How you engage with customers and guide them through the sales funnel is crucial to boosting conversions and driving sales for any small business. But customer relationship management with spreadsheets and off-the-cuff communications will not get you very far. It’s not only inefficient and time-consuming but can also leave you with countless lost opportunities. And for a small business, every sale counts, and even a single lost opportunity could leave a severe dent in profits.

This is why CRM software products have skyrocketed in popularity. They enable small business owners to integrate technology and automation tools to track data and manage customer engagements more effectively.

Freshsales is one such CRM software that has steadily built a reputation for delivering powerful functionality for small enterprises. And in this article, we’ll give you a full rundown on this popular CRM product to help you decide whether it’s right for your business.

What is Freshsales?

Freshsales is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) CRM product by Freshworks, a California-based company with over 4000 employees. It also has several other products in its portfolio, from customer helpdesk tools to smart HR software. And according to Freshworks, its customers include businesses like Bridgestone, ITV, Fiverr, and Pearson. So, you can rest easy knowing Freshsales is from a reputable software company.

Now, Freshdesk promotes its CRM product as a tool to personalize customer engagement, speed up the sales life cycle, and drive business growth. It’s designed for sales teams to stay on top of customer interactions and boost sales efficiency through automation and AI technology.

Features

Here are some of the key features you will find with the Freshsales customer relationship management software:

  • Activity timelines. Track every interaction a customer has with your website, apps, and sales team, so you can personalize your customer engagements with better insights and a deeper understanding of their needs.
  • Integration with multiple communication platforms. Link phone calls, emails, text messages, Zoom, WhatsApp, and various other tools with Freshsales for ease of use and better data tracking.
  • Automated workflows. Eliminate repetitive tasks like sending emails and invoices and updating contact statuses by automating workflows. It will free up your sales team for more critical sales activities.
  • Predictive contact scoring. Prioritize leads with predictive tools so you can focus on prospective customers for more efficient conversions.
  • Third-party integrations. Extend the CRM’s functionality and bring in a higher level of scalability by integrating products you’re already using in your business, especially platforms like Zapier, QuickBooks, and Outlook.
  • Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ). Use editable templates for critical documents like quotes and contracts.
  • Lead generation bots. Generate leads, respond faster, and reduce chat drop-off rates with custom bots.
  • Controlled data access. Determine permission levels for better control over your sales processes.
  • Data insights. Drill down each sales activity and improve decision-making with a range of pre-built and custom reports.

Pricing

Freshsales has four main pricing plans. Its free option doesn’t include some of the essential features, like custom reports and dashboards. This limited functionality makes it best to test out the software.

The paid plans start at $15 per month, which is pretty competitive considering the alternative CRM solutions currently on the market.

Here’s how the pricing plans compare based on key features. For a more detailed overview, you can visit Freshsales’ pricing page here.

Pricing planFreeGrowthProEnterprise
Cost per month (billed annually)$0$15$39$69
Contact & Account Management✓✓✓✓
Built-in Chat, Email, & Phone✓✓✓✓
AI-powered Predictive Contact ScoringX✓✓✓
Custom Reports & DashboardsX✓✓✓
Time-based WorkflowsXX✓✓
Chat CampaignsXX✓✓
Custom ModulesXXX✓
Dedicated Account ManagerXXX✓

Reviews and ratings

A quick search on the internet unearths some impressive ratings for Freshsales, with TechRadar and G2 giving a 4.5/5 and 4.6/5 rating, respectively. In addition, PC Magazine rates it as “excellent” with a 4/5 rating.

On the Google Play Store, Freshsales has received 3.9/5 based on customer ratings of its app. Admittedly, the reviews are somewhat mixed: you’ll find excellent reviews like the one below and a few grievances, too. But the Freshsales team seems to respond to every single review left by users, both positive and negative, which we’ve got to admit is pretty admirable.


Freshsales: Pros and cons

What we liked best

A few things stood out when we were reviewing Freshsales’ CRM software. Here’s what impressed us the most.

1. Easy to use and set up.

Setting up and learning to use Freshsales’ CRM is relatively easy, with straightforward functionality and user interfaces.

2. Customizations.

There is an impressive level of customization that allows you to personalize the CRM to meet your exact business needs. It ranges from creating custom modules based on your business processes to assigning custom roles, fields, and sales activities. But keep in mind that some of these customizations are limited to higher-priced plans.

3. Range of features.

Freshsales comes with some excellent features to support small business owners. These include in-depth data tracking and reporting, as well as automation and AI tools to improve productivity.

4. Freshsales for iOS and Android.

The Freshsales app allows you to run your CRM straight from your phone. In addition, it comes packed with features like user dashboards, an offline mode, and voice notes.

5. Free version and 21-day trial.

Freshsales allows you to try out its CRM for free before you sign up for a paid plan. This is an excellent feature to ensure it’s right for your business.

What could improve?

Freshsales’ feature list is pretty extensive, which is a definite plus. But understanding them could be tough for anyone with little knowledge of CRM-based technologies and functionality. This also makes navigating its pricing plans difficult: after all, it would be impossible for you to determine which plan to select without properly understanding the listed features.

Another point to note is that Freshsales still has room to improve in terms of third-party integrations. Although the available options might be enough for a small-scale operation, more integrations could deliver significantly better functionality as a business grows. 

Final verdict

Freshsales’ CRM product certainly impressed us with its solid functionality, customizations, automation and AI tools, and reasonable pricing. In general, it could bring significant benefits to a fast-growing small business. But whether it’s right for you will depend on your operational requirements. After all, not every business is the same.

So, start by assessing how your company could benefit from a SaaS customer relationship management platform. Then ask for a demo to evaluate Freshsales’ offerings. And don’t forget to compare its features with other products on the market.

To find out about more SaaS tools for your small business, check out this article.

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