reports to understand key metrics like win rates, average deal size and sales cycle length.

• Sales forecasting. Anticipate future sales and revenue with Pipedrive’s sales forecasting tools, enabling more strategic planning and resource allocation.

• Activity and goal setting. Schedule sales activities like calls, sales meetings and follow-up emails directly into each deal. Set activities and goals for individual sales reps or the entire team to focus on actionable, measurable targets.

• Workflow automation. Pipedrive’s Automations feature allows you to streamline routine actions like follow-ups and admin tasks.

• Pipedrive AI. The AI CRM analyzes sales data and suggests deals with higher win probabilities, guiding reps toward the most promising opportunities and improving resource allocation.

• Lead management and prospecting. Use Pipedrive to capture, track and nurture leads until they’re ready to enter the sales pipeline. Support your lead generation efforts with the LeadBooster add-on’s conversational Chatbot, prospecting tools and Live Chat.

• Integrations. Expand your CRM’s functionality with apps from Pipedrive’s marketplace. The platform integrates with over 400 powerful tools so all your favorite sales planning tools can work together.

Pipedrive offers a stack of complementary tools, including a scheduling tool, mobile app and email integration. These make it a great all-in-one solution for enhancing and executing your sales strategies and processes.

2. Gong

Gong is a revenue intelligence and business planning platform that uses AI to analyze customer interactions across phone, email and web. Sales teams can apply that data to plan and close deals more effectively.

Gong also aligns your sales and marketing efforts by sharing real-time customer feedback for a more customer-centric approach.

The main features of the Gong platform are:

• Conversation intelligence. Gong records, transcribes and analyzes customer interactions, identifying patterns and creating AI-driven insights to help teams refine their sales pitches, techniques and strategies.

• Deal intelligence. The tool tracks deals through the pipeline and, based on interaction data, lets you identify risks and opportunities.

• 360-degree visibility. The dashboard gives sales teams full visibility into interactions across all channels for a complete view of the customer journey.

• Collaborative tools for feedback and coaching. The platform integrates with other tools to provide real-time feedback and coaching. Sales leaders can note key parts of sales calls and give direct feedback to sales reps.

3. DeepLoop

DeepLoop is a sales automation platform that uses AI to enhance sales teams’ effectiveness, letting sales reps focus on essential activities like engaging with prospects.

A standout feature is DeepLoop’s ability to analyze past customer interactions and tweak its models based on real-time results. This adaptive learning helps teams refine their sales strategies and planning and can lead to improved sales outcomes over time.

Here are some of DeepLoop’s other features:

• Automated data capture. Organize data from sales interactions and reduce the need for manual data entry. This DeepLoop feature ensures your CRM system is always up-to-date and reduces human error.

• AI-driven lead scoring. DeepLoop uses machine learning algorithms to evaluate and score leads based on the likelihood of conversion, helping sales teams prioritize their efforts.

• Intelligent workflow automation. Automate routine activities like follow-up emails and scheduling based on predefined rules for smoother sales planning.

• Real-time insights and analytics. Gain insights into sales performance, customer behaviors, and market trends as they happen in order to make data-driven decisions.

• Personalized recommendations. Get personalized recommendations on the next best actions for sales reps to take and make your sales process more efficient.

4. Anaplan

Anaplan is a sales planning tool that lets you apply adaptable strategies to optimize your sales team’s performance. The software gives you real-time visibility into your sales operations.

Features like quota planning, territory management and sales compensation planning help you streamline your sales process, get more accurate forecasts and motivate your sales team to reach their targets.

Anaplan’s main features include:

• Predictive customer segmentation. Anaplan uses your data and market signals to target customers with the highest likelihood of converting. It can match each account with the ideal sales rep for that customer, improving the chances of a sale.

• Territory planning. The Anaplan solution helps you with sales territory management based on your business needs. You can adjust plans and create territories based on geography, industry, products or customers.

• Quota planning. Design effective quotas that motivate your sales reps. Model individual sales quotas using a range of data like account size, rep history and pipeline needs.

• Sales capacity planning. Calculate your sales capacity and create effective ways to optimize win rates, conversion rates and more. The software helps you ensure there are no gaps in your strategy to increase the chances of hitting your sales targets.

5. Xactly

Xactly provides a comprehensive suite of cloud-based sales performance management (SPM) tools. The suite includes Xactly’s sales planning software to enable a more strategic and data-driven sales planning process.

Xactly’s key features include:

• Incentive compensation management. Manage and optimize your sales incentive plans to align rep activities with sales targets and company goals.

• Territory and quota planning. Xactly’s AI-led territory management tool helps you plan, design and manage sales territories and quotas across teams and regions. The goal is to maximize revenue potential and boost sales performance.

• Advanced analytics and forecasting. Get deeper insights into your sales data and performance metrics to forecast sales outcomes and set realistic targets. Break down silos between your marketing, sales and product teams to optimize planning.

• Performance monitoring. Track your sales reps’ performance and initiatives in real time against pre-set sales goals. A dynamic dashboard provides a clear picture of sales progress and areas that need adjustment.

• AI-powered recommendations. Xactly uses AI to offer strategic suggestions you can use to base your decisions on predictive analytics.

6. Workday Adaptive Planning

Workday Adaptive Planning is a tool sales teams can use to create more agile, effective plans based on real-time sales data and analytics.

Here’s what else you can do with Workday:

• Sales quota management. Use quota planning models to set fair quotas across your organization and reward high-performing salespeople.

• Sales territory management. Use geographic, industry and account data to set up balanced territories that produce better results. You can also score, segment and assign new accounts based on core metrics.

• Capacity and operations planning. The tool helps you deploy the right sales reps to the right territories. It also makes it easier to close any gaps in coverage, plan for expenses and reach your revenue targets.

• Analytics and forecasting. Analyze your sales data in various ways to uncover actionable sales forecasts. Get 360-degree visibility into your sales pipeline and see changes in real time so you can make better decisions that maximize sales efficiency.

7. Varicent Sales Planning

Varicent Sales Planning helps you design and implement effective go-to-market strategies. The tool suite lets you optimize market coverage and track performance to adapt to changing conditions in real time.

Core features of Varicent Sales Planning include:

• Unified territory and quota planning. Work with your sales team to create effective sales territories and quota allocations. You’ll align teams with corporate objectives and budgets so they can adapt to changes quickly.

• Visualized sales territories and plans. Use plan visualization and analytics to develop strong go-to-market plans. The tool suite helps you avoid gaps in your approach and create a strategy that balances company objectives with your sales reps’ abilities.

• Predictive intelligence and scoring. Use the platform’s advanced analytics to predict market shifts and uncover new opportunities. Focus your teams on the prospects with the highest likelihood to buy so you can minimize customer churn.

• Powerful security measures. Keep your data safe with industry-leading security frameworks and ongoing tool support.

Varicent Sales Planning also provides hundreds of how-to videos and courses through its helpful and detailed knowledge base.

Final thoughts

Sales planning solutions are powerful tools that business stakeholders can leverage to improve their sales strategy.

When researching your options, identify what can help you manage your customer relations, forecast future sales and analyze sales performance for missed opportunities.

Among the leading sales planning software available on the market, Pipedrive offers a highly comprehensive solution. Thanks to robust sales CRM functionality plus additional features and integrations, Pipedrive can support your team’s processes and sales targets, increase profitability and more.

In today’s customer-focused landscape, businesses must handle customer data efficiently and quickly address concerns to keep things running smoothly.

But how do you stay on top of both processes?

A coordinated CRM ticketing solution can help by merging customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities with sophisticated customer service tools. Having both functionalities in one place lets you streamline your operations – from tracking interactions to tackling complex customer issues.

You can take one of two effective approaches: opt for a combined CRM and ticketing system or integrate two dedicated solutions.

In this article, we’ll dive into what a CRM ticket system offers and what features you should look for in a solution. We’ll then explore which approach may be best for your business.

What is a CRM ticket system?

A CRM ticket system is a platform that combines a CRM with a help desk ticketing tool. It lets you manage customer information and access your customer service tickets in one place.

Merging the two tools gives support agents a comprehensive view of customer interactions, increasing efficiency. It also links ticket information to contact and lead information so salespeople are always in the loop.

Keeping customer service and sales teams on the same page helps you enhance the customer experience and streamline processes.

How does a CRM ticket system work?

When you use two separate solutions for CRM and ticketing, you have to switch between them to deal with customer requests.

Say a new support ticket pops up in your ticketing system. The support agent can read it there. They’ll then have to pull up the customer profile in the CRM to find the relevant customer information to deal with the inquiry.

Here’s where a combined CRM ticket system can speed things up.

What are the benefits of a combined CRM ticketing solution?

Merging CRM and ticketing functions helps you build and maintain strong customer relationships. Here’s how:

Having outlined the clear benefits of a combined CRM ticketing solution, we move on to our next question: what’s the best way to merge them?

Do you need a combined CRM ticket system?

If you want to simplify your tech stack and lower operational costs, a combined CRM and help desk ticketing system offers an all-in-one solution. That said, combined CRM ticketing solutions often lack the robust functionality of dedicated solutions.

If you need comprehensive customer and sales pipeline management, a dedicated CRM with an integrated ticket system may be your best bet. Key reasons to consider this option include:

Regardless of which path you take, ensure you can implement all the CRM and ticketing features you need.

What to look for in a CRM ticket system

Each company’s needs are unique to its specific processes. Where do you start when researching CRM and ticket system requirements?

Here are some core features and functions to consider in your search for an effective combined system for your business.

Key CRM features

Here are the most important elements of a CRM system.

• Contact management: Store, track and manage customer information with ease. Contact management capabilities of a CRM may include cloud-based access, customizability and automatic syncing with other tools and data sources.

• Sales pipeline management: A CRM should act as sales management software. It helps you track the stages of your sales process through the customer journey, from initial contact to sale. It also lets you optimize your sales pipelines with custom fields and forecast sales accurately.

• Lead management: Your CRM enables you to track leads and nurture them from prospect to paying customer. For example, it might offer tools for generating leads (e.g., web forms) and keeping up communication (e.g., a website chatbot or live chat tool).

• Workflow automation: A good CRM system can automate repetitive tasks like data entry and follow-up email messaging. Workflow automation saves time and reduces the risk of data entry and management errors.

• Reporting and analytics: Your CRM should generate reports and analyze your performance data and metrics. Automated reports and insights can help you improve your processes and guide strategic decision-making.

Depending on your needs, you may also want a CRM that includes a mobile CRM app, a high level of customizability, marketing automation tools and email integration.

Key ticketing system features

Below, we list the most vital features of a ticketing system.

• Ticket management: Ticketing systems primarily enable support teams to create, track, manage and resolve customer support tickets. The best ones let you categorize tickets, prioritize the most important ones and assign tickets to specific team members.

• Multi-channel support: Your ticketing software should handle tickets from various channels including email, social media, SMS and live chat.

• Knowledge base integration: Some ticketing solutions have built-in knowledge base and FAQ capabilities. These self-service features can speed up support times by helping customers resolve issues on their own.

Other important features of a ticketing system might include a user-friendly interface, security and compliance features and integration capabilities.

The top 5 CRM ticket system solutions

In this section, we list the best five CRM and ticketing system software solutions you can use to maximize your team’s efficiency.

Before we delve into our four top picks for dedicated ticketing systems, let’s consider a smart alternative that maximizes all-around functionality with minimal feature loss.

1. All-in-one CRM ticket system with Pipedrive integrations

If you want to link your sales and customer service efforts without losing important features, your best choice is a powerful CRM like Pipedrive with the right ticketing system integrations.

Pipedrive’s cloud-based sales CRM conveniently integrates with many popular tools – including top helpdesk and ticketing solutions like Zoho Desk, Freshdesk, HappyFox, Help Scout and SupportBee.

Opting for Pipedrive and its integrations gives you a sales CRM and ticketing solution that can adapt to your unique business processes. The combination lets you:

• Streamline sales management with Pipedrive. The CRM’s intuitive, visual sales pipeline gives your sales reps a clear overview of deal positions so they can prioritize tasks accordingly

• Enhance customer support through integrations. Integrating Pipedrive with helpdesk software lets you manage support tickets directly within the CRM interface. You get access to the robust customer data relevant to each request, ensuring there are no silos across sales and support data.

• Customize your platform to meet your needs. Pipedrive’s highly customizable platform lets you add custom fields, pipeline stages and specific workflows. You can also access a growing collection of over 300 tools to personalize features and functionality.

• Scale your CRM ticketing system with your company. Pipedrive and its integrations offer scalability, letting you upgrade your plan or add functionality as your business grows

Combining Pipedrive with a powerful ticket management tool can be a flexible, scalable and effective way to enhance customer interactions and streamline your business processes.

2. Help Scout

Help Scout is a customer support solution that streamlines customer interactions, with features including powerful ticketing functionality. The tool also comes with light CRM capabilities.

Help Scout enables support teams to manage customer inquiries, feedback and service requests from one centralized platform for smoother communication.

Key features

• Shared inboxes for collaborative customer support

• Automated workflows for ticket routing and assignment

• Robust reporting and analytics tools for tracking key metrics

• Conversation threads to provide context to customer inquiries

• Detailed customer profiles with a history of interactions

• Many integrations to enhance CRM functionality

Pricing

Help Scout has three plans with per-user pricing.

• Standard: $20 per user per month with two shared inboxes, one knowledge base, automated workflows and more.

• Plus: $40 per user per month with everything in Standard, plus more shared inboxes, knowledge bases and advanced features.

• Pro: $65 per user per month. Includes everything in Plus as well as added security and scalable features for large teams.

Who is Help Scout best for?

Help Scout primarily suits small and medium-sized businesses in need of improving their customer service processes. The software also integrates with Pipedrive to sync customer support data with a more powerful sales CRM.

3. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a versatile cloud-based software with robust help desk features. It can also function as a simple CRM platform.

Freshdesk caters to businesses of all sizes that want to streamline their customer support operations but don’t specifically need a sales CRM.

Key features

• Omnichannel shared inbox for team collaboration on support requests

• 360-degree customer view

• Ticket routing and assignment capabilities

• Customizable workflows to streamline customer service processes

• Automation tools for setting up predefined workflows to resolve tickets faster

• Reporting and analytics to track support metrics and team performance

Pricing

Freshdesk’s customer service platform has four plans.

• Free: provides integrated ticketing and ticket dispatch, analytics and collaboration tools

• Growth: $15 per user per month. Includes everything in the free plan plus automation, integrations and more customer support functionality

• Pro: $49 per user per month. Has all Growth features plus advanced automation, round-robin ticket routing and segmentation

• Enterprise: $79 per user per month. Comes with full Enterprise offerings as well as unlimited products, remote work capabilities and more

Who is Freshdesk best for?

Freshdesk caters to small and medium-sized companies that want to enhance their customer support, especially after-sales service. The software’s strengths lie in effective ticketing and support features more than its basic CRM functionality, so sales teams might prefer an all-out sales CRM.

4. Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is an all-in-one platform that combines tools for CRM, ticket management, project management, communication and team collaboration.

The tool replaces all your SaaS solutions with a single hub for managing tasks, customers and projects all at once.

Key features

• Comprehensive CRM components including lead management and pipeline visualization

• Automated routing for customer inquiries

• Project and task management features like shared calendars, Gantt charts and Kanban boards

• Internal and external communication tools across chat, email, social media and more

Pricing

Bitrix24 offers four plans, each at a flat monthly fee.

• Basic: $49 per month for up to five users. Carries most collaboration and project management features within a light CRM toolset.

• Standard: $99 per month for up to 50 users. Includes everything in the Basic plan together with marketing and online documentation features.

• Professional: $199 per month for up to 100 users. Has everything in the Standard plan plus added CRM, automation and HR functionality.

• Enterprise: $399 per month for up to 250 users. Includes the maximum features for CRM, project management and collaboration – with support for multiple branches.

Who is Bitrix24 best for?

Bitrix24 is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses in search of a single solution to manage diverse business processes. While the tool is adaptable to many industries, smaller organizations that require basic ticketing and CRM features may want to consider something simpler.

5. LiveAgent

LiveAgent is an omnichannel customer support platform with basic CRM capabilities. The system works to manage customer interactions more efficiently.

LiveAgent combines real-time communication tools with a traditional ticketing system in one platform.

Key features

• A universal inbox that combines email, phone calls, social media messages, knowledge base tickets and real-time live chat messages in one place

• Robust ticket management system for distribution, updates and tagging

• Automations for ticket routing, escalation and other workflow processes

• Full customer profiles that store all customer information, interactions and preferences

• Customizable knowledge base to provide self-service for customers

• Detailed reports and analytics to get insights into performance, customer loyalty and customer retention

Pricing

LiveAgent offers four pricing tiers.

• Small business: $9 per user per month. Provides three email accounts, ten departments, one knowledge base and customer service features.

• Medium business: $29 per user per month. Includes everything in the Small business plan plus additional accounts, call center support and SLA rules.

• Large business: $49 per user per month. Includes everything in the Medium business plan with increased account and rule limits.

• Enterprise: $69 per user per agent. Provides everything LiveAgent offers including enterprise-focused features, priority support and a senior account manager.

Who is LiveAgent best for?

LiveAgent meets the needs of companies looking for a feature-rich service tool that can handle high ticket volumes across multiple channels. It provides basic CRM functionality, so companies wanting more powerful CRM features may need to integrate another platform.

Final thoughts

CRM ticket systems blend customer relationship management with ticketing support, helping you improve your customer service. While these systems offer convenience, integrating specialized CRM and ticketing solutions can provide more robust features to address specific needs.

To find the best option for your business, consider what features you can’t do without.

Ultimately, a complete CRM integrated with top ticketing tools can give you the best of both worlds: building an efficient customer platform tailored to you.

Even the most captivating email marketing content can fall flat if it reaches your audience at the wrong times.

Finding the perfect email cadence is a crucial ingredient of email marketing success. It’s essential for engaging buyers, forging long-term connections and closing more deals.

In this article, you’ll learn what email cadence is, why it matters and how to find the right cadence for your next marketing campaign.

What is email cadence?

Email cadence refers to the frequency and timing of marketing emails you send to prospects and customers.

For example, imagine you email your US-based newsletter subscribers at the start of every week. The cadence is one per week (frequency) at 2:00 PM EST on Mondays (timing), which you could also present in a list or template like the one below.

• Day 1 (Monday, 2:00 PM EST): Weekly newsletter 1

• Day 8 (Monday, 2:00 PM EST): Weekly newsletter 2

• Day 15 (Monday, 2:00 PM EST): Weekly newsletter 3

• Day 22 (Monday, 2:00 PM EST): Weekly newsletter 4

The right email cadence maximizes engagement, maintains interest and avoids audience fatigue. It also improves open and click-through rates, making campaigns more effective.

Email cadence vs. email frequency: what’s the difference?

Email cadence covers timing and sequence. Email frequency is how often a marketer or sales rep sends emails.

In other words, email frequency only determines the number of emails subscribers get in a given period. It doesn’t involve when they arrive.

Another related term is sales cadence, which describes the planned sequence and timing of all interactions between a salesperson and prospect, not just emails. It includes phone calls, social media contact, meetings and sales demos.

A more detailed email cadence example

We used a simple newsletter as a basic email cadence example earlier but cadence also applies to more complex email campaigns.

Let’s say an e-commerce company wants to promote a new product by sending five emails to all existing customers on its US email list.

Inspired by engagement levels in previous email marketing campaigns (e.g., open rates are highest on weekday mornings, avoiding Fridays), it settles on the following email cadence.

• Day 1 (Tuesday, 10:00 AM PT): Send a promotional email announcing the new product to all existing customers on the subscriber list.

• Day 3 (Thursday, 10:00 AM PT): Follow up with a reminder email highlighting the key features and benefits of the new product.

• Day 7 (Monday, 10:00 AM PT): Send a customer testimonial email showcasing how the new product has benefited existing customers.

• Day 10 (Thursday, 10:00 AM PT): Send a limited-time offer email with a discount code for the new product.

• Day 14 (Monday, 10:00 AM PT): Send a final reminder email about the limited-time offer before it expires.

An email cadence like this ensures the audience gets relevant product information at appropriate intervals, maximizing engagement and increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Why does email cadence matter?

Email marketing is about getting your brand and product messages to resonate with potential customers.

Unless you consider cadence part of your email marketing strategy, you risk reaching out to prospects too often, not enough or when they’re unlikely to see or want to read your messages.

Smart Insights data shows that timing and frequency affect engagement, with open rates typically peaking early in the morning and early-mid evening before tailing off late at night.

Email cadence impacts more than just open rates. Choosing your cadence carefully helps you optimize these key email marketing metrics, too:

• Click-through rates. The more people who see and read your email content, the more traffic you’ll get to your website – as long as you include internal links and enticing calls to action.

• Unsubscribe rates. Not overwhelming subscribers with too much content and just providing helpful information when needed means you’ll keep people interested in your brand for longer.

• Conversion rates. When you provide valuable information at the perfect moments in the buyer journey, prospects are more likely to convert, allowing your sales team to close more deals.

Ultimately, finding the right cadence for each campaign improves your email marketing ROI and makes your business more profitable.

7 email cadence best practices: how to strike the perfect balance

Finding the correct email cadence almost always involves some trial and error. The more campaigns you run, the greater your understanding of what each subscriber segment expects and responds to will be.

Some techniques and tactics still benefit all marketers as they experiment with email cadence. Here are seven email cadence best practices to help you hit your marketing goals sooner.

1. Choose clear objectives

Start by determining what you want to achieve from your email marketing campaign, as different objectives suit different cadences.

For example, if your goal is to build authority in your industry, a regular newsletter packed with valuable updates and thought-leadership content is ideal.

Consistency helps newsletters become a familiar part of recipients’ weeks, so sending weekly emails at the same times on the same days is a logical cadence to encourage prospects through your sales funnel.

If you aim to build hype and drive website traffic around an imminent product launch, sending daily emails over a much shorter period (i.e., less than a week) may help you close deals. For a higher sending frequency like this, vary the types of content you send to keep your list engaged.

2. Segment your audience

Segmenting your audience allows you to apply different cadences to the same email campaign to increase effectiveness.

Segmenting means breaking your email list into smaller groups based on factors like demographics, behaviors and location.

There’s little reason to vary the frequency of your emails across two similar audience segments (because you’ll likely still want to get the same message across), but you can tweak the timing to suit people in different time zones.

Alternatively, if your target is an international audience, you could segment your customers by location and adjust the sequence to avoid one location’s public holiday (when engagement could be lower).

3. Put content quality and engagement first

Frequency and timing become irrelevant if your email subject lines and content don’t interest your audience enough to entice opens and clicks, which is why email personalization and content quality are precursors to finding a successful cadence.

If people won’t open or read your messages, regardless of when you send them, one or both of the following will happen:

The simplest and most effective way to make email content more engaging is to personalize it. Make recipients feel like your messages are for them so they’re more likely to open and value your efforts. You can then confidently work on the cadence.

Here are a few ways to personalize your emails:

Personalization is another reason to segment your audience with an email marketing tool. The right software will make sending relevant content to the right people much easier and faster, maximizing engagement. Manually achieving the same level of personalization can eat up hours every week.

4. Experiment with different content formats

The types of emails you send subscribers will also influence whether a cadence works.

For example, if you send three similar plain text emails every week to the same subscriber group, recipients may get bored and start ignoring some messages. Worse still, they could unsubscribe or report your content as spam, damaging your email deliverability.

Gartner found that “repetitive and redundant” emails are the second biggest driver of unsubscriptions after “too many emails”.

Alternatively, you could use the same cadence but vary your content formats to include:

Your audience will likely stay engaged for longer with a variety of content hitting their inboxes. It also allows you to keep a higher cadence (i.e., staying at the front of buyers’ minds) without losing subscribers or interest.

Like cadence, choosing the right content types involves trial and error. Experiment with a few of the following formats to see which delivers the best results:

• Welcome emails

• Testimonials and user reviews

• How-to guides and tutorials

• Case studies and customer stories

• Seasonal sales promotions

• Event invitations and reminders

• Event and transaction follow-up emails

• Company and product updates

• Curated industry news roundups

• Behind-the-scenes content

5. A/B test a range of cadences

A/B testing (or split testing) involves comparing two versions of something to see which performs better, like two different email cadences. It’s a definitive way to determine which timings, frequencies and content formats maximize engagement and minimize unsubscribes.

A/B testing takes some careful configuration at first but you can use specialist email marketing tools to help.

Here’s a basic A/B testing process to get you up and running:

1. Identify the test variable. Decide what aspect of your email cadence to test (e.g., weekly versus bi-weekly).

2. Create variations. Develop two versions of your email campaign, differing only in the email cadence (e.g., weekly and bi-weekly).

3. Segment your audience. Divide your email list into two random but equal segments.

4. Send the emails. Send version A (weekly) to one segment and version B (bi-weekly) to the other.

5. Monitor and analyze. Track open, click-through and unsubscribe rates for each segment.

6. Choose the winner. Identify the cadence that performed better based on your predefined metrics.

7. Implement changes. Adjust your email cadence according to the results of the A/B test, and continue to optimize over time.

The more A/B tests you run, the better you’ll understand what your audience wants from your marketing campaigns and when they want it. Speed up the process by building a library of trusted email templates for testing.

6. Let subscribers choose email frequency (and unsubscribe)

Giving subscribers control over their email cadence can stop them from opting out of your mailing list if they enjoy your content but feel they receive too many emails.

Let’s say most of your audience is happy to receive two emails per week but some feel that’s too often.

Without a frequency setting, their only options are to:

• Keep receiving too many messages and ignoring or deleting those they don’t want to read

• Unsubscribe and end their relationship with your brand (44% of respondents to a Zero Bounce survey cited receiving too many messages as the main reason they unsubscribe from email lists)

However, adding a third option – to switch to weekly emails – encourages people to stay subscribed (and connected to your brand) on their terms.

It involves adding a link at the bottom of every message with text reading something like “manage my email preferences”, like in the example from a Livestorm webinar invite below. Direct this to a page where subscribers can change settings regarding what they receive and how often.

Some email marketing and email cadence software can automate the process of letting subscribers change their frequency settings.

Even if yours doesn’t, give recipients a form to express their opinions. You can then change their settings manually and gauge consensus across your email list.

7. Invest in intuitive email marketing tools for support

The best email marketing software can remove the stress from running campaigns so you can focus on finer details like finding the right frequency and timing.

For example, here are four ways Pipedrive’s Campaigns add-on helps users find the perfect email cadences:

• Campaign automation. Eliminate campaign admin to spend more time tweaking and testing email cadences.

• Drag-and-drop email builder. Create a library of email templates to test cadences faster.

• Email segmentation. Split audiences and tailor email cadence to each group based on engagement levels, preferences and behaviors.

• Email marketing analytics. Track open, click-through and unsubscribe rates to see when email cadence changes affect engagement.

An email marketing tool that connects to your customer relationship management (CRM) software lets you unify sales and marketing data. You can source prospects’ information when building campaigns and effortlessly funnel your most engaged subscribers into your sales pipeline.

For example, you could use your CRM to spot patterns between email cadence and sentiment. If you increase your cadence of after-sales emails and CRM data suggests new customers are becoming happier, you’ll know they value the extra information you provide. If sentiment suffers, it’s time to revisit your cadence.

Email Cadence FAQs

Final thoughts

Cadence is up there with content quality as one of the most critical factors in your email marketing success.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to email cadence. However, continual testing and tweaking will help you learn what your audience responds to. As a result, you can build winning campaigns faster and more consistently.

Follow the email cadence best practices in this guide and keep refining your strategy to improve your email marketing results this year and beyond.

Pipedrive and Insightly are cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solutions designed to make your sales, marketing and leadership teams more efficient and effective.

While some features overlap, both tools have unique strengths that may suit specific business needs better than the others.

Choosing the right CRM can prove a real challenge, so we created this Pipedrive vs. Insightly comparison guide to help you reap the benefits of an excellent sales app quickly. Learn how each tool performs in areas like core CRM functionality, user-friendliness and customization.

Pipedrive vs. Insightly: at a glance

Pipedrive is an award-winning CRM that helps sales teams manage their pipelines and grow revenue.

Suitable for businesses of all sizes, Pipedrive lets you track leads, organize deals, monitor sales performance and automate various sales activities.

Pipedrive’s key features include contact management, automation, deal tracking and sales reporting.

Users can also expand the cloud-based software’s capabilities with add-ons and third-party integrations – ideal for a growing company.

Insightly is a cloud-based CRM platform that lets businesses manage their sales, projects and customer interactions. Small and medium-sized enterprises can leverage its tools for lead and contact management, opportunity tracking, basic project management and workflow automation.

Insightly’s CRM features include customizable pipelines, task and calendar management, collaboration tools and sales reporting. Like Pipedrive, it integrates with a range of popular business applications.

Pipedrive vs. Insightly: key features

Features that all CRM solutions must have to effectively support modern sales forces include contact and pipeline management, automation, reporting and mobile app access.

Here’s how Pipedrive and Insightly compare when it comes to core CRM functionality.

Contact management

Any worthwhile CRM lets teams store, organize and quickly access data on their leads, customers, employees and partners.

Pipedrive simplifies contact management with a straightforward, centralized view of every contact’s interactions, preferences and support tickets.

The Pipedrive CRM gives you a “detail view” of every deal, person and company whose data you store. Each view contains clear information on deals, contact methods, interactions and planned sales activities.

Link people to organizations and search for records easily in Pipedrive. There’s also a changelog for tracking profile updates, giving sales reps a single up-to-date source for making informed decisions across the customer journey.

Insightly also offers contact management functionality to store and organize information about leads, clients and partners. The contact records can contain contact details, communication histories, activity timelines and relevant documents.

The maximum number of contacts you can store with Insightly varies by pricing plan. The lowest-paid Plus tier allows up to 100,000 records. Pipedrive has no usage limits for contacts.

Pipeline visibility

A CRM’s sales pipeline view visually represents the selling process in distinct stages (e.g., lead in, contact made and sales demo scheduled).

Complete pipeline visibility is a key Pipedrive offering. You can see where your money, deals and other sales efforts are so you can hold salespeople accountable, fix bottlenecks and refine your sales strategy.

Pipedrive’s pipeline view is fully customizable even with the lowest-tier Essential plan, meaning you can tailor fields and stages to reflect your unique sales cycle. You can either create a new pipeline or use a template with common stages.

While many CRMs have pipeline views, Pipedrive goes further to help you streamline your sales.

Through automation, you can trigger actions when deals reach certain stages, like sending a follow-up email or scheduling a call. The Rotting feature notifies you when deals sit idle for too long so you can keep them moving or direct your team’s efforts elsewhere.

Insightly also gives users a visual overview of their sales process and the ability to track opportunities as they progress through each stage. Like Pipedrive, it uses a Kanban view. You can customize this view to suit your sales process, set up probability-based revenue forecasting and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs).

Automation

The best CRM systems let you automate repetitive sales activities to save time, shorten the sales cycle and increase revenue. According to our State of Sales and Marketing report, people who automate tasks are 16% more likely to hit their targets.

Pipedrive users on the Advanced plan ($29 per user per month, billed annually) can automate a wide range of repetitive admin tasks to free time, including:

For example, you can trigger personalized emails following a new deal creation. The automation keeps your leads and prospects warm while you focus on high-priority tasks.

Pipedrive’s integrations unlock further automation opportunities on all plans. For instance, Pipedrive can automatically update the tasks in your project management software to reflect deal status changes. It can even deliver updates to your team’s favorite messaging apps.

The automated AI Sales Assistant smartly adapts to your needs and helps optimize your workflow with timely notifications, reports, tips and insights.

Insightly offers three automation methods across its pricing tiers.

All accounts include pipeline and activity sets (i.e., high-level pipeline and project management automations).

Basic workflow automation is available with top-tier plans, while advanced workflow automation – through the Recipes feature – comes with an AppConnect subscription. AppConnect plans range from $249 to $3,499 per account per month, depending on the number of automated tasks you run.

Sales reporting

Sales reporting tools enable teams and leaders to track sales performance, find new deal opportunities and make data-driven decisions.

Pipedrive’s highly intuitive interactive dashboard makes spotting winning patterns and preempting issues easy. Your team can tweak your workflows to close more deals and keep customers coming back.

Pipedrive’s Insights dashboard lets you:

• Add and sort your reports for customization

• Share the dashboard in Pipedrive and with others outside of it

• Show and share different reporting data in a single window

As a sales manager or business owner, you can use Pipedrive’s reporting features to monitor team performance. See who’s hitting targets and falling short, then reallocate, reward or train your staff accordingly.

Insightly’s performance-tracking features let you use any data you capture in the platform to generate dashboards and reports to monitor your strategy and team’s progress.

Every Insightly account includes a set of “standard dashboards” – non-editable Insightly-built reports showing high-level sales data. Dashboard customization is available on Insightly’s advanced plans.

Mobile CRM

Mobile CRMs let users access and manage their customer data on the move, allowing them to stay up-to-date and productive from any location.

Pipedrive’s mobile app closely matches the desktop CRM experience while being easy to use on a smaller screen.

Available for iOS and Android devices, the app offers:

• Call tracking and caller ID

• Super search to enable seamless follow-ups

• A focused day organizer

• Quick notes and meeting prep functionality

The mobile version reflects your web app customizations, such as tailored reports, data fields and automation.

Pipedrive’s other mobile CRM features include voice-to-text for easy note-taking, web-to-mobile calling and offline access. There are also integrations for key mobile apps such as Google Maps and Outlook.

Insightly’s Apple and Android mobile apps give users access to contact data from anywhere. The app is a companion to the software’s web version and includes most of the same features.

Insightly’s mobile app has the Insightly Voice inbuilt dialer, which is available to Professional and Enterprise users in the US and Canada for an additional $35 per user per month.

Pipedrive vs. Insightly: user-friendliness

User-friendly CRM software enables a more efficient and streamlined sales process for your team.

Here’s how Pipedrive and Insightly stack up in three key areas of user-friendliness: onboarding, ease of use and customer support.

Onboarding

CRM onboarding is the process of setting up a new CRM tool. It involves configuring the system, importing user data and training people to use the software.

Pipedrive is straightforward enough for any sales team to use immediately. Pipedrive Learn, a comprehensive knowledge base filled with helpful articles and tutorials, makes it easier for small businesses to transition from other tools or methods.

Larger teams can get started straight away, while those with more complex sales processes may benefit from one of Pipedrive’s onboarding support products:

• One-time onboarding: Meet with an onboarding specialist to learn best practices and strategies based on your business needs

• Extended onboarding: Get one-to-one support from a customer success specialist in your first 45 days with Pipedrive

• Personalized onboarding: Work with a dedicated customer success manager to create a tailored onboarding plan

Learning from Pipedrive experts will help you maximize the value of your CRM.

Insightly takes a similar approach with tailored onboarding assistance, available as a paid add-on. The Guided Onboarding package costs $1,500 and you can extend it with an ongoing Premier Support and Success Plan.

Those who prefer to set up their CRM unaided can use Insightly’s online onboarding guide.

Ease of use

An intuitive interface drives smooth CRM adoption and enables teams to manage their sales and customer data quickly and efficiently.

Pipedrive is a simple CRM that doesn’t compromise on versatility or features. It has clear menus for speedy navigation, accessible reports and visual pipelines.

You can customize the pipeline view to reflect your exact process and then easily drag and drop deals to the right stages.

It’s not just Pipedrive’s users who find the tool practical. The Motley Fool named it the “easiest to use” CRM for small businesses.

Insightly meanwhile pitches itself as “the CRM software your teams will love”.

Like Pipedrive, it has a straightforward interface that most end users will learn to navigate quickly. However, PCMag reports that the software’s “admin-level options aren’t particularly intuitive, so you may need to tap Insightly’s support team”.

Support

Reliable and responsive customer support is vital for troubleshooting issues, addressing user questions and maximizing the value of a CRM platform.

Pipedrive’s comprehensive learning section contains a knowledge base with written guides to all features, a resourceful FAQ section and helpful video tutorials and courses.

Pipedrive’s active online community provides a space to get more details, advice and ideas from other users. Pipedrive’s support team is on hand to answer questions via live chat, email and phone, with the best method to get in touch depending on your plan.

Insightly’s Help Center features informative articles on configuring and navigating the software. The knowledge base is slightly more complex to navigate but has a search bar for finding specific topics.

Insightly users looking for additional help can contact the company via email and wait up to 24 hours or phone the support team during US office hours. The Premier Support and Success Plan reduces email response times to four hours on weekdays and expands phone support to 24 hours five days a week.

Which CRM software is better for user-friendliness?

Pipedrive and Insightly are both user-friendly CRMs that most teams will quickly adapt to. Onboarding for either tool should be equally straightforward and you can access additional expert onboarding support.

A range of assistance channels and languages available around the clock provide all Pipedrive user levels with timely help to minimize disruption.

Pipedrive vs. Insightly: add-ons and integrations

CRM integrations let you squeeze more value from your data and expand your system’s capabilities as your business grows. Add-ons are proprietary software plug-ins that offer similar benefits and are sometimes even more powerful.

Pipedrive slots straight into users’ tech stacks with a library of more than 400 third-party apps and integrations.

The Pipedrive CRM has connectivity for a wide range of business software types, including:

• Project management

• Customer support

• Lead generation

• Lead management

• Marketing automation

• Team collaboration

Take the Pipedrive–Microsoft Teams integration, for example. You get Pipedrive updates in Teams, schedule Teams calls from Pipedrive and see deal information in the meeting interface.

Pipedrive’s integrations live in an intuitive Marketplace where you can browse by revenue cycle stage (e.g., attract new leads or manage contracts) or search using keywords. The AI Sales Assistant can recommend integrations to fit your team’s needs.

Pipedrive also offers native add-ons that expand its project management, lead generation, email marketing and document management capabilities. Most carry a charge per company rather than per user – more on Pipedrive’s add-ons in the pricing table below.

Insightly has integrations for popular business tools, including Google apps, Evernote, Microsoft 365, PandaDoc, Zapier and Xero. You can get full access to a more advanced library of over 2,000 apps with an AppConnect subscription starting at $249 per account per month.

Which is better for add-ons and integrations?

Pipedrive and Insightly connect to many of the most popular business apps, so you should have no difficulty slotting either into your tech stack.

Pipedrive’s connectivity is more accessible, as only a few add-ons cost extra. Insightly users require a ConnectApp paid subscription to get the most out of the software’s integrations.

If you want to connect your CRM to more niche tools, you may have more luck with Insightly, but it’s worth searching both libraries to see what’s available before signing up. Remember that Pipedrive’s API lets you build custom integrations for lesser-known business applications – which we’ll detail in the next section.

Pipedrive vs. Insightly: customization

Customizable CRMs let you add or tweak functions to better fit your business’s evolving needs.

Pipedrive is a highly customizable CRM that allows you to tailor pipeline stages, add custom fields and work in multiple currencies and languages.

Other customization options include:

• Insights and reports: Generate reports based on custom fields you set up for specific teams, products and industries

• Permissions: Choose what users at different levels can do in Pipedrive with variable user permissions

• Open CRM API: Build bespoke integrations for your favorite business tools using Pipedrive’s Developer Platform

Pipedrive users can turn off any features they don’t use to streamline the interface further. Seeing only the functions you need helps to increase productivity.

In Insightly, you can customize data fields, pipeline stages, page layouts and reporting to fit your workflows and goals. Some tweaks – like personalized dashboards – require a higher-tier subscription.

Insightly also offers custom objects for collecting and tracking data that doesn’t fit the tool’s standard categories (like leads or opportunities).

Which is better for customization?

Insightly’s customization options are helpful but Pipedrive offers more personalization potential at a lower price point. As a result, Pipedrive makes it easier for startups and small businesses on tight budgets to build the systems they need.

Pipedrive’s comprehensive developer toolset is another bonus for more advanced users.

How much do Pipedrive and Insightly cost?

Pipedrive and Insightly’s pricing models reflect their feature sets. Both offer multiple tiers, so you can scale up or down as your business evolves.

Pipedrive pricing:

Pipedrive’s add-ons:

Insightly CRM pricing:

Insightly offers a free CRM plan limited to two users and 2,500 contact records. Pipedrive’s entry point for paid plans is considerably lower and includes more functionality.

Final thoughts

Pipedrive and Insightly both offer plenty for sales and marketing teams. Ultimately, the right choice of CRM software depends on your business needs and goals.

If you’re looking for a small business-friendly CRM that’s part of a broader, slightly more expensive business package that also includes marketing and customer service, Insightly might be an option.

If you want more bang for your CRM buck with a dedicated sales application built by sales experts, Pipedrive is the way to go.

Learning tips and tactics from real experts can give salespeople a significant advantage. Experienced, successful salespeople can provide practical insights and strategies that are proven to work.

In such a competitive industry, firsthand knowledge is invaluable for cutting through the noise, improving sales processes and getting results.

We built the following list of top sales hacks from real experts so you can enhance your decision-making, sell more and hit your quotas sooner.

Sales hack 1: personalize your bulk email introductions

It’s a well-known fact that email personalization boosts sales performance. In a 2023 Twilio study, over half of consumers said personalized experiences encourage them to become repeat customers.

Over half (56%) of customers say they will become repeat buyers after a personalized experience, a 7% increase year-over-year.

Likewise, salespeople know that sending bulk emails is more time- and cost-effective than writing numerous individual messages.

How do you reconcile personalizing emails with saving time and sending emails in bulk? A personalized introduction is often all it takes to get buyers to read your content.

GTMfund founder Max Altschuler described his email personalization approach in a Medium post:

Segmenting your audience using email marketing software makes this personalization even smoother.

Pipedrive’s Campaigns email builder lets you filter your email list based on customer relationship management (CRM) data. For instance, here’s how you’d group contacts who opened and clicked a link in your “Welcome newsletter” campaign:

Once you’ve created your email segment, send recipients a personalized message like:

Sales hack 2: always read the room

The better you read your prospect’s body language, the easier it will be to tailor your sales pitches for better outcomes.

People communicate with more than just speech. Paying attention to physical responses is a form of active listening many salespeople overlook, so you can use it to get ahead.

Sales coach and FDTC University founder Mor Assouline suggests tracking people’s reactions during sales demos:

This tactic recently helped Mor further a sales conversation. He explains:

As Mor’s example proves, sometimes people need a prompt to give up information. Look for prompting opportunities to give you insights to further your sales conversations.

Sales hack 3: prepare to meet different customer types

Adapting your sales approach to different customer types helps you overcome objections and close more deals. Customer groups have unique priorities you must speak to even if they’re interested in the same products.

For example, impulse buyers typically value social proof of a product’s value over specifications and features. Needs-based customers tend to research products in depth before speaking to salespeople and prefer fast transactions.

Vladislav Podolyako, founder of email deliverability tool Folderly, wrote about anticipating customer types and their pain points on Quora:

Our guide to common types of customers is a great starting point. However, you should also consider your buyers’ specific motivations at the point of contact.

Say you sell high-volume office supplies. One of your strategies could be cold-calling busy office managers who value fast pitches. Another could be approaching office managers at a trade show with some company merchandise and a friendly chat.

Different types of car buyers also have distinct priorities. A needs-based customer looking for a family car will likely want to hear about safety features, while a price-oriented tradesperson may value fuel economy and warranty details more.

Sales hack 4: mirror your prospects

Mirroring is the act of imitating the gestures, behavior and expressions of other people. It’s useful in sales because of a cognitive bias called the similar-to-me effect. Also known as the affinity bias, it describes the human tendency to prefer people who act like us.

Entrepreneur Peter Daisyme believes this cognitive bias can help salespeople communicate more effectively with prospects. He explained in a Business 2 Community post:

For mirroring to be effective, you need to be authentic. That’s why Peter advises sellers to:

• Build basic connections first by giving prospects your complete attention, including strong eye contact

• Start mirroring by following the other person’s pace and volume of speech

• Expand by identifying and subtly imitating their “punctuator” (a subtle movement to make a point – like an eyebrow raise or hand gesture)

Mirroring in sales requires tact and restraint. Repeating everything a prospect says will make you appear insincere, so imitate smaller mannerisms and behaviors rather than actual phrases.

Sales hack 5: collect short, authentic testimonial videos

Heavily edited customer testimonial videos may send the wrong signals to increasingly savvy buyers. A polished video will likely have been through several rounds of editing to portray the company in the best light possible.

Sales professionals can leverage simpler, self-made customer clips to reassure hesitant prospects. This short, unpolished content works because buyers typically trust other customers more than brands.

In a Forrester survey of B2B buyers, over 90% of respondents said they completely or somewhat trust peers in their industry compared to 29% who said the same about salespeople.

Sales coach and author Amanda Abella described her experience of recording customer stories in a Due article:

Use real videos as social proof to show potential customers how similar people benefit from your product.

There are two easy ways to create authentic video testimonial content:

• Add five minutes to your next call with a happy client and get permission to record them answering your questions

• Ask a satisfied client to record themselves talking about their experience with your product

AI customer communication platform JustCall stores a library of customer stories on YouTube that includes short user-generated testimonials.

The highly believable reviews and ratings provide sales reps with a valuable and accessible resource for cementing prospects’ trust late in the customer journey.

You may need to ask multiple happy customers to get a single testimonial clip, but here are some ways you can increase your chances:

• Send a dedicated email rather than burying your request in other unrelated information. Pipedrive can automate your marketing efforts by triggering templated messages at relevant stages of the buyer journey (e.g., after the onboarding process).

• Include bullet points on what the clip should include (e.g., the client’s name, industry and initial challenge) to help you get the content you need. Your guidance will also encourage customers who aren’t naturally confident speaking on camera.

• Offer an incentive like a small discount or a free trial for another product

Sales hack 6: position yourself as the hero and helper

A simple shift of perspective can make prospects respond more positively to your cold calls and sales pitches, according to GTMfund’s Max Altschuler.

In a Medium post on sales hacks, Max explained how experimenting with different phrasing in both written and verbal communication can yield better outcomes:

Once you’ve earned a potential customer’s interest, prioritize your relationship over pushing products. It’s an approach called consultative selling that involves three simple actions:

• Ask questions

• Listen to the prospect’s needs

• Tailor your product recommendations to their pain points

These broad steps can keep you on track as you build and strengthen valuable customer relationships.

Sales hack 7: rein in your demos

Demonstrations are a key part of the sales process for many sales teams – especially at software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. When it comes to demos, presentation quality should always come before depth or quantity.

The key to effective demos is to target prospects’ “jobs-to-be-done” (JTBD) – specific tasks or goals buyers seek to achieve.

For example, a small business owner looking to reduce late payments will value an accounting tool’s payment reminder function. An enterprise-level finance director who needs to keep multiple stakeholders up to date will be interested in how the software handles report sharing.

Mor Assouline, who also hosts the SaaS Talks podcast, recommends simplifying your demos even if it means less time pitching:

Mor adds that demos could last as little as five or 10 minutes as long as you’re remedying your buyers’ pain.

Sales hack 8: humanize your cold email campaigns

Your ideal customers likely receive hundreds of cold emails – many of which will be generic, untailored bulk messages. You can stand out by humanizing your pitch, including finding some common ground as an ice-breaker.

Pave the way for a more personal connection. You’ll encourage recipients to take you more seriously than your competitors.

Candice D’Angelo, founder of The Selling Lab, recommends referencing relevant content that resonated with you recently. She spoke on the Evolve Pipedrive Podcast:

This way of linking shows interest in the prospect’s business and industry, not just their money.

Let’s say an executive at your prospect’s company recently presented an insightful TED Talk or hosted a webinar you found valuable. You might link to the content and write something like this:

Sales hack 9: use social media polls as ice-breakers

Social selling is a great way to find, engage and nurture potential buyers without cold pitching.

Rather than you making the first move, Candice D’Angelo advises using polls to invite people to have conversations with you. You can then follow up with a personal message and hopefully get them into your sales pipeline.

Shifting the sales dynamic can make prospects more receptive to your pitch. It enables more natural conversations from the start, even if you don’t know the person you’re reaching out to.

In her podcast episode, Candice said:

Keep your polls simple and audience-relevant to draw responses from your ideal customers.

In the poll example below, Candice asks a short question that her followers likely have opinions on. She uses casual language in the responses to make the topic even more relatable.

Every poll vote you get is an ice-breaker for your first sales call or message to that prospect, helping you build connections quicker. Just make sure respondents fit your ideal customer profile (ICP) before getting in touch.

Final thoughts

Every sales career involves a learning curve. However, the process can be far smoother when you absorb sales tips and advice from top sales mentors.

Apply the above sales hacks and techniques to your process and see which ones best impact your productivity and performance.

Finally, share the results internally to motivate your sales team and ensure everyone benefits from the successes and insights gained.

Small Business Week is just around the corner, so it’s a good time to reflect upon and celebrate the resilience and innovation that small businesses bring to the table.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of economies worldwide. In the United States, over 33.2 million small businesses employ almost half of the American workforce, accounting for 43.5 percent of GDP.

It’s also a highly competitive space that brings its challenges – building brand recognition and earning consumer trust while also competing for market share, funding and employees means that over 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 50% fail within five years and around 65% don’t make it to ten.

So what sets the 35% that make it to their tenth anniversary apart? There’s no magic formula, but anticipating and adapting to the consumer mindset as well as implementation speed are often key markers.

The title of Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton’s bestseller says it all: It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small… It’s the Fast That Eat the SlowIn the book, Jennings and Laurence challenge the conventional wisdom that large companies are unbeatable through their superior resources. They argue that resources are great, but speed is key – and this is where larger companies can’t so easily compete. They’re generally slower to react and respond to emerging trends and shifts in the consumer landscape and can be more conservative in their approach. After all, it’s harder to turn around an oil tanker than it is a canoe.

The shift toward sustainability

One of the most significant shifts in recent years is the move toward sustainability. Consumers have made up their minds that sustainability is a key aspect of their decision-making process when purchasing products. In PwC’s recent Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, over 70% of respondents said they would pay more for sustainably produced goods “to some or a great extent.”

Drilling further down in a subsequent survey, 40% of respondents said they’d pay 10% above the average. Millennials and Gen Z were the most open to spending more for the sake of sustainability, indicating that this is a trend that’s here to stay.

That’s why small businesses need to take action on sustainability if they haven’t already, and for those businesses who’ve already started to continue along that path.

The greatest areas of opportunity may differ from industry to industry, but an underleveraged area across them all is the CRM space.

Three ways CRM tools boost sustainability efforts

At first glance, a CRM tool might not have much in common with a move towards more sustainable practices, but the relationship between the two is closely intertwined. From a business perspective, both CRM tools and sustainability focus on the same key areas: increasing efficiency, reducing waste and long-lasting customer relationships based on shared values and goals.

1. Resource allocation

This is one of the fundamental ways in which CRM tools increase sustainability. Cloud-based CRM solutions reduce the need for paper documentation and physical storage space. Digitizing customer interactions and invoices reduces the carbon footprint and boosts operational efficiency.

CRM analytics can also highlight problem areas for a business, including inefficient, wasteful practices. For example, Pipedrive and other CRM tools use automation to eliminate manual, repetitive tasks such as lead nurturing and follow-up communications. The saved time can be better directed towards high-impact, strategic activities around sustainable practices. One of the biggest roadblocks for companies looking to become more sustainable is finding the time and resources to do so.

2. Customer engagement

The true measure of a CRM tool is whether it helps a business to develop stronger relationships with customers. The stronger the relationships, the more effective the CRM tool and, subsequently, the more sustainable a company becomes.

Businesses can segment their customers more effectively by using required, important and custom fields in a CRM tool, allowing them to develop market campaigns accordingly. By sending the right messages to the right customers at the right time, small businesses can minimize unnecessary marketing spend and reduce the environmental impact that often comes with mass advertising.

Moreover, CRM tools are also there to facilitate better communication and feedback loops with customers. This allows businesses to quickly gather insights, address concerns and continuously improve their product and service offerings for their customer base. This iterative approach enhances customer satisfaction and better anticipates customer needs but also helps reduce product returns and waste, ensuring a business model that’s focused on sustainability.

3. Supply chain transparency

Sustainable business practices are built on efficient, collaborative and transparent supply chains. CRM tools help support businesses in tracking product lifecycles as well as greater visibility and accountability across the supply chain. The immediate knock-on effect of optimization here is minimizing waste, reducing carbon emissions and ensuring ethical sourcing practices.

By enhancing the transparency of the supply chain, there’s also the opportunity to work more closely with suppliers, partners and even customers to drive collaborative sustainability initiatives. By leveraging collective expertise and resources, businesses can implement innovative solutions, such as sustainable packaging, renewable energy sourcing and waste reduction programs that benefit the environment and the bottom line.

The move toward a greener future

In a world where sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have but a need-to-have, small businesses must leverage every available tool to drive positive change. Through optimizing resource allocation, enhancing customer engagement and promoting supply chain transparency, CRM tools can drive business growth while positively impacting the environment. By championing both sustainability and the value of CRM tools, we can inspire small businesses and customers alike to strive toward an even greener future.

The right customer relationship management (CRM) system is crucial for nurturing leads and closing deals. Pipedrive and Salesmate are two sales-focused CRMs that stand out among the competition.

Both platforms have features that streamline sales processes and boost productivity. Despite the tools’ similarities, choosing between them largely depends on your specific business needs.

In this article, we’ll provide a detailed comparison of Pipedrive and Salesmate and examine their features, advantages and limitations. Read on to find out which CRM is the best choice for your sales team.

Pipedrive vs. Salesmate: at a glance

Pipedrive and Salesmate are cloud-based CRM tools for streamlining sales activities. Both offer valuable solutions that automate sales processes, track customer interactions and generate detailed sales reports based on your customer data.

Salesmate is a simple CRM system that focuses on small businesses like startups. Its platform enables various automations and email campaign personalization.

Pipedrive has a strong reputation as a user-friendly sales CRM. While ideal for small and medium-sized businesses that want to manage their sales pipelines intuitively, the tool is also suitable for companies of different sizes and growing businesses.

Pipedrive stands out for its navigational ease, balancing comprehensive features and usability.

Pipedrive vs. Salesmate: features

Both Pipedrive and Salesmate come with useful functionality for sales teams. Let’s take a look at how the CRMs compare when it comes to key features.

Contact management

Powerful CRM systems need robust contact management features to help companies store contact information and better understand customers.

Pipedrive enables straightforward contact and lead management. Each customer profile provides a clear view of contact information with all linked notes, activities, calls, emails and files.

You can add custom fields to your contact profiles to collect different types of information.

Pipedrive also provides sales automation features that streamline follow-up emails and contact updates to reduce manual data entry. For example, you can set up automation rules that trigger actions following changes in contact status or specific interactions.

Salesmate takes a similar approach to contact management, with customizable fields and views that show customer information.

You can segment your contacts using different “Types” and “Tags” filtering options.

Like Pipedrive, Salesmate offers sales task automations to help you keep up with changes to contacts.

Workflow automation

Workflow automation increases team efficiency and ensures that key tasks don’t slip through the cracks. Pipedrive and Salesmate both offer workflow management features with a few differences.

Pipedrive’s Automations feature makes workflow automation accessible to all without a need for technical expertise. Setting up automation rules is simple thanks to a visual editor that guides you through the process.

Take a look at Pipedrive’s intuitive automation creator.

Pipedrive focuses on streamlining sales processes and eliminating manual work. Its automation features include follow-ups, moving deals across stages and auto-assigning tasks to team members.

The CRM can send personalized emails based on specific triggers, like when a customer reaches a certain deal stage. Pipedrive also integrates with numerous third-party tools through Zapier for more complex automations.

Salesmate also provides built-in automation. The Starter plan includes basic features while the Automation Journeys paid add-on gives users a visual drag-and-drop builder.

Salesmate’s basic workflow feature, while less intuitive than Pipedrive’s, is useful for automating pipeline management and email campaigns.

Pipeline management

Pipeline management gives you a visual overview of where your prospects are in the sales pipeline. Both Pipedrive and Salesmate include tools with different designs for managing your pipeline.

Pipedrive’s interface gives a clear, customizable drag-and-drop pipeline view that lets you manage deals easily.

You can create multiple pipelines with customized stages to reflect different sales processes or offerings. This deep level of customization makes Pipedrive adaptable to different types of sales workflows, industries and use cases.

Pipedrive tools prioritize sales efficiency to help sales teams close deals faster. You can get a detailed overview of each deal, set up activities, track performance against sales targets and forecast sales.

Like Pipedrive, Salesmate lets you customize sales pipelines with a less intuitive drag-and-drop interface. The visual pipeline design is also similar, with cards for each deal and lists per stage.

Email marketing

Effective email campaign management tools can help you grow your customer base and scale your business efficiently. Pipedrive and Salesmate’s email functionalities help you manage your sales and marketing efforts directly from within the system.

Pipedrive integrates email communication smoothly into the sales process. The tool allows salespeople to send and receive emails in the CRM, automatically linking communications to the appropriate contacts and deals.

A drag-and-drop email builder in the Campaigns by Pipedrive add-on makes it easy to create custom emails.

You can run Campaigns by Pipedrive to…

• Sync your emails with your CRM and trigger emails based on changes in your sales pipeline

• Use and customize email templates to ensure consistency

• Segment your contact list and send personalized emails

• Track emails and get insights into whether the recipient opens the email or clicks links

Salesmate includes email marketing campaign creation features as part of the Automation Journeys add-on. Here’s what the email builder looks like.

Salesmate lets you…

• Create and send email campaigns using customizable email templates

• A/B test your emails to determine winning variants

• Track email engagement metrics

• Personalize email content based on information in the CRM

Insights and reports

No CRM tool is complete without the ability to provide insights and reports on sales data. Both Pipedrive and Salesmate give you valuable information on your sales performance, customer engagement and other key sales metrics.

Pipedrive focuses on readability with easy-to-digest visual reporting tools. The Insights feature lets you drag and drop up to 25 reports and goals into custom dashboards.

For instance, the team dashboard below shows several report types including deal progress, deal conversion, revenue forecast and activities completed.

You can export your data into various formats for deeper analysis or presentation outside the CRM. This flexibility is useful for businesses that use additional tools for analytics or reporting.

In Salesmate, you can also set up personalized dashboards to generate custom reports. Available metrics include deal by source, campaign effectiveness and call outcomes. Like Pipedrive, Salesmate displays data in easy-to-understand graphs and charts.

Unlike Pipedrive’s drag-and-drop functionality, in Salesmate you scan through a list of reports and add them from a menu. You are limited to a maximum of 10 reports to display at once.

Communication and collaboration

Sales-focused CRM software should make it easier for sales teams to communicate with customers and work together effectively. Collaboration features ensure team members receive timely updates and alerts so they’re always on the same page.

Pipedrive and Salesmate feature a number of communication and collaboration tools.

Both platforms are built with sales teams in mind and have tools to make sharing information and updates easier.

Pipedrive vs. Salesmate: onboarding and ease of use

A CRM with all the features in the world may still prove hard to set up and use. The best CRM systems make it easy to get started.

Ease of use and onboarding

We’ve established that a Pipedrive highlight is its ease of use. Behind its simple interface is the idea that sales software should assist sales teams without requiring significant time to learn.

When you first set up Pipedrive, sample data and views will show you how everything works. New and existing users can access extensive resources to get the most out of the platform. They include a deep knowledge base, video tutorials, written guides and personalized onboarding for qualifying customers.

Salesmate has a steeper learning curve. Understanding how to use it effectively might require more dedicated onboarding and training sessions. The platform has comprehensive online materials and walkthroughs available to help.

User interface (UI)

Pipedrive built its pipeline view around a visual sales pipeline. The design follows the progression of deals through stages so you can easily track progress and identify bottlenecks. You can even customize the pipeline stages. The clean interface minimizes distractions and helps you focus on sales activities.

Pipedrive also lets you see data in a list view. Here, deals occupy rows while each column displays relevant information.

Salesmate’s board view (similar to Pipedrive’s pipeline view) and list view are similar in design and visual appeal.

Support and community

Pipedrive has live chat and email customer support. Users on Enterprise and Power plans have access to quick help phone support. Pipedrive also offers educational resources and webinars alongside a growing user community with an active forum to help users make the most of the CRM.

Salesmate offers chat and email support, adding priority support for those subscribed to the custom plan. The scale and engagement level of its user community aren’t as extensive as Pipedrive’s.

Pipedrive vs. Salesmate: add-ons and integrations

Pipedrive and Salesmate offer many integration options as well as paid add-ons that provide extra functionality to your CRM. Here’s how the two platforms compare.

Add-ons

Pipedrive and Salesmate each comprise a range of add-ons that extend the features of their core CRM platform. Below are a few primary ones for both platforms.

Integrations

Pipedrive hosts an expansive marketplace featuring over 400 third-party applications and integrations for marketing automation, customer support, finance management, document signing, project management and more.

Even more integrations are possible through Zapier. There’s also API support for building your own app to integrate with Pipedrive.

Salesmate offers hundreds of integrations and an API platform to develop your own apps.

Pipedrive vs. Salesmate: pricing

Both platforms offer tiered pricing plans to cater to different business needs and sizes. The specific features and cost per user differ between the two CRMs.

Final thoughts

Pipedrive and Salesmate offer compelling CRM features focused on streamlining and enhancing sales processes. The choice between the two platforms depends on your business’s unique needs and preferences.

While Salesmate stands out for its integrated communication tools, Pipedrive shines bright with its user-friendly approach, minimalist design and simplified processes.