Close CRM has built a devoted following among outbound-focused sales teams who appreciate its purpose-built features for cold calling and email outreach. Unlike traditional CRMs that treat calling as an afterthought, Close integrates a power dialer, SMS messaging, and email sequences directly into the platform. For small teams running aggressive outbound campaigns, Close offers a unified workspace that eliminates tab-switching between dialer, email client, and CRM. However, the platform that works beautifully for 3-5 reps becomes constraining as teams scale. Per-seat pricing at $49-149 per user monthly means a 12-person team faces $7,000-$21,000 annually - before the cost of contact data, which Close does not include. The integration ecosystem is notably smaller than HubSpot or Salesforce, creating headaches when connecting with marketing automation, customer success tools, or finance systems. Enterprise features that larger organizations need simply don't exist in Close's product. Teams seeking Close alternatives often hit the same wall: Close provides excellent outbound tools but still requires reps to do all the work themselves. The power dialer speeds up calling, but someone still needs to make those calls. Email sequences automate follow-up, but someone still needs to write the copy, source the contacts, and manage the campaigns. The tools are there, but results depend entirely on your team's capacity and skill. BookingBomb transforms the outbound equation by delivering meetings rather than tools. While Close expects your reps to execute outbound activities, we handle prospecting end-to-end: sourcing contacts, crafting personalized outreach, managing multi-channel campaigns, and booking qualified meetings directly on your calendar. Your team can use Close's excellent features for deal management and closing while we ensure the top of the funnel stays full. Instead of paying per seat for tools, you pay per meeting for results.
Common Close Frustrations
If any of these sound familiar, you're not alone.
Per-Seat Pricing
Close's per-seat model at $49-149 monthly per user creates significant and compounding costs as teams grow. A 10-person sales team faces $5,880-$17,880 annually just for CRM licenses - before data costs, before tool integrations, before management overhead. Every new hire requires budget justification for another seat, creating friction that slows hiring when pipeline demands expansion. Teams often delay adding headcount specifically because of seat licensing costs.
Limited Integrations
Close's integration ecosystem is notably smaller than HubSpot or Salesforce, creating operational friction for teams with diverse tech stacks. Native integrations exist for common tools, but marketing automation platforms, customer success tools, finance systems, and industry-specific software often require Zapier workarounds or custom API development. Data silos form when systems can't communicate natively, and teams spend hours on manual data transfer that should flow automatically.
Scale Limitations
Close was architected for small, scrappy sales teams and shows its limitations as organizations grow. Reporting capabilities sufficient for a 5-person team become inadequate for sales leadership managing 20+ reps. User permissions and territory management lack the sophistication enterprise organizations need. Teams that grow with Close eventually face painful migrations to HubSpot or Salesforce, losing institutional knowledge and workflow muscle memory in the transition.
Self-Service Outbound
Close provides excellent outbound tools, but tools require operators. The power dialer speeds calls, but reps still make them. Email sequences automate follow-up, but reps still write copy and manage campaigns. The burden of prospecting activity - the 100+ daily touches needed to generate meetings - falls entirely on your sales team. This creates a capacity ceiling where meeting volume is constrained by headcount rather than market opportunity.
Data Not Included
Close manages contacts beautifully but provides no way to acquire them. Teams must subscribe separately to Apollo, ZoomInfo, Lusha, or similar providers at $200-500+ monthly, then import and maintain data quality manually. The total investment in Close plus data plus the hours spent on list building often surprises teams who saw Close's pricing as affordable compared to Salesforce.
Basic Marketing Integration
Close is a pure sales tool with minimal marketing alignment capabilities. There's no marketing automation, no lead scoring based on website engagement, no campaign attribution, and limited visibility into how marketing efforts influence pipeline. Sales and marketing operate as disconnected silos, with manual data sharing that creates friction and blind spots. Teams needing tight sales-marketing alignment find Close insufficient.
Feature Comparison
See how BookingBomb compares to Close
Why Teams Switch to BookingBomb
"Close had great tools but our team was drowning in manual outreach. BookingBomb handles the prospecting while we focus on closing in Close."
Other Close Alternatives
Compare all your options
HubSpot Sales Hub
More integrations, marketing tools
More complex
Pipedrive
Simpler, cheaper
Less outbound-focused
Outreach
More sophisticated engagement
Much more expensive
BookingBombRECOMMENDED
Done-for-you outbound
Not a CRM
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about switching from Close
Ready to Switch from Close?
Stop overpaying for underwhelming results. See how BookingBomb delivers guaranteed meetings at a fraction of the cost.