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Why Your Business Needs a Free CRM (and How HubSpot Makes it Effortless)

PJ Muller
16 May
2025
5
min read

Running a SaaS business means managing a lot of moving parts: leads, partnerships, support tickets, onboarding emails. In our early days at ProBackup, we tried to stay on top of it all with spreadsheets and in-house built tools. It didn’t take long before things started slipping through the cracks.

We needed something simple and reliable to keep track of our customer relationships, without committing to a massive tool or long onboarding process. That’s when we found HubSpot’s Free CRM.

The Mess Before the CRM

If you’ve ever:

  • Lost track of who followed up with which lead
  • Had two team members contact the same prospect
  • Missed a sales opportunity because someone forgot to reply

…you’re not alone. We’ve been there too.

The problem wasn’t our effort. It was our tools. Keeping everything in sync without a proper CRM was just not scalable.

Why We Chose HubSpot’s Free CRM

We didn’t want to spend weeks setting up a tool. HubSpot was quick to try, free to start, and did what we needed right out of the box. Here’s what stood out for us:

1. One Place for Everything

We imported our contacts, connected our inboxes, and instantly had a central view of who we were talking to, what we last discussed, and what needed to happen next.

2. Clear Visual Pipeline

The drag-and-drop board helped us finally see where our deals were. It was like Kanban for sales, which felt familiar and intuitive.

3. Built-In Productivity

We use the tasks, reminders, and email templates daily. It’s made it way easier to follow up without things falling through the cracks.

4. It Just Plays Nice

It connects with Gmail, Google Calendar, and the other tools we already use, so there’s no context switching or copy-pasting.

Getting Started Took Less Than 10 Minutes

  • Created an account
  • Imported a CSV of contacts
  • Set up deal stages
  • Added teammates
  • Started logging emails and calls automatically

We’re still using the free plan, and it’s doing what we need.

Final Thought

CRMs can feel like overkill if you’re a small team, but trust us, waiting too long to get organized will cost you more. HubSpot’s Free CRM was the low-friction tool we needed to get our sales and support in order. If you’re juggling leads in your head or chasing conversations across inboxes, give it a try. No pressure, no pitch... just sharing what’s worked for us.

Click here to sign up for HubSpot’s Free CRM

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