Discover folk - the CRM for people-powered businesses
LinkedIn has evolved beyond a simple networking platform: It's now the largest battleground for B2B sales.
Selecting the right CRM can determine whether you conquer your pipeline or get drowned in the noise. When comparing Zoho CRM and Close CRM, the key question goes beyond features; it revolves around which platform offers the sharpest advantage for nurturing relationships, tracking engagement, and converting LinkedIn discussions into successful deals.
While both Zoho CRM and Close CRM have their merits, if you're in search of a CRM designed specifically for LinkedIn workflows, folk CRM frequently sets a new standard.
Why a LinkedIn-Centric CRM Is Essential in 2025
LinkedIn has become the hub for B2B sales. By 2025, virtually every decision-maker you aim to connect with will be active there—sharing insights, engaging with peers, and making purchase decisions in real time. If your sales strategy isn't tailored for LinkedIn, you're leaving valuable opportunities untapped. A CRM designed for LinkedIn has transitioned from a luxury to a necessity; it serves as the foundation for effective prospecting, relationship-building, and pipeline expansion.
The power of such a CRM lies in its ability to create a multi-touch sales journey. Simply sending one cold email and hoping for the best is no longer sufficient. With the right CRM, you can effortlessly track, manage, and engage prospects across various channels:
- Initiate conversations on LinkedIn. Connect, comment, and cultivate familiarity in the space where your buyers are already active.
- Follow up through email or calls. Your CRM maintains context, allowing each interaction to feel personalized.
- Foster relationships over time. By synchronizing LinkedIn activity, you’ll know precisely when to engage and when to close the deal.
In 2025, the winning teams will be those that connect with prospects in their preferred online spaces. LinkedIn is where business unfolds. Without a CRM tailored to harness its full potential, every outreach effort risks becoming slower, less targeted, and increasingly difficult to scale.
What is Zoho CRM?
Zoho CRM is a versatile cloud-based CRM designed for businesses of all sizes. With its customizable modules and AI-powered assistant, it streamlines lead management, automates workflows, and provides valuable sales insights. The platform’s multichannel communication tools and seamless app integrations ensure your team stays aligned and productive.
What is Close CRM?
Close CRM is specifically designed for inside sales, integrating calling, email, and automation into a single platform. Its built-in power dialer and sequence workflows enhance productivity and connection rates. Furthermore, with real-time reporting and customizable pipelines, Close enables small teams to consistently drive revenue growth.
Feature comparison of Zoho CRM and Close CRM
AI Follow-ups
Zoho CRM lacks native LinkedIn profile capture, so if you're sourcing leads from LinkedIn, you'll have to manually input them into Zoho or use a third-party Chrome extension like Leadjet. There's no convenient button on LinkedIn to transfer profile data directly into your CRM, which hampers prospecting workflows and makes LinkedIn capture a tedious manual task. For sales teams engaged in daily outbound efforts on LinkedIn, this presents a significant drawback.
Similarly, Close CRM does not provide native LinkedIn profile capture. If you identify a prospect on LinkedIn, you'll need to manually copy their information into Close or depend on external tools like Surfe or Leadjet. Close does not offer a Chrome extension that integrates with LinkedIn or adds buttons to profiles, resulting in additional steps for reps who depend on LinkedIn as their primary lead source, particularly in outbound-heavy workflows.
Automated Contact Enrichment
Zoho CRM lacks the capability to enrich contacts with LinkedIn data. While you can link LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Zoho, it merely displays profile information in the contact view without syncing or enhancing your CRM records. Automatic retrieval of job titles, company details, or LinkedIn URLs is not possible; any enrichment based on LinkedIn data must be performed manually or via a third-party tool. Therefore, if LinkedIn is your primary lead source, Zoho cannot enrich these contacts automatically.
Similarly, Close CRM does not enrich leads with LinkedIn data. It lacks integration with LinkedIn Sales Navigator and doesn't automatically sync job titles or profile links. Although Close can connect with third-party data providers, none of them are directly linked to LinkedIn. As a result, if you capture a lead from LinkedIn, you will need to manually update the CRM fields or utilize external enrichment tools.
Smart Fields
Zoho CRM lacks native tracking for LinkedIn engagement. When you message a lead on LinkedIn, that interaction isn't automatically recorded in the CRM, requiring you to manually create a note or activity for tracking. Even with Sales Navigator linked, Zoho doesn't retrieve messaging history or engagement statistics, leading to potential gaps in visibility within the sales conversation unless teams are meticulous about manual updates.
Close currently does not offer message templates for LinkedIn DMs. While you can create email and call scripts in the platform, these templates are unavailable on LinkedIn. There’s no built-in option to access templates while composing a message on a profile. To maintain consistent messaging in your LinkedIn outreach, you’ll have to resort to manual copy-pasting, which not only slows down your reps but also disrupts consistency.
AI-Powered Message & Sequence Generation
Zoho CRM lacks native tracking for LinkedIn engagement, meaning that if you message a lead on LinkedIn, that interaction won’t be automatically logged in the CRM. You'll need to manually create a note or activity to keep track of it. Even when connected to Sales Navigator, Zoho fails to fetch messaging history or engagement statistics, making it difficult for teams to maintain visibility into this aspect of the sales conversation unless they are meticulous with updates.
Similarly, Close CRM does not track LinkedIn activity; messages, connection requests, and DMs sent through LinkedIn are not recorded in the contact timeline. While Close excels in email and calling workflows, LinkedIn interactions fall completely outside its tracking capabilities. Therefore, representatives must log activities manually to gain a comprehensive view of prospect interactions. For businesses relying heavily on LinkedIn, this lack of visibility can pose significant challenges.
Next Best Action
Zoho's Chrome extension is designed for email and Gmail integration, but it falls short when it comes to LinkedIn. It doesn't show up on LinkedIn profiles and lacks capture or sync features for the platform. To engage with LinkedIn, you’ll either need to use another plugin or switch between tabs. This absence of a LinkedIn-compatible Chrome extension makes Zoho less effective for outbound workflows that heavily depend on social selling.
Similarly, Close CRM does not offer a Chrome extension for LinkedIn. Its focus is primarily on email, calls, and tasks rather than social prospecting. There’s no Close overlay while browsing LinkedIn, nor is there a way to capture or interact with leads directly from the browser. To streamline your workflow across both platforms, you’ll need to incorporate an external extension to bridge this gap.
folk CRM: The Best CRM Alternative for LinkedIn!
folk is the sales assistant every team has been eagerly waiting for. Designed to be simple, integrated, and proactive, this CRM handles repetitive tasks, allowing your reps to concentrate on what truly matters: fostering genuine relationships on LinkedIn and beyond. With an outstanding 4.5/5 rating on G2, folk is celebrated as one of the most reliable AI-powered CRMs for lean and ambitious teams.
Tailored specifically for startups, agencies, and sales-driven teams, folk transforms AI into a practical, efficient, and easy-to-manage tool. It accelerates the process of turning LinkedIn connections into qualified opportunities while ensuring your workflow remains seamless.
1. Instant LinkedIn Prospect Capture with the folkX Extension
Prospecting on LinkedIn can be time-consuming, but folk simplifies the process. With the folkX Chrome extension, you can effortlessly capture leads from LinkedIn or Sales Navigator and add them directly to your CRM with just one click. Whether you're saving a single profile or hundreds from a filtered search, every detail—including names, job titles, companies, and emails—is automatically integrated into your database.
Say goodbye to copy-pasting or managing multiple spreadsheets. Your entire prospect list is neatly organized in one place, fully synchronized with your workflows, enabling your team to move quickly and focus on converting connections into opportunities instead of wasting hours on manual data entry!
2. Smart Data Enrichment and Always-Clean Contact Profiles
Engaging with decision-makers is only effective when you possess complete and accurate data. folk eliminates the hassles of tedious research by automatically enriching your LinkedIn contacts with verified emails, company details, phone numbers, and roles. With a single click, you gain everything necessary to personalize your outreach and initiate meaningful conversations.
The platform also employs intelligent deduplication to maintain a clean and reliable database, even when multiple team members are adding the same contacts. Rather than wasting time managing chaotic spreadsheets or guessing ownership of leads, folk keeps your data organized and updated, making every LinkedIn outreach relevant and impactful.
3. Personalized LinkedIn Outreach with AI-Generated Message Templates
folk revolutionizes your approach to prospects on LinkedIn by providing AI-powered message templates directly within the LinkedIn inbox. When you start a conversation, you’ll instantly see smart suggestions for connection requests, follow-ups, and outreach messages tailored to your prospect’s profile and context.
You can edit, personalize, and send these messages manually to ensure full compliance with LinkedIn’s policies. There's no risky automation or copy-pasting between tools; everything occurs right where the conversation begins, making your outreach quicker, more relevant, and significantly more natural.
Summary: folk CRM's LinkedIn Features
- Instantly capture leads with the folkX Chrome extension, allowing you to import LinkedIn and Sales Navigator profiles in one click, with all details automatically organized in your CRM.
- Effortlessly enrich contact data by retrieving verified emails, company details, and roles, while maintaining a clean and accurate database through smart deduplication.
- Send smarter LinkedIn messages using AI-generated templates directly within the LinkedIn inbox, enabling you to personalize outreach faster without relying on risky automation!
Conclusion
When it comes to CRM options for LinkedIn, Zoho CRM excels in customization and automation, making it suitable for diverse business needs. Close CRM, on the other hand, is tailored for inside sales, integrating calling and email but lacking LinkedIn-centric features. For teams focused on leveraging LinkedIn effectively, folk CRM stands out as a superior alternative. With instant lead capture, smart data enrichment, and AI-generated messaging directly in LinkedIn, folk streamlines the sales process and enhances relationship-building.
Start your 14-day free trial or book a demo today.
Discover folk CRM - Like the sales assistant your team never had