Best CRM for financial planners

As a financial planner, building trust and maintaining long-term relationships with your clients is essential. That’s why having a robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is so valuable — it helps you organize client information, track interactions, and manage follow-ups from one platform.
The best CRMs for financial planners are specifically designed with your needs in mind, offering features like secure data handling and effective client communication tools.
In this blog post, we will explore the top CRM solutions for financial planners, focusing on those that provide intuitive interfaces, strong security, and specialized functionalities to help you better serve your clients and grow your practice.

Why you need a CRM

As a financial planner, the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can change how you manage your financial planners and drive business growth. Below, we take a closer look at challenges you may already be facing, solutions you can look forward to and key features you should look out for in the CRMs you intend to consider.

Challenges without a CRM

If you don't have a CRM system in place already, you may be experiencing the following challenges already without realising it.

• Disorganization: Without a CRM, keeping track of client information and interactions becomes chaotic, leading to errors and inefficiencies.
• Missed opportunities: Important client follow-ups and potential leads can fall through the cracks, resulting in lost revenue.
• Inefficient processes: Manual data entry and scattered information slow down workflows and reduce productivity.
• Lack of insight: Without centralized data, gaining actionable insights into client behavior and business performance feels challenging.
• Inconsistent communication: Without a proper system in place, you maybe struggling to maintain consistent and personalized communication with clients, affecting relationships.

Benefits of a CRM

A CRM could be the solution to some of those challenges – and can have the following impact on your workflow.

• One source of truth: A CRM consolidates all client data in one place, making it easily accessible and reducing the risk of errors.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automating routine tasks frees up time for financial planners to focus on high-value activities.
• Improved customer relationships: CRMs enable personalized communication and timely follow-ups, strengthening client trust and loyalty.
• Better decision-making: Access to real-time data and analytics helps in making informed business decisions.
• Increased sales: By identifying and nurturing leads more effectively, a CRM can boost conversion rates and revenue.
• Consistent communication: Automated reminders and communication tools ensure that clients receive timely and relevant updates.

Key features of a CRM for financial planners

If you happen to be considering a CRM for the first time, or looking to upgrade from an existing one – below are some key features you should look out for in the CRMs you're interested in and its direct benefit.

• Automation: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds Leads, Customers, Investors email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks Leads, Customers, Investors 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, Customers, Investors from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning.

How to use a CRM effectively as a financial planner

Below are a few ways you can use a CRM to streamline your workflow across the client facing side of your job, and your business development needs

1. Map your process

Defining and tracking the stages of your financial planning process is crucial for success. A CRM tailored for financial planners can help you create a clear roadmap from initial client contact to ongoing relationship management. Identify key stages such as prospecting, client onboarding, financial planning, and review meetings. Use the CRM to set up these stages and track progress, ensuring no step is overlooked.

2. Prioritize the right leads

Effective lead qualification is essential for financial planners to focus their efforts on high-potential clients. A CRM can streamline this process by providing tools to assess and qualify leads based on criteria such as financial needs, investment potential, and client goals. Utilize scoring systems and automated workflows to prioritize leads, ensuring your team spends time on the most promising opportunities.

3. Be consistent in your outreach

Consistent outreach and timely follow-up are critical for converting leads into clients. Leverage CRM features to automate email and LinkedIn campaigns targeted at leads, customers, and investors. Set up personalized email sequences and reminders to ensure no follow-up is missed. Track engagement metrics to refine your outreach strategies and improve conversion rates.

4. Build long term relationships

Building long-term relationships with clients requires ongoing engagement. Use your CRM to implement strategies for upselling and cross-selling financial products and services. Segment your client base and tailor your communications to address their specific needs and financial goals. Automated nurturing campaigns can keep clients informed about new opportunities, helping you maximize lifetime value.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM platform

With a lot of CRMs to choose from, it's a good idea to have the following steps as part of your decision making process.

1. Define your requirements

Before diving into the sea of CRM options, it's crucial to identify the key features that align with your financial planning business. Look for functionalities such as client management, financial analytics, automated workflows, and integration capabilities with other financial tools. A CRM tailored for financial planners should also offer secure data storage to ensure client confidentiality and compliance with industry regulations.

2. Budget considerations

Balancing cost and return on investment is vital when selecting a CRM for your financial planning firm. While premium solutions might offer extensive features, it's essential to assess whether these align with your business needs and growth potential. Look for CRM platforms that offer scalable pricing models, allowing you to start with essential features and upgrade as your firm expands.

3. Selection Process

Start by researching CRM providers specializing in financial planning. Read reviews, seek recommendations from industry peers, and evaluate vendor credibility. Consider vendors that offer dedicated support and training to ensure smooth implementation and ongoing usability. Shortlist a few vendors and request demos to get a firsthand experience of their platforms.

4. Book a demo

Once you have a shortlist, take advantage of free trials to test each CRM platform's features and usability. Pay close attention to user experience, customization options, and how well the CRM integrates with your existing tools. Gather feedback from your team to ensure the chosen CRM meets everyone's needs. Finally, compare the trial results and make an informed decision based on functionality, cost, and overall fit for your financial planning firm. Get started by  booking a demo with folk's sales team here.

3. Tips for implementing a CRM

We've got three more tips for you when it comes to implementing your new CRM, so you don't feel as though you need to start from scratch.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM is smoother when you can easily import your existing data. Start by exporting your client and financial data from your current CRM as a CSV file. You can also import your LinkedIn contacts into your CRM. This way, you don't need to create a new database from scratch.

2. Create a first pipeline

A well-structured pipeline is essential for tracking client progress and financial planning stages. For financial planners, your pipeline might include stages such as Initial Consultation, Financial Assessment, Plan Development, Plan Presentation, Implementation, and Review. By customizing your pipeline to reflect these statuses, you can better manage your client relationships and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

3. Onboard your team

Effective CRM implementation requires buy-in from your entire team. Conduct training sessions to familiarize your staff with the new system, highlighting key features and best practices. Encourage your team to explore the CRM and provide feedback on its usability. This collaborative approach will help ensure a smooth transition and maximize the CRM's potential to enhance your firm's efficiency and client service.

The 5 best CRMs for financial planners

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 Chrome extension: 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.
• Personalization: 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.
• Multiple pipeline management: folk allows you to customize your dashboards so you can manage leads from multiple projects and different business functions in one place.
• 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 attracting and converting leads.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting, crucial for managing customer relationships and closing deals.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing, live chat, and knowledge bases, ensuring high-quality service for clients and investors.
• Lead Scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve sales efficiency and focus on high-potential clients.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, streamlining operations for financial planners.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The intuitive interface makes it easy for financial planners to manage leads, customers, and investors efficiently.
• Comprehensive free plan: The robust free version includes essential CRM features, perfect for small financial planning firms and startups.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: Integrates smoothly with marketing, sales, and service hubs, creating a unified platform for managing client relationships.
• Automation capabilities: Powerful automation tools for email marketing, lead nurturing, and sales workflows save time and improve efficiency.
• Customizable dashboard and reports: Create customized dashboards and reports to track metrics and gain insights into business performance, tailored for financial planning needs.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: Pricing can become expensive at higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for small financial planning firms as they scale.
• Limited customization in free plan: Free plan and lower tiers have limited customization options, restricting flexibility for growing firms.
• Complexity in advanced features: Some advanced features have a steep learning curve, requiring additional training for financial planners.
• Email marketing limits: Free plan restricts the number of emails you can send, a drawback for firms with large client lists.
• Additional costs for add-ons: Many useful features come as paid add-ons, increasing the overall cost for comprehensive CRM capabilities.

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.

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Key features

• Lead and deal management: Centralized tools to manage leads, customers, and investors, helping financial planners act quickly on opportunities.
• Sales automation: Workflow automation to handle repetitive tasks, such as lead routing, follow-ups, and email sequences, allowing financial planners to focus on client relationships.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Real-time data analytics and custom reporting tools to track client performance, forecast revenue, and gain actionable insights.
• Customization and security: Options to customize pipelines, fields, and user permissions, with robust security measures to protect sensitive financial data.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The CRM is known for its intuitive and visually appealing interface, making it easy for financial planners to navigate and manage their client pipelines.
• Customization: The CRM allows for a high degree of customization, enabling financial planners to tailor the platform to their specific processes with custom fields and workflows.
• Automation features: The CRM includes automation tools that help streamline repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails and moving deals through the pipeline, saving time and boosting productivity.
• Reporting and analytics: The CRM offers robust reporting and analytics tools that provide valuable insights into client performance and help identify areas for improvement.
• Third-party integrations: The CRM integrates with a wide range of third-party applications, such as Google Workspace, Slack, and Zapier, enhancing its functionality and flexibility for financial planners.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: The CRM lacks some of the more advanced features, such as extensive marketing automation and AI capabilities, which are available in other platforms.
• Basic reporting in lower tiers: The reporting and analytics features in the basic plans are somewhat limited, requiring upgrades to access more in-depth insights.
• No built-in email marketing: The CRM does not include built-in email marketing features, requiring users to integrate with third-party email tools for such functionality.
• Limited customer support hours: Customer support is not available 24/7, which can be inconvenient for financial planners needing immediate assistance.
• Learning curve for new users: Although generally user-friendly, the CRM may still present a learning curve for users unfamiliar with CRM systems, especially in understanding the full capabilities of the platform.

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.

4. Salesforce

Salesforce is a robust CRM platform for large enterprises, offering tools for sales, marketing, service, and analytics, with extensive scalability.

Key features

• Comprehensive ecosystem: A unified platform offering CRM, marketing automation, customer service, and custom app development, suitable for managing leads, customers, and investors.
• Customization and scalability: Highly customizable and scalable, allowing financial planners to tailor the platform to specific workflows and manage growth.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration: Salesforce Einstein offers AI-driven analytics and automation, providing insights to optimize financial planning strategies.
• Extensive integration capabilities: Integrate Salesforce with a wide range of third-party applications, ensuring seamless operation across different financial tools.
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance: Robust security measures and compliance features, critical for handling sensitive financial data.

Pros

• Comprehensive feature set: Extensive range of features covering sales, service, and marketing, making it a powerful tool for managing all aspects of client relationships.
• Highly customizable: Tailor the platform to specific needs with custom fields, objects, and workflows, ideal for financial planners.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Powerful analytics and reporting tools allow financial planners to gain deep insights into their data and make informed decisions.
• Scalability: Suitable for financial planning firms of all sizes, with the ability to grow with your business.
• Mobile accessibility: Robust mobile app allows financial planners to manage their CRM on the go, with full access to all key features.

Cons

• High cost: Can be expensive, especially for small to medium-sized financial planning firms, with high licensing fees and additional costs for add-ons and customization.
• Steep learning curve: Extensive feature set and complexity often require significant time and training for users to become proficient.
• Complex setup and customization: Initial setup and customization can be challenging and often require expert help or certified consultants, adding to the overall cost.
• Overwhelming for small teams: Robust features may be overkill for smaller financial planning teams, leading to underutilization of the platform’s capabilities.
• Integration complexity: Integrating Salesforce with third-party applications can be complex and require technical expertise.

Price and plans

• Starter Suite: $25/user/month provides basic CRM features for small businesses
• Pro Suite: $100/user/month includes advanced tools for growing businesses
• Enterprise Plan: $165/user/month offers extensive customization and automation for large companies
• Unlimited Plan: $330/user/month provides comprehensive features for large enterprises
• Einstein 1 Sales: $500/user/month provides AI-driven insights and advanced features for large enterprises

5. Streak

Streak is a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that integrates directly with Gmail, allowing users to manage their sales pipeline and customer interactions from within their email inbox. Designed to simplify CRM tasks, Streak offers features such as email tracking, mail merge, task management, and pipeline visualization, all seamlessly embedded in Gmail’s interface.

Key features

• Email tracking and snippets: Essential for monitoring client communications and ensuring timely follow-ups.
• Shared pipelines: Streamlines team collaboration by allowing financial planners to share client progress and updates.
• Google Workspace integrations: Seamlessly integrates with Google tools, enhancing productivity and data accessibility.

Pros

• Seamless Gmail integration: Streak is directly integrated into Gmail, allowing financial planners to manage CRM activities without leaving their email inbox. This integration simplifies the user experience, especially for those already familiar with Gmail.
• User-friendly and intuitive: Because it operates within Gmail, Streak is easy to use and requires minimal training. The familiar interface makes it accessible even to those new to CRM software.
• Customizable pipelines: Streak allows users to create and customize pipelines to fit various workflows, such as client onboarding, investment tracking, and customer support, offering flexibility across different financial planning processes.
• Email tracking and automation: Streak includes useful features like email tracking, mail merge, and automated follow-ups, which help financial planners manage communication more effectively and improve response rates.
• Collaboration features: Streak enables real-time collaboration, allowing team members to share pipelines, emails, and notes, improving teamwork and visibility across client management efforts.

Cons

• Limited advanced CRM features: Compared to standalone CRM platforms, Streak lacks some advanced features like detailed analytics, advanced reporting, and marketing automation, which may not meet the needs of larger or more complex financial planning firms.
• Reliance on Gmail: As Streak is tied to Gmail, it may not be suitable for financial planners that use other email platforms. This dependency also means that any changes or issues with Gmail could directly impact Streak’s functionality.
• Basic mobile experience: While Streak has a mobile app, it offers a more limited experience compared to its desktop counterpart, which might be inconvenient for users who need comprehensive CRM access on the go.
• Integration limitations: Streak has fewer integrations with other software tools compared to more robust CRM systems, potentially limiting its effectiveness for financial planners that rely heavily on a variety of third-party applications.
• Potential email clutter: Since Streak operates within Gmail, managing a large volume of CRM data within an email interface can lead to clutter and make it harder to maintain a clear, organized inbox.

Price and plans

• Pro: Starts from $49 per user, per month.
• Pro +: Starts from $69 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Starts from $129 per user, per month.

Conclusion

Choosing the best CRM for your financial planning firm is crucial to streamline operations, enhance client relationships, and drive business growth. From the modern, AI-powered capabilities of folk to the comprehensive ecosystem of Salesforce, each CRM offers unique features tailored to different needs and budgets. Hubspot provides a balanced mix of usability and depth, while Pipedrive excels in lead management and automation. Streak's seamless Gmail integration makes it an excellent choice for those seeking simplicity and ease of use. Evaluate your specific requirements, budget, and team preferences to select the CRM that aligns best with your firm's goals. Try folk for free here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do financial planners use as a CRM?

Financial planners often use CRM systems like folk, Hubspot, Pipedrive, and Salesforce to streamline client management, enhance communication, and improve overall efficiency. These platforms offer various features tailored to the needs of financial planners, from automated workflows to detailed analytics, making them essential tools for managing client relationships and driving business growth.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, depending on the complexity of your process, a CRM can be highly beneficial. If your financial planning firm handles multiple clients, requires detailed tracking of interactions, and needs to streamline workflows, a CRM system can help organize data, automate tasks, and enhance client engagement, ultimately improving efficiency and business outcomes.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM costs can vary widely depending on the features and scale required. Generally, prices range from $15 to $500 per user per month. For instance, Folk offers plans starting at $20 per user per month, while Salesforce's advanced plans can go up to $500 per user per month. It's essential to choose a CRM that fits your budget and needs.

Does folk’s CRM respond to financial planners needs?

Yes, folk's CRM is well-suited to the needs of financial planners. Its intuitive interface, customizable pipelines, and robust integration capabilities make it easy to manage client relationships and streamline workflows. Features like contact enrichment, LinkedIn integration, and automated email sequences enhance efficiency, while its AI-powered tools and extensive app integrations provide a comprehensive solution for financial planning firms.