Workbooks, the CRM platform for midsize businesses, has been recognised by Constellation Research as one of seven solutions in its latest SMB Sales Force Automation ShortList™.
Constellation Research evaluated more than 70 solutions across the Sales Force Automation market before selecting the platforms it recommends for small and midsize businesses.[1]
The recognition comes as the role of CRM is changing rapidly. AI agents, automation and increasingly connected customer data are giving sales teams new ways to research prospects, prepare for meetings, keep CRM data accurate and identify where to focus their time.
Independent recognition in a crowded CRM market
Businesses choosing CRM technology today face an enormous range of platforms, features and pricing models, making it increasingly difficult to separate genuine business value from an ever-growing list of capabilities.
John Cheney, CEO of Workbooks, says: “Businesses choosing a CRM today certainly aren’t short of options. The harder part is working out which platform will deliver value once it is embedded into the business.
“That’s why independent analyst recognition like this matters. Buyers need something more useful than a feature list or a sales pitch when they’re comparing technology. Being recognised as one of just seven SMB solutions gives businesses another independent reason to put Workbooks on their shortlist.”
Constellation considers factors including ease of use, sales-cycle management, marketing and customer-support integration, analytics, workflow creation, AI capabilities, pricing and post-sale support when assessing Sales Force Automation solutions.[1]
AI is changing CRM – but it still has to deliver value
Workbooks has been expanding AI across its CRM platform, including AI agents and customized AI that can work with CRM data and public information to help teams research accounts, summarise customer activity, improve data quality and automate everyday sales tasks.
Cheney says the opportunity now is to make AI genuinely useful inside the day-to-day work of sales teams, rather than simply adding AI features for the sake of it.
“We’re already seeing how AI can remove some of the work salespeople shouldn’t have to spend their time doing – meeting admin, research, chasing missing information and digging through account history. That gives people more time to focus on customers and opportunities.”
“But sticking AI into a CRM doesn’t automatically make it a better CRM. The fundamentals still matter. Is the system straightforward for people to use? Does it fit the way the business actually works? Can teams get the information they need from it? Is there proper support when something goes wrong? And, ultimately, can you draw a clear line between the investment you’re making and better business outcomes?”
He adds: “For midsize businesses in particular, the answer usually isn’t to replicate the complexity of a huge enterprise platform. They should be able to take advantage of AI, automation and sophisticated CRM capabilities without inheriting enterprise-level cost and complexity at the same time.”
Workbooks helps midsize organisations manage sales, customer relationships, forecasting, marketing and wider commercial operations within one connected platform, with AI and automation increasingly helping teams get more from the customer data they already hold.
Cheney concludes: “We’ve always believed CRM should make it easier to run and grow a business, rather than becoming another layer of complexity to manage. Constellation’s recognition is a welcome independent endorsement of that approach – particularly at a point when expectations of what CRM can do are changing so quickly.”
