5 Best CRM for Solar
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 Solar companies.
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!
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.
The Best CRM specifically for the Solar Industry
The solar industry is a sought-after market due to its rapid rise in popularity and to survive the cutthroat competition, solar businesses need any and all the help they can get. With the right CRM, solar businesses can cultivate any requirements they might have while effectively handling the sales. Have a look at the products below to choose the best CRM for solar businesses:
1. Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is a tool quite similar to Salesforce, integrated by different tools and functionalities that you can use according to the needs of your company. It has a number of free options and paid PRO versions, which you can evaluate according to your needs. One of its great advantages is that it can be integrated with a multitude of other tools that are not necessarily complementary to its use.
Zoho CRM Features
Zoho CRM is a robust software that fulfills all your business requirements, from closing the deal and managing company data to collaborating with your colleagues. It provides CRM solutions according to the niche and size of your organization for an ideal sales experience which makes it one of the most coveted CRM tools in the market. Zoho CRM thrives in solving unique business scenarios with a quick turnout time and produces compelling results.
Here’s a wide range of features offered by Zoho CRM:
- Canvas design studio: Every business has different requirements, so it’s weird why you should not be able to personalize your software experience. Zoho CRM allows users to makeover their homepage, tabs and menu bar with Canvas design studio. You can add aesthetic background to your CRM software and work efficiently by placing the frequently accessed; tabs on your homepage.
- Journey orchestration: Zoho CRM allows users; to create flowcharts that will determine the next step in the customer journey depending upon the response. Zoho Command Centre provides a unique interactive experience to potential clients and existing customers by analyzing the customer’s intentions.
- Omnichannel: Zoho CRM integrates all of your communications sources in one platform and smoothens proceedings with incoming leads. Moreover, you can hold web conferencing, set up service portals and live chat, collaborate with colleagues, and get real-time updates within the Omnichannel.
- Sales Enablement: Zoho CRM provides surfeit options for sales tools and lets you conduct every sales-related activity with comfort. It increases visibility into the client interactions and empowers your business portal by constantly adhering to the pre-entered commands. You can prioritize specific leads, get alerts regarding opportunities and build up a document library to assist the sales rep in negotiations.
- Performance management: Zoho CRM allows you to set targets for your employees to provide added motivation and track their performance with the SPM tool. You can also classify clients according to region, budget, and services required. Moreover, it lets you deal with multiple currencies and see exchange rates that can bolster your business.
- Developer platform: Zoho CRM’s developer platform helps you make custom solutions; for your business needs without much coding. You can integrate and unify your data from various applications, create automation, and run deluge codes to configure the CRM. It’s a perfect platform to help your developers get familiar with CRM services and build exciting products.
Zoho CRM Pricing
Zoho CRM offers subscription plans for every business, whether small, medium, or large.
The ” Standard” plan is priced: at ₹1300/month/user. It offers custom dashboards, multiple pipelines, and 1 canvas design creation.
The “Professional” plan is priced: at ₹2100/month/user. It offers SalesSignals, validation rules, and inventory management.
The “Enterprise” plan is priced: at ₹3000/month/user. It offers CommandCenter, a Multi-user portal, and advanced customization.
The “Ultimate” plan is priced: at ₹3200/month/user. It offers Enhanced feature limits, Zoho Analytics, and 25 customizable canvas designs.
Small businesses can opt for “Bigin” by Zoho, priced at ₹550/month/user.
There’s also a free edition of Zoho CRM which offers essential management tools.
2. Salesforce
Another tool to highlight is Salesforce, quite similar in the mechanics of employment to Pipedrive, is one of the most popular CRM programs, despite having a paid subscription, recommended for large companies but not so much for entrepreneurs or SMEs. It is a program that adapts perfectly to the size of your company, with a great usability adaptable to any device and with the possibility of using it anywhere you have a network.
Salesforce Features
Salesforce is a sales, marketing, and collaboration powerhouse that lets users accomplish business tasks and share ideas smartly. It was launched: in 1999 with the idea of helping organizations build long-lasting relationships with clients and providing a seamless transition to CRM software. Salesforce has since established itself as one of the most sought-after CRM tools due to its constant strive for innovation and philanthropic values.
Here are some features offered by Salesforce that can affect your business experience positively:
- Industry-focused services: Salesforce provides tailor-made CRM services for every business, irrespective of its niche or size. It is a multi-feature platform that allows every industry to benefit from its wide range of tools. Users can select their line of business to get recommendations on services or customize their own CRM plan.
- Salesforce Sustainability Cloud: Salesforce enables the inflow of your entire business data on a single platform, making it easier to accurately analyze your carbon footprint. In today’s age, when environmental awareness is more significant than ever, Salesforce Sustainability cloud lets you conceive a detailed plan to limit carbon emissions and provide a detailed report to the energy regulatory authorities.
- Slack Collaboration: Salesforce recently acquired Slack, and users can now integrate both platforms for secured communication and collaboration purposes. Slack has a unique interface that allows users to create distinct workflows for each task and automated responses to keep clients engaged till you assign a customer representative. Moreover, it brings different subsections of a business together and facilitates sharing of ideas.
- Workplace Command Centre: Salesforce tracks employee health and ensures their well-being during the pandemic; by carefully managing work hours. It builds a strong community where your company’s employees can connect with each other and resolve issues while you can dispatch resources faster.
- Lightning Platform: Salesforce provides an app development platform with the latest technologies like blockchain and AI. Users can handle every aspect of the process and customize a mobile application that empowers the company’s ecosystem. It’s an unequaled innovative experience that streamlines IT-related tasks and lets anyone contribute towards app development.
- AppExchange: Salesforce has an inbuilt marketplace where users can integrate the additional application to get a more customized experience. It amplifies your sales experience and browsing through several applications while using external tools within a unified platform for business purposes.
Salesforce Pricing
Salesforce has a multifunctional ecosystem where you can add services based on your requirements.
Sales Cloud’s “Essentials” plan is priced: at $25/month/user, “Professional” plan is priced at $75/month/user, “Enterprise” plan costs $150/month/user and “Unlimited” plan is worth $300/month/user.
Small businesses can get a generalized subscription to enjoy Salesforce and choose from the following packages:
The “Essentials” plan is priced: at $25/month/user and can be used; by up to 10 users.
The “Sales Professional” subscription is priced: at $75/month/user.
The “Service Professional” plan is priced: at $75/month/user.
The “Pardot Growth” plan is priced at $1250/month/user and offers automation capabilities for every business.
3. Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is perfect software for connecting clients, products, people and operations, all from a single tool that can be implemented through an infinite number of options. However, it is a payment tool that will require training time for you to be able to use it to its full potential. For this tool, programming knowledge is necessary. However, once you know how to use it, you will easily be able to simplify and connect business processes, improving customer interactions and facilitating growth.
Get Started with Microsoft Dynamics🔥
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Features
Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides ERP and CRM services on a single platform. It offers a clear view of how sales and marketing efforts are going with automated and intelligent data analysis. You can use tools powered by AI and machine learning to get better insights into your business.
Here are some unique features offered by Dynamics 365:
- Unified Communications: Dynamics 365 allows you to connect with clients through “Microsoft Teams” and simplify the sales process. You can call meetings, have a conversation and send any valued offer or detail in a minute.
- Advanced AI tools: You can predict sales based on the latest marketing strategy and conversion rate with Dynamics 365’s AI-powered tools. It allows you to generate revenue, set automated tasks, analyze data in a 360⁰ manner and much more according to your requirements.
- Finance and Operations management: Dynamics 365 has a financial analysis tool that can help you manage commercial operations and record every transaction. You can store credit card details, annotate tasks and accelerate training for new employees in the organization. Moreover, Dynamics 365 allows a smooth transition of complex workflows and management operations on the CRM.
- Asset Management: You can list your business assets on the supply chain within Dynamics 365 and efficiently manage all the related information, maintenance activities while reducing redundant costs.
- Power supply chain agility: Dynamics 365 can help your business’s profitability through quick lead conversion and high-quality analysis. You can engage better with clients, set priorities, create automated bots, so your sales team has a better chance of securing the opportunity.
- Smart Maintenance: Dynamics 365 suggests approaches to grow your business and increase product longevity with safety through smart maintenance. You can keep a catalog and add relevant notes to help the sales team with the pitch.
- Visual editor: Dynamics 365 lets you create charts, graphs and organizational workflows to simplify performance metrics. You can set the parameters and get different points of view regarding business development.
- Learning Paths: Dynamics 365 provides educational content to help you get familiar with CRM services and implement their use throughout the organization. You can access several how-to guides, watch videos and participate in interactive sessions to get a grip on Dynamics 365.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Pricing
Dynamics 365 allows users to choose packages according to their business niche.
Customer Data Platform is available for $1452/month for a single user and $968/month as an add-on plan. You can get a customer voice function for an extra $194/user for a month.
The sales tools are available in 3 different plans. “Sales Professional” is priced at $63/month and $19/month as an add-on. “Sales Enterprise” is worth $92/month for an individual and $19/month as an add-on. “Sales Premium” is priced: at $131/month for a single user, and “Microsoft Relationship Sales” is available for $134/month.
“Finance” package is priced at $172.5/month/user and $29/user/month as an add-on. “Project Management” tools are worth $116.5/user/month and $29.14/user/month as an add-on subscription.
Dynamics 365 has particular subscription plans for small and medium businesses to fast-track their sales process. “Business Central Essentials” is priced at $68/user/month, “Business Central Premium” is available at $97.2/user/month, “Customer Service Professional” is worth $48.6/user/month and “Sales Professional” is priced: at $63.2/user/month.
4. SumaCRM
SumaCRM allows you to visualise at a click of a button complete user files of all the company’s contacts at the same point, with information on conversations, calls, negotiations, etc… It is a perfect tool for those companies whose activity consists of providing services, as the CRM allows you to save, in a simple way, information on negotiations and the management of pending activities. In addition, it has a free 30-day demo despite the fact that it is subsequently paid for.
SumaCRM Features
SumaCRM is a Madrid-based CRM service that was launched: in 2015. It gathers all of your client information in one place where you can access the entire team detail. SumaCRM avoids time wastage by automatically arranging emails and lead sources for your business while collecting every piece of information from integrated sources. It solves the problems related to the lack of internal communication in the company and makes sure that everyone is in touch with the ongoing operations.
Here are some features offered by SumaCRM that make it a perfect match for your CRM requirements:
- GDPR compliance: It is mandatory for every company in the EU to abide by the GDPR rules and disclose how the customer data is being stored, used, and shared. SumaCRM anonymizes your data to prevent it from being exploited by malicious entities. It ensures that the client data stored inside the system has a finite lifespan and stops the distribution if the client has been inactive for three years.
- Efficy integration: SumaCRM was recently acquired; by Efficy, one of the most efficient CRM service providers. It has made SumaCRM amenable to SaaS mode and On-Premise hosting. Users can decide which one to choose; based on their company’s infrastructure and data restoration requirements while being in complete control of assets.
- Calendar Synchronization: SumaCRM allows users to optimally manage time by creating tasks and making deadlines or pivotal events in the in-built calendar. You can set alerts and avoid missing out on promising business opportunities. Moreover, the administrator can create polls to determine the best time for a meeting by consulting all relevant members within the SumaCRM.
- Management of areas of Interest: SumaCRM can ease the tasks of your marketing department by categorizing the client database with domains of interest and providing a personalized communication experience. Your clients can choose which notifications they want to receive with an extranet account, or your marketing department can add areas of interest to the customer’s profile.
- Multi-Cargo Management: SumaCRM avoids sending a package to the same client holding positions in different organizations. It is done by identifying similar responses and eliminating the recurring contacts so that it is only counted once. Imagine a potential client fills up a web form multiple times by mistake; SumaCRM will bracket such instances and ensure that only the initial response is taken into context.
SumaCRM Pricing
SumaCRM offers 4 pricing options:
The “Starter” plan is priced at €20/month/user upon annual billing and offers simple email marketing along with task scheduling.
The “SMB” plan is priced at €40/month/user upon annual billing and offers high configuration ability, marketing campaign management alongside customer segmentation.
The “Enterprise” plan is priced at €60/month/user upon annual billing and offers Extranet integration, advanced tracking tools alongside gamification.
The “Corporate” plan is priced at €80/month/user upon annual billing and offers BPM automation, multi-channel marketing alongside form creation tools.
5. Monday
The Monday software is extremely simple, with pre-defined templates for all kinds of situations, allowing you to start with the one that suits you best. It also gives you the ability to use the columns to display all the information you need at any given time. Monitoring the time for each task, keeping track of who is in charge of what, marking locations, adding text, numbers, links, and much more.
Monday Features
Monday integrates client emails, collects leads with forms, and refines marketing campaigns through scrupulous analysis that greatly enhances your relationship with clients and creates more business opportunities. It’s an easy-to-use platform that simplifies organizational tasks for sales and marketing teams.
Here are some features that make Monday a unique CRM:
- Software development: Monday provides templates to help your technical team quickly organize tasks, find bugs and improve iterations. You can add indicators to let the team know what you are working on and analyze the resource allocation. Every project has a specific ID that can be used; to track it among other tasks. Clients will automatically be alerted once the error is solved to reduce downtime and keep customers updated.
- HR structuring: Monday lets users manage recruiting process and track employee progression through its HR tools such as Applicant Tracker, Employee Engagement, Attendance Tracker, Recruitment Tracker, and Vacation Tracker. You can boost the team spirit of your employees by creating specific goals and giving constructive feedback on their work.
- Inventory Management: Businesses can record product and asset details while setting automation to get regular updates about sales and inquiries. You can create new templates to match the company’s requirements and integrate Monday with other applications to make the tasks easier. Moreover, Monday generates a unique QR code for each product so your clients can coherently buy the inventory.
- Marketing and Creative attributes: Monday can bridge the gap between creative thinking and marketing strategies by merging them into a single platform. You can create visualizations on campaign effects, share ideas and create personalized operations to make information accessible for employees.
- Sales operations: Monday offers CRM customization to make the leads attainable and manage all opportunity stages at a single interface. You can see the combined effect of marketing and sales campaigns to make adjustments accordingly. Moreover, businesses can centralize the available data for ease of use and synchronization of operations.
- IT workspace: You can add educational content for new recruitments to learn skills faster and ensure quality work. Monday lets you set access permissions for tasks and strictly follows security protocols to prevent cyber attacks on your CRM database. You can integrate IT tools and put technical work in order on Monday.
Monday Pricing
Monday CRM offers 4 pricing options depending upon your business size and requirements.
“Individual” plan is free of cost and lets users record work-related activities.
“Basic” plan is priced at $10/month for a single user and offers 5GB storage along with customer support.
“Standard” plan is worth $12/month for a single user and offers additional collaboration tools.
“Pro” subscription costs $20/month for an individual and offers chart view along with time tracking.
“Enterprise” plan is made specifically for large businesses and includes quality security features. You can contact support to get a quote on the “Enterprise” package.
Benefits of CRM for Solar Companies
Investing in a CRM solution can revolutionize the operations of solar companies by streamlining processes, enhancing customer relationships, and ultimately driving sales. Here are some key benefits that specifically cater to the unique needs of solar sales teams:
1. Improved Lead Management
Solar companies often deal with a large volume of leads, making efficient lead management crucial. A robust CRM helps sales teams track leads from initial contact through to conversion. With features like lead scoring and segmentation, your team can prioritize high-potential leads, ensuring that no opportunity is wasted.
2. Enhanced Communication
Communication is key in any sales environment, and the renewable energy sector is no different. CRMs centralize communication between departments, allowing salespeople to share important updates and customer interactions effortlessly. This integration fosters a collaborative environment where sales, marketing, and installation teams can work together seamlessly, leading to a more cohesive service offering for clients.
3. Automated Follow-Ups
In the fast-paced world of solar energy, timing is everything. CRM systems can automate follow-up reminders and notifications, ensuring that leads are nurtured even when your team is busy in the field. Automated emails and messages can be tailored to engage prospects at different
Key Features of Solar CRM
When selecting a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for your solar business, it’s essential to assess the specific capabilities that cater to the unique needs of the solar industry. A well-implemented solar CRM should facilitate efficient lead management, streamline sales processes, and enhance customer relationships. Here are the key features to look for in a solar CRM:
1. Lead Management and Tracking
A robust solar CRM should efficiently capture and manage leads from various channels, such as website inquiries, trade shows, and referrals. Look for features that allow automatic lead scoring and prioritization, ensuring that your sales team focuses on the most promising prospects. Additionally, nurturing workflows can help maintain engagement with leads throughout the sales cycle, ultimately increasing conversion rates.
2. Sales Pipeline Management
A visual representation of the sales pipeline is vital in the solar sector, where understanding the stages of each deal is crucial. An effective CRM should offer a clear overview of the sales process, enabling teams to track deals, forecast revenue accurately, and identify potential bottlenecks in the sales cycle.
3. Digital Estimates, Proposals, and Contracts
The ability to create and manage digital estimates and proposals is a fundamental feature for solar CRMs. Look for customizable templates that streamline the proposal process, allowing you to generate professional documents quickly. Additionally, contract management features can simplify the process of storing and retrieving important agreements, ensuring compliance and ease of access.
4. Customizable Workflows
Every solar business operates uniquely, and a good CRM should accommodate these differences through customizable workflows. This capability allows businesses to tailor processes according to their operational requirements, whether it’s managing installations, handling callbacks, or coordinating with subcontractors.
5. Customer Service and Support
A strong CRM should facilitate excellent customer service by providing detailed customer profiles and history. This enables your team to engage with customers effectively and resolve issues quickly. Look for features like ticketing systems, chat support, and automated follow-ups to enhance customer satisfaction.
Why use a CRM at all?
As a business, you have to stay on top of every opportunity and convert maximum leads to generate profit. Expecting your sales representatives to carry out each task perfectly; from initial contact to closing out the deal can hamper your firm’s productivity and carries the risk of errors or redundancies.
CRM tool is designed to help out businesses with regular activities to ensure a smooth running of operations. You can gain insights into your financial activities to identify the main source of revenue and strengthen your clientele base. Moreover, CRM also allows you to provide better quality customer support by assisting your customer representative with relevant details.
Why should Solar businesses use a CRM?
Every solar business has sales people in the field, visiting customers, doing site surveys and trying to close deals. It can be difficult for your sales team to coordinate with rest of the departments while constantly being on the move and looking for new opportunities. Sometimes customer data may not reach rest of the team and a promising opportunity might be lost.
You can plug these information gaps by incorporating CRM into your business. It empowers your sales team to easily capture and submit site data and photos instantly, allowing rest of team to stay up-to-date with the advancements.
The updated customer data is immediately emailed to the relevant team for further processing so you can submit the design and a proposal in quick turnaround time.
CRM automation runs like clockwork, to ensure zero loss of information. You can engage with leads during off-hours through automated messaging and ask the sales representative to contact the prospect. CRM lets you create countless workflows and automations depending upon your requirements.
Solar industry is booming nowadays due to its fundamentals of providing usable energy from the sun. Most large-scale businesses have started installing solar-powered energy systems to reduce the carbon footprint, meaning there’s a lot to be gained in this market. A CRM will allows you to maximize your potential and provide better services to your clients.
CRM for Solar, A Summary
In the solar market, you have to ensure that the field members and sales team are in regular touch. Not doing so will lead to a communication gap and affect the services provided by your business. CRM provides your employees a database to store and collaborate on tasks.
Zoho CRM provides a customizable platform and real-time updates regarding new leads or movement in sales funnel which can be highly beneficial for your sales department. It is our suggested pick for a CRM that suits Solar businesses. Visit the website to get started.