What Is the Worst CRM?
People ask me this all the time, usually right after a bad experience with one. They want a name. I don’t have one, because the worst CRM isn’t a product.
Here’s the short version. The worst CRM is the one built for a different business than yours. A small business needs four things from a CRM: a place for its contacts, a way to capture new leads, email marketing, and follow-up that runs automatically. Software built for a 300-person sales team does far more than that, and you pay for all of it in money, setup and frustration. AllClients has been a CRM for very small businesses since 2004, and it does those four things without a consultant, starting at $24 a month.
Why There’s No Single Worst CRM
CRMs come in roughly three sizes, and the size is about the software as much as the company it’s built for.
Big CRMs are built for large companies with long, complicated sales processes. Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics are the best-known examples. They can be customized to do almost anything, and the companies that use them usually have experts on staff, or on contract, to set them up and keep them running. Two companies on the same big CRM can end up with systems that look nothing alike.
Mid-size CRMs have a lot of that power with less of the complexity. HubSpot and Pipedrive are in this group. They fit growing companies with a sales team and someone who can own the setup.
Small-business CRMs are built for owners and small teams who need to get in, do the work and get out. No programmer, no consultant, no project plan. Less Annoying CRM is in this group, and so is AllClients.
Every one of those can be a great CRM. Each one becomes the worst CRM the moment the wrong business buys it. A solo real estate agent on Salesforce spends evenings fighting settings built for a sales department. A 300-person company on Less Annoying CRM keeps hitting walls. Same software, wrong fit.
Five Signs You’re Using the Wrong CRM
If any of these sound familiar, the problem probably isn’t you.
1. You Needed Help Just to Get Started
If setup took a consultant, a long onboarding project or a thick manual before you could do anything, the CRM was built for a company with more people than yours.
2. You Dread Opening It
A CRM you avoid is worse than no CRM, because your contacts are stuck in it and you’re still not following up. I wrote a whole post on this: Why You Quit Every CRM You Start.
3. You’re Paying for Features You’ve Never Touched
Big feature lists sell software. If you’ve opened a menu, seen a dozen tools you don’t understand and closed it again, you’re paying for someone else’s business.
4. Your Follow-Up Still Lives on Sticky Notes
The whole point of a CRM is that it remembers so you don’t have to. If you’re still writing “call in 90 days” on a sticky note, the CRM isn’t doing its job, or it’s too hard to use for the job.
5. Your Team Keeps a Spreadsheet on the Side
When people keep their own list outside the CRM, it’s because the CRM is slower than the spreadsheet. That’s a fit problem, not a discipline problem.
How to Pick the Right CRM for a Small Business
Skip the feature comparison charts at first. Ask these questions instead.
- Can you set it up yourself? If the answer involves hiring help, keep looking.
- Does it do the four things? Contacts, lead capture, email marketing and automated follow-up, all in one place. Less Annoying CRM, for example, has you send email blasts through Mailchimp. That may be fine on day one, but if you plan on growing, you’ll be running, learning and paying for two programs instead of one.
- Can you add a contact in under a minute? If it’s slow on day one, nobody will use it on day ninety.
- Can you start small? A good CRM lets you crawl, walk and then run. You should be able to load your contacts this week and add automation when you’re ready.
- Can you reach a real person? You’ll have questions. Find out who answers them before you sign up.
If you’re comparing specific products, our CRM comparison pages put AllClients side by side with the tools small businesses ask us about most. And if you’re still deciding whether you need a CRM at all, start with Do I Really Need a CRM?
Where AllClients Fits
AllClients is a small-business CRM. Our customers are real estate agents, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, salons, HVAC companies and other businesses where a handful of people do everything. If you have 300 salespeople and a custom sales process, we’re not your CRM, and I’d tell you so.
If you’re a small business, it covers the four things in one place. Your contacts, your lead capture, your email marketing and Workflows that handle the follow-up for you. Our US-based support team uses the product every day and replies within 24 hours, including during your trial. If your contacts are scattered across spreadsheets and old systems, we’ll move them in for free.
The Bottom Line
There’s no worst CRM, only a wrong fit. Big CRMs are great for big companies. Small businesses need something built for the way they actually work. Pick the CRM that matches your business, not the one with the longest feature list.
