This submit was co-authored by Anastasia Chechkova from OnePageCRM.
In the event you’re a guide with a rising shopper database, you already understand how vital having a superb Buyer Relationship Administration (CRM) system is. It’s a vital device that can assist you develop your enterprise and nurture long-lasting shopper relationships.
On the lookout for the suitable CRM system will not be a simple job, although.
Consultants should juggle many duties, and trialing totally different CRM methods on high of all the pieces else may develop into an awesome train. The sheer variety of CRM methods obtainable additionally doesn’t make your seek for the suitable resolution straightforward.
That’s why we created this easy article that dives deeper into the highest 5 CRM methods for consultants that can assist you ease into 2024.
Why consultants use CRM
Even solo consultants can profit considerably from utilizing a CRM system. Whereas it’s typically related to bigger companies, CRM methods additionally assist small companies and impartial consultants thrive.
Consultants depend on CRMs for 2 essential causes.
Firstly, a correct CRM system helps set up and centralize shopper knowledge, permitting consultants to entry it shortly. This results in extra personalised shopper interactions and better conversion charges.
Furthermore, if consultants document shopper interactions diligently and maintain their CRM knowledge clear, they’ll be capable to prioritize efforts which, in flip, will increase their productiveness. For instance, they gained’t waste time looking out by scattered emails, notes, or paperwork to refresh their reminiscence—all the pieces might be proper in entrance of them.
One of the best CRM software program for consultants
On this weblog submit, we are going to discover the highest 5 CRMs for consultants:
Let’s dive into what you possibly can count on from every system:
1. ActiveCampaign
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Emails are a significant device in operating and rising a consulting enterprise, and ActiveCampaign is well-known for its highly effective electronic mail advertising and marketing options for companies of all sizes. It lets you construct robust buyer relationships, optimize your advertising and marketing methods, and finally develop your enterprise by focused and automatic campaigns.
In addition to electronic mail advertising and marketing performance, ActiveCampaign additionally provides totally different advertising and marketing automation instruments to assist consultants handle their leads extra successfully.
Whether or not you will have a daily publication or a collection of lead nurturing emails, ActiveCampaign will enable you to convey your electronic mail advertising and marketing to the subsequent degree.
Professional tip when trialing this consulting CRM: Just be sure you check totally different automation options. This is without doubt one of the strongest functionalities of ActiveCampaign. By diving deeper into its options, you’ll be capable to discover one of the best ways to make use of it in your enterprise.
2. OnePageCRM
G2 rating: 4.6/5
OnePageCRM is without doubt one of the easiest CRM methods on this planet. It has easy performance and an easy-to-use interface. This app is an uncommon mixture of a shopper database and a dynamic to-do record. Whether or not a shopper or lead, each contact in OnePageCRM can have a job assigned subsequent to them. The system will remind you when the duty is due. This eliminates the necessity for switching between a to-do record app and your CRM.
In addition to, OnePageCRM additionally integrates with ActiveCampaign. By combining these two apps, you possibly can have each instruments at your disposal: highly effective advertising and marketing automation software program and a strong CRM system. Bingo!
Professional tip when trialing this consulting CRM: OnePageCRM has a free gross sales academy and a 21-day free trial, which supplies you adequate time to check the device. Whereas being a easy CRM, it has many helpful options underneath its hood. By totally exploring the app, you’ll get a greater concept of how one can take advantage of out of this CRM, from constructing a pipeline to upselling.
3. Pipedrive
G2 rating: 4.2/5
Pipedrive is a well-liked gross sales CRM for companies that depend on visualizing their gross sales pipelines. Whereas many CRMs supply this performance, in Pipedrive, all the pieces revolves round managing gross sales offers and pipelines. The visible gross sales pipeline offers a transparent and intuitive overview of your gross sales course of.
Consultants can profit from a gross sales pipeline to systematically observe and handle their leads and purchasers whereas prioritizing alternatives. In case your focus lies in managing gross sales offers, you’ll discover Pipedrive helpful. It has a user-friendly interface and totally different reporting and analytics options.
Professional tip when trialing this consulting CRM: Pipedrive has a fancy pricing system, and also you may find yourself paying for various add-ons. Earlier than subscribing to this CRM, just remember to price range for the annual or month-to-month plan and all related add-ons.
4. Zoho CRM
G2 rating: 4.0/5
ZohoCRM is a well-liked selection amongst companies. Equally to different CRM methods, it helps streamline processes and nurture shopper relationships. Zoho CRM provides a variety of options which are particularly useful for big organizations and world enterprises.
Zoho CRM has a free plan for small groups with as much as 3 customers. Being an all-in-one platform, Zoho offers different providers apart from the Buyer Relationship Administration system. The corporate has totally different merchandise inside its ecosystem, comparable to Zoho Initiatives and Zoho Analytics.
Professional tip when trialing this consulting CRM: Zoho CRM is a complete device constructed primarily for big organizations. It provides quite a bit when it comes to customization and suppleness. When trialing this CRM, take note of whether or not this customization over-complicates your processes. Typically, complete options can decelerate the expansion of an agile enterprise, so they don’t seem to be all the time your best option for consultants.
5. HubSpot
G2 rating: 4.4/5
HubSpot is without doubt one of the first CRM options that involves thoughts when contemplating a CRM system. It’s an all-in-one platform with instruments for advertising and marketing, gross sales, customer support, content material administration, and plenty of different enterprise areas. This selection, coupled with their free plan, typically helps HubSpot make it to the highest CRM lists throughout totally different classes.
Professional tip when trialing this consulting CRM: Discover out if there are any options you want that aren’t included within the free plan. A few of these limitations are troublesome to identify, so ensure that to check all related options (and people who you count on to develop into related for your enterprise quickly) earlier than committing. For instance, some of the well-known limitations of HubSpot’s free plan is that free customers can create as much as 5 electronic mail templates. It’s typically not sufficient to cowl all of the doable emails that consulting companies and particular person consultants want of their day-to-day work.
Selecting the very best CRM for consultants
In the event you’re on the lookout for methods to develop your consulting enterprise, make it possible for your chosen CRM doesn’t decelerate your course of. Search for easy options that combine with standard enterprise apps and don’t have an awesome variety of options you most likely gained’t use. CRM integrations can broaden your capabilities and liberate your time whereas offering you with instruments that work seamlessly together with your central database.
By investing in a correct CRM device, consultants can liberate their time, optimize processes, and supply higher shopper expertise.
