Sometimes salespeople can strike gold and win a lucrative deal through sheer luck. 

However lightning doesn’t often strike twice.

Luck can only get you so far and rigorous planning is how the very best salespeople achieve success.

Sales planning tools are what salespeople need to not only achieve this success, but also to do so on a consistent basis. They empower sales teams to strategize effectively, anticipate challenges, and capitalize on opportunities. 

There are a variety of different tools reps can use to plan and organize their processes from route planning apps to tools that can ensure a smooth close.

Let’s take a look at the top 7 sales planning tools to increase your productivity!

Sales planning tools are like cheat codes for your sales team, helping them work smarter and faster to achieve more. 

They come in many forms, from apps that streamline workflows to platforms that automate repetitive tasks, saving valuable time. 

Whether it's lead generation tools, route planning software, CRM platforms, or communication apps, these tools optimize the selling process and enhance collaboration both internally and externally.

With countless tools available, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and end up with more problems than solutions. 

This guide aims to pinpoint the tools that will make the most significant impact on your sales team's productivity and highlight key areas to focus on. We've included descriptions and pricing to streamline your decision-making process and cater to the unique needs of your organization.

Route Planning & Mapping

Badger Maps

Price: $58/month Business, $95/month Enterprise (Free 7-day trial) 

Capterra Rating: 4.7

Available on: Android, iOS

When it comes to route planning and mapping tools, the industry leader is Badger Maps. 

With Badger Maps, sales reps can automatically plan, route, and maximize their time in the field, cutting down driving time by 20%. 

Offering capabilities such as route optimization, lead generation, map visualization, and automated data gathering from the field, Badger Maps helps field sales teams save time on their daily planning, maintain better relationships with customers, and get organized.

Sales-specific features like follow-ups and advanced reporting allow you to keep track of key customer information and be proactive about keeping closely connected with important accounts. 

 Sales teams have reported that they sell 22% more and drive 20% less when using Badger Maps, in fact, the average team of 10 reps sells $936k more the year they start using the app.

With Badger Maps, reps in the field can mobilize their CRM, providing instant access to important customer information as they work in their territories. You can sync and leverage data in your CRM, all from your mobile device. 

You can also enable a two-way, real-time native integration with the most popular CRMs such as HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Insightly, NetSuite, and many more. Additionally, field sales teams increase their CRM usage by 50% when using Badger Maps.

If you're looking to supercharge your sales with a great sales planning tool, look no further than Badger Maps. 

Badger Maps reduces sales reps’ average drive time by 20% and frees up an average of 8 hours a week.  

Sign up for a free trial today or schedule a demo to see how you can improve your sales planning processes with this route-planning app!

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Sales Forecasting

Clari

Price: Contact for pricing information

Capterra Rating: 4.5

Get it: Android, iOS

Clari is a sales forecasting platform that can help sales teams increase revenue streams and improve sales execution. 

It leverages AI and automation to provide detailed insights and actionable recommendations across the entire revenue process, from opportunity to close. 

With Clari you can set realistic sales targets that are based on your historical sales performance and your future needs, allowing you to make data-driven sales decisions that will assist you with your sales planning and improve your bottom line. 

Key features of Clari include predictive analytics, forecasting automation, activity tracking, and deal scoring. By providing real-time insights and predictive guidance, Clari is a sales planning software that enables sales teams to prioritize their efforts, identify risks and opportunities, and ultimately drive better outcomes.

Check out this blog with 25 sales growth strategies from some of the top sales experts in the business!

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Communication & Collaboration

Slack

Price: Free, Pro - $7.25/mo, Business+ - $12.50, Enterprise Grid - contact sales

Capterra Rating: 4.1

Get it: Android, iOS

Slack is a communication and collaboration tool that has revolutionized the way sales teams communicate on a day-to-day basis. This is a platform that is widely used by organizations both small and large looking to improve both internal and external communication.   

Their Channel feature is a great space for team members to communicate internally. Sales teams can create channels for day-to-day conversations between the team, a thread for focusing on particular projects, or even serving as an outlet for a bit of fun time during work hours!

The Connect feature can help you to connect with organizations outside of your workplace. Mastering sales communication is vital for sales teams looking to create authentic relationships with their customers, and this feature helps you have the same fluid conversations that you would have with your team with your customers. 

The Huddle feature is another great way for you to stay connected with other team members as you work together on different projects. You can quickly jump in a huddle over audio or video, helping sales teams work more effectively on projects together. According to a Salesforce survey, teams using Huddle have reported a 37% increase in productivity!

Listen to this Outside Sales Talk podcast episode with sales expert Shari Levitin to learn how you can sell with authenticity and build trust with anyone!

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Prospecting

Zoominfo 

Price: Contact for pricing info

Capterra Rating: 4.1

Get it: Android, iOS

Zoominfo is a great sales prospecting tool that helps sales teams find their ideal customers. The platform informs you who you need to reach out to and the best communication avenues to do so, helping you drive efficiency as you plan your pipeline. 

This tool is also great for sales and marketing alignment as it provides high-quality data that can help organizations from wasting time chasing up on the wrong types of leads due to misinformation between departments.   

Their enormous B2B contact database of 70M+ direct dial phone numbers and 174M+ verified email addresses will provide you with millions of potential leads. They provide great information on buyer intent by tracking companies that are actively researching solutions like yours, helping you to identify prospects who are at the beginning of their buyer’s journey. 

Their B2B CRM integration can help you keep your CRM data accurate and up-to-date and get deep insights into your customer base through sales metrics and embedded reports.

Listen to this Outside Sales Talk with sales expert John Barrows to learn the top questions you should ask every prospect!

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CRM

HubSpot

Price: Starter - $50/mo, Professional - $500/mo, Enterprise - $1200/mo

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5

Get it: Android, iOS      

HubSpot's CRM is an all-in-one platform for nurturing leads and driving conversions. Trusted by over 184,000 businesses in more than 120 countries, HubSpot is a leader in the space and one of the best CRM software available.

Lead management, email marketing, and automation features are seamlessly combined in HubSpot CRM, allowing sales teams to engage with potential customers at every stage of the buyer's journey.

HubSpot CRM empowers businesses to align their marketing and sales efforts effectively, leading to improved lead nurturing and higher conversion rates. HubSpot is famous for its ease of use and has a modern, appealing interface for first-time users. 

They do offer a basic free plan which can be useful for individual reps getting started and looking to test out a CRM. But if you begin to look for more advanced features, be wary that their pricing plans will start to increase quickly the more functionalities you need.

HubSpot’s Marketplace boasts over 1500 apps that field sales teams can integrate with, improving the effectiveness of their HubSpot CRM for sales reps.

One such app is Badger Maps, a sales mobile app that helps salespeople spend less time driving and more time doing what actually matters - selling! Badger Maps can streamline your entire sales process and on average, sales teams who use Badger Maps sell 22% more and drive 20% less.

Salespeople have direct access to their HubSpot CRM data in the field through Badger Maps’ bi-directional integration. Customer records and engagements that are created and updated in Badger Maps will be pushed to HubSpot and vice-versa, keeping all of your important customer information up to date as you work in the field.

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Analytics

Gong

Price: Contact for pricing info

Capterra Rating: 4.9

Get it: Android, iOS

Gong's platform captures customer interactions across various channels including phone calls, web conferencing, and email. 

It analyzes the content of these interactions and provides insights aimed at helping sales teams secure more deals. 

By offering a comprehensive view of ongoing deals, the platform equips sales representatives with valuable information to swiftly discern healthy opportunities from those at risk of stalling. Gong facilitates the evaluation of pipeline health and provides clarity on the status of each account, thereby identifying potential cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. 

Additionally, Gong streamlines sales workflows by automating note-taking, summarizing follow-up tasks post-meeting, and ensuring CRM records remain updated, ultimately enabling salespeople to save time and focus on core activities.

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Closing

Proposify

Price: Team plan - $49/user/mo, Business plan - Contact sales

Capterra Rating: 4.5

Get it: Android, iOS

Proposify is another great sales planning tool that gives sales teams control and visibility into the most important stage of your sales process - the close! Reps can easily manage and close all their quotes, contracts, and proposals. 

There are a multitude of different templates available to you with customization options included. You can maintain consistency with your brand's design style across all of your documents by uploading your brand's typeface and imagery to ensure you remain consistent across all of your messaging.

You can also get insights into how prospects are interacting with your proposals and discover ways to improve them.

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So there you have it. The 7 best sales planning tools on the market today.

Never forget that working smarter, and not harder, is the key to success in sales!

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