CRM

CRM2025-03-25T09:41:14+01:00

With more than 800 CRM systems on the market, finding the right CRM for your business is a challenge. Which one is best for your team(s)? This page provides answers to that.

I will tell you about the most important features to include in your equation and which type of CRM in which situations suits you best in 5 steps. We’ll start with the essential features.

Don’t you want a new CRM? Then the CRM Upgrade may be for you; read more about CRM upgrade options.

1. The basic CRM functionalities

Three components are traditionally found in a CRM package: the Rolodex, project management, and reports.

The Rolodex

Let’s start with what CRM is. The acronym stands for Customer Relationship Management. A tool for managing your customer relationships. I jokingly refer to this as the Rolodex. This Rolodex contains contact and background information on individuals and companies. With any luck, you will also have more data on what you have discussed with people, what you have already delivered to a company, and the quotes you have sent. The memory of sales. That last part, by the way, is by no means always actual.

Every package that calls itself CRM has this feature. That’s not where you find the distinctiveness.

When most people think of CRM, there is always a feature directly attached to it: a summary of all the sales opportunities that are currently there. The sales funnel. All those opportunities are listed with information such as what you want to sell to whom, all communication about it, and when you expect to close this deal. The project management part is what I call the Rolodex. After all, every sale is a (mini) project. Again, there is hardly any distinctiveness here. The more basic CRMs cannot often classify your funnel or customize the information in sales opportunities. If you don’t think that’s important, don’t worry: they can do all of this.

And that last piece leads that, in turn to a reporting part. Because the salespeople may know what they are doing, but the rest of the company does not. Other departments want to know what work will arrive when, and the CFO is eager to be able to look ahead to revenue.

Most CRMs offer a decent foundation in this, but the differences are significant. They all lag in actual deep reporting functionality. So if you want to go very far in your reporting, you can’t escape a BI tool. For most companies, the reporting function in the better tools is sufficient.

2. The great CRM Differentiators

A modern CRM is distinguished by six essential features:

Automation is a thing!

The real power in speeding up your sales process is in automation. Modern CRMs take over small, repetitive tasks so your sales team can focus on customer strategies instead of administration.

You need to be able to sort fields and views the way you want, and create different views for different roles within your company.

No CRM stands alone. The data must feed other systems to ease the work of salespeople. Look for CRMs with more than 500 tools and integrations in their marketplace.No CRM stands alone. The data must feed other systems to ease the work of salespeople. Look for CRMs with more than 500 tools and integrations in their marketplace.

Automatic enrichment of contacts and business information saves an enormous amount of time. You give the system a name or email address, and the tool does the rest.

Modern CRMs automatically record emails, meetings and phone calls, including LinkedIn integration for social selling.

Modern CRMs use AI for data analysis, supporting individual salespeople, and even auto-filling data.

3. Choices, choices and again choices

You’ll naturally start with a shortlist if you buy a new CRM package. You can then choose from more than 800 CRMs. Go figure out. I hope you don’t just make a list of familiar names but look a little further. There is an incredible amount to buy. To get you started, here’s the list of 25 CRM packages we researched and a few tips.

Tip 1: Reduce the number of candidates

Here are the first three to already apply a substantial reduction to your list:

  1. Reviews: Every situation is different. So I wouldn’t care much about reviews unless they are downright nasty.
  2. Size matters: Up to 5 people making sales; please do not buy a standalone CRM, but choose an Add-On to a financial or operational package. Saves a lot of hassle. If that is not possible, look at the cheaper options in the list.
  3. Industry-specific: If you are in a very homogeneous market, such as construction or fundraising, you usually prefer to choose an industry-focused tool. That saves setting up. Consider, do you put a lot of requirements on a software package and be innovative.

The second step is to look for look-a-likes of the packages you already know. Comparison sites help you do that. Use at least 2 of these:

The CRM Top 25 list

NameRolodexFunnelAutomateCustomizeMarketplaceSizePrice
Salesforce√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗L, XL€€€€€
HubSpot√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗S, M, L, XL€€€€
Zoho√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€
Pipedrive√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗S, M€€€
Breakcold√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗S, M€€€
Freshsales√√∗∗∗∗∗∗M€€€
Microsoft Dynamics√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€€
Salesflare√√∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€€
Cirqll√√X∗∗S, M€€€
Attio√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€€
Efficy√√X∗∗∗∗M€€€
SharpSpring√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€€
ActiveCampaign√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€
SuperOffice√√X∗XM€€€
Odoo√√∗∗∗∗∗∗M€
Membrain√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L, XL€€€€
Nutshell√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€
SmartSales√√X∗∗∗M?
Perfectview√√X∗∗∗M€€
TribeCRM√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€
Spinoffice√√X∗∗∗S, M€€
Archie CRM√√∗∗∗∗∗S, M€€€
SugarCRM√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L, XL€€€
Lime√√X∗∗∗∗∗M€€
Zendesk√√∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗M, L€€€€

Explanation of the items in the list

The comparison was made on the three differentiators. Here I explain how.

  • Automate -> The more different types of triggers and tasks I can automate, the more stars. Five stars is maximum
  • Customize -> As Admin, can I control what my users see, and how easy is that?
  • Marketplace -> the more apps in the marketplace, the more stars. Zapier and/or Make in it always results in an extra star.

Based on the functionalities and focus indicated by the vendor itself, I distinguished between the size of sales departments:

  • S = Small: less than five employees in Sales
  • M =Medium: 5 to 10 employees in sales
  • L = Large: 10 to 50 (because then multiple teams) employees
  • XL = X-Large: more than 50 sales associates

I determined the suitability by size based on functionalities. The larger the company, the more need for integration, customization, and automation.

Conclusion

In the rapidly changing world of CRM software, we have created a clear breakdown by company size and specific needs, exactly as in our new 2025 e-book.

For enterprise organizations, Salesforce and HubSpot remain the leading options. Salesforce offers unmatched flexibility and has been the logical choice for large enterprises for years, but comes with a significant price tag. HubSpot, as a challenger, has undergone impressive developments in recent years and now offers a feature set closer to daily sales needs, better marketing-sales integration and more attractive pricing.

Medium-sized companies have more options. Pipedrive stands out for its user-friendliness and is ideal when your marketing is not too complex. HubSpot positions itself here as the option for companies that want to take a step forward in their sales technology.

For scale-ups, struggling with rapidly changing processes and growing challenges, we recommend HubSpot, Attio or Zoho. Attio stands out with a modern interface that works like a spreadsheet, while Zoho impresses with comprehensive functionality at a very competitive price. While Zoho’s user interface is somewhat less modern, its value for money is exceptionally good.

Startups need simple, cost-effective solutions. The free version of HubSpot is a good basis, supplemented by Zapier for automation. An interesting newcomer is Cirqll, a Dutch CRM that stands out for its simplicity and ease of use.

For teams that rely heavily on social selling via LinkedIn, there are specific solutions. BreakCold, an emerging CRM specifically focused on social selling, has one of the best LinkedIn integrations on the market.

Finally, for tech-savvy teams looking for maximum customizability and integration capabilities, Attio is an excellent choice.

Choosing a CRM depends heavily on your specific situation, growth rate and technical needs. In our new e-book “The Best CRM: The 2025 Handbook for Sales Leaders,” we take a closer look at all these options and provide a detailed decision framework to help you make the right choice for your organization.

Download our free e-book “The Best CRM: The 2025 Handbook for Sales Leaders”

Want to know all the details about what sets modern CRMs apart and which one is best for your situation? Then download our latest e-book now. In it we share:

  • Why you need a CRM (and why your salespeople would rather not use it)
  • Which modern features can speed up your sales process
  • The role of AI in modern CRM systems
  • Detailed comparisons by category
  • Practical advice for implementation

Download the e-book here:

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