If your sales team is growing, there are a million tools being thrown your way. Everyone’s promising to “accelerate growth” or “unlock your pipeline.” That’s all nice, but which tool actually fits your team’s real needs, and is Sap actually worth it compared to everything else out there? This guide is for sales leaders and operations folks who want clear, straightforward advice on picking the right B2B GTM (Go-To-Market) platform—without the marketing fluff.
Step 1: Get Clear on What You Actually Need
Before you even google another tool, write down what you want to fix or improve. Be specific. Is your team wasting hours logging calls? Are leads falling through the cracks? Or are you struggling to forecast revenue? Here’s what commonly matters for growing B2B sales teams:
- Lead management: Can your reps follow up quickly? Can you see who’s engaged?
- Pipeline visibility: Is it easy to see what’s real and what’s wishful thinking?
- Reporting: Do you get answers fast, or do you need a spreadsheet marathon every week?
- Integration: Will it play nice with your email/CRM/Slack/whatever you already use?
- Ease of use: Is it simple enough that reps will actually use it, or will it die on the vine?
- Cost: Not just the sticker price, but setup, training, and the time it takes to switch.
Pro tip: Talk to your team—especially the people actually doing the work. Write down the top three things slowing them down. Tools should solve those, not just look shiny.
Step 2: Understand What Sap Actually Does (and Doesn’t)
Let’s get real about Sap. Sap pitches itself as a “modern B2B GTM platform.” Depending on which sales rep you talk to, it might sound like the answer to all your problems. Here’s what actually matters:
What Sap tends to do well: - Centralizes lead and pipeline data: You get a single dashboard, so you’re not hunting through spreadsheets and emails. - Automation: Things like lead routing, reminders, and some email workflows are automated. - Integrations: Sap usually plugs into major CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot), email, and sometimes Slack. - Reporting: Out-of-the-box dashboards for pipeline, win rates, and team activity.
What Sap doesn’t magically fix: - Bad process: If your sales process is a mess, Sap won’t clean it up for you. - Customization: If your workflow is highly unusual, you might hit some walls unless you’re ready to pay for custom work. - Onboarding pain: There’s a learning curve. If your team hates new software, expect some grumbling and a few weeks of disruption.
What to ignore: Any pitch about “AI-driven everything” or “game-changing insights.” At best, you’ll get some basic recommendations or lead scoring. It’s fine, but it won’t replace real sales judgment or coaching.
Step 3: Make a Shortlist of Competitors
Don’t waste time on a spreadsheet with 30 tabs. For most growing B2B sales teams, you’re probably comparing Sap with:
- Salesforce Sales Cloud: The big dog. Powerful, but can be overkill for smaller teams.
- HubSpot Sales Hub: Easier to set up, cheaper, but not as customizable as Salesforce.
- Pipedrive: Simple, visual, and affordable. Great for smaller, less complex teams.
- Outreach/Salesloft: More about sales engagement (calls/emails), not full pipeline management.
- Zoho CRM: Cheap, lots of features, but not always loved by sales teams.
Pro tip: Ignore tools that require a consultant just to get a demo. If you can’t set up a trial and poke around in an afternoon, move on.
Step 4: Compare Features That Actually Matter
Most comparison charts are useless—endless checkboxes for things you’ll never use. Here’s what to really look at:
1. Can You See Your Pipeline Clearly?
- Is it easy to see where every deal stands?
- Can you filter and slice by rep, stage, or close date?
- How many clicks does it take to get a meaningful report?
2. How Does It Handle Leads and Accounts?
- Does it capture leads from your website, email, and imports?
- Is lead-to-account matching automatic, or do you need to babysit it?
- Can you set up reminders/follow-ups that your team will actually see?
3. Will Your Team Use It?
- How many screens/tabs/clicks to log a call or update a deal?
- Can reps use it on mobile?
- Are there annoying pop-ups or slow load times?
4. Does It Play Nice With Your Stack?
- Does it sync two ways with your existing CRM/email/calendar?
- Are there hidden upgrade fees for integrations?
- What happens if you want to turn off some features?
5. Reporting and Forecasting
- Are reports real-time? Can you customize them?
- Is forecasting simple, or does it require a weekend and a PhD?
- Can your managers pull their own reports, or does it all go through ops?
Don’t get distracted: Ignore stuff like “gamification,” “AI email suggestions,” or “predictive analytics”—unless you’re already nailing the basics.
Step 5: Pressure-Test the Vendor’s Promises
This is where most teams get burned. A good demo is not the same as real life. Here’s how to stress-test any vendor, Sap included:
- Ask for a sandbox: Can you get a hands-on trial with your own (fake) data?
- Run a real workflow: Try logging a lead, updating a deal, and pulling a report. Was it quick? Did anything break?
- Ask for references: Not the cherry-picked ones. Ask for a customer who switched from their tool, too.
- Support: Submit a ticket or call support. How fast do they respond? Do they give you a real answer, or just a link to a help doc?
- Total cost: Ask them to spell out all costs—setup, training, per-seat fees, integrations, and what happens if you need to scale up or down.
Pro tip: The best vendors are transparent about what they can’t do. If you get vague answers or lots of “roadmap” talk, be wary.
Step 6: Think About the Next 12–24 Months
Don’t buy for the team you have today—buy for the team you’ll be in a year or two (but not ten). Ask yourself:
- Will this tool still work if your team doubles?
- What happens if you add a new sales channel (SDRs, AEs, partnerships)?
- Can you get data out easily if you ever want to switch?
Avoid “future-proofing” by buying the most complicated tool out there. You want something that grows with you, but doesn’t require a full-time admin to run.
Step 7: Get Real Feedback From Your Team
This step is skipped all the time—and it’s why so many tools end up shelfware. Let your reps and managers try the tool. Ask them:
- What was confusing?
- Where did they get stuck?
- Did it actually make their day easier?
Don’t let the loudest voice in the room decide. Sometimes, the “simple” tool is the one people will actually use.
Step 8: Make Your Decision—Then Keep It Simple
After all this, pick the tool that best fits your team’s actual needs, not the one with the most features. Expect to tweak your process as you go. No tool will fix everything on day one.
Remember:
- Start small. Roll it out to one team or region first.
- Document what works and what doesn’t.
- Don’t be afraid to switch—or scale back features—if it’s not working.
Wrap-Up
Comparing Sap and other B2B GTM tools isn’t about picking the shiniest toy. It’s about solving real problems for your sales team, so they can spend more time selling and less time wrestling with software. Stay skeptical, trust your gut, and keep it simple. You can always iterate and improve—don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.