15 best sales software platforms

Sales software is any type of digital application that simplifies, organizes, and streamlines the selling process. These tools run the gamut—from prospecting to lead scoring, customer relations to contract signing.

Despite the huge range of tasks lots of these apps can tackle, not many are one-size-fits-all quick fixes. And a quick internet search of sales software will reveal a dizzying amount of information, making it hard to know where to start.

In this guide, we’ll demystify some of the biggest questions, like how a sales platform can benefit your business, and how to choose the one that’s best for your team.

Sales software is any type of digital application that simplifies, organizes, and streamlines the selling process. These tools run the gamut—from prospecting and lead scoring to customer relations and contract signing.

Despite the huge range of tasks lots of these apps can tackle, not many are one-size-fits-all quick fixes. And a quick internet search of sales software will reveal a dizzying amount of information, making it hard to know where to start.

In this guide, we’ll demystify some of the biggest questions, like how a sales platform can benefit your business and how to choose the one that’s best for your team.

No matter how good your product or service is, your team can’t reach their full potential when their schedules are overloaded with tedious to-do’s. Sales software takes those time-consuming tasks off your reps’ plates, so they can focus on what they’re really there to do: sell.

Here are the key benefits most businesses can expect from a great sales software:

Accelerates your sales process

Sales software streamlines the entire CRM database. Automating these repetitive tasks frees up reps to focus on high-value activities. Setting up automation through your chosen sales platform lets reps increase their productivity and close more deals.

Supports intra-team collaboration

Sales software fosters seamless communication and collaboration among team members through integrated chat, email, and project management tools. This ensures everyone stays aligned, shares insights, and works together effectively to achieve quarterly goals, creating a more cohesive and productive sales environment.

Centralizes knowledge management

Rather than cross-referencing a labyrinth of spreadsheets and file folders, sales teams keep track of client information all in one place. Sales software consolidates customer data, communication history, and sales materials. With strong, centralized

Sales software encompasses many tools that help businesses manage and optimize their sales processes. Here’s a list of some of the different types of sales software, categorized by their main functions:

• Lead management software: Captures, tracks, and manages sales leads throughout the sales funnel.
• Sales analytics and reporting tools: Track performance and generate reports to inform decision-making.
• Proposal and quote management software: Creates, sends, and tracks sales proposals and quotes.
• Contract management software: Manages the creation, negotiation, and storage of sales contracts.
• E-signature software: Facilitates the electronic signing of documents.

There’s an even broader spectrum of sales software types than those on this list. Below, we’ll get into a few more via our list of the best sales software available right now.

Let’s dive right in with a list of 15 popular platforms to get you started in your search.

• Talkdesk: Best auto dialer software
• Ambition: Best sales gamification software
• Affinitext: Best contract analytics software
• Seismic: Best sales enablement software
• Linksquares: Best contract lifecycle management (CLM) software
• CaptivateIQ: Best sales compensation software
• PandaDoc: Best contract management software
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Best sales intelligence software
• DocuSign: Best e-signature software
• SalesRabbit: Best field sales software
• PartnerStack: Best partner management software
• People.ai: Best AI sales assistant software
• Clari: Best revenue operations software
• Pipedrive: Best pipeline visibility software
• Apollo.io: Best sales and intelligence engagement software

1. Talkdesk

Best auto dialer software

Image credit

Talkdesk is a cloud-based call center platform for customer-centric companies with at least five agents. It offers integrations with over 25 other business tools and includes a long list of features, including phone key input, text-to-speech, and auto-dialer.

Utilizing a CS cloud platform with flexible deployment options and native cloud architecture, Talkdesk has long helped organizations across the globe create better customer experiences. Automation-first solutions leverage AI to speed up customer service processes, including self-service solutions, customer experience analytics, and workforce engagement.

Features:

• IVR/Voice recognition
• Real-time chat
• Voice customization
• VoIP
• Call recording
• Progressive dialer
• Archiving & retention

User reviews

• “I like the ease of using Talkdesk; it's very easy to understand and introduce to new agents.”
• “There were some bumps in the integration but with the new leadership team, things have been ironed out.”
• “Poor substitute for our previous system.”

Pricing: Plans start at $85 per user/month, billed annually.

Learn more: Discover how Talkdesk integrates with Zendesk and how Zendesk vs. Talkdesk compare.

2. Ambition

Best sales gamification software

Image credit

Designed for midmarket and enterprise organizations, Ambition offers features for motivating teams, such as contest management, leaderboards, and performance metrics. Not only can you foster competition, but you also shed light on your company’s KPIs. That way, more parties have visibility across the organization.

Beyond gamification, Ambition offers a slate of performance management tools, analytics solutions, and coaching software. It’s particularly geared towards sales managers to support their teams with toolsets for accountability, encouragement, coaching, and amplification. Reps receive clear expectations, support to improve performance, and recognition for goals met.

Features:

• Dashboard
• Benchmarking
• Onboarding
• Learning paths/tracks
• Feedback management
• Gamification
• Goal setting/tracking

User reviews

• “I can compete with everyone regardless of if they are aware or not.”
• “Awesome motivator and coaching tool for all org types.”
• “Powerful tool, but not as fun to use as others from a sales seat.”

Pricing: Contact Ambition for pricing details.

3. Affinitext

Best contract analytics software

Image credit

Affinitext is a contract management solution that features an AI-enabled Intelligent Document Format (IDF) for capturing and sharing corporate information. This software protects the full value of your business-critical documents through transformation into an AI format to simplify the processes of sharing, understanding, and protecting documents.

In addition to contract management, Affinitext offers support for compliance and oversight from the clause level to the organizational level. Their expert team will review and identify tasks to ensure compliance with industry and/or international standards. Affinitext serves a long list of global industries, including defense, energy, and healthcare, for businesses of all sizes.

Features:

• Data extraction
• Reporting & dashboards
• Contract collaboration
• Notifications & reminders
• Contract attachments

User reviews

• “A good tool for storing contract documents.”
• “It is very user-friendly, and it understands what you need.”
• “Sometimes the notes within the contracts can be difficult to locate.”

Pricing: Contact Affinitext for pricing details.

4. Seismic

Best sales enablement software

Image credit

Seismic is a sales enablement cloud with multiple tools for content management, buyer engagement, strategy and planning, learning, and coaching. This sales solution is designed for customer-facing teams to get equipped with content, tools, and skills. More than 150 integrations streamline your experience into a unified platform so you don’t need to jettison your current tech stack.

The software serves many industries, including healthcare, media and advertising, telecommunications, and wealth management. Instead of leaving your teams siloed and working in the dark, the Seismic enablement cloud merges everything from training to customer engagement into a single platform.

Features:

• Lead engagement
• Digital asset management
• Electronic forms
• File sharing
• Performance metrics
• Text editing
• Video support

User reviews

• “It helps improve collaboration & sales team efficiency.”
• “You can quickly tie content and promotional activities back to successful campaigns to see what's working well.”
• “Search was good before, but now it’s difficult to find what I need.”

Pricing: Contact Seismic for pricing details.

Learn more: Discover how Seismic Learning and Seismic Knowledge integrate with Zendesk.

5. LinkSquares

Best contract lifecycle management (CLM) software

Image credit

LinkSquares is an AI-powered contract lifecycle management platform for companies with repositories of 2,000+ contracts and finalized agreements. The AI reads, analyzes, identifies, and extracts the structured data from a contract. The result is a pool of data from all the information across a massive collection of contracts.

LinkSquares helps you understand contracts at scale through their full lifespan. This end-to-end CLM guides businesses from first draft to signing to ongoing management. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, LinkSquares offers a personalized onboarding process with a dedicated specialist to assist you. Or, with LinkSquares’ Clause Library, you can build your own repository of standardized language from previous documents as well as clauses from third-party contracts.

Features:

• Compliance tracking
• Completion tracking
• Electronic signature
• Version control
• Pre-built templates
• Full text search
• Workflow management

User reviews

• “Excellent online contracts platform for quick search/retrieval.”
• “The user interface is really simple and easy to use.”
• “The ability to use LinkSquares as a central point of communication on a contract is a bit limited.”

Pricing: Contact LinkSquares for pricing details.

6. CaptivateIQ

Best sales compensation software

Image credit

CaptivateIQ is designed for companies with 15 or more commissionable employees. It includes features like compliance management, agency commission, and compensation statements. Software integrations help customers access commission data easily from their customer relationship management (CRM) tool or other data warehouses.

Syncing commission data saves time each week, month, and quarter. Instead of collecting and analyzing data manually, you can access reports in CaptivateIQ’s platform. And once you’ve imported your employee data, you can set up a plan logic and automate your calculations with ease.

Features:

• Commission scheduling
• Commission calculator
• Sliding scale commissions
• Tiered commissions
• Incentive management
• Compensation plan modeling
• Split commissions

User reviews

• “It makes it easier and more rewarding to keep track of my commissions.”
• “Real-time transparency boosts motivation, but a learning curve exists.”
• “The lack of real-time updates often leaves me guessing about my earnings, which affects my motivation and trust in the system.”

Pricing: Contact CaptivateIQ for pricing details.

7. PandaDoc

Best contract management software

Image credit

PandaDoc is a contract management solution with features for drafting, negotiating, and signing contracts. Sales teams can automate the proposal process with ready-made templates or design and replicate documents within the platform. Choose from a variety of themes, color schemes, fonts, and images for a consistent brand image.

Keep track of contract activity with real-time notifications and updates that are integrated with the apps your business already uses. PandaDoc’s analytics let you know when your contract was opened, viewed, and signed. You can also create proposals, quotes, and forms with this software. Plus, PandaDoc’s state-approved software lets you legally sign and notarize documents online.

Features:

• Mobile signature capture
• Online invoicing
• Authentication
• Content delivery
• Tax calculation
• Performance metrics
• Completion tracking

User reviews

• “PandaDoc makes the process of collecting signatures from clients so easy.”
• “PandaDoc is very affordable for small businesses.”
• “Sufficient but limited.”

Pricing: Plans start at $19 per seat/month, billed annually. A 14-day free trial is available.

Learn more: Discover how PandaDoc integrates with Zendesk.

8. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Best sales intelligence software

Image credit

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium feature on LinkedIn that connects you to its large database of business contacts. It offers a range of package options, from professional to enterprise, and includes features like lead builder, CRM integration, and private messaging.

Its advanced lead and company search capabilities target the most promising prospects for your business. Lead recommendations are customized specifically for you. Plus, CRM integration allows your reps to save leads and Sales Navigator activities directly into your existing platform for easy access. With an Advanced plan, reps can share packaged sales content with other LinkedIn users without the need for download.

Features:

• Lead capture
• Lead nurturing
• Lead segmentation
• Custom lists
• Advanced lead and company search
• Alerts on saved leads
• Warm introductions
• Content sharing
• Engagement tracking

User reviews

• “Intelligent, comprehensive, and non-complex.”
• “An efficient tool for lead generation.”
• “Not as useful as I’d hoped.”

Pricing: Plans start at $79.99 per user/month, billed annually. A 1-month free trial is available.

9. DocuSign

Best e-signature software

Image credit

DocuSign is an e-signature software platform that replaces hard copy tasks including faxing, printing, and scanning. The platform meets stringent security, privacy, and data residency requirements around the world. Compliant with US and EU regulations, they also generate and securely store lawful, court-admissible audit trails for every agreement.

With over 350 integrations, you can link DocuSign to your CRM and use it alongside your existing productivity solutions. And higher-level plans for document and template sharing, comments, advanced fields, and SMS authentication. However, if all you need to do is sign a document, DocuSign has a free plan.

Features:

• Audit trail
• Authentication
• Customizable templates
• Mobile signature capture
• Multi-party signing
• Task progress tracking
• Document analytics

User reviews

• “One of the best tools to simplify the signature process.”
• “Hassle-free integration and easy-to-use software.”
• “Unfriendly and slow.”

Pricing: Paid plans start at $10 per month for an individual subscription, billed annually. A free plan and a 30-day free trial are available.

Learn more: Discover how DocuSign integrates with Zendesk.

10. SalesRabbit

Best field sales software

Image credit

Designed for teams with field reps, SalesRabbit offers features for agents on the go, including territory management, document imaging, and presentation tools. Their unique outside sales app optimizes team and lead management, along with qualification and contract management.

Team management tools include sales territory mapping and leaderboards to keep your team organized, focused, and productive. Messaging ensures every member is on the same page. Managers can track sales reps to see how they’re spending their time and ranking up with their colleagues, making SalesRabbit a valuable coaching tool.

Features:

• Content delivery
• Data extraction
• Goal management
• Lead capture
• Lead nurturing
• Training management
• Work order management

User reviews

• “Great team motivator.”
• “SalesRabbit helps you get closer to your customers.”
• “Data is very good, but the UI is lacking.”

Pricing: Paid plans start at $195 per month for five seats, billed annually. A free plan is available.

11. PartnerStack

Best partner management software

Image credit

PartnerStack is a partner management solution for B2B SaaS partnerships, affiliates, and referrals. It includes features such as referral tracking, channel analytics, and multi-channel marketing. More than 200 partner programs are currently available in PartnerStack’s Marketplace, with access to more than 65,000 active partners seeking to find and build profitable relationships.

You can build a custom onboarding process for any partner type, then automate emails and trigger new offers based on partner behavior. Rewards are calculated and paid right in the platform. Whether you offer flat rewards or revenue sharing, PartnerStack automatically calculates the correct conversion to pay out. You can even set up incentive programs for partners to earn bonuses based on performance or new certifications.

Features:

• Bonus management
• Social engagement
• Rewards program
• Campaign management
• Advocate management
• Commission management
• Fraud detection

User reviews

• “A reliable platform that streamlined our partnership management.”
• “An easy way to add affiliates to your business.”
• “There aren't user roles that limit permissions.”

Pricing: Contact PartnerStack.

Learn more: Discover how PartnerStack integrates with Zendesk.

12. People.ai

Best AI sales assistant software

Image credit

People.ai is a predictive selling management platform, or AI sales assistant, designed for leaders to help them better manage their teams. They offer a full range of sales, marketing, and revenue management solutions for organizations of varying sizes—all harnessing the power of AI.

By compiling revenue activity data in one platform, People.ai breaks down silos between teams to provide valuable insights to sales reps and team managers. AI-powered technology identifies gaps between buyer engagement and seller performance. Armed with these insights, teams can boost sales performance.

Features:

• Analytics/ROI tracking
• Customer journey mapping
• Sales forecasting
• Statistical analysis
• Performance metrics
• Channel management
• Opportunity management

User reviews

• “Extremely helpful tool for managing CSM daily tasks.”
• “A unique AI-driven sales platform.”
• “The interface is nice, but it lacks the ability to capture data from several sources.”

Pricing: Contact People.ai.

13. Clari

Best revenue operations software

Image credit

Clari is built for B2B companies to help them shorten their selling cycles. It includes modern AI and automation features that deliver total visibility. Their revenue operations platform offers everything from forecasting to pipeline management to streamline the revenue process from start to finish.

Strengthen your team with an array of product solutions, including account engagement, revenue intelligence, CRM integration, and conversation intelligence. Clari touts an enterprise-grade platform that’s adaptable to businesses of all industries and sizes. Its AI processes real-time and historical data to deliver accurate forecasts and actionable insights. Plus, they factor in security: Clari’s platform is certified and compliant with global security and data privacy standards.

Features:

• Exception reporting
• Dynamic modeling
• Graphical data presentation
• Trend analysis
• Statistical analysis
• Performance metrics
• Dashboard

User reviews

• “A great tool to help sales teams manage forecasting and other CRM management.”
• “Happy with the results, but the processes need to be more straightforward.”
• “It gets the job done, but there are better tools out there.”

Pricing: Contact Clari.

14. Pipedrive

Best pipeline visibility software

Image credit

Pipedrive is a CRM software designed to help businesses manage leads, deals, and sales pipelines. It offers tools for organizing contacts, tracking communications, and automating repetitive tasks. The platform features a visual sales pipeline, allowing users to monitor progress through customizable stages.

Users can streamline workflows by integrating Pipedrive with various third-party applications, such as email, calendar, and marketing tools. It is cloud-based, accessible via web and mobile apps, and supports team collaboration.

Features:

• Goal management
• Lead capture
• Lead nurturing
• Opportunity management
• Performance metrics
• Sales forecasting
• Analytics tracking

User reviews

• “Comprehensive, easy-to-use CRM solution.”
• “It’s exciting how it adapts to our needs.”
• “Not very intuitive and doesn’t learn well.”

Pricing: Plans start at $14 per seat/month, billed annually. A 14-day free trial is available.

Learn more:

Discover how Pipedrive integrates with Zendesk and

how Zendesk vs. Pipedrive compare.

15. Apollo.io

Best sales and intelligence engagement software

Image credit

Apollo.io is a sales intelligence and engagement platform designed to streamline prospecting, lead generation, and sales outreach. Its core functionality revolves around providing users access to a vast database of contacts and companies, enabling efficient lead capture and prospecting.

The platform offers advanced search filters so users can target specific industries, job titles, company sizes, and more. Apollo.io also supports email sequencing and automation, helping sales teams nurture leads through personalized outreach campaigns. There are also robust analytics tools to track metrics as well as extract and export data for further analysis or integration with other tools.

Features:

• Graphical data presentation
• Trend analysis
• Performance dashboard
• Data extraction
• Lead capture
• Lead nurturing
• Social engagement

User reviews

• “Effective and efficient lead source generator.”
• “Cost-effective tool for sales engagement.”
• “A fairly good data-scraping tool, but with some drawbacks.”

Pricing: Paid plans start at $49 per user/month, billed annually. A free plan is available.

Check out this comparison chart for the sales software solutions above for a more at-a-glance view.

When looking for new sales functionality for your team, keep your eye out for these vital solutions.

Key Features to Look for in Sales Software

When looking for new sales functionality for your team, keep your eye out for these vital solutions.

• 
  Reporting and analytics: Your sales platform—whether CRM, gamification, or anything in between—should have a reporting and sales analytics feature to analyze all the data you’re feeding into it. Greater insight into your sales metrics makes identifying improvements needed to boost profits and productivity easier.
• 
  Security: When shopping around for sales systems, make sure that the providers you’re interested in guarantee customer data protection. Look at vendors who also provide secure customer service to enterprises. If industry heavyweights put their trust in a particular software platform, it’s a pretty sure bet that you can do so, too.
• 
  Integration with other apps: While no one platform performs every single function, most sales systems offer integrations that allow you to connect with other sales apps. A good sales software platform will allow you to seamlessly integrate the apps you already rely on so you can keep things running smoothly.
• 
  Mobile access: Reps don’t need to be in the office to perform their duties effectively. Handheld devices are now the norm for signing contracts, enrolling new customers, and sharing content. More than ever before, sales platforms must have mobile capability.

While sales software will likely include more than just the above, these are the most important features to prioritize.

Before committing to anything, here are some steps you should take to ensure you find the best fit for your business.

Before committing to anything, here are some steps you should take to ensure you find the best fit for your business.

Be honest about your sales cycle strengths and weaknesses

Take the time to look at the current state of your business before you begin the selection process. Talk to all of your teams and ask them where they think they’re excelling and where they need more help.

Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses, and then do a deep dive into which sales platforms are best suited to handle those tasks. This may be time-consuming upfront, but the time saved by using your chosen platforms will make up for it in the end.

Make sure it works for your team

As much as software developers try to make their platforms user-friendly, there will still be a learning curve. Your team needs to be extremely comfortable with all aspects of the software to extract the most benefits from using it. For example, having a help desk to sort out technical issues can get employees back up and running sooner when their work is interrupted.

A difficult-to-use solution won’t inspire employees to adopt it like an intuitive one will. And the faster your people adopt the new software you’ve selected, the sooner they’ll pursue and convert quality leads with it.

Consider scalability and customization

If you have growth plans, you should make sure any sales software you invest in now can be scaled to your business plans. There’s no point in learning a software platform now if you’re only going to ditch it later because it can’t keep up with your growth.

If you’re currently running a small operation, you can still look at platforms used by larger companies. Many vendors provide scaled-down versions of their platforms, like CRM for small businesses. This means you can master the basics and grow into more complex functions as your business expands.

Bundle your software options

As stated before, there are a lot of different sales software platforms out there. Even with integrations, things can get complicated if you end up using too many different platforms. Remember, the whole point of using sales systems is to simplify the process and make operations smoother.

Consider your needs and try to find software platforms that include multiple features. Many types of CRMs, for instance, provide add-ons for other helpful tools. Bundling your sales solutions together will benefit your team by giving them fewer platforms to learn, meaning your process will be more standardized across the board.

Go for a test drive

The best way to know if a platform is right for you is to try it. Most vendors provide some way of trying their software for free, either with a free version for small teams or a free trial. Narrow your field of choices down to the best options.

Then sign up for a free trial and commit some serious hours to trying it out. Only by using the platform will you truly know if it’s the best sales software system for your team.