If you’re in B2B sales or marketing, you’ve probably heard the hype around Superhuman—that fast, obsessively designed email client for people who think Gmail feels like using Windows 95. But does it actually work as a go-to-market (GTM) platform for teams trying to win deals, not just clear their inbox?
If you’re considering Superhuman for your B2B GTM stack, this guide’s for you. We’ll get into what features actually move the needle, what’s just window dressing, and what you might regret skipping over.
Who Should Care About This?
- B2B founders and sales leads who need their team communicating fast and professionally
- GTM leaders tired of switching between five different tools to run outreach
- Anyone evaluating Superhuman versus the usual suspects (Gmail, Outlook, Front, etc.)
Let’s cut through the marketing and focus on what actually matters.
1. Speed and User Experience: Does It Actually Save You Time?
Superhuman’s calling card is speed. If you’re still stuck in Gmail or Outlook, you know the pain: slow load times, constant tab-switching, and a million pointless clicks.
What works: - Keyboard shortcuts: Superhuman is built for keyboard-first work. Once you learn the basic commands, triaging and replying to emails is genuinely faster. - Instant search: Their search is blazingly quick and actually finds what you’re looking for (unlike Gmail, which somehow never does). - No lag: Even with a huge inbox, things stay snappy.
What to ignore: - “Delightful” animations and design touches. Nice, but don’t let them distract you—what matters is if your team works faster, not if the UI looks pretty.
Honest take:
If your team lives in email, shaving seconds off every task adds up. But if you’re already decent at using keyboard shortcuts in Gmail or Outlook, the time savings are real but not magical.
Pro tip:
Make sure your team actually wants to learn the shortcuts. If they won’t, the speed advantage mostly disappears.
2. Collaboration and Team Features: Does Superhuman Play Nice With Others?
B2B GTM is a team sport. You need to hand off leads, loop in colleagues, and keep everyone on the same page (without endless CCs).
What works: - Shared snippets and templates: Create standardized replies and share them with the team—great for consistent messaging. - Read statuses: See if teammates have replied to a thread, so you don’t double-up or drop the ball. - Split inboxes: Set up separate views for different roles or accounts. Makes life easier for SDRs and AEs who juggle multiple pipelines.
What doesn’t: - Superhuman isn’t a full-on shared inbox tool like Front. If you need deep, multi-user collaboration (assigning conversations, internal comments, etc.), you’ll hit limits fast. - Native integrations with CRMs are limited. You’ll need to rely on Zapier or manual copy-pasting if you want everything synced.
Pro tip:
If your GTM team is small and moves fast, Superhuman works. For large sales teams, you may outgrow it.
3. Integrations: Will Superhuman Fit Into Your Stack?
You don’t want another silo. Superhuman needs to connect with your CRM, calendar, and maybe even your Slack.
What works: - Calendar integration: Booking meetings from your inbox is easy (if you’re on Google or Outlook). - Basic CRM support: There are lightweight integrations for Salesforce and HubSpot, but they’re nowhere near as deep as what tools like Outreach or Salesloft offer. - Zapier: You can hack together workflows, but it’s not always elegant.
What to ignore: - Promised “magic” integrations—many are just surface-level. Double-check what data actually syncs and how.
Honest take:
If your workflow is simple—email, calendar, and basic CRM notes—Superhuman covers you. If you need two-way sync with detailed CRM fields, automated logging, or custom objects, you’ll feel boxed in.
4. Personalization and Automation: Can You Scale Outreach Without Sounding Like a Robot?
Personalized outreach wins deals, but nobody has time to write every email from scratch. Superhuman tries to split the difference.
What works: - Snippets: Quickly insert personalized templates into emails. - Reminders: Nudge yourself to follow up (so leads don’t fall through the cracks). - Send later: Schedule emails to hit inboxes at the best time.
What doesn’t: - There’s no true mail merge or sequence automation. If you want to run multi-touch outbound campaigns, you’ll need another tool. - Conditional logic in templates is basic or nonexistent.
Pro tip:
Use snippets for common replies, but don’t expect Superhuman to run your entire outbound motion.
5. Analytics and Reporting: Can You Track What’s Working?
You can’t improve what you can’t measure. B2B teams need to know which messages get replies, which don’t, and who’s dropping the ball.
What works: - Read receipts: See when (or if) your emails get opened. - Basic stats: Some tracking of response times and follow-ups.
What doesn’t: - No team-wide dashboards or pipeline metrics. If you want deal tracking, conversion rates, or granular performance reporting, look elsewhere. - Read receipts can be unreliable (thanks, Apple Mail privacy features).
Honest take:
Superhuman is not a sales analytics platform. Use it for quick pulse checks, not deep reporting.
6. Security and Compliance: Will Your IT Team Sign Off?
Security matters, especially if you’re dealing with sensitive customer info or regulated industries.
What works: - Google/Microsoft backbone: Superhuman sits on top of your existing email infrastructure, so your data stays with Google or Microsoft. - Encryption: Industry standard in transit and at rest. - Admin controls: Basic role management for teams.
What doesn’t: - No advanced compliance certifications (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.)—at least not as of mid-2024. If you need these, double-check before rolling out.
Pro tip:
Run any SaaS tool by your IT/security folks before rolling out to a big team. “But it’s just email!” isn’t a valid excuse anymore.
7. Pricing and Onboarding: Will You Get Your Money’s Worth?
Superhuman isn’t cheap. And it’s famously invite-only, though that’s softened over time.
What works: - Fast onboarding: Most users are up and running in 30 minutes. - White-glove support: The support team is actually helpful (rare these days).
What doesn’t: - High per-user pricing adds up fast for teams. - If half your team doesn’t use the advanced features, you’re burning cash.
Honest take:
Superhuman is worth it for power users who live in their inbox. For occasional emailers or teams on a tight budget, it’s overkill.
What Actually Matters (and What Doesn’t)
Focus on: - Real speed and workflow improvements - Core integrations you actually use - How much your team will really use snippets and shortcuts
Don’t stress about: - Fancy design touches - Light reporting - Features you “might need someday” (but never actually use)
Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Superhuman can make your B2B GTM team faster—if you’re honest about what you need and skip the shiny distractions. Start small, make sure the basics work, and don’t be afraid to switch if you outgrow it. The best tool is the one your team actually uses.
If you’re still not sure, try it with a few power users first. You’ll know quickly if it’s a game-changer—or just another tool with a nice logo.