An effective sales management system can help your business reach or exceed its long-term goals.
Sales management software encourages cooperation between sales reps and streamlines common activities. By using a sales management system or CRM, you can increase teamwork, cut down on mundane admin tasks, and ultimately achieve your desired sales goals.
But where should you start?
In this post, we’ll take a deep dive into sales management and the most effective sales management platforms in the industry. Soon, you’ll have a better understanding of how sales management software helps your team close more deals and surpass your sales targets.
Sales management is the process of coordinating the salespeople in your organization to work towards a common goal. Sales management includes creating and implementing strategies that will help your sales team hit and exceed revenue targets.
Goals may vary between organizations, but sales management systems often focus on growth, profits, and increased sales volume.
A sales management system is a platform that helps the sales team reach its goals. Sales managers can use this platform to track data, reduce admin tasks, and assign leads. Customer information can be stored on the platform, which helps streamline sales and marketing collaboration.
There are a variety of sales management system platforms available. Later in this post, we’ll discuss the nine best options. You should consider which tools your sales team needs to succeed before deciding which platform is best for your company.
Related: The top 10 things to look for in a CRM
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Still wondering why you should use a sales management system? Here are the five key benefits you’ll get by incorporating this platform into your business.
By using a sales management platform, you can organize all of your customer data so that’s easily accessible by any member of your team and streamline your sales process. The platform can analyze data and produce easy-to-read charts and graphs with relevant information.
Sales management systems coordinate work from departments across the company. Everyone involved can access shared company information in real-time through the platform, and communicate directly within customer and lead records. This reduces the need for lengthy meetings while still encouraging teams to work together towards a common goal.
By using a sales management system, the sales team can cut down on their trivial admin work. Instead of needing to input data or send follow-up emails, the sales team can focus on making sales while the platform takes care of the necessary admin tasks or automatically sends follow-up emails.
Related: How sales automation software separates the amateurs from the pros
Without a sales management system, it can be challenging for managers to stay on top of sales data. A CRM provides up-to-date information on the status of each lead so managers and team members can prioritize their efforts and give each prospect the right attention at the right time.
Ultimately, sales managers use these platforms to stay on track with their revenue goals. These platforms help sales teams optimize their sales process so that each lead is more likely to close, and high-value opportunities get more attention. By keeping their teams organized and tracking the right data, sales managers can expect these platforms to help their teams reach and exceed their targets.
| Sales Management Platform | Key Features |
| Nutshell | Fully customizable platform, sales automation, email sequencing, integrations with various business applications, free live customer support, unlimited contact records and data storage, sales analytics reporting, flexible pipeline management views, no-contract pricing, Starter and Pro options |
| Hubspot | Full-stack marketing experience, Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, tracking of sales aspects, optional paid add-ons |
| Pipedrive | Simplicity and ease of use, affordable, company-wide pipeline view, chatbots, email and meeting tracking, integrations with other sales apps, free trial |
| Freshsales | 360° customer view, advanced data tracking, in-depth sales reports, automated scheduling service, 21-day free trial |
| Zoho CRM | Sales forecasting, integrated calendar, sales automation, accessible customer support, reliable communication tools, email and telephone calls from the platform, social media tracking, self-service customer portal, 15-day free trial, Standard, Professional, or Enterprise plans |
| Teamgate | Highly-rated, easy-to-use CRM, three versions (Beginner, Intermediate, Expert), integrations with other workplace apps. |
| Nimble | Integrates various tools, intuitive system, email and calendar integration with Google and Outlook, “Today” page for organization and updates, sales intelligence, deal forecasting, pipeline analytics, 14-day free trial, smart CRM and integrations in paid plans |
| Insightly | Designed to manage business relationships, centralized sales data, communication tracking with customers, performance monitoring, task assignment, easy-to-use interface, reporting dashboard, useful for admin tasks, email campaigns, project management, reporting, and more, expert guidance available |
| Keap | Advanced Sales Management System, daily task tracking, streamlined customer communication, lead attraction, sophisticated campaign builder, drag-and-drop interface for lead management, Grow plan for small businesses (CRM and email marketing tools), Keap Pro plan for larger businesses (advanced tools for managing large accounts) |
Now that you know more about sales management systems, let’s take a closer look at the nine best CRM platforms.
Nutshell is an easy-to-use and sneaky powerful CRM that optimizes the efforts of teams and encourages collaboration. Nutshell is a fully customizable platform with sales automation and email sequencing capabilities, which integrates very well with Gmail, Outlook, Mailchimp, Intercom, Unbounce, and many other business applications.
Featuring four pipeline management views including a drop-and-drop lead board, Nutshell is flexible enough to be used by outbound sales teams, inbound sales teams, relationship-based sales teams, or any other B2B sales force.
Unlike most other sales management systems, Nutshell offers free live customer support, unlimited contact records and data storage, and sales analytics reporting. It comes out of the box with all the tools that your sales team will need to start selling smarter, and you won’t have to deal with expensive upgrades or add-ons.
Nutshell offers simple, no-contract pricing with both a Starter and Pro option so you can select the CRM that is perfect for you and your sales team.
Nutshell is the customizable, all-in-one CRM and marketing software that helps B2B teams close more deals.
Try it for yourself with a 14-day trial — no credit card required!
HubSpot is a full-stack marketing experience that offers a free CRM. HubSpot’s offerings include a Marketing Hub to grow traffic and convert visitors, a Sales Hub that automates tasks, and a Service Hub to connect with customers.
Since HubSpot is a heavy software, it can be challenging to adopt. It is designed for large corporations, although small businesses will still benefit from the time-saving tools it offers, and their free CRM might be enough if you’re just starting out. HubSpot helps you track all aspects of your sales, from emails and customer interactions to detailed profit reports.
Although the CRM platform is free forever, you can pay to add-on additional tools. For an additional monthly fee, you can add the entire marketing, sales, and service suite to your platform.
Pipedrive is a CRM that emphasizes its simplicity and ease of use. This is an affordable option and is ideal for small teams. It features a company-wide view of the pipeline, so sales managers can easily track performance.
Pipedrive offers around the clock chatbots that provide smart and natural responses to help drive traffic. You can easily track emails, meetings, and other conversations to stay on top of what is happening across your team.
If you are not immediately sold, you can sign up for a free trial to learn more about their platform. Pipedrive integrates with other sales apps, so you can get the most from your entire sales management system.
Freshsales is an in-depth sales management software platform that might offer more than you actually need. This platform features a 360° customer view so you can track all conversations (emails, phone calls, deals, etc.) right from the Freshsales platform. It also offers advanced data tracking and in-depth sales reports. This can feel overly complicated at times, but overall it provides all of the information you need to meet your sales goals.
Freshsales also offers a fully automated scheduling service. You won’t miss another email or meeting with this platform. This service helps you stay on top of crucial follow-up communications which helps build customer relationships.
You can sign up for a 21-day free trial before you decide if Freshsales is right for your company.
Zoho CRM is a design-focused CRM that aims to help sales teams convert more leads into customers. Zoho has an accessible customer support team and tends to be highly rated in customer reviews. Zoho includes many useful features, like sales forecasting, an integrated calendar, and sales automation.
Zoho offers reliable communication tools which allow you to interact with customers in real-time. You can send emails and make telephone calls from the Zoho platform. You will also be able to track interactions on social media and facilitate prospects with a self-service customer portal.
You can try this platform with a 15-day free trial before committing. After your trial, decide between the Standard, Professional, or Enterprise plans for your business.
Teamgate is a highly-rated, easy-to-use CRM. This is a great option for a sales team with minimal experience using a CRM. Teamgate offers three versions, Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert, making it user-friendly regardless of your experience level.
Teamgate can be easily integrated with other workplace apps, including Slack, MailChimp, Zendesk, Outlook, Google, and more. Teamgate is designed to help improve communication across the sales team. It provides data-driven insights and tracks ongoing sales processes so you will always be up-to-date.
You can schedule a demo of the platform before you commit to one of their plans. If you decide to go with Teamgate, they offer Starter, Professional, and Enterprise options.
Nimble is a sales management suite that integrates many different tools. This intuitive system keeps your applications in one place and makes it easy to manage your customers and sales. You can integrate your emails and calendars from both Google and Outlook with this platform.
This sales management system features a handy “Today” page where you can stay up to date and make informed decisions. This page keeps your pipeline, calendar, and tasks organized and easy to read.
Nimble also helps you sell smarter by delivering sales intelligence to everyone on your team. Plus, you can stay on top of your goals with Nimble’s deal forecasting and pipeline analytics.
Sign up for a 14-day free trial to test Nimble before committing to a full plan. Paid plans offer the smart CRM and integrations you need to keep track of your sales team and exceed your targets.
Insightly is a CRM that is specifically designed to help manage all of your business relationships. This tool keeps all of your sales data in one place. You can easily keep track of all communications with customers, monitor your employees’ performance, and assign tasks.
Insightly is easy to use and features a reporting dashboard where you can quickly gain insights into your business metrics. You can use Insightly for admin tasks, email campaigns, project management, reporting, and many other important tasks. Insightly also offers expert guidance so you can learn how to make the most of their efficient platform.
Keap is a fully-functioning CRM designed for businesses looking for an advanced Sales Management System. This platform works well for tracking daily tasks, like appointments and next steps. It also helps streamline customer communication and can be used to attract more leads. Keap features a sophisticated campaign builder that can assign tasks and send emails based on specific client actions.
Keap also has a drag-and-drop interface for lead management. This helps streamline web page design and makes marketing campaigns easier to create.
Keap offers different plans for different types of businesses. Small businesses will benefit from the Grow plan, which features a powerful CRM and email marketing tools. Larger businesses should consider the Keap Pro plan, which offers more advanced tools for managing large accounts.
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If you aren’t already using a sales management system, you are likely wasting a ton of time on mundane admin tasks and trying to prioritize leads. Instead, let a CRM take care of these tasks so you can focus on driving sales and exceeding your targets.
Nutshell is a powerful CRM that integrates with all of your favorite platforms so your team can work more efficiently and give your leads personalized attention. Sign up for a 14-day trial to see if Nutshell is the right choice for your sales team.
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