You need to find the best CRM software for your sales team. What are the most important features to look for?
Choosing the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is crucial for enhancing your sales team's performance and fostering strong customer relationships. A good CRM system acts as the backbone of your sales operations, helping to manage contacts, track sales processes, and nurture client relationships. But with a sea of options available, it's important to focus on the features that align with your team's needs and your overall business goals.
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Bartlomiej Radawiec✔ ERP Recruitment Lead Poland ✔ SAP Recruitment Head of Practice ✔ SME Business Apps
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Nils van OostenWe guide companies to reduce the time on daily tasks from hours to minutes by optimising processes with Odoo.
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Diego MirandaGerente de Comércio Eletrônico B2B | Gestão de E-commerce | Marketing Digital | Experiência do usuário | Gestão de…
The effectiveness of a CRM is often tied to its usability. You want a platform that your sales team can navigate with ease, minimizing training time and maximizing adoption rates. Look for a CRM with an intuitive user interface that simplifies tasks like entering data, accessing customer information, and managing sales pipelines. A user-friendly CRM encourages regular use, ensuring that your team has up-to-date information at their fingertips, which is essential for building and maintaining strong relationships.
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Jason Matuska, PRC, CDR, CIR, ACIR, CSMR, CTR, CSSR
Senior Technical Recruiter @ Amogy | Advanced Certified Internet Recruiter
User-Friendly Interface: Choose CRM software with an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is easy for your sales team to navigate and use effectively. A user-friendly interface encourages adoption and ensures that team members can quickly access and input data. Contact Management: Look for CRM software that offers robust contact management features, allowing your sales team to organize and track customer and prospect information effectively. This includes features such as contact profiles, segmentation, tagging, and customizable field. Pipeline Management: Opt for CRM software that provides comprehensive pipeline management capabilities to visualize and track the sales process from lead generation to deal closure.
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Ravindra Singh
GSI Alliance Manager @ Boomi | Passionate about Partner Business Growth
first of all you need to keep in mind that your end goal is not to find the best CRM system, it is to make your sales teams most successful, it is to make their life easy, give them something which can enable them in their customer engagements ( instead of slowing them by creating too much operations tasks). Second- understand your organization and sales teams culture, in the context of that culture identify what features and functions you need in CRM and after that find a CRM which is best suited for those needs. Third- Make some of the most successful sales persons volunteers to test the shortlisted options.
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Nicky Saxon
Business 2 Prospect ✨ Passionately Prospecting Everyday Everywhere Helping You Share your Vision Business to Business
In my experience, salespeople are generally admin-adverse. The easier it is to use the more they are willing to use it. Nothing is worse than duplicating info when entering a new prospect. Updating activity should also end automatically with a next activity schedule instead of having to find that tab each time.
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Inzamum Ul Hoque Navin
Business Advisor | Odoo | Ex KAM,Pathao + Alibaba Group (Daraz) + Lead Bd | Ex Hungrynaki | Client Relationship/Management specialist | Commercial | Business Development | Acquisition Strategist | Sales
An effective CRM system should provide a comprehensive view of each customer's lifetime data in a centralized location. This includes information such as purchase orders, sales orders, rentals, and any other relevant interactions. By having this information readily available, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their customers' needs and preferences, enabling them to provide more personalized and effective service.
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Lucy Krappman
Title Insurance Professional
If your CRM is difficult to navigate, engagement will be difficult. This leads to frustration, as well as decreased productivity and data inaccuracies.
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Phillip McClure
I develop leaders & build teams through keynote speaking, executive coaching, & dynamic facilitation!
The key feature for us is flexibility in the fields and formatting. Does the info we input serve all those who use it efficiently and effectively?
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Haroon khan
COO | Co-Founder @ AlluraSoft
A User-friendly interface has easy to access tools, eye-catching animations and vibrant colors to make you feel friendly and easy to learn. It takes care of the most used functionalities to have on the right places and one click-away. Also, it integrates well with other platforms, pipelines and Mobile phones.
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Pranay Chouhan 🇮🇳
𝗗𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱!
UI plays the best role in sales CRM To the best of my knowledge as: 1. When options and navigations are adhered easily, it becomes interesting to come to that software, period for better usage. 2. Becomes easier for assigning and checking over the project cutovers and deliveries. 3. And under all this, it enhances user engagement a lot and improves productivity above all.
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Bárbara Leite Izidio
Especialista em solução jurídica | B2B | Outbound & Inbound | LAWARE TECH
When choosing a CRM software for your sales team, remember to first understand the specific needs of your team. Prioritize usability, integration with systems that allow task automation, and customization capabilities. Effective lead and contact management, combined with sales funnel management that aligns with your business rules, are essential for tracking deal progress according to your industry. Also, look for something that ensures reliable customer support for moments when you need assistance. By considering these points, you will choose a solution that boosts the productivity and success of your sales team.
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Shoaib Sayyed
Strategic Business Development Leader | Revenue Growth Expert | Market Positioning Specialist | Customer Success Champion | Cross-Functional Collaboration Advocate
Selecting the best CRM software for your sales team depends on your specific needs and goals, but you can consider below points. 1. User Frinedly Interface. 2. Contact Managemnet Feature. 3. Lead Tracking. 4. Pipeline Visualization Dashboard which is customizable. 5. Seamless integration with other essential tools and platforms. 6. Customization Options. 7. Robust Automation capabilities. Which can reduce many manual tasks. 8. Advanced Reporting. 9. Mobile Accessibility. 10. Data Security Measures. By considering these essential features and tailoring your selection based on your team's specific needs and budget, you can identify the CRM software that best supports your sales efforts and drives sustainable growth.
Your business is unique, and your CRM should reflect that. Customization allows you to tailor the software to fit your specific sales processes and customer engagement strategies. Seek out a CRM that offers flexible fields, customizable workflows, and the ability to integrate with other tools you already use. This ensures that the CRM can grow and adapt with your business, providing a personalized tool that evolves as your sales strategies do.
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Kori Kostka, RD, MHSc
Accomplished health services leader with over 16 years of diversified experience in the healthcare industry.
Yes! Customization is key but I think first things first is to brainstorm what you need. Prioritize into high, medium and low so you can score features based on their priority. If you already have a CRM, ask different departments how they’re currently using it or shadow them. What’s their wish list? Once you’re clear on what you need, it will make evaluation the different tools available that much more efficient! And don’t forget to ask your clients, even if they’re not the users. I think it’s often a missed opportunity to consider what features a customer or client may want access to.
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GABRIEL GONZALES
CEO at GG Sales
Your CRM should match your unique business needs. Look for customization options like flexible fields, customizable workflows, and seamless integration with existing tools. This ensures your CRM evolves alongside your sales strategies, providing a personalized solution that grows with your business.
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Jacqueline Doe
Data-driven Customer Success Manager @ DB Services | Relationship Management | Proactive Problem Solver
Absolutely, custom solutions for CRMs offer the flexibility to adapt to your unique requirements and can evolve with your business. It's crucial to evaluate your end goals and assess whether off-the-shelf options can meet them within your budget. If not, collaborating with the right developer partner can unlock tailor-made solutions aligned with your vision.
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Taj Ali
Pharmacist | Medical Representative | Sales professionaL | Customer service Executive | Business Development Executive
One of the most important features when choosing your sales team CRM software : simply ,the CRM software capabilities must match you industry type , sales team special tools , business model and Flexibility and must be developalble.
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Abhishek Kumar
A dedicated professional with a proven track record in the intersection of Business Development in Capital Markets & Banking with Customer Experience | Customer Relationship Management & Customer Experience Management |
CRM software offers extensive customization capabilities to tailor the system to the unique needs of businesses and users. From customizable fields and data layouts to personalized dashboards and reporting options, users can adapt the CRM interface to match their specific workflows and preferences. Customization also extends to automation rules, allowing users to create automated workflows for tasks such as lead assignment, email notifications, and follow-up reminders. Furthermore, advanced CRM platforms often offer API access and integration capabilities, enabling businesses to integrate third-party applications and extend the functionality of the CRM system to meet evolving business requirements.
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Rafael M.
Online Brand Protection Consultant @Brandshield
I don't believe customization is necessarily crucial. If the CRM is built to facilitate your job, when done correctly there shouldn't be a reason to make changes.
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Abhishek Kumar
A dedicated professional with a proven track record in the intersection of Business Development in Capital Markets & Banking with Customer Experience | Customer Relationship Management & Customer Experience Management |
Customization in a CRM tool is crucial for businesses to adapt the system to their unique processes and requirements. With customization capabilities, companies can tailor fields, workflows, reports, and dashboards to align with their specific workflows and objectives. This flexibility enables organizations to capture and analyze data in a way that is meaningful and actionable for their business goals. Additionally, customization allows for seamless integration with existing systems and the ability to scale as the business evolves. Ultimately, a well-customized CRM empowers businesses to improve efficiency, enhance customer relationships, and drive growth.
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Nils van Oosten
We guide companies to reduce the time on daily tasks from hours to minutes by optimising processes with Odoo.
More "customization" often means more fields of information to fill in. KEEP IT SIMPLE! a CRM is to support your sales to execute what they do best: build relationships with customers and sell. Only a portion - but an important one- is reporting. Customisations should only support the day to day, not add complexity to an individual's daily admin.
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Florin Craciun
Accelerating revenue growth for technology companies | Sales & business development| Channel Strategy| Sales & Partner Enablement
Customisation can go both ways: Of course, we all want to adapt the tools we use to our ways of doing things, but quite often, that means we can replicate dysfunctional processes in CRM. Ideally, you need a CRM that can pull data from various sources and push less out, except to core business systems. This may sound counterintuitive, but in my experience, you want your data, processes & workflows to be centralised in one place (your CRM) and have it become the single source of truth for your client interactions.
Data-driven insights are key to refining your sales approach and building better relationships. A CRM with robust analytics features enables you to track performance metrics, forecast sales, and understand customer behaviors. You need a system that provides detailed reports and visual dashboards that can help you make informed decisions. These insights allow your sales team to prioritize leads and tailor their approach to meet the specific needs of each customer.
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Ahunna Nwaogwugwu MBA
Enterprise Sales Lead. Ex-Microsoft. MBA.
Data driven insights are the core of your CRM success. Robust analytics will support you in executing three major goals: identifying the weakest points in your sales cycle, understanding why some deals do not close or grow and preparing you for sales slumps and growths.
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Rafael Oropeza
1 daily post to optimize your time and workday 🕒 | Keys to landing a job in non-Spanish speaking countries 🌍 | Daily inspiration to boost your career 🚀 | Project Implementation Engineer | Process Automation Specialist
Drawing from my expertise, I'd like to share that comprehensive analytics in CRM software is essential for sales teams seeking data-driven insights to enhance their performance. As someone who has worked as an IT advisor, I know how crucial it is to track key metrics, forecast sales, and understand customer behavior. The best CRMs offer robust reporting and dashboards to help make informed decisions. These insights enable prioritizing leads and customizing approaches for each customer, which aligns with my experience in improving service efficiency and leveraging data for business strategies.
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GABRIEL GONZALES
CEO at GG Sales
Choose a CRM with robust analytics for data-driven insights. Track performance metrics, forecast sales, and understand customer behaviors. Detailed reports and visual dashboards empower informed decisions, helping prioritize leads and tailor approaches to individual customer needs.
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Abhishek Kumar
A dedicated professional with a proven track record in the intersection of Business Development in Capital Markets & Banking with Customer Experience | Customer Relationship Management & Customer Experience Management |
Comprehensive analytical capabilities within a CRM tool provide invaluable insights into customer behavior, sales performance, and overall business trends. By leveraging advanced analytics, businesses can identify patterns, trends, and opportunities hidden within their data. These insights enable strategic decision-making, allowing companies to optimize marketing campaigns, tailor products and services to customer needs, and forecast sales projections more accurately. Furthermore, analytics help in measuring the effectiveness of various sales and marketing strategies, allowing for continuous improvement and refinement of business processes. Overall, robust analytical features empower businesses to stay competitive.
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nadhir chamkhi
Chef de Projet ERP , SSYB™ , SFC™ | Odoo & Salesforce
To scale your business effectively, you need to make informed decisions. CRM systems offer robust analytics and reporting capabilities, giving you valuable insights into your business performance. These insights can help you identify opportunities, spot potential issues, and adapt your strategy as needed.
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Florin Craciun
Accelerating revenue growth for technology companies | Sales & business development| Channel Strategy| Sales & Partner Enablement
We consider analytics the cornerstone of measuring any process and its outcomes. CRMs are no different, we want robust reporting capabilities built in, although experience shows that being able to define simple, yet compelling dashboards for each business function tends to be more important than how detailed those analytics can be. Finally, consider drill down when looking at the analytics capabilities: how deep can you go into the numbers? Are you stopping just 1 or 2 levels down and then you need to use another report? Or can you just dig in deeper and explore the original data sets?
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Richard Brain
BD Lead | Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
A key feature of any CRM. You need to be able to clearly see and understand all metrics clearly, helping make data driven decisions. You’ll be unable to create accurate sales forecasts, predict customer behaviours/pain points, or benchmark performance without good analytics, so this is a must for any CRM you employ.
In today's fast-paced business environment, your sales team needs to be agile and responsive. Mobile accessibility in a CRM means your team can access vital information on-the-go, update client data in real time, and stay connected with customers from anywhere. Ensure the CRM you choose offers a comprehensive mobile app that is both functional and secure, so your team never misses an opportunity to build relationships, no matter where they are.
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Diego Miranda
Gerente de Comércio Eletrônico B2B | Gestão de E-commerce | Marketing Digital | Experiência do usuário | Gestão de Pessoas | B2B B2C | CX UX
Having a CRM with a mobile app is like having your business in your pocket! It means you can access important info from anywhere, get updates instantly, and work seamlessly with your team, no matter where you are. Plus, it helps you manage your time better and be super responsive to your customers' needs.
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Rafael M.
Online Brand Protection Consultant @Brandshield
In this day an age having a mobile access becomes more and more practical, and efficient also in some cases. I've yet to see a CRM with a user-friendly platform.
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Abhishek Kumar
A dedicated professional with a proven track record in the intersection of Business Development in Capital Markets & Banking with Customer Experience | Customer Relationship Management & Customer Experience Management |
Mobile accessibility in a CRM tool is indispensable for modern businesses, enabling users to access critical customer information anytime, anywhere. With mobile access, sales representatives can update leads, track interactions, and view real-time data while on the go, enhancing productivity and responsiveness. Additionally, mobile CRM empowers managers to monitor team performance, approve deals, and provide timely support remotely. By providing a seamless mobile experience, CRM tools ensure that businesses can stay connected and agile in today's fast-paced environment, ultimately leading to improved customer satisfaction and increased sales opportunities.
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Shaveta Karol
Sr.Director Sales and Business Development @ DITS | Driving Business Growth
Definitely, these days Mobile Accessibility is the key for any successful business. They should be able to access to real time information, have access to customers, reports etc.
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nadhir chamkhi
Chef de Projet ERP , SSYB™ , SFC™ | Odoo & Salesforce
Yes, being able to maintain your customer relationships directly from your phone changes the way you operate and manage your sales activities. Get all the information you need, directly on the opportunity.
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Florin Craciun
Accelerating revenue growth for technology companies | Sales & business development| Channel Strategy| Sales & Partner Enablement
Mobile accessibility is a nice feature for CRMs. However, unless you work in distribution, logistics, or any other industry with a shop floor, mobile interfaces are not necessary. Yes, we want sales to be able to log stuff in when on the road or after meeting a client, but unless your business is a high velocity/high transaction speed, mobile accessibility is not one of the "must have" factors in your decision-making process.
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Papaa Spio-Garbrah
Quota-smashing Sales Professional
Mobile accessibility would have been wonderful. Without my laptop I’m unable to answer calls or make presentations on the go with Salesforce. Sadly, not the case. RingCentral was wonderful as it had mobile capabilities for outbound and inbound calls.
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John Sullivan
Providing expert guidance to Mid-size Law Firms -With the world’s most advanced legal research, we bring our Clients the industry leading tools and solutions they need to work smarter in the office, at home or on the go.
Mobile accessibility is a game-changer. To be able to access your CRM and customer information from your mobile device would be extremely beneficial.
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Richard Brain
BD Lead | Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
In this day and age a lot of teams use mobile to prospect. Mobile accessibility helps empower teams to update the CRM on one device, streamlining the internal sales process and customer funnel. This feature is especially important for team members who are remote/field based - removing barriers for teams who struggle with time to update CRM’s between meetings and during busy times.
A CRM doesn't operate in isolation; it should seamlessly integrate with other software systems your business uses. Look for a CRM that can connect with email platforms, social media, marketing automation tools, and customer service software. Integration streamlines processes and creates a unified approach to relationship building. It's essential for ensuring that all customer interactions are recorded and accessible across departments, providing a complete view of customer engagements.
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Bartlomiej Radawiec
✔ ERP Recruitment Lead Poland ✔ SAP Recruitment Head of Practice ✔ SME Business Apps
Data Data and once again Data. The Data migration quality and CRM integration with other related satellite business apps are crucial in smooth CRM Deployment.
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🥑Jen Helton🥑
Relationship Builder * Generator of Wild Ideas * Network to NetWorth Connector of People
Integrations are so important! Is it hooked up to mobile email? Does it have its own mobile app? Can you link your work calendar, what about your personal one also? Does it automatically track emails, and texts from mobile device? Does it link with the contract software you use? What about Zoom/Teams? What about payment portals? Email sequences? Email sequences to a mass list? Is commission tracked??? IS COMMISSION TRACKED???? Expected, and received? There's a lot to look into when considering a CRM investment, and each organization has specific goals. Each department has specific goals, and it's crucial to find out what those are, first.
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nadhir chamkhi
Chef de Projet ERP , SSYB™ , SFC™ | Odoo & Salesforce
CRM often includes ticketing systems, knowledge bases, and communication tools to enhance customer service operations. CRM systems enable organizations to track and manage all customer interactions across various channels, such as email, phone calls, social media, and in-person meetings. This ensures a consistent and coherent communication strategy.
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Riley McGhee
The Clarity Coach | Living life like a story worth sharing. Let's scale your impact.
Integration can be really helpful for saving time, but for someone who's built as many automations as I have, you might be surprised to know I don't think it's a deal breaker. Here's why: Yes some integration is going to be important as you grow and scale, but the most important thing is that you actually use the system's functionality. The point of the CRM isn't to create another full time job inputting data, it's to keep you organized and make sure you stay top of mind for prospects and deals that you want to close. Rather than thinking about how the tech integrates with other tools, you're better off thinking about how your CRM integrates with your daily habits and activities within your sales function.
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Sanjay Singh
Business Development Executive at TrionTech IT MSP. Talk to me about IT Infrastructure | Cybersecurity | Cloud Services | Data Backup | Proactive IT Support | Increasing Productivity
Integration plays a pivotal role in CRM effectiveness. When integrated with tools like SalesLoft, Apollo, etc., it creates a finely tuned lead generation and sales nurturing system within your CRM.
Finally, even the best CRM software can encounter issues or require guidance for optimal use. Reliable customer support from the CRM provider is indispensable. You need access to a knowledgeable support team that can assist with troubleshooting, provide training, and offer best practice advice. This support minimizes downtime and ensures that your sales team can use the CRM effectively to build and maintain strong customer relationships.
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Sneha T.
Domain Consulting Partner @ Wipro Digital
1. Pre-built features for contact management, sales pipeline management, email integration, task and activity tracking, and reporting and analytics. best security & best ethical principles. 2. AI-capabilities like intelligent lead scoring, predictive analytics, automated workflow, natural language processing, and integration with voice assistants. 3.Predictions of customer requirements based on historical data. 4. reliable customer support - 24/7 support via email, chatbots, calls, in various languages. 5. Based on the customer purchase history suggest offering which can boost customer business. 6. feature to get customer feedback or suggestion to improvise the product features with auto follow ups. 7: insight of unhappy customer's issues
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Nils van Oosten
We guide companies to reduce the time on daily tasks from hours to minutes by optimising processes with Odoo.
Expand your requirements beyond the sales team; integrate the CRM in a larger process (quote building, supply chain, support, invoicing). An isolated CRM will not support the overall relationship building with your customers. Having a wider vision for your company' s needs for relationship management will give you a better CRM, integrated with other departments' activities.
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Marco Villari
Sales Team Leader (🇮🇹 🇬🇧 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 🇵🇹) | Business Growth Advisor | Sales Executive @ Odoo 🦄 Helping businesses to achieve success through technology 🚀
CRM Serves the main purposes of keeping information centralized, up-to-date, improving customer understanding and helping track customers' interaction evolution with your company. The ultimate goal is to take the right insight to take action towards your customers to finally close them. Nevertheless, we speak about features but shouldn't we focus more on how to correctly use it? First question I would ask is, how are you using your current CRM (if you have one)? If you use it correctly then features come afterwards. First it is about understanding why we need it. If we solely focus on features, we lose.
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Luis Manuel Ochoa
Vice President of Sales | Sales Leadership, Marketing Communications
In my opinion, the right approach to the utilization of a CRM is as an ally to the entire sales process of a company. The ability to schedule your work, create sales forecasts, follow ups, an in general organize your sales process in invaluable. The worst mistake that you can make with a CRM is to utilize it as a micromanaging tool. Too many times have I seen it utilized int this fashion, creating the biggest lack of motivation in a sales organization. I truly believe that a well used CRM, along with the appropriate use of Situational Leadership when leading, and coaching your sales team, will produce the best results for a well oiled sales machine.
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nadhir chamkhi
Chef de Projet ERP , SSYB™ , SFC™ | Odoo & Salesforce
Many modern CRM systems are cloud-based, offering accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection. This enhances collaboration among team members and ensures that the most up-to-date information is readily available.
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Riley McGhee
The Clarity Coach | Living life like a story worth sharing. Let's scale your impact.
The best CRM software is the one that: - You'll actually use - Prevents human error - Maps to your sales process - Saves time instead of wasting it - You just can't imagine living without When it comes to building relationships, this will always be a human-centric skill. Tools are great, but they won't do the whole job for you, and if you're not careful they can wind up getting in the way. As they say, a great craftsman never blames his tools. Find what to help you get the job done, that matches your current level of skill and need, and then move on. Your client is never going to care what CRM you use, but using one can help them feel like you care.
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Caroline Masters
Relationship Builder • Business Development • Consultative Sales • Master Finder • Market Research/Strategy • Digital Marketing • Renewables/Solar • Broad Range of Industries/Technologies
To be clear - it's really about what your sales team will actually find useful! - what will make what they do easier/more productive, and a CRM that is an extension of the platforms the company is already using. All six items listed are factors, and ultimately what will fit best with your company's culture and other platforms?
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Frank Niekamp
Helping CEOs build & embed sales systems that produce scalable, measurable, and predictable growth ★ Vistage Resource Speaker ★ Founding Partner SalesStar USA
Establish the top 3 priorities that you want the CRM to enable your company to do for you first &use as your decision making criteria. Examples included above are really good, however our clients are usually looking for a CRM to embed sales processes like new business development and key account management. An easily adaptable platform that supports ideal sales behaviors like Membrain is a great choice to consider.