Feb 13, 2024
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Best Consulting CRMs: Why Your Firm Needs One and What To Look For
CRM platforms have revolutionized the way consulting firms manage workflows, engage with clients and analyze data. The right CRM doesn’t just house client details; it makes your business more efficient and effective throughout the client journey.
Read on to discover:
- The key benefits of using a CRM for consulting
- How to stay ahead of rising competition by selecting the right CRM
- Elements to look for in a platform that will align with your business needs
- Top CRM platforms for the consulting industry
Why Use CRM Software for a Consulting Firm?
As the consulting market continues to grow and evolve, there’s an ever-present need to adapt. CRM tools have emerged as a cornerstone for successful service businesses because they offer an organized, systematic and tech-driven solution for managing client relationships and data.
Gone are the days of managing contacts and client communications through the limited capabilities of Microsoft Excel! Cloud-based CRM systems are more accessible, secure and scalable.
If you haven’t yet committed and migrated your consulting firm’s data to a CRM, here are the top reasons you should.
Clean contact management
The advantages of clean customer relationship management can’t be overstated. An organized system helps you keep track of every interaction with leads, prospects and current clients, as well as referrals. A centralized and structured approach is the best way to ensure no data is lost and give your team the information they need to personalize each client call, email and proposal.
More confidence in your marketing campaigns
Generating new business is an ongoing goal that you may not have connected to the quality and depth of your client data. But if you manage marketing in-house, think about how much easier it is for your team to execute on targeted strategies when they have segmented customer data. Some CRMs, like HubSpot, offer email templates and marketing automation features to help you distribute your message more quickly and efficiently.
Benefits for your sales process
There’s also a significant impact on your sales process. A robust CRM enhances lead generation efforts and gives your sales team everything they need to engage in effective follow-up. Platforms like Pipedrive and Accelo can streamline lead tracking, help you forecast revenue and shorten your sales cycle.
Improvement of the customer experience
Though it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the impact of a CRM, better customer support is a big benefit. You can use your CRM to track the customer lifecycle and even apply workflow automation to make onboarding, billing and other key client touchpoints more seamless. Because of the boost to your internal operations, your clients will feel valued and understood.
Freedom to focus on quality consulting services
The right CRM platform gives your consulting team members the time and mental energy to work on the things that truly drive your consulting business forward: strategic advisory, market analysis and dedicated client service.
The crux of the CRM choice: Efficiency!
Ultimately, choosing the best CRM for your consulting firm helps you pivot toward a more streamlined operational model. As a result of the improved visibility, you could experience:
- Reduced non-billable time
- Fewer errors
- More organized project management
- Faster service delivery
READ NEXT: How To Choose a Tech Stack That Supports Your Consulting Firm’s Growth
Leveraging a CRM for Consulting Differentiation
The above positive outcomes will always be true for consulting firms, but there’s an even more urgent reason to implement an effective CRM today. Consulting is moving faster than ever. A recent Grist survey showed that the C-suite is, on average, less patient than in the past, considering only the next three months.
Given the uncertainty about many other parts of life and business, your potential clients want results now. Their results will be driven by your ability to access a 360-degree view of the data they care about and apply it to the deliverables that only your unique team can create.
Set your firm apart by fostering transparency and trust first and backing it up with innovative project proposals — made possible by steady and reliable operational processes.
7 Must-Have Components of CRM System Functionality
A good CRM solution transcends the role of a mere client database and becomes part of every step of the client journey. But many CRMs promise to be what your firm needs.
Before you sign up for demos and get distracted by pricing, we’re sharing what you should look for in an integrated CRM that’s built for client work.
1. Automation
By automating routine business processes and sales activities, your CRM should give you the ability to focus on high-value tasks. Automation also ensures consistency in service delivery, the client experience and employee training.
2. Pipeline management
Managing your sales pipeline intentionally is crucial to anticipating revenue and allocating resources properly. Get your lead management and forecasting under control with a platform that gives you clear oversight of bottlenecks and opportunities.
3. Task management
Task management tools built into a CRM enable your project management team to streamline everything from task assignments to scheduling to progress monitoring. Consulting is all about timely and consistent delivery, and organizing tasks well is how you’ll get there.
4. Time tracking
Handling tasks isn’t fully effective unless it’s tied to your billable time. You need a platform that makes it possible to see how much time is spent across various projects and clients so you can assess team productivity and project profitability. Modern CRM solutions will automate time tracking and present insights via dashboards.
5. Team inbox
A shared inbox isn’t just for businesses with a traditional help desk. If you receive client queries and ad-hoc requests, you need a collaborative approach to responding. Maintain consistency and meet SLAs by exploring the various ways to use a ticketing platform that’s built into your CRM.
6. Real-time data
You can’t make proactive decisions to drive your business forward without knowing what’s going on with it today. Data optimization is not just something you can achieve with a business intelligence platform — it’s also possible to use a powerful CRM to generate essential real-time metrics such as average project profitability.
7. Mobile app
While most modern applications have a mobile app, don’t underestimate how important a good one is for your CRM. What kind of user experience will your consultants have on the go? Can you quickly check the status of projects or track an emergency request from your phone? Discover what a great client work-focused mobile app looks like.
When should you look for the right CRM?
Some consulting businesses start using a CRM right away. Others, especially independent consultants and boutique firms, decide to adopt a CRM solution as specific needs arise or when they reach a certain client volume. Recognizing where your business may be experiencing operational inefficiency and quantifying the impact of that can help you determine how robust of a platform you need and when it’s time to make the move.
6 Best CRMs for Consulting Companies: Accelo, Salesforce and More
Finding the ideal CRM means feeling out how each platform’s strengths align with your business goals. There are many to choose from, so we’re helping you reduce overwhelm and simplify your search. Below are six of the top CRM systems.
Accelo
Accelo is an end-to-end cloud-based platform built to help consultants automate tasks, improve visibility and increase profits. Accelo goes beyond customer relationship management and offers solutions for all aspects of client work, including sales and quoting, project management, client support and tickets, billing and retainer management.
Key features
- A centralized client database to provide all employees with up-to-date client information
- Project management tools, including time tracking, resource management and project templates and triggers
- Retainers, including contract management and automation of recurring work and tasks
- CRM reporting and analytics, including revenue forecasting, client profitability reports and team member performance
Pros
- Built for all aspects of client work beyond its robust CRM, including quote automation and project management
- Five convenient tiers built to scale with your business
Cons
- Accelo works best for teams of five or more, so may not be the best fit for smaller teams or freelance consultants
- No built-in marketing automation tools — but does have multiple marketing-focused integrations, including HubSpot and MailChimp
See how Accelo can generate results for your consulting business: Book a demo.
HubSpot
HubSpot CRM is a pipeline management tool that provides real-time visibility into your firm’s sales pipeline. Their free option offers additional tools to assist sales, marketing, customer service, operations and business owners nurture existing client relationships.
Key features
- Lead management, including nurturing, scoring and automated sales alerts and tasks
- Email and online marketing, including dynamic content, email editor and email deliverability reporting, list management and landing pages
- Campaign management, including calendaring and event and webinar marketing
- Social media marketing, including social campaigns and social profile integration
Pros
- Free subscription option with CRM essentials for new firms
- Option to select the tools you need: one or more of HubSpot’s three core hubs (Sales, Marketing and Service)
Cons
- Free plan does not include customer support and it’s very easy to max out its limitations
- Limited customization that’s not ideal for companies with complex sales processes
Keap
Keap combines CRM, sales and marketing automation, contact management and eCommerce capabilities with the primary focus of helping small businesses manage client relationships.
Key features
- Lead management including lead nurturing, lead scoring and automated sales alerts
- Social media marketing, including social profile integrations
- Campaign management, including calendars and event marketing
- Reporting and analytics
Pros
- Keap Lite pricing tier for solopreneurs and small teams
- Marketing automation capabilities create a consistent customer experience
Cons
- No option to remove or hide existing tabs — even with customization
- Some features, including the mobile app and SMS messaging options, only available in limited regions
NetSuite CRM
NetSuite CRM, a cloud-based solution that integrates into the robust NetSuite ERP platform, brings customer data, sales and marketing automation and support together to help businesses gain visibility into their work and continue to grow.
Key features
- Sales automation and forecasting, including pipeline visualization and revenue projections
- Partner relationship management, including visibility into partner sales forecasting and options for joint marketing, orders and commissions
- Customer service and support, including case management and online self-service options
- Reporting and analytics, including customer service metrics, lead-generation trends and customer acquisition costs
Pros
- Integration with the NetSuite ERP platform offers consulting businesses a robust combination of tools
- A mobile app allows for managing tasks, updating timesheets and entering customer data on the go
Cons
- Includes ERP-specific features that won’t fit for every business
- Not ideal for smaller businesses
Salesforce
Salesforce is a web-based CRM solution that helps companies manage their customers, partners and employees. The platform has multiple pricing levels and features that can scale with your business, making it a great choice for rapidly growing consulting firms who need a solution that can expand to meet their needs.
Key features
- Sales automation including customer data management, workflows and contract management
- Customer service and support, including case management and call center management
- Project management, including tasks, billing and reporting
- Reporting and analytics, including forecasting and pipeline visualization
Pros
- Ability to automate business processes, including simple tasks like creating automatic email alerts to more time-heavy tasks like filling out orders
- Fully customizable, with options to add custom fields and tabs, create email templates and build reporting dashboards
Cons
- Cost of is often higher than other CRM options and increases with customizations and integrations
- May be too complex for smaller businesses
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is built to help businesses of all sizes manage their customer relationships. They work with a global network of more than 250,000 businesses and help companies engage with customers and build revenue.
Key features
- Sales automation, including a contact database, quotes and contract management
- Customer service and support features
- Marketing automation, including lead management and email marketing
- Reporting and analytics
Pros
- A free version is available for three or fewer users
- Pay-as-you-go service allows customers to pay monthly or annually without a contract
Cons
- While the free and standard levels offer some solutions, many of the features available through Zoho are only available in their higher-priced plans.
- User challenges with customer support: being put on hold or experiencing multiple transfers before solving an issue
Finding the ideal CRM means feeling out how each platform’s strengths align with your business goals. Read how other consulting leaders decided on a CRM and the stories of increased profitability, efficiency, revenue and more they now tell after implementing a client work management platform instead of a limited client database.
About the Author
Chelsea Williams is Senior Copywriter at Accelo, where she shares unique insights with service professionals and tells user stories via blogs, eBooks, industry reports and more. She has over 15 years of B2B and B2C writing experience — primarily in tech, sales, education and healthcare. Chelsea is an AWAI-certified Master Copywriter trained in brand storytelling and microcopy.