Best 8 CRM Tools for Consulting Business

If you are a consultant team or an independent consultant looking for a CRM for consulting business, you are at the right address! We have taken a closer look at each of the CRM solutions to make your job easier.

No doubt that almost every customer-focused businesses’ main concern is to provide impactful services to their customers. By doing so, they can build and maintain powerful relationships with their customers. The same thing goes for consultants as well. They need to be very selective in choosing CRM for their consulting business as they want to build interactive client relationships.

Loyal clients are the key element of consultants. Not only does it mean that they work on building ongoing relationships with the consulting business, but they also recommend their services to others. That’s where CRM for consulting business sparks! 

What is the best CRM for consulting?

The best CRM for consulting business can be reshaped by the consulting firm’s unique needs. As each consulting business has its own requirements, it would not be fair to point out only one CRM solution. However, the best CRM software for consultants should provide some of the key features listed below:

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• Manage your leads that come to your sales pipeline automatically,
• Track all of your client communications in one place to make the follow-up process easier,
• Create workflow automation for all repetitive tasks,
• Set notifications for the follow-ups, upcoming tasks or meetings,
• Get an overall analysis of the business processes and sales pipelines at any time.

Why do you need a CRM for your consulting firm?

As a consultant, you are probably dealing with a great number of clients at a time. When some cause complex situations, you might miss some issues or even opportunities. Whether you just started consulting or are already a well-experienced consultant, you should keep track of all your clients and the services you provide them. You also should be aware of your client’s expectations and concerns to build strong relationships and maintain their effectiveness.

The key factor in building strong relationships with your clients is to be able to communicate interactively. By doing that, you will always be on track to build a lasting relationship with them. When the number of clients you deal with goes wider, using a CRM system will ease the process. As you need to define what stage you are at the sales pipeline or which clients are close to closing the deal, the management software will give you a comprehensive look all over the process. 

Below, we have drawn up a list of the best CRM software for consultants to keep on top of sales activities!

Top 8 CRM for Consulting Business

• Copper
• Salesmate
• Zendesk Sell
• Bitrix24
• Capsule CRM
• Accelo
• HoneyBook
• Bullhorn

If you are ready, let’s dig into the arsenal of the CRM for consultants solutions:

Copper

Copper comes at the top of the best CRM software for consultants list, as it offers an all-in-one solution for businesses of all sizes. The platform helps consultants with organizing all information related to clients and projects from one place. The prominent part about Copper is to let you easily keep track of leads, contacts, account details, follow-ups automatically. It is possible to encounter issues in a functioning system but the Copper’s customer support team can fix any issues instantly. 

Additionally, Copper’s CRM solution also provides a deal management system to ensure growth. When it comes to effectively closing sales deals, a proper deal management system becomes a necessity. This is one of the features that set Copper apart from other CRM for consultants. While the system improves customer experience, on the other hand, it helps close deals more quickly and easily. 

Salesmate

With Salesmate CRM software, consultant teams or independent consultants can have a deep understanding of their clients. They can manage leads in their sales pipeline, organize workflows and communications both internally and externally, keep track of contacts and follow-ups.

The CRM software sends you reminders about upcoming appointments or tasks as well. Easily segmented contact details will enable consultants to handle all sales communications. Salesmate also can be integrated with a virtual phone system.

Zendesk Sell

Another advantageous CRM for consulting business is Zendesk Sell. It helps consultants to shift their sales while organizing their client information. The platform lets consultants customize their sales pipelines, statutes, product updates and other details. With its product management feature, consultants can easily track each client project to take smart actions.

Communication and workflow tracking ability give consultants a consistent overview about statutes of deals, emails, calls etc. This plays a major role in increasing productivity. There is a notable thing about Zendesk Sell that provides mobile sales and contact management opportunities while on the go.

Bitrix24

Bitrix24 differs from other CRM software for consultants with its unlimited 100% free features. Most free versions of tools come with limited features but Bitrix24 destroys this perception. It provides a platform to keep all data of prospers and existing clients in one place. So, consultants can manage, track and customize the data.

Bitrix24 distinguishes its time and workload tracking, document management, project management and invoice tracking features. Consultants also can create a private communication line with their clients and work with them collaboratively in the consulting projects.

Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM can store every single detail about clients and prospers to build a strong client base. It allows consultants to customize their sales pipelines. Consultants can tailor the CRM software with Google Workplace and Microsoft Outlook integrations depending on their unique needs.

The CRM system does not limit consultants while managing their projects, sales-related tasks or communications. They can always expand the CRM solution’s capabilities by upgrading their plans. The Capsule reporting suite will be the consultant’s main squeeze when it comes to making important decisions.

Accelo

If you work solo or in a small business team, Accelo can meet all your requirements from data collection to time tracking. Whether you work with large teams or a handful of clients, keeping track of client communications is a must. By using Accelo, consultants can track the progress of deals and projects, the statutes of invoices, emails and calls and much more. Further, the time tracking feature gives consultants insights into how they spend their time dealing with clients and projects.

In recent years with technological developments, mobile-friendly CRM software has come to the front. Accelo is one of the providers that has a mobile app to enable access to critical client communication.

HoneyBook

Another all-in-one CRM for consulting business is HoneyBook helps manage inquiries, client communication, payments and much more. Consultants can create email, proposal, invoice templates to automate their business processes. The CRM system also sends automated reminders for follow-ups, upcoming meetings or calls. It also generates a client database to easily manage projects from the first to the final touch.

Consultants also streamline their communication workflow within one place. Not only does the CRM solution manage external communication with their clients but it also manages internal communication. Being able to manage inquiries and projects while on the go is a plus point.

Bullhorn

Lastly, Bullhorn offers a comprehensive and easy-to-use CRM solution for consultants. It streamlines client communication to boost up sales and overall business activity. The Bullhorn CRM system organizes all client data and lets you segment it by roles, industries, revenue etc. The reporting dashboard gives consultants real-time insights into clients and projects.

Bullhorn helps accountants easily set up alerts about client issues, upcoming meetings, follow-ups and calls. So, they can be more proactive with the clients. The platform also allows doing some customizations depending on its capabilities. 

Concluding Remarks About CRM Tools for Consulting

Before moving on with a CRM solution, there are a few steps you should follow. First of all, you need to define your requirements as both for an independent consultant or a consulting firm. Then, you can go forward with your budget. You should find an answer to how much you are willing to pay for CRM software. When you decide on these requirements, you can think of possible vendors. 

After you finish with the vendor evaluation process then you are ready to go!

Using a CRM for consulting business does not provide just a one time profit, it affects the whole sales process in the long term. That’s why you should be picky while investing in CRM software to skyrocket your sales and business growth. 

Check out the best CRM software for consultants from here and choose the one to power up your client relationship.

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Written by: Alara Baltutan

17 August 2021