Best CRM for advisors

For advisors, whether in finance, consulting, or other professional services, managing client relationships effectively is the cornerstone of success. A dedicated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can help advisors keep track of client interactions, manage appointments, and personalize their services to better meet client needs.
The best CRMs for advisors are tailored to streamline these tasks, offering features like automated follow-ups, detailed client profiles, and compliance management tools.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the top CRM solutions for advisors, highlighting those that provide useful features, are easy to use, and secure data management to help you build stronger client relationships and grow your practice.

Why you need a CRM

Without a solid CRM in place that aligns with your specific requirements as an advisor, you may find that your time gets eaten up as you constantly switch between multiple platforms to access contact information, manually update these details and figure out what's next in your pipeline. Below we unpack some common challenges you might face without a CRM, benefits you should expect of one that aligns with your needs and key features you should look out for.

Challenges without a CRM

If you don't have a CRM in your tech stack, you might be experiencing these challenges already without realising it.

• Disorganization: Tracking client interactions and advisor activities becomes chaotic without a centralized system.
• Missed opportunities: Lack of timely follow-ups and insights can lead to lost potential clients and revenue.
• Inefficient processes: Manual processes consume time and increase the risk of errors.
• Lack of insight: Without data analytics, it's challenging to make informed decisions and identify performance trends.
• Inconsistent communication: Maintaining uniform and timely communication with clients and advisors is difficult without automation.

Benefits of a CRM

With the right CRM in place, you can look forward to some benefits – especially across these areas.

• One source of truth: All client and advisor data is stored in one place, making it easily accessible.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automate routine tasks, allowing advisors to focus on client relationships.
• Improved customer relationships: Track interactions and personalize communication, leading to higher client satisfaction.
• Better decision-making: Utilize data analytics to make informed business decisions and track advisor performance.
• Increased sales: Efficiently manage leads and follow-ups to boost conversion rates.
• Consistent communication: Ensure uniform and timely communication with clients through automated workflows.
  

Key features of a CRM for advisors

If you're unfamiliar with CRMs, below are some key features you should look out for as an advisor.

• Automation Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds Leads, Investors, Customers, Investments opportunities email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks Leads, Investors, Customers, Investments opportunities through defined stages, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness.
• Email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly imports Leads, Investors, Customers, Investments opportunities from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning.
  

How to evaluate and choose a CRM platform

With a lot of CRMs to choose from, it can be a bit intimidating if you're unfamiliar with CRMs or having to replace your existing CRM. Below are a few steps you should consider as you create your shortlit.

1. Define your requirements

Before diving into the sea of CRM options, it's crucial to identify the key features that will benefit your financial advisory firm the most. Look for functionalities like client management, automated workflows, data analytics, and secure document storage. The best CRM for advisors should also offer integration capabilities with other financial tools you use, ensuring a seamless experience.

2. Budget considerations

Your budget plays a pivotal role in the selection process. While it's tempting to go for the most feature-rich CRM, it's essential to balance cost with the return on investment. Consider the long-term benefits of improved client relationships, enhanced productivity, and potential revenue growth. Sometimes, paying a bit more upfront can lead to significant savings and gains down the line.

3. Selection process

Choosing the right vendor requires thorough research. Start by reading reviews and testimonials from other financial advisors. Look for vendors with a proven track record in the financial advisory sector. Request demos and ask for case studies to see how their CRM solutions have benefited similar firms. Don't hesitate to reach out to vendors directly to ask specific questions about their offerings.

4. Get a demo

Once you've shortlisted a few CRM platforms, take advantage of free trials or demo versions. Encourage your team to test each platform and provide feedback. Compare the ease of use, feature sets, and customer support offered by each vendor. Ultimately, the best CRM for advisors will be the one that aligns with your firm's needs, budget, and long-term goals. To get started, you can schedule a demo with folk and see how it aligns with your requirements.

3 tips for implementing a CRM

1. Import existing data into your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM involves migrating your existing data. Most CRMs allow you to export your data as a CSV file, which can then be imported into your new system. Make sure to clean and organize your data before importing to ensure a smooth transition.

2. Try creating your first pipeline

Once your data is imported, the next step is to set up your first pipeline. For financial advisors, this might include stages such as "Lead Captured," "Initial Consultation," "Proposal Sent," "Negotiation," and "Client Onboarded." Customizing your pipeline to reflect your advisory firm's workflow will help you track prospects and clients more efficiently.

3. Onboard your team

After setting up your CRM, it's essential to onboard your team effectively. Provide training sessions to ensure that everyone understands how to use the CRM's features and functionalities. Encourage your team to explore the system and ask questions. The more comfortable they are with the CRM, the more likely they are to use it effectively, leading to improved client management and increased productivity.

The 5 best CRMs for advisors

1. folk

folk is a modern CRM platform for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach without manual data entry or additional costs for email services.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Pros

• Ease of use: folk is praised for its intuitive interface, making it accessible even to non-technical users with quick onboarding and a minimal learning curve.
• All-in-one: folk streamlines your workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving time and money.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Cons

• Reporting: Currently lacks reporting features, but there are plans for future implementation.
  
  

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month
• Premium: $40 per user, per month
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month

2. HubSpot

HubSpot CRM is a user-friendly, scalable platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations efficiently.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools, essential for advisors to attract and nurture leads.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting, crucial for managing investor relationships and investment opportunities.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing, live chat, and knowledge bases to ensure top-notch service for investors and customers.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve sales efficiency and focus on high-value prospects.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, streamlining operations for financial advisory firms.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: HubSpot is known for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for advisors of all skill levels.
• Comprehensive free plan: Offers a robust free version that includes essential CRM features, making it ideal for small advisory firms and startups.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: HubSpot integrates smoothly with its marketing, sales, and service hubs, creating a unified platform for inbound marketing and customer management.
• Automation capabilities: Provides powerful automation tools for tasks like email marketing, lead nurturing, and sales workflows, helping advisors save time and improve efficiency.
• Customizable dashboard and reports: Allows users to create customized dashboards and reports to track metrics and gain insights into business performance.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: HubSpot’s pricing can become expensive as you move to higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for small advisory firms as they scale.
• Limited customization in free plan: The free plan and lower tiers have limited customization options, which can restrict flexibility for growing advisory firms.
• Complexity in advanced features: Some advanced features, such as custom reporting and workflows, have a steep learning curve and may require additional training.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is restricted by limits on the number of emails you can send, which can be a drawback for firms with larger lists.
• Additional costs for add-ons: Many useful features, like advanced CRM capabilities and integrations, come as paid add-ons, increasing the overall cost.
  

Price and plans

Prices and plans on the CRM suite for an annual subscription are as follows.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month.
• Professional: $450 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month.

3. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a web-based CRM for small businesses, offering lead management, automation, email integration, and customizable pipelines to optimize sales.

Key features

• Lead and deal management: Centralized tools to manage leads, investors, and customer data, along with investment opportunities, ensuring quick action on potential deals.
• Sales automation: Automate repetitive tasks such as lead routing, follow-ups, and email sequences, allowing advisors to focus on building relationships and closing deals.
• Email integration: Sync emails, use templates, and track communications directly from the CRM, streamlining interactions with clients and investors.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Utilize real-time data analytics and custom reporting tools to track performance, forecast revenue, and gain actionable insights for better decision-making.
• Customization and security: Customize pipelines, fields, and user permissions while ensuring robust security measures to protect sensitive financial data.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The intuitive and visually appealing interface makes it easy for advisors to navigate and manage their client relationships and investment opportunities.
• Sales pipeline focus: Designed specifically for managing sales pipelines, offering a visual approach that helps advisors track deals and activities effectively.
• Customization: Highly customizable, allowing advisors to tailor the platform to their specific processes with custom fields and workflows.
• Automation features: Includes automation tools that streamline repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails and moving deals through the pipeline, saving time and boosting productivity.
• Reporting and analytics: Robust reporting and analytics tools provide valuable insights into performance and help identify areas for improvement.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks some advanced CRM features, such as extensive marketing automation and AI capabilities, available in other platforms.
• Basic reporting in lower tiers: Reporting and analytics features in the basic plans are somewhat limited, requiring upgrades for more in-depth insights.
• No built-in email marketing: Does not include built-in email marketing features, requiring integration with third-party email tools for such functionality.
• Limited customer support hours: Customer support is not available 24/7, which can be inconvenient for advisors needing immediate assistance.
• Price increases with add-ons: The cost can increase quickly when additional features or integrations are added, making it less cost-effective for growing firms.
  
  

Price and plans

An annual subscription plan basis is as follows.

• Essential plan: Starts from $24 per user, per month.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $44 per user, per month.
• Power plan: Starts from $79 per user, per month.
• Enterprise plan: Starts from $129 per user, per month.

3. Zoho

Zoho is a CRM system with a strong sales focus. Its got features such as journey orchestration, sales process management and workflow automation. There's also something for marketing teams, including lead hurting, event management and customer segmentation.

Key features

• Lead and contact management: Manages leads, investors, customers, and investment opportunities, tracking interactions and segmenting contacts for targeted campaigns.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Allows advisors to create and customize dashboards and reports for in-depth analytics on client portfolios and investment performance.
• Sales pipeline management: Visualizes and manages sales pipelines with drag-and-drop functionality, ensuring smooth tracking of investment opportunities.
• Multi-channel communication: Integrates with email, phone, social media, and live chat to manage client interactions seamlessly.
• Workflow automation: Automates routine tasks and processes, improving efficiency and reducing manual effort for advisors.

Pros

• Affordability: Zoho CRM offers competitive pricing with various tiers, making it accessible to small and medium-sized financial advisory firms.
• Customization: Extensive customization options allow advisors to tailor the CRM to their specific needs, including custom fields, modules, and workflows.
• Integration with Zoho Suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products (like Zoho Books, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Campaigns) creates a comprehensive ecosystem for managing different business functions.
• Multi-channel communication: Zoho CRM supports email, phone, social media, and live chat, enabling advisors to manage all client interactions from a single platform.
• Mobile accessibility: Zoho CRM offers a robust mobile app, allowing advisors to manage client relationships and access data on the go, with offline capabilities.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: The extensive customization options can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a significant time investment to master the platform.
• Complex setup: Initial setup and configuration can be complex, particularly for advisory firms without technical expertise or dedicated IT resources.
• Performance issues: Occasional reports of slow performance, especially with large datasets or complex operations, can hinder productivity.
• Limited third-party integrations: While Zoho integrates well with its own suite of products, integration with third-party applications can be limited or require additional effort.
• Data migration challenges: Migrating data from other CRMs to Zoho can be difficult and time-consuming, often requiring manual adjustments.
  
  

Price and plans

Zoho has a free plan limited to three users suitable for small businesses. After that, an annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month
• Professional: $35 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $50 per user, per month

4. Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM is a user-friendly customer relationship management platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers a clean, intuitive interface that helps users manage customer relationships, track sales pipelines, and organize tasks and communications efficiently.

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Key features

• 1 sales pipeline: Manage leads, investors, and investment opportunities efficiently.
• 30,000 contacts: Store extensive information on clients, leads, and investors.
• Activity reporting: Track interactions and follow-ups with clients and investors.
• Key integrations: Seamlessly connect with tools like Mailchimp, Microsoft 365, and QuickBooks.
• Workflow automation: Automate repetitive tasks to focus more on advising clients.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Easy navigation and quick access to important features, reducing the learning curve for advisors.
• Contact and sales management: Robust tools for organizing client information and tracking investment opportunities.
• Customization options: Tailor fields, tags, and pipelines to meet specific advisory needs.
• Integration capabilities: Connect seamlessly with essential tools like G Suite, Microsoft 365, and QuickBooks.
• Affordability: Competitive pricing makes it accessible for small advisory firms.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks in-depth analytics and complex reporting, which might be necessary for larger firms.
• Basic email marketing capabilities: Built-in email marketing features are basic; advanced needs require third-party tools.
• Limited customer support: Primarily offers email support, which might not be sufficient for immediate assistance.
• No built-in phone or SMS integration: Lacks direct communication tools, which could be a disadvantage for advisors.
• Scalability concerns: May not be ideal for rapidly growing firms with complex CRM requirements.
  

Price and plans

• Starter plan: Starts from $21 per user, per month.
• Growth plan: Starts from $38 per user, per month.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $60 per user, per month.
• Ultimate plan: Starts from $75 per user, per month.

Conclusion

Choosing the best CRM for your financial advisory firm can significantly enhance advisor productivity, streamline operations, and improve client relationships. Each of the CRMs discussed—folk, Hubspot, Pipedrive, Zoho, and Capsule—offers unique features tailored to different needs and budgets. Whether you prioritize ease of use, advanced automation, or integration capabilities, there's a solution that fits your requirements. Remember, the right CRM will not only support your current processes but also scale with your firm's growth. To see how folk can meet your specific needs, try it for free here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do advisors use as a CRM?

Advisors often rely on CRMs like folk, Hubspot, Pipedrive, and Zoho to manage client relationships, streamline workflows, and enhance productivity. These platforms offer various features such as automated processes, contact enrichment, and data analytics to support the unique needs of financial advisors.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, depending on the complexity of your process. A CRM can significantly enhance efficiency, improve client relationships, and provide valuable insights that help in making informed business decisions. It's particularly beneficial for managing multiple clients and ensuring timely follow-ups and communication.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM costs vary widely depending on the features and the provider. Generally, you can expect to pay between $15 to $150 per user per month. Some CRMs offer free basic versions, while others charge for advanced functionalities and integrations.

Does folk’s CRM respond to advisors' needs?

Yes, Folk’s CRM is designed to meet advisors' needs effectively. Its pros include ease of use, customizability, LinkedIn integration, and AI-powered features. Folk streamlines workflows by allowing seamless contact imports, automated email sequences, and comprehensive communication tracking, making it an ideal choice for financial advisors.