Why I use Pipedrive as my CRM

This post is not going to be an intensive Pipedrive review, and I am not going to mention any other CRMs that I tried that I had problems with. What I will go over is why I really like Pipedrive and have no plans to change to another CRM.

There are a few key features I need from a CRM.

One is that all email sent to our clients is tracked through the CRM. One of my virtual assistants spends a lot of time following up on our leads. She needs to know if one of our agents emailed the lead recently. If so she might not even need to follow-up, or if she still will follow-up she now knows the last thing discussed with the lead. Pipedrive allows us to continue using Office 365 email and all the features that come with it, while still tracking all emails sent.

Also, if we send an email to a lead that is not yet in Pipedrive, a new record is created for that lead with the email we just sent as the first record of communication.

The second feature I must have is website integration. Pipedrive has an easy to use API which allows me to tie in information from my website into the CRM. I have to admit I have tried to use some CRMs only to find out their API does not work, and no one can really support it, so having an easy to use API that works is great.

A third feature is using it on a mobile phone. Pretty much all CRMs work on a mobile phone, but some are limited as to what can actually be accomplished on a phone. Pipedrive works well on phones, and all needed features are available.

Flexibility is another feature I am looking for. I want to be able to define my own stages a lead goes through, and I want to be able to define custom fields we need to track for our leads. Pipedrive allows total customization, so it can fit almost any need. Any type of field can easily be added to your contact database, and the Pipeline view stages can be totally customized to fit your workflow.

One feature I like, even though it was not on my must have list, is the Pipeline view. For our Buyer Pipeline we setup the following stages. Inquiry, 1 Week, 1 Month, 3 Months, 6 Months, Showing, Offer, and finally Escrow.

Looking at your Pipeline gives you a very good view on where all your leads stand. They use color coding and symbols to give you information without having to click on the lead. For example, if there is no follow-up date set, the lead shows a caution sign. A green color means follow-up today. A gray means you have a follow-up date set, but no need to take action today. Red means you have a past due follow-up.

So in this Pipeline view I can see for any agent on my team exactly how many leads they have, which stage of the Pipeline are they in, is their follow-up date set, and are they following up on time or have some past due.

This screen also shows the value of all deals in their Pipeline. For us, that is not critical, but agents might like to see they have $20 million in their Pipeline if they can just get them into escrow.

It also has a very easy to use and pleasing modern interface. There are many other features, but those were the features that won me over.

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