Pipeline CRM Review (2023) Tested for SMBs

Keeping track of the who, what, when, and where of your daily tasks is a breeze with Pipeline CRM's agenda management tools.

By simplifying and streamlining your to-do list, this feature ensures you never miss a beat.

Throughout our three months of testing, our team found this tool particularly handy for setting priorities and staying on top of tasks.

We added in some typical tasks at SBB (such as following up with affiliate marketing clients).

Here's how the "new task" screen looked (to give you a better idea).

Adding a new item to the agenda was simple and intuitive.

We were able to quickly input the essentials such as:

• Task description
• Assigned team member
• Due date
• Priority level

Pipeline CRM also gives you the option to tailor fields according to your specific organizational needs, putting you in charge of how you track and manage your tasks.

Our takeaway: Effective agenda management might not be the most glamorous part of a CRM, but it's undeniably crucial. And when it comes to this, Pipeline CRM definitely delivers!

Let's talk about another feature we love—the dashboard view.

It's like the control room for all your data, and we all know how important data-driven decisions are, especially here at Small Business Bonfire.

Here are some cool things about the Dashboard View:

Snapshot of key metrics: The dashboard provides a snapshot of all your key metrics at a glance. You can monitor your sales performance, track lead generation, and view deal progression—all in real time.
Customizable: You can customize your dashboard to display the information that's most important to your business. Want to see your sales targets upfront? No problem. Need to track customer interactions? Just add it to your dashboard.
Visual representation: The dashboard provides visual representations of your data, such as graphs and charts, making it easier to understand, analyze, and present.
Access to reports: Want detailed reports on your sales performance? The dashboard has got you covered. You can access various detailed reports right from the dashboard.

Here's a screenshot of our dashboard during our testing period.

We swear by making data-driven decisions at Small Business Bonfire, and the Dashboard View made that incredibly easy for us.

Whether we were tracking our progress towards sales targets or analyzing lead generation data, everything we needed was right there.

Pipeline's CRM service provides account management customizations that allow users to tweak their accounts as their needs change.

Some settings that you can customize include the following:

• Adding new users
• Create custom fields
• Add deal stages
• Set up categories
• Build forms

We were impressed with the level of flexibility Pipeline CRM provided, allowing us to tailor our account to meet the specific needs and goals of Small Business Bonfire.

Here's the "add new user" form. It was quick and easy to alter permissions, team role, and send the invite to our new team member.

Another handy-dandy feature of Pipeline CRM is the Calendar View & Sync. This feature allows you to have a bird's eye view of everything that's scheduled, due, overdue or anywhere in between.

Let's look at what this feature brings to the table:

• Overview of activities: With the Calendar View, you have a clear view of all your activities - calls, meetings, tasks, deadlines, you name it. You can see what's on the docket for the day, what's coming up for the week, or even the entire month.
• Sync with other calendars: One of the best parts about this feature is the ability to sync it with your existing calendars. Whether you're using Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, or any other, Pipeline CRM's got you covered.
• Color-coded entries: Entries in the calendar are color-coded, so you can quickly identify different types of activities or tasks. It's not just practical; it also makes the calendar view more vibrant and easier on the eyes.
• Drag & drop rescheduling: Have a meeting that got postponed or a task that needs to be rescheduled? No problem. With the drag-and-drop functionality, moving things around on your calendar is a breeze.

And now, drumroll please—here's our monthly calendar view during our testing of Pipeline.

At the end of the day, the calendar feature is a fantastic tool that not only keeps your schedule organized but also ensures you never miss a beat when it comes to managing your tasks and activities.

Pipeline CRM has automated contact management tools that allow users to easily manage contacts across multiple channels at once. These are separated into "companies" and "people."

Using Pipeline's contact management system, users can do the following:

• Track total pipeline campaigns
• Edit activities in real time
• Create custom fields
• Merge duplicate contacts
• Import/export contacts
• Organize contacts into lists

We found this feature especially useful for tracking leads, customers, and prospects.

In order to really test it out, we added our B2B affiliate marketing contacts at Small Business Bonfire.

Here's how it looked to add a new contact.

Within each contact card, we were able to add the following information:

• Name
• Company
• Title
• Contact information
• Website 
• Summary

Here's a sneak peek of our dashboard during our three months of testing.

As you can see, everything is laid out in a way that's extremely intuitive and easy to read. 

The bottom line: When it comes to contact management, Pipeline is one of the best in the biz. If you're looking to get organized (without breaking the bank), our money is on Pipeline!

Pipeline's CRM platform provides powerful email capabilities, including the following features:

• Inbox sync
• Bulk email
• Email campaigns
• Analytics
• Templates

Users can sink their email from Google or Microsoft Exchange so that all their emails are in one place.

Syncing your email is as easy as the click of a button.

Once you've synced your inbox up, you can create your email campaign. You can assign various steps of the campaign, and even decide when certain emails are sent during the campaign.

It's not the most intuitive automation, but it works.

Overall, while there are better email marketing platforms out there, Pipeline certainly holds its own (in our opinion). 

Pipeline CRM offers a robust reporting feature that allows users to track their team's performance and productivity effectively.

With the advanced reporting tools, managers can create reports based on various metrics such as deals won, lost, and pipeline value, helping them gauge their team's performance.

Plus, the platform provides real-time insights into the following:

• Individual performance
• Highlighting areas of improvement
• Identifying high-performing sales reps

Throughout our months of reviewing the product, we found the reporting options easy to navigate and the reports to be visually appealing and informative.