Hey everyone, just got my P&C license and started selling last week. I'm looking for some advice on CRMS.

What CRM do you guys recommend for someone just getting started? Ideally, I'd like something that also allows me to purchase leads directly through the platform, so I can manage the leads and follow-ups all in one place.

We’ve just made the move from being a HubSpot provider to an official HubSpot partner.

It was a reasonably big call for us as a small agency. We’ve been implementing and supporting HubSpot for clients for more than 10 years and have been to INBOUND for the last two, so we know the platform well. What’s new for us is building the partner side of the business more deliberately.

For those who have already been through this, what actually helped you build your HubSpot pipeline before reaching the tiers where HubSpot starts sending opportunities your way?

Was it existing clients, implementation projects, specialising in a particular HubSpot problem, content, outbound, co-selling, or something else?

And what would you do differently if you were starting again?

CRMs have so many features that it’s easy to end up using only a small part of what you’re actually paying for.

What’s one CRM feature you thought would be a game changer but ended up barely using?

Could be automation, reporting, lead scoring, AI features, integrations, anything really.

And what do you actually use every day that you couldn’t work without?

I’ve been building a CRM for small businesses, freelancers and agencies that combines lead generation and CRM in one place.

The main idea is simple:

• Find potential leads based on your target niche/location
• Collect lead details in one place
• AI Lead Generation Agent helps with lead research
• Organize leads inside the CRM
• Track lead status and follow-ups
• Manage notes and contact information
• Avoid keeping leads scattered across Excel, WhatsApp and different tools

I built this because I noticed a lot of small businesses/agencies are still manually searching Google/LinkedIn, copying leads into spreadsheets, and then struggling to follow up.

I’m currently improving the product based on real-world use cases.

If you run a freelance business, marketing agency, sales team, or small business:

What is the biggest pain you have with lead generation + CRM?

And if you already use a CRM, what feature do you wish it had that it currently doesn’t?

I’m especially interested in honest criticism — what’s useful, what’s unnecessary, and what would actually make you pay for something like this.