The Best CRMs for Sales Teams in 2023

Salesperson using sales CRM to make deals in an office
Rob Binns

According to our research, the best CRM for sales reps and teams is Salesforce Sales Cloud. HubSpot Sales Hub is a close second, while Zendesk Sell, Dynamics 365 for Sales, Freshsales CRM, and Zoho complete our top six.

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Salesforce

Zendesk

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Zoho

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£20

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£38

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£19

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Sales Reporting
Sales Reporting
Sales Reporting
Sales Reporting
Sales Reporting
Sales Reporting
Sales Forecasting
Sales Forecasting
Sales Forecasting
Sales Forecasting
Sales Forecasting
Sales Forecasting
Quote Proposal Management

Yes

Quote Proposal Management

Yes

Quote Proposal Management

Extra

Quote Proposal Management

Yes

Quote Proposal Management

Extra

Quote Proposal Management

Yes

Lead Scoring
Lead Scoring
Lead Scoring
Lead Scoring
Lead Scoring
Lead Scoring
Payment Management

Extra

Payment Management

Extra

Payment Management

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Payment Management

Yes

Payment Management

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Payment Management

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What would your business look like if sales increased 29%? What position would you be in if sales productivity went up by a whole third, and the accuracy of your sales forecasting improved by a huge 42%?

Better yet, what if this was all possible from a single platform – one accessible by all of your sales reps in real-time? A platform that offers a live, 360-degree view of deals, prospects, and your pipeline, in just a few clicks?

If this sounds interesting, it’s time to consider what a CRM (customer relationship management) system can do for your sales team. To help you pick the right sales CRM for your business, we’ve researched, ranked, and rated the big providers.

Read on to find out which one is right for your sales team.

The best sales CRM for UK teams in 2023

How did we decide? Jump to our methodology to find out

With that clear, it’s time to check out the providers. Scroll on for our reviews and ratings, or – if you’re short on time – start comparing quotes from leading providers now.

Simply provide us with some details about your requirements – including how many users the software will be for, which features you need it to perform, and what (if any) contact management software you’re already using – and we’ll do the rest. 

You’ll then receive tailored quotes from leading sales CRM providers, all for free. 

Job done!

1. Salesforce Sales Cloud

Salesforce is our top CRM pick for sales teams. In our rankings, it gets top marks for features, while its help and support is also superb. If our ratings expose any of this sales CRM’s weaknesses, it’s the price – because, though Salesforce starts cheap, adding the functionality your sales team needs can quickly become an expensive endeavour.

With a huge market share of over 18%, Salesforce isn’t just our top CRM provider for sales teams – it’s the world’s. Upgrading to Salesforce’s premium plans offers more customisability, and adds 24/7 customer support. You’ll also have to upgrade for forecasting and proposal management functionality, as well as Salesforce’s AI-powered lead scoring and analytics.

Compare Sales CRM Quotes
Starting price£20 per user, per month (10 user limit)
Highest price£240 per user, per month
Customer supportLive chat, phone (24/7), email, knowledge centre
Data storage limit10GB + 2GB per licence of files, 10GB + 20MB per licence of data
Free trial?Three months (for Salesforce Essentials), 30 days (all other plans)

Salesforce Sales Cloud for sales teams: feature analysis

Past sales? Yes. Salesforce’s historical trend reporting is a niche feature – and is a little complex to set up – but it’s there.

Sales forecasting? Yes, but only on Salesforce’s Professional plan and above.

Quote proposal management? Yes, but only on Salesforce’s Professional plan and above.

Lead scoring? Yes, but only on Salesforce’s Professional plan and above.

Payment management? Yes, but you’ll need to pay extra for Salesforce’s CPQ (configure, price, quote) tool (£60 per month, billed annually), and acquire Salesforce Billing for full payment functionality. Rates for this aren’t advertised… but it looks expensive.

We rated all six sales CRM providers on their ability to deliver the four features above. For more information about what these features are – and why they're so essential to the smooth running of your sales team – head to our section ‘How we rated the best CRM for sales teams' below.

Pros

  • An effective app makes it easy for reps out in the field to access and update information on the go

Cons

  • Tough to justify the basic plan – you’ll need to upgrade to get your hands on the worthwhile features

Want to know more? Read our Salesforce review.


2. HubSpot Sales Hub

With top marks for customer approval and excellent help and support, HubSpot comes in at a close second. Though it’s somewhat let down by its price point (and, to an extent, its features), HubSpot’s Sales Hub remains a superlative pick for sales teams.

Starting at £33.60 per user, per month, HubSpot isn’t the cheapest sales CRM out there – but it does offer plenty of bang for your buck. With a firm focus on helping small sales teams scale, Sales Hub has a slick, user-friendly database, and a free version that blows most of the competition out of the water.

Check out HubSpot's Pricing
Starting price£33.60 per user, per month (when billed annually. Expect to pay around 25% more on a monthly plan) (free version available)
Highest price£990 per user, per month (10 user minimum)

Are you a startup? You might be eligible for 90% off, with HubSpot’s ‘HubSpot for Startups’ program

Customer supportLive chat, phone, email, knowledge centre
Data storage limit1,000 documents
Free trial?Free version available

HubSpot Sales Hub for sales teams: feature analysis

Past sales? Yes.

Sales forecasting? Also yes – HubSpot’s simple reporting tool provides forecasts based on the number of deals in the pipeline, and your sales reps' assumed probability of closing them.

Quote proposal management? Yes, but only on HubSpot’s Professional plan and above.

Lead scoring? Only HubSpot’s marketing hub allows this – it’s not included as part of the Sales Hub.

Payment management? Not included as standard. However, payment management can be achieved through integrating HubSpot Sales Hub with third-party invoicing and accounting software, such as QuickBooks.

Pros

  • Email templates and automated sends help you reach more prospects
  • Workflows automate each stage of the sales cycle

Cons

  • Lead scoring is missing
  • Key features are excluded from HubSpot’s cheaper plans

HubSpot’s free version also appears in our list of the best free CRM software for UK businesses.


3. Zendesk Sell

Zendesk Sell excels in two key areas: customer support and price point. Its customer scores are also the third highest of all the CRM software we looked at, though its comparatively fewer features for sales teams stop it from launching a serious challenge to Salesforce and HubSpot for the top spots.

At £19 per user, per month, Zendesk Sell sits at the budget-friendly end of the scale. However, you’ll really need to upgrade to one of its more advanced plans to benefit. Its Professional plan unlocks sales forecasting (and the ability to easily estimate deal value and percentage of win likelihood), while the Enterprise plan nets you lead scoring and past sales features.

Try Zendesk
Starting price£19 per user, per month
Highest price£199 per user, per month
Customer supportLive chat, phone, email, knowledge centre
Data storage limit2GB to 25GB per user (dependent on plan selected)
Free trial?Free 30-day trial

Zendesk Sell for sales teams: feature analysis

Past sales? Yes, and upgrading to Zendesk Sell’s Enterprise or Elite plan also gets you the ability to export historical data.

Sales forecasting? Yes, though on the Professional, Enterprise, and Elite plans only.

Quote proposal management? No, though integration with a third-party app such as Quote Roller should fix this.

Lead scoring? Yes, but on the Enterprise and Elite plans only.

Payment management? Not included, though you can integrate Zendesk Sell with an app such as ChargeDesk for free.

Pros

  • Upgrading to a better plan unlocks premium account management
  • Money-back guarantee

Cons

  • 24/7 live chat and phone-based support restricted to Elite and Enterprise packages only
Did You Know?

Zendesk takes bronze on our ultimate guide to the best CRM systems for small businesses. Want to find out why?


4. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales

Dynamics 365 scores highly for features, and its help and support is among the finest out there. Paradoxically, though, its customer approval ratings are at the lower end of the scale – perhaps because of Dynamics 365’s eye-wateringly expensive prices.

Dynamics 365 – Microsoft’s high-profile entry into the CRM space – utilises artificial intelligence to help supplement your sales data, and make more effective business decisions. Using historical figures, Dynamics 365 provides accurate forecasting, allowing you to plot your pipeline and prioritise your leads with greater precision.

Compare Sales CRM Quotes
Starting price$65 (£52) per user, per month
Highest price£199 (£159) per user, per month (10 user minimum)
Customer supportPhone, email, knowledge centre
Data storage limit32GB, though up to 4TB extra can be purchased
Free trial?Free trial available

Dynamics 365 Sales for sales teams: feature analysis

Past sales? Yes.

Sales forecasting? Yes, with Dynamics 365’s Enterprise plan and above.

Quote proposal management? Yes.

Lead scoring? Yes.

Payment management? Yes, across all plans.

Pros

  • Cloud and on-premise deployment available
  • Generous data storage limits

Cons

  • No money-back guarantee
  • One of the more expensive sales CRM systems on the market

5. Freshsales

Rounding out the top five is Freshsales. Though its scores for features and customer approval are at the lower end of the spectrum, it sits with Zoho as a top value pick. Add in impressive help and support rankings, and Freshsales is a safe selection for sales teams.

The only supplier to offer 24-hour support with its cheapest plan, Freshsales provides a completely free version, plus three different tiers of pricing. That means it’s able to cater to sales teams of various sizes, while also making sure you’re not paying for any features you don’t require yet. Freshsales also boasts native integrations with Mailchimp, Xero, Google Calendar, and Freshdesk to slot comfortably into your business’ current setup.

Starting price£25 per user, per month (when billed annually. Expect to pay 30 to 40% more on a monthly plan) (free version available)
Highest price£79 per user, per month (10 user minimum)
Customer supportLive chat (24/5), phone (24/5), email, knowledge centre
Data storage limit1GB to 100GB per user (dependent on plan selected)
Free trial?Free version and 21-day free trial available

Freshsales for sales teams: feature analysis

Past sales? Yes.

Sales forecasting? Yes, with Freshsales CRM’s Enterprise plan (£79 per user, per month) and above.

Quote proposal management? No – you’ll require a third-party integration to make this happen.

Lead scoring? Yes – and it’s actually one of Freshsales CRM’s best features!

Payment management? No, although Freshsales CRM has a native integration with QuickBooks.

Pros

  • Role-based access makes it easy to control who’s using what
  • Allows you to capture leads from webforms automatically

Cons

  • Expect a serious cost hike if you want to pay month-on-month
  • The process of converting a lead to a deal or opportunity leaves a lot to be desired

6. Zoho

Zoho is one of the cheapest sales CRM systems we researched. Though it ranks well for value, it’s let down by the lowest customer approval score, underwhelming customer support, and a lack of serious analytics functionality.

Zoho doesn’t boast the same depth and range of features as Salesforce or Dynamics, but it’s user-friendly – and, at just £10 per user, per month, it’s a steal, too. Better still, its sales forecasting and lead scoring features are available across all plans – meaning you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Starting price£10 per user, per month (free version available)
Highest price£40 per user, per month
Customer supportLive chat, phone, email, knowledge centre
Data storage limit20MB to 10GB per user (dependent on plan selected)
Free trial?Free version available

Zoho for sales teams: feature analysis

Past sales? Yes.

Sales forecasting? Yes, across all paid plans.

Quote proposal management? Available on Zoho’s Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate plans.

Lead scoring? Yes, across all paid plans.

Payment management? Yes, though you’ll need an additional product integration known as ‘Zoho Subscriptions’. This helps you bill customers on a one-time or recurring basis, although it comes at an extra cost of up to £150, depending on the size of your business.

Pros

  • Cheaper plans are generous in terms of features
  • Purchasing an annual subscription gets you a 20% discount

Cons

  • Low customer approval ratings suggest Zoho is a little too simplistic for many sales teams
Did You Know?

Like Sugar Serve and Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, Zoho can be deployed as either an on-premise or cloud-based solution. To learn more about what this means – and which solution is right for your business – head to our article on the best cloud-based CRM for small businesses, where all will be revealed!


How we rated the best CRM for sales teams

To rate each CRM supplier on their effectiveness for sales teams specifically, we expanded our focus beyond the basics (customer support, price, contact limit, and whether there’s a free trial) to five key functions that a good sales CRM system has got to do well.

Each sales CRM system below is thus ranked per its ability to perform each of the following crucial functions for sales reps:

Past sales

In order to prepare for the future – and plan your sales strategy accordingly – you have to learn from the past. That means being able to view historical sales data (and segment it by region, rep, and client), and then export it into reports for clearer viewing and comparison.

Sales forecasting

Just as you need to know what the weather forecast is in order to organise a successful trip to the beach, so will you require an accurate estimate of your future sales to run your business effectively.

Sales forecasting does just this, providing insight into how you should manage your resources, cash flow, workforce, and growth. Taking into account a combination of your business’ historical data, wider economic trends, and your competitors’ situations, effective forecasting is vital to sales success.

Quote proposal management

Sales isn’t all high-flying deals and Wolf of Wall Street-esque banter. A lot of it is admin – preparing quotes, formatting documents, and ensuring sales orders are correct and in pristine condition. 

Quote proposal management is a feature offered by many CRM systems as standard, though sometimes it will require an additional fee or integration. With it, you can propose and send quotes to clients using existing info within the CRM software’s database – thus freeing up your sales team to focus on what matters.

Lead scoring

CRM software sporting this feature allows you to prioritise incoming leads based on how much they’re worth to your business. Lead scoring helps you understand which leads are sales-ready, and which require further nurturing – ensuring that you move on the right opportunities, at just the right time.

Payment management

Like quote proposals, payment management is an inevitable part of the job – but it’s also a productivity black hole, swallowing up your sales reps’ time with invoices and transaction details. 

The best sales CRM software offers payment management tools either as standard, or as a third-party integration – and it's a game changer for sales teams.


Next steps

So, how do you choose the right CRM supplier for your sales team? There are several important factors to think about.

Firstly, the features. Does the software offer lead scoring and sales forecasting? How about the tools required to send quotes and coordinate payments?

Secondly, the price point. If you’d prefer to stick to the cheaper plans, that’s fine – just make sure they still offer the deal and lead management features you’ll need. 

Thirdly, the customer angle. Is the support up to scratch? Will you benefit from round-the-clock assistance, or is that only for the big spenders? What do your prospective CRM system provider’s existing customers have to say about it?

You’ll also need to know what services a CRM offers beyond sales. Here, we’ve just discussed CRM for sales teams, but – if you’re making decisions for other areas of your business, too – you’ll also want to check out our separate guides: CRM for customer service teams, and CRM for marketing.

Those are a lot of variables, and they don’t make choosing the right CRM any easier. So let us help.

Just take 30 seconds, and via this quote-finding form, enter some details about your business. You’ll then be contacted with quotes from leading sales CRM providers, who’ll be more than happy to discuss your CRM requirements in greater detail. Oh, and it’s free for UK-based businesses.


How we analyse and rate CRM software providers

At Expert Market, it’s our aim to provide you with the most accurate, up-to-date, and transparent product and service reviews possible. So, to help you better understand the best CRM software options out there, we’ve conducted in-depth, extensive research into the CRM software market and its top companies.

Here’s how we did it:

Independent researchers

We worked with three independent researchers to rate eight different CRM systems over a total of 40+ hours. This included five separate varieties of CRM software, as well as more than 61 specific features. Using a bespoke, industry-style algorithm, we rated each provider across four key metrics.

Ratings

  • Help and support: we assessed the level of customer support (such as email, phone, or live chat), as well as its availability (24/7, or weekdays only?), to provide a weighted score for each CRM supplier.
  • Affordability: our affordability algorithm took into account the cost of CRM ownership over 12 months – based on the average buyer – as well as factors such as free trials and money-back guarantees.
  • Features: we assessed each supplier on five specific features per type of CRM. We then weighted these scores, and translated them into a point value system. This allowed us to form accurate ratings for each CRM provider, broken down by the industry it best serves.
  • Customer approval: we assigned each provider a ‘customer score’, which involved seeking opinions from within the community, as well as feeding data aggregated from online sources into a unique algorithm. This allowed us to calculate overall customer approval scores for each CRM supplier, in real time.

survey

We take the integrity of our research seriously. If you’ve got any questions at all about our research process, feel free to get in touch with Rob, our CRM specialist, at rob.binns@expertmarket.co.uk.

Written by:
Rob Binns
Rob Binns Services Expert

Rob writes mainly about the payments industry, but also brings to the table industry-specific knowledge of CRM software, business loans, fulfilment, and invoice finance. When not exasperating his editor with bad puns, he can be found relaxing in a sunny (socially-distanced) corner, with a beer and a battered copy of Dostoevsky.

Reviewed by:
James Macey Senior Business Software Researcher

James thinks all businesses can improve if they use the right technology. At Expert Market, he utilises his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialised advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management.