As a business owner, your main goal is to be organized and productive. Unfortunately doing this alone can be challenging since every day’s responsibilities can easily take toll of your time and effort.
This is why you need lead management software. Also known as a lead tracking system, these tools can help you create healthy relationships with your prospects and give your sales team a chance to close more sales.
But how do they work? Well, lead management tools track, manage and nurture leads. By doing this, they can help you grow your business without incurring any additional costs.
To streamline these processes, they use technology.
- Benefits of Lead Management and Tracking
- Lead fostering
- Lead stage filtering
- Tracking the lead
- Defining the workflow
- Improved team coordination
- Real-time data reports and forecasts
- Lead stage filtering
With several options out there which software should you choose? Continue reading to learn about some of the best.
1. HubSpot
As a leader in marketing software systems and CRM, HubSpot is one of the most recognized software out there. It includes three products that can be used alone or as a one-stop HubSpot CRM Hub.
Its lead management feature will help you catch the leads so you can create a comprehensive leads database.
By using the contacts, you can configure a telephonic communication schedule or even an automated email pipeline for your business.
As compared to others, its systems feed directly to CRM so your sales team can do everything without missing their target.
Just like most software, you can comfortably integrate it with software and apps such as Facebook, Gmail, Instagram, and Outlook among others.
As one of the best tools it automatically tracks your interaction and shows you all the completed deals. From social media to emails, it will help you track all the sales wherever there is an opportunity.
Overall, it will ease your work so you can speed up your marketing plans. If you’ve never used lead management software before, this is the right tool for you.
It will not only boost your organization efficiency but also give a closed loop that you can use to report on your sales and marketing initiatives.
Plus it has several sales tools including Snippets, Meetings, Email templates, Tasks and documents. With these tools, you can easily improve your inbound sales.
With their fantastic library of webinars, you’ll understand everything about inbound marketing. You can either participate or just enjoy the recorded ones.
HubSpot Lead Management Software Pricing
- Starter Growth Suite is $40 per month
- Professional Suite is $800 per month
- Enterprise Suite is $3200 per month
Pros
- It comes with a workable free version
- Outstanding email integration features
- Intuitive user interface makes it easy to get up and running
Cons
Pricing can add up once premium functions are added
2. Zoho
If you are looking for affordable and robust lead management software, Zoho is the right option. Apart from its free package, it provides four paid packages
For more in-depth automation, you can either choose the standard, professional or enterprise package.
Zoho is a very powerful platform for lead generation and customer management. By scanning your LinkedIn and social media platforms, it’s capable of bringing you a new list of customer contacts.
Besides, it’s very easy to use and also provides a number of automated workflows that you can use to maximize your sale’s team productivity.
Given that its part of the Zoho app ecosystem you can easily integrate it with Zoho’s tools for invoicing, email marketing, invoicing and even case management.
While it’s a little bit expensive, it’s the most suitable choice for medium-sized businesses. Even at the basic level, you’ll get some of the best features.
As compared to others, it boasts features such as sales forecasting tools, scoring rules, call centre connecters and capacity to keep up to 100,000 records.
At its enterprise-level, you can exchange page layouts, do advanced custom views, add custom buttons and build out custom modules. You’ll also enjoy a high level of customer support at this level.
To take your lead generation to the next level, it uses artificial intelligence. It’s fitted with AI called Zia that you can use to identify priority leads and come up with the best times to follow them through email and phone.
Unlike other tools, it’s fitted with a simple and easy to use interface. It also has step by step instructions to help you start out.
Zoho Pricing
- Standard plan cost $12 per user per month
- Professional edition cost $20 per user per month
- Enterprise plan cost $35 per user per month
Pros
- Simple and easy to use user interface
- Automatic lead creation from social media mentions
- Tons of integrations through Zoho marketplace
- Powerful email marketing tools
Cons
Customer service can only be done through email
3. Salesforce Pardot
If you are looking for a comprehensive marketing and lead management tool, Pardot is the right solution. Apart from its Salesforce features, its integration with other CRMs is thorough and quite easy to implement.
With its capabilities, you can comfortably use it to collect data, segment the leads and take your marketing to a more advanced level.
Coming with features such as the ability to add tons of templates and intuitive editing, it’s the best tool to use if you need time and strategy to nurture your leads.
Even if you don’t have a lot of technical expertise, you’ll find it quite easy to use. If you are an advanced user you require a bit of more back end capabilities.
You can use it to segment your leads depending on how you interact with them and customize each email based on recipients.
It can also help you create a smart email campaign so you know each time a lead interacts with one of your emails.
Best of all, Pardot is currently positioning itself as the leader in landing pages and email marketing processes.
If you are just starting out, they provide you with highly customizable templates for your landing pages.
You can also build multiple landing pages, test performance and measure how it can complete your email marketing efforts.
With its lead management features, you can keep track of the leads that can interact with your business in different ways. Plus, you can use it to revive dormant leads and confirm if there are any potential ones.
Salesforce Pardot Pricing
- Growth plan is $1250 per month
- Plus plan is $2500 per month
- Advanced plan is $4000 per month
Pros
- Easy integrations with the sales force
- User-friendly interface
- Forms are quite easy to create and manage
- Comes with visual email workflows
Cons
If you are looking for good customer support you must pay extra
4. Freshsales
Whether you’ve used other software before or you are getting lead management for the first time, Freshsales has everything you need.
Unlike other software, Freshsales allows you to get all the details about your customers and how they’ve interacted with your website.
It also has lead scoring features that enable you to rank your leads depending on the engagement level of your company.
With this feature, you can identify leads that are ready and increase your chances of conversion.
Instead of spending time digging into your list, you’ll spend more time following up on leads that require more nurturing. As a user-friendly platform, it focuses on maximizing the productivity of your team.
It also comes with tools such as lead scoring, phone and email and workflow automation that allows you to remain in contact with your leads.
Its contact display is not only easy to navigate but also has a lot of information. Once you enter your contact it will automatically populate it with posts and information from your social media accounts.
Since it will automatically assign a score depending on the past interaction with the company, you can sort out all the leads based on the scores. This allows you to prioritize all your communication jobs.
The best thing about it is that you can conduct all your communication without leaving the software. It also integrates well with Gmail and other incoming and outgoing emails.
Furthermore, it has plenty of support. You can directly call them during business hours or email them and get a fast response. It also has helpful webinars and extensive video documentation.
Freshsales Pricing
- Blossom plan is 12 per month
- Garden plan is $25 per month
- Estate plan is $49 per month
- Forest plan is $79 per month
Pros
- Comes with a mobile app and intuitive user interface
- Two-way email sync system
- Bulk email system
Cons
Very few tools for lead generation
5. Salesforce
As an award-winning lead management solution, Salesforce features almost everything you need in lead management.
It has a wide range of customization options and advanced features to help you with your lead management needs.
With this tool, you’ll get a clear picture of your staff’s progress and the status of your completed and planned tasks.
It’s an all in one cloud-based solution that you can access wherever you are. Due to its sheer number of features, add on options and third-party integrations it’s perhaps the best tool for growing business.
Once completely implemented, it will provide you with a beautiful, highly customizable and powerful product. This and others makes it one of the best software for your diverse needs.
Apart from providing you with all the sales, CRM and marketing tools, it comes with a high level of reporting and beautiful dashboards.
Furthermore, it has a range of business products that you can use to grow your business with relative ease. Some of its most popular products include marketing cloud, sales cloud, and commerce cloud.
The most amazing thing about it is its widespread integration. With this feature, you’ll enjoy lots of integrations with apps such as Zapier, Jira, Outlook, development tools and loads of data.
Plus it comes with built-in project management features that allow to manage and build workflows, check off permissions and assign and even follow up on tasks.
You can also use its Opportunity Management feature to get a full view of the customer, track deals and look for competitive information.
Likewise, its Sales Performance Management will allow you to set goods and encourage your sales team to perform better.
Salesforce Pricing
- Free trial
- Essentials plan is $25 per user per month
- Professional plan is $75 per user per month
- Enterprise plan is $150 per user per month
- Unlimited plan is $300 per user per month
Pros
- Very powerful lead management software
- You can add or remove features depending on what you need
- Simple and easy to use
Cons
A bit expensive
6. Apptivo
Launched in 2009, Apptivo is user friendly and affordable lead management software for all businesses.
Used by over 200,000 businesses, it boasts features such as communication and lead generation tools
It works by prioritizing your agenda every time you load it. Apart from showing you the week’s calendar, it clearly shows all the tasks you have for the week.
Every time you create a new project, it’s automatically assigned to ensure nothing is forgotten.
To boost your marketing model it has email marketing features. You can also use its visual design to develop templates and target lists.
Since its cloud-hosted, you don’t require any expensive installation features. This also means you don’t have to maintain it alone.
Moreover, you can access it on Windows, Android as well as iOS for iPad and iPhone users. It’s very easy to use hence you can customize it to suit your business needs.
As a matter of fact, you don’t have to go through a deep learning curve to know how to use it. In case of anything, you can contact their customer support through web chat that’s available throughout the day.
To help you understand how it works it has a training program and demo feature. While they provide phone support, you can only access it depending on your pricing package.
Unlike traditional CRM, it has a series of software added to make a highly personalized system. The best part is that all its apps can function as standalone. This is very important especially if your team is always on the go.
Apptivo Pricing
- Free trial
- Starter plan is free
- Premium plan is $10 per user per month
- Ultimate plan is $25 per user per month
- Enterprise plan is by quote
Pros
- Highly customizable and cost-effective
- Customer support is provided round the clock
- The best software for small businesses
- Outstanding mobile applications and security controls
Cons
Performance can feel a bit sluggish
7. amoCRM
If you are looking for an advanced cloud-based sales automation and lead management software, amoCRM is the right option.
Designed to give you room for development, it eases your sales tasks and ensures you acquire customers well.
Its main idea is to reduce that number of things you need to do to. Provided you are tech-savvy, it’s the right software for your business.
When it comes to taking care of your routine tasks, it will help you handle everything. Immediately you create your account it will determine your location and input your home currency.
Coming with a built VoIP, you can call your leads and customers directly and even automatically record all the phone calls.
To track your calling habits, it records all your call statistics. Whenever you assign your lead a given action, it will sync with your calendar and notify you on both desktop and mobile.
As one of the best software, it features everything you need for your lead management work including lead creation profile, comprehensive dashboard and customer profile creation.
While these features are very easy to use, you need some time to get used to them. Plus, its lead section will sort your leads depending on their position in the pipeline.
It also has a simple mobile app that you can download and sync with your CRM. This way you can scan all your business cards and automatically add the information to the CRM.
Unlike other software, you can comfortably connect any number of emails to the CRM feature. You can also sync the sent and received emails and add them to your prospect’s profile.
Further, it provides 24-hour support through email, phone and social media messaging.
AmoCRM Pricing
- Base plan is $15 per user per month
- Advanced plan is $25 per user per month
- Enterprise plan is $45 per user per month
Pros
- Comes with highly customizable features
- Well-designed reporting and analytics
- Technically unlimited integrations
- A lot of useful automation
Cons
- Steep learning curve
- Slight UI issues
8. Zendesk Sell
Formerly known as Base CRM, Zendesk Sell is a very simple and easy to use lead management software solution.
As web and mobile-based lead management application, it will allow you to manage, track leads and proactively engage your customers regardless of where you are.
It has a standalone sales automation module with options for web self-capabilities and integrated channel management.
With this tool, you can comfortably capture, organize and track down all your leads. You can use it to funnel leads from different sources including spreadsheets, websites and other marketing platforms.
Once you track your sales you’ll have full visibility of your sales pipeline. You can also monitor your sales process by managing teams and regions.
Plus, you can analyze your goals and quotas and establish them for your team members.
If you are looking for a simple platform, this tool is geared towards you. From contacts to leads, deals to a calendar, it will help you take care of everything.
As matter of fact, you don’t even need any training to do this.
You can choose between lead contact and deal by clicking the add bottom and the drop-down menu. As compared to other tools it limits the number of details you can put into contact.
With its funnel report, you can learn how to turn your leads into sales and divide the data the way you want. It also has comprehensive call log that allows you to know the number of calls your team are making.
Zendesk Sell Pricing
- Team Version is $19 per month per user
- Professional Version is $49 per month per user
- Enterprise Version is $99 per month per user
- Elite Version is $199 per month per user
Pros
- Improved pricing options
- Provides a complete view of contacts interactions
- Organized layout and simple user interface
Cons
Uploading some files is a bit hard
9. Copper
Previously known as ProsperWorks CRM, Copper is perhaps one of the best lead management software in the market today.
It’s easy to use lead management software that comes with everything you need to get leads and close sales.
It will help you create a repeatable sales process with a range of features including visual pipeline management, sales reports and multiple device usability.
Whether you have a small or large business, its user-friendly features will help boost your sales, productivity and even generate quality leads and convert them.
You can also use it to keep track of your calendar and events as they are logged into your system.
Based on your previous relationships with the customers, it will suggest to you whether your contacts are the right leads or not.
One thing that sets it apart is that it works with the tools you’ve set aside and familiar with. Since you can integrate it with Google’s G Suite, it’s a powerful solution that combines efficiency and ease of use.
Designed to be as simple and easy to use as possible, you can use it to minimize all the mistakes in your sales processes. This will ensure that managing assignments, following leads and taking care of processes run smoothly.
Copper also provides good support including self-service and online. They have an onboarding package and customer manager who will answer all the questions that you have.
Regardless of the questions you have, they will provide you with quick and accurate answers.
Copper Pricing
- Starter plan is $49 per month
- Pro plan is $59 per month
Pros
- Can provide automated actions
- Many features are accessible from inbox to email
- Provides full integration with Google Calendar, Gmail and G Suite products
Cons
Email open alert can be quite annoying
10. Insightly
Touted as the number one online small businesses lead management software, Insightly is a cloud-based solution with the features that you need for your business.
Its main features include pipeline management, contact management and task management to help you track your customers and get a clear view of what’s taking place.
To provide you with on-location flexibility, it has Kindle, iOS and Android platforms. Besides, it integrates well with software such as Gmail, Mailchimp, Eve notes and Outlook.
One thing that sets it apart is that it allows you to organize your contacts and customers and also check their history including background, important dates and other things.
Plus you can use it to do things such as managing projects and sharing files. If you want to be on top at every stage this is the right tool for you.
This means you can track their performance, oversee their recent activities, create milestones and track all your email correspondence.
From the acquisition of leads to conversation, it allows you to manage your entire sales chain. Inspired by Google app, it features a good User Interface. At the end of the chain, you can develop and send personalized emails in bulk.
With both advanced and legacy reports available, it will provide you with the best reporting options. Also, with its lead routing, you can send leads to the right teams during every step of lead generation.
With its vibrant and straightforward design, you’ll know the status of every lead. Regardless of where your prospects are or the kind of system you are using you can easily access your sales pipeline.
Insightly Pricing
- Plus plan is $35 per user per month
- Professional plan is $59 per user per month
- Enterprise plan is $129 per user per month
Pros
- Has some of the best features
- See a holistic view of your contacts
- It’s simple and easy to use
Cons
As compared to others the features are limited
11. Agile CRM
Started in 2006, Agile CRM is one of the best lead management software currently in the market.
As a cloud-based lead management software, it comes with telephony tools, contact management and knowledge-based functionalities.
With its contact management module, you can record and access all your customers’ information such as lead scores and social media details.
It also features email integration features to allow you to sync data with email services such as Microsoft Exchange,
Unlike other tools, it has automation features to help you analyze your customers’ behaviour. Since it’s an affordable and powerful tool, you can rest assured that you’ll get everything you need.
Designed with small businesses in mind, it’s simple and easy to set up the software. Whether you have a nonprofit organization or small business it’s the right software for you.
To help you manage your leads better and boost your workflow it has more than 50 sales features.
Once you have an account you’ll enjoy using synced calendars for appointments and meetings, scoring with real-time alerts and automatic lead management features.
Just like the marketing features, its sales feature has a simple drag and drop featured to help make your work organized.
You can also use it to track metrics and advanced analytics so you know the best ways to develop your business.
It also has a new feature known as Lead Prospector that allows you to add tasks, leads and deals to your sales pipeline with just one click.
While using it you are encouraged to collaborate and enjoy a healthy competition so as to improve your overall performance. Since every activity counts, it allows you to maintain focus.
Agile CRM Pricing
- Free pricing plan
- Starter plan starts at $8.99 per user per month
- Regular plan starts at $29.99 per user per month
- Enterprise plan starts at $47.99 per user per month
Pros
- Easy to add new contacts automatically or manually
- Easy to see email reporting
- It’s simple and easy to use UI
Cons
Its reporting is a bit kludgy
12. Bitrix24
As one of the best lead management software, Bitrix24 does a very good job.
Coming with an array of functions, it has the ability to centralize all collaborations and communication for any organization.
Although its functions can be overwhelming, once you understand them you are good to go. It also provides you with an option of adding and removing features.
Through the activity stream, you can keep track of your tasks and effectively commit yourself towards developing your project.
If you are not sure whether it’s the right software you can start with the free plan to see what it has. Apart from its cloud-hosted plan, it has an on-premise platform that you can use.
To help you save time and give you variety of features it has over 30 tools in one interface. You can, therefore, use it to take care of the needs of your business without getting other software.
Given that it supports real-time communication you can get in touch with your investors and stakeholders wherever you need.
Whether its teleconferencing or group chats you can use it to support your preferred channels of communication.
Bitrix24 Pricing
- It has a free trial
- Has free pricing plan
- Plus plan is $39 per month
- The standard plan is $99 per month
- Professional plan is $199 per month
Pros
- Provides virtual telephoning features
- Comes with comprehensive features
- You can use it to manage all your external communications
Cons
Does not have agile management features
13. Salesfusion
Salefusion is a unique lead management software designed to help you enhance your sales process and improve your customer relationship management.
Unlike other tools, it does not focus on the same things. One thing that sets it apart is that it requires some form of training.
Coming with several customer relationship management features, you can comfortably use it in your lead management and customer relationship needs.
Since it has a simple and clean user interface, you’ll easily locate the features you need. Once you open its dashboard you’ll access all the features from the main menu.
With its create section, you can create a landing page or web form. You can also access your leads and manage all your campaigns in the manage section.
Just like other tools it mostly deals with organizing and collecting leads. This means it comes with one of the best lead management tools.
The moment you enter a new name, you’ll have access to all the preprogrammed fields. It also comes with separate account pages where you’ll see the different details of the accounts.
While it’s not one of the best CRM tools its number of management and lead generation features are amazing.
Apart from collecting data from web forms, and emails it allows you to set up a landing page, campaigns or even an event.
With this software setting up and managing lead campaign processes are not hard.
Salesfusion Pricing
- Platform Edition pricing plan starts at $700 per month
- Platform Plus Edition plan starts at $1,575 per month
Pros
- Flexible and comprehensive feature
- Manageable email tools
- Comprehensive contacts and information on leads
Cons
Does not come with a trial version
How to Select the Best Lead Management Software
1. Simplicity
This is one of the most important features to consider when looking for the right software.
From deal closing to inception, the right system should be simple and easy to use. The best lead tracking tool should also provide you with a clear and actionable feature.
2. Focus On the Pipeline
When looking for the right lead management software, focus on the pipeline. The moment you log into the software there should be a clear plan on how to achieve your actionable goals.
3. Integration
Yes, good lead management software can do a lot of things for your business automatically. However, this does not mean you have to choose just any software for your business.
Since there are basic tools that are specific for your business the right software should integrate well with your business.
Also, before investing in the software ask for a free trial to check out whether it’s the right tool for you.
4. Managing the Team
If you are a manager, clear visibility of the whole team is very important. This means having access to things such as statistics, being able to offer feedback and looking at the employee feed.
With such a system, you can enjoy nice team collaboration across the board. Your lead management software should also be easy for you to manage and process data when need be.
You should also have a system that can step in and put things right on track.
5. Know the Budget
Just like anything else, it’s very important to consider the cost when searching for the best software. While some software requires you to pay monthly, others charge a one-off license fee.
So you need to consider your long term and short term budget before settling on the best software for your company.
6. On-Premise or Cloud System
It’s important to know whether you are looking for on-premise or cloud-based software.
While cloud-based software is preferred by most businesses, On-premise software is usually installed on the company’s own computers and systems.
Ultimately, the choice will be determined by the price and customization features.
7. Scalability
If you are just starting out, choose software that can grow with your company. Make sure you are honest so you can project how much you expect your business to grow in the future.
Check out the size category based on the amount of content the software will manage and the number of workers who will be working in your business.
8. Mobile Access
While being able to log into your lead management software is good, it’s very important to choose a tool that you can use wherever you are.
The right software should, therefore, come with a mobile app that you can use wherever you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lead management is the process of tracking, organizing, managing and taking care of all your leads.
If you are in business you can significantly boost your sales by incorporating lead management strategies.
This process will also help you understand the right tactics to use if you want to bring in more leads.
If you want to make your lead management process more efficient you need to identify the leads, collect data, prioritize leads, nurture leads and track and measure.
The best practices involve engaging with prospects, knowing the value of the lead and measuring your efforts.
While CRM and lead management software are two different things there are some features that may overlap.
Although they are both used to manage customers’ cycles, CRM focuses on managing the customers and lead management focuses on managing to acquire the customers.
If you are faced with hundreds of leads every day, you need lead management software to help you nurture these leads.
While you can manage your business without one, you are likely to make more profit with the right software. So regardless of your industry, you require lead management software.
Final Words
It’s obvious that lead management software will play a very important role in your business.
Regardless of the size of your business, you should know all your requirements before settling on any software. The best software should also take care of everything related to your business.
If you are not sure about what to do you can start with the above. The good thing is that most of them come with a free trial that you can use to determine whether it’s the right tools.
