Top Sales Tools for Small Business Owners

Sales tools are software platforms that help a business find leads, make sales, and build long-lasting customer relationships. They include point-of-sale systems (POS), customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, and AI tools. 

For example, San Francisco–based fashion brand Modern Citizen owes much of its growth to its early adoption of software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools, says Cofounder Jessica Lee. “Our tools really set us up for success from day one and allowed us to scale and grow very quickly because of the innovation and what was happening in that space,” Jessica says on an episode of Shopify Masters. 

This guide covers the main categories of sales tools small businesses use, how each one supports the sales process, and some of the most essential tools for supporting your small business. 

Essential sales tools for a small business

• All-in-one sales tool: Shopify
• CRM software
• POS and payment processing software
• Lead capture and email marketing tools
• Live chat tools
• Analytics and reporting tools
• Sales automation tools
• Affiliate and social software

A sales tool automates or organizes a specific part of the sales process, such as tracking a lead through the sales funnel or processing payments. For a small business owner juggling multiple roles, the right tools simplify and speed up operations and free up time for parts of the business that call for a more personal touch.

Here are some of the best sales tools, organized by category:

All-in-one sales tool: Shopify

Rather than piecing together a separate POS system, CRM, live chat tool, and email platform, some small businesses consolidate several sales tool categories into a single platform, like Shopify. 

Every Shopify plan has a unified point-of-sale system that syncs in-person and online sales, a free customer chat tool for converting passive browsers into buyers, built-in customer segmentation capabilities, and international sales support. 

CRM software

Customer relationship management (CRM) software stores contact information, purchase history, and notes about customer interactions in one system.

You can also fill out your customer information by recording their feedback. Jessica builds on customer data by asking them detailed questions. “We ask customers anywhere between 40 and 50 questions and free responses for them to give us feedback about their experience,” Jessica says. 

Popular customer relationship management software and platforms with CRM capabilities include: 

• Shopify customer segmentation. Shopify saves customer data with every purchase or sign-up, and allows you to segment customers based on characteristics or their customer journey. 

• HubSpot CRM. This tool unifies contact records with marketing, sales, and service tools, which helps businesses manage leads beyond the Shopify store. The core CRM is free forever, with plans starting at $10 per seat per month. 

• Zoho CRM. This tool connects to a wider suite of Zoho products, like accounting and email campaigns, for a business that wants sales data linked to other operations. It’s free for up to three users, with paid plans starting at $14 a month per user, billed annually. 

POS and payment processing software

Point-of-sale (POS) systems process in-person payments and sync those sales with online inventory. 

Options include:

• Shopify POS. This system shares a single inventory and customer record across all sales channels. The basic version is included with any paid Shopify plan, which starts at $29 per month, with advanced retail features starting at $89 per month. 

• PayPal. This checkout option, which integrates with Shopify, works with a store owner’s existing primary payment processor. PayPal charges a 2.29% per-transaction fee, in addition to Shopify’s surcharge for third-party gateways.

• Afterpay. This buy now, pay later option pays store owners in full upfront while the customer pays in installments. Merchant fees vary. 

Lead capture and email marketing tools

Lead capture and email marketing tools collect a site visitor’s contact information, typically through a pop-up or checkout opt-in, helping brands build out lists of prospective and existing customers.

For Three Ships, a skincare brand, email marketing accounts for 30% to 35% of revenue. “Email is such an underrated channel,” Laura Thompson, the brand’s cofounder, says on Shopify Masters. “One of the formats that works best for us is actually long-form written founder notes so people feel really, really connected to what’s going on with the business.”

Effective tools include:

• Shopify Forms. This tool pulls product and discount data directly from the store into the sign-up form, with no separate content to maintain. It’s included with any Shopify plan. 

• Klaviyo. Klaviyo combines email and SMS in one platform and segments customers based on purchase behavior. While paid plans start at $15 a month, Klaviyo is free for up to 250 contacts and 150 messaging credits. 

• Flodesk. This tool is a design-forward email builder with a Shopify integration that you can use to build and automate email sequences. Plans start at $19 per month and include unlimited emails; its introductory free plan doesn’t include email sending. 

• Black Crow AI. Brands like Set Active use this tool to analyze and optimize email flows and customer targeting. Price on request.

Live chat tools

Live chat software connects customers with either human or AI customer service agents. This allows site visitors to ask questions and get answers instantly, without leaving the page.

They include:

• Shopify Inbox. Free with any Shopify plan, this tool automatically surfaces order and product details in the conversation, so a reply doesn’t require switching to a separate admin screen.

• Tidio. This tool pairs an AI chatbot that can answer common questions with hand off to human support agents. Tidio has a free plan for smaller volumes, and paid plans start at $29 per month. 

• Gorgias. This multichannel tool combines chat, email, and social media messages into a single inbox, with order details attached to each conversation. After a free trial, a starter plan is $10 a month for a low ticket volume.

Analytics and reporting tools

Analytics and reporting tools track sales performance, revenue by channel, and other sales metrics over time. They turn raw sales data into a dashboard a business owner can act on. 

Ryan Bartlett, cofounder of apparel brand True Classic, credits close attention to return on ad spend (ROAS) using the Triple Whale tool with the brand’s early growth, he says on an episode of Shopify Masters. 

Popular tools include:

• Shopify Analytics. This Shopify tool is populated with store data from the first sale onward, with no tracking code or setup required. 

• Triple Whale. Available via a free plan, which provides one year of history, or paid plans starting at $219 per month, this tool combines data from multiple ad platforms into a single dashboard built around tracking ROAS. 

• Google Analytics. This free-forever tool tracks visitor behavior across the internet, which helps with attribution across marketing channels. 

Sales automation tools

Sales automation tools handle repetitive tasks, like flagging low stock, without requiring manual input. 

Revenge Of uses FOMO, an app that surfaces recent activity to site visitors. “It not only reminds a customer what’s in their cart, but it tells you, ‘So-and-so in Sacramento bought this comic,’ or ‘There’s only four of this item left,’” says Cofounder Jeff Eyser. 

Top sales and marketing automation tools include:

• Shopify Flow. Included in all Shopify plans, this tool runs off native store events, like inventory levels or order tags, without needing a disparate automation platform.

• FOMO. This tool displays real, recent order activity to site visitors. It has a free plan on the Shopify App Store, with paid tiers starting at $25 for higher traffic. 

• Recharge. This tool automates recurring orders and subscription billing, rather than one-time transactions. After a free trial, pricing starts at $25 a month, plus a small per-transaction fee after 50 subscribers.

Affiliate and social software

Affiliate and social tools help sales and marketing teams manage creator partnerships, live selling, and referral programs that drive sales via outside channels. 

Affiliate tools handle tasks like tracking affiliate links, sales, and payouts, saving time for businesses that rely on creators and affiliate partners. 

Other social tools can aid with social selling. Laura Thompson hosts weekly livestreams using Firework. “It’s a great channel for community building,” Laura says. In a one-hour event, the beauty brand often hosts around a thousand people, resulting in $35,000 to $40,000 in sales. 

Tool options include:

• Shopify Collabs. This tool manages affiliate payouts and product gifting directly from the Shopify admin, rather than through a separate affiliate platform. 

• Firework. This live-shopping platform turns a livestream into a shoppable, interactive sales event. Plans start at $39 per month after a 14-day free trial. 

• SmartCommerce. Used by brands like Malk, this tool detects a site visitor’s location and lets them add an item directly to their cart at a nearby retail stockist, such as Target or Walmart. Pricing is custom.