Choosing the Best CRM for Startups and Small Businesses

A startup environment is a dynamic and emotional one. Getting more sales and closing deals effectively is critical to success and having a good customer relationship management software to streamline the sales process gives startups a much needed head-start to success.

Early in the startup story when the business is relatively young, Excel sheets and sticky notes can meet your sales needs, but as you continue to grow and more and more leads start pouring into your sales pipeline, CRM Switching over is a wise investment. As business scales and your customer base begins to grow, so does a CRM for every business that organizes ongoing business communications.

When it comes to choosing a CRM system for your small business, there is no dearth of options to choose from. There are hundreds of CRM software that come with a wide variety of features, from bare minimum to full-fledged enterprise CRM. 

With such a wide range of features and pricing, choosing the best CRM for your business can be a really difficult decision. This is why we have compiled this comprehensive guide to help you make important decisions early in your business and close more deals. Let’s get right

Things to consider when choosing CRM software for your startup

1. Cost Value Equation

Money is indeed a big factor in the early stages of business growth. Startups and smbs need to be frugal with their spending so that enough funds can be directed to achieve future growth. CRM software for Startups  is not a business expense but a valuable long term investment but where do you draw the line in the sand when it comes to determining the amount you are willing to spend?

Startups and small businesses do not use 60–80 percent of the top end features offered by CRM software. As a result of this, you may end up paying only for the features of your sales team, even those unlikely to be used. To determine the cost price equation, talk to the real members of your sales team, understand the sales process, list what features you need and then move on.

The CRM you choose should really streamline sales activities and boost productivity rather than forcing your sales reps to spend most of their time in data entry.

Almost all CRM software available in the market offers a free trial period so that you can run a trial with your team without paying an advance amount. There are also software such as Benchpoint and HubSpot CRM (at least the original version) that come with a free plan for your benefit forever. What matters at the end of the day is that you do a better analysis according to your needs.

2. Time on ship

As a startup, you do not have the time necessary to train your sales reps to use CRM. Your sales team needs to get out and chase leads and win deals. Introduction to CRM tools should be a facilitator and not a hindrance to your sales efforts.

The CRM system you need to come up with a reduced learning curve is an intuitive user interface in which sales reps can simply drag and drop deals through various stages of the sales pipeline and be used by your sales team Should be prepared without the need to spend hours on the onboarding process.

3. Scale Capacity

As your startup or small business grows in volume as well as mass, the CRM tool you choose should be able to adapt to those changes as well. It should have the ability to move up and down when needed.

Scaling a business comes with its own set of challenges. Choosing a CRM that promotes collaboration between marketing, sales, and customer support teams as business growth is critical to a business that is scaling.

4. Ease of data transfer

Data is the backbone of the entire sales process. Importing existing data into CRM software should be a seamless task. If your sales team has to spend hours logging data into CRM software to work, it becomes a reactive activity. CRM should also allow for easy export of sales and marketing data, whenever it is needed.

5. Customization according to your requirements

Each business is unique and therefore your sales cycle. The CRM you choose should give you the freedom to customize the sales pipeline steps according to your sales process. Cookie cutter software does not work well in all startups and a custom build CRM solution is not an inexpensive choice for startups and small businesses.

CRM Software provider allows you to incorporate custom changes is the best of both worlds. This gives you flexibility at a low cost which makes it the best choice for you.

Features to look for when choosing CRM software

1. Sales Pipeline Management

Pipeline management is an excellent feature of any CRM. The software should provide you with a high level of insight into your sales funnel, how many leads are in flow and where they are 

slipping through the cracks.

Lead management is not only the result of a more efficient sales process, it provides you with real real insight into which deals need to be closed. Your CRM platform should have key features such as lead leading and tracking of leads to ensure effective sales pipeline management.

2. Email Integration

Integration with major email providers such as Gmail and Outlook is a must for every CRM software. Email marketing is one of the most efficient ways to generate more leads and close more deals.

Integration with email marketing automation tools such as Mailchimp allows you to automate your outbound marketing process and send bulk emails, thus filling your sales pipeline with leads generated. Additional features such as email templates, finding the open rate of your outbound emails through email tracking increase the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign.

3. Contact Management

The CRM software you choose should give you the option to build your customer base within the software itself. Incorporating contacts from your email and easy addition and management of new contacts has become a requirement for any CRM software. The number of contacts allowed is CRM based and varies depending on the pricing scheme.

4. Comprehensive Dashboard

As a startup, every win needs to be celebrated and every deal needs to be defeated. A CRM that comes with a comprehensive dashboard gives a clear view of the sales pipeline, scheduled activities and progress made.

5. Analytics and Sales Forecast

Based on the likelihood of leads to convert, the need for leads generated is grouped under different categories. This step is important to ensure that your sales team does not end up wasting their time and effort and lead the cold and focuses all their attention on the leads who are more likely to convert.