Get started with Shape today!

All-in-one software for marketing, sales, customer service, CRM, and operations.

Share article

Top 6 Best Sales Management Software For 2024

Feeling overwhelmed by the challenge of tracking your sales team's performance? In the world of sales, keeping a close eye on each agent's activities, from the calls they make to the deals they close, is essential yet increasingly complex. How do you efficiently distribute leads, manage incentives, and ensure your team collaborates effectively, all while striving to meet ambitious sales targets? The key to navigating this intricate landscape is deploying the right sales management software. We've done the legwork for you, thoroughly researching and reviewing the top sales management software slated for 2024. This article will guide you through the standout features of each system, including agent activity monitoring, lead distribution, incentive and commission management, collaboration tools, and goal setting capabilities. Armed with our detailed analysis, you'll be well-prepared to choose the software that not only mitigates your current challenges but also propels your sales operations to new heights of success.

Pipedrive-Logo

Pipedrive

An affordable and intuitive sales CRM

$9.90+/mo

Price increases per plan, trial available

Top Choice

shape-logo-color

Shape

The best sales management CRM with comprehensive sales tools and effortless customization

$119/user/mo

Fixed pricing plan

Freshworks logo

Freshsales

AI powered CRM for efficient sales process

$9-$69+/mo

Price increases per plan, trial available

How are businesses across industries utilizing sales rep management software? 

Sales management software is pivotal in bolstering sales strategies and optimizing team performance. Key uses include:

What features should you look for in sales management software? 

When exploring options for the ideal sales management software for your business, these are the key features to consider:

Quick comparison of the best tools for sales managers

Software Intro Price Differentiator
Shape
$119
The most comprehensive sales management CRM software
Pipedrive
$9.90
Visual pipeline provides intuitive sales tracking and management.
Freshsales
$0
Freshsales AI enables easy sales tracking, goal setting, and automated lead assignment.
Close CRM
$49
Remote sales support with real-time communication and automation features.
HubSpot
Free
Comprehensive reporting capabilities with detailed analytics for tracking sales performance and ROI.
Salesflare
$29
Streamlines B2B sales with quick setup, email integration, and LinkedIn add-on

Our picks for the best sales management CRMs in 2024 are: 

1. Shape

Founded: 1999
HQ: Irvine, California, United States
Key Info
Price: $119/user/mo
Free plan: No
Support: 24/7 (In-product support + email)
Best For
Sales teams looking for a comprehensive and customizable sales management system
Pros
+ The platform includes tools for capturing leads from various sources and managing them through the sales pipeline.
+ With Shape's point of sale software, businesses can quickly and easily process transactions, manage customer data, and track sales data in real-time.
+ Fast implementation and easy integration
Cons
- Steep Learning curve
- No phone support
Integrations
Calendly, Zapier, MailChimp, WordPress, and many more
Pricing Model
Sales & Marketing CRM: $119/user/mo
Point of Sale: $47/user/mo
Lead Funnels: $299/mo

Designed to cater to the needs of several industries, including legal, real estate, mortgage, insurance, and more, Shape CRM is a versatile software skilled at managing various sales aspects.

Shape makes lead management effortless. The CRM automates lead distribution with customizable distribution rules based on predefined criteria such as the agent’s expertise, location, availability, and any other relevant factor to your business. This automated distribution ensures the best fitting agent is assigned to each lead, leading to prompt follow-ups, better customer experience, and a more efficient sales process.

Plus, with the AI based lead scoring, all customers are automatically assigned a score based on your company’s ideal customer profile, so you can focus on leads with the highest likelihood of closing. Shape also automates repetitive and simple tasks such as data entry, routine communication, and follow-up reminders, so that agents can focus on more critical interactions. 

Shape CRM lead distribution rules

After assigning your leads efficiently, teamwork seals the deal. Effective communication and collaboration among agents help them maximize their efforts and attain your business goals quickly. Shape allows team members to view each other's records, making it easier to share information, support one another, and work collectively towards meeting sales targets.

That’s not all. You’ll have a bird’s eye view of your entire sales pipeline through the comprehensive tracking and reporting features. Shape automatically logs and reports phone, text, and email communications thanks to the built-in communications center. So, you can track each agent’s activities and overall performance from their various communications channels to meetings scheduled, and deals closed all within the CRM. 

Tracking this data is easy thanks to the CRM’s drag-and-drop deal flow board that allows you to visually follow your deal progress, giving you complete visibility and control. Similar to a Kanban board, Shape’s flow board represents deals as cards and can be moved across different stages of your sales pipeline by simply dragging and dropping them. You can see exactly where each deal stands in the sales process, and manage them effectively.

You can also set and track individual and team goals within the software and see them on the dashboard. Shape goes on to make performance analysis easier with 50 pre-built reports and the ability to create custom reports so you can track your sales metrics and easily report on any agent's activities.

Shape CRM reporting and Analytics

Do you have members of your team that are frequently on the go? Shape’s mobile app caters to this use case so there’s no break in workflow or productivity even when away from the office. They can easily access all prioritized activities, contacts, messages, review notes, on their palms without needing a computer. The in-app calling, text messages, and emails also ensure that seamless communication with clients and team members continues uninterrupted. 

To crown it all, Shape integrates thousands of your favorite apps through Zapier so you can effortlessly sync your workflow across various platforms. 

Getting started is easy. After signing up, the support team does all the heavy lifting through onboarding webinars to import your data, configure your team, and train you team on how to make the most of the platform’s features and tools.

Overall, Shape’s strengths in customization, collaboration, and automation make it the top sales management software. You can effortlessly capture leads from various sources and manage them through the pipeline. The CRM even has point-of-sale software, so you can quickly process transactions, manage customer data, and track sales data in real-time.

Although you might experience a steep learning curve when starting with Shape, the combination of the CRM’s well organized interface and dedicated customer support ensures fast implementation. At $99 a month, Shapes is the best sales management CRM for businesses across various industries, and the 4.7/5 overall Value for money score on Capterra attests to this. 

2. Pipedrive

Founded: 2010
HQ: New York, United States
Key info
Free plan: No
Support: Live chat, phone & help center
Best for
Ideal for smaller teams needing customizable pipeline tracking and performance analytics.
Pros
+ The CRM gives a holistic view of sales pipeline, making it possible to recognize bottlenecks, put in priority deals, and allocate resources efficiently.
+ Customizable stages and drag-and-drop functionality make tracking deal progress a breeze.
+ Pipedrive's email integration ensures no detail is missed and simplifies communication tracking.
Cons
- Limited advanced customization makes it unsuitable for complex sales processes
- The pipeline can get crowded and become difficult to navigate when working on a large number of leads
- Mobile app performance is not smooth
Integrations
Xero, Zapier, Quickbooks, QuarterOne, and many more
Pricing Model*
Essential: $9.90 per month (one user)
Advanced: $19.90 per month (one user)
Professional: $39.90 per month (one user)
Power: $49.90 per month (one user)
Enterprise: $59.90 per month (one user)

Pipedrive’s selling point is providing a simple selling experience. This sales management software is designed around a customizable visual pipeline that displays your leads as they progress through your sales funnel so you can easily track them. 

You can set activity-based goals and keep an eye on the entire team’s performance across the board through real-time reports on phone calls, emails, demos, and any other activity they engage in to interact with leads. Even though Pipedrive, by default, comes with a list of activity types, you can create as many unique activities as you need and customize them to match your sales cycle.

With the real time reports, you can see both individual and team performance so you identify the best performers that can take on greater responsibilities as well as those who are falling behind and where they need assistance. 

Pipedrive deals

Knowing each agent’s capability, you can assign leads to them based on their strengths. It’s even easier with the CRM’s automatic lead distribution and assignment tool. You can create multiple rules to automatically distribute leads evenly to salespersons and set priorities so that it considers the most relevant criteria first before assigning a new lead or deal to any agent. 

These criteria could range from agent expertise, personal connections, availability, and more. Being able to set multiple rules and prioritize them to ensure customers are getting the best experience adds to Pipedrive’s versatility. 

This versatility also extends to functionalities that are not natively supported within the CRM. For example, although you can not set up performance related rewards like commissions within the CRM, it integrates with third party tools that can do the job. 

When we tested Pipedrive, we noticed that its team-focused features, such as instant team updates, performance tracking, and access management clearly emphasize the software's aim to offer a simple selling experience.

Pipedrive dashboard

These tools help prevent errors and duplicate work, keeping the entire team focused on the same long-term goals and aware of their performance metrics. The result? A smoother sales process where collaboration is seamless and every team member can easily access essential information and work towards business growth. 

Pipedrive also adds affordability to the offer. The pricing plans are between $9.90 and $59.90 per month, with a 14-day free trial to test the waters. 

To wrap things up, Pipedrive is a top contender on this list because its visual pipeline, customizable stages, and drag-and-drop functionality make tracking deal progress effortless. However, since the CRM is more focused on simplicity, it offers limited advanced customization making it unsuitable for complex sales processes and better suited for smaller teams. 

We also noticed during our test that the sales pipeline can easily get crowded and difficult to navigate when working on a large number of leads. So, if you are managing a large sales team, Pipedrive may not be the ideal choice. Despite this limitation, the CRM’s  4.5/5 score on Capterra shows that it meets the needs of small to medium teams as designed. 

3. Freshsales

Founded: 2010
HQ: San Mateo, California, United States
Key info
Free plan: Yes
Support: Email, phone, chat & knowledge base
Best for
Ideal for small businesses seeking intuitive sales management software with AI-powered automation and real-time analytics.
Pros
+ Freshsales offers a streamlined, intuitive user experience that makes it accessible even to those who might not be tech-savvy.
+ The CRM's reminders and automation capabilities ensure that no customer is forgotten, leading to better engagement and customer satisfaction.
+ Admin has full control on customization of screen, options and layouts
Cons
- Some of the features, such as the email campaigns and lead scoring, may not be very robust or customizable
- Users report bugs with the email functionality
- The platform can be slow and sluggish especially when handling large datasets
Integrations
Segment, Typeform, Shopify, and dozens of apps through Zapier
Pricing Model*
Free
Growth: $9 per month
Pro: $39 per month
Enterprise: $69 per month

As the name implies, Freshsales is a sales management software. It is part of the Freshworks business suite. It is an AI-powered, easy-to-use sales CRM designed to help small businesses and startups grow their pipeline, increase productivity, and boost conversions.

Right within the software, both the sales manager and agents can automatically schedule day-to-day activities including meetings, calls, emails, and more, to optimize the entire sales process. The sales management tool has a Sales Activities feature that can track and report on all these activities, indicating which ones increase conversions so you can focus on them and start closing deals faster. 

This also includes custom activities that are unique to your business, such as workshop attendance, events, and physical meetings. With these activity reports, you’ll get a holistic view of the entire team and make more informed decisions on optimizing your sales process. 

To quantify your performance better, you can even set and track individual and team goals. This simple action ensures that both managers and agents are on the right path towards meeting overall sales objectives and targets.

Pipedrive sales dashboard

Like Shape and Pipedrive, Freshales also removes the need to manually assign leads. You can auto assign leads based on custom rules that are specific to your team's structure or business needs. 

However, this functionality is only available in the CRM’s pro and enterprise plans. Knowing how important it is to sales management, if you are a small business and shelling out $39 to $69 monthly is outside your budget, you may need to consider other options.

When testing Freshsales, what stood out for us was how it provides solutions to support the management of sales agents’ commissions, even though it is not a built-in feature. You can easily manage commissions using custom fields or third-party apps. 

With custom fields, the 'Formula field' type specifically comes handy in this situation. These are fields that automatically calculate their value from a formula assigned by the admin. For instance, you could create a field that determines sales commissions as a percentage of the deal value.

Likewise, Freshsales integration with apps like Core Commissions also automates the commission calculation and management process. This tool uses an advanced rules engine that can handle the most complicated incentive and commission pay plans and instantly generate commission reports.

Pipedrive assignment rules creation

Team work makes the dream work! Even with these features, if your team does not have synergy, you may not get the full benefits of the CRM’s potential. Freshsales promotes communication and collaboration among the team through internal notifications and contextual collaboration with Slack.

The internal teams receive notifications every time custom actions, such as lead sign ups, cancellations, upgrades, etc, are completed. This coupled with real time collaboration via Slack, results in more closed deals.

Freshsales offers a free plan, but we found it to be too basic and it didn’t provide access to the most essential sales manager tools. When you want to switch to the paid plan, it starts at an affordable $9 but quickly escalates to $69 and even higher when you need more features and add-ons. This can be daunting for a startup or small business.

Ultimately, Freshsales’ streamlined, intuitive user experience makes it easily accessible even if you are not tech-savvy. The CRM's reminders and automation capabilities also ensure that no customer is left behind, leading to better customer interactions and customer service.

However, when we evaluated the platform, we noticed it falls short in database management as the software solution became slow and sluggish when handling large datasets. Users also report issues with the email functionality, indicating limitations in email campaigns customizations. Nevertheless, it boasts a 4.5/5 rating on Capterra, so it’s definitely worth a test ride. 

4. Close

Founded: 2013
HQ: San Francisco, California, United States
Key info
Free plan: No
Support: Phone, email & chat
Best for
Small businesses and startups seeking advanced pipeline management with integrated calling features
Pros
+ The platform is easy to use with 1-click access for key tasks like call, text, email, notes
+ Easy to create views of prospects in seconds and have an overall view of where they are in the sales process.
+ Close email templates are convenient for reducing repetitive emails.
Cons
- Migrating data to shape can be challenging
- Reporting options are limited
- Has limits on custom activities
Integrations
Hubspot, Zoom, Zapier, and over 50+ other Apps
Pricing Model*
Starter: $25 per month/user
Basic: $59 per month/user
Professional: $89 per month/user
Business: $129 per month/user

Launched in 2013, Close is a powerful CRM for growing remote-based sales teams. From the clean UI that quickly highlights the features your agents use daily to the built-in real-time communication and automation features, Close CRM is designed to support sales reps every step of the sale, regardless of their location, to close more deals in less time.

You can set up goals using custom activities in the CRM, and then monitor your team's progress towards these goals through the real-time updates on calls, emails, won deals, etc., visible in the CRM's Activity Reports and Dashboards. Although this feature provides valuable sales intelligence, the reporting system is limited. You’d have to export your data into an external Excel database to get comprehensive analysis which can make your workflow tedious.

Lead assignment in Close can be manual through a custom field or automatic via lead assignment rules or round-robin assignment. You can add a Lead Owner custom field to each lead to indicate which sales person is assigned to it so your team can quickly identify which member of the team owns that lead.

Close CRM pipeline

For automated assignments, you can set up assignment rules based on criteria like territory, expertise, and lead priority. This is helpful when your leads have specific needs or characteristics that can only be met by certain members of the team. 

But if your inbound leads can be handled by just anyone on the team or if you realize after setting up your assignment rules that multiple team members are qualified to handle the same leads, using a round-robin system through Zapier to randomly distribute them among team members, ensures that the workload is distributed evenly.

When it comes to handling financial incentives for the team, Close CRM links sales performance to rewards through its QuotaPath integration. QuotaPath automatically receives updated deal information and provides real-time updates on existing and projected commissions within the CRM. This integration not only promotes fair and transparent management of commissions but also becomes a source of motivation for your sales agents.

Close CRM sales funnel

As we tested Close, it became clear why the CRM is fitting for remote sales force. It ensures all the team members are moving in a unified direction through its centralized communication, collaboration, and lead context tools. 

You can also assign tasks to team members and see what everyone is working on, track their revenue, and watch how prospects move through the pipeline. All these functionalities come together to bridge the gap between physical distance and remote teams, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Close’s pricing is on the high side, with the base plan set at $49 monthly. From $49, it exponentially increases to $299 and $699. A small team may not have the budget for this, and large teams with the budget may have to take a step back due to the limited custom activities and reporting options. 

All things considered, Close CRM is an easy to use platform thanks to an intuitive interface that allows 1-click access for major tasks like calls, texts, emails, and notes. In just seconds, you can create views of prospects and get an overall view of where they are in the sales process. However, we found it challenging to migrate data from Close to Shape, which points to a lack of flexibility if you need to switch CRM platforms later on.  

5. HubSpot

Founded: 2006
HQ: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Key info
Price: Starts at $15 per month
Free plan: Yes
Support: Knowledge base, community, email, chat & phone
Best for
Best for sales leaders needing comprehensive automation and task management at an affordable price.
Pros
+ Robust task management
+ Reporting feature helps sales reps keep track of their performance
+ Comprehensive automation capability
Cons
- Gmail integration does not work well
- limited customization options
- The platform is quite costly for startups and small businesses
Integrations
Zapier, WordPress, Stripe, Better Proposals, and many more
Pricing Model
Starter: Starts at $15
Professional: Professional: $90 per month
Enterprise: $150 per month

HubSpot’s sales hub brings all your sales information into one easy-to-use location. Within this hub, you can access the entire team's information, view each deal’s stage in your pipeline, and get updated with critical information about each lead.

It has a convenient sales goals feature that allows sales managers to create quotas for each agent. The quotas can either be created based on templates provided by the CRM or from scratch as a custom goal. Regardless of your method, you can monitor the progress of your goals and see how your sales team’s daily activities, from calls and emails to meetings and tasks, contribute to achieving them.  

If you are subscribed to the Professional or Enterprise plans, you will get access to sales analytics tools to get both a general overview and detailed analysis of these activities. As you monitor your team’s activities, you can also track their commissions within the CRM using custom fields in the report builder. 

HubSpot Sales Hub

However, if the calculations are complex, perhaps including bonuses, varying rates, or tiered commissions, the CRM also integrates seamlessly with third party tools specialized in handling complex commission calculations. 

Distributing leads in HubSpot occurs via sophisticated automations or workflows. After creating your routing criteria, your leads are qualified and automatically distributed. We found HubSpot’s workflows very robust, such that even when your prospect’s needs become more complex, they not only route them to the right reps but can also trigger personalized follow-up actions and maintain speedy response. 

Like other CRMs on this list, HubSpot promotes teamwork and collaboration while working on a deal. All you have to do is add the agents involved in the process as collaborators, and any of them can view, edit, or delete the deal. 

HubSpot automation

Thanks to HubSpot’s free CRM, this sales management software has become a famous choice for many small businesses and startups, with many reviews referring to it as a “solid beginner model.” But that’s arguably where its advantage ends- being a beginner tool. 

As your business expands, you’ll be forced to upgrade to higher subscription plans, which comes at a significantly high cost. Basically, you’ll transition from a free plan to paying $18 monthly and potentially paying as much as $450 to $1500 monthly as your needs grow. These costs even increase further with each additional user you add to your plans.

Overall, HubSpot’s robust sales automation, task management, and reporting features make it one of the best sales management software tools. However, the platform can get very costly for small businesses and startups having you shell out hundreds to thousands of dollars a month. 

Plus, for a platform that expensive, it has limited customization options, and the Gmail integration does not work optimally which is not good value for money if your sales strategies rely heavily on these features.

6. Salesflare

Founded: 2014
HQ: Antwerp, Belgium
Key info
Price: $29/user/mo
Trial: 14 days
Support: Phone, email & chat
Best for
Ideal for B2B sales teams seeking a robust system for lead generation.
Pros
+ The LinkedIn add-in in one click creates accounts, opportunities, and contacts in your Salesflare CRM as you browse on LinkedIn
+ Email integration keeps track of all client interactions
+ Can be set up in under 30 minutes
Cons
- CRM provides basic reports
- Tag management is not robust
Limited options for custom fields
Integrations
Emailable, Quickbooks, Better Proposals, Mailchimp, and more
Pricing Model*
Growth: $29 per user/month
Pro: $49 per user/month
Enterprise: $99 per month (from 5 users)

Salesflare boasts of saving companies up to 70% of their time by automating data entry, making it easy to track customers and their communication. It is solely a B2B sales CRM, so if your business does not fall into that category, Salesflare is not for you. 

The software is quick to set up and can help you monitor and report team activities like average email sends, most active agent, average calls, best performing reps, and many others. You can even set targets for each pipeline and year for your reps and track the progress through the CRM’s reporting tool. 

Sales commissions can also be recorded and tracked within the CRM using custom fields that involve numbers. Salesflare, however, falls behind in its lead distribution capability. It has no automatic distribution tools, and you’ll have to assign your leads manually. 

Salesflare team management

This is a big contrast to Salesflare’s promise of saving companies time because as your business scales and you have a significant increase in lead volume, manual lead assignments only become more time consuming and less efficient

The CRM, however, shines in providing comprehensive collaboration features such as shared communications and email templates, a centralized address book, and relationship intelligence. Customer conversations can be easily shared in one place so the entire team can follow up and address them without being actively involved in the communication. 

The relationship intelligence tool stood out for us when testing the CRM. With this tool, you can see whoever has any form of relationship with a company among your team and leverage that knowledge to build stronger connections. 

Salesflare template creation

Salesflare offers a generous 30-day free trial to acclimatize you with the CRM before subscribing to one of its three paid plans. The paid plans include the growth plan at $29 per user monthly, the pro plan at $49 per user monthly, and the enterprise plan at $99 per user monthly. This cost only applies if you opt for an annual subscription with five or more users.

In the end, Salesflare shines for its quick set up, email integration, and collaboration tools. We also tried its LinkedIn add-on during our test and found it highly flexible. In one click, you can create contacts and opportunities in your CRM as you browse through LinkedIn.  

However, this flexibility does not apply to lead distribution as you are stuck with the time consuming manual lead assignments when using this CRM. The reporting and custom fields feature are also somewhat limited as the system is built to be simple for teams to implement.  

Before settling on sales management software for your business, taking the time to do comprehensive research is essential.

This article has explored the critical functionalities that sales management software should offer, highlighting everything from agent activity monitoring and lead distribution to the management of incentives and the facilitation of team collaboration. Each system reviewed offers distinct features aimed at enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales operations. The choice now rests with you to select the software that not only meets your specific needs but also empowers your team to achieve and surpass their goals. With the right sales management software, you can elevate your sales strategies, foster a more productive sales environment, and ultimately, drive your business's success to new heights.

Shape Software all-in-one CRM logo

Our Top Pick - Shape

stars-yellow

4.8/5 - from 2,000+ reviews

All-in-one software for marketing, sales, customer service, CRM, and operations. Improve communication and maximize your business.

Pease note: All pricing mentioned in this article is based on information available as of 07-05-2024 and sourced from the respective companies' public pricing pages. While we strive for accuracy, we recommend verifying with the specific company for the most up-to-date details.