Where do I start when choosing a CRM?

With a list of your own problems, not with CRM websites. Write down what's wrong with how you work: inquiries get lost, reps forget to call back, there's no single conversation history. That list is your spec, and you compare systems against it. A CRM solves specific jobs; it isn't chosen "just to have one."

Which CRM should a small business choose?

A light system with a transparent price, stable communication channels, and a developed extension marketplace. For selling through WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram, Kommo most often fits: it's built around messaging and grows through hundreds of widgets. But check it against your own list of problems.

Should I go with a free CRM?

Carefully. Free plans almost always have a ceiling, and integrations, automation, reports, and extra users are paid separately. In the end it comes out pricier than a paid system with a transparent price. Count the full cost, not the price of entry.

Can I set up a CRM myself?

Technically yes, you'll build a basic pipeline yourself. But with a certified integrator it's usually faster, cheaper, and without redos: they know the usual mistakes and stay on for support. Often that support costs nothing, because the partner earns a commission from the CRM for the licence while the client pays the standard price.

How many CRMs should I actually compare?

Two or three. Don't survey the whole market, and don't drag the shortlist out. Take a few systems that look like a fit at first glance and compare those on the things that decide the outcome: channel stability, the extension ecosystem, the interface, and a transparent price. More than that and the comparison turns to mush.

What do I look at so I won't regret it in six months?

Channel stability and the extension ecosystem. A pretty interface is visible right away, while a "dropping" integration and a missing widget surface months later. Choose a platform with room to grow, for 5 to 10 years, not for today.

How to Choose a CRM (and Not Regret It in Six Months)

There are hundreds of CRM systems, and almost every one promises to grow sales, automate your business, and bring order. In practice, the reason a rollout fails is rarely the CRM itself. Usually the problem is that the system was chosen the wrong way: by price, by brand recognition, or on a friend's advice. The right starting point is something else entirely. Below is the order you choose a CRM in so you don't have to redo it in six months.

In short Don't open a single CRM website until you've written down your own problems. That list is your spec. Then compare 2 to 3 systems on what actually decides the outcome: communication channels and how stable they are, the extension ecosystem, how easy the interface is, and a transparent price. And separately, decide whether to roll it out yourself or with an integrator. With an integrator it's usually faster, cheaper, and comes with support that often costs nothing.

Step 1. Write down the problems the CRM should solve

In short List the problems first, CRM websites second. That list is your spec, and you compare against it.

Don't open a single CRM website until you understand what exactly is wrong with how the company works. Sit down and write the problems out. For example:

new inquiries get lost;
reps forget to call customers back;
it's unclear what people do all day;
the owner can't see the team's workload;
tasks get done late;
there's no single history of conversations with a customer;
messages from WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and email sit in different places.

This list becomes your spec. A CRM is a tool for specific jobs, not an end in itself. If you're not sure you even need one yet, start with a simple breakdown: what a CRM is and when it's time to get one.

Step 2. Shortlist 2 to 3 CRMs and compare them

In short Don't survey the whole market. Take 2 to 3 systems that fit and compare them not on basic features but on the extension ecosystem and channel stability.

Don't try to take in the entire market. Two or three options that look like a fit at first glance are enough, and those are the ones you compare against each other. And look past the basic features: everyone has a pipeline and cards. Two things decide it, and they're the ones people notice later.

Is there an extension ecosystem

A good CRM is built like an App Store: hundreds of partner apps around it, widgets and integrations that add capabilities. You don't need them today. In a year, you might:

first-response control;
conversation translation and analytics;
artificial intelligence;
electronic document workflow;
inventory tracking;
extra reports;
integration with ERP and accounting.

The more developed the app marketplace, the longer the CRM grows with the business instead of hitting a ceiling. Mature systems, Kommo among them, have a marketplace of hundreds of widgets, so the extension you need is more often found ready-made than built from scratch.

Does the CRM support all your channels

Check how it works with the channels customers actually reach you through:

WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook;
email and telephony;
website and live chat.

What matters isn't that an integration exists, but that it's stable. If an integration keeps "dropping," staff lose messages, calls, and inquiries, and money with them. So read reviews specifically about channel reliability, not just about how the interface looks. If the core of your sales is messaging, look at systems built around it: how that works, we break down in our guide on connecting WhatsApp to Kommo.

Step 3. Look at the interface

In short Staff sit in the CRM for hours every day. An awkward interface means slow work and a painful rollout. Ask for a demo or a trial period.

This step gets underrated, and it shouldn't. Staff will work in the CRM for several hours every day. If the interface is awkward and irritating, speed drops and the rollout drags: people quietly go back to a notebook and their chats. Don't trust the screenshots on the website. Ask for a demo, or take a trial period and let a couple of reps work the system with their own hands.

Step 4. Don't choose a CRM just because it's free

In short A free CRM almost always has a ceiling. Count the full cost, not the price of entry: what's in the plan and what you pay extra for.

Almost any free CRM has limits. Later it turns out you pay separately for:

integrations and automation;
reports and advanced features;
extra users;
storage volume and API access.

The final cost of a "free" CRM often comes out higher than a paid one with a transparent price: you pay separately for integrations, automation, reports, and extra users. So choose a system where it's clear from the start what you're paying for: per user, per account, or per plan. If you want to see this on a concrete comparison, read our breakdown of Kommo vs Bitrix24, which lays out where a free plan pays off and where it turns into overpaying.

Step 5. Open the app marketplace before you buy

In short Look into the extension marketplace while you're still choosing. The solution you need may already be sitting there ready, or it may not show up even in years.

Most modern CRMs have their own extension marketplace. Open it before you choose, because the solution you need may already be ready:

monitoring how reps work;
accounting integration and telephony;
analytics and industry-specific solutions;
e-signature and document generation;
AI assistants.

The logic is simple: if the extension you need isn't there today, it probably won't be there in a few years either. A developed marketplace is room to grow.

Set up the CRM yourself or with an integrator?

In short Technically you can set it up yourself. In practice, a certified integrator is usually faster, cheaper, and makes fewer mistakes. And the support often costs nothing.

Technically, yes, you'll build a basic pipeline yourself. In practice, it's not always worth it. With a certified integrator it usually comes out faster, cheaper, and with fewer redos. Here's why.

You get a working system right away

An integrator has already been through dozens of similar projects. They know the usual traps and help you avoid them before launch, instead of reworking the setup a month later when the team is already working in it.

You have someone to turn to

Any CRM changes over time: the API updates, new integration versions ship, messenger rules change. Sooner or later a moment comes when you need a specialist. Hunting for one mid-week, when inquiries have stopped coming or the telephony has gone quiet, is a bad strategy. It's far calmer when support is already there.

Kommo's support is a model, not a flaw

Reviews argue about Kommo's support, but the argument is really about the model. The deep help doesn't come from Kommo directly; it comes from its partner-integrators. Kommo has a direct line, but it's a general one. Digging into your setup, your channels, and your pipeline is the job of the partner who ran your project.

So people who message the general chat and wait take it for weak support, when really they knocked on the wrong door. With an integrator it works the way it's meant to: WhatsApp drops on a Friday night, or an automation needs fixing, and the person who answers already knows your account instead of starting from scratch. That person is us.

Often the support costs nothing

Official CRM partners earn a commission from the CRM itself for selling licences. So the client pays for the licence at the standard price, with no markup, and in return gets extra months, consultations, and technical support. Terms differ from partner to partner, so it's worth checking this up front. We're a certified Kommo partner and work on exactly this model.

The team has to build the habit, and that's 2 to 3 months

Here Kommo is strong: a simple interface and messengers in one window lower the resistance. But the tool alone isn't enough, because the habit still has to be built. For reps to run deals in the system every day, instead of falling back to a notebook and their personal phone, you need 2 to 3 months of discipline, not a "set it and forget it" launch.

This is the integrator's second job, after setup: train the team and carry you through those first months. Without it, even a convenient CRM turns into an expensive address book nobody opens.

The bottom line

In short A good CRM isn't the one with more features. It's the one that solves your problems, holds all your channels, has an ecosystem, is comfortable for the team, is transparent on price, and grows with the business. Choose a platform for 5 to 10 years, not "for today."

A good CRM isn't the one with more features. A good CRM is the one that:

solves your current problems from the list in step 1;
holds all your communication channels, and holds them stably;
has a developed extension ecosystem;
is comfortable for staff, not just the owner;
is transparent on cost;
can grow with the company.

One last thing. Don't choose a CRM "for today." Choose a platform the business can run on calmly for the next 5 to 10 years. For small and mid-sized businesses that sell through messaging, Kommo most often fits these criteria. But check it against the list above for your own case: a good choice is the one made for your needs, not on someone else's advice.

We'll help you choose and set it up

Tell us about your jobs and sales channels, and we'll point you to the CRM that closes your list of problems, and tell you honestly if your case isn't a fit for Kommo. And if it is, set it up through us: pay for licences through us and get up to 3 months free plus free technical support.

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