If you’re evaluating B2B go-to-market (GTM) software, you’re probably sick of vague promises and endless feature lists. You want to know what actually matters, what’s just fluff, and—if you’re looking at Refer—how it really stacks up without the marketing gloss.
This guide will walk you through the features that actually move the needle for B2B teams, what to watch out for, and where Refer shines (and where it doesn’t). Whether you’re in sales, marketing, or ops, this is for anyone tired of wrestling with clunky tools that never quite deliver.
What Is B2B GTM Software, Really?
Let’s strip it down: B2B GTM software is any platform meant to help you find, engage, and close the right customers faster. That covers a lot—prospecting, outreach, workflow automation, partner management, analytics, and sometimes even more. The trick is not getting lost in the feature soup.
Here’s what matters most: - Connecting your team to the right prospects - Making workflows easier, not harder - Getting actual insights, not just more dashboards - Letting you scale what works—without turning into an IT project
The rest? Nice-to-haves, at best.
The Key Features That Actually Matter
Let’s get specific. If you’re picking a GTM platform, these are the features that deserve your attention. Anything else is probably noise.
1. Quality of Data & Integrations
Why it matters: If the data’s out of date, missing, or hard to get at, nothing else will save you. And if your software doesn’t play nicely with your CRM, email, or other key tools, you’ll end up doing double work.
What to look for: - Accurate, up-to-date contact/company info - Native integrations with your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot) - Easy import/export (CSV, API, whatever your ops folks use) - No “data jail”—you should be able to get your own data out
Red flags:
Vague promises about “AI-powered data enrichment” with no proof, or integrations that require a six-week consulting project.
How Refer stacks up:
Refer’s data is solid for North American and some EMEA companies—contact info is usually up to date, and it syncs with Salesforce out of the box. HubSpot integration is currently in beta, so if you’re on HubSpot, expect some rough edges. Data exports are straightforward, and there’s no funny business locking you in. If you work mostly outside North America/Europe, you might hit some data gaps.
2. Workflow Automation That Actually Saves Time
Why it matters: Manual grunt work kills productivity. Good GTM software should automate repetitive tasks (like outreach, follow-ups, and lead routing) without turning your process into a Rube Goldberg machine.
What to look for: - Clear, customizable workflows (for both sales and marketing) - Automation that makes sense (not just “automation for automation’s sake”) - Bulk actions—because no one wants to click 200 times to send follow-ups - Easy to edit, easy to undo—mistakes happen
Red flags:
Overly complex automation that requires a full-time admin, or “magic” automations you can’t understand or control.
How Refer stacks up:
Refer’s workflow tools are simple and focused. You can set up triggers for outreach, reminders, and hand-offs between sales and marketing without a degree in Zapier. There’s no drag-and-drop “app builder,” but honestly, most teams don’t need that. One thing to note: if your process is super unique or edge-case, you might hit some limits. For 90% of teams, it covers the basics and just works.
3. Actual Collaboration—Not Just Comments and Tagging
Why it matters: B2B sales is a team sport. If your GTM software just lets you tag people or leave comments, you’ll still end up in Slack threads or email chains trying to get aligned.
What to look for: - Shared pipelines and deal rooms - Role-based access (so people see what they need, not what they don’t) - Real-time notifications that don’t spam everyone - Easy partner/agency access if you work with third parties
Red flags:
“Collaboration” that’s just a fancier chat window, or tools that make it hard to bring in outside collaborators.
How Refer stacks up:
Refer has shared pipelines out of the box, and permissioning is straightforward—no 40-level admin menus. You can loop in partners or agencies with limited access (handy for channel sales). Notifications are sane; you can actually control what you get pinged about. There’s no built-in chat, but most teams don’t need another place to chat anyway.
4. Reporting That’s Bare-Bones, but Useful
Why it matters: You want to know what’s working and what’s not, but you don’t want to spend your afternoons building custom dashboards.
What to look for: - Pre-built reports for pipeline, conversion, and activity - Custom filters that make sense - Export options (to share with the team or execs) - No-nonsense attribution—know what’s driving results
Red flags:
Reporting that looks beautiful but takes 10 clicks to find basic numbers, or “insights” that are just vanity metrics.
How Refer stacks up:
Refer keeps reporting simple. Pipeline and conversion reports are one click away, and you can filter by team, stage, or time period. You won’t find fancy predictive analytics or AI-generated insights, but you can export anything to CSV or PDF. If you need deep custom reporting, you’ll need to pipe data into your BI tool—but that’s the tradeoff for keeping things simple.
5. Partner and Referral Management (If That’s Your Game)
Why it matters: If referrals or channel partners are a big part of your GTM strategy, you need tools for tracking introductions, managing partner relationships, and paying out rewards. Most GTM tools tack this on as an afterthought.
What to look for: - Easy way to request, track, and reward referrals - Partner portals that don’t require a separate login for every partner - Clear reporting on partner-sourced pipeline - Automated reward payouts (if you pay for referrals)
Red flags:
Referral tracking that’s basically a spreadsheet, or “partner portals” that partners never bother to use.
How Refer stacks up:
This is where Refer really pulls ahead. Referral management is built into the core—making it dead simple for reps to request intros, track status, and trigger rewards. Partners get a simple portal (no extra logins), and rewards can be automated via Stripe or PayPal. If you don’t care about referrals, this might not matter, but for anyone running a partner program, it’s a big plus.
6. Pricing That’s Transparent (and Won’t Surprise You Later)
Why it matters: No one likes finding out about surprise “platform fees” or usage limits after they’ve already invested time and money.
What to look for: - Clear pricing up front - No hidden fees for “premium” features - Scales with your team—not your database size
Red flags:
Bait-and-switch pricing, “call us for enterprise pricing,” or nickel-and-diming for every new user or feature.
How Refer stacks up:
Pricing is straightforward: per-user, per-month, with all features included. No extra charges for integrations or reporting. There’s a cap on API calls for very large teams, but it’s high enough that most mid-market orgs will never hit it. If you’re a massive enterprise, you’ll want to check the fine print, but for most, it’s refreshingly simple.
Features to Ignore (Unless You Have a Niche Use Case)
A lot of GTM platforms love to show off flashy features that sound cool but rarely get used. Here’s what you can safely ignore—unless you know you need them:
- AI “deal scoring” — Usually just fancy math on top of your CRM data. Trust your reps, not a black box.
- In-app chatbots — Most B2B sales are closed by humans, not bots.
- Built-in email marketing — Use your existing marketing automation; no need to duplicate.
- Widgets and embeddable forms — Unless you’re running lead gen on your website, you probably don’t need a new form builder.
Focus on the basics getting done well. Everything else is just another thing to maintain.
Honest Pros and Cons of Refer
Where Refer shines: - Dead-easy referral and partner management - Simple, useful automation without a learning curve - Clean integrations with Salesforce and most common tools - Straightforward, honest pricing
Where it’s just okay: - Reporting is basic—great for pipeline, not for deep analysis - HubSpot users may find the integration a little rough (for now) - Not the best fit if you need ultra-custom workflows or advanced territory management
Where it’s not for you: - If referrals/partners aren’t part of your GTM, you might prefer a simpler CRM or outreach tool - If you’re a huge enterprise with edge-case reporting needs, you’ll want something more configurable
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Test, and Iterate
Don’t get seduced by endless feature lists or AI buzzwords. Focus on the handful of features that actually help your team find, close, and keep the right customers. Pick something that’s easy to use, easy to change, and doesn’t need a week of training to get going. The best GTM tools—Refer included—don’t try to do everything. They just help you do the basics really, really well.
Try a few tools, see what fits your workflow, and don’t be afraid to switch if something better comes along. GTM software should make your life easier, not harder. That’s really all there is to it.