Practical tools

Tools We Use & Recommend

These are tools we either use ourselves or regularly recommend to founders and businesses we work with.

Choosing the right level

Sales Pipeline & CRM

Simple Sales Pipeline

Trello

A flexible visual tool that can be used to create a simple sales pipeline without the cost or complexity of a full CRM.

Why we use/recommend it

For a founder or small business that simply needs a clear view of leads, opportunities and next actions, Trello can work extremely well as a basic pipeline.

You don't always need to start with a dedicated CRM.

A simple board using stages such as:Lead Contacted Conversation Proposal Won / Lostcan often be enough to create visibility, consistency and discipline around sales.

Best for

Founder-led businesses, individuals or very small teams that need a straightforward visual pipeline and do not yet require a full CRM.

View Trello View the Adesse Simple Sales Pipeline

CRM & Sales Pipeline

Pipedrive

A dedicated sales CRM for managing opportunities, activities, follow-ups and team sales pipelines.

Why we use/recommend it

If a simple Trello pipeline is no longer enough, Pipedrive is a natural next step.

It is better suited to businesses with a sales team, a growing volume of opportunities or a requirement for more structured sales management, reporting, activities, automation and visibility.

Best for

Businesses with multiple people involved in sales, larger pipelines or founders who need more functionality and control than a basic Trello board provides.

View Pipedrive

Building consistent activity

Prospecting & Outreach

Cold Email Outreach

Instantly

Cold email outreach software for building and running scalable outbound campaigns.

Why we use/recommend it

A straightforward way to manage multiple sending accounts, campaigns, sequences and outbound activity without building an unnecessarily complicated sales stack.

Best for

Businesses that want to run structured B2B cold email campaigns and manage outbound activity at scale.

View Instantly

B2B Data & Prospecting

Lusha

A B2B prospecting platform for finding business contact and company information.

Why we use/recommend it

Useful when you know the businesses or people you want to reach but need reliable contact data to turn that target list into actual outreach.

Best for

Building prospect lists and finding contact information for targeted B2B outreach.

View Lusha

LinkedIn Outreach

HeyReach

LinkedIn outreach software designed for structured prospecting and campaign management.

Why we use/recommend it

Useful for running consistent LinkedIn outreach while keeping campaigns, audiences and follow-up sequences organised.

Best for

Businesses using LinkedIn as part of a structured B2B prospecting strategy.

View HeyReach

Building a consistent presence

Content & Social Media

Social Media Planning & Scheduling

Buffer

A straightforward platform for planning, creating and scheduling social media content across multiple channels.

Why we use/recommend it

Buffer makes it easier to turn content ideas into a consistent publishing rhythm. It keeps planning, posts and scheduling in one place, helping businesses maintain a visible presence without having to publish everything manually.

Best for

Founders and small teams that want to plan and publish consistently across LinkedIn and other social channels without adopting an unnecessarily complicated marketing platform.

View Buffer

A practical reminder

The tool isn't the strategy

Software can make a good commercial process significantly more effective, but it rarely fixes a bad one.

The important bit is knowing who you're trying to reach, why they should care, what happens next and how it all connects to the wider growth strategy.

These are simply some of the tools we use to help make that process easier.

Need help putting it into practice?

Through our Growth Mentoring, we can help you get clear on what you're trying to achieve first, then help you implement the right tools and processes to support it.

That might mean setting up the software, building it into your sales and marketing process, or helping you run it properly as part of a wider growth plan.

Ask us about Growth Mentoring.

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A note on affiliate links: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you decide to use them. It doesn't cost you anything extra and doesn't influence whether we recommend a product.