Best lead management software tools in 2024

Customers have high expectations. They expect your business to recognize them across channels, remember every interaction, and deliver relevant marketing content and personalized buying experiences. Lead management software makes that possible by helping you organize the leads and ensuring that you provide the best experience to your customers.In this page lets find out what is lead management? How can it help you boost sales productivity, and drive overall revenue? And how do you find the right lead management software for your business?

Top 10 lead management software

Converting leads is critical to the success of your business, so let’s explore the top 10 solutions that can transform your lead management process. From lead qualification to advanced analytics to seamless 3rd party app integrations, these tools offer a range of features to help you capture, nurture, and convert leads more effectively.

Freshsales

Freshsales offers a 360-degree view of customers’ information, therefore empowering the sales team to offer the best service possible. With AI-powered lead scoring, your salespeople can identify and focus on leads that aremost likely to convert. What’s more, it also allows you to create custom pipelines that help visualize the progress of each prospect. While AI-driven deal insights enable targeted campaigns to improve sales conversions, utilizing software for sales management can further enhance these efforts by streamlining processes and providing valuable analytics.

Key features of Freshsales

Freshsales is a high-powered fully integrated sales suite with a wide variety of tools to help you sell smarter and close deals faster.

Contact management

Freshsales centralizes all contact information, making it accessible to all teams. It tracks interactions from the moment a lead engages and auto-enriches profiles with publicly available data like job titles and phone numbers.

 Seamless sales sequences

With Freshsales, you can seamlessly automate and execute every step of your sales sequence, including follow-up emails and appointment reminders. 

Choose from time-based sequences that automatically run a sequence of actions on specific days or Smart Sequences that execute based on the behavior of your leads.

Workflow templates

Optimize your sales sequences with customizable workflow templates. Freshsales provides a variety of templates to streamline setup and accommodate complex workflows.

Sales Task Automations

Freshsales keeps you on target by automating key tasks across your pipeline to ensure productive lead nurturing. Activities include lead qualification, assignment, status updates, follow-up reminders, and email automation.

Multi-channel access

Engage your leadsacrossmultiplechannelssuch as email, SMS, phone, chat, and WhatsApp.

Advanced AI tools

Powered by Freddy AI, Freshsales scores and ranks leads based on interactions. Freddy AI also assists in writing personalized emails, saving time, and tailoring messages to recipients' preferences.

Pricing

Freshslaes offers a Free plan, a Growth plan for $15 per user per month when billed annually, a Pro plan for $39 per user per month annually, and an Enterprise plan for $69 per user per month annually

Pros & cons of Freshsales

Pros

Freshsales is an integrated platform with robust crm features and functionality. AI, automation, and 3rd party app integrations can enhance multiple steps in the sales process. It supports multi-channel communication and provides strong customer support across all plans.

Cons

Some featuresare not available with the free version. However,high-level support is available for all plans- free or paid. Additionally, the user interface is basic, but this simplicity makes it straightforward to use.

HubSpot

Hubspot focuses on inbound marketing and boasts of 184,000 users. Their lead management software  is integrated into a comprehensive CRM platform. The software  helps youcapture, track, score, manage, and prioritize leads. Automated lead scoring helps your team focus on what’s important. Full visibility into each contact means every team member has all the information. Their basic system is both robust and free.

(H4) Key features of Hubspot

Hubspot provides a seamless CRM system focused on inbound sales. It offers easy-to-use tools like drag-and-drop editing, SEO recommendations, and premium hosting and security.

Pricing

HubSpot provides a Free plan, a Starter plan at $18 per user per month billed annually, a Professional plan for $450 per month (covering up to 5 users and billed annually), and an Enterprise plan at $1,200 per month (for up to 10 users, billed annually)​

Pros & cons of Hubspot

Pros

Their robust free version of Hubspot CRM  is a great way to get started with lead management tools. Easy importation and integration can offer powerful functionality in a short period. In addition, their AI content assistant makes mundane activities seem easy.

Cons

Although their AI does a good job with rote tasks, itcan’t handle complex prompts. Thefree version has limited features and many of their higher-end features are expensive.    

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is a software suite developedfor businesses of all sizes. With over 90 million users, their cloud-based software focuses on security and aims to help users break down silos and integrate data. Their CRM offers a wide range of tools to help sales teams capture, track, and manage leads.

Key features of Zoho CRM

Sales force automation is the foundationof their CRM. They also excel at journey orchestration. Their new easy interface can get you up and running quickly. And for any issues, their round-the-clock support is there to help.

Pricing

Zoho CRM has a Free plan for up to 3 users, a Standard plan at $14 per user per month when billed annually, a Professional plan for $23 per user per month annually, an Enterprise plan for $40 per user per month annually, and an Ultimate plan for $52 per user per month annually​.

Pros & cons of Zoho CRM

Pros

Competitive pricing and a wide range of tools make their CRM a great choice as you get your feet wet with lead management software.

Cons

HoweveIt can be difficult to scale due to complex customization and limited automation capabilities, which might mean it won’t grow with your company. In addition, it lacks some key features such as built-in telephony, which Freshsales offers

Pipedrive

Pipedrive strives to help small businesses grow with its powerful CRM created by and for salespeople. Their lead management software includes pipeline management tools, which give users the capability to visualize unlimited pipelines. They also feature a leads inbox, web forms, chat tools, smart contact data, and more.

Key features of Pipedrive

The strength of Pipeline is its ability to create and personalize unlimited lead pipelines. To facilitate this, they offer conversational and live chatbots. They also focus on activities to drive sales momentum. And they drive lead generation by importing lead data from across the internet

Pricing

Pipedrive offers an Essential plan for $14.90 per user per month billed annually, an Advanced plan for $24.90 per user per month annually, a Professional plan at $49.90 per user per month annually, and an Enterprise plan for $99 per user per month annually.

Pros & cons of Pipedrive

Pros

Their customizable sales forms and user-friendly intuitive design means you can get started quickly.

Cons

 Their offerings lack vital tools like lead scoring and sales sequences, which often limits the ability to scale. While  this can be a great early solution, it may not grow with you.

Zendesk

Zendesk is a customer service and sales solution that benefitsthe entire customer journey. Zendesk is the customer service platform while Zendesk Sell supports sales teams. Their CRM includes a full suite of lead management tools focusing on pipeline visibility and productivity. They also offer API access and a mobile app.

Key features of Zendesk

Zendesk manages all data on a single platform to help you streamline systems. This includes robust self-support integrations such as out-of-the-box reports and custom dashboards.

Pricing

Zendesk Sell has a Team plan priced at $19 per user per month billed annually, a Growth plan for $49 per user per month annually, a Professional plan at $99 per user per month annually, and an Enterprise plan for $150 per user per month annually​.

Pros & cons of Zendesk

Pros

Their seamless, well-integrated platform and wide variety of tools to choose from make Zendesk an attractivechoice.

Cons

However, key features like content scoring and sales sequences are not available at all price points. And although their built-in reports are strong, the platform lacks functionality for creating reports from scratch.

Monday CRM

Monday CRM, formally daPulse, aims to help businesses grow using their open API CRM with an eye toward project management. They offer code-free automation, integrations with key applications, lead capturing, and a variety of easy to use templates. With small businesses in mind, their software is designed to scale with you.

Key features of CRM from Monday 

Monday CRM offers important sales and project management tools for small businesses such as lead capturing from all sources, pipeline management tools, and in-app, customizable automation.

Pros & cons of Monday CRM

Pricing

Monday CRM includes a Basic plan at $10 per user per month billed annually, a Standard plan for $14 per user per month annually, a Pro plan at $24 per user per month annually, and an Enterprise plan with custom pricing.

Pros & cons of  Monday CRM

Pros

Ease of use is a strong selling point for Monday CRM. Customizable templates also help your team shine.

Cons

However, they have a limited number of automations included on all plans. In addition, their trial period is only 14 days, which doesn’t give you a lot of time to make a decision.

Salesforce

Salesforce is a leading provider of sales and service solutions. As a pioneer in the SaaS space, they offered a cloud-based CRM available as a subscription. Now they offer countless solutions for businesses of all sizes and industries. All of their products are fully integrated and highly customizable.

Key features of Salesforce

Salesforce offers a highly customizable, fully integrated platform tailored to complex sales processes. Their automations to free up sales teams for higher level tasks.

Pros & cons of Salesforce

Pros

Robust functionality and high level of customization make Salesforce a solid choice for large teams and businesses.

Cons

However, the high level of functionality also comes with a high price, putting it well out of reach for many businesses. There is also a longer onboarding period associated with building out the custom functions.

Insightly

Insightly is a software company based in San Francisco, CA. Their flagship product is a modern CRM that includes marketing automation and a customer service app. They also offer a wide variety of integrations. Their lead management tools are all situated in the CRM for ease of use and convenience.

Key features of Insightly

Key features include an attractive interface for ease of use and robust integration with third-party apps. In addition, they offer some email integrations and lead management tools for all plans.

Pros & cons of Insightly

Pros

Their affordable prices make Insightly an attractive choice for new and small businesses. And since the tools are built to scale with you, you don’t have to worry about outgrowing your tech.

Cons

However, they only have limited features on the free plan and they lack built-in phone features across the board.

Copper

Copper is a software company offering a CRM built with collaboration in mind. To that end, they offer many integrations to help clients work smarter. Most notably, they integrate seamlessly with Google Workspaces so your sales team can work from their inboxes rather than learning a new platform. They also offer the ability to manage multiple pipelines.

Key features of Copper

Copper integrates easily with your existing tools. It provides strong pipeline management and gives you the ability to visualize multiple pipelines.

Pricing

Copper has a Basic plan for $23 per user per month billed annually, a Professional plan at $49 per user per month annually, and a Business plan for $99 per user per month annually​.

Pros & cons of Copper

Pros

Because Copper works seamlessly with your existing tools, easy onboarding is a hallmark of their products. They have robust integrations, particularly with Google Workspace and Gmail.

Cons

However, some key features such as phone support are only available at higher price points. They also have limits on record storage, which means the tools might not scale with you.

Bitrix24

Bitrix24 offers an online workspace with a variety of tools for businesses on a single platform. Their sales tools are integrated with their CRM. Automated workflows allow you to seamlessly manage contacts, leads, and more. Tools like automated scoring and sales triggers help teams  focus where it's most needed.

Key features of Bitrix24

They offer a wide variety of project management tools including a virtual office to facilitate real-time and async team communication. Their task management and time-tracking tools are very popular.

Pricing

Bitrix24 includes a Free plan, a Basic plan at $49 per month for up to 5 users, a Standard plan for $99 per month for up to 50 users, and a Professional plan at $199 per month for unlimited users​

Pros & cons of Bitrix24

Pros

Their automations are robust and make team collaboration easier. In addition, their free version is available for unlimited users.

Cons

However, automations are only available at the highest level, which may put them out of reach for your business. Their UI is more complex than competitors, so plan for a longer onboarding period to get your team up to speed.

How to Create an efficient lead management process

In order to manage and convert your leads into sales, you must create an effective process. Here are five steps to help you create yours hassle-free.

Step 1: Capture your leads

Lead capturing is the foundation of the lead managing process. During lead generation, businesses reach out to potential customers using email marketing, social media, webinars, paid ads, and more. But in order to build a relationship with these potential clients, you must collect and manage their data. This process is called lead capturing.

Some common methods of collecting leads include the following:

• Web forms on landing pages

• Newsletter sign ups

• Webinar sign ups 

• Free trial offers

• Demo sign ups

• Chat bots

• Gamification features 

• Collecting business cards at events

Step 2: Enrich and track your leads

Once you’ve captured the lead, the information then goes into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system or other lead tracking software. A software with lead management functionality populates a lead’s profile with information such as their job title, location, timezone, company name, and social media profiles. It can then track a lead’s activities on your website such as pages visited, links clicked, and resources downloaded as well as email engagement.

These insights allow your sales team to understand lead intent and personalize sales actions to their needs at just the right time. They also give you much-needed context for crafting future marketing and email campaigns.

Step 3: Lead qualification

After you have the lead in your system, you need to determine its value. This process is called lead qualification.

One way to effectively qualify leads is through a contact scoring model that ranks your contacts based on their interest in your product or service, demographic information, buying journey, and engagement with your company.

The predictive scoring model helps you prioritize contacts you interact with. It uses historical data and assigns a score to every contact based on factors like job title, website behavior, and engagement with your company.

Your team can easily identify qualified leads and invest their time in making a sale. Lead management software with AI-powered contact scoring capabilities will be highly cost-effective and beneficial for your sales and marketing teams. 

Step 4: Lead distribution

Now it’s time to take action. The sooner you engage with your leads, the better. So each lead should be assigned to a member of your team as soon as possible. You could do it manually, which is time-consuming, or you could automate the process using tools that automatically assign leads to your salespeople.

Step 5: Lead nurturing

Not all your leads are sales-ready. They may still be in the research or awareness phase, trying to figure out if your service would solve their pain points. Lead nurturing seeks to educate and demonstrate the value of your product/service. With lead management software in place, you can send nurture campaigns to leads who are not quite ready yet to make a purchase. This is where you educate and demonstrate value through content and promotional offers thereby helping them in their decision-making process.

Best practices for managing leads

Align sales process and pipeline 

One of the most important tasks in lead management is delineating a clear sales process and a sales pipeline. Successful companies clearly outline all touchpoints along the customer journey and carefully engineer sales activities for each step. Lead management tools can serve a critical function here, especially if they can automate activities and reach out at just the right moment to serve and convert your leads

Clear communication between teams 

Successful lead management hinges on clear communication between teams. This includes marketing operations, performance marketing, inside sales, outbound sales, field sales, and sales operations.

Communication between the teams should be swift and precise while handing off, reaching out, and following up with leads.

Use lead management software to help teams get context and visibility into your pipeline and communicate better.

Monitor lead generation efforts 

There may be numerous lead generation campaigns across your company, but the exact number of leads and revenue you get from these efforts are difficult to track. 

With lead management tools, you can easily track marketing and sales KPIs through visual reports and measure the ROI of each and every campaign in your company. 

Measuring results using reports is a sign of efficient lead management, and a good lead management software can help you achieve that.

Top 5 Lead Management Challenges

Lead management involves a lot of moving parts. Each lead comes with specific data, needs, and value. As a company, your challenge is to sort and manage the data efficiently and effectively to turn those leads into sales. Manually hunting for leads, updating your database, typing out emails, and following up can get exhausting, especially if you are looking to expand your business. Without an efficient lead management software system, you will find it hard to identify lead leakage.

Duplicate leads

Both manual and automated lead capture systems are prone to lead duplication. This wastes time for your team because they may be contacting people more than once. It also frustrates and confuses potential clients. Look for a system with controls in place to reduce duplicates.

Qualifying leads manually

Not all leads you collect are worth your time. If your team doesn't have a process or methodology to qualify and unqualify leads, you’ll waste a lot of time on the wrong people and reduce productivity. 

Lack of visibility into lead’s activities

If you aren’t tracking the prospect’s activities on your website, product, and email, you can’t personalize the customer journey. And so you risk losing potential buyers.

Difficult to convert leads 

Your sales and marketing teams miss follow-ups, send delayed responses to queries, and test prospects' patience. 

Lack of lead nurturing

If your team does not understand the prospects' requirements they can’t send timely emails or build lasting relationships. When leads aren’t ready to buy, nurturing is vital.

Benefits of Using a Lead Management System

Generate and assign leads automatically

A CRM system like Freshsales provides a quick summary of all the essential lead information such as name, company, contact information, salesperson assigned, and more. You can capture leads from different sources like chat campaigns, webforms, and emails in the CRM. You can even respond to chats directly or call from the CRM and funnel quality leads. After lead tracking and capturing, a robust lead management software automatically assigns leads to team members based on lead-routing rules.

Learn more about event tracking

Improve productivity with AI

Avoid manual labor and improve your team’s productivity with lead management software that automatically enriches your contacts with their social and publicly listed information. Avoid duplicate leads with an AI-powered sales assistant Freddy, who proactively detects duplicate leads or contacts in the CRM. 

Lead qualification and management are easier with an AI-powered scoring model available in lead management software like Freshsales where leads are automatically ranked based on historical data. Understand what factors led to the contact score as well and keep leads flowing into the marketing and sales funnel.

Meet Freddy, our AI-assistant

View lead lifecycle and engage contextually 

With an effective lead management solution, you have visibility into all stages of the customer journey. With this real-time context, your salespeople and marketers can communicate seamlessly across phone, email, chat, and SMS from within the CRM.

Get better at sales activity management

Segment and nurture leads 

Segments help you target your business's broad audience base. You can segment them based on demography, geography, and behavior, target the right set of leads and improve your marketing campaigns' outreach opportunities.

Target your niche audience with segmentation

Measure results

Get invaluable insights into the lead funnel activities, such as the areas generating the most leads and each sales rep's response time. Identify which lead source brings in the most qualified leads and maximize your efforts in those areas to increase marketing and sales ROI.

Deep dive into data with analytics