Prospect CRM

What is Prospect CRM

Prospect CRM is a customer relationship management software made for B2B businesses that sell physical products, like wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers. Its main purpose is to connect sales activities with stock information. This is why it is called a "Stock-Aware CRM". Unlike normal CRMs that only track sales pipelines, Prospect CRM also shows real-time inventory levels, product details, and specific customer pricing. This helps sales teams make accurate quotes and promises to customers. The company is part of The Access Group, a large provider of business software solutions based in the United Kingdom. It focuses on helping product-based companies grow by getting new customers and keeping existing ones happy.

Prospect CRM Features

Prospect CRM offers many features designed for B2B product sales. Here are the main ones:

• Stock-Aware CRM: This is the core feature. It connects with your inventory management system to show live stock data. Salespeople can see what is available to sell, what is coming soon, and what is reserved for other orders. This stops them from selling products that are out of stock.
• Customer Segmentation (RFM): It uses a Recency, Frequency, and Monetary (RFM) model to automatically group customers. This helps you find your best customers, customers who are at risk of leaving, and new customers with potential. You can then create targeted marketing campaigns for each group.
• Quoting Software: Create and send professional quotes quickly. The system pulls product information, pricing, and stock levels automatically. You can use templates to make sure all quotes look consistent and professional.
• Sales Pipeline Management: Visually track all your sales opportunities from lead to closed deal. You can see the status of every deal and what needs to be done next to move it forward.
• Missing Orders Report: The CRM identifies customers who have not ordered in their usual buying cycle. This creates an alert so your sales team can contact them and prevent customer churn.
• Upsell & Cross-Sell Matrix: The system suggests related products or upgrades during the quoting and ordering process. This helps increase the value of each order.
• End-to-end Reporting: Get detailed reports on sales performance, customer activity, and product sales. Dashboards give a quick overview of key metrics like close rates and customer lifetime value.
• Centralized Customer Data: All customer information, including communication history, past orders, and special notes, is stored in one place. This gives everyone on the team a complete view of each customer.

Prospect CRM Pricing Plans

Prospect CRM offers pricing plans based on the needs of different business sizes. The plans are typically structured in tiers.

• Starter Plan: This plan is for small teams or businesses new to CRM. It includes core CRM features like contact management, sales pipeline tracking, and basic reporting.
• Professional Plan: Aimed at growing businesses, this plan includes everything in the Starter Plan plus more advanced features. These often include customer segmentation (RFM), quoting tools, and more integrations with other business systems.
• Enterprise Plan: This is for large businesses or those with complex needs. It offers all features, plus advanced customization, dedicated support, and extensive reporting capabilities.

All plans are based on an annual contract, usually paid monthly. The final price depends on the number of users and the specific features required.

Prospect CRM Free Plan

Prospect CRM does not have a permanent free plan. However, it offers a 14-day free trial. The free trial gives you access to all the features of the platform. This allows you to test the software with your own data and see if it is a good fit for your business before you decide to buy.

How to use Prospect CRM

Getting started with Prospect CRM is a clear process. Here are the typical steps:

1. Sign Up for a Trial: Begin by registering for the 14-day free trial on their website.
2. Integrate Your Systems: The most important step is to connect Prospect CRM with your accounting or inventory management software. This is what makes it "stock-aware".
3. Import Your Data: Import your existing customer, product, and supplier information into the CRM.
4. Configure Your Pipeline: Customize the sales pipeline stages to match your business's sales process.
5. Create Quote Templates: Set up professional templates for your quotes to ensure consistency across the sales team.
6. Train Your Team: Introduce your sales and customer service teams to the platform. Show them how to manage leads, create quotes, and use the reports.
7. Analyze and Act: Use the RFM analysis and Missing Orders Report to identify opportunities. Contact loyal customers for upsells and reach out to customers who have not ordered recently.

Pros and Cons of Prospect CRM

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using Prospect CRM.

Pros:

• Specialized for Product Businesses: It is built specifically for wholesalers and distributors, so its features are very relevant.
• Stock Integration: The direct link to inventory data is a major benefit that prevents many sales problems.
• Customer Retention Tools: Features like the Missing Orders Report actively help you keep your customers.
• Powerful Reporting: The RFM analysis and detailed sales reports provide valuable business insights.
• Seamless Quoting: The quoting tool saves a lot of time and reduces errors.

Cons:

• Niche Focus: It is not suitable for service-based businesses that do not sell physical products.
• Annual Contract: The requirement for an annual contract can be a big commitment for small businesses.
• Learning Curve: Because it has many specialized features, there can be a learning period for new users.
• Pricing: It may be more expensive than some generic CRMs that do not offer inventory integration.

Prospect CRM integrations

Prospect CRM integrates with many popular accounting and inventory management systems to ensure data flows smoothly. Key integrations include:

• Unleashed: A popular inventory management software for product businesses.
• Xero: A widely used cloud accounting software.
• QuickBooks: Another leading accounting platform for small and medium businesses.
• Sage: Integrates with various Sage accounting products.
• DEAR Inventory: Connects with this inventory and order management system.

These integrations allow for a two-way sync of data, meaning customer records, orders, and stock levels are always up-to-date in both systems.

Prospect CRM Alternatives

If Prospect CRM is not the right fit, here are some other options:

• Zoho CRM & Inventory: Zoho offers a broad suite of business apps, including a powerful CRM and a separate Zoho Inventory app that can be integrated. It is a strong alternative for businesses that want an all-in-one solution.
• NetSuite CRM: This is a good choice for larger businesses. It is part of a larger ERP system that combines CRM, inventory, and financials into one platform. It is very powerful but also more complex and expensive.
• Salesforce Sales Cloud: Salesforce is a leading general-purpose CRM. While it does not have built-in stock awareness, it can be customized and integrated with other apps from its AppExchange to manage inventory.
• HubSpot CRM: Known for its excellent marketing and sales tools, HubSpot can be a good option. Like Salesforce, it requires integration with a separate inventory system to get stock-aware features.

Prospect CRM API

Yes, Prospect CRM provides an API for developers to build custom integrations and connect it with other software. The API allows you to access and manage data within the CRM, such as contacts, orders, and products. To get an API key, you typically need to be a customer. You can find information in their help documentation or by contacting their support team. They will provide you with the necessary credentials and developer guides.

Here is a simple example of what an API request might look like to get a customer's details:

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://api.prospectcrm.com/v1/contacts/12345",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  }
}

Prospect CRM Affiliate program

Information about a public affiliate program for Prospect CRM is not clearly available on their website. Many B2B software companies like this prefer to work through partnership programs, such as with resellers or implementation consultants. If you are interested in promoting Prospect CRM, the best approach is to contact their sales or partnership team directly. You can ask if they have a referral program or if there are opportunities to become a partner. This often involves a more formal relationship than a simple affiliate link.