Ask HN: Recommended CRM solution for a SaaS startup?
Like every startup our customer dwfinition is pretty flexable at this point, so any recommendation on lean and efficient CRM proccess is appriciated
I really like Close.io for cold outbound sales. If you're doing social media then maybe look at Nimble. As someone else said you can get started for free with Hubspot. Intercom might be something to look at as well if your going for a more automated process.
You can obviously use Zapier to tie your software together so you can use best in class software for whatever processes you end up putting in place.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10H4p3vg_smsE54bdSJ9U...
Once you've got the beginnings of a process, you'll be much better positioned to decide on tools.
Tools don't close deals. You do. Go close some. Seriously.
It does come with a hefty price-tag, but when moving forward you will eventually outgrow most other CRM solutions, and it will be quite time consuming to switch later on.
It also helps with recruiting, since most people have used Salesforce previously.
- Are you a B2B or a B2C startup?
- What are your goals for your CRM? (i.e. close more deals, relationship management, etc.)
- How many people are in your organization? How many people are in your sales team?
- What existing systems do you have already? Do you need the sales data to feed into other systems?
- How do you plan on updating your customer information?
- How skilled is your sales team? Will they primarily be in the office, working remotely? Do they need additional capabilities from the CRM software?
- Which communication channels do you expect your customers to be?
Without a clear picture of your organization and your sales process, it's difficult to pinpoint the right solution. I used to be a consultant and have seen clients implement all kinds of software without fully understanding their own capabilities and the software's capabilities.
However, given that you're at the beginning of things, what would make the most sense might be to try a few different free tools to see what works for you. I wouldn't spend too much at this point - something simple and easy might be best. Heck, even Google Sheets or Excel might suffice at this point.
You need a business premium license though. (10eur/MO)
Open source, self-hosted.
Even given all that, would I use XRM again? No. It just isn't there yet for a large enterprise app.
It's great because it bundles mass email, automated email and a CRM into one so you don't have to run around stitching a bunch of pieces together.
Once you make an account send me a message or call me (number is in the app) and I'll work out a special deal [basically free till it's actually bringing in revenue] for you since you're a startup.
Whatever CRM you use, look for one that integrates with any customer related tools that you're using. Larger players like Hubspot can attract more developer integrations. For example, we use Drift (Like Intercom but much cheaper) for customer support and sync events in Drift to Hubspot.
The free plan only has 5.5 of the 32 features in the next paid tier ( 600$ / year).
Thinking of using it to market my side projects.
Also, did you start with free tier for your SaaS and then upgraded once you got sales, leads, or did you directly start with 1 of the paid plans?
Basic version is open source but the premium is only 200$ a year if you self host it. They have out of the box Debian packages so it's easy to run. It's the most feature packed crm we have found and we have used it for clients the last 8 years.
once you really need automation features, then something like insightly or hubspot can be useful
This issue happens mainly in small companies with tiny sales and marketing teams.
But honestly, there's so many CRM out there, and most will have some free tier / trial period. What you want to look at is a CRM that can integrate well with your workflow / other apps that you can use. Either by integration/API support or maybe through something like Zapier.
[Disclaimer: I work for Freshsales (Freshworks)]
Alore CRM offers everything needed to run a sales team at scale - from finding business email addresses to running automated drip campaigns to monitoring the performance of sales teams.
We have special price for startups with less than 5 team member.
HubSpot has a startup "scholarship" program, I think it is a 90% discount. Not sure about the details for applying, but it's worth looking into.
spreadsheet