Best CRM Platforms For Consulting Professionals In 2024

For consultants, juggling client management, sales pipelines, and task tracking can feel like a constant challenge. The right CRM isn’t just a tool—it’s a game-changer that organizes your workflow, letting you concentrate on your core mission.

CRM companies have stepped up their game in 2024, delivering more advanced features tailored to consultants’ needs, such as seamless integration and artificial intelligence.

The CRM industry shows promising growth potential, with projections indicating a 10.34% annual increase from 2024 to 2029, culminating in a market size of US$145.60 billion.

But with so many options out there, how do you choose the best one for your business? Don’t worry—we’ve done the legwork for you. This blog will break down the 10 best CRM software for consultants this year, highlighting their standout features and why they could be your next game-changer. 

What is a CRM for consultants?

A CRM designed for consultants is the ideal solution to maintain your relevance consistently. It collects all of your client’s information, including contacts, interaction history, project updates, and sales workflows. There is no need to navigate between documents or sift through emails; everything is conveniently located for you.

But it is not just about being organized. The best CRM makes your work easier and faster by taking over mundane tasks such as follow-ups, appointments, and generating reports. It also helps you to better understand your client’s requirements and expectations so you can better help them.

Top Reasons Consultants Should Leverage a CRM

Adopting CRM (Customer Relationship Management) can bring dramatic changes to consultants.  As it can provide a practical solution to many of their critical organizational problems as well as improve their relationships with clients. Here are the key benefits:

Boosted Efficiency

A CRM system involves tasks that can be repetitive and time-consuming, freeing up consultants to handle strategic processes like client communication and planning. By minimizing the amount of work that is done by hand, it assists in improving the efficiency and time that is gained.

Cost Savings

The implementation of a CRM may entail considerable costs initially. But the benefits over the longer term, including increased efficiency and higher levels of client retention, may outweigh the costs. The enhanced ROI makes it a sound decision for growing consulting companies to invest in this approach.

Improved Client Experience

Consultants can then offer more customized and time-sensitive services because of the concentration of client data. By viewing specific interaction history, client satisfaction is increased, and they are retained for future businesses.

Enhanced Team Collaboration

A CRM allows all members to access the newest client updates as well as communication logs through a central platform. Thus, open communication enhances cooperation and improves uniform client treatment across your team.

Actionable Insights

CRMs boast analytics capabilities and reporting systems that provide insights into consumer behavior, sales trends, as well as key performance metrics for consultants. This allows for more informed judgments and the identification of growth prospects.

Streamlined Sales Management

A CRM optimizes the sales process with features to track leads, manage opportunities, and monitor progress through the sales cycle.  Which leads to higher conversion rates and a more efficient sales pipeline.

Mobile Accessibility

Most current CRM systems have mobile apps so that consultants can get onto the client’s file log updates and interact from anywhere. This helps continue work outside the office.

Scalability

Scalability is another reason why a CRM is perfect for your growing consulting practice. It can accommodate an increasing number of clients and more complex workflows while maintaining efficiency and quality.

Improved Communication

CRMs ensure that communication with clients and within teams is consistent. Every touchpoint is logged, reducing miscommunication and improving responsiveness.

Accountability and Organization

CRMs monitor deadlines, assignments, and client commitments to ensure that nothing slips between the cracks. It is a method of instilling accountability in projects, which helps them function smoothly.

10 Game-Changing CRM Features for Consultants

Choosing the right CRM for a consulting firm can revolutionize how consultants work with clients and handle business processes. Here’s a closer look at the must-have features:

1. Centralized Contact Management

A good CRM stores all information about your clients, including their contact information, interaction history, and activity records. This facilitates timely access to key data so that individuals can spend their time in targeted, one-on-one communication and relationship development.

2. Streamlined Lead Management

When you have a strong CRM in place, capturing and managing leads is easier than you could imagine. From simple informational emails to more complicated web forms, each lead enters a single system where you can track and work with promising leads.

3. Clear Deal Tracking

Making a visual representation of the sales pipeline is essential for having a clear notion about sales forecasting. A CRM should be able to track every contract from start to finish. This clarity allows you to easily manage the flow of sales and maximize conversions.

4. Task Automation

Tasks such as follow-ups, which are usually numerous, and data entry take a lot of time that could be well utilized elsewhere. A CRM with automation capabilities removes these time-wasting activities and keeps you engaged and responsive to clients.

5. Advanced Reporting and Insights

Advanced reporting and analysis allow you to understand your clients’ behavior, control sales, and search for new clients. A CRM solution with user-defined dashboards guarantees that you remain analytical in your operations.

6. Accurate Sales Predictions

The tools in a CRM include the ability to see future revenues, which makes it easier to set realistic goals and also ensures that you don’t overstretch yourself and end up not delivering on your promises. It means sustainable business advancement keeps off the adverse impacts of unhealthy, annoying, or unfavorable conditions.

7. Mobile-Friendly Access

Mobile CRM is a feature that consultants cannot do without since they spend a lot of time traveling. They allow you to modify the information of clients, monitor work, and regulate timetables from a distance, making you always in touch and productive.

8. Seamless Tool Integrations

An integrated CRM system allows for the seamless integration of all your software tools which include your email, project, and invoicing tools. This cuts out unnecessary repetition and increases efficiency right throughout the staff.

9. Simplified Quote Management

The use of quotes within the CRM eliminates the time that would be spent opening different screens to check the quotes. This feature is a game-changer for consultants offering tailored solutions, as it reduces the complexity of pricing and proposals, making the entire process more efficient.

10. End-to-End Account Management

A good CRM keeps records of all the phases of a client’s relationship with the business, from signing on to repeat business. This allows you to provide an efficient and high-quality service that keeps the client coming back and makes your business sustainable.

Why These Features Matter?

The features listed above will help make your consulting decisions meet your client’s needs while making your work faster and more effective. Selecting an appropriate CRM would allow you to worry less about delivering you and your business development.

10 CRM Platforms Perfect for Consulting Professionals in 2024

The CRM market is full of options, but not all of them are suited for consultants. The right platform should support long-term relationship management and cater to the specific needs of consulting work. In this section, we’ll guide you through the top 10 CRMs that stand out for consultants.

1. Monday CRM

Best for: Any consultant who needs a CRM that is both versatile and easy to use.

Monday CRM is a no-code tool that businesses may use to transform each phase of the client interaction. It enables consultants to monitor pipelines, enhance interaction with clients, streamline time-consuming processes, as well as receive valuable information. This way, Monday CRM provides clarity and convenience due to an easily navigable interface for consulting firms of all sizes.

Key Features of Monday CRM

Contact Management: Manage all client interactions within one place, apply email templates, and receive recommendations based on AI.

Deal Management: It helps to visualize the sales pipeline and track opportunities with a clear and holistic view.

Automation: Reduce the time spent on auto-assignment of leads, reminders, and notifications.

Customization: Customize Workflow, stages, and pipelines to match your kind of consulting business.

Team Collaboration: Utilize the shared boards as well as the dashboards for effective collaboration in the development of a project.

Integrations: Integrate with G Suite and Slack to help you and your team work as one.

Plan	Pricing
Basic	$12/user/month
Standard	$17/user/month
Pro	$28/user/month
Enterprise	Custom pricing

Overall, Monday CRM has the functionality, speed, and simplicity that’s exciting for consultants and will help to grow a business.

2. Hubspot CRM

Best for: Consultants and consultancy firms striving for growth and scalability.

HubSpot CRM provides great opportunities for effective cooperation with clients as well as managing the growth of the consulting business. If you are a solo consultant, or if you are a big consultancy firm looking after several clients, then HubSpot CRM is a complete solution to view interactions, manage pipelines, and work with your team. It can handle up to one million contacts and companies, thus serving small and big businesses.

Key Features of HubSpot CRM

Contact Management: Gather client details from all communications and team updates, then categorize contacts by industry or project type for smooth follow-up management.

Pipeline Management: Keep track of potential projects, deal progression, and expected results with ease.

Task Automation: Ease management functions such as lead distribution, follow-up appointments, and reminders, which would lower the likelihood of missing an opportunity.

Team Collaboration: Make sure that all the updates, notes, and tasks are visible to your team members to allow for better collaboration.

Advanced Reporting: Take advantage of integrated reports from the different solutions to derive insights into your sales and clients, enabling you to adjust techniques.

Integrations: Integrate with Gmail, Outlook, and Slack, or utilize HubSpot Marketing and Service Hub Pro for a few extra capabilities.

Plan	Pricing
Free Plan	$0/user/month
Starter	$15/user/month
Professional	$90/user/month
Enterprise	$150/user/month

Most consultants consider HubSpot CRM to be easy to use, scalable, and feature-packed with strong integrations. That is why it is a perfect platform for efficiently managing business and consequently, interacting with clients.

3. Pipedrive CRM

Best for: Consultants in need of an easy-to-use but highly flexible CRM software.

Pipedrive is easy on the eyes, easy to use, and has a unique drag-and-drop system for managing your pipelines. It can help consultants manage pipelines so that they can quickly identify and work on the best quality leads. 

The CRM is equally flexible and can be built to enable consultants to support the unique needs of the consulting enterprises. Whether you have several essential clients or have lots of sales processes, you can be confident that Pipedrive will easily fit into your particular approaches to customers.

Key features of Pipedrive CRM

Pipeline management: Make your deals easy to view and follow through sales processes with no loss of any sales opportunity.

Customization: Customize all essential aspects of work for your consulting practice, as well as client interaction strategies.

Mobile app: Pipedrive features a mobile application that allows one full access to client details, management of deals, and updates on the go.

Automation: Use AI and automation tools to schedule follow-up emails, team reminders, and deal tracking to increase productivity.

Plan	Pricing
Essential	$14/user/month
Advanced	$29/user/month
Professional	$49/user/month
Power	$64/user/month
Enterprise	$99/user/month

Pipedrive brings a user-friendly and versatile solution for consultants to manage their client relationships, something these experts are likely to find valuable.

4. Freshsales CRM

Best for: Analysts, who would like to optimize communication and improve work processes.

With  Freshsales CRM, consultants can successfully address every phase of a client relationship systematically. The features provided in this CRM include extended customization of the CRM where you can customize the entire CRM to suit your consultancy company, workflows, fields, and even the modules. Also, Freshsales has artificial intelligence to evaluate client activities and provide you with ways to improve productivity and decision-making.

Key features of Freshsales CRM

Contact management: Includes client data management with various customizable stages of client interactions to ensure no information is lost.

Multichannel communication: Connect with customers using email, chat, or phone while all interactions are stored in one place making it easier for you to review them.

Customization: You can customize the CRM to your company processes using tools such as fields, actions, and modules that represent your consulting model.

Automated workflows: The idea is to make such things as follow-ups, reminders, or data entry be done automatically to enhance productivity.

Plan	Pricing
Free	$0/user/month
Growth	$15/user/month
Pro	$39/user/month
Enterprise	$69/user/month

Freshsales CRM is a comprehensive and adaptable application that can be invaluable to consultants who require deeper client outreach, personalized business processes, and analytical options.

5. Capsule CRM

Best for: Consultants aiming to streamline client management and boost operational efficiency.

Capsule CRM is intended to assist independent consultants and consulting firms to effectively manage their relationships with clients and optimize project outcomes. The easy-to-use design of Capsule CRM effectively allows for easy client management and project supervision for timely and effective results.

Key Features of Capsule CRM

Comprehensive Client Insights: Monitor all interactions and all the contact information of a client in a single working panel to simplify relationship maintenance.

Project Oversight and Task Management: Regularly monitor the progress of any client-assigned projects in terms of key performance indicators, calendar dates for follow-up, and a to-do list.

Analyzing and Quick Reporting: Use superior statistics to assess the consultants’ efficiency and analyze clients’ tendencies to make successful decisions for business advancement.

Plan	Pricing
Free	$0/user/month
Starter	$18/user/month
Growth	$36/user/month
Advanced	$54/user/month
Ultimate	$72/user/month

Consultants can benefit greatly from Capsule CRM as it offers an easy-to-use tool for managing clients and improving operations.

6. Keap CRM

Best for:  Consultants in search of an integrated platform for marketing and customer relationship management

Keap CRM is a comprehensive system for consultants who focus on enhancing their sales and marketing strategies and client management. It encompasses numerous features to foster the consultant’s efficiencies and effectiveness in handling leads and business growth from within the tool.

Key features of Keap CRM

Automated Lead Management: Automatically track prospects and qualify them for your sales funnel. 

Advanced Marketing Automation: Easily launch highly targetable e-mail and text-message marketing campaigns. By nurturing clients, consultants can improve segmentation and convert key clients more effectively.

Sales Pipeline and Appointment Scheduling: Take full control over all aspects of your sales funnel. It is easy to monitor the opportunities, set up meetings, and include follow-ups to avoid missing any clients or tasks.

Quote-to-Invoice Workflow: Payment can be received online through the platform, which makes charging clients and accounting for the payments easier.

Communication Technologies: Built-in email and text messaging allow for efficient interaction with clients and fast replies.

Plan	Pricing
Ignite	$249 / month for 2 users
Grow	$329/month for 3 users
Scale	$499/month for 5 user

Keap CRM is the best solution for consultants who need marketing automation, sales tools, and client management all in one easy-to-use system.

7. Salesflare

Best For: Perfect for any B2B Consultants looking for a user-friendly CRM to sort leads and clients

Salesflare CRM is a multipurpose and easy-to-use application developed for B2B consultants who do not want to struggle with many tools to stay organized and manage leads and customers. Due to easy navigation and its built-in automation, it is ideal for the lone consultant or a small practice in search of a solid CRM solution.

Key Features of Salesflare CRM

Lead Management: Lead management and tracking is also simple with a click-and-drop interface for a pipeline that provides a clear view of leads at every stage of the funnel.

Integration: Gather contacts directly from emails, social networks, and other sources that you interact with and keep your contacts list up-to-date.

Automation: Streamline personalized email workflows and track their effectiveness, making the process faster and more productive.

Plan	Pricing
Growth	$99/month
Pro	$49/user/month
Enterprise	$99/user/month

Salesflare CRM is a simple yet robust CRM solution capable of automating and integrating much of the work consultants do for their clients.

8. Salesforce CRM

Best For: Consulting businesses that have to interact across practice groups

Salesforce CRM is an exciting tool that enables consulting firms to improve relationships with clients, organize customer data efficiently, and improve the organization’s overall functioning. Salesforce provides businesses with the necessary tools to improve data management and gain insights on how they can improve by working together.

Key Features of Salesforce CRM

Smart Automation: Use AI, real-time data, and automation to enhance efficiency, reduce human bias increase efficiency, and deliver reliable data to decision-makers.

Unified Collaboration: Improve team productivity by unifying communication and work management tools in a single platform that helps practice groups collaborate effectively with clients.

Advanced Analytics: Take a holistic approach to each of your clients to gain more insight and ultimately enhance the relationship and the value you offer them.

Customization and Scalability: Use Salesforce CRM workflows, reports, and integrations to manage and adapt customer relationships to your firm’s goals and growth.

Plan	Pricing
Starter Suite	$25/user/month.
Pro Suite	$100/user/month.
Enterprise	$165/user/month.
Unlimited	$330/user/month.

Salesforce CRM is a powerful tool that includes automation, analytics, and collaboration to manage consulting firms’ day-to-day tasks and significantly improve CRM capabilities.

9. Zoho CRM

Best for: Consultants and consulting firms of all sizes

Zoho CRM is a versatile and highly customizable software solution that can suit consulting businesses of all sizes starting from startups and ending up with huge enterprises. Organizations can better manage clients, simplify sales, and consequently; increase productivity. It also offers an omnichannel feature, streamlining communication across all key channels for better engagement.

Key Features of Zoho CRM:

Customization: Personalize the CRM to address your business’s specific needs, workflows, and processes.

Automation: Take advantage of Zia, Zoho’s AI-driven bot to scrutinize customer information, improve efficiency, and provide relevant solutions.

Lead Management: Streamline the process of collecting leads from various sources and improve management of inbound leads for increased efficiency of their conversion.

Plan	Pricing
Free Plan	$0 per user/month
Standard Plan	$14 per user/month
Professional Plan	$23 per user/month
Enterprise Plan	$40 per user/month
Professional Plan	$52 per user/month

When it comes to choosing CRM, consultants will find Zoho CRM to be a robust, customizable, and easy-to-use tool to enhance interaction with clients and streamline operations.

10. Insightly CRM

Best for: Consultants seeking an all-in-one solution for project and client management.

Insightly CRM is a powerful tool specifically designed for consultants who have to track both their clients and projects. Moreover, through its integration of CRM features and project management solutions, consultants can maintain order in their work, reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, and rely on detailed analytical results. 

Insightly now has integrations with more than 2,000 third-party apps, including popular ones like Slack, Google Workspace, QuickBooks, and Dropbox, making teamwork and everyday productivity easier.

Key Features of Insightly CRM

Integrated Client and Project Management: A single platform that addresses the needs of managing clients and projects.

Workflow Automation: Use plans to manage follow-ups, project updates, and assigning tasks to specific team members to minimize time consumption and avoid mistakes.

Advanced Reporting and Analytics: Get specific details about sales results and analyze each project’s progress and interaction with clients to make decisions.

Plan	Pricing
Plus Plan	$29 per user/month
Professional Plan	$49 per user/month
Enterprise Plan	$99 per user/month

It is a complete package that provides different functionalities that consultants need to manage their projects, interact with their clients, and increase productivity.

Potential Pitfalls and Challenges When Choosing a CRM

Selecting the right CRM can be challenging but is an incredibly important decision for your consulting business. There are some things a person has to consider to make sure that they are going to make the right decision that will meet a certain need or want.

Paying for Unnecessary Features

Choosing a more feature-rich CRM can be extremely tempting, but this means not all the features will be useful to your business. Various consultants must ensure that they orient themselves to the crucial processes that affect their operations.

 The main disadvantage of paying for tools is that many of them may be unneeded, which will only waste money. However, do not let this be the reason you choose a program and fail to consider the most critical aspects of use.

Inconsistent Customer Support

Whenever some CRM issue comes up, it will be very essential to have a reliable and fast customer support section to fix it. Lack of support can transform a powerful tool into a headache. 

Select a CRM provider that either has or develops good customer relations so that good relations are maintained especially when things go wrong or a clarification is required.

Committing to Long-Term Contracts Without Testing

One disadvantage of forming a long-term engagement with a relatively unknown CRM solution is that firms may become trapped. Take the time to practice and gain a feel for the product through free trials or demonstrations before buying a contract. This aids in determining whether it meets the needs of the business and prevents instances of regret after making a long-term investment.

Wrapping Up

To help consumers make the best decisions, we’ve listed some of the most well-known CRM platforms for consultants, along with their unique features. Whether you’re a small consultant looking for a simple system or a larger firm looking for more complex features and reporting capabilities, there will be a system that meets your demands.

We know that, with so many options available, choosing the right CRM can be overwhelming. However, working with an experienced custom CRM software development company can make the process much easier. Their expertise in integrating and customizing CRM systems ensures that they can help you choose the best fit for your business objectives.