5 Best CRM for Consultants
So you want answers, and you want em’ fast. Here they are:
Quick links for the Best CRM Software
1) Best Overall 🏆
Monday.com
Customize your workflows to track all aspects of the sales cycle, from lead gen to post-sale support.
2) Good Plugins🥈
Hubspot
Hubspot is the undisputed king of full-stack marketing software. With solid CRM features.
3) Most Features 🥉
PipeDrive
A sales-focused CRM that uses AI to automate repetitive tasks and manage leads and sales.
So, you are in the market for a CRM that suits consultants.
Ideal, because in this article we have our compilation list for our top picks, and we compare the features and pricing for you.
If you just want the best choice, we’ve added that right at the top of the article as this was what is most requested by our customers. So, that’ll be the “can’t go wrong” option.
Otherwise, feel free to explore all the options we’ve reviewed on the market to find something that might fit you a little better.
Enjoy the list!
The best CRM specifically for Consultants
Consulting firms depend upon acquiring new leads and strengthening the existing customer relationships to grow. A CRM specializes in storing leads from several integrated sources, ordering them according to prioritization and sending automated messages. Have a look at the products below to choose the best CRM for Consultants:
1. Pipedrive
The Pipedrive CRM tool is intuitive and easy to use, providing a wealth of data of interest and future forecast for your customers and their interactions. It is a tool very focused on the sales area, not so much on marketing, and has a paid subscription. Currently, some of your customers are Amazon, Skyscanner or Vimeo. We have tested it to make an educational video on Youtube and have raised a special offer for readers of Marketing4eCommerce 1 month free trial (usually 14 days) and 25% discount on the first purchase. You can take advantage of it at this link.
Pipedrive Features
Pipedrive makes sales-related tasks easier by fetching leads 24/7 and emphasizes the right opportunity so you can convert it into a deal from the sales pipeline. Pipedrive has a flexible and user-friendly interface that simplifies the transition to the CRM tool for businesses, lessening the workload of the sales team.
Here are some features offered by Pipedrive:
- Lead Management: Pipedrive offers an unsophisticated sales pipeline with several functionalities that provide a fully visual sales experience to improve efficiency and close deals faster. Users can track opportunities through all stages of the sales funnel and customize the dashboard to move all leads at one place for smoother interaction and prioritization. Moreover, Pipedrive provides users with an AI-powered sales mentor for personalized insights.
- Communication Tracking: Pipedrive allows businesses to manage contacts and group them into “People” and “Organization” so the sales representative knows the clients’ role in the company and approaches them accordingly. Pipedrive provides a visual representation of call history and other modes of communication with the client giving a cutting edge to your business in negotiations. You can also make outbound phone calls within the Pipedrive and auto-link them with the relevant contacts.
- Sales Automation System: Pipedrive allows users to automate every sales process and take their business to the next level. You will be notified: at the earliest about any changes to the lead phases and account settings to prevent misuse of your CRM. Pipedrive’s Automation sends customized notifications to the clients at the right time to increase the chances of getting engagement and successfully closing a deal.
- Insights and Reports: You can create customizable fields for analytical reports regarding deals, leads, revenue, activities and add them to the dashboard for quick access. Pipedrive also offers employee management services to create goals for teams and individuals. It helps in evaluating the performances and assigning the tasks based on merit, which increases the chances of getting a positive outcome for every sales opportunity.
- Privacy and Security: Pipedrive offers a dedicated security dashboard to give users complete control and transparency over user permissions and privacy settings. You can see how many users are logged in to the Pipedrive account and prevent mischievous entities from getting hold of your data. Moreover, you can see how recently the password has been altered, devices using your account and whether there has been any attempt to change the admin settings.
Pipedrive Pricing
Pipedrive has 4 pricing options for users to choose between depending on their requirements.
The “Essential” plan is priced at $15/month, giving users access to pipeline management, customer support, and data importation.
The “Advanced” plan is priced at $29/month, providing all features of “Essential” plus email scheduling, click tracking, and workflow creation.
The “Professional” plan is priced at $59/month, providing all features of “Advanced” plus call tracking, document creation, and revenue forecasting.
The “Enterprise” plan is priced at $119/month and gives access to all features of Pipedrive.
You can get add-ons to get the most out of the Pipedrive CRM subscription.
2. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a free CRM full of customer management tools, support and marketing automation features. Available in the cloud and locally, for mobile devices and desktops. Includes all essential tools: sales funnels, channel management, sales reporting, 360 degree customer view, repeat sales support and sales automation.
In addition, it comes with dozens of available integrations, and you can also create your own applications using its REST API.
Bitrix24 Features
In the corporate world, most of the marketing-related work is done collectively, and using different software for each task can be costly as well as inefficient. Bitrix24 offers all necessary tools for businesses within a single platform and makes it easier to collaborate with your team members. Bitrix24 has its virtual ecosystem where you can tackle every task with ease on an interface.
Here are some exclusive features of Bitrix24:
- Activity stream: It is the most happening place inside the Bitrix24 and is a perfect tool for communicating the project details with your employees. Think of it as a social media platform; where you can post project updates, create polls, follow relevant tags, and comment on posts.
- Virtual workspace: It is a great collaborative tool that helps you connect with the employees through video conferencing. Each call can have up to 48 members, and you can invite participants who don’t use Bitrix24. Moreover, you can track each employee’s work hours and progress through a Virtual workspace.
- Project Management: Bitrix24 offers the ability to create workgroups based on projects and assign tasks in several ways. You can approach each project differently, sort them according to the deadlines, and cumulate reports.
- Bitrix24.Drive: You can use the virtual drive inside the Bitrix24 to keep all your business-related files organized inside the system. Moreover, you can decide who gets access to each file and create new documents.
- CRM Space: It is your one-stop for all sales and marketing-related activities. You can customize the existing process templates or create a new one with the “Smart Process automation” without programming. CRM Space is designed: specifically to help you organize leads and lucidly automate processes.
- Sales Intelligence: Here, you can manage the traffic sources and see the ROI for each platform. It’s a perfect tool to assess your marketing strategy and see which sources generate more traffic. Users can connect their business website and get information on every lead through Sales Intelligence.
- Bitrix24.Sites: Bitrix24 has an inbuilt website creation tool that is easy to access and offers several templates to choose from. You can browse through the layouts according to your business niche or use an empty template to design a website from scratch.
- Marketing Campaigns: Bitrix24 allows you to target a specific audience through social media, Phone and E-mail. CRM marketing tool will identify genuine clients and help you connect with potential customers.
Bitrix24 Pricing
Bitrix24 currently offers 4 pricing options for users interested in getting the most out of CRM services.
The “Free” plan is best for the new users who want to get accustomed to CRM software and costs absolutely nothing.
The “Basic” plan is priced at €49/month and offers customer support service along with some simple collaboration tools.
The “Standard” plan offers advanced collaboration tools and an increase in user capacity. It is priced: at €99/month.
The “Professional” plan is worth €199/month and unlocks all features of Bitrix24. You can add unlimited users, which makes it suitable for established businesses.
3. HubSpot
HubSpot is one of the best known CRM tools in the world, and one of the undisputed references in the field of inbound marketing. Hubspot’s CRM functionality allows you to manage all marketing and sales activities as you see fit. For example, it allows us to group by campaigns that generate detailed reports of metrics on the real return on investment in the entire conversion funnel experienced.
Hubspot Features
Hubspot is a user-friendly CRM platform that provides advanced solutions with its robust marketing tools. It allows larger companies with complex workflows to perform efficiently and produce nifty results. Hubspot has five modules: Service, Sales, CMS, Operations, and Marketing, so you can include them in the package as per your business requirements.
Here are some impressive features available on Hubspot:
- SEO Tools: Hubspot is one of the few CRM services that provide SEO-related analysis for your website’s content. Once you integrate your business website with Hubspot, it automatically scans it and recommends better optimization. Alternatively, you can paste your website’s URL and get an SEO report.
- Content creation tools: You can create new blog posts for your website and edit the existing ones by simply integrating the website with CRM. Hubspot records all comments and edits made to the original content, so you are always in touch with the changes. Moreover, you can use the editor to start a new blog and add relevant images.
- CPQ Functionality: Every business needs to create quotations for products or services to assist sales reps in negotiations. Hubspot allows you to do it inside the CRM with its “Quotes Tool”. You can add unit price, discount offers, conditions, regulations terms, or any other information that will benefit the buyer and sales process.
- Campaigns Tools: Hubspot has several relevant automation tools that enable smooth interaction with clients and organize workflow. You can make posts on social media, send customized emails and run paid search campaigns to get leads on potential customers. It is one of a kind collection with all the necessary marketing tools and a great addition for larger businesses.
- Contact Attribution Reporting: Hubspot can help your management team understand the latest trend related to customers’ sales processes and identify the sources that influenced their decision. You can customize the attribution parameters to get different insights into your business and recognize the market-making activities.
- Data Quality Automation: It allows you to automate properties like; time, date and add new automation to manage the incoming leads swiftly. Hubspot will follow all the pre-entered instructions and give a reminder every it finds a promising opportunity.
Hubspot Pricing
Hubspot offers you the option to create a customized subscription plan by adding the required services. Alternatively, you can choose from the existing bundles and get a general subscription. The “Starter” plan costs $45/month and offers fundamental marketing and sales features. The “Professional” plan starts at $1600/month with advanced marketing tools and customer service software. The “Enterprise” plan offers all available features of Hubspot and is priced: at $4000/ month, with the price set to go up to $5000/month From December 1, 2021.
4. Netsuite
NetSuite Customer Relationship Management software is a cloud-based CRM that offers a 360-degree view of your customers in real time. NetSuite CRM provides a continuous flow of information across the entire customer lifecycle, from leadership to opportunity, sales order, fulfillment, renewal, up-sell, cross-sell or support.
NetSuite Features
NetSuite has developed over the recent years and was one of the first cloud-based ERP+CRM systems. It is a multi-tenant SaaS solution that helps small and medium-sized organizations grow faster with customizable workflows. NetSuite provides unmatchable visibility and control over your entire business with its cloud-based applications that improve organizational productivity.
Here are some fascinating features that make NetSuite unique:
- Enterprise Resource Planning: NetSuite provides businesses with complete control over data and resource planning. From handling financial operations to processing order-related information, you can automate all manual workflows with NetSuite’s ERP. You can increase the productivity of an organization with ERP as it provides a clear vision of each business procedure.
- Global Business Management: NetSuite’s Global business management provides unrivaled visibility into operations in real-time. It allows multi-National businesses to manage complexities due to currency differences, tax policies, and legal conformity. Such organizations need to consolidate in regional areas while adhering to the company’s essence, and GBM makes that happen.
- Sales Force Automation: NetSuite allows users to automate administrative actions and sales operations, reducing the employees’ workload. You can identify potential issues, create financial projections and track employees’ performance to get a better outlook on your business activities.
- OpenAir: NetSuite’s OpenAir optimizes resources and employee allotment according to the skills required for a particular task. OpenAir creates various scenarios for every lead to maximize revenue and improve the chances of securing an opportunity. You can automate customer engagement and let OpenAir choose the right employee for each interaction based on past work and favorable conditions.
- SuiteCommerce: NetSuite helps e-commerce businesses automatically update online orders to the back-end to manage them centrally and reduce the processing time while increasing accuracy. SuiteCommerce allows B2B and B2C websites in unifying the front-end and back-end to remove manual operations and get higher client engagement.
- Timesheet Management: NetSuite assists Project managers to review time-based tasks and recording the working hours of employees. You can view relevant information like “Start Date”, “Work Done”, and “Estimated completion time” to get an overview of performance. Moreover, you can reassign tasks through Timesheet Management to finish projects urgently.
- Project Analysis: NetSuite offers analytical tools that provide concurrent updates for every service rendered by your organization. You can track each lead individually to get a better statistical understanding of the client’s requirements. Moreover, you can share reports with colleagues through NetSuite to ensure everyone is on board with project advancement.
NetSuite Pricing
NetSuite does not offer a general subscription plan, and users have to fill in a form mentioning their requirements, business size, and budget. Once done, you’ll be contacted: by the customer executive regarding the best customizable tools for your organizational needs.
5. FreshSales
FreshSales currently has more than 10,000 satisfied customers with its refreshing interface, which offers – at a glance – everything needed on the customer flow. You will be able to have information about conversations with customers, agreements, tasks and scheduled appointments with them, as well as find out how they have interacted with the website and the product, among many other functions. In addition, it allows you to control potential customers to know when it is the key moment to impact them.
Freshsales Features
Freshsales provides a modern-day sale engagement solution to users that want to expand their business and maximize their marketing efforts. Managing leads takes up a lot of effort and hours of scouring through various sources, but Freshsales eases that with a smooth transition of Incoming leads onto the next phase.
Here are some dedicated features of Freshsales:
- Marketing Automation: Freshsales lets you set conditions to see desired customer leads and automate the marketing tasks for prompt communication. Moreover, you can create alerts for the sales team whenever there is progress in negotiations or; the clients respond positively to marketing activity. You can set up chatbots to deal with incoming inquiries and reach out to the client via Whatsapp, Gmail or other network sources with Marketing automation.
- Deals Management: Freshsales lets you manage and visualize the sales process to convert potential leads into permanent clients. You can prioritize leads that are most likely to come to fruition and analyze the conversion rate to forecast sales for similar deals in the future.
- Workflow automation: Sales process involves many repetitive tasks that are essential to the working of the company. Workflow automation handles routine operations to reduce manual dependency and boosts sales efficiency by breaking complex processes into simple ones.
- Cloud Telephony: Calling is a vital part of the sales process: to update clients about the latest advancements and offers regarding new products. With Freshsales, users can get over 90 virtual phone numbers for employees: to connect with the customers over the computer. You can create notes and record a conversation to provide full context and reassign a task without any problem.
- Freddy AI: Freshsales identifies leads and organizes them to make sales tasks easier. You can set up instructions, and Freddy AI will cohere to them while processing client information. It provides you insight into the likelihood of closing the lead; so you know what the next step should be and approach the opportunity effortlessly.
- Product CPQ: You can maintain an updated product catalog on Freshscales to give clients and the sales team a reference about intrinsic features along with pricing details. Moreover, you can track individual unit sales and see which products are in demand and what audience you should target.
Freshsales Pricing
Freshsales has 4 pricing options available for businesses looking to expand their sales through CRM. The “Free” version provides basic management services free of cost. The “Growth” plan is a CRM tool with automation that can boost your sales and prevent respective tasks; It is priced at ₹999/user if billed annually. The “Pro” subscription will help you customize the tools to your liking and increase sales revenue; It costs ₹2799/user if billed annually. The “Enterprise” plan gives you the AI forecasting to know the shortcomings and modify the strategy accordingly; It is priced at ₹4999/user if billed annually.
Benefits of Using a CRM System
Implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can transform the way consultants operate, creating a more efficient, client-focused environment. Here are several key benefits that underscore the value of CRM systems for consulting firms:
Increased Efficiency
A CRM automates administrative tasks like data entry, scheduling, and follow-ups, allowing consultants to focus on client consultations and strategic planning. This reduces time spent on repetitive work, boosting productivity and quality of services.
Reduced Costs
Though CRM software requires upfront investment, its long-term benefits can outweigh costs. Improved efficiency and client retention lead to significant savings, minimizing overhead and maximizing ROI for consulting firms.
Enhanced Customer Experience
With comprehensive client data, a CRM helps consultants respond swiftly to inquiries, improving client satisfaction and fostering stronger relationships. This, in turn, increases retention and referrals.
Improved Sales Processes
CRMs streamline sales processes by enhancing lead generation and providing tools for effective follow-up. This shortens the sales cycle, allowing consultants to engage prospects more efficiently.
Better Customer Support
Beyond sales, a CRM tracks the customer lifecycle, automating onboarding and billing processes. This creates smooth interactions and enhances clients’ perceptions of being valued throughout their journey.
Essential Features of Consulting CRMs
In today’s fast-paced consulting environment, having the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can make a significant difference in how a consulting firm operates and succeeds. The essential features of consulting CRMs are designed to streamline operations, enhance client relationships, and ultimately drive business growth. Here are key functionalities your consulting firm should look for when choosing a CRM:
Lead Management and Nurturing
A strong lead management feature is vital for converting prospects into loyal clients. Consulting CRMs capture leads from various sources—conferences, referrals, or online inquiries—and organize them effectively. This allows consultants to track leads, assign team ownership, and monitor conversion rates. Automated nurturing tools like personalized emails keep potential clients engaged, enhancing conversion chances.
Project Management Tools
Efficient project management is crucial for timely delivery and client satisfaction. Consulting CRMs create project profiles that enable resource allocation, milestone setting, and real-time progress monitoring. These tools enhance task delegation, facilitate collaboration, and identify bottlenecks early. Features for tracking billable hours and streamlining invoicing boost operational efficiency while ensuring client transparency.
Data-Driven Insights and Analytics
Consulting CRMs provide actionable insights through advanced reporting and analytics tools. Analyzing data from sales activities, client interactions, and project performance helps consultants make informed strategic decisions. Customizable dashboards visualize performance metrics and trends, refining approaches and optimizing resources.
Client Management Capabilities
Centralizing client information is key to personalized service. Consulting CRMs store detailed client profiles—contact info, project notes, and budgets—in one place for easy access. This enhances communication and engagement while automating follow-ups ensures organized interactions.
Email Marketing and Campaign Management
Effective communication is vital for strong client relationships. Consulting CRMs include email marketing tools for managing campaigns, from welcome messages to event invites. An organized email list and automated communications boost engagement, while list segmentation allows for tailored strategies.
Quotation and Proposal Automation
Quickly generating quotes and proposals enhances client acquisition. Consulting CRMs automate quote creation and sending, providing potential clients with immediate, accurate pricing. This efficiency saves time and increases competitiveness.
Why use a CRM at all?
CRM is built to assist you in sales tasks and maintaining several operations of your business within a single platform. You can nurture leads, place them in a pipeline, organize messages from different sources and see visual analysis of revenue, sales, etc.
As a firm, it’s crucial to keep track of all clients to prosper as a business. A CRM will help you engage through automated messages with clients to send reminders or offers. Moreover, you can record every opportunity for future reference. It will reduce the manual dependency and unify all operations within the CRM software.
Why should a Consulting firm use a CRM?
A Consulting firm has to deal with clients regularly and maintain a successful relationship. It involves being available for customized requests, session arrangement, appointments and managing consultants. Doing these tasks on a spreadsheet involve the risk of redundancy or duplication.
With a CRM, you can manage all business operations and client information, provide quality customer service, and respond to inquires in real-time with automated responses. It automatically matches the data with integrated sources so you can bill the clients at the same time.
Moreover, you can separate the clients in the pipeline according to the priority order and several other parameters. It helps in arranging: the data, so you don’t lose any opportunity. A CRM sends a reminder to the assigned representative about an incoming lead or response to assist you in closing the deal.
As a Consulting firm, you’ll be able to draw in more clients and deal with multiple accounts from anywhere. Everyone can collaborate within the CRM for tasks and hold meetings.
You can judge the analysis reports to judge where the leads are being lost, profit-loss ratio, marketing campaign effects on several sources and financial operations of the firm.
Your consultants will approach the client better if they have ample information regarding the account. A CRM provides a complete profile of every account within the database. You can go through any file and get the relevant details.
A CRM will provide a complete business package to handle all operations swiftly and ensure your sales reps are better prepared for negotiations. As a consulting firm, it can help you easily deal with the inflow of inquires and assign tasks according to the specialization.
CRM for Consultants, A Summary
Consultancy requires quick resolution of customer requests and responding to the incoming leads. A CRM simplifies the operations by automating inquires and assigning them immediately. It provides client details to the assigned sales rep to boost the chances of securing the opportunity.
Pipedrive allows you to personalize the platform, especially for your consultancy requirements. You can access requests on the pipeline and immediately provide resolution. It is our suggested pick in this category. Visit the website now to get started and improve your client relations.
What CRM would you recommend?
In short, It’s Monday.com CRM
It’s very well rounded, well priced, feature-rich with a large community of support and a very top-notch set of tutorials for every use case. You can’t go wrong with Monday.com. It’s the software we use with our clients at our ad agency.
“🚀Try Monday.com CRM For Free, It’s my favorite webinar software to use and recommend.” -Scott Max
Monday.com is a user-friendly CRM platform that provides advanced solutions with its robust marketing tools. It allows larger companies with complex workflows to perform efficiently and produce nifty results. Monday.com has you covered for your: Service, Sales, CMS, Operations, and Marketing needs.
For more details, read our Monday.com Review.