Even the most talented sales reps struggle without the right sales tools. If you’re hiring the best, you also want to give them the best support. To make the biggest impact, invest in good software for sales.
In this guide, we share some of the best sales software tools currently available. There’s something here for every stage of the sales process, whether you want to focus on your outbound marketing, organize your data, or send contracts faster.
1. ActiveCampaign
Image credit: ActiveCampaign
If you’re serious about going all in on your sales and marketing strategy, you’ll need a marketing automation software tool like ActiveCampaign to help you stay organized, plan inbound and outbound marketing campaigns, and build relationships.
ActiveCampaign is a customer experience automation platform. That mouthful basically means it provides three major sales software tools in one — customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation, and email automation. It’s a sales management tool that covers the whole process, from lead generation right through to closing deals.
Pros
- ActiveCampaign is a great choice if you’re looking for an all-in-one sales software tool.
- Setting up campaigns is easy, with a user-friendly interface that guides you through.
- There’s a lot of flexibility, so you can customize the CRM in a way that suits your business.
Cons
- Plans can be expensive, so it may be unaffordable for lean startups or small businesses.
- ActiveCampaign lacks some of the customization elements that a dedicated CRM software tool might have.
- Landing page design options can feel limited.
2. Airtable
Image credit: Airtable
Sometimes the best sales software and project management tools are the ones that let you get creative. Airtable is a no-code platform that allows you to run your sales and marketing functions from one place in a way that suits you.
Airtable blends together a spreadsheet, a database, and forms. Lots of customization and integrations help you make it your own. Build apps and personalized workspaces for your salespeople to manage projects, plan social media campaigns, monitor new leads, and more. It also works great as a do-it-yourself (DIY) CRM solution, where you can store customer data and oversee sales pipeline management.
Pros
- You can develop internal apps and streamline workflows for any part of the sales cycle, without having to know any code.
- Airtable offers lots of customization options, so you can use it for multiple purposes — sales, marketing, CRM, and more.
- Access a huge library of templates to help you create your own apps.
Cons
- Some features aren’t available unless you opt for a paid plan.
- Lack of syncing between different tools within a workspace means some workflows aren’t as streamlined as they could be.
- Users are billed per workspace, which is great for agencies but could be frustrating for smaller sales teams.
3. DocSend
Image credit: DocSend
To give your sales professionals a more effective way to share proposals and contracts with prospects, consider a software for sales tool like DocSend. DocSend is a secure document sharing platform that offers a better alternative to sending files as email attachments.
With DocSend, you can control who accesses a link, see when a document has been viewed, and get access to insights. Those insights can help you optimize your sales process further so you can close deals more often. The tool is also user friendly, built for mobile use, and offers an intuitive browsing experience for your prospects and customers.
Pros
- Easy integrations with popular email clients like Outlook and Gmail mean you don’t need to leave your email to share a DocSend link.
- You have flexibility to update documents even after you’ve shared the document link.
- Page analytics let you know how long someone has viewed a document or which part they’ve engaged with most — helping you follow up more strategically.
Cons
- There are some limitations with the e-signature feature — at present, it doesn’t accept drawn or uploaded signatures.
- Folder management can be clunky. For example, it can be tricky to move files between areas.
- Pricing can be a stumbling block for businesses with smaller budgets.
4. Mailchimp
Image credit: Mailchimp
While Mailchimp used to be known as an affordable email marketing automation tool for small businesses, new features now make it a major player in software for sales.
Mailchimp blends email marketing with marketing automation and a CRM platform to give small businesses a better way to manage data. Users can grow email lists, automate targeted marketing campaigns, manage contact data, and build impressive landing pages. All this happens within a simple, user-friendly platform that stays true to its affordable roots. For more on Mailchimp integrations, read our blog post.
Pros
- There’s a free plan, so you can try the platform without a heavy upfront investment.
- It’s easy to get started, thanks to a user-friendly interface and simple approach.
- There’s a range of integrations that connect Mailchimp to marketing and sales tools you already use.
Cons
- Customization options for forms and email templates can be limited if you don’t know how to personalize with custom code.
- Emails can look awkward on mobile devices due to responsiveness issues — though you can check issues before you send with the built-in testing tools.
- As with many email marketing tools, importing is restricted for certain categories of data like bought lists. This may be a con for some sales teams.
5. Salesforce Sales Cloud
Image credit: Salesforce
If you’re not sure which software for sales to start with, a CRM like Salesforce Sales Cloud is a great first step. It’s one of the best sales CRM options out there, with a long reputation as a useful sales performance tool to have in your belt.
Sales Cloud is Salesforce’s dedicated sales product. It’s designed to help streamline your sales process, give your sales reps the most relevant data, and help you build better relationships with customers. Sales Cloud features a range of useful sales tools like lead management, contract management, opportunity management, workflow automation, and sales forecasting.
Pros
- Because of its popularity, Salesforce gives you access to integrations with other leading software for sales and marketing, like Slack, Google Workspace, Mailchimp, Dropbox, and more.
- Salesforce can bring a steep learning curve for some users, so training is advised.
- The ability to monitor data like message opens and engagements can help you craft a more personalized sales approach for prospects.
Cons
- Once you scale past the Essentials plan, pricing can increase rapidly for a growing sales team.
- The tool can feel outdated compared to some of the more recent arrivals in the CRM software space.
- Managing your sales activities in Salesforce can almost be a full-time job. Be prepared to hire someone to fill this role, to free up your sales team members to excel at their role.
6. ServiceBell
Browsing online for services or products can lack some of that in-person experience. With ServiceBell, you can recreate a VIP personalized customer experience with the help of on-demand, live video calls with your sales team.
ServiceBell can send you an alert when someone navigates to a high-value or target page, so your sales team can be ready to take a video call if the prospect wants to engage in real time. Beyond this, you can use ServiceBell to better understand how your customers landed on your website and how they interact with it. This functionality can help you further optimize your website for sales engagement, encouraging visitors to take the desired actions or engage with your team through live video calls.
Pros
- ServiceBell easily integrates into your existing SaaS or e-commerce website with a few lines of code, so there’s no tricky installation process.
- You can take advantage of a simple and effective way to provide luxury digital sales calls to your high-value customers.
- ServiceBell integrates with other software for sales tools you might already use, like Intercom.
Cons
- Most people are comfortable with live chat messaging but may be reluctant to try a video call. Still, you can reassure prospects of video calls’ value with supporting content.
- There can be some browser compatibility challenges with notifications if you use Internet Explorer, so make sure your sales reps are using another browser.
- How many prospects and customers you can engage with depends on how big your sales and customer support teams are. If your customers love the ServiceBell experience, you may need to hire more sales reps!
Empower Your Team With the Best Sales Management Tools
You can only achieve great results for so long if you’re using so-so tools. To truly support ongoing growth, you’ll need to invest in the very best sales automation for your top-tier sales team. This guide identifies a handful of software solutions that could supercharge your team and give them the best chance of closing more deals.
But probably the most useful thing you can do is “test drive” at least one or two options. This allows you to put software for sales through some paces and determine the quality of fit for your specific prospecting needs. For example, ServiceBell offers both a free demo and a free trial.
Start at least one trial so you can make sure to leverage the time you’ve already invested in reading this article. As a testimonial on the ServiceBell website says, “We attributed $300,000 in pipeline value to ServiceBell within our first two weeks.” Think of how much your sales could increase!