What is a B2B sales CRM, and what should it do?
A B2B sales CRM is a CRM set up for selling to organisations: each company is one record, several people at that company hang off it, and each deal carries the people involved and the stage it has reached. Selling to a consumer usually means one person and one decision. Selling to a business usually means a few people, a longer cycle and more than one deal per account, which our post on what B2B sales is covers with examples.
That changes what to check before you pay. Here is what matters for B2B, and the test to run in any free trial:
| What B2B selling needs | Why | Test it in the trial |
|---|---|---|
| Company records with many contacts | You talk to several people at one account | Add three people to one company and see them on one page |
| Several people on one deal, with roles | The person who signs is rarely the one who replied first | Mark one contact as decision maker and one as user on the same deal |
| Stage probabilities | Long cycles need a weighted forecast, not a total | Check the pipeline shows a weighted amount per stage |
| Email and calls logged on the contact | Handovers fail when history sits in one inbox | Connect a mailbox and send one email from the CRM |
| Sequences that stop on reply | Follow-ups to someone who already answered cost trust | Reply to a test sequence from another address |
If you are one person with a short list, a spreadsheet may still be enough; our guide to a simple CRM for a solo founder shows when it breaks.
How do CRMs handle several people on one deal?
The second row is where CRMs differ most, and the vendors' own help pages say how. Checked 5 November 2026:
| CRM | What its documentation says | Plan needed |
|---|---|---|
| Salesforce | Contact roles let you specify the part a person plays in an opportunity, with examples such as decision maker, business user and executive sponsor. One contact can have a different role on different records. | The help page says all editions |
| HubSpot | Association labels describe how records relate, for example a contact labelled Buyer on a deal. Up to 50 labels per object pair. | Professional or Enterprise of Sales Hub, Smart CRM or another hub |
| Pipedrive | A deal has one linked person; other people are added as participants and are suggested when you add guests to activities or email recipients. The article doesn't mention a role field for participants. | Not stated on the article |
| Close | For B2B, each Lead is a company with one or more contacts. Each opportunity has a value, a confidence level and one associated contact. | Not stated on the article |
So if you sell to buying groups and want roles on deals, check the plan before the price. On HubSpot, roles mean moving from Starter to Professional; on Pipedrive and Close, record the roles in a note or custom field unless a trial shows you a better way.
How much does a B2B sales CRM cost?
On the vendors' own pages, checked 5 November 2026 in US dollars, entry tiers for a team run from $7 to $35 a user a month at the lowest price shown (annual billing where offered), and the tiers that add sequences, workflows or roles from $24 to $100. The step up is where the bill grows.
| CRM | Entry paid tier | Tier with sequences, workflows or roles | Free plan or trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce | Starter Suite $25 a user a month, billed monthly or annually; includes lead, account, contact and opportunity management | Pro Suite $100 a user a month, billed annually; adds sales quoting and forecasting | Free Suite for up to 2 users, no card, free while you log in at least every 60 days; 30-day free trial of paid suites |
| HubSpot Sales Hub | Starter from $7 a seat a month, shown as a new-customer discount on $20 | Professional from $90 a seat a month (shown against $100), with an annual commitment even when paying monthly, plus a required $1,500 onboarding fee | Free for up to 2 users |
| Pipedrive | Lite $14 a seat a month billed annually ($168 a year), or $19 monthly; up to 2,500 leads and deals per seat | Growth $24 billed annually, or $34 monthly; adds email sync, automations and sequences | 14-day trial, no card |
| Close | Essentials $35 a user a month billed annually, or $49 monthly (Solo, one user and up to 10,000 leads: $9 or $19) | Growth $99 billed annually, or $109 monthly; adds workflows, power dialler and bulk email | 14-day free trial, no card |
| Freshsales | Growth $9 a user a month billed annually, or $11 monthly | Pro $39 a user a month billed annually, or $47 monthly; adds sales sequences and territory management | 21-day trial; no free plan card shown, though the page's search description mentions a free plan |
Year one for three sellers who need roles on deals, using the cheapest tier whose documentation covers it:
- Salesforce Starter Suite: 3 × $25 × 12 = $900 (confirm contact roles appear in your Starter trial, since the help page says all editions without naming Starter).
- HubSpot Sales Hub Professional at the discounted $90: 3 × $90 × 12 + $1,500 = $4,740. At $100 it is $5,100.
- Close Essentials, roles kept in a custom field: 3 × $35 × 12 = $1,260.
HubSpot's page didn't say how long the new-customer discount lasts, so budget on the undiscounted price. Our sibling post on CRMs for lead generation prices folk, Attio and Zoho for teams whose gap is finding leads rather than managing deals.
How do you forecast a B2B pipeline? A worked example
A weighted pipeline multiplies each deal's value by the chance it closes, so early-stage deals don't swell the forecast. In the example below, the unweighted total is $96,000 ÷ $42,600 = about 2.25 times the weighted one. HubSpot's pipeline help page lists the default stage probabilities: Appointment scheduled 20%, Qualified to buy 40%, Presentation scheduled 60%, Decision maker bought-in 80%, Contract sent 90%. Close calls the same idea Expected Value: value times confidence.
Sample pipeline for Northwind Ltd, a sample company with 16 open deals worth $6,000 each:
| Stage (HubSpot default) | Deals | Value | Weighted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appointment scheduled, 20% | 6 | $36,000 | $36,000 × 0.2 = $7,200 |
| Qualified to buy, 40% | 4 | $24,000 | $9,600 |
| Presentation scheduled, 60% | 3 | $18,000 | $10,800 |
| Decision maker bought-in, 80% | 2 | $12,000 | $9,600 |
| Contract sent, 90% | 1 | $6,000 | $5,400 |
| Total | 16 | $96,000 | $42,600 |
The defaults are HubSpot's starting points, not your rates. If 3 of your last 20 deals that reached the first stage were won, use 15% there: $36,000 × 0.15 = $5,400, which takes $1,800 off the forecast. Recount each stage's rate every quarter from closed deals.
Which B2B sales CRM fits your team?
Pick by how you sell, then by price. This is our rule of thumb, with the fact that decides each row (prices from the table above):
| Your team | Worth trialling first | Deciding fact |
|---|---|---|
| Founder plus one or two sellers, buying groups of several people | Salesforce Starter Suite | Contact roles in all editions, per its help page, at $25 a user |
| Inbound-heavy, already publishing content and forms | HubSpot Sales Hub | Free tools for 2 users; roles need Professional |
| Phone and email outreach every day | Close | Calling, email and SMS built in from Essentials (call and SMS usage billed at cost); power dialler on Growth |
| Simple pipeline, tight budget | Pipedrive or Freshsales | Entry tiers at $14 and $9 a seat billed annually |
| Thin pipeline, nobody has time to prospect | A lead source feeding any CRM above | A CRM can only manage deals you already have |
Once deals pile up, you also need to know who to call first; our guide on how to prioritise leads covers scoring by fit and recency.
How should you set up a CRM for B2B deals?
Set the CRM up around the account and the deal, not around a list of emails. Copy this before you import anyone:
Siela's built-in CRM has contacts and companies, a visual pipeline, email sequences and bulk campaigns with open and click tracking, and HubSpot or Salesforce can be connected. Its Lead Finder saves every lead to the CRM with the reason it was picked, in its own group for each run.
This week: open your five largest deals and count the people on each. Any deal with one name is the first one to work on.
Frequently asked questions
What are sales CRM tools?
Sales CRM tools are software for tracking the people and companies you sell to, every conversation with them, and each deal from first contact to signed. Most add email sending, reminders and a pipeline board. Some add sequences, dialling, quotes and forecasts on higher tiers, so compare what each tier includes rather than the headline price.
What is B2B sales vs B2C sales?
B2B sales means selling to organisations such as companies, schools or government bodies; B2C means selling to individual consumers. B2B deals often need several people to agree and take longer to close, so the CRM needs company records, several contacts per deal and a forecast. B2C usually has more buyers, smaller orders and one decision maker per sale.
What is the #1 CRM platform?
By market share, Salesforce says IDC ranked it the number one CRM provider for 2025, with 20.0% share, in IDC's April 2026 software tracker. That market includes service, marketing, contact centre, advertising and commerce software, not only sales tools. Market share says who sells the most, not which CRM fits a small team best.
Is HubSpot a CRM for sales?
Yes. HubSpot's Sales Hub is its sales CRM, with a free tier for up to two users and paid Starter, Professional and Enterprise tiers priced per seat. Professional and Enterprise carry required one-time onboarding fees of $1,500 and $3,500. Labelling each person's role on a deal needs Professional or Enterprise, according to HubSpot's help pages.
Sources
- Salesforce: Sales Cloud pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Salesforce Help: Considerations for using contact roles (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- HubSpot: Sales Hub pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base: Create and use association labels (updated 31 Aug 2026, checked 5 Nov 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base: Set up and manage object pipelines (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Pipedrive: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Pipedrive Knowledge Base: Participants (updated 11 Sep 2026, checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Close: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Close Help: Leads (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Close Help: Opportunities (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Freshworks: Freshsales pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Salesforce: Ranked #1 CRM provider for 13th consecutive year (4 June 2026, checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Salesforce: Free Suite (checked 5 Nov 2026)