HubSpot vs OnePageCRM – What’s the Best CRM Solution for Freelancers?
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It can be challenging for solopreneurs to find new prospects. It can be even harder for them to convert leads into paying customers. Nurturing leads, onboarding new clients, and providing customer support are some of the tasks that every freelancer must do to be successful and grow their business.
For these reasons and more, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programs are essential as they feature tools such as marketing automation and more. Two of the best CRM solutions for solopreneurs include HubSpot and OnePageCRM. Here, we break down the advantages and disadvantages of each so you can choose the right one for your freelancing business.
Advantages
Cross-Platform
HubSpot and OnePageCRM are cross-platform CRM solutions. Basically, users have access to the web version, as well as Android and iOS apps. Since you can access the CRMs on multiple platforms, it’s now easier to track client interactions whether by phone, email, or social media.
With both CRMs, you can capture leads from any webpage with a click. This eliminates the tedious task of copy-paste and hopping from one tab to another as you try to populate your contact’s profile. Besides importing data, you can also export data. In fact, you can export your data as an Excel file or to Google Sheets for further processing.
Email Integration
Both HubSpot and OnePageCRM have powerful email integration features. Let’s start with HubSpot. It has a powerful email tracking feature that allows you to know the second a lead opens an email. This enables you to send perfectly-timed follow-ups and close deals with clients faster.
When it comes to OnePageCRM, it has the full email sync feature that safely logs your emails. Besides that, it allows you to send and reply to your clients’ emails without leaving the CRM dashboard. Thanks to the email integration feature, you can send personalized emails in bulk, track email opens, and more.
Sales Automation
With an effective CRM app, you can close more leads with workflows and sequences as your prospects get nurtured automatically. HubSpot automates your follow-ups and prevents prospects from slipping through the cracks. All you need to do is queue up a series of automated emails and follow-up tasks for every prospect. This ensures that you never lose touch with your clients.
With workflows, you can rotate leads, automate tasks, create deals and manage your data in bulk. In addition, both CRMs work seamlessly with G Suite, Gmail, Outlook, and other apps to enable you to enroll contacts in sequences.
Reporting
Growing your freelance business requires dedicated reporting to provide quick answers to one-off questions. If you do all your reporting on spreadsheets, that’s a huge task. Alternatively, if you hire an analyst every time you need a new report, that’s expensive.
HubSpot and OnePageCRM have powerful reporting software that enables you to generate reports. As a freelancer or small business owner, you’re the best person to decide what metrics matter most. Thanks to the flexible CRM reporting offered by these services, you get the data and information you need.
The CRMs enable you to set up custom reports in a couple of clicks, allowing you to stay up to date with your client and sales.
Integrations
As a freelancer, you probably use other apps for lead generation, accounting, invoicing, and even customer support. To ensure that you don’t abandon your favorite apps, HubSpot and OnePageCRM allow integrations with other apps, including:
- Mailchimp
- Unbounce
- Xero
- Sage Accounting
- Gmail and Outlook
- Dropbox and Google Drive
- Evernote
- Zapier
- Facebook and Google Ads
- Salesforce
- Shopify
- And more
These apps allow you to provide fast, informed, and personalized customer service. Also, they help reduce inconsistencies, increase the accuracy of quotes, and reduce manual data entry.
Support
If you have any questions or need help with HubSpot or OnePageCRM, both platforms have FAQs where you can find the answers you need. HubSpot also has a knowledge base rich with detailed articles that contain answers to many questions you have.
If you want to become a CRM champion, HubSpot and OnePageCRM provide pre-recorded webinars where you can learn most of their features. The webinars cover everything from getting started with the CRMs, and even how to power up your leads. As you dive deeper, you’ll learn about integrations, marketing automation, lead management, social media tools, and much more.
Disadvantages
Customer Support
When it comes to customer support, OnePageCRM offers more options compared to HubSpot. OnePageCRM believes in white-glove customer support. As such, they don’t use bots or one-size-fits-all answers. Customers can get in touch with the support team via live chat, phone, and email.
If you choose HubSpot’s free version, the only support available to you is from the community. To reach their support team via email and chat, you need to subscribe to their Starter Plan. If you choose their Professional or Enterprise plans, besides email and live chat, you can reach them via phone. To reach customer support by phone, email, or live chat, log into your CRM account and make your request.
Pricing Plans
HubSpot follows the freemium model where they offer their CRM for free but with limited functionality. To enjoy the premium features, you can subscribe to their Starter, Professional, and Enterprise plan. The Starter Plan goes for $45/month, Professional for $800/month, and Enterprise is $3,600/month.
With OnePageCRM, they don’t follow the freemium model. Instead, they offer a 21-day free trial with no credit card required. During this period, you can test their CRM’s features. If you like what it can do for your freelance career or small business, then you can choose the paid plans. There are two: Business is $19.95/month and Professional is $9.95/month, billed annually. Or, if you prefer to go monthly, it will be $29/month for the Business plan and $15/month for the Professional plan. In short, opting for annual billing will give you four months free.
From the information above, it’s clear that OnePageCRM is the most affordable version.
HubSpot vs OnePageCRM: The Verdict
HubSpot and OnePageCRM are powerful tools with many benefits to freelancers. From sales and marketing automation to lead management and reporting, these solutions allow you to reach prospects and convert them into paying clients. They also help you understand customer behavior and ensure you don’t stop managing your customer relations, even when away from your computer, thanks to their mobile apps.
But when it comes to choosing the best CRM solution to take your freelancing career or small business to the next level, we have to go with OnePageCRM for a few key reasons.
First, its pricing plans are more affordable compared to HubSpot. Second, OnePageCRM has no bulky or unnecessary features. With OnePageCRM, you can bring all your sales communications into one place. Lastly, OnePageCRM is easy to navigate, keeps you on track, and keeps your action plan crystal clear.
HubSpot is great but its starter pack lacks useful tools such as custom reports, phone support, and much more.
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