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Top 9 Best Lead Management CRM Software For 2024
-
Chloe Larson
In the digital landscape of B2B sales in 2024, Lead Management CRMs are the superheroes of the sales and marketing world. In this guide, we're zooming in on the CRMs that are masters at capturing and corralling leads from every corner of the digital realm – from social media to email to SMS marketing. These tools don't just collect leads; they transform them into well-organized segments, setting the stage for marketing strategies that really resonate. Picture a system that not only identifies your hottest prospects with advanced lead scoring but also harmonizes the efforts of your sales and marketing teams.
Pipedrive
An affordable CRM for lead management with robust features
$9.90+/mo
Price increases per plan, trial available
- Powerful automation
- Leads inbox
- Advanced reports
- 450+ integrations
Top Choice
Shape
A comprehensive CRM, offering omnichannel lead generation and nurturing for end-to-end lead management.
$119/user/mo
Fixed pricing plan
- Lead engine for web traffic conversion
- Customizable lead funnels
- Advanced custom reporting tools
- AI powered lead scoring
Salesflare
An automated CRM for boosting the productivity of B2B sales teams
$29+/mo
Price increases per plan, trial available
- Automated lead enrichment
- Visual lead hotness indicator
- Comprehensive email automation
- Shared address Book
What is a CRM?
A CRM, or Customer Relationship Management system, is a tool used to manage interactions with customers and potential customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability in sales, marketing, and service divisions.
What is lead management software?
Put simply, lead management software is a digital tool designed to capture, track, and manage prospective customers' information. It streamlines the process of converting leads into clients by effectively organizing and prioritizing leads for businesses.
Arm your business with powerful reporting and forecasting
The best lead management CRM is like having your very own sales strategy sidekick, helping you peer into the future of your campaigns and lead conversion performance. As we explore the top nine lead management CRMs of 2024, each emerges as a key ally in streamlining and optimizing your sales journey, ready to propel your business to new heights.Â
From gathering leads under one digital roof to crafting personalized marketing campaigns that hit the bullseye, and prioritizing prospects like a pro – it's all about making every lead count. Let’s explore some real-world examples and the nifty CRM features that are turning businesses into lead management powerhouses.
It's time to amp up your lead game!Â
10 essential features every good lead management CRM software should haveÂ
Diving right into the action, let’s explore everything from magnetic lead capture to dynamic segmentation, intuitive scoring, and even a dash of crystal ball forecasting in the best lead management CRM.
- 1. Supercharged lead capture: A top-notch CRM should be like a lead magnet, effortlessly pulling in leads from various sources – think websites, socials, and email campaigns. This feature is crucial for not letting any potential customer slip through the digital cracks.
- 2. Dynamic lead segmentation: Segmenting leads is like having a secret decoder ring. It categorizes prospects based on criteria like demographics or behaviors, making targeted marketing strategies a breeze.
- 3. Intuitive lead scoring: Just like a game, lead scoring ranks your prospects on their likelihood to convert. This feature helps prioritize follow-up efforts, so you're always chasing the hottest leads.
- 4. Robust tracking and analytics: A good CRM should be like having a sales detective on your team. It tracks the journey of leads through the sales funnel, providing insights on behavior and conversion rates, essential for fine-tuning your strategies.
- 5. Sales and marketing symphony: For perfect harmony, your CRM should align sales and marketing efforts. It’s essential for a synchronized approach in nurturing leads, featuring tools like email templates and SMS marketing.
- 6. Powerful reporting and forecasting: Think of this as your crystal ball. Robust reporting and forecasting tools in a CRM help you analyze performance and predict future sales trends, crucial for strategic planning.
- 7. Seamless integration capabilities: A great CRM plays well with others. Integration with existing tools and platforms ensures a smooth workflow, making it easier to manage leads without juggling multiple systems.
- 8. Mobile accessibility: In today's fast-paced world, a mobile-friendly CRM is like having a sales command center in your pocket, ensuring you can manage leads on-the-go.
- 9. Automated workflow magic: Automation in a CRM is like having a personal assistant, handling routine tasks like lead nurturing emails and follow-up reminders, freeing up time for more strategic activities.
- 10. Customizable dashboards: Your CRM should be as unique as your business. Customizable dashboards allow you to view the metrics that matter most to you, making it easy to keep a finger on the pulse of your lead management efforts.
With these ten essential features, a lead management CRM transforms from a simple tool into a powerhouse for businesses, making lead management not just effective but also an exciting part of the sales journey!Â
5 effective ways to get the most out of your lead management CRM
Ready to harness the full potential of the best lead management CRM? In this section, we’ll explore the common ways businesses are utilizing lead management CRM. The strategies below will take your lead management to the next level for maximum efficiency. We're talking about everything from maximizing lead-capturing capabilities to unlocking advanced segmentation strategies and leveraging the power of analytics for smarter decision-making.
- 1. Centralized lead collection: Business owners and sales teams are tapping into the power of lead management CRMs to centralize lead collection from various channels. For example, a company might use its CRM to gather leads from its website forms, social media interactions, and email marketing campaigns. This feature ensures that every potential customer is captured in one place, making it easier to manage and respond to them promptly.
- 2. Segmentation for personalized marketing: Sales teams are leveraging CRMs to segment leads based on specific criteria like demographics, behavior, or purchase history. For instance, a retail business might use CRM data to identify customers who frequently purchase a particular product category and then send them targeted marketing emails about new arrivals in that category. This personalized approach increases the likelihood of conversion and customer retention.
- 3. Lead scoring for prioritization: Lead management CRMs often include lead scoring features, which businesses use to prioritize their efforts. A real estate agency, for example, could score leads based on the likelihood of property purchase. High-scoring leads (like those actively searching for homes) receive immediate attention, ensuring the team focuses its energy on the most promising prospects.
- 4. Sales and marketing alignment: By using a CRM, companies are aligning their sales and marketing efforts more effectively. A B2B tech company, for instance, might use its CRM to track which leads have been nurtured by marketing campaigns and are ready for a sales call, ensuring a seamless transition from marketing to sales.
- 5. Performance tracking and forecasting: Businesses use the robust reporting and analytics tools in their CRM to track lead management performance and forecast sales. A software company could analyze CRM data to understand which lead sources are generating the most conversions, helping them refine their marketing strategies and forecast future sales more accurately.
In these ways, lead management CRMs are transforming into essential tools for business owners and sales teams, enabling more strategic decision-making and efficient lead handling. With that out of the way, let’s dive into our picks for the best lead management CRM on the market in 2024.Â
Quick comparison of the best lead management software
| Software | Intro Price | Differentiator |
|---|---|---|
|
Shape |
$119 |
Offers a comprehensive and AI-driven approach to lead distribution, with ShapeIQ for lead scoring and automated multi-channel nurturing |
|
Pipedrive |
$9.90 |
Focuses on being a single source of truth for lead and deal management, with automatic prompts for tasks |
|
Salesflare |
$29 |
Specializes in automated lead enrichment for B2B, with strong automated lead generation and email management |
|
Close CRM |
$49 |
Features Smart Views to create personalized workflows for different lead groups, enhancing targeted engagement. |
|
Freshsales |
$9 |
Freddy AI Lead Scoring system, which uses over 30,000 machine learning models to automatically score leads |
|
Salesforce Sales Cloud |
$25 |
Streamlines operations with effective lead distribution and a comprehensive set of features for diverse business needs. |
|
HubSpot |
$0 |
Provides a suite of artificial intelligence capabilities including data enrichment, sales forecasting, and communication analysis. |
|
Zoho CRM |
$0 |
Builds strong customer relationships with automated lead nurturing |
|
ActiveCampaign |
$9 |
Broad range of automation and email marketing features |
The top 9 best lead management CRM software in 2024 are:Â
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 |
Any-sized business seeking cutting-edge lead management software |
|
Pros |
+ Straightforward to configure
+ Advanced AI lead scoring allows you to qualify and convert leads with ease
+ Manage all accounts, leave notes, and call/text/email them from one system |
|
Cons |
– Limited customization option for the deal section
– Has a slight learning curve |
|
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 |
Topping our list of the best lead management CRM is Shape, an all-in-one sales and marketing software that helps you manage interaction with your contacts, leads, and optimize your operations. The software prides itself in having one of the best sales and marketing suites in the industry with high quality tools that convert your marketing efforts into more sales.
A large part of boosting sales comes from how effectively you capture your leads. Shape starts its lead management process by ensuring you are not letting out any leads slip out through its Lead Engine feature. This feature is designed for one purpose- converting your web traffic into qualified leads. All you have to do is create a customized landing page with forms for your visitors to fill in their details and add it to your website. The CRM then automatically captures all these customer details for lead tracking and management.
The best part is the lead engine provides several attractive and customizable landing page templates, each tailored for different use cases and fully optimized to convert. This means you won't be spending months designing landing pages just to capture leads when you could spend all that time nurturing and converting them.Â
After capturing your leads, Shape ensures you are nurturing them effectively through its segmenting function. You can categorize them based on different characteristics such as demographics, source of acquisition, engagement level, etc. This gives you context when interacting with them so you can provide personalized customer experiences and develop better relationships.
Not all leads convert to sales. While some leads are hot and only need one sales rep to close the deal, others are cold and may never convert. Infact, according to a Berkin study, only 10 to 15% of leads end up below the sales funnel and convert into deals. Therefore, after capturing and segmenting your leads, it’s important to identify the ones that fall into this percentage and prioritize them so you don't end up wasting time on cold leads.
Shape makes this easy through their AI powered lead scoring feature, Shape IQ. Shape IQ analyzes your leads based on 700 data points and automatically assigns scores to them based on how they fit into your ideal customer profile. This removes uncertainty from your lead qualification process so your team can focus more on selling.Â
Shape CRM also ensures that you nurture your leads based on their sales-readiness level with its robust sales and marketing automation features. The CRM comes with automated drip campaigns, pre-built email marketing templates for cold outreach, warm leads, post-closing campaigns, SMS automation, and more.Â
One thing that stands out with Shape is the attention to even the tiniest detail. Shape ensures your text messages are not bland by incorporating attention-grabbing details like pictures, videos, GIFs, and audio to increase your open and reply rates.
While carrying out your lead management efforts, it’s also important to assess and understand how you are performing. This assessment is notjust to measure the success of your leads becoming customers but also to analyze how effective each stage of your lead management process is so you can optimize your efforts.Â
Shape offers advanced custom reporting tools that sorts your data and helps you create reports based on any criteria and format tailored to your team and goals. The insight from these reports ensures that your lead management strategies align with market and customer trends.Â
Overall, Shape earns its spot on this list with its comprehensive omnichannel lead generation and nurturing features that ensures you are not missing out on any potential deals. It provides all the functionalities that support end-to-end lead management from sourcing/marketing to converting the deal to a closed deal.Â
However, having all these features in one CRM also means getting started with the platform can come with a learning curve. This doesn’t have to be a problem, though, as the platform has a dedicated support team, a comprehensive knowledge base, and expert-guided webinars to make your transition seamless. At $119 a month, Shape offers good value for money, although access to the lead engine feature balloons the cost to $299.Â
2. Pipedrive
| Founded: 2010 HQ: New York, United States | |
|---|---|
|
Key info |
Free plan: No
Support: Live chat, phone & help center |
|
Best for |
Businesses looking for a visual CRM for lead management |
|
Pros |
+ User-friendly and straightforward to use.
+ Features a comprehensive range of integration options with over 400 apps.
+ Notable for its automation capabilities. |
|
Cons |
– Lacks a free plan.
– Some users reported limitations in filtering options and report generation.
– Compatibility issues have been noted, particularly with certain phone integrations. |
|
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) |
There's a good reason Pipedrive has become one of the best lead management CRM available today. An increasingly popular name in the CRM space, Pipedrive provides robust functionality in lead management, pipeline management, sales reporting, forecasting, and seamless email integration. The CRM’s Kanban-view interface gives you a clear view of your sales funnel while also managing your sales efforts.
Pipedrive‘s lead management features makes it an ideal choice for small to medium sized businesses. You can capture your leads by importing them directly from spreadsheets and through other sources like chatbots, live chats, web forms, and more. As your leads flow in from multiple sources, they are stored in the Leads Inbox until you’re ready to qualify them to prevent them from cluttering the CRM ensuring that your user experience remains optimal.
When it’s time to qualify your leads, pipedrive allows you to divide them into segments based on their key attributes so you can assess them within each segment. Since your leads are diverse, having them in different segments helps you understand how to approach and communicate with them.Â
Once you have segmented your leads, Pipedrive’s lead scoring feature ranks your leads based on their likelihood to convert to sales. So, at this stage, you not only know how to address your leads and get them to convert, but you also have insights on which leads to prioritize.Â
As simple as email campaigns are, if carefully crafted, they can help you grow a loyal customer base and scale your business without stretching your budget. But for your email campaign to achieve this, they need to grab your audience's attention and cater to their specific needs. Therefore, you need more than just an email service provider or generic email templates.Â
Pipedrive provides attractive and customizable email layouts that help you win your potential clients’ attention. It takes it a step further by adding analytics and tracking features so you are not only winning their attention but getting insights on how to keep them glued to you and take action.Â
During our test, we found Pipedrive’s email campaign features highly intuitive. You can create your layout from one of the ready made templates or create it from scratch. Creating your layouts from scratch is also not as complex as it sounds because of the CRM’s drag and drop elements.
Our favorite aspect of this feature is how it brings all your communications with your contacts in one place. Each time you click on a contact’s name, you will also see their entire email communication history including the emails they got, if and when they opened the email, and what actions they took. This is a very important feature since you will be dividing all your prospects into segments, and each segment will be receiving different messages during your campaigns.
Pipedrive also provides sales reporting software that gives you insights into your winning patterns so you can optimize your campaigns and workflow. These insights are provided in customizable reports and displayed on easy to use interactive dashboards so you can start working on them in no time.Â
Despite all these robust features, Pipedrive remains one of the most affordable lead management CRM software. The base subscription plan costs 9.90 and it covers all the essential lead management features you need.
Altogether, thanks to its blend of affordability, ease of use, and robust features on an affordable platform, Pipedrive remains one of the best lead management CRM software for small business. The CRM’s clear and intuitive interface makes it easy to deal with large volumes of leads and deals efficiently. However, it has limited filters compared to other popular CRM options, and its reporting features are not so extensive. But as a software used by over 100,000 companies, Pipedrive has firmly cemented itself as of the best lead management CRM on the market.
3. Salesflare
| Founded: 2014 HQ: Antwerp, Belgium | |
|---|---|
|
Key info |
Price: $29/user/mo
Trial: 14 days
Support: Phone, email & chat |
|
Best for |
SMEs seeking automated lead enrichment |
|
Pros |
+ Features a strong automated feature for generating leads
+ Offers comprehensive automation in email management
+ Sales and marketing teams can easily monitor the sales status of accounts |
|
Cons |
– Task-related note management can be cumbersome
– Lacks an automatic lead assignment feature
– Integration challenges for large enterprises, as the product isn’t primarily designed for them |
|
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) |
Like Pipedrive, Salesflare is another lead management CRM software ideal for small-sized sales teams. One of its distinct features is its strong automation features designed to improve your sales teams’ workflows. With these features, you can quickly collect customer data, log phone calls, and send personalized emails effortlessly.Â
However, to capture your leads through web forms, you will need to integrate your CRM with Zapier. Similarly, lead segmentation does not come in-built as well. After generating your leads, segmenting them requires integrating with an external tool like LinkedIn sales navigator.Â
Salesflare recommends the LinkedIn sales navigator because of its affordability and ease of use compared to other lead list building services. It uses your company data and professional contact data filters to build your lead list in just minutes.
Once you have your lead list, Salesflare calculates their hotness based on metrics from the previous week such as email opens, email clicks, email exchange, and website visits. Salesflare even takes it a step further by adding fire symbols next to each lead to denote how hot the leads are.Â
For example, a yellow symbol represents a hot lead, while a red symbol signifies that the lead is burning hot. This gives you a quick, visual image on who’s most interested without having to analyze numbers. Salesflare also helps you connect your sales and marketing efforts to speed up your leads to closure with features like automated email workflows, email templates, and email and website tracking.Â
With email templates and automated workflows, you can send sequences of emails to your contacts in just seconds and set the goals you want to achieve from each contact as they move through the workflow.Â
The email and website tracking features compliments your workflow by providing accurate insights into your email and web campaign performance.
You can see reports based on how many people opened and clicked on your email, your website visits, clicks, and more. Although Salesflare comes by default with most of the reports companies commonly use, you can build your own custom report with the custom reporting functionality. However, the catch is this functionality is only available on the Pro Plan, which costs $49 a month when paid annually.Â
Salesflare offers three pricing plans, starting at $29 for the Growth plan, $49 for the Pro plan, and capped at $99 for the Enterprise plan. On the Growth plan, you can track your emails and website visits, automate your CRM data input, send personalized email campaigns, and more. It provides most of the basic features you'll need, except for sending workflows of multiple emails and custom dashboards for reporting, which are only available on the pro and enterprise plans.
Overall, Salesflare’s robust automated lead enrichment features, from automated CRM data input engagement tracking, to workflow automation work together to increase your team’s productivity, and ultimately, your revenue.Â
However, the data import feature is basic when compared to other CRM options. Additionally, capturing leads from website contact forms and segmenting them does not come by default with the CRM. you will have to integrate an external software to get these functionalities, which could increase your costs and complicate your workflow.
4. Close
| Founded: 2013 HQ: San Francisco, California, United States | |
|---|---|
|
Key info |
Free plan: No
Support: Phone, email & chat |
|
Best for |
Businesses with a broad range os prospects seeking advanced targeting options and personalization |
|
Pros |
+ Offers detailed filtering options for leads.
+ Simplifies the process of importing and exporting leads.
+ The Smartview feature makes prioritizing and handling prospects straightforward. |
|
Cons |
– Custom report creation is not available for non-enterprise clients.
– Options for customization are somewhat restricted.
– The automation workflows lack support for very specific conditions. |
|
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 |
Close CRM is an all-in-one CRM for growing sales teams. The platform’s lead management tools allow you to monitor communication history, track interactions, and automate your workflows to ensure your sales team maintains a proactive and optimized approach to lead nurturing.
If you have existing leads recorded on a spreadsheet, you can easily import them when you transition to using Close through the lead importer feature. However, for leads from other sources like google forms, slack, facebook ads, and mailchimp subscribers, you’ll need a Zapier integration. Zapier helps you transfer data between popular web services without needing a developer.Â
After importing your leads, you can use the Smart Views feature to speed up your sales processes. Smart views are pre-saved lead filters that help you create lists or segments of users in just one click.Â
This feature stood out for us during our test for a number of reasons. For example, it automatically tells you who to follow up with and when to follow up with the prospect, removing the need to create long tasks and reminders. This helps you avoid clutter and prioritize your process to reach the right leads faster. Plus, since leads flow in and out of the Smart Views based on your filters, you can easily set up workflows to reach out to them at the best time.Â
Regardless of the volume of leads you are working with, scoring your leads is important so you can cater to the most important leads quickly and focus on the rest. Close integrates these lead scores into your workflows so you can easily identify which one to prioritize.Â
Once you know what leads require priority, you can engage them through the CRM’s email, call and SMS multi-channel automation features. These features include email templates, call coaching, call assistants for note taking, and a power dialer. They solve most of your sales reps’ pain points, from phone number searches, busy signals, to missing information during calls. For example, the predictive dialer can dial multiple numbers at once, and a sales rep would only have to take the call when a human answers, saving them the time they would have spent dialing multiple numbers manually and receiving no response.Â
The call assistant also automatically transcribes your conversations during every call and gives you an accurate summary of the call as well as action items. We found this feature highly functional because it means you never have to take notes and interpret them anymore. You can just focus on implementing the action items provided by the call assistant, increasing your productivity.Â
Close’s lead nurturing features do not end at emails and calls. The CRM is also there to offer support with Zoom video meetings. This function is especially handy if your sales teams are working remotely. Once you connect your Zoom account to Close, you can manage all your Zoom meetings and recordings on the platform.
After implementing all these features on the CRM, you will get activity, opportunity, and workflow performance reports to analyse your lead management performance. With the activity reports and dashboards, you can see all of your team's activity in real-time. The opportunity report on the other hand, gives you an overview of all the opportunities you create on a list.Â
You can also create custom reports, but this is only available in the enterprise plan. Close CRM’s pricing is a bit on the high side. The base subscription plan costs $49, but from there, it rises exponentially to $299 and $699 monthly, which may not be realistic for a small sales or marketing team.Â
The bottom line is Close shines for its robust segmenting and multichannel lead nurturing features. It also offers a robust tracking and reporting feature that gives you a peek into lead behavior and helps you enhance your efficiency and boost your conversion rate.
However, during our test we compared the functionalities of Close CRM’s web app and the mobile app and realized the mobile app does not offer the same comprehensive functionality you’ll find on its web-based version. Also, the lower tier subscription plans do not offer full reporting capabilities. You will have to shell out $699 a month to get access to custom reports.
5. Freshsales
| Founded: 2010 HQ: San Mateo, California, United States | |
|---|---|
|
Key info |
Free plan: Yes
Support: Email, phone, chat & knowledge base |
|
Best for |
Startups seeking easy-to-use lead management features |
|
Pros |
+ Simple and quick to set up.
+ Affordable and includes a wide range of features.
+ Easily integrates with various other software platforms. |
|
Cons |
– Customer support and billing communication are lacking.
– To access certain functionalities standard in other CRMs, purchasing additional Freshworks products is necessary.
– New users may find the system’s complexity daunting. |
|
Integrations |
Segment, Typeform, Shopify, and dozens of apps through Zapier |
|
Pricing Model* |
Free
Growth: $9 per month
Pro: $39 per month
Enterprise: $59 per month |
Freshsales is part of the larger Freshworks framework that offers affordable and excellent AI-powered contact and lead-scoring features to track the sales pipeline. It has a generous free plan with many basic lead management features, making it a great selection for startups small businesses on a budget looking for a powerful CRM on a budget.Â
Freshsales lets you capture leads automatically from emails and websites, import them from a CSV file, and add them manually.Â
With Freshsales, adding leads manually is not as hectic as it sounds. The CRM has a quick add button that lets you add leads quickly through the new lead form. Even though this is a manual process, we found it highly intuitive.Â
The quick add button is placed permanently on the Quick Actions bar and can be accessed anywhere you are in the CRM, whether you are on a call with a prospect, reading emails, or listening to voicemails.Â
You can use data coming from different systems to create as many segments of your customers as you want. Our favorite part of Freshsales’ customer segments is how the list is automatically updated. In other words, once a customer meets or no longer meets the requirements for a segment, they are automatically added or deleted.Â
What sets Freshsales apart the most are its advanced AI-based features. One of them is the built-in AI powered lead scoring and prioritization feature that ranks your sales leads using implicit and explicit lead data. It ensures that the scores assigned to each lead reflect their current interest level by updating them every time they engage with your business. You’ll also get weekly reports on increase or decline in lead scores as well as factors that contributed to the change in scores so you can follow up accordingly.
Freshsales has one of the most robust tracking and reporting capabilities on this list. From tracking your leads’ website behavior, to providing deal insights, and gauging the success of your marketing and sales campaigns, Freshsales ensures you are making data-driven decisions, boosting your sales teams’ success rate.Â
It takes this report functionality to another level by providing revenue metrics. With the revenue and sales cycle reports, you can identify the best and least performing campaigns, the top performers on your sales team, and the regions with leading sales. All these reports are shareable with your sales people so all hands can be on deck on leveraging the insights to optimize your processes and grow your revenue.
To wrap up, if you have a large volume of leads in your pipeline, Freshsales’ AI powered lead scoring features as well as its comprehensive tracking and reporting abilities makes it a top choice for keeping track of things and staying organized. It also stands out for offering a free plan with contact and lead management features. However, to access the AI-powered features, you will need to operate to a paid plan between $15 and $69 monthly. Considering the CRM’s advanced features, it is good value for money.
On the flip side, we noticed during our test that it does not manage duplicate entries effectively, and you may have to manually sort them out. Similarly, we didn’t find the mobile app experience smooth, so if your sales team are usually on the go and would rely heavily on the mobile app, you may have to use another CRM option.Â
6. Salesforce Sales Cloud
| Founded: 1999 HQ: San Francisco, California, United States | |
|---|---|
|
Key Info |
Price: Starts at $25
Free plan: No; Trial available
Support: Phone & Email
|
|
Best For |
Large businesses with complex operations seeking to streamline their lead management |
|
Pros |
+ Enhances lead and opportunity management, increasing sales conversions and efficiency.
+ Assists sales representatives in pinpointing the most promising prospects in their pipeline.
+ Offers real-time visibility into every client interaction and touchpoint. |
|
Cons |
– Cumulative costs for licenses and subscriptions can be substantial, with extra expenses for customizations.
– Basic charts and graphs are sufficient for beginners but may lack depth for larger organizations.
– The platform’s complexity can pose challenges in learning and navigation, especially for field sales personnel. |
|
Integrations |
Integrates with over 3000 apps through mulesoft and App Exchange |
|
Pricing Model |
Starter: $25 per month for one user
Professional: $80 per month for one user
Enterprise: $165 per month for one user
Ultimate: $330 per month for one user |
Salesforce Sales Cloud is another AI-powered lead management CRM software. This software automates your sales efforts, helps you nurture your leads, and monitor your marketing results, contributing to higher lead conversion rates.
You can generate leads directly from your company’s website visitors as well as from socials. Salesforce has a new Lead Capture for Sales Cloud app that allows the marketing team to collect lead data from platforms like Facebook and share them with the sales team to start nurturing them faster.
Like Freshsales, Sales Cloud also has an AI powered lead scoring feature. This feature comes with default sales cycle intelligence, built-in lead and opportunity scoring, as well as insights from calls, interactions, and deal health. The downside, though, is it is only available in the unlimited plan, which costs a whopping $330 per month.
After qualifying your leads, you can nurture them through email campaigns. However, to segment these leads before starting your campaigns, you’ll need access to the Salesforce marketing cloud. In the marketing cloud, you can define the criteria you want to segment your leads on so you can start personalizing your messages to communicate with them better. Â
The CRM makes sending bulk easy by providing email templates that give you a head start.Â
As you nurture your leads, you can also track them easily with real-time customizable reports and dashboards so you can make more informed decisions.Â
However, what really hit the nail on the head for us while testing Sales Cloud is the Einstein Conversion Insights feature. With this feature, every call your sales team has with prospects, leads, or deals result in actionable insights.
It is directly built into the CRM and automatically transcribes your recorded voice and video calls into summaries that include your next best steps. You can even compile a collection of your successful calls so your sales reps can replicate them. The best part is you’ll get all these insights in real time, so you can start working on them immediately leaving no time for the opportunity to get cold.
Sales Cloud pricing plans drift towards the expensive side, with pricing between $24 to $500. Although the $25 starter plan offers lead management features, other important analytics, reporting, and automation features are only available on the more expensive tiers.Â
In the end, from lead generation to opportunity tracking and a real-time dashboard that gives you a bird's-eye view of your entire sales process, Salesforce Sales Cloud provides a seamless lead management experience. However, most of its essential features are only available in the expensive subscription plans, which may be out of reach for smaller businesses with tighter budgets. That being said, Sales Cloud remains an impressive lead management solution for large enterprises.
7. HubSpot
| Founded: 2006 HQ: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Key Info |
Price: Starts at $0
Free plan: Available; Trial: 14 Days
Support: Phone, email & chat
|
|
|
Best For |
Businesses of various sizes seeking comprehensive lead management with personalized email sequences |
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Pros |
+ Integrated lead touchpoints for personalized follow-ups
+ Automatically logs call and email communication to contact record
+ Automated lead scoring and prioritization |
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Cons |
– Learning curve, especially for new team members, can be a bit challenging.
– Pricing structure might be on the higher side for smaller businesses with tighter budgets.
– Occasional minor glitches in the system can be frustrating. |
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Integrations |
Google Calendar, WordPress, Gmail, Mailchimp, and 1000+ other apps |
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Pricing Model |
Starter: $15 per user per month
Professional: $90 per user per month
Enterprise: $130 per user per month |
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HubSpot CRM, recognized for its comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline lead management, stands as a popular choice among businesses of various sizes. Its innovative features facilitate efficient lead capture and nurturing, contributing to an enhanced sales process. The CRM's personalized email sequences are particularly noteworthy, allowing businesses to engage prospects with tailored messages. This feature offers a range of sequence types, including nurturing and follow-up emails, which can be customized with personalization tokens to connect more effectively with prospects.
Forms are another significant aspect of HubSpot's lead management capabilities. They are easily created and integrated into HubSpot pages or external sites, and each form submission automatically adds prospects to the CRM. This seamless addition of new leads enables businesses to promptly engage with them through various follow-ups, such as calls or personalized emails.
The meeting scheduling tool within HubSpot CRM is a notable innovation, streamlining the coordination of meetings with prospects. This feature syncs with Google or Office 365 calendars, allowing prospects to view up-to-date availability and schedule calls, reducing the back-and-forth typically associated with meeting planning. Moreover
HubSpot CRM's ease of use extends to its ad management and live chat features, which are integral in lead management. The ad management tool allows for tracking and targeting online ad campaigns, offering insights into which ads generate customers and contributing to informed email marketing strategies. The CRM's live chat feature enhances immediate engagement with site visitors, fostering better relationships. This feature is customizable and integrates with a chatbot builder, aiding in lead qualification and meeting bookings.
However, HubSpot CRM does have its limitations. For larger organizations, the software offers limited options for custom configurations, proving less flexible for those seeking to build completely customized CRM modules from scratch. This aspect might be restrictive compared to other CRM options available in the market. Additionally, HubSpot requires an annual commitment, even for those opting for monthly billing. This can be a significant commitment for businesses unsure if HubSpot is the right fit, as they are still required to pay for the remainder of the contract if they choose to discontinue the service.
HubSpot CRM offers a range of effective tools for lead management, from email sequencing and form creation to live chat and ad management, it does have drawbacks. The limited customization for larger enterprises and the requirement for an annual commitment could be potential downsides for some businesses. Despite these limitations, HubSpot CRM's strengths in streamlining lead management processes make it a valuable asset for many businesses looking to enhance their sales efficiency
8. Zoho CRM
| Founded: 2005 HQ: Austin, Texas, United States; Chennai India | |
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Key Info |
Price: Starts at $0
Free plan: Yes; Trial: 14 days
Support: Phone, email & chat
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Best For |
Small businesses seeking beginner-friendly lead management software with exceptional customer support |
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Pros |
+ Fully functional free plan
+ Simple drag-and-drop automation and workflow setup.
+ Effective and capable reporting functionality. |
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Cons |
– User interface can be non-intuitive and workflow process needs refinement.
– Restrictions on the number of customizable fields, even in enterprise-level plans.
– Lack of comprehensive guides or tutorials for the full range of product features. |
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Integrations |
Salesforce, SugarCRM, OneDrive, and many more |
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Pricing Model |
Standard: $12 per user/month
Professional: $20 per user/month
Enterprise: $35 per user/month
Ultimate: $45 per user/month |
Next in our guide to the best lead management CRM is Zoho, a fully integrated system that efficiently manages the lead lifecycle, transforming quality leads into sales opportunities through its advanced lead management platform.
The CRM system streamlines sales activities by integrating customer service and support, ensuring that contact information and lead information are meticulously tracked and managed. This integration allows for a seamless transition from initial customer engagement to ongoing support, enhancing the overall customer experience.
Zoho CRM’s marketing automation platform is a key component, enabling businesses to send the right message at the right time. Its sophisticated tools allow for the creation and monitoring of targeted marketing campaigns, utilizing data from different sources, including social media integration, to ensure relevant and effective communication.
The platform's ability to handle contact details extends to unique features like business card scanning, simplifying the addition of new leads to the system. This functionality, coupled with the CRM’s project management capabilities, positions Zoho CRM not just as a lead management system but as a comprehensive tool for managing all aspects of customer relationships and sales processes.
Additionally, Zoho CRM provides robust support for customer support, ensuring that customer inquiries and issues are addressed promptly and effectively. This feature reinforces the CRM’s role as an integral part of a company's overall strategy for managing customer relationships and nurturing leads through their buying journey.
The platform's adaptability makes it suitable for different business scales and types. For small businesses, Zoho CRM's straightforward interface and essential features provide an efficient starting point. In contrast, large businesses benefit from its extensive customization capabilities and integration with various business tools, which are pivotal in handling complex sales processes and large volumes of data.
A significant advantage of Zoho CRM is its ability to integrate with various external platforms, including popular project management tools, email clients like Outlook and Gmail, and other marketing platforms. This integration enhances its functionality, making it a central hub for managing all sales-related activities and customer interactions.
9. ActiveCampaign
| Founded: 2003 HQ: Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
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Key info |
Price: Starts at $9
Free plan: No; Trial: Available
Support: Knowledge Base, Webinars, Live Chat, Email
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Best for |
Organizations valuing detailed contact management with site tracking data for personalized responses |
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Pros |
+ Lead management is bolstered by strong features like triggered drip sequences, lead nurturing, and automated sales alerts.
+ Users appreciate its user-friendly interface, noting that it’s particularly accessible for beginners or small-scale users.
+ Praised for its visual automation representation, making it easy to visualize and manage marketing automations. |
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Cons |
– Some users find the pricing higher compared to alternatives, and the cost escalates significantly as subscriber lists grow​​​​.
– Can become cumbersome for large teams or deal volumes
– Limited sales reporting features compared to top competitors |
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Integrations |
Integrates with over 900 applications, including Salesforce, WordPress, Shopify, PayPal, Stripe, Gmail, Facebook, and WooCommerce |
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Pricing Model |
Lite: $9 per month
Plus: $49 per month
Professional: $149 per month
Enterprise: $259 per month |
ActiveCampaign is a giant in the CRM world, and widely praised for its email marketing and automation capabilities. it's also no slouch when it comes to lead management. The system is designed to enhance customer relationships and lead nurturing through a blend of automation, personalization, and integration capabilities.
One of the standout features of ActiveCampaign's CRM is its advanced automation. It allows the creation of comprehensive workflows for various sales and marketing activities. This includes automatic emails, SMS, and web push notifications, based on specific triggers and conditions. The system tracks site visits, clicks, and navigation paths to trigger these automations, making it highly effective in engaging leads based on their online behavior.
In terms of contact management, ActiveCampaign provides a detailed view of customer interactions, including site tracking data. This enables businesses to understand customer journeys on an individual level and tailor their response accordingly. The platform supports automated segmentation and list building, crucial for targeted marketing efforts.
ActiveCampaign’s lead scoring feature is notably flexible and robust, allowing businesses to assign scores to various lead actions, both positive and negative. This feature assists sales teams in prioritizing leads with the highest potential, optimizing their efforts towards more promising opportunities.
The CRM also supports multi-channel communication strategies, including email, SMS, and social media, ensuring that businesses can reach customers through their preferred channels. Furthermore, it offers a detailed customer journey mapping, providing insights into customer behaviors and touch points, which is essential for optimizing the customer experience.
ActiveCampaign's CRM is not just limited to lead management; it includes a wide array of features such as advanced reporting and analytics, providing valuable insights into customer service performance and engagement. The platform’s integration capabilities are also noteworthy, allowing seamless integration with a variety of third-party tools and social media channels, which can be a significant advantage for businesses looking to maintain a harmonious tech ecosystem.
However, there are some limitations to consider. For users outside the US, support availability may be limited, which could be a concern. Additionally, while the platform is user-friendly and offers a gentle learning curve, some users have reported it can be tedious to set up complex automations and workflows, especially for those new to marketing automation or CRM systems. The level of detail in customization, while beneficial for tailored strategies, can be overwhelming for smaller teams or businesses without a dedicated marketing specialist.
How to pick the best lead management CRM for your needs
As we conclude our exploration of Lead Management CRMs in 2024, we've journeyed through a landscape where these dynamic tools are reshaping the B2B sales world. We've seen how they're not just about managing leads but supercharging the entire sales process – from sophisticated lead capture and advanced segmentation to smart analytics for decision-making. These CRMs have shown their prowess in aligning sales and marketing efforts, making lead management not just efficient but also a thrilling part of business growth.
So, what's the next step for you in harnessing the power of these innovative tools? Whether you're just stepping into the realm of Lead Management CRMs or looking to upgrade your current system, consider how the features and strategies we've highlighted align with your business's unique needs. If you already have a CRM, now might be the time to dive deeper into its capabilities, ensuring you're extracting every ounce of value. In the constantly evolving world of B2B sales, staying ahead of the curve means continuously adapting and making the most of the best tools at your disposal. Embrace the potential of a robust Lead Management CRM, experiment with its myriad features, and watch as it propels your business to new heights of success and efficiency.
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Need more business advice? Take your pick from one of our many well-researched articles
Pease note: All pricing mentioned in this article is based on information available as of 08-05-2024 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.
