Salesforce Competitors: Best CRM Alternatives for Business

Salesforce is known as the undisputed king of the CRM world. With over 150,000 customers and a market share of nearly 20%, just because it’s the biggest doesn’t make it the only option available. Many Salesforce competitors offer similar, if not better, features and functionality at a lower cost.

Since your business uses Salesforce CRM then I’m confident your sales team would be using a sales engagement or cold email software for email outreach. SmartReach.io is a sales engagement software used by business teams for prospecting and sales outreach via email, Linkedin, WhatsApp, Calls & SMS. It easily integrates with CRMs such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Zoho to help keep sales outreach data updated and in sync to drive maximum conversions. Its USP is email deliverability.

The List of Top Salesforce Alternatives

If you’re a rebel who doesn’t like to follow the crowd or just looking for a Salesforce alternative that better fits your needs, here are the top 8 competitors to consider –

1. Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales provides a suite of tools and services to help sales teams close more deals and is one of the best Salesforce alternatives.

Dynamic 365 Top Features:

1. Customer relationship management (CRM) to manage and track customer interactions, identify and qualify new leads, and create personalised sales experiences.

2. Sales force automation (SFA) to automate the sales process, from lead generation and qualification to quoting and proposal creation to contract management and onboarding.

3. Marketing automation: This helps sales teams create targeted marketing campaigns, measure their effectiveness, and generate more qualified leads.

Dynamic 365 Benefits:

• Product visualisation

• Access to pre-built sales solutions on AppSource.

• 3D technology allows for a more detailed and realistic representation of the product

• Integrating pre-built sales solutions

Dynamic 365 Pricing

It offers a range of pricing options. Its plans start from $50.00 per user per month.

2. HubSpot 

HubSpot has been a household name for quite a while now. HubSpot goes one step further and solidifies its position as a Salesforce alternative. It provides us with all the tools essential to bring our marketing, sales, and service to the next level. HubSpot allows its user to get started with inbound and cater to leads and customers in the best way.

HubSpot Top Features:

1. Sales Analytics and Reporting: Your sales and marketing teams may anticipate deals, obtain funnel reports, get reports on sales activity, get deal pipeline waterfall reports, report on changes in deal history, and much more with the help of this tool.

2. Automated Sales: Automation allows your staff to concentrate on the necessary duties while spending less time on time-consuming chores. With this tool, your squad will never miss a lead; that much is certain.

3. Lead and Contact Management: Your team may use this functionality to save sales actions automatically, add Company and Contact information, and update records within minutes.

HubSpot Benefits:

• Easy to navigate.

• The drag-and-drop functionality simplifies creating bulk content.

• Customer service is available by chat for paying customers

• Access to a knowledge base and community for all users

• Access to blog idea generators, an invoice template generator, free company templates, and more.

HubSpot Pricing

The following HubSpot pricing tiers are available: Free, Starter (about $25), Professional ($400–$800), and Enterprise ($1200–$3200).

3. Oracle CX Sales

Oracle CX Sales prepares a  team of expert sales reps to wow customers with their top-notch customer experience solutions. Sit back, relax, and let Oracle CX Sales work its magic!

Oracle CX Sales Top Features:

1. Sales Planning and Performance Management: It provides tools for managing territories, quotas, complex incentive compensation, compensation dashboards, and what-if scenarios. Sales representatives may access automated sales approaches using linked data driven by AI.

2. B2B Service Centre: It helps facilitate cooperation between several teams and streamlines interactions with a 360-degree customer perspective. It also provides tracking of milestones, entitlements, and SLAs for controlling important dates and contractual responsibilities in a single platform.

3. Partner Portal: It simplifies partner tasks, from hiring to lead management to MDF distribution, and is readily available. It provides integrated configure, price, and quote (CPQ) solutions, sales training materials, unified KPI views, lead qualifying, conversion tools, and assessment questionnaires.

Oracle CX Sales Benefits:

• Chatbot that offers AI-backed advice for sales professionals.

• Sales assistance

• Access to over 500 valuable business insights to personalise marketing efforts.

Oracle CX Sales Pricing

Oracle CX Sales has four price categories, ranging from $65 to $300. Oracle CX Sales also offers a free trial.

4. Pipedrive

Are you tired of feeling your customer relationships are spinning out of control? Well, buckle up because Pipedrive is here to save the day!

This innovative software is like a trusty sidekick, always there to help you manage and optimise your customer interactions. With its powerful tools and features, you’ll be able to keep track of all your customer data, nurture leads through the sales funnel, and automate various processes. 

Pipedrive Top Features:

1. Online Chat Bost: Using chatbots and web forms on your website or in messaging applications to interact with potential consumers and collect information is made possible by Pipedrive.

2. Customizable communication: To keep track of your goods or services, you may use Pipedrive to build a personalised catalogue. Additionally, the software has communication monitoring so you can view your customer interactions, including phone conversations, meetings, and emails, in one location.

3. Interactive Dashboard: You can track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and generate reports using Pipedrive’s interactive dashboard. The platform’s Smart Contact Data function pulls contact information from various channels, including Google+ and LinkedIn, to stay connected with prospects.

Pipedrive Benefits:

• Allows sales representatives to record and transcribe audio notes.

• Target leads or consumers based on their location

• Compatible with Android and iOS devices.

• Data privacy and security with GDPR compliance and secure infrastructure

• Over 150 connectors, an open API, and a marketplace with several app categories.

Pipedrive Pricing:

Starting at $14.90 per month for each user, Pipedrive CRM is billed yearly. More feature-rich memberships are offered for $24.90, $49.90, and $99 per user monthly, payable annually.

5. SAP Sales Cloud

SAP Sales Cloud is a comprehensive sales management platform designed to help businesses of all sizes achieve their sales goals. With features like sales automation, real-time insights and analytics, and a collaborative portal for contract and quote management, SAP Sales Cloud makes it easier to manage your sales efforts and drive results.

SAP Sales Cloud Top Features:

1. Sales Automation: SAP Sales Cloud provides solutions for automating the sales process, which helps restructure and improve it. Users can manage and monitor their sales efforts in real time ease, from lead management to forecasting and pipeline monitoring.

2. Real-time Insights: SAP Sales Cloud offers analytics tools and real-time insights for SDRs to analyse their sales performance and pinpoint areas for development. These insights can aid sales teams to make calculated decisions and achieve their objectives.

3. Collaboration Gateway: SAP Sales Cloud provides a secure and dependable portal for managing contracts and quotes, making it simple for sales teams to exchange and control crucial sales documents. This feature offers a central destination for all sales-related information while enhancing efficiency and accuracy.

SAP Sales Cloud Benefits:

• Access to SAP Sales Cloud’s automation and optimization tools

• Real-time insights and analytics.

• Managing and tracking sales efforts in real-time

• The collaborative portal for contract and quote management

• Help sales teams understand their performance and identify areas for improvement,

SAP Sales Cloud Pricing

SAP Sales Cloud offers three pricing plans: Standard Edition for $275 per month, Professional Edition for $550 per month, and Enterprise Edition for $935 per month.

6. Freshsales

Freshworks created Freshsales as a salesforce alternative to assist sales teams in streamlining their procedures, accelerating transaction closure, and gaining a deeper understanding of their clients.

It is one of several Freshworks CRMs that concentrate on various business sectors, including marketing, IT support, and customer interaction – mainly created to meet the demands of sales teams.

Freshsales Top Features:

1. Lead Management and Scoring Capabilities: Freshsales provides lead management and scoring capabilities that enable sales teams to categorise and rank prospects, monitor their development, and evaluate their effectiveness.

2. Dashboards and customisable reports: Freshsales allows sales teams to track and evaluate their sales efforts in real time, giving them helpful information and empowering them to make wise decisions.

3. In-Phone System and Email tools: Freshsales provides a phone system that allows sales representatives to place calls straight from the platform, increasing productivity and efficiency. To assist sales teams in efficiently managing their communications, it also offers a variety of email tools, such as customised templates, a team inbox, and stats for measuring email open and clicks rates.

Freshsales Benefits:

• Integrates with a range of popular business apps

• Features Smartforms designed to drive lead generation

• Point-and-click workflow automation interface

• Allows users to customise their sales process to meet their goals.

• Can be accessed from any device allowing sales teams to stay productive on the go.

Freshsales Pricing

Freshsales offers four pricing plans: Free, Growth, Pro, and Enterprise, with pricing based on the number of users and the features included. The Free plan is free forever and includes features such as contact management, deal management, and iOS and Android apps.

7. Zoho CRM

ZOHO CRM is a powerful tool and one of the best salesforce alternatives for building and nurturing customer relationships. With its intuitive interface and comprehensive set of features, it’s no surprise that businesses of all sizes turn to ZOHO CRM to streamline their sales, marketing, and customer support efforts.

Zoho CRM Top Features:

1. Lead generation automation: Zoho CRM supports automatic lead generation from multiple sources, helping sales teams identify and prioritise new leads and opportunities.

2. Visual deal pipeline: Zoho CRM offers a visual deal pipeline that helps sales teams track and manage their sales efforts, providing valuable insights and enabling them to make informed decisions.

3. Integration with Zoho Finance: Zoho CRM integrates with Zoho Finance, allowing sales reps to generate quotes and set up purchase orders, streamlining their operations and improving efficiency.

Zoho CRM Top Benefits:

• Robust email marketing and automation features
• Integrates seamlessly with other Zoho products
• Form builder app (available for an additional fee) 
• Comprehensive reporting, including sales cycle monitoring, customised dashboards, and multi-dimensional reports
• Wide range of options for customisation

Zoho CRM Pricing:

Zoho CRM offers a 15-day free trial and four pricing plans:

• Standard (£10/month per user)
• Professional (£16/month per user)
• Enterprise (£30/month per user)
• Ultimate Edition (£85/month per user)

8. Zendesk Sell

Zendesk Sell is a well-known Salesforce alternative that allows companies to plan, control, and improve their sales operations. Users can engage with their contacts by email, phone, or text while also being able to track prospects and sales tasks conveniently.

Sales teams who employ direct sales strategies as part of their overall company plan benefit the most from using this CRM software as it is one of the software similar to salesforce.

Zendesk Sell Top Features:

1. Email tracking and notifications: It offers email tracking and notifications that alert sales reps when a prospect reads or clicks on an email, helping them to stay informed and engaged with their leads.

2. Sales prospecting: It has tools that allow sales reps to create target lead lists based on factors such as industry, company size, and role, making it easier to identify and prioritise opportunities.

3. Integrated communications tools: It has integrated communications tools that facilitate outreach and make it easier for sales reps to stay connected with their leads and customers. This includes out-of-the-box activity reports and other analytics tools that provide valuable insights into sales performance.

Zendesk Sell Benefits:

• Streamlining communication
• Integrating projects
• Offering email templates to streamline routine communications
• Tracking and managing projects
• Customising the platform to their specific needs and requirements.

Zendesk Sell Pricing:

Zendesk Sell offers four pricing plans with annual pricing ranging from $19-$99 per user per month.

Wrapping Up

Searching for and choosing the right CRM can be intimidating work to do, but getting a list ready with all your requirements and trying out a few options available can help in taking the best decision. This way you can compare the features and settle down for the one that works best for you.