Best Sales Software Shortlist
Here’s the shortlist of the top sales tools that I’ll cover in this article, with detailed summaries below:
- Salesforce CRM - Best customization for scaling companies
- HubSpot CRM - Best for quick implementation
- Zendesk - Best for prospecting and lead scoring
- Highspot: Best for sales enablement
- Zoho CRM - Best sales software with social media features
- Zoominfo - Best sales intelligence and analytics software
- Pipedrive - Best lead management for small businesses
- Walnut - Best for SaaS demos to drive sales
- Brainshark - Best for sales team training
- Salesforce CPQ - Best for generating accurate quotes
- Salesmate - Best for motivating your sales team
- Less Annoying CRM – Best affordable sales software for micro businesses
Gone are the days of door-to-door sales.
Now, salespeople are knocking on virtual doors to close more deals. Salespeople today are equipped with everything they need to sell right from their computers and smartphones.
In a recent survey, 67% of salespeople use between 4 and 10 sales tools.
In this article, I’ll break down the ten best sales software on the market so you can get more done, close more deals, and reach your revenue goals.
What Is Sales Software?
Sales software is any digital application that sales managers and sales professionals use to drive more sales. The most common sales software is a CRM, or customer relationship management tool. A CRM is an all-in-one tool that allows you to manage your sales processes, optimize the sales lifecycle, and improve prospect and customer relationships.
While a CRM is the most widely used type of sales software, there are other types of sales software that are more specialized for specific use cases. For instance, you can use prospecting software, sales enablement software, lead mining and scoring software, sales intelligence and analytics software, CPQ software, and even learning management systems that are built for training sales teams.
Overviews of the 12 Best Sales Software
Here’s a short summary of the top sales platforms to help you analyze each tool’s best use case, price, unique features, and where they fall short to help you find the right one.
1. Salesforce CRM - Best customization for scaling companies
Salesforce has been a leading sales software provider for years. Positioned as a premium option with middle-of-the-pack pricing, the CRM offers salespeople a variety of features and apps to drive more sales.
Why I picked Salesforce CRM: It’s one of the most feature-rich sales software available, and one of the best CRM tools overall, regardless of the size of your business. However, Salesforce really shines in its ability to give users the freedom to customize the software as you scale. Salesforce lets users pick which tools they want to create a personalized sales platform personalized for their needs.
Salesforce CRM Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include marketing automation, audience discovery, email marketing, contact management, opportunity management, and workflows. I really like the artificial intelligence included, Einstein, that offers “coaching” tips.
Integrations include G Suite, Slack, Outlook, ActiveCampaign, DocuSign, MailChimp, Calendly, monday.com, Hubspot, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Talkdesk, Quickbooks, Woopra, Gong, Marketo, Clari, Zapier, Paperflite, Zoho Forms.
Pricing: From $25/user/month.
Free Trial: 14-day free trial.
Pros
- Wide range of sales tools within the platform
- Extensive integrations
- Impressive onboarding and training
- Easy configuration
- Robust reporting tools to track sales performance
Cons
- Pricing is relatively high compared to other tools
- Setup takes some time
- Customer support isn’t as strong for cheaper plans
2. HubSpot CRM - Best for quick implementation
HubSpot is one of the biggest names in the online world for sales software. For 17 years, HubSpot’s CRM has been one of the leading sales platforms for online and offline businesses alike.
Why I picked HubSpot CRM: HubSpot’s CRM is one of the easiest to get started with. If you’re looking for an all-in-one sales tool to help you but you don’t have much technical expertise (or you’ve never used a CRM before), HubSpot is one of the simplest to use and also can grow with you as your business grows.
HubSpot CRM Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include a super clean, simple interface that’s easy to navigate as well as top notch customer service to help with any onboarding questions. I like how Hubspot has a ton of free courses and resources in the HubSpot Academy, where you can get up to speed quickly within the platform. The platform also comes equipped with simple pipeline management, email templates, meeting scheduling, and real-time data dashboards.
Integrations include Outlook, Wistia, Aircall, SalesForce, Slack, Zapier, Gmail, Outlook, Survey Monkey, DataBox, SalesForce, Zapier, Slack, Drift, Mailchimp, PandaDoc, Facebook Ads, Survey Monkey, DataBox, HotJar, OptinMonster, Wistia, and Aircall.
Pricing: From $25/user/month (min two users).
Free Trial: 30-day free trial.
Pros
- User-friendly interface is easy to navigate
- Simple onboarding
- Plenty of educational resources and how-to’s
- Super accessible for any budget with HubSpot’s free plans
- Great marketing automation
- Simple lead scoring
Cons
- Goal management not included in free plan
- Expensive add-on sales forecasting features
3. Zendesk - Best for prospecting and lead scoring
Zendesk is one of the leading customer support platforms available. But, a few years ago, they took their shot in the sales world and have done quite well with Zendesk Sell. The software enables sales teams to manage and optimize their sales pipeline with ease.
Why I picked Zendesk Sell: The Zendesk Sell sales platform is an intuitive tool that enables sales teams to close more deals by simplifying the prospecting process with accurate lead scoring. Sales reps can gain great insights into which prospects are worth investing more time into to convert more leads and boost revenue.
Zendesk Sell Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include building targeted prospect lists, creating customized automated email sequences, smart lists and templates. In my opinion, the forecasting is very accurate, allowing you to easily figureout what’s coming down the pipeline.
Integrations include Google Drive, Mailchimp, PandaDoc, Hubspot Marketing, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Outlook, G Suite, Quickbooks, Mailchimp, Dropbox, and Xero.
Pricing: From $19/user/month (billed annually)
Free Trial: 14-day free trial.
Pros
- Great prospecting visibility
- Prospect segmenting
- Easy-to-use platform
- Great customer support features for your customers
- Centralized dashboard
- Great features to build customer relationships
Cons
- No free plan is available
- You have to pay more for advanced prospecting features
4. Highspot: Best for enterprise sales enablement
Highspot Sales Enablement has been one of the leading sales enablement tools on the market since 2012. The platform allows you to manage content, pitch leads, and analyze data to guide your sales strategy.
Why I picked Highspot: Sales enablement means providing your sales team with the tools they need to succeed. Highspot offers enterprise-level sales managers plenty to work with to ensure they get their team prepared to drive more sales. Highspot’s specialized sales playbooks and AI recommendations allow sales reps to follow a templated sales formula to close more deals.
Highspot Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include guided selling playbooks to help salespeople follow a proven path to close more deals. I like how the the platform also includes plenty of onboarding functions to help get new salespeople up to speed quickly which is especially helpful in large organizations that are continuously onboarding.
Integrations include Salesforce, HubSpot, Alfredo OnDrive, Oracle, Microsoft 365, Outlook, Gmail, Dropbox, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, SharePoint, Box, Zoom, MindTickle, Marketo, Gong, G Suite, and Bynder.
Pricing: From $50/user/month (min. 50 users, charged annually)
Free Trial: Demo available.
Pros
- Helps sales managers drive more team sales
- Easy onboarding
- Intuitive content management
- Sales playbooks to follow a simple formula to sell
- AI-led recommendations for expert guidance
- Great security to protect your data
Cons
- Super expensive
- Analytics and reporting can be a bit confusing
- Search function isn’t the most user-friendly
5. Zoho CRM - Best sales software with social media features
In 2005, Zoho came onto the market to challenge Salesforce and Siebel in the CRM game. For 18 years, Zoho has been one of the leading sales tools for marketing and sales teams. The sales software is great for small businesses that are focused on a social-first strategy to attract leads.
Why I picked Zoho CRM: Zoho enables synchronization between its CRM and social accounts to generate leads. Zoho’s social form generation allows you to pull in contacts automatically. Plus, the CRM lets you easily communicate with contacts on social media through Zoho’s platform.
Zoho CRM Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include sales automation tools through your site, social media, and website to generate leads automatically through forms. I think the feature where it auto-assigns salespeople by social media actions is really impressive. Zoho also features Zia, an AI-powered assistant, to power your sales teams with insights on your prospects, leads, and customers. The platform also includes different pipelines for different teams and custom dashboards to help you grow your revenue.
Integrations include G Suite, Office 365, Leadfeeder, Mailchimp, Slack, Quickbooks, DocuSign, Google Workspace, PandaDoc, Twilio, SMS-Magic, Zoom, Leadfeeder, Shopify, and Facebook Ads.
Pricing: From $23/user/month (min. 3 users, billed annually)
Free Trial: 15-day free trial.
Pros
- Plenty of sales automation tools
- Form creation on social media, website, email
- Zia (AI tool) helps identify high-conversion prospects
- 24/7 customer service
- Mobile app to improve customer communication
Cons
- The platform is a bit challenging to learn
- Pretty expensive compared to other sales software
6. ZoomInfo - Best for B2B businesses to gain prospect information
ZoomInfo is a sales intelligence platform that helps B2B organizations assist their sales teams with data-driven sales insights and strategies. The platform helps sales managers identify and prioritize prospective companies based on specific signals of intention.
Why I picked ZoomInfo: Zoominfo gives sales managers a database of 129 million verified emails and 50 million phone numbers to help with lead prospecting. The cloud-based intelligence platform offers an expansive list of contacts to help you fuel your prospecting efforts. I like how the software gives you access to dozens of key updates on prospective businesses, including organizational changes, company mergers, and funding announcements, to name a few. Sales teams can then integrate the data from Zoominfo into a CRM to help advance their sales goals.
ZoomInfo Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include extensive company and contact search functionality that gives you access to business phone numbers, email addresses, and social media profiles. You can easily filter and search for contact information from people in specific industries, roles, and companies to accelerate your outreach strategy. Zoominfo also includes website visitor tracking and buyer intent insights to help you improve your decision-making process.
Integrations include SalesLoft, Slack, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Neverbounce, Outreach, Pipedrive, HubSpot, Marketo, Leve, Eloqua, Pipedrive, Sugar CRM, Marketo Engage, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Office Suite, and Outreach.
Pricing: Pricing upon request.
Free Trial: 14-day free trial.
Pros
- Easy to gain contact, demographic, and web activity data
- Platform is easy to navigate
- Knowledgeable support team
- Quickly learn about target companies
- In-depth company hierarchy details
- Easy lead exports to other platforms
Cons
- Some contacts can have a few profiles because of career changes
- Marketing and sales data sources are different
7. Pipedrive - Best lead management for sales team managers
Pipedrive CRM is a powerful solution for sales professionals, but even more so for sales managers. Built by the same team who built Skype, the sales software makes it easy to manage your leads and your sales pipeline to drive more sales.
Why I picked Pipedrive: Pipedrive is a great tool for sales managers since it gives you a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on with your leads and your customers. The visual-focused interface makes it easy to see where leads are at and which ones are ready to buy so you can help your sales team close more deals and improve revenue.
Pipedrive Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include pipeline metrics to give you insights to optimize different parts of your sales funnel, admin task automation to give your sales team more time to focus on selling, automatic email and call tracking to gain insights into deals. I think the mobile app has great functionality, especially when you need to get more done on the go.
Integrations include PandaDoc, Zapier, OutFunnel, Monday, Google Meet, Facebook Messenger, AirCall, Zendesk, CloudTalk, Trello, Zapier, Xero Advanced Automation, QuickBooks, DocuSign, HubSpot, Calendly, and Zendesk.
Pricing: From $14/user/month (billed annually).
Free Trial: 14-day free trial.
Pros
- Great for sales managers to convert more leads
- Simple, visually-focused interface
- User-friendly tool
- Includes lead generation chatbot
- Recurring revenue tracking
- Helps sales teams prioritize sales tasks
Cons
- Software updates can be a bit buggy
- Relatively low number of contacts available for email list
8. Walnut - Best for SaaS demos to drive sales
Walnut.io is sales software to create SaaS product demos for a better sales experience. The platform lets you create customized demos for prospective buyers in seconds to help leads get a better understanding of the product to drive more sales.
Why I picked Walnut: It’s one of the most unique types of sales software available. If you do sales for a SaaS company, then you’ll definitely want to consider Walnut as it offers impressive product demonstrations. The tool promotes itself as a “sales and marketing demo experience platform.”
Walnut Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include the ability to create interactive product demos without the need for custom code. For instance, your sales team can design personalized SaaS presentations to highlight different aspects of your product for one prospective business while creating a completely different product demo for another prospect. I really like how you can add commentary to the demos to help your prospects follow along to understand how it works.
Integrations include G Suite, Gmail, Slack, Salesforce, Open AI, and Highspot.
Pricing: Pricing upon request.
Free Trial: None.
Pros
- Easy SaaS product demonstrations
- 24/7 customer support
- Great analytics for sales insights
- Insights into top sales reps
- Self-guided product experiences
Cons
- Demo organization is a bit clunky
- A bit of a learning curve
9. Brainshark - Best for sales team training
Brainshark is a sales readiness tool that allows users to train and onboard sales reps quickly and efficiently. The tool allows your sales team to access training and coaching online and offline from wherever they are.
Why I picked Brainshark: Used by major companies J.G. Wentworth, Zoom, and Scantron, the sales training platform makes it easy for onboarding sales reps to get up to speed quickly. The platform allows for online and offline use so sales professionals can get the training they need when they need it. The platform is also great for training and coaching seasoned sales reps who need to update their sales skill set.
Brainshark Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include content authoring with control permissions to allow specific people to create, publish, and edit training content. The tool also comes with readiness scorecards, showing sales managers which reps have completed certain training materials, showing the highest scores on assessments. I like how you can easily follow up with anyone who hasn’t completed certain modules.
Integrations include Microsoft Outlook, Salesforce, Marketo Engage, Seismic, Go1, Highspot, Central Point, Cognota, and Kapost.
Pricing: Pricing upon request.
Free Trial: Demo available.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Online and offline access
- Mobile app for sales reps
- Easily keep track of sales rep training
- Integrations let Brainshark live within other tools
Cons
- App only available on iOS
- Can be buggy in some desktop browsers
10. Salesforce CPQ - Best for generating accurate quotes
Salesforce is best known for its CRM (as mentioned above at number one). However, the company has a number of different tools available to sales professionals, including their CPQ which stands for Configure, Price, Quote. Salesforce CPQ is designed to help sales teams provide accurate product options and prices to customers.
Why I picked Salesforce CPQ: It’s one of the best CPQs available. The software enables sales reps to give leads accurate quotes and pricing to close more deals faster. The software includes a deal configuration feature to let you create in-depth product specifications with custom pricing. The tool is great for helping sales reps provide almost instantaneous quotes and includes guided selling to help sales reps navigate the sales process with ease.
Salesforce CPQ Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include price books, advanced approvals, and product catalogs to help sales reps quickly and accurately send quotes and pricing set ups to potential customers. I like how the tool allows for automated payments and renewals, usage-based pricing, and contract amendments to customize pricing and payment structures to the individual customer. The tool also includes a risk and compliance management feature to enable all sales quotes to be compliant with business policies.
Integrations include Tavant Warranty, Momentum, Secuvy AI, OmniConnect, Zapier, RELAYTO, Salesforce Service Cloud, Inspire Planner, 3D Source Product, Configurator, Flosum, OnScreen, Wufoo, and Adobe Sign.
Pricing: From $75/user/month (billed annually)
Free Trial: 30-day free trial.
Pros
- Dozens of quote templates
- Easy proposal generation
- Allows for different quote rates
- Risk and compliance management
- Almost instant quote generation
- Guided selling module
Cons
- Doesn’t include product modeling
- No self-service portal
- Minor glitches every now and then
11. Salesmate - Best for motivating your sales team
Salesmate is one of the most popular CRM tools on the market today led by some impressive automation features. With this sales management software, you can easily stay in touch with prospects, nurture leads, and close more deals thanks to its user-friendly platform.
Why I picked Salesmate: The platform gives sales managers a visual forecast summary to help identify top salespeople on their team and track their team’s performance. The tool allows you to set specific sales targets in the dashboard to motivate your sales reps to work towards clear sales objectives.
Salesmate Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include multiple sales motivators like goal setting and performance tracking to help fire your sales team up. The tool also comes with automated follow-up features for email. In addition, it also comes with a variety of task scheduling and task tracking features to help sales reps have a clear path to generate more sales. In my opinion, the task tracking features alone are valuable enough to give the platform a try.
Integrations include Slack, DocuSign, Microsoft Outlook, Mailchimp, Zendesk Suite, Zapier, Quickbooks Online, ActiveCampaign, and WordPress.
Pricing: From $12/user/month (billed annually)
Free Trial: 15-day free trial.
Pros
- Great for motivating sales reps
- Easy onboarding
- Auto-assign leads to specific reps
- Automated, trigger-based emails
- User-friendly interface
Cons
- Doesn’t include a free plan
- Customer support can be a bit slow sometimes
12. Less Annoying CRM – Best affordable sales software for micro businesses
Less Annoying CRM is the real name of a customer relationship management tool. This platform goes against the grain in both its name but also its pricing. It’s one of the cheapest options available and is simple in its single-plan model.
Why I picked Less Annoying CRM: The company has positioned itself against every other CRM by offering a cheap and simple option specifically made for small and micro-sized businesses. There aren’t multiple plans available at different price points. There are no restrictions to features. It’s easy to use and makes it easy for anyone, regardless of budget, to get started.
Less Annoying CRM Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include unlimited contacts to help you manage your contacts and deals. I really like how there is no cap on contacts and no price increases. You pay a flat rate with no surprises. The platform allows you to track leads across your sales pipeline so you can follow up on the right opportunities to drive more sales. You can also add custom fields to contacts and companies to store the data that matters most to your sales reps and business.
Integrations include Mailchimp, Apple, Blitz Sender, Reform, ZipMessage, Google, Leadsbridge, Simplii, AgileForm, Badger Maps, OutlookZapier, Quickbooks, Nusii, Invoco, JustCall, MyRepChat, Canvass, and CallHippo.
Pricing: From $15/user/month.
Free Trial: 30-day free trial.
Pros
- Very affordable
- Easy to use
- Great for microbusinesses on a budget
- Simple pricing structure
- No features hidden behind a paywall
- Unlimited contacts
- Many integrations make up for limited features
Cons
- Not many features available
- No email marketing
- No automation
- No analytics
- No in-app notifications
Other Options
Here are a few more unique options that didn’t make this sales software shortlist but should still be considered:
- Streak - Best Gmail-integrated sales software
- Bombora - Best for account-based marketing (ABM) sales
- SalesHandy - Best for email-driven lead management
- Copper CRM - Best sales software for security
- OnePageCRM - Best for simple task management
- EngageBay - Best sales software for startups
Selection Criteria For the Best Sales Software
Here's a quick summary of the selection criteria I used to design my list of the best sales software for this guide:
Core Functionality
When assessing the best sales platforms in the industry, one primary consideration I kept in mind was their multi-functionality. While many tools on this list are standalones, meaning they have a specific sales function, I gave a slight edge to all-in-one tools.
Key Features
Since there can be a wide range of features depending on the specific type of sales software, I’ll simply list the key features of a CRM below as this is the most popular type of sales software (and the type of sales software I included most in this guide).
- Customer Communication & History: Being able to quickly and easily communicate with customers — and access past conversations — is a crucial element to improve sales conversations moving forward.
- Lead & Customer Segmentation: CRMs should include some level of segmentation. For instance, at the most basic level, you should be able to sort contacts by industry or geographic location. In more advanced tools, you can segment by last contact date or even estimated lifetime value.
- Automations: The best sales software should include some level of automation, whether it’s trigger-based emails or SMS messages, or automated notifications to remind you to reach out to a lead.
- Analytics: Every CRM should include data and analytics features. At the most basic level, you should be able to generate reports on leads, conversions, and overall sales broken down into time periods. However, the best CRMs have robust analytics and real-time dashboards to help optimize your sales cycle.
Price
One key factor in selecting the right sales software was the price. There are certain tools that will charge you $15 per month, while others may charge $100+ per month. I gave preference to pricing models that are clear and show you detailed instructions on what features you unlock at different prices. While a couple tools listed have custom pricing, it was pretty common to see platforms charge about $25/user per month while advanced platforms were priced between $50-$75/user per month.
Usability
Most sales reps are using a handful of different tools in their stack. This makes it crucial for any newly introduced tool to be quick to learn, simple to navigate, and easy to complete your objectives. I gave preference to tools that matched these qualities so they could be a time saver rather than a time leech.
Software Integrations
Just as it's important to ensure a tool is easy to use, it’s also crucial that it’s easy to integrate into your current tool kit. Even if a platform has the best features, it may cause more grief than good if it doesn’t integrate well into your other tools. Preference was given to platforms with plenty of integrations as they will make it easier to add them to your current workflow.
People Also Ask
Thinking about leveraging more sales tools to optimize your sales performance? Well, you likely have a few questions in mind before you’re ready to pick one. Here are some common questions about sales software:
Which sales data software is the most widely used?
What type of software do salespeople use to track leads?
Which sales software is best for small business?
What types of sales software are in a complete sales tech stack?
Other Sales Software Reviews
Looking for more sales software? Here are a few more software reviews from The RevOps Team:
- The Best CRM Software
- The Best Sales Forecasting Software
- The Best Field Sales Software
- The Best CPQ Software
- The Best Revenue Intelligence Platforms
- The Best Sales Automation Software
- The Best Contract Management Software
- The Best Lead Intelligence Software
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Sales teams and reps are facing a number of challenges today, with prospecting at the forefront, followed by a lack of time available due to many admin tasks.
Thankfully, it’s never been easier to get ahead. You just need to leverage the right tools.
Just remember, not every tool is created equal. What works for one company or sales team may not be the best fit for you. Remember to check out how a tool can fit into your current sales tech stack – especially when it comes to integrations and workflows.
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