Working at a startup can be somewhat chaotic.
When your daily tasks involve non-linear work and managing multiple tasks at once, it often results in the spontaneous use of various digital tools. Handling this chaotic collection of tools can consume valuable time that could be used for selling and advancing your business agenda. Opting for a CRM specifically designed for startups enables you to remain flexible and well-coordinated.
CRM Software serves as a steady anchor amidst chaos by effectively managing contact information and streamlining business operations, enabling you to organize your affairs and expand your business successfully.
Adopting a CRM of some sort is essentially a prerequisite for any startup due to features such as lead management and sales pipeline management that contribute to increased revenue. Additionally, workflow automation, two-way sync with other apps, and automated data entry help save time and eliminate tedious tasks.
Benefits of using CRM for startups
Utilizing a CRM aids in the organization of contacts, customer identification, report generation, time savings, and revenue enhancement for your startup.
When choosing a CRM, it is important to anticipate simplicity. Fortunately, there are currently numerous CRMs available that necessitate minimal training and offer an intuitive UX, overall ease of use, and convenient access to information. A user interface that is well-designed will guarantee that your entire team actively utilizes it.
It is important for your CRM to have certain features such as sales automation, sales forecasting, and marketing campaign management. Additionally, customization options are beneficial as they enable you to adapt the CRM software according to the specific needs of your business. Being able to customize contact and opportunity fields, as well as other elements, is particularly useful when dealing with unfamiliar situations.
Since you’re a startup, it’s likely that you lack an IT department. Therefore, it’s important to select a CRM that has a reliable customer support team. This team should be able to assist with learning the product, address any doubts or concerns you may have, and promptly resolve any technical problems.
Additionally, the price must be taken into account, as it is crucial for startup success. It is important to select a pricing option that is affordable and does not exhaust your budget. It is recommended to opt for tiered pricing plans that gradually increase, ensuring transparency and avoiding unexpected expenses.
Being methodical in one’s thinking can assist in becoming more organized.
CRM applications help improve business operations by consolidating customer interactions, sales and marketing processes, and service and support efforts into a centralized platform. This platform allows for team organization and task management, effectively enhancing visibility and organizational transparency.
By integrating with social media, Gmail and Microsoft Outlook, as well as other digital tools, the centralized platform enables the seamless flow of data. Consequently, when all your information is channeled into a single source and managed internally, it promotes enhanced organization.
Enhanced collaboration and increased transparency
Collaborative CRM features facilitate seamless teamwork, irrespective of geographical barriers. These features enhance the accessibility of up-to-date information about customers, deals, assigned tasks, and projects to the entire team, ensuring transparency and enabling the efficient distribution of workloads. By consolidating customer data from all communication channels, it enables customer interactions that go beyond individual departments or teams.
Enhance efficiency and boost productivity.
CRM productivity tools simplify task management by notifying users about follow-up emails, offering comprehensive customer purchase records, and enabling efficient tracking of sales progress. Additionally, these tools facilitate the identification of new sales prospects and provide detailed monitoring of existing opportunities based on factors such as stage, month, amount, and probability of success. As a result, the reliance on face-to-face meetings diminishes, while errors and redundancies are eliminated, leading to decreased service expenses.
Step by step, formulate a strategy to enhance revenue and bolster profits.
CRM solutions aid in boosting revenue through the simplification of business procedures and the automation of task management, enabling you to concentrate on establishing connections. The enhancement of these relationships can result in a higher sales conversion rate, ultimately maximizing the profitability of your business. Furthermore, analytical tools allow you to scrutinize every phase of the sales cycle and modify your approach based on discernible patterns.
Reduced reliance
By utilizing a comprehensive platform that grants effortless information access, and a complete overview of projects and tasks, team members will gain the ability to function with more independence. There will be a reduction in the need to switch between applications and wait for responses from fellow team members. This will result in the elimination of bureaucratic obstacles and enable everyone to enhance their performance.
Key features of startup CRM
Accurately predict your sales.
Sales CRM platforms that have sales forecasting capabilities contain automated tools that incorporate metrics such as deal value and the likelihood of deal closure. This enables accurate sales estimates, allowing for the alignment of operational resources towards specific customer segments in order to achieve optimal outcomes.
Automate your sales and keep track of them.
CRM enables you to set KPIs, establish sales pipeline stages, establish criteria for lead qualification, and determine the specific actions sales representatives should carry out at each deal stage. This will enable you to create a standardized sales cycle, automate sales processes, and visually track deals from start to finish. Sales automation strategically organizes priority tasks for agents, sends follow-up notifications, and automates sales emails, ensuring that agents stay focused and potential sales opportunities are not missed.
The act of reporting sales in a methodical manner, analyzing and documenting the information in an organized and sequential way.
Sales reports offer comprehensive insights into your top customers, the sources of your leads, challenges in the sales pipeline, reasons why customers choose to purchase from you, and additional details. Additionally, you can monitor various metrics such as quota achievement, email correspondence, meeting count, and the volume and nature of concluded deals.
The process of ensuring all teams are in agreement and working towards the same goals is commonly referred to as cross-team alignment.
By having an all-in-one CRM platform, your business can align its information, leading to a significant enhancement in visibility for your entire team. Through in-app chat features, team members can communicate instantly, leave notes for each other, and access individual case files without the need for external assistance. Additionally, task assignment ensures clarity regarding the responsible individuals for each task.
Organize and handle contact information.
The CRM system gathers contact information from various sources such as social media, live chat, phone, company website, web forms, purchase records, notes from face-to-face conversations, and others. The contact management tools combine all this information, including address and phone number, into a single contact record. This allows you to have a comprehensive overview of leads, customers, and all other individuals associated with your startup.
The best CRM for Startups
- Close
Advantages:
- Startup-friendly CRM provides pipeline view, voice call (including call recording), SMS, reporting, and email marketing features (including custom email sequencing) in one place
- Pre-recorded voicemail offers a time-saving feature for sales reps, and a predictive dialing feature allows reps to auto-dial multiple numbers to improve sales agent productivity
- Many useful integrations with other platforms, including Mailchimp, Slack, Zendesk, Google Sheets, Facebook, and Zapier
Disadvantages:
- Bulk data importing of CSV files will often produce duplicate leads, requiring you to do some manual clean-up
The pricing of a product or service is determined by considering each step and aspect involved in the process without additional information being added or removed.
- Start plan is $29.75 per user/per month billed annually, and $35 per user/per month billed monthly
- Basic plan is $55.25 per user/per month billed annually, and $65 per user/per month billed monthly
- Professional plan is $80.75 per user/per month billed annually, and $95 per user/per month billed monthly
- Business plan is $123.75 per user/per month billed annually, and $145 per user/per month billed monthly
There is an available trial for 14 days that is full-featured.
- Agile CRM
Advantages:
- Agile CRM offers a free, full-featured sales CRM for up to 10 users, which is explicitly targeted at startups
- The platform integrates contact management, marketing automation, real-time alerts, and VoIP telephony, social suite, and email and web tracking
- Stick your appointment calendar online and Agile CRM will automate all your upcoming voice calls and follow-ups
- Easily attach documents to deals, companies, contacts, and emails in-app.
Disadvantages:
- Price increases dramatically as you upgrade between versions; may cause problems as your company scales
- Not that many customization options
The pricing is to be thought about step by step.
- Free version is available for up to 10 users.
- Starter version is $8.99 per user/per month (billed every two years)
- Regular version is $29.99 per user/per month (billed every two years)
- Enterprise version is $47.99 per user/per month (billed every two years)
Paid plans do not offer free trials.
- HubSpot CRM
Advantages:
- Manages workflows for improved project management; you’ll be able to effectively assign and track leads, keep an eye on the sales process, and record customer interactions across channels
- HubSpot for Startups program offers discounts of up to 90% for eligible startup ventures, with tailored training and support for startup-friendly on-boarding
- Works with both G Suite and Microsoft Office, so whichever platform your business favors, it runs without headaches
- Zapier integration makes it easy to share information across apps (Google Sheets, Slack, Facebook Lead Ads, etc.) to extend features and help your company’s growing operations
- HubSpot CRM is free, so you can get started without overhead, while paid add-on packages for HubSpot pile on features like reporting, AI, and advanced automation
Disadvantages:
- Customization options are limited, which could be an issue for very niche startups
- The basic, no-cost CRM’s features are many but basic, and you may eventually need to buy Sales Hub or one of HubSpot’s other add-on packages to boost the CRM’s capabilities
Pricing: Please rephrase the text below while keeping the same meaning. Ensure that no new information is added and no information is removed. – We will now discuss the pricing for our products and services.
- HubSpot CRM is free, and the number of users is unlimited
- Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub add-on packages are $50 each per user/per month, billed monthly
- HubSpot CMS starts at $300 per month, billed monthly
- All-inclusive Starter Growth Suite starts at $113 per user/per month, billed monthly
The add-on packages do not offer free trials.
- Copper
The advantages are:
- Copper provides startup-friendly features like automated data entry, smart identification, lead and customer tracking, plus optimization of sales contacts and opportunities
- Integrates natively with G Suite, meaning data import is seamless from Gmail and other Google tools you (probably) use every day
- Improves management of teams and workflows with weekly pipeline progression reports using drag-and-drop functionality, custom filters, and alerts when deals might be going stale
- Provides an eye-pleasing sales pipeline for easy tracking and managing of leads through the qualification process
Disadvantages:
- There is a bit of a learning curve, so be forewarned you’ll need to set aside some time to meaningfully implement it at your startup
- There can be issues with importing data from Excel, meaning you’ll be required to manually enter information into Copper
The pricing of the product or service needs to be considered in a logical and systematic manner.
- Basic plan is $19 per user/per month, billed annually
- Professional plan is $49 per user/per month, billed annually
- Business plan is $119 per user/per month, billed annually
For all plans, Copper provides a 14-day free trial.
- Zoho CRM
Advantages:
- Zoho CRM is easy to use with a simple user interface targeted at startups and small businesses, including customizable modules, automation, and social media features
- Allows you to define your workflows and rationalize everyday tasks, as well as manage leads
- Data porting features allow you to quickly migrate your data from spreadsheets and contact management software to the Zoho platform, making implementation pretty straightforward
- Integrates with Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ for reaching out and engaging with leads quickly and snappy, at just the right time
- There’s a free CRM for up to three users—great news for super-lean startups, although (as one might expect) it is somewhat limited features-wise, with less customizability and no mass emailing feature
One of the drawbacks is that there are limitations.
- Zoho lacks individual email tracking and individual lead notifications, which can be limiting if you rely heavily on one-on-one engagement
- Add-on modules are priced on top of the existing CRM product you purchase, so costs can add up when you want to expand your use of the platform
The pricing information is as follows:
- Free version is available for up to three users and is targeted at home businesses
- Standard version is $12 per user/per month, billed annually
- Enterprise version is $35 per user/per month, billed annually
The Standard and Enterprise versions have a free trial option.
- SugarCRM
Advantages:
- Provides a comprehensive CRM solution covering marketing, sales, and customer service, with an emphasis on cross-team sharing of relevant and useful intel
- Lets you map customer journeys to get your messaging right, and automate complex business processes like lead routing quote review and approval with drag-and-drop flowchart
- Vendor customer support is attentive, which is a major plus for startups who need quick answers and issue resolution times; on top of that, there’s a large user community surrounding SugarCRM, so you can talk shop with other startups
Disadvantages:
- You have to have at least 10 people on your team to use SugarCRM, so it might not be appropriate for very small startups
- SugarCRM app’s roots are in the open-source, developer community, so there’s a moderate learning curve, meaning you’ll need to take time out to learn the platform
The process of determining the cost of something:
- Sugar Professional plan is $40 per user/per month (10 user minimum), billed annually.
- Sugar Enterprise plan is $65 per user/per month (10 user minimum), billed annually
- Sugar Serve plan is $80 per user/per month (10 user minimum), billed annually
- Sugar Sell plan is $80 per user/per month (10 user minimum), billed annually
- Sugar Market plan is $1,000 (unlimited users, 10,000 contacts per month), billed annually
After completing a brief questionnaire on the vendor’s website, you will be provided with the most suitable version of SugarCRM that aligns with your business requirements. Additionally, a free trial is offered for all plans.
- Bitrix24
Advantages:
- Bitrix24 is a well-rounded, comprehensive CRM that handles sales management and marketing campaigns and helps your team collaborate effectively
- Allows you to create unlimited work and user groups, set up an HR help desk, and centralize the storage of documents in-app
- Bitrix24 offers a free version for up to 12 users with 5 GB of storage, targeted specifically at startups, with HR, task, lead, contact, and project management tools (it’s actually the most popular free CRM in the world)
Disadvantages:
- UI is also somewhat “maximalist,” which can hinder app navigation
- Learning curve and app customization/configurability limitations might be problematic for some startups
The process of determining the cost of a product or service.
- Free starter business tool suite for up to 12 users
- Start+ plan for up to 2 users is $19 per month billed annually, and $24 per month billed monthly
- CRM+ plan for up to 6 users is $55.20 per month billed annually, and $69 per month billed monthly
- Project+ plan for up to 24 users is $55.20 per month billed annually, and $69 per month billed monthly
- Standard plan for up to 50 users is $79.20 per month billed annually, and $99 per month billed monthly
- Professional plan for unlimited users is $159.20 per month billed annually, and $199 per month billed monthly
The prices mentioned are specifically for the cloud-based version, but on-premise solutions are also offered. Free trials are not available for the paid plans.
- Pipedrive
Advantages:
- Flexible and results-oriented CRM designed to help startups get organized
- Construct multiple sales pipelines with customizable, unique stages appropriate to a specific product/service’s context
- Reminders, notifications, and follow-up alerts automatically keep your head where it needs to be
- Customize data fields and workflow for your distinct business processes
- Low learning curve speeds the pace of implementation
Disadvantages:
- Pipedrive does not include an internal emailing platform, so you’ll have to use the app’s Mailchimp integration
- Pipedrive Dealbot integrates with Slack, giving you a heads-up in both apps when a deal is identified, won, or lost, but the notification often gets lost in the average high-activity Slack chat
Pricing can be approached with a step-by-step thinking process without adding or removing any information while still maintaining the same meaning.
- The Essential plan is $14.90 per user/per month, billed annually, and $21.90 billed monthly
- The Advanced plan is $24.90 per user/per month, billed annually, and $37.90 billed monthly
- The Professional plan is $49.90 per user/per month, billed annually, and $59.90 billed monthly
- The Power plan is $64.90 per user/per month, billed annually, and $74.90 billed monthly
- The Enterprise plan is $99 per user/per month, billed annually, and $119 billed monthly
The Essential, Advanced, and Professional plans all offer a 14-day free trial.
- Streak
Advantages:
- Built directly into Gmail, where you probably do most of your work already; Streak has desktop and mobile apps with all the G Suite integrations included, so you can access your work inbox and other tools you need at all times (just download the Google Chrome extension and/or the mobile app and you’re good to go)
- Email integration automatically captures data from your contacts and emails and notifies you as leads progress through each stage of your pipeline
- Keep in-app notes, centralize record-keeping, utilize data tracking on your contact correspondence, and find out if leads have or haven’t opened your emails
Disadvantages:
- Streak runs as a Chrome Extension, so if you change devices you’ll have to download and install it again
- Paid versions are priced at a level equivalent to more full-featured CRMs, which might be a dealbreaker for some
Pricing: Methodically considering each step, rephrase the following text while ensuring that the meaning remains unchanged. Do not introduce new information or omit any information. Pricing plays a significant role in the success of a business. It is the process of determining how much to charge for a product or service. Proper pricing is crucial to cover costs, generate profit, remain competitive, and satisfy customer demands. It involves analyzing factors such as production costs, overhead expenses, market conditions, customer behavior, and value perception. By setting the right price, businesses can achieve their financial goals and effectively position themselves in the market.
- Personal version for individual use is free
- Professional plan is $49 per user/per month, billed annually
- Enterprise plan is $129 per user/per month, billed annually
A 14-day free trial is offered for the Professional plan.
- Nimble
Advantages:
- Simple CRM for startups that integrates sales optimization, contact management, cross-channel recording of communications, deal and task management, and more
- Centralizes data storage easily; for example, you can instantly auto-sync all your contacts just by entering your email address
- Nimble is known for its social media-centric features like social search and powerful tools for market segmentation
- Integrates with Office 365 and G Suite, so you can quickly import and organize contacts from the platform you’re already using
Disadvantages:
- Many users say that Nimble’s Android app isn’t up to par with its iOS app
- Nimble does not offer bulk message deletion; instead, it needs to be done one page at a time, which can be a bit frustrating if you’re really trying to clean house
Pricing, taking one step at a time, should be rephrased while retaining its original meaning. No additional information should be added, nor should any information be removed.
- Contact edition is $12 per user/per month, billed monthly.
- Business edition is $25 per user/per month, billed monthly.
You can try out the full-featured Business edition for 14 days without needing a credit card. If you choose to subscribe annually, there are discounts available.
More Free CRM for Startups
Monday is the optimal day for utilizing all-in-one project management tools and CRM software.
Monday is a versatile CRM platform that is ideal for small businesses. It assists in managing all sales processes conveniently in one place. Additionally, this CRM streamlines the entire sales process with an attractive and visually appealing interface. It also provides the ability for the entire team to handle projects efficiently. Users can easily track completed tasks, automate workflows, and collaborate on documents seamlessly.
Characteristics:
- It allows you to import all your customer data in just a few clicks.
- Automatically schedules notifications and reminders.
- Monday is a lead management software that helps you integrate with other tools to accelerate response time.
- You can collaborate with your team using one shared workspace.
- It helps you to bring your team together, anywhere and anytime.
Important Specifications:
- Free Trial: Basic free version.
- Integration: Microsoft Teams, Dropbox, Slack, Zapier, Google Drive, etc.
- Supported platforms: Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, and web
- Deployment Type: Cloud-based and Open API.
2) Salesforce is ideal for large and medium-sized businesses.
Salesforce is a Software as a service (SaaS) CRM that allows you to manage customer relationships and customize a solution for your business needs. It aids in enhancing customer loyalty, retention, and satisfaction, as well as overseeing and handling your business. This CRM solution lets you arrange customer data, monitor sales, and provide support to customers all through one centralized dashboard.
Characteristics:
- It helps you to increase customer loyalty, retention, and satisfaction.
- You can identify new opportunities to help address any problems.
- It allows you to build more meaningful and lasting relationships.
- This CRM software helps you to monitor and manage your business.
Specifications:
- Free Trial: Yes
- Deployment Type: Cloud-Based.
- Support: Phone and Chat
- Integration: ActiveCampaign, Zapier, and Docusign.
- Supported Operating Systems: Android, Windows, Android, iPhone, Mac, Web-Based, etc.
ClickUp is the ideal tool for managing all your CRM requirements, including tasks, documents, chats, contacts, goals, and more.
ClickUp is a CRM tool that simplifies the organization and development of customer relationships by consolidating data visualizations in one location. It facilitates the analysis of data for gaining customer insights and offers effortless filtering and searching for particular tasks. Moreover, this start-up CRM enables the assignment of multiple tasks with a single click of the mouse.
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- ClickUp helps you organize your accounts in a list, Kanban board, or tables for instant data entry.
- You can assign multiple tasks with a single mouse click.
- It allows you to plan and track tasks.
Key Specifications:
- Free Trial: Free Forever Plan
- Integrations: Google Drive, GitHub, Bitbucket, Cloud, etc.
- Supported platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, etc.
4) The company named Zendesk should approach the task by considering each step in a sequential manner, without adding or removing any information, in order to maintain the same meaning.
Zendesk is a Sales CRM that boosts the efficiency, procedures, and visibility of sales teams. With this tool, you can record and analyze every customer interaction to generate reports. Moreover, it enables you to place calls, send emails, and arrange meetings.
Characteristics:
- It offers sales and marketing tools built for salespeople.
- It enables you to make calls, send emails, schedule meetings, and view deal history all from one place.
- You can keep your team focused on the highest-value leads.
- It allows you to conduct your marketing campaigns.
- It helps you to manage your sales efficiently
- It helps you to build your own apps using the Zendesk Apps framework.
- Dive deeper into your sales data with pre-built dashboards
Specifications:
- Free Trial: 14 Day Free Trial (No Credit Card Required)
- Supported platforms: Android and iOS
- Deployment Type: Cloud-based and Open API.
- Support: Chat, Support Ticket, Call, and email
5) Take action! Utilize the CRM system.
An ACT is an all-in-one CRM for sales and marketing tool that allows you to generate repeated clients. It is one of the best Lead Management software for small businesses that allows you to perform advanced contact management and email marketing features.
Listed below are the features:
- It helps you to keep all your contact & customer details
- Act offers customizable dashboards integrations with Outlook, Gmail, Zoom, and DocuSign.
- You can unlock the full potential of Act! with Custom Tables! Manage detailed
- Optimize methods you and your team communicate with prospects and customers
- It helps you to generate repeat clients and build even stronger relationships.
- Supported platforms: Android and iOS apps
Keap is the top choice for beginners seeking a sales and marketing automation platform.
For young entrepreneurs who want to focus on running their business rather than dealing with customer data in a complicated CRM system, Keap is the perfect choice. You can initiate email marketing campaigns based on customer behavior and create customized email messages for both new and existing customers in numerous marketing campaigns.
The characteristics are as follows:
- Offers marketing and sales automation suite that is intuitive and easy to use
- Offers CMS with powerful segmentation, tags, filters & custom views
- Provide a wide range of lead generation tools, including lead scoring, contact forms, and intelligent search
- Engagement CRM tools to nurture leads through the sales funnel, using automated drip email feature
- Customer data management with email integration and customizable notes
Specifications:
- Free Trial: 14 days
- Deployment Type: Cloud-based.
- Integrations: Gmail, JotForm, Outlook, WordPress, Zapier, etc.
- Supported platforms: Web-based, Android, and iOS.
Salesflare is the top choice for enhancing collaboration and efficiency in customer conversations.
Salesflare is a CRM tool that effectively surfaces necessary action for opportunities and presents the required information. It is a platform used by numerous small and medium-sized B2B businesses, serving as an intelligent CRM and sales enablement tool. It enhances collaborative efficiency in customer conversations.
The text is already given, but it lacks a clear statement.
- Workflow management
- Integrate your sales toolset
- Automatic logging of meetings and phone calls.
- Provides a handy document folder per customer.
Specifications: Please rephrase the text below while maintaining the same meaning. Do not add new information and do not remove information: Important Specifications:
- Free Trial: 30 Days
- Deployment Types: SaaS
- Support: Chat and Mail.
- Integration: Gmail, Office 365, iCloud, Zapier, etc.
- Supported platforms: Web, Apple iOS, Android, Mobile Web
Freshworks
Freshworks offers a context-driven sales solution that enables you to boost your revenue. Additionally, it facilitates the growth of customer value by integrating sales and support functionalities. With the Freshdesk Integration, it proves to be an excellent CRM option for start-ups.
The text below can be rephrased while maintaining the same meaning as follows: Listed below are the characteristics or elements that are included:
- AI-powered Predictive Contact Scoring
- Easy integration with Freshdesk and Slack
- Simple setup and Clean UI
- Contact Lifecycle Stages
- This free CRM for startups offers easy-to-use Contact and Account Management features
Key Specifications:
- Free Trial:21 Days
- Support: Live chat, telephone, and email.
- Integrations: Gmail, PayPal, Slack, Zapier, Outlook, etc
- Supported platforms: Web, iPhone, and Android.
9) Insightly is the top choice for start-ups seeking project management tools integrated into their CRM system.
Insightly, which is considered one of the top CRMs for start-ups, assists in consolidating your current and potential customer data for improved efficiency. It empowers your sales team to build client connections and offers the ability to track pertinent lead information. Additionally, this CRM encompasses an extensive array of marketing tools integrated into your system.
Characteristics: Additionally, Characteristics:
- Project management capabilities
- Built-in event management tools
- Offers mobile app with business card scanner, data sync, and voice notes
- Allows you to manage projects like these through milestone and task tracking
- It offers the ability to convert opportunities into projects and sync them with your calendar.
Key Specifications:
- Free Trial: Yes
- Support: Email (Phone support costs extra)
- Integrations: Amazon EC2, Ansible, Asana, Bitbucket, Capsule CRM, Cisco, Gmail, Google workspace, HubSpot, etc.
- Supported platforms: Android and iOS.