How to Choose the Best Sales App For Your Business [Top 4 Tips]

Sales is a fast-moving world. And if you aren’t keeping up with the industry, you’re being left behind.

And if you’re wasting your time with spreadsheets, tracking your sales manually, and typing up every email you want to send from scratch, you’re already behind.

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Two thirds of a sales rep’s time is spent doing tasks other than selling.

That’s a lot of time where it’s not possible for your sales team to be making sales.

Especially when about a third of a sales rep’s tasks could be automated.

And this is where sales apps come in.

Not only will your sales reps be able to cut down on the time they spend doing tasks that aren’t selling, they’ll also be able to access what they need from anywhere.

What is a Sales App?

A sales app is a sales management tool that allows sales reps to complete and track their tasks from the comfort of, well, anywhere. It’s an umbrella term for a category of apps that can help with sales. A sales app may allow for task automation, monitoring, and connecting with your team or prospects, among other things.

Why Should You Use Sales Apps?

Sales apps allow for some of that previously cited two-thirds of time spent doing other tasks, to be refocused on selling, increasing sales productivity, which then, hopefully, increases sales. Emails can be automated (did you know 70% of sales reps stop after one email, but there’s a 25% chance you’ll hear back if you send more?), prospects can be tracked through your sales pipeline, statistics can be gathered, giving you the information you can use to improve your sales process… etc.

The benefits of using sales apps vs not using sales apps are outlined in the table below.

Types of Sales Apps

Because sales apps are such a broad category, there are a variety of different types of sales apps. Some of those apps include:

• Mobile sales apps
• B2B sales apps
• Inside sales app
• Outside sales apps/Field sales mobile apps
• Retail sales apps
• Home sales apps
• Free sales apps

Mobile Sales Apps

A mobile sales app is a sales app that’s been developed so that it can be used seamlessly on a cellphone, just like any mobile app. Being able to access a sales app (and the data it holds) from your phone means that you can access that data from anywhere, as long as your phone is with you.

B2B Sales Apps

A B2B sales app is a sales app created specifically for the use of sales in and for B2B industries/companies. These apps have been designed with the needs of a B2B sales rep or company in mind so they can accommodate things like daily workflow, sales security, stats tracking, and ease of sales.

Inside Sales Apps

An inside sales app is a sales app designed to help with inside sales tasks. Inside sales refer to sales that you can do from the comfort of your office – no travel required. Inside sales apps aid in this aspect of sales, helping inside sales reps track and maintain contact with their prospects, among other sales app things.

Examples of inside sales apps are mobile CRM apps.

Outside Sales Apps/Field Sales Mobile Apps

An outside sales app is a sales app designed to help with outside sales tasks. Outside sales refer to sales that are done outside of the office, by traveling to in-person meetings, conferences, etc. Outside sales apps aid outside sales reps with these tasks. As cited by HubSpot, the difference between outside and inside sales apps is blurry.

Examples of outside sales apps would also include mobile CRM apps or navigational apps like TripIt.

Retail Sales Apps

A retail sales app is an app that helps facilitate retail sales. This can be in the way of a retail store’s own app that a consumer uses to make a purchase, or an app that aids retail sales reps in ease, tracking, POS etc. There are retail sales apps for both online and in-person sales..

Home Sales Apps

A home sales app, or a real estate app, is a sales app used to aid sales reps (or real estate agents and realtors) with selling houses. Similar to retail sales apps, these can be apps that help the agents behind the scenes in ease, tracking, etc or apps where they list houses for the public to view.

Free Sales Apps

A free sales app is simply a sales app that’s free. Some free sales apps have very limited capabilities, with more advanced features being locked behind a paywall. If you’re strapped for cash, a free sales app is more efficient than no sales app at all, however, you likely will be limited in what it can do.

Mobile Sales CRMs vs. Sales Apps

Mobile sales CRMs are sales apps, but sales apps are not always mobile sales CRMs. It’s a much broader category.

A sales CRM is a sales software system that aids sales teams through their sales process, by tracking, monitoring, and creating ease of use of everything in the process, from calling prospects to tracking final sales.

A mobile sales CRM is a sales CRM that has a mobile version (the app) so that the CRM is properly optimized for your phone.

Mobile sales CRMs are important sales apps for sales reps to have in their arsenals. They optimize the sales process and daily workflow for the sales reps themselves, but also keep track of everything so other sales reps, managers, and bosses will all know what’s going on with the entire sales team.

So even though, like a square is a rectangle but a rectangle’s not a square, a mobile sales CRM is a sales app but not all sales apps are mobile sales CRMs, a mobile sales CRM should be one of the sales apps your sales team employs.

And when it comes to mobile sales CRMs, you’re spoilt for choice.

However, when it comes to mobile sales CRMs or other sales apps, there are some things you should take into consideration.

Key Considerations When Choosing a Sales App

When it comes to choosing the sales apps your sales team is going to use, you’re not going to want to just pick whatever the first Google result is. You’ll have to carefully research what exactly it is you need, and what the best options for sales apps are.

Luckily for you, you can read on for some things you should take into consideration below.

What You Need Them For

This might seem a little obvious, but because of the wide array of sales apps available to you, it’s important to know exactly what you need them for. If you aren’t in the real estate business, you don’t need a home sales app. If you aren’t in retail, you don’t need a retail sales app. If your company is not a B2B business, you don’t necessarily need B2B sales apps.

Get your sales reps involved with this and figure out exactly what you need your sales apps to be able to do. Ask your reps about time-consuming tasks that could be made quicker with a sales app, difficult tasks that could be made easier with a sales app, aspects of the sales process that a sales app could improve, etc.

Make a list using what you (and your sales team) have come up with. That way you’ll already be narrowing down your options, and hopefully, you won’t end up paying too much for an app that you’ll only use half the features for.

Price

When choosing sales apps, it’s important to understand all the costs associated. Some sales apps may include a monthly or annual subscription cost, as well as an implementation or onboarding fee. Some sales apps include different tiers, as well, where price and features will change depending on which tier you purchase.

Ringy includes onboarding agent coaching in every subscription, so you know what the cost is upfront. However, not all sales apps include this in the listed subscription price, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve investigated the full price that the sales app will cost you (upfront, monthly, yearly, etc) so you can compare across the sales apps you’re looking at. This way you’ll know you’re getting the best bang for your buck.

Ease of Use

A sales app should be easy to use, even if there’s an initial learning curve. If it’s not, or if it’s tedious or time-consuming, then what was the point of getting it? It’s not going to save your sales reps any time.

So before choosing your sales apps, you’ll want to make sure that they’re:

• User-friendly – Will your team intuitively be able to use the apps, or will they need to be trained? If they do need training, will it be easy to use them after that, or do they have confusing interfaces?
• Practical – Does it actually make sense for your team to use them? Realistically, will your team see them as helpful or just more apps to keep track of?
• Compatible with each other and/or other apps your team already has and uses

Features

Different sales apps will include different features, as standard features or included as extras. It may be less expensive to pay what will seem like a costly subscription fee to one sales app that covers a bunch of the services you need, rather than to pay several smaller subscription fees for sales apps that specialize in one service you need.

And just as discussed above, make sure you and your sales team will find the features of the sales apps you choose usefully. No point in spending money on features that will metaphorically just sit in your office and collect dust.

Some features offered by different sales apps that you may find useful are:

• Automated communications (emails)
• Client communications
• Appointment booking
• Time tracking
• Lead management
• Sales pipeline management
• Data collection
• Video calling
• POS
• Etc

Best Sales Apps

Now that you know what a sales app is and how to choose the best ones for you, let’s take a look at our picks for some of the best sales apps.

We’ve tried to pick a variety of different types of sales apps, all being some if not the top-rated in their fields, to showcase how varied the sales apps out there are.

And now without further ado, in no particular order …

Ringy

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Not to be biased, but we aren’t going to make a list of the best sales apps without including Ringy! Ringy is a sales CRM built on the importance of communication. And when it comes to sales apps, you don’t want to overlook CRMs. Plus, Ringy is easy to use and mobile-friendly.

Type of Sales App

Inside Sales App, Outside Sales App, Mobile Sales App

Main Use

Customer relationship management (CRM)

Price

$99/month

Ease of Use

Ringy is user-friendly, with a free trial to get used to it, free demo available, agent coaching upon subscription, sales tools integration, and excellent customer service if you still need help using it.

Features

Ringy has a long list of features, including:

• CRM + Cloud VoIP Softphone
• Click-to-Call Dialing
• Lead Management System
• Lead Distribution System
• Reports + Analytics
• Call Recording
• Local Caller ID
• SMS + Email Drip Automation Campaigns
• Sales Pipeline
• Lead Distribution & Tags
• Agent Coaching

HubSpot

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Another CRM on our list here! Although there are many HubSpot alternatives when it comes to CRMs, we’ve decided to include HubSpot. It’s a monster of a CRM, being probably the most popular choice. It doesn’t just focus on sales, instead of covering marketing and customer service as well, so everyone in the company can work together from one place.

Type of Sales App

Inside Sales App, Outside Sales App, Free Sales App, Mobile Sales App

Main Use

Customer relationship management (CRM)

Price

Has a free version, paid starts at $45/month, but quickly goes up to $890/month with the Professional plan.

Ease of Use

With all the services it offers, HubSpot can have a learning curve. However, it does integrate with a variety of other sales tools, as well.

Features

HubSpot has many features. Some of the most popular listed, relevant to sales are:

• Free Meeting Scheduler App
• Social Media Tools
• Email Tracking Software
• Sales Email Automation
• Lead Management Software
• Pipeline Management Tools
• Sales Email Templates
• Free Online Form Builder
• Free Live Chat Software

DocuSign

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In an age when sales have moved continually more inside than outside, tools like DocuSign are invaluable. This sales app allows you to review, upload, send, and e-sign documents. Business deals can be negotiated, contracts signed, all virtually.

Type of Sales App

Inside Sales App, Home Sales App, Mobile Sales App

Main Use

Send and sign documents virtually

Price

For eSignature pricing: Starts at $10/month for Personal, $25/month for Standard, Business Pro is $40/month

DocuSign also offers plans that are real estate and/or API specific.

Ease of Use

DocuSign offers a 30-day free trial so you can see how well you and your team adjust to the app before purchasing. How complex the sales app is to use partially depends on what features you need it for. It also can be integrated with certain other apps, like Dropbox or Google Drive.

Features

Some of the features for the eSignature Business Pro plan are:

• Send Documents for eSignature
• Buy Up to 5 Users Online
• Built-In Accessibility
• Basic Workflows
• Multiple Languages
• Reusable and Shared Templates
• Comments
• Basic and Team Reports
• In-person eSignatures
• Customized Branding
• Signer Attachments
• Single Click Consent
• SMS Authentication
• PowerForms
• Collect Payments
• Bulk Send

Calendly

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Calendly is scheduling software that allows you or your clients to book meetings with each other without playing phone tag or trying to coordinate times via email or text message. Instead, if someone wants to book a meeting with you, Calendly, which will be synced with your calendar, allows him/her to choose a time when you’re available.

Type of Sales App

Inside Sales App, Outside Sales App, Free Sales App, Mobile Sales App

Main Use

Scheduling appointments or meetings

Price

There is a free package, and a package for only $8/seat/month. However, the Professional package is $12/seat/month, and the Teams package is $16/seat/month.

Ease of Use

Calendly is a convenient tool with many integrations to other apps depending on the plan you choose.

Features

Some of the features for the Professional plan include:

• 6 Calendar Connections per Person
• Connect to Google, Office 365 Outlook, and iCloud Calendars
• Unlimited Active Event Types
• Create Unlimited One-Off Meetings
• Customize Booking Links
• Customize Email Notifications and Reminders
• Create Automated Workflows
• View Metrics and Reporting
• Remove Calendly Branding
• Add Branding to Booking Page

Zoom Meetings

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You might be thinking, why is the videoconferencing technology my mom uses on this list? Because it’s videoconferencing technology even our parents are able to figure out! Zoom Meetings is a great app to use for sales when businesses are increasingly becoming fully remote. With Zoom, you’ll still be able to have a meeting with your prospects face-to-face, even if you aren’t face-to-face.

Type of Sales App

Inside Sales App, Mobile Sales App

Main Use

Videoconferencing

Price

There is a free version. After that, the pricing is:

• Pro: $149.90/year
• Business: $199.90/year
• Enterprise: $240/year

Ease of Use

Zoom meetings is very user-friendly, which is how it’s become so popular. It also has many available app integrations.

Features

Some of the features of the Business plan include:

• Host Up to 1000 Participants with Add-On
• Group and One-to-One Meetings for Up to 30 Hours
• Private and Group Chat
• Social Media Streaming
• 1 GB Cloud Recording Per License

Square

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Working on the retail side of sales, Square is a POS system that can be used on laptops, phones, tablets, etc. You can use Square completely virtually, or purchase additional hardware and make it workable in-person as well.

Type of Sales App

Retail Sales App, Mobile Sales App

Main Use

Point of Sale (POS)

Price

Square is a little different from the other apps on this list, as it doesn’t include a monthly fee. However, there is a fee for each payment you accept.

Ease of Use

Square is considered user-friendly and integrates with a number of different applications.

Features

Square offers a variety of different features. Some of those features include:

• Acceptance of a Variety of Different Payment Methods
• Payment Protection
• Item Modifiers
• Customizable Item Grid
• Integrated Hardware
• Itemized Refunds
• Offline Mode
• Receipts
• Custom Tip Amount
• Customer Directory
• Online Ordering
• In-App Sales Report
• Downloadable Reports
• Inventory Management Integration
• Team Management
• Email Marketing
• Payroll

Sales App Case Studies

Below are some success stories for companies that have adopted the best sales apps listed above.

FAQ

What is the best sales app for Apple?

There are a variety of different sales apps that work well with Apple products. All the sales apps listed above have high ratings in the Apple Store. Of them, the best-rated is DocuSign with 4.9 stars and over 450,000 reviews.

What is the best sales app for Android?

There are a variety of different sales apps that work well with Android products. All the sales apps listed above have high ratings in the Google Play Store. Of them, the best-rated is Calendly with 4.8 stars and over 1,500 reviews.

Which sales apps will work well with my CRM?

This largely depends on the CRM you have and how compatible it is with other apps. If you’re using a sales app that isn’t compatible with your CRM, see if it’s a feature your CRM offers, or if there are other options that are compatible.

In Summary

Sales apps are wonderful tools for you and your sales reps to use to optimize your sales process and increase sales. And with so many different types available to you, you’ll be able find sales apps for all your needs.

Some of the best sales apps on the market to start with are:

• Ringy
• HubSpot
• DocuSign
• Calendly
• Zoom Meetings
• Square

However, when choosing your sales apps, make sure to keep in mind:

1. What you need them for
2. Price
3. Ease of use
4. Features

And with all that, you’ll be able to purchase the best sales apps for your business.

If Ringy fits that bill, contact now for a free demo.