9 Best Sales Pipeline Management Tools in 2024

In today’s competitive market, managing a sales pipeline can be tricky. My organization sees these challenges all the time. We face problems like losing leads, not following up properly, and not knowing which prospects to focus on first.

These issues affect our sales.

To overcome these challenges, it’s important to find the right sales pipeline management tools.

This helps us make our sales process smoother and improves our results, keeping us ahead of the competition.

Here’s a table summarizing the top sales pipeline management tools:

This table provides a quick overview, but I recommend reviewing each tool in detail to understand how it can address your organization’s challenges.

List of Sales Pipeline Management Tools

I have listed some of the best sales pipeline management tools I have used personally. I also did extensive research and got recommendations from my peers to curate this list.

I have placed BIGContacts at the top of my list simply because we have been using it for quite some time now.

However, make sure you review the whole list and compare its features and prices to choose the best one for your business.

1. BIGContacts – Best for contact management & email marketing for small & medium businesses

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BIGContacts offers straightforward CRM software that simplifies contact, task, and calendar management for me in a single location.

You can add custom fields for storing information critical to your business, like purchase history, preferences, and feedback. Moreover, you can track all interactions with your contacts, including emails, calls, meetings, and notes.

What captivated me the most about this sales pipeline management software was its contact management and email marketing features. I created static or dynamic contact lists based on various criteria, such as location, industry, or sales pipeline stage. Furthermore, automating email campaigns triggered by specific actions is easy, like a contact moving to a new sales stage or completing a particular task.

Also, check out what other customers have to say:

What You’ll Like:

• Offers a complete view of customers, integrating tasks, events, files, notes, and social media profiles in a unified location.
• Enhances data organization with the use of lists, tags, comments, and groups.
• Provides detailed reports for a comprehensive overview of all activities, supporting improved business decision-making.
• Enables workflow automation and establishing recurring tasks to streamline sales and marketing operations.
• Improves overall efficiency and productivity by centralizing customer information and automating key processes.

What You May Not Like:

• Frequent updates necessitate ongoing adaptation
• Dependence on a stable internet connection for best performance

Pricing:

• Forever free plan for startups with all premium features.
• Paid plan starts at $9.99/month.

2. Keap – Sales & marketing automation for small/medium businesses

Image Source: Keap

I appreciate Keap’s sales and marketing automation software because it saves me hours and helps grow my sales. The ability to use both Easy and Advanced Automation means I can convert more leads and close more deals with highly personalized and automated follow-ups. This tool saves me around 10 hours a week by automating repetitive tasks like lead capture and follow-up, allowing me to focus more on my business.

Automated follow-ups via text and email to potential clients when they fill out a form on my website or social media are crucial. Quick follow-up not only drives repeat sales but also increases referrals.

The CRM powered by Keap’s sales and marketing automation captures lead information like behavior, preferences, or likelihood to buy. This enables me to convert those leads into clients more effectively. Additionally, its ability to integrate with over 4,000 apps through Keap’s Zapier integration triggers more effective and creative sales and marketing automation.

What You’ll Like:

• Gels well with contact management, CRM, marketing automation, and e-commerce capabilities.
• Supports personalized customer conversion processes that enhance productivity by running these processes automatically.
• Provides a selection of templates for creating effective emails and texts.
• The company consistently introduces new features and improvements to the platform.

What You May Not Like:

• Some users perceive Keap as complex and find it difficult to master.
• Keap may be too expensive for some small businesses.

Pricing:

• Starts at $159/month

3. Lusha – Best for Buyer Intelligence

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My organization hasn’t used Lusha personally, but I’ve mentioned it here because peers in our industry highly recommend it. They say Lusha changes how they handle outbound strategies, letting them connect directly with companies looking for their solutions. This tool helps them find potential buyers with targeted accounts and prioritize outreach with company-level intent scores.

Also, by watching consumption habits, they learn about market trends, which lets them make their messages more personal. This approach makes their offers more relevant and timely, increasing their chances of closing deals.

Moreover, this free sales pipeline software alerts them to any prospecting activity that might change a potential buyer’s decision-making process, allowing for a more customized approach with the latest information. The advanced search filters, like intent scores and technology lists, make finding potential clients easier. This speeds up deal cycles and deepens market understanding, making Lusha a crucial tool for scaling outbound efforts effectively, according to what my peers have shared.

What You’ll Like:

• It offers seamless integration with popular CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot.
• Enhanced lead generation capabilities with features for identifying new leads and ideal customer targeting.
• Provides data enrichment and cleansing to maintain up-to-date contact information.

What You May Not Like:

• Some users feel that the email data could be improved.
• There may be limitations in the data coverage offered by Lusha.

Pricing:

• Free plan available (up to 1 user). Paid plans start at $29/user/month.

4. EngageBay – Best for targeted marketing and workflow automation

Image Source: Engagebay

We use EngageBay for its comprehensive and free marketing CRM software, which offers a 360-degree view of our customers and leads. This powerful tool integrates automated lead scoring, contact management, and customer behavior tracking all in one place.

It allows us to build detailed profiles for each contact, combining information from various touch points into a single view. This holistic understanding of our customers enables us to identify new opportunities and enhance customer satisfaction more effectively.

With features like email automation, live chat, and help desk tools, this sales pipeline software simplifies customer engagement, making it an indispensable solution for managing customer relations and driving sales activities efficiently.

What You’ll Like:

• Combines sales, marketing, and service tools in one platform.
• It caters to small and medium-sized businesses with its features and pricing.
• Provides a free tier that includes CRM, helpdesk, and live chat capabilities.

What You May Not Like:

• The options for landing page templates are currently limited.
• Absence of social software analytics and other specific reporting features.

Pricing:

• Free plan available (limited to 250 contacts). Paid plans start at $12.74/user/month

Read More: 8 Best EngageBay CRM Alternatives {2024 Updated List}

5. Ambition – Best for Sales Performance Management

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Another tool we use for sales pipeline management is Ambition. With Ambition, sales managers can set up celebration alerts to recognize achievements and issue detection alerts to intervene when necessary, ensuring sales reps maintain their performance. This proactive approach to sales management allows teams to focus on activities that directly impact their success, such as making more calls or booking more meetings.

As one of the best sales pipeline management software, it emphasizes the importance of gamification and coaching, providing sales teams with the tools they need to stay motivated and improve their skills. Whether through leaderboards that encourage healthy competition or scorecards that track individual performance, Ambition supports sales teams in achieving their goals.

Ambition offers a powerful solution for organizations looking to drive sales performance through actionable insights and a focus on key performance indicators. Its ability to integrate with existing CRMs and provide real-time feedback makes it an invaluable tool for sales teams across various industries.

What You’ll Like:

• Users find Ambition a great motivator, helping them see where they rank compared to others in similar roles.
• The ability to set goals and track achievements is highly valued
• The platform is user-friendly, allowing for competitions and comparisons with teammates.

What You May Not Like:

• May not be suitable for all teams or organizations. It seems to work best for single teams.
• Ambition does not offer the backend functionality that enables users to perform complex data analysis and number crunching directly within its user interface.

Pricing:

• Custom pricing

6. Pipedrive – Best for sales-focused teams

Image Source: Pipedrive

I find Pipedrive an essential asset for anyone in the sales industry, especially for those who aim to keep our sales processes streamlined and efficient. The primary feature that stands out to me is the pipeline management capability. It offers a visual representation of each stage in the sales process, which is crucial for maintaining a clear overview of where each deal stands. This visibility allows me to take timely actions, ensuring no opportunity slips through the cracks.

The customization options available in Pipedrive are particularly beneficial. I can tailor the deal pipeline to match our sales process, adding custom fields and stages as needed. This level of customization ensures that the tool adapts to our workflow, not the other way around.

Another aspect I appreciate is the automation features. They significantly reduce the time spent on manual tasks, allowing our sales team to focus more on engaging with prospects and closing deals. The integration capabilities also stand out, enabling us to connect Pipedrive with other tools and create a cohesive and efficient sales ecosystem.

What You’ll Like:

• Machine learning-powered sales assistants are available for all plans to help optimize sales processes.
• API access allows for full customization of the CRM.
• Workflow automation is available on most plans to streamline tasks.

What You May Not Like:

• Limited custom fields and reports on most plans.
• Phone support is available only on the highest-tier plan.

Pricing:

• Starts at $9.90

Read More: 10 Best Pipedrive CRM Alternatives to Boost Your Sales

7. Zapier – Best for Streamlining Deal Close Processes

Image Source: Zapier

Zapier has garnered positive reviews for its role in enhancing sales pipelines and overall sales processes, as noted by various sources. Its ability to streamline the buying process stands out, automating lead handoffs, follow-ups, and contract signings, which has led to a noticeable increase in conversion rates.

The feature that keeps sales representatives informed is particularly valuable, reducing the time spent searching for customer information and allowing more time for engaging with prospects and closing deals. Zapier’s adaptability and scalability enable quick implementation of new engagement strategies, their impact, and the necessary adjustments.

Moreover, Zapier’s capability to centralize account information into a single hub significantly reduces the time teams spend searching for details across different platforms. This centralization is instrumental in crafting personalized messages that resonate with prospects, ultimately leading to more successful deal closures.

What You’ll Like:

• It supports over 6,000 apps, offering a wide range of automation possibilities.
• Enables integration of platforms with no coding required, making it accessible for non-technical users.
• Automates repetitive tasks, saving time and reducing manual effort.

What You May Not Like:

• Zapier does not offer a mobile app, which could limit on-the-go management.
• There is no support for integrating smart home devices, which might be a drawback for some users.

Pricing:

• Free plan available (Limited to individuals starting with automation). Paid plans start at $20.38/month.

8. Streak – Best for Managing Sales Pipeline on Gmail

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I appreciate using Streak for several reasons, especially for its seamless integration with Gmail, which transforms my inbox into a powerful CRM tool. This integration means I can manage my sales pipeline directly within an already familiar environment. The fact that Streak captures deals directly from my email conversations and organizes them into a manageable pipeline is a game-changer. It ensures that I never miss an opportunity hidden in my inbox.

The intuitive design of Streak is another aspect I find incredibly beneficial. Its user-friendly interface encourages my whole team to use the CRM actively. This aspect is crucial for maintaining accurate sales forecasts and strategies.

Streak’s flexibility in adapting to changes in our sales process is invaluable. Whether we need to add a new column, rearrange stages, or delete data, updates are immediate and intuitive. This flexibility allows us to evolve our sales strategies without being hindered by our tools. Moreover, I find this to be an excellent sales pipeline tracker as it provides comprehensive data input options and custom views.

What You’ll Like:

• Users can tailor every stage of a pipeline to fit their specific needs.
• Streak provides capabilities to automate repetitive tasks.
• Offers robust tools for email tracking and marketing.

What You May Not Like:

• Users who prefer a separate CRM platform might find it limiting as Streak operates within Gmail.
• As an extension, its offline capabilities are less extensive than standalone applications.

Pricing:

• Starts at $49/user/month

9. Freshsales – Best for Deal Management

Image Source: Freshworks

I find the deal management features offered by this tool to be exceptionally beneficial for driving sales and growing revenue within our organization. The ability to create multiple sales pipelines is a standout feature. It allows us to visualize the progress of deals and tailor the sales stages to match our unique business processes. This customization ensures that our sales team can precisely track each deal, aligning our strategies more closely with our business objectives.

The weighted pipeline feature is another aspect I highly value. By assigning probabilities to different stages of the sales process, we can more accurately forecast revenue and track the conversion rates of our deals. This insight is crucial for making informed decisions and adjusting our sales strategies to maximize effectiveness.

Setting and tracking activity goals is also a powerful motivator for our sales teams. By defining goals based on the number of closed deals and revenue and tracking them daily, weekly, or quarterly, we can maintain a clear focus on our targets. This clarity helps drive our sales efforts toward achieving our organizational goals more effectively.

What You’ll Like:

• Generating and tracking invoices, quotes, and documents with custom sales pipeline templates ensures all deal-related documents are in sync.
• The product catalog feature is useful for maintaining product inventory and configuring pricing models.
• Integration with Slack facilitates seamless collaboration across teams.

What You May Not Like:

• Lacks flexibility in custom modules, potentially limiting the ability to tailor the CRM to specific business processes.
• Bulk data upload can be slow, which might be problematic for businesses with large volumes of data to import.

Pricing:

• Free plan available (limited to 3 users). Paid plans start at $9.01/user/month

Which Is the Best Sales Pipeline CRM Software?

When selecting the best sales pipeline CRM, it’s crucial to understand that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Every tool caters to unique business needs, making the “best” choice highly subjective.

Our organization encountered challenges such as inefficient contact management, lackluster follow-up processes, and difficulty prioritizing prospects. These issues significantly impacted our sales performance.

So, here are my top 3 personal choices as we benefited from these solutions:

Option 1: BIGContacts

This sales pipeline software streamlined our contact, task, and calendar management in one place. It allowed us to store critical information and track all interactions with our contacts. The contact management software and email marketing features were particularly beneficial, enabling us to create targeted lists and automate email campaigns. This significantly improved our engagement with prospects and customers.

Option 2: Keap

The advanced automation features of this pipeline management sales tool saved us hours each week by automating repetitive tasks like lead capture and follow-up. Its CRM capabilities helped us understand our leads better, allowing for more effective conversions. The integration with over 4,000 apps via Zapier further enhanced our sales and marketing automation, making our processes more efficient and personalized.

Option 3: EngageBay

Offering a 360-degree view of our customers, EngageBay integrated automated lead scoring, contact management, and customer behavior tracking. This comprehensive understanding of our customers enabled us to identify new opportunities and improve satisfaction more effectively. Its email automation, live chat, and help desk tools simplified our engagement efforts, proving indispensable for managing customer relations and driving sales.

These are some of the best pipeline management software that has immensely helped us. You may go through the more extensive list below before making a choice.

Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation of products or tools chosen for this article follows an unbiased, systematic approach that ensures a fair, insightful, and well-rounded review. This method employs six key factors:

1. User Reviews / Ratings: Direct user experiences, including ratings and feedback from reputable sites, provide a ground-level perspective. This feedback is critical in understanding overall satisfaction and potential problems.
2. Essential Features & Functionality: The value of a product is ascertained by its core features and overall functionality. Through an in-depth exploration of these aspects, the practical usefulness and effectiveness of the tools are carefully evaluated.
3. Ease of Use: The user-friendliness of a product or service is assessed, focusing on the design, interface, and navigation. This ensures a positive experience for users of all levels of expertise.
4. Customer Support: The quality of customer support is examined, taking into account its efficiency and how well it supports users in different phases – setting up, addressing concerns, and resolving operational issues.
5. Value for Money: Value for money is evaluated by comparing the quality, performance, and features. The goal is to help the reader understand whether they would be getting their money’s worth.
6. Personal Experience / Experts’ Opinions: This part of the evaluation criteria draws insightful observations from the personal experience of the writer and the opinions of industry experts.

Learn More About the Sales Tracking Software

What is sales pipeline management software?

Sales pipeline management software is a tool that helps businesses track and manage their sales process from initial contact with a potential customer to the final sale. This software allows companies to organize, monitor, and analyze their sales opportunities at various stages of the sales funnel, ensuring a systematic approach to nurturing leads and closing deals.

What are the stages of the sales pipeline?

There are several important sales pipeline stages, each representing a step in the journey from identifying a potential customer to closing a sale:

• Lead Generation: The process begins with identifying potential customers interested in your products or services.
• Lead Qualification: Next, you assess whether these leads have a genuine potential or interest in becoming customers.
• Proposal: At this stage, you present your solution to the qualified leads, highlighting how it meets their needs.
• Negotiation: This involves discussions around terms, prices, and conditions, aiming to reach an agreement that satisfies both parties.
• Closure: The final stage, where you finalize the deal, complete the sale, and begin the process of fulfilling the customer’s order.

You can read this guide to know more about building a sales pipeline.

How can I determine if my business needs a sales pipeline management system?

Your business might benefit from sales pipeline management tools if you encounter challenges such as difficulty in tracking sales activities, issues with sales forecasting, inefficiencies in managing customer relationships, or the need for a centralized database for sales and customer information. Implementing this system can streamline your sales workflow, improve visibility into your sales activities, and enhance overall sales performance.

What are the key features to look for in sales pipeline management software?

When selecting sales pipeline management software, consider features that align with your business needs, including:

• Lead and Deal Tracking: To monitor the progress of potential sales and manage deals efficiently.
• Reporting and Analytics: This is used to gain insights into sales performance and make data-driven decisions.
• Integration Capabilities: Ensuring the software works seamlessly with other tools your business uses.
• Mobile Access: This allows your sales team to manage activities and access information on the go.
• Customization Options: To tailor the software according to your specific business processes and requirements.

How does sales pipeline management software help forecast sales?

Sales pipeline management software enhances sales forecasting by providing detailed analytics and insights into your sales activities and the health of your sales pipeline. It enables you to analyze historical sales data, identify patterns, and make informed predictions about future sales trends. This predictive capability allows you to adjust your sales strategies proactively and allocate resources more effectively to meet your sales targets.

How does the software handle data backup and disaster recovery processes?

Sales pipeline management software typically incorporates robust data backup and disaster recovery features. These features ensure regular backups of your data to secure cloud storage, protecting against data loss or corruption. In the event of a disaster, the system offers mechanisms to restore your data quickly, minimizing downtime and ensuring that your sales operations can continue without significant disruption.

How to choose the best sales pipeline management tools

To select the best sales pipeline management tool, assess your unique needs, including team size and required features. Set a budget, considering both initial and ongoing costs. Research and shortlist options that align with your criteria. Focus on functionality, user reviews, and integration capabilities with existing tools. Prioritize ease of use and customer support to ensure smooth adoption and ongoing use. Finally, take advantage of free trials or demos to test each tool in real-world scenarios, allowing you to make an informed decision based on firsthand experience.