Key takeaways
- Consulting work tends to arrive through people who already know you, so the CRM should prompt you to stay in touch.
- With few deals at a high value, notes and context per relationship matter more than pipeline volume.
- Independent consultants rarely need more than a lightweight CRM; firms with several partners need shared visibility.
- Pebbles Ai remembers context across chats and drafts follow-ups, but it does not produce designed proposals.
What consultants need from a CRM
Consultants need a CRM that protects relationships over years, since the next engagement tends to come from a former client, a referral or an introduction.
A good consultant CRM answers three questions quickly: who have I not spoken to in a while, who introduced me to this person, and what did we agree when we last met.
- Keep-in-touch reminders set per person, not only per deal
- A field or note naming the referrer behind each relationship
- Meeting notes stored on both the contact and the opportunity
- Email history pulled from your own mailbox
- Light deal tracking for proposals and renewals
Lightweight and full CRMs for consulting firms
An independent consultant may fit the lighter end of this list, while a consulting firm with several partners may need the fuller CRMs. The notes follow each vendor's own description.
- folk: a lightweight relationship CRM with enrichment, email campaigns, AI assistants and a LinkedIn extension, sold per member on Standard, Premium and Enterprise.
- Pipedrive: a pipeline CRM with an AI email writer and automations, suited to a firm running several proposals in parallel.
- HubSpot Sales Hub: free tools for up to two users, with marketing and service hubs for firms that also run campaigns.
- Attio: a free tier, automatic enrichment and email and calendar sync, with a flexible data model.
- Zoho CRM: a free edition for up to three users and the Zia assistant, inside the broader Zoho suite.
A CRM for independent consultants and solopreneurs
An independent consultant or solopreneur should pick the CRM that takes the least upkeep, because every hour of admin is an hour not billed.
Start with the contacts you already have, mark the relationships that matter most and give each a reminder rhythm. If the CRM makes that feel like a chore within a fortnight, it is the wrong one, however capable it looks.
Where Pebbles Ai fits a consulting practice
Pebbles Ai fits consultants who want an assistant that remembers their practice and drafts follow-ups, with a Beta CRM keeping relationships in one place. Your memory holds short facts you share about yourself, Project memory holds facts about an engagement for chats filed under its project, and you can ask the assistant to remember, recall, correct or forget a detail in chat.
Smartbox works in Gmail or Outlook, where Write with AI drafts a reply from the thread and your brand voice. Contacts import from Google, Microsoft or a CSV, and voice dictation or audio transcription up to 25 MB turns a recorded debrief into text for your notes.
When a consultant should look elsewhere
Look elsewhere if you need designed proposals, e-signatures or time and billing, because Pebbles Ai does none of these. The assistants can draft proposal wording in chat, but not a finished document.
A consultant who only wants keep-in-touch reminders may find a relationship CRM such as folk enough on its own.
Consultant CRMs at a glance
Each CRM's category, whether its site lists a free plan, and how its own site structures pricing.
| Category | Free plan | How it is priced, per its site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| folk | Lightweight relationship CRM | No | Standard, Premium and Enterprise per member |
| Pipedrive | Pipeline-focused sales CRM | No | See their site |
| HubSpot Sales Hub | CRM platform with sales software | Yes | Free tools for up to 2 users, then Starter, Professional and Enterprise seats |
| Attio | Modern data-driven CRM | Yes | Free, Plus, Pro and Enterprise per user |
| Zoho CRM | CRM platform | Yes | Free through Ultimate per user |
| Pebbles Ai | Go-to-market workspace with AI assistants and a CRM labelled Beta | No | Seat-based plans with monthly AI credits and leads |
Entries summarise vendor sites as checked and carry no prices; plan names change, so look again before buying. Pebbles Ai has no free plan; Pro and Team start with a 1-month free trial.
The products compared
folk
Lightweight relationship CRM
A lightweight CRM for relationship-driven teams, with contact enrichment, email campaigns, AI assistants and a LinkedIn extension, priced per member with a two-week trial.
Best for: Founders and small teams managing relationships and simple campaigns.
Pricing model: Standard, Premium and Enterprise, per member, monthly or annual. Source: folk pricing
Pipedrive
Pipeline-focused sales CRM
A sales CRM built around visual pipelines, with an AI sales assistant and email writer, automations, forecasting reports and add-ons for lead generation and campaigns.
Best for: Small companies and growing sales teams that track deals on a kanban board and want AI help and task automation without a long set-up.
Pricing model: Plans and prices are on their own pricing page. Source: Pipedrive pricing
HubSpot Sales Hub
CRM platform with sales software
A CRM-centred sales suite with free tools, seat-based paid tiers, sequences, calling, forecasting, a prospecting agent and AI features, part of HubSpot's wider marketing and service platform.
Best for: Companies that want one mature CRM across marketing, sales and service, with the HubSpot Marketplace of apps and free tools for up to 2 users.
Pricing model: Free tools, then Starter, Professional and Enterprise priced per seat; onboarding fees on higher tiers. Source: HubSpot Sales Hub pricing
Read the comparison with HubSpot Sales Hub Visit HubSpot Sales Hub
Attio
Modern data-driven CRM
A flexible, data-model-first CRM with automatic enrichment, email and calendar sync, sequences and call intelligence on Pro, and a free tier.
Best for: Startups and scale-ups that want a customisable CRM with enrichment and a developer-friendly API.
Pricing model: Free, Plus, Pro and Enterprise, per user, with seat and workspace credits. Source: Attio pricing
Zoho CRM
CRM platform
A per-user CRM from Zoho with a free edition, sales automation, forecasting, cadences, built-in calling and the Zia AI assistant, part of a wider suite of Zoho business apps.
Best for: Small and mid-sized companies that want an affordable, configurable CRM with forecasting, calling and automation, especially if they already use other Zoho apps.
Pricing model: Free, Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate, per user per month, with a discount for yearly billing; CRM Plus is a separate bundle. Source: Zoho CRM pricing
We make Pebbles Ai. Facts about other products come from their own public pages, checked on .
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- FoundationAgent memoryYour memory, Project memory and Company memory keep client context between chats, and you can correct or forget a detail in plain words in chat.
- CapabilitySmartboxWrite with AI drafts replies in Gmail or Outlook from the thread, the recipients and your brand voice, in Fast, Balanced or Comprehensive mode.
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsKeep relationships, notes, tasks and proposal deals in the Beta CRM, with contacts imported from Google, Microsoft or a CSV.
Common questions
Do independent consultants need a paid CRM?
Not always. A free edition from HubSpot, Attio or Zoho CRM can hold a small set of relationships; pay when you need more users, automation or reminders the free edition lacks.
How do I track referrals in a CRM?
Add a referrer field or note to each contact and deal, then review it each quarter so you can thank the people who send you work.
Can Pebbles Ai write proposals?
The assistants can draft proposal text in chat from your Company Intel, but Pebbles Ai does not produce designed proposal documents or decks.
Does Pebbles Ai train its models on my client notes?
No. Your company information is never used to train an AI model, and each business works in its own secured tenant.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
