Affordable CRMs for 20–50 person sales teams: Overview

These days, sales teams of 20-50 people are more focused than ever on finding tools that provide high value without breaking the bank.

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is crucial for managing customer interactions, tracking leads, and driving growth, but medium-sized sales teams need an affordable solution that fits their budget while scaling with their operations.

The good news is that there are several low-cost CRM options available that offer powerful features without the hefty price tag.

In this blog post, we will explore the best low-cost CRMs for medium-sized sales teams, focusing on those that deliver functionality alongside ease of use for teams of 20-50 sales professionals, with folk CRM emerging as the clear winner for teams in this size range.

Key takeaways for teams of 20–50

Why your sales team needs a CRM

Managing a sales team of 20-50 people without a CRM can be overwhelming and counterproductive. Below is some insight into why investing in a low cost CRM is essential for your sales team's success and sustainable growth.

Challenges without a CRM

Let's start with some of the most common challenges faced by busy sales teams of 20-50 people without a centralized CRM system.

• Disorganization: Without a CRM, keeping track of customer interactions and lead data across a medium-sized sales team of 20-50 people becomes chaotic and unmanageable.
• Missed opportunities: Lack of a centralized system leads to missed follow-ups and lost sales opportunities across team members, directly impacting revenue for teams of your size.
• Inefficient processes: Manual processes are time-consuming and prone to errors, especially when coordinating across 20-50 sales professionals with varying workflows.
• Lack of insight: Without analytics, understanding customer behavior and sales trends across your medium-sized team becomes nearly impossible.
• Inconsistent communication: Managing customer communications without a unified CRM results in inconsistent and unprofessional interactions across your entire sales team.

As you can see, there are numerous pain points that can be solved by investing in the right CRM software for your medium-sized sales team of 20-50 professionals.

Benefits of a CRM

If you're building a business case for a new CRM for your sales team, below are key benefits you can expect that will have a positive direct impact on your team of 20-50 sales professionals.

• One source of truth: A CRM consolidates all customer data in one place, making it easily accessible across your entire sales team of 20-50 people.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automating tasks saves time and reduces human error across all team members, crucial for medium-sized sales operations.
• Improved customer relationships: Personalized interactions foster stronger customer loyalty and better coordination among 20-50 sales reps.
• Better decision-making: Data-driven insights help sales managers make informed decisions about team performance and strategy for medium-sized operations.
• Increased sales: Streamlined processes and better follow-ups lead to higher conversion rates across your entire sales team.
• Consistent communication: A CRM ensures all customer communications are timely and professional across your team of 20-50 professionals.
  

Key features of a CRM for medium-sized sales teams

With such a saturated market to navigate, it can be overwhelming to start looking for a CRM without understanding what a good CRM platform looks like for sales teams of 20-50 people. Below are essential features you should expect from any decent CRM platform for medium-sized operations.

• Automated processes: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows across your entire sales team of 20-50 people.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds leads and customers email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency for medium-sized sales teams.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks leads and customers through defined stages, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness across all 20-50 team members.
• Email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences for consistent outreach across your sales team.
• LinkedIn Integration: Seamlessly imports leads and customers from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM for social selling across medium-sized teams.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better sales planning and team performance tracking for 20-50 person operations.

How to boost your sales team efficiency with a low cost CRM

Just because your sales team is on a budget doesn't mean that there isn't a way for you to maximize CRM value. Below are key ways a CRM can help streamline your sales workflow for teams of 20-50 people.

1. Map your sales process

A good CRM can help your medium-sized sales team create the steps needed to define and track the stages of your sales process. It should be able to help you with the following for teams of 20-50 people.

• Identify key stages: Break down your sales process into clear, manageable stages that all 20-50 team members can follow consistently.
• Assign tasks: Allocate specific tasks to each stage to ensure nothing falls through the cracks across your medium-sized sales team.
• Track progress: Use your CRM's dashboard to monitor the progress of each stage in real-time across all 20-50 team members.

2. Lead qualification

Any good CRM should have features that support sales teams of 20-50 people in qualifying leads effectively and efficiently. You should be able to expect comprehensive help with qualifying leads, including the following.

• Set criteria: Define what makes a lead 'qualified' based on your medium-sized sales team's goals and territory requirements.
• Score leads: Use lead scoring features to rank leads based on their likelihood to convert, helping your 20-50 sales reps prioritize effectively.
• Segment leads: Categorize leads into different groups for targeted outreach across different sales team members in your organization.

3. Outreach and follow-up

A CRM can also be extremely helpful when it comes to automating emails and LinkedIn campaign segments for your medium-sized sales team.

• Automated emails: Set up drip campaigns to nurture leads with personalized content across your entire sales team of 20-50 people.
• LinkedIn outreach: Use CRM integrations to send connection requests and follow-up messages for social selling across your medium-sized team.
• Follow-up reminders: Schedule automatic reminders to ensure timely follow-ups across all 20-50 team members without manual tracking.

4. Nurture existing leads

You should also be able to use your CRM to help your medium-sized sales team strategize for upselling and cross-selling opportunities:

• Personalized offers: Use CRM data to tailor upsell and cross-sell offers to individual customers across your sales team of 20-50 people.
• Lifecycle emails: Send targeted emails based on where the customer is in their lifecycle for better conversion rates across your medium-sized team.
• Customer feedback: Gather feedback to improve your offerings and make more compelling upsell pitches across your entire sales organization.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM platform

Now that you have a good idea of how a CRM can help your sales team – let's explore the steps you should expect to go through in your selection process for teams of 20-50 people.

1. Define your requirements

Before diving into the world of low cost CRM for medium-sized sales teams, it's crucial to identify the key features that align with your team's specific needs. Are you looking for robust contact management, seamless integration with existing sales tools, or advanced reporting capabilities for team performance across 20-50 people? Pinpointing these requirements will help you focus on the CRM solutions that offer the best value for your specific medium-sized sales team needs.

2. Budget considerations

When evaluating low cost CRM for sales teams of 20-50 people, balancing cost with return on investment (ROI) is essential for sustainable growth. While you aim to minimize expenses, ensure that the CRM you choose can effectively streamline your operations, improve customer relationships, and ultimately drive revenue across your entire medium-sized sales team. Look for transparent pricing models and avoid hidden fees that could inflate your budget as you scale from 20 to 50 team members.

3. Selection process

Choosing the right CRM vendor involves thorough research for your medium-sized sales team's specific requirements. Start by compiling a list of potential vendors that specialize in low cost CRM solutions for teams of 20-50 people. Read reviews, request demos, and compare feature sets with your team size in mind. Pay attention to customer support quality and the vendor's reputation in serving medium-sized sales organizations. This due diligence will help you make an informed decision for your team.

👉🏼 Try folk now to organize your sales processes in one place

4. Evaluating and making the decision

Once you have shortlisted a few CRM platforms, take advantage of free trials or demo versions to evaluate their usability and effectiveness for your sales team of 20-50 people. Compare key features, ease of use, and integration capabilities with your medium-sized team's workflow in mind. Gather feedback from your team members and consider their input carefully. This hands-on approach will ensure you select the best low cost CRM for your sales team that aligns with your operational goals and budget constraints for a 20-50 person organization.

3 tips for implementing a CRM

Introducing your medium-sized sales team to a new piece of kit in their tech stack can sometimes be a challenge. Below are some tips to help you with your implementation process for teams of 20-50 people.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning your medium-sized sales team to a new CRM involves migrating your existing data carefully. Most CRMs designed for teams of 20-50 people allow you to import data via CSV files efficiently.

2. Create a first pipeline

Once your data is imported, the next step is to create your first pipeline for your sales team of 20-50 people. This pipeline should reflect the stages of your sales process, tailored to the specifics of a low cost CRM for medium-sized sales teams. Start with basic stages like "Lead In," "Contacted," "Proposal Sent," and "Closed." As your team of 20-50 people becomes more comfortable, you can customize these stages to better fit your medium-sized sales workflow.

3. Onboard your team

Successful CRM implementation hinges on team adoption across your 20-50 sales professionals. Ensure that your medium-sized team understands how to use the new system by providing comprehensive training sessions and resources. Encourage them to explore the CRM's features and offer ongoing support as they familiarize themselves with the tool. A well-onboarded sales team of 20-50 people will maximize the benefits of your low cost CRM, driving efficiency and improving customer relationships across your entire organization.

The 5 best CRMs for medium-sized sales teams

1. folk

folk is a modern CRM platform specifically designed for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships for medium-sized sales teams, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and seamless integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting perfectly suited for teams of 20-50 sales professionals seeking an affordable yet powerful solution.

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Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach across your medium-sized sales team without manual data entry or additional costs for email services - perfect for teams of 20-50 people.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication perfect for social selling teams of 20-50 professionals.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling medium-sized sales teams to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity across your sales team of 20-50 people.
• Integrations: folk offers an open API and native integrations (e.g., WhatsApp with two‑way sync, Kaspr, Allo, Salesforge, PandaDoc) and also connects via Zapier and Make to 6,000+ apps.

Pros

• Ease of use: folk CRM is praised for its intuitive interface, making it accessible even to medium-sized sales teams without technical expertise, with quick onboarding and a minimal learning curve perfect for teams of 20-50 people.
• All-in-one solution: folk streamlines your sales workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving significant time and money for medium-sized teams of 20-50 professionals.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined social selling communication across your sales team of 20-50 people.
• Customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows that scale perfectly for teams of 20-50 sales professionals without overwhelming complexity.
• Integrations: folk includes an open API and native integrations (WhatsApp two‑way sync, Kaspr, Allo, Salesforge, PandaDoc) and also connects to 6,000+ apps through Zapier and Make.

Cons

• While folk CRM includes advanced reporting and analytics, such as pipeline and deal stage analytics, revenue forecasting with weighted probabilities, performance breakdowns by owner, channel, industry, region, or any custom field, and revenue insights/segmentation, some enterprise-level teams might require even more granular reporting capabilities.

Pricing

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows for teams of 20-50 people.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month.
• Premium: $40 per user, per month.
• Custom: Starts from $80 per user, per month.

2. Hubspot

Hubspot CRM is a user-friendly, scalable platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations, though it can become prohibitively expensive for medium-sized sales teams of 20-50 people as they scale and require more advanced features.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools for medium-sized sales teams.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting for teams of 20-50 people.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing, live chat, and knowledge bases.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems for medium-sized operations.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve sales efficiency across your team of 20-50 professionals.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: HubSpot is known for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for sales teams of all skill levels.
• Comprehensive free plan: Offers a robust free version that includes essential CRM features, though significantly limited for growing teams of 20-50 people.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: HubSpot integrates smoothly with its marketing, sales, and service hubs, creating a unified platform.
• Automation capabilities: Provides powerful automation tools for tasks like email marketing, lead nurturing, and sales workflows.
• Extensive learning resources: HubSpot Academy offers a wealth of free courses, certifications, and resources.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: HubSpot's pricing becomes extremely expensive as you move to higher tiers, which can be prohibitive for medium-sized sales teams of 20-50 people as they scale operations.
• Limited customization in free plan: The free plan and lower tiers have severely limited customization options, which restricts flexibility for growing sales teams.
• Complexity in advanced features: Some advanced features, such as custom reporting and workflows, have a steep learning curve that can overwhelm medium-sized teams.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is heavily restricted by limits on the number of emails you can send.
• Limited reporting capabilities in lower tiers: Detailed reporting and analytics features are often locked behind higher-priced plans, making it unsuitable for budget-conscious teams of 20-50 people.

Price and plans

Price and plans on the CRM suite for an annual subscription are as follows.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month.
• Professional: $450 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month.

3. Zoho

Zoho is a CRM system with a strong sales focus, offering features such as journey orchestration, sales process management and workflow automation, though it can have a steep learning curve and complex setup process that may be challenging for new medium-sized sales teams of 20-50 people.

Key features

• Sales automation: Automates sales tasks like lead management, deal tracking, and follow-up actions for medium-sized sales teams.
• Lead and contact management: Manages customer information, tracks interactions, and segments contacts for targeted campaigns across teams of 20-50 people.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Allows users to create and customize dashboards and reports for in-depth analytics.
• Multi-channel communication: Integrates with email, phone, social media, and live chat to manage customer interactions.
• Workflow automation: Automates routine tasks and processes to improve efficiency across medium-sized sales teams.

Pros

• Affordability: Zoho CRM offers competitive pricing with various tiers, making it accessible to medium-sized sales teams with limited budgets.
• Customization: Extensive customization options allow sales teams to tailor the CRM to their specific needs.
• Integration with Zoho Suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products creates a comprehensive ecosystem.
• Multi-channel communication: Zoho CRM supports email, phone, social media, and live chat for comprehensive communication.
• AI-powered features: Zia, the AI assistant, provides intelligent insights and predictive analytics.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: The extensive customization options can be overwhelming for new sales teams of 20-50 people, requiring significant time investment to master effectively.
• Complex setup: Initial setup and configuration can be extremely complex, particularly for medium-sized sales teams without dedicated technical expertise.
• Limited third-party integrations: While Zoho integrates well with its own suite, integration with third-party applications can be limited compared to other solutions.
• Performance issues: Frequent reports of slow performance, especially with large datasets, can significantly hinder productivity for teams of 20-50 people.
• Feature limitations in lower tiers: The lower-priced plans may lack advanced features essential for growing sales teams of 20-50 professionals.

Price and plans

Free plan limited to three users suitable for very small teams. After that, an annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $14 per user, per month
• Professional: $23 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $40 per user, per month

4. Less Annoying CRM

Less Annoying CRM is a customer relationship management software designed to be simple and straightforward, though it significantly lacks the advanced features that medium-sized sales teams of 20-50 people typically need for scaling operations and competitive advantage.

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Key features

• Unlimited contacts and companies
• Basic email logging
• Simple user permissions
• Basic task management
• Mobile access

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The software is designed with simplicity in mind, making it easy for sales teams new to CRM systems to navigate.
• Affordable pricing: Less Annoying CRM offers a straightforward pricing model with a flat monthly fee, making it budget-friendly for small teams.
• Cloud-based access: Being cloud-based allows sales teams to access the CRM from anywhere with an internet connection.
• Excellent customer support: The company is known for its responsive and friendly customer support.
• Free trial: Less Annoying CRM provides a 30-day free trial for evaluation.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Compared to more robust CRM systems, Less Annoying CRM severely lacks advanced features like marketing automation, LinkedIn integration, contact enrichment, email sequences, advanced analytics, and extensive customization options, making it unsuitable for growing sales teams of 20-50 people who need competitive advantages.
• Basic reporting capabilities: The reporting features are extremely simple, which cannot meet the needs of medium-sized sales teams of 20-50 people looking for detailed analytics and performance insights.
• Limited integrations: Less Annoying CRM offers significantly fewer integrations with third-party apps compared to competitors, limiting workflow efficiency.
• Customization constraints: The CRM has very limited customization options, which is highly restrictive for sales teams of 20-50 people that need tailored workflows and processes.

Price and plans

• One plan is provided which is $15 per user, per month.

5. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a CRM designed for sales teams, offering lead management, automation, email integration, and customizable pipelines, though it can become expensive with necessary add-ons for medium-sized sales teams and lacks some key features like LinkedIn integration and contact enrichment.

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Key features

• Lead and deal management: Centralized tools to manage customer data, interactions, and sales pipelines for medium-sized sales teams.
• Sales automation: Workflow automation to handle repetitive tasks, such as lead routing and follow-ups for teams of 20-50 people.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features for sales communication across medium-sized teams.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Real-time data analytics and custom reporting tools to track sales performance.
• Customization and security: Options to customize pipelines, fields, and user permissions for sales teams of 20-50 people.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Known for its intuitive and visually appealing interface, making it easy for sales teams to navigate.
• Sales pipeline focus: Specifically designed for managing sales pipelines, offering a visual approach for tracking deals.
• Affordability: Offers competitive base pricing, making it initially accessible to medium-sized sales teams.
• Automation features: Includes automation tools that help streamline repetitive tasks for sales efficiency.
• Lead management: Offers effective lead management features, including lead scoring and tracking.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks some of the more advanced CRM features that teams of 20-50 people need, such as LinkedIn integration, contact enrichment, and comprehensive marketing automation capabilities.
• Basic reporting in lower tiers: The reporting and analytics features in the basic plans are somewhat limited for medium-sized sales teams requiring detailed insights.
• Price increases with add-ons: The cost increases rapidly when additional features are added, making it less cost-effective for growing sales teams of 20-50 people who need comprehensive functionality.
• No free plan: Unlike some other CRM platforms, does not offer a free version, which may be a barrier for budget-conscious teams of 20-50 people.

Price and plans

An annual subscription plan basis is as follows.

• Essential plan: Starts from $14 per user, per month.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $29 per user, per month.
• Power plan: Starts from $64 per user, per month.
• Enterprise plan: Starts from $99 per user, per month.

Conclusion

Choosing the best low cost CRM for your medium-sized sales team in 2024 is crucial for streamlining operations, improving customer relationships, and driving sales performance across 20-50 sales professionals. After comprehensive analysis, folk CRM clearly stands out as the ideal solution for teams of your size, offering the perfect balance of powerful features, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness specifically designed for medium-sized sales operations. With its seamless LinkedIn integration, automatic contact enrichment, email sequences, and intuitive interface, folk CRM provides everything your sales team of 20-50 people needs without the complexity and high costs of enterprise solutions or the limitations of basic alternatives. Start by exploring folk's 14-day free trial to see how it can transform your sales operations and deliver the ROI your medium-sized team deserves. Ready to get started?

👉🏼 Try folk now to manage contact-based reminders with your team

Need a helping hand? Use our free tool to find your perfect CRM match.

FAQ

What is the cheapest CRM for small businesses?

Entry plans are $14–$20 per user/month (Zoho, Pipedrive, Less Annoying). Watch for add-ons for email, reporting, and automation that raise total cost. A plan with LinkedIn import and sequences like folk starts at $20.

What features should a low-cost CRM include?

Must-haves: contact management, visual pipelines, task automation, email sync and sequences, contact enrichment, LinkedIn import, analytics, permissions, import/export, and integrations (Gmail, calendar, Zapier).

How much does a CRM cost for a team of 20–50?

Expect $14–$40 per user/month for core features. Total cost rises with seats, email volume, advanced reports, and add-ons. Annual billing can cut 10–20%. Budget for onboarding and data migration.

How do you choose the right CRM for a team of 20–50?

Map workflows, list must‑have features, set a per‑user budget, and shortlist 3–5 tools. Trial with real data, test email and LinkedIn flows, verify integrations and security, compare cost at 50 seats, and gather feedback from reps and managers.