What’s a service business without clients?
Any agency owner or freelancer would tell you that their clients are the reason they’re still in business. So it would make sense to put extra effort into improving and maintaining your relationships with those clients.
That’s what CRM software is for. CRM stands for Customer relationship management, and they do exactly what it sounds like they do. Help you manage your relationship with your customers or clients.
The core features of a typical CRM to software include: helping you keep track of client interactions, sales pipelines, and contact information.
Freelancers have a very specific set of needs when it comes to managing client relationships. There are so many options, so we’ll go through what we feel like are the 5 best CRM software for freelancers to help you get started.
Dubsado
If you’re looking to be able to send out automated email campaigns in a seamless fashion, Dubsado might be the CRM for you. You’ll also be able to keep track of leads coming into your business relatively easily.
Dubsado also allows you to keep track of all your business finances and set financial goals. Their invoicing system gives you the ability to send invoices and collect payments through PayPal, Stripe, and Square.
Their customer service is excellent. They provide support in 3 ways: email, live chat, and phone. You can get started with this platform with the peace of mind that you’ll always have someone on their team ready and willing to help.
Dubsado has a free plan, but it’s only limited to 3 clients. They have paid plans for $20/mo and $40/mo.
Bonsai
With a simple and intuitive interface, Bonsai is one of the easiest CRM’s to get started with. Bonsai has a client portal, where you and your clients can manage documents and files for projects.
You’ll have the ability to create and send invoices with free templates created by the Bonsai team. You can also send recurring invoices for ongoing services or retainer clients. Proposals and contracts can also be sent to new or existing clients right on the platform.
Bonsai offers two plans: $19/mo and $29/mo. Both come with a free trial so you can test them out to see if the platform is right for you.
HoneyBook
HoneyBook comes with a minimalistic and conversational interface. The friendly tone they use throughout the platform makes it feel more personal.
They have a very detailed sales pipeline feature, called the ‘Project Pipeline’.It goes as follows:
Inquiry: People who express interest through your contact form will automatically be added to this stage.
Follow Up: After you send the first email to a potential client, they enter this stage. You can then communicate back and forth.
Proposal Sent: Once you send the first proposal or contract, the project enters this stage.
Proposal Signed: When the client signs the proposal or contract.
Retainer Paid: After you received the first payment.
Planning: Client is booked and project has started.
Completed: Project is complete and has been handed off.
You can also add custom steps to this pipeline based on how you prefer to onboard clients. HoneyBook also offers two monthly pricing plans: A starter plan for $9/mo, and an unlimited plan for $39/mo.
Zoho CRM
Featuring a bigger feature set than most other CRM’s, Zoho is one of the more advanced CRM software. Just like the other platforms on this list, you’ll be able to capture leads and create workflow automations to help convert leads into clients/customers.
What separates Zoho CRM, is it’s ability to categorize leads based on text analysis. Zoho will automatically list a lead as positive or negative, based on their introduction. This will help you save time in going through all your potential leads.
They also place a high emphasis on analytics and reports, so you’ll always have a good overall picture of your sales pipelines.
They have a free plan for up to 3 users, so it’s perfect for freelancers. However, with a free plan, you will not be able to send mass emails. Their paid plans go for $19/mo, $31/mo, and $50/mo.
Freshsales
The most beginner friendly option in our list. It has a very intuitive interface, and overall simplifies the CRM process for freelancers.
Freshsales has data-duplication functionality to save time with managing contacts and leads. They also have drag and drop functionality to make it easier to customize projects and clients in different stages of the sales pipeline.
Freshsales also integrates with Slack, which is one of the most common communication tools used by agencies who work with freelancers.
They have a free plan although it has limited features. Their paid plans go for $15/mo, $39/mo, $69/mo.
Managing client relationships are an important aspect to running a successful service business. The more clients you have, the harder it can be to maintain or keep track of those relationships. That’s why having a CRM software is so important.
A service business cannot exist without clients, so as freelancers, it only makes sense to dedicate time and energy into improving or maintaining your relationships with them.
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