If you’re thinking about rolling out live chat or conversational marketing for your B2B sales and marketing teams, you’ve probably come across Drift. It’s one of the bigger names in the space, promising better conversations, more leads, and happier sales reps. Sounds good, right? But there’s a lot of noise when it comes to software features—some are genuinely useful, others are just shiny distractions.
This guide cuts through the hype. If you’re weighing whether Drift is a good fit, here’s what to actually look for—and what to ignore—when you’re choosing a platform for your team.
Who Should Care About This?
- Sales and marketing leaders who want more high-quality conversations without drowning in manual work.
- RevOps folks who get stuck making all the software connect and don’t want a giant headache.
- Anyone tired of demos that gloss over the rough edges.
If you’re running a B2B sales motion (especially if your deals aren’t just “add to cart”), this is for you.
1. Real-Time Chat That Actually Helps Sales
The big Drift promise is instant, real-time chat with your website visitors. But here’s the thing: lots of tools say they do chat. What matters is how well it fits your actual sales process.
Look for: - Chat routing: Can you send the right conversations to the right reps, based on territory, account, or product interest? - Calendar integration: Can prospects book meetings straight from the chat—without a 17-email back-and-forth? - Mobile and desktop notifications: Do your reps actually see incoming chats, or do they get buried in a sea of alerts?
What’s overrated:
Emoji reactions, GIF support, and endless chat widget customizations. They might be fun, but they don’t close deals.
Pro tip:
Test the routing logic with your real sales team. “Simple” rules often get messy fast when you have more than a handful of reps or territories.
2. Bots: Only Useful If They Don’t Annoy People
Drift’s chatbots can qualify leads, answer FAQs, and book meetings automatically. But poorly set up bots are infamous for frustrating people (and, frankly, your own team).
Look for: - Bot playbooks: Pre-built flows that actually map to your sales cycle—like qualifying by company size, industry, or intent. - Fallback to human: Can a human easily jump in when the bot gets stuck or the conversation turns complex? - Smart qualification: Can the bot pull info from your CRM or enrichment tools to avoid asking visitors the same stuff five times?
What’s overrated:
Overcomplicated bot trees. If you need a PhD in logic to make a change, you’ll end up with a neglected bot that annoys everyone.
Pro tip:
Watch transcripts of real bot conversations. The gap between what you think will happen and what actually happens is always bigger than you expect.
3. CRM and Marketing Automation Integrations
Your chat tool is only as good as its connections. If it can’t talk to your CRM or marketing automation, you’ll end up with a pile of disconnected leads and manual data entry.
Look for: - Native integrations: Does Drift really connect with Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, or whatever you actually use—without weird middleware? - Lead and activity syncing: Can you see chat activity on the contact record in your CRM, and can you trigger workflows based on chat events? - Account matching: If you’re doing ABM (Account-Based Marketing), can Drift identify target accounts and alert the right reps?
What’s overrated:
Zapier and generic API connectors are fine for a side project but rarely hold up for core sales data.
Pro tip:
Have your ops team test integrations with your real data. Sales reps will not “just update the CRM later”—so make it seamless.
4. Visitor Intelligence and Personalization
Website chat is only as smart as the data behind it. If Drift can’t tell a hot lead from a tire-kicker, your reps waste time—and so do your buyers.
Look for: - Reverse IP lookup: Can Drift recognize company names for anonymous visitors, so you can prioritize real accounts? - Personalized greetings: Does the chat widget greet target accounts or known visitors by name, or reference their company automatically? - Behavioral triggers: Can you trigger chat (or specific bot flows) based on what a visitor is doing—like pricing page views or return visits?
What’s overrated:
Hyper-personalized messages that feel creepy. (“Hi, Dave from Acme Corp, saw you just downloaded our ebook at 2:14am!”) Keep it useful, not weird.
Pro tip:
Use visitor intelligence to prioritize—not to script every word. Your team’s judgment will always be better than a bot’s guess.
5. Reporting That Doesn’t Suck
It’s amazing how many tools have pretty dashboards that tell you nothing useful. You need reporting that lets you improve—not just prove ROI to your boss.
Look for: - Conversation outcomes: Can you see which chats led to meetings, qualified leads, or closed deals? - Rep performance: Can you see response times, missed chats, and who’s actually moving the needle? - Bot analytics: Can you see where bot conversations drop off, so you can fix dead ends?
What’s overrated:
Vanity metrics like “total conversations” or “average chat length.” Focus on what moves pipeline.
Pro tip:
Set up reporting early—otherwise you’ll make decisions based on anecdotes, not data.
6. Usability for the Whole Team
A tool nobody uses is a waste of money. Drift’s interface is generally clean, but there’s always a learning curve. Don’t just buy what looks good in a demo.
Look for: - Easy admin: Can non-technical folks build new bots, update playbooks, or add reps without filing a ticket? - Rep adoption: Are your sales reps actually logged in and responding, or is chat being ignored? - Training and support: Can you get real help when something breaks—or does support just send you to the docs?
What’s overrated:
“White glove onboarding” that lasts a week and then disappears. Long-term ease of use beats a fancy kickoff.
Pro tip:
Pilot with a small team first. If your sales reps hate it, it’ll never stick.
7. Security, Compliance, and Reliability
Not the sexiest topic, but it matters—especially in B2B. If you’re dealing with big companies or regulated industries, ignore this at your peril.
Look for: - Data handling: Where is Drift storing your chat transcripts? Are they encrypted? Who can access them? - Compliance: Is Drift SOC 2, GDPR, and (if needed) HIPAA compliant? - Uptime: Does Drift have a public status page? What’s their SLA? Downtime during a campaign launch is a nightmare.
What’s overrated:
Custom legal language in contracts. Focus on their actual track record and certifications.
Pro tip:
Loop in IT or security early. Integrating after the fact is always harder.
Features That Sound Cool—but Rarely Matter
Not every feature on the sales page is worth your attention. Here’s what usually doesn’t move the needle for B2B sales teams:
- AI “insights” that just repackage your existing data.
- Endless widget themes—your prospects won’t care.
- Video chat from within the widget—more awkward than you’d think.
- “Gamification” for reps—if they need badges to respond, you’ve got bigger problems.
Focus on the stuff that actually helps your team talk to more of the right buyers, faster.
Keep It Simple—Then Iterate
Drift can be a solid tool for B2B sales and marketing, but don’t get distracted by flash. Start by nailing the basics: chat routing, easy meeting booking, smart integrations, and clear reporting. Get those right, and your team will see the value—no magic required. Once you’ve got the core humming, you can get fancy later.
And remember: no tool fixes a broken process. Get your fundamentals right, then let the software do its job.
If you’re still not sure, start simple, run a real-world pilot, and keep what works. Ignore what doesn’t. That’s how you build something your team will actually use.