Zendesk Sell: Automate Success with Smart Sales Triggers

About Zendesk

Founded in 2007 in Copenhagen and now based in San Francisco, Zendesk has become a major software-as-a-service (SaaS) player. They provide cutting-edge tools for sales and customer service teams, focusing on streamlining processes and improving customer engagement. With a presence in over 160 countries and territories, Zendesk has established a broad international reach. A significant change occurred in 2022 when Hellman & Friedman, and Permira led a group of investors to purchase the business for about $10.2 billion, opening a new chapter in its growth and strategy.

Zendesk's modern sales CRM, Zendesk Sell, is designed to optimize sales operations and drive revenue. They offer a range of features, from customizable sales pipelines and powerful automation to robust engagement tools like email integration, call tracking, and detailed analytics. Zendesk is also committed to data security, with Zendesk Sell meeting SOC 2 Type II standards and complying with ISO, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and HDS compliance requirements. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest, underscoring their dedication to protecting customer information.

Known for their innovative solutions and comprehensive CRM offerings, Zendesk has earned a reputation for excellence. In 2023, G2 recognized Zendesk as the #1 Best Software Product and the top choice for the Mid-Market, highlighting their leadership in the CRM space. With a strong focus on security and continuous innovation, Zendesk remains a trusted partner for businesses worldwide looking to enhance their customer relationship management capabilities.

Key Zendesk Sell Features

Sales tracking and pipeline management

Zendesk Sell provides powerful sales tracking tools to help businesses efficiently manage their unique sales processes. The platform supports multiple customizable sales pipelines, allowing teams to tailor pipeline stages to match their specific workflows. Custom fields, filters, and tags enable further personalization of sales data, helping teams capture relevant details about leads and deals. The product and price book feature streamlines deal management, while lead scoring prioritizes high-value opportunities. They also have a company hierarchy feature that clarifies complex client relationships by defining parent-child structures, which is particularly useful when dealing with organizations with multiple subsidiaries.

Automation and activity tracking

Automation is a core aspect of Zendesk Sell, designed to enhance team productivity by streamlining repetitive tasks. Task and appointment settings keep reps organized, and sales triggers automate routine actions like updating deal stages or sending alerts, freeing up reps to focus on direct customer interactions. Their Task

Player feature further boosts efficiency by allowing reps to work uninterrupted through routine activities such as outreach and follow-ups. Round-robin distribution ensures balanced lead assignments among team members, while sequences automate email and task workflows, nurturing leads systematically over time. Task automation and customized notifications help maintain consistent follow-ups, ensuring no missed opportunities.

Sales engagement tools and communication

Zendesk Sell’s sales engagement tools are specifically crafted to improve prospect outreach and communication. The platform allows sales teams to build targeted lead generation lists and set up customized email sequences that automatically follow up with leads, ensuring a consistent engagement strategy. Email integration connects existing email accounts to the CRM, centralizing communication and automatically logging every interaction, which reduces the chances of missed follow-ups. Call and text integrations enable reps to initiate and manage phone and SMS communications directly within Zendesk Sell, with every call and text automatically logged and recorded. The power dialer accelerates outbound calling by automatically cycling through call lists, and bulk outreach features facilitate personalized mass communication, enhancing the scalability of engagement efforts.

Centralized platform and full customer view

Zendesk Sell is a centralized hub for managing all aspects of customer relationships. It consolidates lead, contact, and account information into a single platform, providing reps with a complete view of customer interactions before calls or meetings. Integrating Zendesk Sell with Zendesk products like Zendesk Support allows sales and customer support teams to share insights and data, creating a seamless 360-degree view of each customer. This integration helps bridge pre-sale and post-sale activities, ensuring every team member has the information needed to deliver exceptional customer experiences. The platform’s centralized structure enhances communication efficiency and helps maintain a holistic approach to customer engagement.

Mobile and geolocation

The mobile app ensures that sales reps remain connected and productive while on the go. It provides access to CRM data, task management, and geolocation features that facilitate visit tracking and verification. Offline access ensures uninterrupted productivity, syncing data seamlessly when connectivity is restored. Geolocation tools also help reps locate nearby prospects and log visits, providing additional oversight of field activities.

Subscriptions management

Zendesk Sell’s subscription management feature provides visibility into recurring revenue accounts, including historical data and subscription end dates. Smart lists can be used to track renewals, helping sales teams manage ongoing relationships and predict future revenue streams. This functionality is particularly valuable for businesses that rely on recurring sales to maintain strong customer relationships.

Reporting and analytics

Zendesk Sell offers robust reporting and analytics tools that provide comprehensive insights into every aspect of the sales process. Pre-built and custom dashboards allow teams to monitor key sales metrics such as deal progression, lead conversion rates, and sales performance, supporting data-driven decision-making.

Advanced analytics provide actionable insights through customizable reports and pipeline visibility, enabling teams to identify bottlenecks and optimize their sales strategy. Accurate forecasting tools help predict deal volume and revenue growth, improving planning and team management. Features like activity reporting track key sales activities, while performance metrics provide deeper insights into pipeline health and sales effectiveness.

Marketplace integrations and API access

The Zendesk Marketplace offers a wide range of third-party apps that can be integrated with Zendesk Sell to enhance their functionality, covering needs from document signing to marketing automation. Integration is simple, with most apps available at the click of a button. For businesses seeking further customization, Zendesk Sell’s open APIs allow for creating bespoke integrations and workflows, ensuring that the platform fits seamlessly into existing tech stacks.

Pricing & Plans

The Sell Team plan is the entry-level option, priced at $19 per user per month when billed annually, $228 per year for one agent, or $25 per user per month on a monthly subscription. It includes essential features like two customizable pipelines, email and calendar integrations, task and appointment settings, call tracking, text messaging, pre-built sales dashboards, and core API access, making it ideal for small teams starting with basic sales management.

The Sales Growth plan is made for growing teams requiring advanced tools. It is priced at $55 per user per month with annual billing, $660 per year for one agent, or $69 per user per month when billed monthly. This plan offers up to ten customizable pipelines, advanced and custom sales reports, a product and price book, unlimited email templates, sales forecasting, and prospecting credits.

The Professional plan is designed for established sales teams that need more control and extra features. It costs $115 per user per month with annual billing, which amounts to $1,380 per year for one agent or $149 per user monthly. This plan includes up to 20 pipelines, lead and deal scoring, task automation, advanced roles, and company hierarchy management.

The top-tier Sell Enterprise plan is designed for large sales teams that require maximum flexibility and advanced features. It is priced at $169 per user per month for an annual subscription or $219 per user per month for a monthly subscription. The plan includes all advanced features, maximum customization, and premium APIs, making it ideal for large teams that need comprehensive sales management capabilities.

Benefits & Drawbacks

Benefits

• Integration with Zendesk Support: Zendesk Sell integrates seamlessly with Zendesk Support, creating a unified platform that allows sales and support teams to share key data and insights. This integration helps bridge pre-sale and post-sale activities, offering a comprehensive view of customer interactions and improving overall customer service
• Automated power dialer: Their automated power dialer significantly boosts sales productivity by streamlining outbound calling. It automatically dials numbers from a pre-set list, allowing sales reps to focus on conversations rather than dialing, enhancing call efficiency and outreach efforts
• Geolocation features: Zendesk Sell’s geolocation tools enable sales reps to track visits, verify locations, and find nearby prospects. This feature is particularly useful for field sales teams, providing real-time data on customer visits and helping manage on-the-go sales activities effectively
• Sales trigger capabilities: Their sales trigger feature automates routine tasks based on specific conditions, such as when a new lead enters the pipeline or a deal stage changes. This automation reduces manual work and ensures that leads are nurtured consistently without missing critical touchpoints
• Free trial: Zendesk Sell offers a 14-day free trial, allowing potential users to explore the platform’s capabilities before making a purchase decision. This allows businesses to evaluate how the CRM fits into their existing workflows and meets their specific needs
• Mobile application: The mobile app, compatible with iOS and Android, keeps sales teams connected and productive while on the move. It offers access to CRM data, task management, and geolocation features. They also have offline functionality that ensures that work continues seamlessly even without internet connectivity, syncing data when the connection is restored

Drawbacks

• No free plan: Unlike some competitors, Zendesk Sell does not offer a free plan, which may be a drawback for small businesses or startups with limited budgets looking for cost-effective CRM solutions
• A sales-focused solution: Zendesk Sell is primarily designed for sales teams. They lack broader features that other CRMs may offer, such as comprehensive marketing automation or deep customer service tools outside the integration with Zendesk Support
• Limited marketing features: The platform’s focus on sales means that marketing functionalities are somewhat limited, making it less suitable for businesses looking for a full-service CRM with extensive marketing capabilities
• Advanced features are available in higher-tier plans: Some of the more advanced features, such as lead scoring, custom sales reports, and enhanced automation, are only available in the higher-tier plans, which could require a more significant investment for businesses needing those capabilities

What Is the User Experience Like?

Zendesk has a Better Business Bureau (BBB) profile but is not accredited and holds a D—rating; on Trustpilot, they have a 1.5 out of 5 rating. However, Zendesk Sell fares better on review platforms like G2, with a 4.2 out of 5 rating; Capterra, with a 4.3 out of 5 rating; and TrustRadius, with a 7.6 out of 10 score.

Positive feedback

Customers have expressed satisfaction with Zendesk's intuitive interface and robust capabilities, which provide full visibility into customer support and sales processes. Many users praised the platform's ease of use, noting that its clean design simplifies navigating customer tickets and tracking interactions across multiple channels, such as web, phone, and iPad apps. The automation features have been well-received, as they help save time on routine tasks, allowing teams to focus more on complex issues. Additionally, customers have found Zendesk's customization options—such as customizable fields and views—highly beneficial in tailoring the platform to their business needs.

Zendesk has also been commended for their powerful lead and deal management features, significantly enhancing sales efficiency. Users appreciate the platform’s ability to organize and track lead lists, monitor sales opportunities, and provide comprehensive reporting tools that offer valuable insights into customer interactions.

The seamless integration with other tools, such as Slack and Google Calendar, further enhances their functionality by allowing for better time management and more effective communication.

Negative feedback

One common complaint is that the Zendesk Sell platform can sometimes be unreliable. Some users report frequent sync issues, particularly with Gmail, which negatively impacts customer response times. Additionally, some users have experienced significant downtime, with the platform completely shutting down and locking them out, sometimes taking days for support to respond. This unreliability and slow support responses have made the platform unusable for some businesses.

Another area of dissatisfaction is Zendesk Sell's pricing and limited features. Many users feel that the pricing is too high, especially for smaller businesses or startups, and the platform lacks the advanced reporting capabilities to track lead sources and other key metrics effectively. Additionally, integrating with other Zendesk tools can be cumbersome, requiring users to log out and back in to access different functionalities. Customers have also pointed out that the mobile app requires further optimization and that the platform could benefit from better documentation and more third-party app integrations to enhance its utility.

Customer Support & Service Options

Zendesk does not provide a direct phone number or email for customer support, but they offer an AI-powered live chat on their website for immediate assistance. Customers can also submit a ticket to contact their sales team for more specific inquiries.

Additionally, Zendesk provides several resources to help users get the most out of their services, including options to schedule a demo directly from their website. Users can also access their extensive blog, participate in the Zendesk community, explore their help center for detailed guides, and utilize the training center to enhance their knowledge and skills with the platform.

Final Thoughts

Zendesk is a provider of CRM software solutions, offering powerful tools that enhance sales and customer service operations for businesses of all sizes. Zendesk Sell, their flagship sales CRM, stands out with their robust features, including customizable sales pipelines, automation, detailed analytics, and seamless integrations that improve team productivity and engagement. With a strong focus on data security and compliance, Zendesk ensures businesses can trust the platform with their sensitive customer information.

Despite some drawbacks, such as the lack of a free plan and the higher cost for advanced features, Zendesk Sell’s user-friendly interface, mobile compatibility, and comprehensive capabilities make it a strong choice for sales-focused teams. The platform’s commitment to continuous innovation, positive user feedback, and recognition from industry leaders underscores its value as a trusted CRM solution. Whether you want to streamline your sales processes, enhance customer interactions, or improve your overall sales strategy, Zendesk Sell offers a versatile and reliable option. For businesses seeking a sophisticated, scalable CRM with the backing of a globally recognized provider, Zendesk remains a top contender in the market.

Explore different CRM solutions by visiting our review page, where we break down various providers and their features. You can also use our comparison tool to match your business needs with the perfect software, and check out our blog for expert advice and updates on CRM trends.

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