Decision one-pager

Choose a CRM platform for the sales team

Bram Verlaan 13 Aug 2026 For decision

Situation

The sales team (7 people) tracks leads in a shared spreadsheet. Pipeline reviews take a full hour because data is stale and follow-ups are missed; two deals slipped last quarter for lack of a reminder. We budgeted €10k/year for tooling in the 2026 plan.

Complication

The team doubles to 14 by Q2 2027. Onboarding new reps on the spreadsheet is not workable, and marketing wants shared campaign data by January. A decision this month is needed to migrate before the holiday freeze.

Select and contract a CRM platform before 1 September 2026 (budget ceiling €10k/year).

Options considered

OptionSummaryProsConsCost / impact
HubSpot Starter CRM suite; marketing tools included; migration wizard from sheets.
  • Fastest onboarding
  • Marketing + sales in one
  • Free tier to pilot
  • Costs rise steeply at scale
  • Reporting limited on Starter
 €6.2k/yr at 14 seats; ~1 wk migration
Pipedrive Lightweight pipeline-first CRM, strong mobile app.
  • Cheapest at our size
  • Loved by small teams
  • No marketing module
  • Weak permission model
 €4.1k/yr at 14 seats; ~3 days migration
Salesforce Full enterprise platform, maximal flexibility and ecosystem.
  • Scales indefinitely
  • Best reporting
  • 2–3× budget
  • Needs admin capacity
  • Overkill at 14 seats
 €21k/yr + setup; 4–6 wk implementation

Recommendation

Choose HubSpot Starter. It fits the budget at the 2027 team size, covers the marketing requirement without a second tool, and can be piloted on the free tier this month. Re-evaluate at 25+ seats — the exit path to a heavier platform stays open since HubSpot exports cleanly.

Next steps

ActionOwnerDue
Start free-tier pilot with 3 reps and current-quarter pipeline Sanne 20 Aug
Negotiate annual contract (target ≤ €6.5k incl. onboarding) Bram 28 Aug
Migrate spreadsheet, archive old file, train the team Jorik 12 Sep

Key risks & mitigations

Adoption risk — reps stay in the spreadsheet: make HubSpot the only pipeline source from 1 Oct and review usage weekly. Price-step risk at renewal: cap seats in contract, revisit at 25 seats.