Finding the best customer relationship management (CRM) system means comparing several products to determine which offers the best overall functionality for the results you want. Prophet CRM, created by Avidian, can be considered a comprehensive, complete system. It works well for most business types and sizes, including smaller startups and large organizations. But is it the right choice for your startup?
This Prophet CRM review examines the features offered, how it stacks up to the competition, and what past and current users have to say about the platform.
Pros and Cons of Prophet CRM
Prophet CRM offers some key benefits to users as a cloud-based CRM application that integrates Microsoft Outlook functionality, providing a good option for small businesses that need a system designed for more than one sales team. It also has ample integration options and an overall solid level of functionality that is easy to use. That being said, Prophet CRM is not without its drawbacks.
Below are some of the primary advantages and disadvantages of the platform.
Pros of Prophet CRM Software
- Works easily with Outlook
- Easy installation of the software
- Provides a good amount of training
Cons of Prophet CRM Software
- Does not work well with Apple products
- Constant updates and software releases
Prophet CRM Pricing and Features
There are a lot of features to love about Prophet, including its affordability and ease of use. Perhaps most important for buyers is that it is embedded into Microsoft Outlook, making it the best choice for those organizations that are already using this platform and just want to enhance their ability to connect with, communicate with, and manage clients more efficiently.
Prophet CRM’s offerings are divided into three tiered packages, each with a per-user monthly fee.
Contact Manager ($25/User/Month)
Notable Features:
- Mobile app available for iOS and Android
- Create and customize reports
- Can export lists and views to Excel
- Provides dashboards for sales and opportunities
- Flexible security
Sales CRM ($55/User/Month)
Notable Features:
- Can automate workflow actions
- Tracking of sales opportunities
- Pipeline and opportunity tracking dashboards are available
- Email tracking
- Can track appointments and tasks
Enterprise ($75/User/Month)
Notable Features:
- Link and share emails for companies and contacts
- Pipeline automation suite included
- Customized templates, forms, and records are unlimited
- Allows creation of quotes in Excel
- Integration API access
Prophet CRM Reviews
Most companies in various industries will benefit from Prophet CRM because of how complete it is. It is ideal for those who need a tool that’s efficient to use for their sales and business teams. It is ideal for a small business that needs support for two or more users of the application. However, it’s also usable for those who are mid-market companies that need to have 100 or more users.
Here are some verified reviews from Software Advice by people who used Prophet CRM:
“It lets you get going quickly and [create] contacts and opportunities on the first day. We did a few hours of training and problem-solving from Avidian with a shared screen, which helped, but is a bit pricey.”
“Prophet has dramatically increased our speed to quote & has given us more visibility on what is in the pipeline. The workflow manager has been useful for follow up.”
“Prophet is one of the more user friendly CRMs I have ever dealt with. Customizable and easily accessible without having to open up any additional programs is a huge plus. We use it for tracking our marketing and client service operations and has been working out quite well.”
Overall, Prophet is an excellent tool for those who want a contact manager that works within Microsoft Outlook. It helps teams to manage leads, projects, and contacts with ease. What’s more, most of the interactions and functions can be done right from Outlook. Another core benefit that users seem to enjoy is the automation it offers. Automation helps to speed up response times to customers, helps to improve overall analytics, and can help with tracking your team’s activity.
One of the benefits many users remark on is that it is streamlined because it is within Outlook. That means that you do not have to invest in training your team to use it since they are already using Outlook. However, if your organization needs to migrate to Outlook to use this tool, then there may be a learning curve to overcome. It is less beneficial to companies that are using Apple or G Suite products, by comparison.
As for its user interface, most users appreciate how easy it is to use, with various reporting tools, including over 30 pre-formatted reports. They also offer lots of analytics support features like visualization and reporting.
How Does Prophet CRM Compare?
There are plenty of competitors out there that offer CRM software for startups. One of the more popular is Salesforce. We find that Prophet compares to Salesforce in the following ways:
Pricing
The costs of Prophet CRM make it a highly desirable option. The lowest costing option, the Contact Manager, is just $25/user/month, which is ideal for startups that may not need a large number of users. The Sales CRM, which is likely to be the most commonly used for most sales teams and those who need pipeline management, is $55/user/month. The highest level option, the Enterprise, is $75/user/month, which adds numerous additional features and allows for better multi-departmental functionality.
Regarding costs, the products are pretty close in terms of overall use at the basic levels. Salesforce Sales Cloud has an Enterprise Edition at $150/user/month and an Unlimited Edition which can be best for large organizations at $300/user/month. Overall, Salesforce’s product offers more features, therefore, making the higher cost often worth it.
Features
There are a number of key features that help Prophet CRM stand out from the competitors. It provides an excellent task management system that keeps sales teams on track, and it also offers lead management and a contact management system that is designed to provide support as you work through your leads. Integration tracking is efficient and streamlined, as are the segmentation tools that are offered. Other key features include quotes and estimation, a super helpful calendar and reminder system that’s built into Outlook, and a territory management suite of features.
Overall, Prophet features are robust and designed to meet most needs. It’s easy enough to manage projects, finances, and time within a single application.
Salesforce offers exceptional features, including a better contact and account management tool, opportunity and pipeline management tool, and a product and price list management feature that works well. Compared to Prophet, Salesforce’s additional features, like task and activity management, territory management, and customer contract management features, tend to stand out.
Ease of Use
Overall, users find Prophet CRM to be easy to use. It also does not require a lot of new education because the system embeds into Microsoft Outlook. As an integrated component of this, it is a seamless step to creating better sales management.
Even the more complicated tasks, such as analytics as well as reporting, are simple to manage. Most users report that it allows for ample customization to ensure the tool works for your organization the way you want and need it to.
When it comes to ease of use, Salesforce can be a solid choice for larger, more established companies, though some users report that it takes some time to learn the platform. For those that are looking for a simple system setup and little-to-no learning curve, Salesforce may not be the best option.
Integrations
The main integration for Prophet CRM is with Microsoft Outlook, but the tool offers other options as well. This provides for easy functionality. Outlook is both integrated and embedded into the program, allowing the software to automatically associate various activities with the proper customer opportunity.
Salesforce offers many integration options — far more than Prophet. For those who want the opportunity to use other tools, including Google’s products, Salesforce is the better choice overall.
Customization
With Prophet CRM, it’s possible to customize reports and fields within those reports to fit a variety of activities. It is one of the most flexible CRMs in this way, allowing for the customization of reports, contacts, account activity, and much more. You can develop actional insights from the processes available that fit the way you need to use a CRM.
Customization on Salesforce is one of its key features and benefits. There are outstanding benefits here, including the ability to create some of the most extensive reports and data visualizations to fit just about any need. It tends to be a better option for customization in larger organizations as well.
Reporting and Analytics
Reporting and analytics tools are critical for the overall functionality of any CRM. Prophet does a good job with this. It allows users to easily transform data into tables and graphics that are interactive. It offers over 30 standardized reports with the ability to create your own using the wide range of data points and custom fields users can access using this system. It is possible to automate all of the data collection and report generation tools as well.
Salesforce has some powerful reporting and analytic tools. It tends to stand out in terms of the more robust options available in reporting, including customization features. They also have a dashboard that is more user-friendly when it comes to generating those reports.
Customer Support
There’s a good level of customer service available with Prophet CRM. That includes lots of onsite tools and articles to help with answering questions. They have an email team to answer questions, but also phone support. The help desk responds quickly to concerns and offers hands-on support for questions, troubleshooting, or integrating the platform into your business.
For customer service, Salesforce is easily recognized as one of the best products on the market, with various tools and resources available when there is a concern. A help desk, fast responses to emails, and phone support are standard with Salesforce.
Final Thoughts on Prophet CRM
The best CRM software has to be robust enough to handle all of the tasks you need it to at an affordable price while also providing high-level features like reporting, customizations, automation, and data analysis.
Overall, though, Prophet works well and offers the functionality that most users need. It also provides for easy integration and setup, with ample customization and reporting options. An overall desirable product that has a lot of positive reviews from users, Prophet should be a consideration for many companies looking for reliable CRMs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Prophet CRM?
Prophet CRM is a product embedded in Microsoft Outlook and helps teams centrally manage a number of items. These include leads, projects, contacts, and opportunities.
How much does Prophet cost?
Prophet CRM costs start at $25/user/month for the Contact Manager package. Prices can go up to $75/user/month for their highest package: the ‘Enterprise’.
What CRM is better than Prophet?
Salesforce can be considered a better CRM than Prophet. The reason for this is that it is more compatible with other programs.