This might be the only guide you need to set up your sales tools for 2025.
About one year ago, I did a deep dive into sales tech to determine what tools are currently used to sell software. I talked to 20+ founders and revenue leaders. Read my main findings here.
Since then, a lot of people have asked me what tools I would recommend for certain use cases.
I teamed up with two commercial leaders to answer the question once and for all:
What tools do I need to sell SaaS successfully?
A big thanks to Julius and Elmar, who have structured the tech stack between early stage (up to 2M ARR) and growth stage (2M+ ARR), starting with the respective CRM systems in place.
Julius Dany // Early Stage GTM:
- Julius built early-stage go-to-market (GTM) strategies from scratch over four years at the sales tech company Syntinels. With REP, he now supports companies of all sizes and industries (many early-stage), in building a full and qualified pipeline by leveraging the SDR-as-a-service approach. He identifies as an advocate of multi-channel outreach. Having always sold to leadership positions and founders in sales, he has gained a deep understanding of the market and the potential of new tools.
Elmar Schaaf // Growth Stage GTM:
- Elmar is a B2B GTM leader and expert. He was the first commercial hire at Parloa, scaling the Growth Team from 1 to 20 people in Berlin and New York in three years and helping bring the company from pre-Seed to post-Series B (66m funding, led by Altimeter). Currently, Elmar is helping other early-stage companies build a predictable, repeatable, and scalable Growth Engine based on proven frameworks and strategies.
Julius — Tooling from 0–2m ARR
For early-stage companies, reaching the milestone of 2M ARR is a pivotal moment that signifies not just financial progress but also a validation of their product and business model. During this phase, these companies focus on achieving product-market fit and refining their value proposition. This often involves intensive experimentation and iteration to discover what resonates most with customers. At this stage, teams are typically small and agile, allowing for rapid changes in strategy based on customer feedback.
Early-stage companies leverage flexible tools that support their evolving needs to navigate this critical period. As there are tons of tools available, founders (especially in that phase) often get confused and influenced by LinkedIn or like-minded operators on which tools to buy to accelerate their growth. There still is no transparency about which tools are must-haves and which have a nice-to-have touch.
As companies approach the 2M ARR milestone, they begin to lay the groundwork for future growth. This stage involves validating their product and business model, transitioning from pure exploration to a more structured approach that prepares them for scaling operations.
In this crucial period, companies need to focus on:
- Establishing Processes: As they refine their product and begin to grow, early-stage companies should start documenting processes. This ensures that as the team expands, customer interactions remain consistent and quality-driven, setting the foundation for future growth.
- Leveraging Basic Automation: Implementing simple automation tools can help manage initial operational demands more efficiently. This reduces the manual workload on team members, allowing them to focus on refining their product and improving customer engagement.
- Gathering Initial Analytics: Even at this early stage, utilizing basic analytics can provide valuable insights. Companies should track key performance metrics to identify trends, gauge customer satisfaction, and make informed adjustments to their strategies as needed.
Focusing on new business is the key driver of growth, but companies start to consider up- and cross-selling to their customers. Companies try to give it all to limit churn, as they usually need to acquire 3 new customers once they lose one if they still want to grow by at least 200%.
Overall, reaching the 2M ARR mark is a significant achievement for early-stage companies. It signifies that they have successfully navigated the foundational challenges and are ready to implement more structured and strategic approaches for growth. By establishing the right processes and tools during this critical period, they position themselves for future success in the competitive SaaS landscape.
Tooling // Under 2M ARR
Hubspot
Description:
HubSpot is a versatile CRM platform designed to simplify customer relationship management and sales processes. It offers a clean interface and seamless integration across marketing, sales, and customer service, ensuring teams work efficiently. HubSpot Sales Hub provides tools to automate outreach, track engagement, and manage pipelines, helping sales teams close deals faster and more consistently. Its automation and tracking features streamline workflows, reduce manual tasks, and enhance customer interactions.
Who Benefits (Hubspot):
- Sales Teams A super user-friendly interface enables sellers to close deals quickly and manage (nearly) everything within a single tool.
- Marketing Teams Helps marketing teams execute campaigns and manage tasks seamlessly in one tool.
- Revenue Operations Simple structures enable RevOps managers to easily build reports and manage pipeline setups independently, without requiring technical support.
Price Range:
HubSpot CRM is free, with Sales Hub starting at €20 per user/month (Starter) and up to €120 per user/month (Enterprise). Marketing Hub starts at €20/month (Starter) and goes up to €3,300/month (Enterprise) for 10,000 contacts.
Teams Involved (RACI) (Hubspot):
Common Pitfalls:
- Overlooking Scalability: Setting up too many workflows or properties early on can make scaling difficult. Start with essentials and expand gradually.
- Ignoring Reporting Setup: Failing to customize dashboards and reports can lead to missed insights. Tailor them to key metrics from the start.
- Misaligned Integrations: Poorly managed integrations can disrupt data flow. Ensure systems are synced correctly to maintain accuracy.
Apollo
Description:
Apollo.io is a sales intelligence and engagement platform that helps teams streamline their sales process. With a database of over 275 million contacts, it enables efficient lead identification and outreach. Features like email automation, CRM enrichment, and engagement tracking allow users to optimize workflows and close deals faster, all through an intuitive interface. It also includes a sequencing feature to nurture leads.
Who Benefits (Apollo):
- Sales Teams: Enables sales teams to identify leads, automate outreach, and track engagement efficiently, all within one streamlined platform.
- Marketing Teams: Help marketing teams target the right audience with accurate data, optimize campaign performance, and manage outreach seamlessly in one tool.
- Revenue Operations: They can delegate top-of-the-funnel activities to Apollo, reducing the need to manage them within the CRM.
Price Range:
Apollo.io offers a free plan, with paid options starting at $49 per user/month (Basic) and up to $119 per user/month (Organization), billed annually. Plans include varying credits for emails, calls, and exports to suit different sales needs.
Teams Involved (RACI) (Apollo):
Common Pitfalls:
- Overloading Workflows: Overusing Apollo’s automation features early on can lead to a cluttered and inefficient setup. Focus on essential workflows and expand as needed. Double-check automated steps.
- Incomplete Data Usage: With Apollo’s vast data resources, failing to filter or prioritize leads can overwhelm teams. Use targeted criteria to optimize lead quality.
Loom
Description:
Loom is a video communication platform that simplifies how teams share ideas and updates. With easy-to-use recording tools, it enables users to create quick video messages, tutorials, or presentations. Features like screen and webcam recording, viewer insights, and team libraries make collaboration more engaging and efficient. Its intuitive interface helps teams save time by replacing long emails or meetings with concise, shareable videos.
Who Benefits (Loom):
- Sales Teams: Loom allows sales teams to create personalized video messages, making outreach more engaging and increasing response rates, all while saving time. Especially for account-based approaches, typically for larger accounts.
- Marketing Teams: Loom helps marketing teams deliver compelling video content, simplify feedback processes, and collaborate on campaigns more effectively.
Price Range:
Loom offers a free plan with up to 25 videos per user and a 5-minute recording limit. Paid plans start at $12.50 per user/month (Business) with unlimited videos and advanced features, and go up to $20 per user/month (Business + AI) for additional AI tools.
Teams Involved (RACI) (Loom):
Common Pitfalls:
- Overusing Videos: Relying too heavily on videos can overwhelm recipients and reduce impact. Use them strategically for maximum effectiveness.
- Long Videos: Excessive video length reduces viewer engagement. Keep recordings concise to maintain attention and scalability.
- Time Inefficiency: Recording overly detailed videos can waste time. Keep messages concise and focused. Hack: Adjust video speed to 1.5x speed.
Elmar — Tooling post 2m ARR
Transition from Early-Stage to Scaling Stage: Beyond 2M ARR
As early-stage SaaS companies work their way up to 2M ARR, their primary focus is typically on finding and solidifying true product- and message-market fit — experimenting and iterating to figure out what truly works for them. Teams are lean, processes are flexible, and customer interactions are often highly personalized. Tools like HubSpot and other agile platforms are valuable in these stages for their simplicity and adaptability, allowing founders and small teams to manage customer relationships, track sales, and adjust strategies quickly as they test different growth levers.
However, once companies reach the 2M ARR milestone, they enter a new stage where scaling what works becomes the priority. Growth accelerates, customer volumes increase, and both sales and customer success teams expand. The focus shifts from discovery to operationalizing and amplifying proven strategies to achieve predictable, scalable and repeatable results.
At this point, companies need tools that enable them to:
- Standardise Processes: Ensuring consistent, high-quality customer interactions across larger, more distributed teams.
- Increase Automation: Reducing the need for manual tasks to handle higher volumes efficiently and to free up resources for strategic work.
- Leverage Advanced Analytics: Utilising more sophisticated data insights to make quick, data-driven decisions and measure performance across departments and markets.
And while acquisition remains a key driver of growth, retention and expansion become increasingly valuable at this stage. With a growing customer base, preventing churn and maximizing customer lifetime value (CLV) are critical to sustaining momentum.
The following tools are tailored for this scaling stage, equipping teams with the infrastructure needed to maintain momentum and efficiency as they transition from an agile startup approach to a structured, growth-focused operation.
Tooling
Salesforce & Salesforce CPQ
Description:
Salesforce is a powerful CRM platform with deep customization options that allow you to manage customer relationships and complex sales processes at scale. When you’re ready to streamline the quote-to-cash journey, Salesforce CPQ comes in — this tool makes it easy to configure product options, apply pricing, and automate approvals. CPQ is a game-changer for reducing friction in the sales process, speeding up complex quote configurations, and ensuring consistent, accurate pricing.
Who Benefits (Salesforce CPQ):
- Sales Teams save time with fast, reliable quote configurations and can focus on closing deals rather than managing pricing details.
- Finance and Revenue Operations get stronger control over pricing and deal structures, helping to reduce revenue leakage and align prices with overall business goals.
Price Range:
Salesforce CRM starts at around $25 per user/month (Essentials package), with advanced options like Enterprise at around $150 per user/month. CPQ pricing begins at approximately $75 per user/month.
Teams Involved (RACI) (Salesforce CPQ):
Common Pitfalls:
- Customization Overload: With Salesforce, it’s easy to overdo customizations, which can lead to complex workflows that slow teams down. Start with the basics and expand gradually.
- Data Hygiene: Without clear data-entry guidelines, duplicate and outdated records can build up, which affects CRM accuracy. Make data management a priority from the start.
- Training Gaps: Salesforce can be challenging for new users, so ongoing training and support are essential to drive effective adoption and usage.
Coefficient
Description:
Coefficient enables real-time data sync between Salesforce and Google Sheets, making it easy for teams to pull live data into spreadsheets for analysis, reporting, and dashboarding without relying on a full BI tool. This tool is ideal for scaling teams that need accessible data insights without a dedicated BI team. By integrating live CRM data directly into spreadsheets, it empowers more teams to make data-driven decisions quickly and reduces the dependency on engineering for custom reports.
Who Benefits:
- All Commercial Operations as well as the Revenue Operations Teams benefit most, as they can easily monitor KPIs, run reports, and provide data to other teams without relying on engineering or BI.
- Commercial Leadership gains visibility into real-time data, enabling quicker decision-making and resource allocation.
Price Range:
Coefficient offers a free plan with premium features (e.g., data refresh automation) starting at around $49 per user/month.
Teams Involved (RACI):
Common Pitfalls:
- Data Security and Access Controls: Pulling live CRM data into Sheets can lead to data exposure risks if not carefully managed. Set up strict access controls and guidelines to avoid unintentional sharing of sensitive information.
- Over-Reliance on Spreadsheets: Coefficient makes it easy to use Sheets for reporting, but as the team scales, relying heavily on spreadsheets for analytics may become inefficient. Plan for when and how to transition to a more comprehensive BI tool.
Gong
Description:
Gong records and analyses sales conversations, providing insights into team performance, deal progress, and customer sentiment. It enables managers to spot coaching opportunities and optimize sales processes based on real-time data. As the team grows, Gong makes it possible to scale 1:1 coaching efforts by providing automated insights into calls and meetings. This helps maintain a consistent standard across larger teams and enables leaders to proactively address issues, particularly around quoting and pipeline bottlenecks.
Who Benefits:
- Sales Managers benefit from scalable insights, allowing them to coach more efficiently and improve team performance.
- Sales Enablement teams can use Gong data to fine-tune training programs and identify skill gaps.
Price Range:
Gong’s pricing typically starts around $1,200 per user/year, with higher pricing for advanced analytics and add-ons.
Teams Involved (RACI):
Common Pitfalls:
- Adoption Challenges: Gong’s effectiveness depends on adoption by sales reps, who may be wary of their calls being recorded and analyzed. Communicate Gong’s value clearly and set up a culture of a growth mindset and constructive feedback.
- Data Overload: With Gong, there’s potential to be overwhelmed by insights. Teams should set clear goals and focus on specific metrics, rather than trying to act on everything at once.
- Privacy Compliance: Recording customer interactions involves compliance with data privacy laws. Ensure you have processes in place for obtaining consent and managing recordings in compliance with regulations like GDPR.
Dreamdata
Description:
Dreamdata is a B2B revenue attribution platform that helps companies understand which marketing and sales activities drive pipeline and revenue. It integrates with various data sources to build custom attribution models that fit complex customer journeys. With more touchpoints across marketing and sales, scaling companies need more granular attribution data to see where their highest-value leads are coming from. Dreamdata enables teams to allocate resources to the most effective channels and refine multi-touchpoint strategies.
Who Benefits:
- Marketing, Growth & Partnership Teams benefit from accurate attribution, enabling them to focus on high-ROI channels.
- Revenue Operations can prioritize Top Of Funnel efforts based on top-performing channels.
Price Range:
Dreamdata’s pricing generally starts around $1,000 per month, though this can vary based on the level of integration and customization required.
Teams Involved (RACI):
Common Pitfalls:
- Attribution Complexity: Dreamdata can yield complex attribution models that might be difficult to interpret or explain internally. Start with simpler attribution setups and refine them as needed.
- Integration Challenges: Integrating Dreamdata with existing data sources and platforms can be time-consuming. Make sure your marketing and sales teams are ready to handle this setup.
- High Expectations for ROI Tracking: Dreamdata is powerful, but results aren’t instant. It takes time to gather sufficient data for meaningful insights, so manage expectations around timing.
Gainsight
Description:
Gainsight is a customer success and product experience platform that helps teams manage customer health scores, proactively address churn risks, and identify upsell opportunities. It also provides tools to monitor customer engagement and satisfaction. Retention and expansion are key drivers for SaaS growth past 2m ARR. Gainsight enables proactive account management at scale, ensuring that customer success teams can monitor and improve customer health and drive upsell potential in an expanding customer base.
Who Benefits:
- Customer Success Teams benefit from real-time health tracking and automated playbooks, enabling proactive outreach to high-risk customers.
- Account Management teams use the insights for cross-sell and upsell opportunities, driving revenue growth.
Price Range:
Gainsight pricing starts around $2,500 per month, depending on the size of the customer success team and the features required.
Teams Involved (RACI):
Common Pitfalls:
- Health Score Complexity: Gainsight’s health scores can become overly complex if too many variables are tracked. Focus on a few key indicators of customer health to keep it manageable.
- Onboarding Overhead: Gainsight requires significant setup and training, especially for teams new to customer success software. Dedicate time to onboarding and customization to avoid user frustration.
Alert Fatigue: Gainsight’s automated alerts can overwhelm customer success teams if not managed carefully. Be selective with triggers to avoid burnout and ensure that alerts remain actionable.