Liame vs. CRMs
Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive — Liame isn't trying to replace them. Here's how they work together.
CRMs track deals. Liame executes outreach.
Let's be clear: Liame is not a CRM. We're not trying to be.
CRMs are where deals live — pipeline stages, forecasts, account history, reporting. They're essential once a prospect becomes an opportunity.
But CRMs are terrible at outreach. Logging activities is a chore. Sending emails means plugins and workarounds. LinkedIn isn't connected. Reps hate it, so data quality suffers.
Liame is what happens before the CRM. It's where outreach actually gets executed. And because it happens in Liame, it's already logged — no manual entry.
vs. Salesforce
What Salesforce does well:
- •The enterprise standard for pipeline management
- •Incredibly customizable (if you have an admin)
- •Deep reporting and forecasting
- •Integrates with everything
- •Your company probably already uses it
Where Salesforce struggles for outreach:
- •Sending emails requires plugins or clunky workarounds
- •No native LinkedIn integration
- •Logging activities is manual and tedious
- •UI is not designed for reps doing outreach
- •Reps context-switch constantly
How Liame fits:
Liame handles the outreach. Salesforce handles the deal. Use Liame to email, LinkedIn, and call prospects. Activity syncs back (or export to import). When a prospect converts to an opportunity, manage the deal in Salesforce.
For teams without Salesforce yet
vs. HubSpot
What HubSpot does well:
- •Great free tier to start
- •Built-in email sequences (Sales Hub)
- •More modern UI than Salesforce
- •Marketing + sales in one platform
- •Good for SMBs
Where HubSpot struggles for outreach:
- •Sequences are email-only (LinkedIn requires third-party tools)
- •Personalization is template-based
- •Calling requires add-ons
- •Activity logging still requires discipline
How Liame fits:
HubSpot is actually one of the better CRMs for outreach, but it's still primarily a CRM. Use Liame for multi-channel execution (especially LinkedIn + email + calls together), then sync deals to HubSpot. Or use HubSpot sequences for scaled campaigns and Liame for targeted Spears.
The choice:
- • High-volume sequences → HubSpot Sales Hub is solid
- • Targeted, multi-channel outreach → Liame
- • Both → Use Liame for Spears, HubSpot for sequences and deal management
vs. Pipedrive
What Pipedrive does well:
- •Clean, visual pipeline management
- •Easy to set up and use
- •Affordable for small teams
- •Activity-based selling philosophy
- •Good mobile app
Where Pipedrive struggles for outreach:
- •Email integration is basic
- •No LinkedIn integration
- •Limited automation
- •Built for deal tracking, not outreach execution
How Liame fits:
Pipedrive is great for managing deals once they exist. Use Liame to generate those deals through outreach. The activity-based philosophy actually aligns well — Liame ensures activities happen (and are logged), Pipedrive tracks the outcomes.
Why reps hate logging activity
Every CRM suffers from the same problem: reps are supposed to log their activities, but they don't. Not because they're lazy — because it's friction.
- •Send an email from Gmail → copy/paste into Salesforce
- •Make a call → remember to log it
- •Send a LinkedIn message → nowhere to log it
Result: CRM data is incomplete. Managers don't trust it. Forecasts are off.
Liame's approach:
If you execute the outreach in Liame, it's already logged. No extra step. No discipline required. The activity exists because the work happened here.
This is the difference between "remember to log" and "already logged."
Do you even need a CRM yet?
You probably need a CRM if:
- • You have 5+ deals in motion at any time
- • You need pipeline forecasting for investors or leadership
- • Multiple people are working the same accounts
- • You're past seed stage
You might not need a CRM yet if:
- • You're a solo founder doing outreach yourself
- • Deals are simple and few
- • You're still finding product-market fit
- • A spreadsheet honestly works fine right now
Liame's role:
For early-stage teams, Liame might be enough on its own. Your outreach activity is tracked. You can see your history with any contact. When you're ready for a CRM, you'll have clean data to migrate.
For teams with a CRM, Liame is the execution layer that feeds the CRM. Better outreach → more opportunities → more for your CRM to manage.
How Liame works with your CRM
Current state:
- • Export activity logs to CSV for import
- • Manual sync for now (native integrations coming)
On the roadmap:
- • Native Salesforce integration
- • Native HubSpot integration
- • Zapier connector for everything else