Sales

There are different free sales forecast templates available for Excel and Google spreadsheets and through customer relationship management software. These tools help you create projections you can use for things like goal setting, performance measurement, budgeting, projecting growth, obtaining financing, and attracting investors. To save you time, we’ve compiled nine free forecast templates you can download below. Each downloadable file contains an example forecast that you can use as reference. We also included a blank template that you can copy and fill in with your own sales data. 1. Simple Sales Forecast Template Our free simple sales forecast template will help you get started with sales estimates to plan and grow your business. This multi-year projection sheet can be modified in either Google Sheets or Excel. It can also generate future revenue estimates based on units sold, pipeline growth percentages, lead conversion rates, and your product pricing. This gives you an idea of how much your business can grow sales-wise in the next few years. 2. Long-term Sales Forecast Template Part of creating a sales plan is forecasting long-term revenue goals and sales projections, then laying out the strategies and tactics you’ll use to hit your performance goals. Long-term sales projection templates usually provide three- to five-year projections. These templates are accessible in both and . Long-term sales forecast templates are best for businesses looking to scale and want insights about how much working capital they can expect to be able to tap into for growth initiatives. This type of sales projection template is also often required when applying for commercial loans or through other channels such as outside investors or crowdfunding. 3. Budget Sales Forecast Template A budget sales forecast template shows expense estimates in relation to revenue to calculate how much you will be able to spend during a specified period of time. Budget templates allow you to enter income projections and available cash to indicate your spending capabilities for that period of time. This type of template is best for new and growing businesses trying to figure out their future available expenditures. Additionally, businesses interested in making a large asset purchase, such as a company vehicle, piece of equipment, or commercial real estate, can use this template to see how much of the asset can be self-financed. 4. Month-to-Month Sales Forecast Template The month-to-month (or monthly) sales projection template shows sales projections for a year divided into monthly increments. This type of revenue forecast template makes it easier to estimate your incoming revenue. This is because you can break down your pricing model, such as the average number units sold, on a monthly rather than an annual basis. This template is best for seasonal businesses that experience significant revenue fluctuations in some months compared to others. It’s also appropriate for businesses that want to view rolling 12-month projections as a key performance indicator (KPI). You can also use it to project one-year sales estimates before implementing major campaigns or initiatives, such as a growth strategy. 5. Individual Product Sales Forecast Template An individual product sales projection template can be used by businesses that sell one product or service or for projecting sales of a new (or any single) product or service. This forecast indicates how you expect the product to perform based on units sold and the price per unit monthly. An individual product forecast template benefits businesses that sell a product either through a storefront or ecommerce medium. It is useful for current businesses adding a new product to their arsenal that want to estimate sales exclusively for that product. It is also recommended for companies that need to track individual performance for the most popular or most profitable products. 6. Multi-product Sales Forecast Template This revenue projection template can be used to generate sales projections for a business that sells multiple products. Through this type of template, you can compare the estimated performance of distinct products by tracking the units sold and the price per unit. This will, in turn, yield a total sales revenue estimate. The multi-product sales forecast template is best for retail or wholesale businesses selling a variety of products. It can also be used to project revenue of multiple product categories. Here, each “Item” represents a category rather than an individual product, and price per unit is calculated in aggregate. 7. Retail Sales Forecast Template A retail sales projection template projects revenue for brick-and-mortar stores since it includes data related to foot traffic. The retail sales template calculates projected revenue by year based on foot traffic, the percentage of foot traffic that enters the store, and the percent of those who convert (make a purchase). Since it has a field for “other revenue,” it can be used by retail stores that also sell online. This template is mostly designed for brick-and-mortar retail businesses. However, combination ecommerce and brick-and-mortar businesses, as well as ecommerce operations, can also use this forecast template. The estimated customers passing store data field can be replaced with website traffic to convert this sales forecast Excel sheet into an ecommerce sales forecasting template. 8. Subscription-based Sales Forecast Template Businesses that rely on recurring revenue from sign-ups or contract renewals should use the subscription-based sales projection template. Enter data into the visitor and sign-up fields to show the visitor-to-sign-up conversion rate. Then, enter the number of new customers to show the percentage of sign-ups that convert to paying customers. This template also helps you track customer churn. It calculates your churn and retention rate based on the number of paying customers at the end of the period compared to the number at the beginning, plus the number of new customers added. Knowing your churn rate is essential, since a high or increasing rate of customer turnover could indicate problems with your organization or its products or services. The fields of this template can be altered for use by contract renewal businesses like insurance agencies, information technology (IT) companies, and payroll processors. For example, subscribers can be replaced with “leads” and new subscribers can be replaced with “presentations,” “free trials,” or “demos.” Then, change the churn rate to “non-renewed contracts” and you’ll be able to estimate new and recurring business revenue year-to-year. 9. B2B Lead Sales Forecast Template A business-to-business (B2B) lead forecast template is used to estimate sales revenue from current deal opportunities in the sales pipeline through business leads. Businesses can use estimated deal values and the percent chance of closing those deals to obtain a sales projection. This template is best for B2B organizations, aka businesses selling to other businesses or organizations, rather than business-to-consumer (B2C) organizations. It can also be used for direct sales prospecting activities and for businesses that submit business proposals in response to solicitation requests. CRMs With Built-in Sales Forecasting Features Spreadsheet-based templates are easy to modify. However, customer relationship management (CRM) systems generally offer more robust tools for managing revenue opportunities that can be converted into sales forecasts. They can be a valuable tool for providing sales predictions on premade charts through the data collected in the system. Below are examples of CRM platforms with built-in sales forecasting features. Providing the right tools for your sales team to organize leads, communicate with prospects, and analyze sales data is crucial for streamlining a sales operation, one of many responsibilities of a sales manager. Other insights for managing your sales team can be found in our ultimate guide to sales management. How to Create a Custom Sales Forecast Template Due to your personal preferences or having a unique business model, you may want to create your own sales forecast template for estimating future business revenues. Creating it requires you to consider your business model, forecast purpose, and sales process to design an easily fillable template. Here’s a step-by-step guide for creating a custom forecast template for your business: Bottom Line Sales forecasting templates are available in both and templates as well as other premade templates you can download, customize, and use. You may also take advantage of CRM features that organize, estimate, and visualize your company’s sales information, including sales predictions. A CRM can save sales reps time in making projections as well as optimizing your sales pipeline to generate more leads and close more deals. We highly recommend CRMs such as , , and , which all provide excellent sales forecasting features on top of robust sales management and lead nurturing tools.

is our second-most recommended customer relationship management (CRM) system for small businesses. In our evaluation of the best CRMs, Freshsales scored high in the areas of pricing, general features, and ease of use. It scored lower in some areas, however, particularly specialized features, as it requires users to subscribe to higher-priced plans to access features like multiple sales pipelines and territory management. is a CRM system that helps sales teams attract quality leads, engage with prospects, and nurture customer relationships. It features artificial intelligence (AI)-powered deal insights that you can use for revenue and sales forecasting. It is best for growing businesses looking for a scalable CRM and sales automation solution with a sophisticated built-in phone dialer. Freshsales Deciding Factors Are you interested in learning more about the best CRM options for your organization? Check out our guide on the best CRMs for small businesses. Freshsales Alternatives If doesn’t meet your business needs, below are some alternatives you can consider: earned a pricing score of 5 out of 5 in our evaluation. Freshsales’ CRM subscription has a free plan and three paid tiers that support an unlimited number of users. Fees start at $15 per user, every month. The Free plan offers basic contact and account management, sales pipeline management, a built-in phone dialer, website integration, a mobile app, and customer support. You can sign up for a 21-day free trial for the paid tiers. Freshsales Features offers a wide range of essential tools sales teams need to attract quality leads, engage with customers, and close deals based on AI-powered insights. It streamlines sales processes to reduce manual labor and allows your agents more selling time. This solution has the features to manage the entire customer journey—from lead generation to relationship nurturing. We gave ’ features a score of 5 because of the extensiveness of tools available to help sales agents manage and close deals. Some of its primary features include contact and account management, sales activities, automated workflows, and deal management. Each tier has a different level of capability for customization, automation, data administration, cloud telephony, communication, data security, and reporting. Below are general features of Freshsales: Contact management Deal management Lead management Sales pipelines Sales reporting Analytics Mobile app earned a score of 3.75 out of 5 for its specialized features as we saw some areas that need improvement, such as the availability of multiple sales pipelines only available in more expensive tiers. As this feature is crucial, we would like to see it across all plans. Meanwhile, some of the standout features that we like include customizations, automations, artificial intelligence (AI) tools, and pipeline management. Third-party Integrations Freshsales has integration capabilities with many third-party applications, giving you the ability to synchronize all your customer data into the platform. These include its native integrations with other Freshworks products, and tools for email marketing, document management, and accounting. Some of its most popular integrations include: Freshdesk Freshmarketer Freshchat Freshcaller Mailchimp HubSpot CRM Zapier DocuSign QuickBooks PandaDoc Xero Freshsales earned a 4.88 out of 5 score for its support because it provides users with 24/5 customer support via phone, chat, and email across all its plans. You can also use its knowledge base to find out how to use specific functions and learn about the best practices for the software. There are around 30 topic categories that contain various how-to articles, such as account management, deal and pipeline management, and phone settings. In addition, Enterprise plan subscribers have access to a dedicated account manager. Dedicated account managers help you resolve issues with the software or relay your feedback to the Freshsales management. We scored Freshsales a perfect 5 out of 5 for ease of use because it is simple to use and implement for beginners to mid-level users. It has an intuitive interface that displays all the main menu selections. There are also automatic prompts that pop up to guide you through the implementation and customization processes. If you need additional guidance on how to use the system, you can refer to its knowledge base or schedule a complimentary onboarding session. We scored 4.63 out of 5 for expert scores as most of its existing customer reviews online are positive. The majority of the users like its easy-to-use interface and high customizability. However, some find its pricing scheme to be more expensive than its competitors. Below are existing Freshsales CRM reviews from other popular review sites: Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 based on 503 reviews G2: 4.6 out of 5 based on 990 reviews TrustRadius: 4 out of 5 based on 106 reviews Methodology: How We Evaluated Freshsales CRM Reviews To evaluate against other CRM software, we tested each system ourselves. We looked at different and crucial areas, such as pricing, the core set of features every CRM should have, as well as the level of customer support and ease of use. We also looked through existing CRM ratings about Freshsales from credible review sources. Click through the tabs below for our Freshsales CRM review evaluation criteria: Freshsales Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Who will benefit most from using Freshsales? Freshsales can be used by various businesses—from startups to enterprise-level teams. It offers a free CRM plan and three paid subscription options that cater to varying business needs and sizes. When should I use a Freshsales alternative? Users who want document storage in their free plan. Free plan users who need to upload documents on their CRM dashboard, including customer documents, can consider instead. It offers an allocation of 1GB in its free plan. Users who want a more robust free plan can consider , which tops our list of the best free CRMs for small businesses. This is because Freshsales lacks some essential features in its Free plan, including email marketing. Bottom Line is a powerful, scalable sales CRM filled with features for contact, account, sales pipeline, and deal management. Its standout feature is its built-in cloud phone, allowing you to make calls directly from within the app. It also has an AI-powered assistant that automates and enhances tasks like contact scoring, customer communication, and forecasting. Visit Freshsales’ website to sign up for a 21-day free trial or get started with its free plan to discover the full feature set.

Though customer relationship management (CRM) software is commonly used for managing sales activity, it can also be a powerful tool for boosting customer satisfaction. Through case management and communication tools, CRMs are excellent solutions to engage and assist customers. In this article, we explore customer service CRM features, use cases, and the benefits of using a CRM for customer service activities. The Expert's Guide to Customer Relationship Management Small Business Use Cases + Pro Tips Download Now Here’s how to use a CRM for improved customer service in six steps: 1. Select a Customer Service CRM System To use a CRM for customer service operations, pick a CRM solution with features designed to assist and satisfy those being provided the product or service. Many CRMs have some degree of customer support, case management, or communication modules as well as features for simplified payment processing. Here are some of our picks for the top customer service software: *Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at slightly higher prices. In addition to standard purchasing factors such as budget and product usability, consider your customer service feature preferences and your industry when selecting a CRM. For instance, professional service and consulting businesses may prioritize having an easy way to let their customers pay compared to a business-to-business (B2B) software business that needs to manage a high volume of support requests. 2. Add Users & Assign Their Roles Once you’ve selected a CRM, start adding your customer service users and set their roles. For security purposes, CRM managers should follow the principle of least privilege and only give users enough modular and data access needed to perform their jobs. For instance, only customer support leaders—and not individual customer service agents—should have access to team reporting tools since managers are responsible for overseeing that operation. Alternatively, particular roles may need more access to certain tools than others. For example, someone responsible for writing knowledge articles for customers likely wouldn’t need access to the customer ticketing module to manage service requests and, therefore, should not be granted permission. CRMs like let you edit user permissions such as read or write access for each software solution in their suite of marketing, sales, and service modules. 3. Create & Automate Your CRM Processes Now that everyone is added to the system, develop your customer service processes and learn what you can automate with your CRM. Many subsets of customer service need some level of standardization, such as case and ticket management, payments and invoicing, client communications, and loyalty management. Some firms even include reputation management by generating surveys as part of their customer service operations. When standardizing customer service, consider every step required to reach a final destination. For instance, when a customer needs help with something, the end goal is to resolve that specific case or ticket quickly with high-quality service. In between ticket submission and resolution is getting the case routed to the right rep, having the rep request additional information, and accessing knowledge resources to assist that particular case. Once those stages are established, you can automate workflows in your CRM. With case management in , for instance, teams can accept ticket requests through the CRM and automatically assign them to a rep based on case assignment rules such as customer size or case type. From there, the rep is automatically notified of the case to assist and can even have a survey automatically deployed to the customer after resolution. 4. Integrate Your Customer Service CRM With Third-party Tools While there’s no shortage of CRMs with built-in customer service and support features, you may need to integrate outside tools to gain more system centralization and functionality. For example, most CRMs don’t have a built-in tool for handling customer payments. Businesses often need to integrate with an outside solution such as or Authorize.net to send invoices for payment. Some teams might also be comfortable using certain communication tools like to maintain relationships with their customers through email and, therefore, must use integrations. The CRM tool you select might also not have any method for managing loyalty programs or incentivizing referrals. Products like integrate with loyalty marketing tools like to gain these types of capabilities. 5. Add & Manage Customer Data The last step before you can start using your CRM for customer service is adding and utilizing actual customer data in the system. New customers will be generated from leads that result in a won deal. That said, users can edit current contact, lead, or deal records to move them to new statuses such as customer or account. From there, customer service teams can view individual customer or account records to see their contact information, activity history, ticket requests, and associated tasks or notes. They can also filter out customer lists based on attributes like location, product type, and account size. Having all this data lets you more optimally assist customers with requests and give them an excellent experience because you have all the required information in one interface. 6. Run Customer Service Operations & Track Performance As leads get converted into customers, users can undergo customer service activities such as case and account management. Assuming the automation is configured properly, reps will be assigned service tickets to effectively resolve customer issues as they come in. Additionally, because all the customer data is stored in one area, they’ll be able to provide personalized service with real-time information to boost customer satisfaction. Certain CRMs, like , also offer insights into how well your team performs at ticket management and customer support. As tickets get resolved, that data is processed and presented on dashboard reports that show the speed at which your customer support reps are resolving cases. Based on the metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs), managers can make adjustments to ensure the whole operation consistently runs smoothly. Use Cases for Customer Service CRMs Most businesses invest in a CRM system to organize and communicate with leads, track opportunities in the pipeline, and collaborate on sales-related tasks. However, CRMs offer specific features that assist in handling customer service, client success, and account management operations to boost satisfaction and retain current business. Here are some of the most common CRM use cases and features for customer service: Nurturing and engagement: CRMs offer email marketing, short message service (SMS) texting, telephone, online chat, and social media communication tools that let businesses constantly interact with their customers and make upselling or cross-selling attempts. Case management: Some CRM systems have modules for efficiently handling customer inquiries and service requests in terms of ticket routing, automated case assignment, notifications to reps, knowledge service guides, and case resolution. Order and payment processing: CRMs let users easily create and send quotes and purchase orders to customers directly from the system. Some products even process credit cards, debit cards, or ACH payments through built-in tools or integrations. Loyalty program management: Industry-specific CRMs for restaurants, retail stores, and ecommerce businesses often have features for tracking and administering customer loyalty programs. Customer support performance analysis: In addition to case management features, CRMs often have performance dashboards to evaluate the speed and production of customer support operations and customer satisfaction ratings. Benefits of Using a CRM for Customer Service (+ Stats) Not sure if a CRM is an effective solution for improving customer service? Check out these benefits plus stats that prove the effect CRM products have on satisfaction, retention, and case resolution: CRMs directly improve customer retention and satisfaction. Both of those customer service aspects are “significantly impacted” by 47% of businesses that use a CRM. CRMs provide a better customer experience (CX) through multichannel communication and customer interaction tracking. 75% of customers spend more with a business that offers an excellent customer experience, with communication options cited as an important factor in CX. A CRM offers users a solid system of data management and customer intelligence. In fact, 72% of businesses state that using a CRM gives them access to better customer data. CRMs help increase profitability from current customers. Businesses that invest in a CRM see typical profit gains from customer retention between 25% and 85%. CRMs store information important to customers, such as their previous activity and engagement history. In fact, 68% of customers believe that a critical factor for solid customer service is knowing their service history. CRMs help improve the revenue generated from current customers. As much as a 39% increase in revenue from upselling and cross-selling campaigns is cited as a result of using a CRM. Sources: SuperOffice Zendesk Thrive My Way Bottom Line Though CRM platforms are used for managing sales opportunities, many offer case management and client communication features that make them ideal for overseeing customer service activities. To use a CRM to improve customer service, teams need to select the right product for them, find what they can automate and integrate, and take advantage of the reporting tools to improve their support operations.

HubSpot and Salesforce are popular customer relationship management (CRM) software platforms that serve businesses with excellent lead management and workflow automation features, plus the online certifications users can access. HubSpot, however, stands out for its marketing and content management system (CMS). Salesforce, on the other hand, takes an edge when it comes to advanced analytics tools and its robust mobile application. When comparing HubSpot vs Salesforce, first evaluate your specific business CRM needs: : Better option for businesses seeking solid email marketing and CMS features in their CRM : Excellent choice for larger sales teams who want advanced reporting and analytics tools HubSpot vs Salesforce Compared *Based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at higher prices. Most Affordable: HubSpot *Based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at higher prices. **Pricing is based on product bundle, which includes Sales, Marketing, Service, CMS, and Operations Hubs. Individual Hubs are also available at lower monthly pricing. pricing offers flexible software packages and bundled plans for sales, marketing, operations, customer service, and content management operations. There’s also a free Starter plan for unlimited users that comes with email marketing plus simple ad, blog, lead, and deal management features depending on the subscription. The more premium plans include quotes, payment processing, customer segmentation, and strategic planning features. starts at $25 per user, per month for the Essentials plan, which is built specifically for small teams, with a cap at 10 users. There is no free CRM option, but it has comprehensive features on the Unlimited plan that costs $300 per user, monthly. Another important thing to consider is that many features usually included in regular subscriptions for HubSpot, like quotes and payments, require add-ons for Salesforce. Some of these add-ons include: CPQ and billing: To send quotes and prices, the cost is $75 per user on a monthly basis (included on the Professional plan and above). Sales Cloud Einstein for artificial intelligence (AI) analysis: $50 per user, per month (included on Enterprise plan and above) Sales engagement: Productivity management features with scheduled activity sequencing, work queues and to-do lists, and lead scoring for inside sales teams that cost $75 per user, per month (included in Enterprise plan and above). Sales enablement: On-demand gamification features cost $25 per user every month. Winner: wins in the Salesforce vs HubSpot pricing category because it offers a free plan for unlimited users and starts at $45 per month for two users, whereas Salesforce is $50 for two users ($25 per user, per month). HubSpot also has tons of flexibility in designing a subscription package that suits your operational needs or bundling them into a full suite. Most User-friendly: HubSpot is known for its usability ratings and is ranked in our best simple CRM systems guide due to its clean and modern-looking interface and features users of all technical levels can operate with ease. , on the other hand, while somewhat easy for new users to set up, design their system, and use the tools, has a steeper learning curve when it comes to interface navigation due to the many button options that can come off as overwhelming. Winner: Though both CRMs go head-to-head in setting up and operating the system, takes the edge because of its considerable intuitiveness in navigating the platform, thanks to its straightforward, user-friendly interface. Best Customer Support: HubSpot Both CRM systems have an incredible arsenal of online resources, such as tutorials, documentation, forums, and self-help guides. Each also has certification capabilities for getting various accreditations and badges for completing courses on CRM, sales, marketing, and software development topics through or . Aside from the online resources, both use tier-based customer support, where you get more options and availability based on the plan you subscribe to. , however, offers all channels of communication while is restricted to live chat and phone with some 24/7 availability. Winner: HubSpot wins the customer support section because of the 24/7 availability on all channels and comprehensive online resources, including certification options. Best Integration Features: Salesforce Both and offer integrations with popular software products such as , , , , and Facebook. Each also provides plenty of native software integration options for project management, finance, content management, and human resource management that can connect with the CRM system. The big difference in integration capabilities isn’t regarding general-use and popular third-party software. Rather, it's the industry-specific ones. Salesforce, because of its popularity and size, has worked its way into numerous industry verticals, such as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and IT management. As a result, it can integrate with platforms used in those particular businesses, giving it a wider range of use-case scenarios. For instance, Salesforce integrates with an insurance system called , used to quote and issue policies and manage claims. With this industry-specific integration, data syncs two ways into both systems—letting insurance agencies manage leads and policyholders in one platform. Winner: Each platform has many integration options for third-party and native products. However, because of ability to expand past general-use applications and into industry-specific ones, it wins this category. Best Mobile Application: Salesforce A mobile application allows teams to use their CRM to manage leads, communicate with contacts, and track opportunities during client-facing activities or at networking events. Both options provide a mobile application but differ in some of their capabilities. For example, CRM allows users to create and track tasks, deals, and leads and communicate with contacts by live chat or email. Alternatively, lets you do nearly all web application functions on the mobile app. Users can search and view all types of deals and lead records, message teammates and contacts, pull up reports and dashboards, manage tasks, and organize customer cases. Users can also edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations from the app and fully customize their entire mobile system with layouts, design, and custom application modules. Winner: wins in the Salesforce vs HubSpot mobile category due to the wider range of capabilities that nearly mirror the web application offered by the CRM on its mobile application compared to HubSpot. Email Marketing Features: HubSpot Email marketing features let sales and marketing teams nurture leads by sending mass email messages and deploying email campaigns to contacts from the CRM. With , users can create and store email templates and use them for their email communications. There’s also A/B testing that helps you optimize the content, channel, and contextual factors of an email, such as time sent and target audience. Similarly, also allows teams to create and deploy mass email communications using customizable templates from the CRM platform. In addition, users can A/B test their messages and divide audiences into detailed customer segments, including dynamic lists that auto-update based on contact behavior to get leads with the right content. Lastly, HubSpot provides detailed email campaign analytics with health reports to evaluate a business’ reputation. Winner: email features give teams elaborate automation, optimization, and analytics for their campaigns. Because all of the advanced and easy-to-use email communication tools match or outperform Salesforce in each subcriteria, HubSpot wins the email marketing category. Best Reporting & Analytics Tools: Salesforce CRM reporting features allow managers to track sales activity such as calls placed, emails sent, and business proposals generated while also helping monitor sales production in revenue or deals closed. It's also great for monitoring individual, team, and organizational goal progress. There are analytics tools built in or derived through artificial intelligence (AI) by using machine learning to analyze data, which provide insights into trends, predictions, and suggestions. With , in addition to the high-level email campaign metrics offered, teams can view sales activity on an individual or team basis, as well as overall revenue and deal production. They can also develop revenue forecasts and evaluate pipeline health on customizable dashboards, downloadable reports, or scheduled reports (which are auto-generated), and you can automatically send them through email or . is slightly more elaborate when it comes to reporting and analytics. For starters, its AI Einstein tool provides more capabilities than HubSpot, including predictive forecasts, prescriptive analytics, real-time recommendations, and automated discovery of potential opportunities. Salesforce also has fully customized reports that can report any series of data points in the CRM system while conducting advanced filtering and bucketing functions, which will give more structure to data by breaking it into ranges or “buckets.” Winner: Though HubSpot is an excellent reporting and analytics CRM, is one of the most sophisticated CRMs on the market that offers fully customizable data reports and business intelligence features that can’t be topped. Therefore, Salesforce wins the reporting and analytics category. What Users Say About HubSpot & Salesforce For the most part, both platforms are popular, and users of and are happy with their investment in terms of usability, features, and value. Per review scores from popular software evaluation websites, here’s how each CRM is rated: G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on 9,425 reviews Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 based on 3,408 reviews GetApp: 4.5 out of 5 based on 3,402 reviews G2: 4.2 out of 5 based on 12,844 reviews Capterra: 4.4 out of 5 based on 17,207 reviews GetApp: 4.4 out of 5 based on 17,211 reviews For , the main issues reported are the caps on the number of custom fields with no options to purchase additional ones and that the platform doesn’t work well for certain industry groups (such as insurance or real estate) as it's primarily a general-use CRM. Users do, however, love the email marketing tools and system’s ease of use. customers mostly dislike the user interface design that impacts the user experience and report having trouble with certain features such as automation tools and data processing functions. Its users, however, do like a large number of integration options and the dashboard layout options. Best Alternatives to HubSpot & Salesforce While the comparison of HubSpot vs Salesforce is close and both systems are great in their respective ways, there could be a particular feature or product aspect missing that necessitates looking at other options. Here are some of the best alternatives to HubSpot and Salesforce: *Based on annual billing. Monthly pricing is also available at higher rates. How We Evaluated HubSpot vs Salesforce To compare HubSpot vs Salesforce, we looked at critical product attributes small businesses and sales teams consider when comparing CRM software. In a direct, apples-to-apples comparison, we evaluated pricing, features, usability, customer support, our expert score, and what real users are saying about the products. Bottom Line Salesforce and HubSpot are two of the most popular CRMs available due to their robust sales and marketing functionality and wide range of integration options. Despite that, each product stands out for their respective strengths that make it better for certain areas. For instance, HubSpot offers easy-to-use yet elaborate email marketing tools to engage with leads, while Salesforce provides advanced intelligence and analytics useful for decision-making.

Pipedrive and Zoho CRM are customer relationship management (CRM) systems that let small businesses manage sales operations with excellent pipeline and lead management features. However, Pipedrive stands out for its easy-to-use sales tools and intuitive interface, while Zoho CRM has multipurpose functionality to manage sales, marketing, inventory, and customer support, all in one place. When comparing Pipedrive vs Zoho CRM, take a look at your business’ specific needs for investing in a CRM: : Better option for small businesses seeking simple sales tools to manage leads and deals : Terrific choice for teams that want an all-in-one revenue operations CRM solution Pipedrive vs Zoho CRM Compared *Based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at slightly higher rates. Most Affordable: Zoho CRM *Based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at slightly higher rates. While it does not offer a free-forever plan, starts at just $14.90 per user, monthly, which allows for 3,000 manageable deals and contact organization features. It's fairly scalable as well—going to just $24.90 per user, per month for two-way email sync, custom email templates, and video call scheduling. More advanced tools like Smart Docs and contact timelines start on the Professional plan for $49.90 per user on a monthly basis. offers a free plan for up to three users to manage leads, deals, and tasks. After that, all the paid plans end up costing less than Pipedrive offers. Paid plans start at $14 per user each month for Standard plan features like sales forecasting and custom data fields, then $23 per user, monthly for Google ads and inventory management features. Even the Enterprise and Ultimate plans are inexpensive—allowing advanced customer support and segmentation. Winner: Because of the free plan availability and low-cost paid plans allowing businesses to scale their CRM to their needs, wins the price category. Most User-friendly: Pipedrive While isn’t an overly complex CRM system to use overall, it does struggle when matched up with Pipedrive based on our analysis and user reviews. Because of the robust set of capabilities and layout that contains many buttons and navigable options, Zoho requires more technical skill than Pipedrive, especially when setting up an account for the first time. , on the other hand, is praised by its users for its ease of use. Each module can be accessed by a simple menu sidebar containing just a few buttons, and the interface is cleaner because it uses a simplified color scheme, clear and consistent text fonts, and has clear directionality regarding how to operate the tools on each page. Winner: Because of the ease of setting up an account and designing the system, cleaner layout, and intuitive interface per our evaluation and reviews of actual users, wins the usability category. Best Customer Support: Zoho CRM Both CRM providers have tons of online resources, including help centers, tutorials, and community forums where customers can ask questions to other users. Pipedrive offers 24/7 live chat and email support to all users as well as web phone support for Enterprise plan users. Zoho CRM has tiered phone and live chat support for paid users during standard hours, 24/5 or 24/7, depending on the plan and email support on all plans. Winner: Only by a slight margin, wins in the customer support category thanks to its online resources and customer service channels. You can, however, argue that if someone prioritized 24/7 availability over the range of channels, then would be a better option for that particular user. Integration Capabilities: Zoho CRM Integrations allow users access to additional CRM functionality and the ability to sync CRM data with other business productivity software. and both integrate with hundreds of popular third-party tools such as , , , and , either through a direct connection or by transferring data via . The main difference between each platform is the total number of tools and extensions available through Zoho CRM, many of which are from native software. In addition to the CRM features and external integrations, Zoho creates a plethora of their own tools with the same layout and user feel as its CRM. For example, apps like help businesses manage finances, provides advanced intelligence on enterprise data, and is an omnichannel solution to engage with customers. All of these can connect with Zoho CRM to sync data two ways and extend product functionality. Winner: While both systems allow for plenty of integration options, wins the integration category because it has more third-party options and a limitless supply of native software tools. Mobile Application: Tie A mobile CRM application lets you use your CRM features from your phone while on the go—something particularly valuable to outside sales reps who spend a lot of client-facing time. Both CRMs allow users to add, edit, and track deals and lead records on the mobile app and synchronize the data to the web application. Additionally, they can make and log calls and see contacts on map locations to receive directions as needed. Winner: Because both CRMs offer virtually the same features on their mobile applications, this category results in a tie. Reporting & Analytics: Pipedrive CRM reporting features let sales managers make operational adjustments and strategic decisions based on performance and activity data in the CRM. Both products allow users to custom generate reports for insights on things like deal progress, sales pipeline health, goal targets, lead channels, and revenue forecasts. Each CRM also has an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for providing insights on tasks that could be automated and where to focus efforts next. Feature-wise, each platform does virtually the same thing with the exception of allowing schedule reporting while does not. Other than that, variance comes down to product value and which plans offer the most for the lowest cost. For example, Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant and most reporting capabilities are available on the Essentials plan. Zoho CRM, on the other hand, doesn’t provide Zia and most analytics tools until the Enterprise plan. Winner: wins this category because it offers most of its analytics and reporting features plus the AI Sales Assistant tool on its Essentials plan for just $14.90 per user, each month. Comparatively, Zoho CRM requires the Enterprise plan for $40 per user, per month for access to most of these capabilities. Modular Capabilities: Zoho CRM When you think of a CRM, you most likely think exclusively of managing sales data and activity. However, some CRMs extend their built-in capabilities to assist in other areas, such as marketing, customer support management, and inventory management. Both and have these abilities but on a different scale and somewhat equal solutions for managing sales-related data and the sales process. When it comes to the other modules, however, Zoho is superior. For instance, Zoho has marketing modules within its CRM for creating and sending mass email campaigns. There’s also the ability to create customer marketing segments, deploy Google ads, monitor social media activity, and enrich contact data through social media accounts. Additionally, teams can fully support customer service cases and manage inventory, quotes, and invoices. As for Pipedrive, there are no customer support management capabilities to receive, assign, and resolve customer cases. Additionally, the marketing features included are restricted to deploying email marketing campaigns using templates stored in the CRM system. Pipedrive does, however, have solid quote management features. With Smart Docs, users can easily create and send signable proposals and contracts that auto-populate data from the system. Winner: Because of the broader range of tools and capabilities for the marketing, customer service, and inventory management modules, wins this category. What Users Say About Pipedrive & Zoho CRM Both Pipedrive and Zoho CRM are highly acclaimed products overall based on reviews and ratings of their users. Per review scores from popular software evaluation websites, here’s how each CRM was rated: G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars based on 1,553 reviews Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 2,450 reviews GetApp: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 2,400 reviews G2: 4 out of 5 stars based on 2,197 reviews Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 5,797 reviews GetApp: 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 5,800 reviews receives high praise for its quote management features and system ease of use for the sales tools. Most of the negative reviews come from customer service issues and users feeling they aren’t getting enough functionality for what they pay for. For , users complain about the user experience and interface layout while they feel it's an excellent value based on how much they pay for the number of available, high-quality features. Best Alternatives to Pipedrive & Zoho CRM While both Pipedrive and Zoho CRM are excellent CRM systems in their own regard, there might be a certain feature or attribute you prioritize that is missing from each product. Below are some of the best Pipedrive and Zoho CRM alternatives: *Based on annual billing. Monthly pricing is also available at higher rates. How We Evaluated Zoho CRM vs Pipedrive To properly compare vs , we looked at critical product attributes small businesses and sales teams consider when comparing CRM software. In a direct comparison, we evaluated pricing, features, usability, customer support, our expert scores, and what actual users say about the products. Bottom Line The Zoho vs Pipedrive debate comes down to your business priorities. offers excellent sales tools reps of all technical levels can figure out quickly thanks to its intuitive system. , however, provides teams with more product value with better-priced options and extended modular capabilities to manage marketing, customer service, and inventory management activities in addition to sales operations.

is our overall top-recommended customer relationship management (CRM) system for small businesses. In our evaluation of the best CRMs, HubSpot CRM came in first with a score of 4.95 out of 5 based on our assessment of affordability, general features, ease of use, customer support, and expert ratings. is a CRM system that offers business owners a centralized, user-friendly interface to manage customers, understand their behavior, and increase retention rates. It provides email, social media, lead, and pipeline management tools. It is best for businesses looking for a free or affordable, feature-rich CRM system. HubSpot CRM Alternatives If doesn’t meet your business needs, below are some alternatives that you can consider: earned a pricing score of 2.75 out of 5 in our evaluation. It is well-known for having an excellent Free plan. It also has paid pricing plans that range from $45 per month with a minimum of two users to $1,200 per month for 10 users. More users can be added to each plan and cost $23 to $120 per additional user, depending on the plan chosen, making it somewhat expensive for teams with a tight budget that need advanced features. *Monthly pricing lets the users pay on a monthly basis, but HubSpot CRM still requires them to commit to an annual contract. HubSpot CRM Features provides essential features fundamental to managing and nurturing customer relationships. These include tools to track leads and deals, monitor pipelines, and forecast sales. Below are some general and standout features we like best from HubSpot CRM. We gave general features a score of 5 out of 5. It has all the crucial features small businesses need to manage customers and track their sales activities. A lot of these features are also included in the Free plan, such as email scheduling, email marketing, quotes, pipelines, and integration. Lead management Email scheduling Shared inbox Meeting scheduling Reporting Deal stage automation Lead rotation automation Deal scoring Sales forecasting One of key features is lead nurturing through email marketing. It allows you to have unlimited users and unlimited contacts, which is useful if you are running a larger sales team that handles large volumes of clients. Its extensive third-party software integrations let you manage your accounts from other software that you’re using, including project management, help desk, and analytics. scored 5 out of 5 in specialized features as it provides a well-rounded platform for managing customers—from basic features to more advanced ones. These include tools for lead management with lead information, activity history, and tickets. It also has robust email marketing features that enable users to run campaigns using professional-looking templates. Below is a breakdown of some of the other specialized features that HubSpot CRM offers: We scored a 5 out of 5 for its customer support due to the channels available for its paid plans. It offers customer support during official business hours (Eastern Standard Time). Support is available through email, in-app chat, and phone. Types of support vary depending on the plan purchased. Below are the available customer support touchpoints for each plan: Free: None; users can visit community forums and blogs to check out helpful articles Starter: Email and in-app chat support only Professional: Email and in-app chat support only Enterprise: Email, in-app, and chat support once again got a perfect score of 5 out of 5 for ease of use. We scored it as such as it has an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it an ideal choice for first-time CRM users. Most customer reviews for HubSpot CRM highlight how easy it is to get up to speed with using the software—with little to no learning curve expected. got a score of 4.75 out of 5 for the expert score. We found that it has mostly positive reviews, particularly its ease of use, customer support, and automation features. Areas for improvement include the quality of its search functionality—especially for users with a high volume of data stored in the system and the limited features under its Free plan. At the time of this publication, HubSpot CRM had the following review scores from popular user review sites: G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on 9,382 reviews Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 based on 3,402 reviews Software Advice: 4.5 out of 3,399 reviews Methodology: How We Evaluated HubSpot CRM With Expert Scoring To evaluate against other CRM systems, we test each system ourselves. We start by looking at affordability along with a core set of features every CRM should have, including sales pipeline, lead, and deal management. Ease of use, customer support, availability of a mobile app, and the overall value each system offers are always heavily considered. Click through the tabs below for our CRM system evaluation criteria: HubSpot CRM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Bottom Line is an easy-to-use CRM packed with features for sales and marketing. Its Free version is suitable for startups and small businesses that do not need advanced tools to handle their leads and contacts. Its paid version under HubSpot CRM’s Sales Hub, on the other hand, can keep up with larger businesses and enterprises, especially those that focus on building their social media presence and nurturing leads.

The term customer relationship management (CRM) came about in the 1980s, but the process of managing customer data started long before. The early days of CRM simply involved filing customer profiles on paper. However, with tremendous business and technological advances, CRMs have become powerhouse business software, making it a crucial tool for teams of all sizes. In this article, we’ll go on a time travel to learn about the history of CRM platforms. You’ll discover how it evolved from a mere pile of cards with basic customer information into a crucial aspect of modern-day sales operations. 1950s: The Invention of the Rolodex This history of CRM began with one of the earliest forms of filing customers’ contact information—the Rolodex. A rotating filing desk tool invented by Danish engineer Hildaur Neilsen in 1956, it houses a collection of index and business cards people can spin and flip through. In the 1950s, many businesses used the Rolodex to add, update, and store their customers’ information. 1960s: The Mainframe System Becomes Available to Businesses Mainframe systems are robust computer systems used to store and process data. While the first mainframe system was invented between the 1930s and 1940s by Harvard researcher Howard Eiken, it only became available for businesses around the 1960s. Forward-looking companies moved on from the manual Rolodex to using mainframe computers to digitize customer information, such as names, addresses, and contact details. 1980s: The Beginning of Database Marketing & Contact Management Software At the start of the 1980s, businesses found a way to make use of the customer information they collected through database marketing. Database marketing is the process of reaching out to customers in their database and offering them products or services. This was usually done through direct mail, where brochures and product catalogs were couriered to customers with the goal of convincing them to make a purchase. Toward the latter part of the decade, businesses started practicing a more proactive approach to selling by conducting outbound sales calls. During this time, computers also became more widely available to businesses, which made filing and managing customer information in a digital format possible. Early 1990s: The Rise of Sales Force Automation Years after database marketing and the first contact management software were introduced, new technologies kept being developed to better manage growing customer data. This paved the way for sales force automation (SFA), which businessman and technologist Tom Siebel pioneered. In 1993, Siebel founded Siebel Systems, which initially offered sales automation tools, and later expanded to develop marketing automation and customer service applications. Siebel Systems became the market leader and most popular sales force automation system provider at that time. Late 1990s: The Introduction of Mobile CRM & Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) 1999 saw the advent of a handheld CRM when Siebel Systems launched the first-ever mobile CRM called Siebel Sales Handheld. The device, running on the Windows CE OS, allowed users to exchange and sync customer information through the Siebel Sales Enterprise data. This made it possible for sales team members to remain up to date with all customer interactions. Oracle, SAP, and PeopleSoft followed suit and also released their own mobile versions. , a popular CRM solution, also launched in 1999. It was designed to deliver software through a new model called Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) during the time when the internet was becoming widely used. The goal of the company was to eliminate expensive upfront and maintenance costs, as well as lengthy system implementations. Salesforce would eventually own this space to become the world’s largest CRM vendor. Early 2000s: The Growth of Cloud-based CRM & Open-source Software Salesforce’s introduction of internet-based software was widely successful and dominated the 2000s. It was considered a breakthrough because it made it possible for users to access sales and customer data through any connected device. 2004 saw the creation of a free, open-source CRM program when technologists Clint Oram, John Roberts, and Jacob Taylor worked on a project called Sugar Open Source. Leveraging their past experience working for IBM and Hewlett-Packard, they created and hosted the software on SourceForge, a repository for free and open-source software. This eventually led them to found , making the Sugar Open Source version 1.0 publicly available. Late 2000s: Social CRMs Enter the Scene In 2009, Salesforce reached another milestone in the history of customer service when it introduced the Service Cloud. Using the SaaS model, the Service Cloud offered customer service and support automation features. In the same year, the first application built on Force.com for Apple’s iPhone was launched and became the first enterprise partner on Apple’s App Store. The late 2000s was also referred to as the “Hashtag Age.” Businesses started using social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, as a way to manage relationships with customers. Companies started using social media in their CRM strategy, shifting from transactional to interactive client relationship management. Toward the end of the decade, some of the CRM providers we know today were founded, such as (2009), (2010), and (2010). 2010s: The Explosion of Technology & Rise of CRM Providers The last decade saw a dramatic advancement in technology and how businesses rely on it. During the 2010s, CRM systems—and technology in general—truly became mobile due to the increase of smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices. The industry shifted from simply using traditional desktops or laptops when accessing the internet to having on-the-go, multichannel connectivity. With these developments came an influx of new types of CRM software with their own unique selling propositions. Apart from simply offering universal CRM options, these providers specialize in addressing certain business needs or servicing specific industries, such as: Today: Further CRM Evolution & Sophistication More sophisticated advancements in various CRM functionalities, such as analytics, reporting, and data intelligence when processing customer information, are inevitable. CRMs are expected to keep adapting a more robust all-in-one nature, further reducing the need for third-party integrations. Some of the most advanced and forward-thinking CRM providers have started integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their software. Machine learning processes massive amounts of data for qualifying leads, automating tedious processes, and giving users the most comprehensive picture of each of their prospects. Because of various advancements in CRM, it’s only natural that it is being integrated into businesses’ overall customer experience (CX) strategy. Moreover, it can accurately predict how customers will interact with their brand based on their past experiences. Businesses can see how customers behave, from awareness to evaluation and purchase phases. This ultimately enables them to personalize and customize their offerings on a granular level. CRM Usage Statistics While the use of CRM platforms has expanded over the years, so has their impact on small businesses. Here are four interesting statistics about teams adopting CRM systems: Sales professionals say using a CRM increases job satisfaction by 17%. Using a CRM improves collaboration and communication among sales reps and executive teams by 56.9%. An average of 82% of companies use CRMs for sales reporting. 91% of companies that employ 10 or more people use a CRM platform. Sources: ThriveMyWay Grandview Research Bottom Line CRM evolution has come a long way from its early beginnings as a humble desk tool called the Rolodex. One thing remains the same, however: knowing who your customers are is paramount. While the broad range of information businesses can manage in a CRM has evolved, advancements in technology will continue helping businesses offer the best service and support to customers.

Business-to-business (B2B) leads require extensive nurturing before a prospect will convert into a client. To generate B2B leads for your sales funnel that are most likely to result in closed deals, you must also grow brand awareness in a way that builds trust. In this article, we explore 12 tactics to build a strong B2B sales lead generation strategy that provides a constant stream of buyers interested in the products or services your company offers. Not sure where to get started? Before you dive into the lead generation techniques for B2B teams below, download our free template to help identify and organize your lead generation activities. 1. Leverage Existing B2B Lead Databases One common way to generate B2B sales leads is by purchasing them. Providers like allow you to pull leads lists and import them directly into your customer relationship management (CRM) system based on fields such as contact information, job position, industry, and company size. However, the leads you purchase will be unqualified since you’re just buying data—but they are still likely to be a good fit and ready to be nurtured. You’ll distribute the new leads to your sales team and launch lead qualification and nurturing campaigns as part of your sales process. 2. Generate Inbound B2B Leads From Your Website Attracting inbound leads through your website produces marketing qualified leads (MQL), and even sales qualified leads (SQL). First, you have to gain traffic from your target audiences to landing pages on your website using search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, social media and Google Ads, email, or content marketing. Once a site visitor arrives, the goal is to get them to respond to a call to action. This could be the site visitor submitting a web form, clicking on a phone number to call your business, chatting with a live bot for information, creating an account, or some other desired action. Platforms like empower you to quickly create professional landing pages and web forms using professionally designed premade templates. The platform also offers tools for developing web page copy, optimizing web traffic to your landing pages, and providing intelligence on landing page conversion rates. 3. Create Lead Awareness With Introduction Emails A more personal way to generate leads is by having sales reps send introductory emails to unqualified leads (known as cold emailing) to create awareness of your company. Email contacts can be purchased, found by searching online (including searching B2B social sites like LinkedIn). They can also be acquired from networking, such as business cards collected at an event, your email contacts, and your LinkedIn contacts. An excellent way to determine if your introductory emails are effective is by using email tracking software. For example, offers a free email tracking system that allows you to see when and if an email recipient has opened your message. 4. Engage in Cold Calling Campaigns Similar to sending introductory emails, cold calling campaigns offer a personalized way to generate qualified leads by calling them on the phone. Cold calling allows you to get a response right away (assuming the prospect answers your call), compared to cold emailing. A power dialer is a great tool for managing cold calling campaigns. They allow you to line up all the calls you want to make and then dial the numbers for you in order, saving you time and helping you get prospects on the phone more quickly. Certain cloud-based phone software, such as , offer this feature. 5. Use Content Marketing to Attract B2B Sales Leads Content marketing refers to developing media content, such as articles for a blog, e-books, industry reports, videos, or podcasts, to promote your business. The purpose of using content is to educate potential customers about topics relative to your offerings. This leads to decision-makers wanting to learn more by reaching out or visiting your website and starts the sales process for long-term nurturing. If you’re struggling with developing content ideas, is a robust resource, specifically for blog articles. They offer a free tool to help generate blog post ideas based on possible terms in your marketing strategy. 6. Create Social Media Campaigns Running social media campaigns to generate B2B sales leads involves posting content, running ads, or searching for specific types of leads on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. When deploying a campaign, one option is to create a post and then pay to boost it on the platform so more people see and engage with the post through likes, clicks, or comments. Another option is to use platform tools like to help generate leads. Facebook Ads lets you run custom business ads that target Facebook users based on a wide range of demographics, including but not limited to geography, behaviors, and job titles. 7. Host Educational Events for Prospecting Hosting educational events, such as webinars, are especially appropriate when your brand’s offerings require expertise or technical knowledge, or when your audience has shared educational interests. For example, a marketing agency might hold a webinar on social media advertising to find clients wanting to outsource social media posting and ads. By hosting a free event in person or online that other business owners can learn from, you have the opportunity to provide valuable knowledge and intrigue attendees into wanting to learn more. Modern webinar software like and makes it easy to plan an event, collect the contact information of those who register for lead nurturing, and hold an event that can instantly generate B2B sales qualified leads. 8. Attend Trade Shows Trade shows are events where companies showcase technology, products, or services, usually in a booth. Attendees of trade shows discover what businesses offer and sign up to learn more or exchange business cards with one another. B2B sales leads can be generated when attendees come to your booth and provide contact information or through business networking. Select trade shows to attend based on your industry and target audience. Many booths feature video displays and the ability to interact with demos and prototypes. If you can create and add these types of elements, people are more likely to come to your booth, will stay longer, and be more interested in your offerings. 9. Participate in B2B Networking Events Similar to trade shows, sales management leaders should attend networking events as another B2B lead generation idea. Common networking events include Chamber of Commerce meetings, leadshare group meetings, and trade association social events. Have a brief elevator pitch ready to share as an introduction, a sales pitch ready for people who want more information, and exchange business cards with those you meet. Ready to create your first sales pitch? Download our free sales pitch template deck to help tell your company’s story and generate more leads. 10. Deploy Email Marketing Campaigns Email marketing campaigns are mass emails sent to leads whose contact information you’ve obtained from a trade show, networking event, webinar, or some type of directory. Alternatively, you may have purchased an email list from a lead purchasing database. Typically, these contacts represent unqualified leads (UQLs), and your goal is to convert them into marketing qualified leads (MQLs) or even sales qualified leads (SQLs). Create a contact list by gathering contact information, including the contact's email address, from online sources, directories, business cards, or sign-up sheets, or by purchasing it. If you use a CRM, add the data to the CRM system; if not, upload it to an email marketing platform, like or . Design email templates to use based on your objectives and target audience. Include a call to action within each template, such as signing up for a free trial or webinar. Then, draft and send your emails. This can be done for individual email campaigns, or a series of emails automated for periodic deployment or triggered when a recipient clicks a link or opens an email. Be sure to track your campaign’s open rates, click rates, and responses. 11. Establish B2B Lead Referral Networks Referral networks are partnerships, incentive programs, and relationships that generate leads for your business by recommending it (or you) to other people or B2B companies they know. These networks are often created among businesses with complementary products or services. For instance, cybersecurity consultants commonly establish referral partnerships with information technology management firms as each service goes well with the other. You can also use incentive programs where compensation or rewards are provided to those who refer business to you. Additionally, existing customers make great referral partners since they have experience with your business. They often don’t require incentives to recommend your business to others (though it never hurts to say “thank you” in some way). 12. Promote Special Offers That Attract B2B Sales Leads Special offers—or sales promotions—provide a risk-free or less expensive way for a prospect to try your product or service. Using special offers like free trials and discounts is a proven way to generate sales leads, including marketing or sales qualified leads. Promoting special offers can be done through various channels, including email marketing, cold calling, SEO content and landing pages on your website, social media, and advertising. Your offers could include things like a free trial, a new customer discount, or a free consultation. Promote the offer using tactics like mass emailing, cold calling, advertising, landing pages on your website, search-optimized content, or social media campaigns. Then, follow up with leads who express interest in or who sign up (such as signing up for a free trial) with lead nurturing and business closing campaigns. B2B Lead Generation Statistics The majority of small business leaders agree generating leads is an essential part of sales success. Here are a few stats to back up the importance of creating a robust lead generation strategy: 61% of marketers say generating leads is their biggest business challenge. 66% of sales leaders say they generate leads from social media by investing as little as six hours per week in social marketing. 84% of marketers deploy online web forms with gated content to generate sales leads. 14% of B2B sales professionals say referrals are their top channel for lead generation. Sources: HubSpot State of Marketing Trends Report 2022 Social Media Examiner Industry Report Ruler Analytics Bottom Line Your B2B sales strategies and tactics for lead generation vary depending on your industry, skill set, and comfort level for each method. Take an outbound approach by connecting personally through networking, email marketing, or cold calling, or adopt inbound B2B lead generation tactics like advertising, content marketing, and developing a referral system. These proven sales process tips will fill your pipeline with B2B sales leads and close deals.