Advisors rely on customer relationship management (CRM) systems to organize client data, identify growth opportunities and stay connected to their team. If you’re in the market for a new CRM, Wealthbox and Salesforce are two of the options vying for your business. If you’re torn over whether to use Wealthbox vs. Salesforce, it helps to know what each one has to offer and what you’ll pay to use them.
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What Is Wealthbox?
Wealthbox is a CRM for advisors and broker-dealers that was launched in 2014. While it’s a bit newer than some of its competitors, Wealthbox has quickly become one of the top-rated CRM options on the market thanks to its ease of use and value for the money.
Unlike some competitors, Wealthbox was created with financial professionals in mind. The platform boasts that it offers everything financial advisors need to stay connected with their clients, prospects and coworkers.
Client Acquisition Simplified: For RIAs
- Ideal for RIAs looking to scale.
- Validated referrals to help build your pipeline efficiently.
- Save time + optimize your close rate with high-touch, pre-built campaigns.
CFP®, CEO
Joe Anderson
Pure Financial Advisors
We have seen a remarkable return on investment and comparatively low client acquisition costs even as we’ve multiplied our spend over the years.
Pure Financial Advisors reports $1B in new AUM from SmartAsset investor referrals.
What Is Salesforce?
Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform that was launched in 1999. While Salesforce offers solutions for financial advisors, bankers, wealth managers and broker-dealers, it’s not exclusive to the financial services industry.
Salesforce offers numerous products and services to help advisors grow their businesses. You can also build customized plans that align with your firm’s needs. Many of those products are AI-driven, and Salesforce is a leader among CRMs when it comes to incorporating artificial intelligence.
Wealthbox vs. Salesforce Features and Benefits
| Wealthbox | Salesforce |
| Secure client portal. Wealthbox’s portal feature allows your clients to log in to a secure dashboard to view their financial information and communicate with you directly. Contact management. Contact management tools make it easy to track client information and jot down important notes. The Click-to-Call feature allows you to call clients through the Wealthbox platform. Activity streams. A dynamic activity feed lets you and other members of your team track tasks in real time, taking some of the guesswork out of collaboration. Workflows. Establishing workflows can ensure that key tasks are completed on schedule, increasing your business’s efficiency and your team’s overall productivity. Reporting. The Wealthbox Reports Engine enables you to generate customized reports and visualizations, making it easier to dig into data and look for areas of opportunity. Document management. Wealthbox allows you to store, manage and share documents through your CRM. You can set permissions to determine who has access to these documents. Calendar. Wealthbox makes it easy to create customized, color-coded calendars and connect them to the scheduling tools you already use. Calendars sync with Outlook and Google for portability. Mobile functionality. In addition to a desktop version, you’ll have access to a user-friendly mobile app. The app fully syncs with your web-based Wealthbox account, so you always have a complete picture of key information. Integrations. Wealthbox seamlessly connects with dozens of tools and is continually adding new ones to its offerings. | Relationship center. The relationship center is built into the Financial Services Cloud, and offers a multi-layered view of client information to help you identify opportunities to strengthen relationships and boost revenue. Segmentation. Salesforce enables you to segment prospect and client lists to prioritize engagement so that you’re able to stay connected with your most promising leads. Onboarding. Salesforce features tools that simplify and streamline the new client onboarding process, including the option to send clients digital documents for signatures. AI tools. AI tools promote self-service through the Salesforce platform so that you’re not tying up all of your time answering client calls. Einstein, for instance, is a built-in feature that uses generative AI to answer client questions. Data analysis. The Salesforce Data Cloud helps you drive growth through personalization. You can create customized data reports and visualizations to help with scaling up your prospecting efforts or closing more sales with existing clients. Integrations. Salesforce integrates with many top tech solutions including G Suite, Slack, QuickBooks, DocuSign and Dropbox, making it easier to coordinate tasks across your team. Learning. If you’re interested in tracking the latest technology trends in financial services or would like to develop your skills to use Salesforce more effectively, the CRM offers numerous learning resources. Mobile app. Salesforce offers a mobile app that allows you to collaborate with your team and track client information on the go. Like the desktop version, the mobile app is powered by AI tools. |
Wealthbox vs. Salesforce Pricing
Wealthbox offers four pricing options for advisors to choose from, including an Enterprise plan. Salesforce’s pricing is a little more complicated, as what you pay depends on which products you include in your plan.
The chart below shows pricing for Wealthbox plans and what you’ll pay for the Salesforce Sales CRM only.
| Wealthbox | Salesforce |
| Basic Plan: $59 per user/month (includes Starter CRM features) Pro Plan: $75 per user/month (includes Core CRM features) Premier Plan: $99 per user/month (includes advanced features for power users) Enterprise Plan: Contact Wealthbox for a custom plan quote | Starter Suite: $25 per user/month billed monthly or annually (includes a simple CRM suite with marketing, sales, service and commerce) Pro Suite: $100 per user/month billed annually (includes an enhanced CRM with added tools) Enterprise Suite: $165 per user/month billed annually (includes a web API) |
Pricing for Salesforce financial services enterprise plans starts at $300 per user, per month. These plans include industry-specific data models, advanced AI and automation tools, and financial planning tools that you can use to guide your clients to success. You may prefer a Financial Services Cloud package to the Starter Suite if you need a broader range of tools to run and grow your business.
Wealthbox vs. Salesforce: Which Is Better for Financial Advisors?
Wealthbox and Salesforce take different approaches, and you might prefer one to the other, based on your firm’s needs. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each one, at a glance.
Where Wealthbox Stands Out
Ease of use is one of Wealthbox’s biggest selling points. Compared to other CRMs, the learning curve is shorter, and you don’t need to complete any special training to get started. Wealthbox also offers free database migration, making the transfer process as smooth as possible.
Some of the features Wealthbox users love most include:
- Mobile accessibility
- Integration options
- Note-taking features
- Simple, user-friendly design
They also appreciate the value you get for the money, as well as Wealthbox’s commitment to continually improving its functionality and integrations.
Where Wealthbox Falls Short
Wealthbox has some drawbacks that could make another CRM look more attractive. In terms of what advisors dislike about Wealthbox, the list includes:
- Lack of phone/chat support and slow response times when submitting a help request
- Fewer customization options compared to other CRMs
Some advisors have also noted that the tagging and note-taking features could be improved so that it’s easier to apply filters when searching for keywords.
Where Salesforce Shines
Salesforce has earned a solid reputation among CRMs thanks to its ever-expanding range of products and services. It’s one of the most comprehensive platforms out there, whether you’re using it for financial services or another industry.
Some of the things financial advisors like about Salesforce include:
- Access to automated workflows to simplify tasks
- Ability to bring together all of a client’s financial data in one place
- Heavy focus on the use of AI-driven tools to organize data, identify opportunities and provide customer support to clients
- Phone support
Salesforce also offers plenty of flexibility since you can build a plan that meets your needs. If you want to opt for a simple Starter Suite, you can do that. And if you need more than just the basics, the Financial Service Cloud delivers.
Where Salesforce Falls Short
Salesforce does have some downsides, and it’s important to weigh them when choosing a CRM. Some of the factors that make Salesforce a less attractive option include:
- Potentially higher costs than other CRMs if you’re going beyond the basic Starter Suite
- Too many options for customization, which could be overwhelming for advisors who want a CRM that’s easy to learn
- Ongoing maintenance burdens and/or the possibility of poor implementation that makes the CRM more challenging to use
Here’s one more con. Unlike other CRMs, Salesforce doesn’t migrate your data for you. You’ll have to handle that step yourself, which may add time to the transition process.
Bottom Line
Whether it makes sense to choose Wealthbox vs. Salesforce, or even another CRM, ultimately hinges on what you need your customer relationship management system to do for you. Testing different CRMs can help you determine which one offers the best combination of features and pricing to meet your needs.
Schedule a free trial of Wealthbox or try Salesforce for free.
Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business
- A marketing plan can make a significant difference to your business’s success. If you’re looking for ways to level up your marketing and reach more leads, automated tools can help. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
- Compliance is an important consideration when choosing which CRM to use. The best platforms are designed to help you remain compliant with federal and state regulatory guidelines at all times, while fully integrating with any existing compliance software you’re currently using.
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