If you manage a B2B sales team—especially one wrangling long, complicated deals—you’ve probably heard about Membrain. Maybe you’re wondering if it’s just another CRM with fancy buzzwords, or if it actually helps teams close complex sales without losing their minds. This review cuts through the noise. I’ve dug into Membrain for real teams, not just demo videos, and here’s what’s actually worth knowing.
Who Should Care About Membrain?
Membrain isn’t for every sales team. If you’re running high-volume, transactional sales (think: 100 deals a week, cookie-cutter pipeline), look elsewhere. But if your deals stretch over months, need multiple decision makers, and your reps spend more time strategizing than dialing, Membrain is built for you.
The tool claims it’s for “complex B2B sales” and, for once, that’s not just marketing fluff. If you sell software, consulting, industrial equipment, or anything that involves committees and custom contracts, you’re the target market.
What Sets Membrain Apart from the Usual CRM Crowd?
Let’s get this out of the way: Membrain is not trying to be Salesforce or HubSpot. You won’t find every feature under the sun. Instead, Membrain tries to zero in on helping teams handle the mess and nuance of complex sales cycles. Here’s how it goes about that:
1. Process-Driven, Not Database-Driven
Most CRMs are big spreadsheets with a few dashboards glued on. Membrain puts your sales process front and center. When you open a deal, you don’t just see a list of fields—you see the stages your team actually uses, with checklists, guidance, and even coaching tips baked in.
What works:
- You can build out your actual sales methodology (MEDDIC, SPIN, Challenger, whatever) into the workflow.
- The visual process makes it painfully obvious where deals are stuck or missing key steps.
- Managers can see how well reps are following process—not just if they're logging activity.
What doesn’t:
- If your process is fuzzy or changes every quarter, you’ll spend a lot of time updating templates.
- Some teams will hate being “forced” into process. If your culture is cowboy-style, expect grumbling.
2. Built-in Enablement and Coaching
Membrain bakes sales enablement into the tool. Instead of dumping a PDF playbook into Google Drive, you can attach resources, templates, and tips right inside each deal stage.
What works:
- New hires ramp faster—they see guidance where they need it.
- You can standardize messaging and qualification steps.
- Managers can easily add coaching notes or reminders.
What doesn’t:
- It’s only as good as the content you put in. You’ll need to actually write and maintain these resources.
- If your sales team hates reading, they’ll ignore your carefully crafted tips.
3. Collaboration and Accountability
Complex deals usually mean multiple people on both sides. Membrain lets you map out buying teams, track stakeholder engagement, and assign tasks to anyone involved.
What works:
- You see a clear picture of who’s involved on the customer side.
- Internal collaboration (assigning tasks, sharing notes) feels less clunky than in most CRMs.
- You can track “stakeholder coverage” to spot weak points.
What doesn’t:
- The UI for mapping buying teams isn’t as slick as it looks in the brochures—expect some clicking around.
- Integrations with tools like Slack or Teams are there, but don’t expect magic; they’re fine, not game-changing.
4. Forecasting and Analytics
Membrain’s forecasting tries to be more than just a weighted pipeline. Because it knows your process and which steps are done, it can give more realistic deal probability.
What works:
- Managers get a less BS-filled forecast—it’s based on actual activity and process, not just gut feel.
- You can spot patterns in lost deals, stuck deals, and rep process adherence.
What doesn’t:
- If your reps fudge the process to move deals along, your forecasts will be off. Garbage in, garbage out.
- The reporting is good, but not as deep or customizable as Salesforce. Don’t expect to build every chart under the sun.
Day-to-Day User Experience
Getting Set Up
- Implementation: Don’t expect to “just turn it on.” You’ll need to map out your actual process and invest a few days (or weeks) setting it up right. If you skip this, you’ll hate it.
- Integrations: Membrain plays well with Outlook, Gmail, and some marketing tools, but not everything. If you rely on niche software, check compatibility first.
Using Membrain Daily
- Interface: Clean, not overwhelming, but not flashy. Most reps pick it up quickly, but there’s a learning curve if they’re used to Salesforce.
- Mobile App: Decent, but not mind-blowing. Fine for checking notes, not for deep work.
- Customization: You can tweak a lot, but it’s not “no code.” Some changes require admin help.
Pro Tips
- Start simple: Don’t build a 20-stage process out of the gate. Map the basics, add detail later.
- Get buy-in: If your sales team doesn’t see why process matters, they’ll treat Membrain like any other CRM—something to game or ignore.
- Keep resources fresh: Stale playbooks and outdated templates defeat the point.
What’s Actually Worth Your Time (and What’s Not)
Worth It: - Building your process into the tool, so every deal follows the same path. - Using coaching features to onboard and upskill reps. - Mapping buying teams and tracking stakeholder engagement.
Meh: - Fancy dashboards. They’re fine, but not the reason to buy Membrain. - Mobile access for deep deal work. Use it for quick updates, but not much more.
Ignore: - Thinking Membrain will “fix” a broken sales process. It’ll only make flaws more obvious. - Over-customizing. Keep to what your team will actually use.
Pricing and Support
Membrain doesn’t post pricing on their website. Expect to pay more than lightweight CRMs, less than Salesforce. It’s “mid-market” pricing—worth it if your deals are big and complex, overkill if your ACV is low.
Support is solid. You get real humans, not endless ticket queues, especially if you buy a bigger package.
The Real Pros and Cons
Pros
- Designed for complex, multi-person sales.
- Process is front and center—not an afterthought.
- Coaching and enablement features actually matter.
- Good support, not just a bot army.
Cons
- Setup takes real effort.
- Not for transactional sales—overkill for simple deals.
- Reporting and integrations are good, not best-in-class.
- You have to maintain your process and content (no tool magic here).
The Bottom Line: Should You Try Membrain?
If you’re running a small team with big, hairy deals—and you care about process—Membrain is worth a look. It won’t do the hard work for you, but it’ll make it a heck of a lot easier to see what’s working and what’s not.
Don’t expect miracles or instant ROI. Start simple, get your team on board, and iterate. Skip the hype and focus on building a process your reps will actually follow. That’s what moves deals forward—software just helps you see the gaps.