--- title: Keap CRM Review description: An honest Keap (now Thryv) CRM review from The Sales Whisperer®, who has used it since 2008. What works, what hurts, and the step to take before you buy. image: https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/keap-crm-product-review.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review#main-content) [![Wes Schaeffer is The Sales Whisperer®](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/wes-header-lockup.png?width=1560&height=360&name=wes-header-lockup.png)](https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/) - Work With Me Show submenu for Work With Me - [Fix Your Follow-Up](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/follow-up) - [Best Day Ever](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/best-day-ever) - [HANK The AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank) - [12 Weeks To Peak™](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak) - [48-Hour Fix](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/48-hour-fix) - [Start](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/start) - [Blog](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog) - [The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) - [Speaking](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/sales-keynote-speaker) - [Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast) Show submenu for Podcast - [Podcast Guests](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast-guests) - [About](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about) Open main navigation Close main navigation - Work With Me Show submenu for Work With Me - [Fix Your Follow-Up](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/follow-up) - [Best Day Ever](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/best-day-ever) - [HANK The AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank) - [12 Weeks To Peak™](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak) - [48-Hour Fix](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/48-hour-fix) - [Start](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/start) - [Blog](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog) - [The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) - [Speaking](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/sales-keynote-speaker) - [Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast) Show submenu for Podcast - [Podcast Guests](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast-guests) - [About](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about) - [Get The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) [Get The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) Dec 31, 2019 # Keap CRM Review ![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review) 2026 Update From Wes Infusionsoft became Keap, and Keap is now part of Thryv. The software changed its name three times. Why most owners struggle with it never changed: they bought the tool before they wrote down the process. Keep reading, and see the note at the bottom. ## Keap Review: What They Won't Tell You About Keap, But I Will ## Easy Navigation Links - [Kicking The Keap Tires](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review#infusionsoft%20sales) - [Venture Capital](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review#goldman%20sachs) - [Features I Don't Use](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review#don't%20use) - [Keap Is NOT Right For You If...](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review#not%20right) - [Conclusion](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review#conclusion) - [Why the CRM Didn't Fix It](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-review-2/keap-crm-review#why) ### Kicking The Keap Tires I started using Zoho because I was familiar with CRMs but couldn't afford Salesforce. So I had my contacts in Zoho. I didn't have a merchant account, so clients would have to mail me checks. I was using an email tool created by a local company that wanted me to be a reseller for them, so they gave me a free account. A friend created a static HTML website in Dreamweaver that I couldn't update. I was using Apple Mail to correspond with people I cold-called or met out in the community, and I was tired, but I was in business. - So Zoho **alone** was not confusing. - The email tool **alone** was not confusing. - Taking checks **alone** from clients and driving them to the bank to deposit them was not confusing. - Sending **one-off** emails was not confusing. - Making **cold calls** was not confusing. - Trying to explain my non-existent business model was **quite confusing**. - Trying to predict sales and revenue was **confusing**. - Tracking and measuring prospect engagement and nurturing them was **NOT confusing** because it was **IMPOSSIBLE**. So when a salesperson or business owner is asked to map out their chaos as described above and then tie it all together in one tool, their lack of process combined with a powerful marketing automation tool is going to lead to the term Confusionsoft. We can't change the fact that most entrepreneurs still don't have a process. But we can map it out first, and then the software makes a lot more sense. So anyone calling Keap "Confusionsoft" now either doesn't understand the major advances since 2012, has a bone to pick with the company for some reason (it happens; no company is perfect), or still doesn't have their own processes mapped out and is taking it out on the software. (It's called "transference," and Freud wrote about it in 1914. Please seek professional help for anyone suffering from Confusionsoft Transference.) Sure, there will always be people who call Keap "**Confusionsoft**." Sometimes systems and platforms are just laid out in a way that doesn't make sense based on how you learn or prefer to work online. Because, at the end of the day, **automation is key**. If it works and it works affordably and quickly, we really don't have to understand every gear inside it, do we? Salesforce.com understands this, which is why it purchased ExactTarget in June 2013 for $2.5 billion. And ExactTarget had already purchased Pardot in the fall of 2012. Having email, CRM, workflow, sales pipeline, etc., all under one roof, seamless and automated, is the first name of the game. Making these systems easy is the last name of the game. Keap does have a learning curve, but it's worth the effort. ### Recommendations I've used Keap since 2008 to build my own sales training and marketing consulting business. But if you don't have a documented system for sales and marketing, don't blame Keap. The software makes more sense when you have a well-thought-out prospecting, marketing, and selling process. ## Venture Capital: Goldman Sachs & Bain Capital Ventures In January 2013, Goldman Sachs invested $54,000,000 in the company. In 2014, Bain Capital Ventures led another $55,000,000. Some people were excited. Others got concerned, thinking the company would become beholden to Wall Street and lose its unique entrepreneurial feel, and for a while, it was starting to look like that was happening. We brought this up to Clate Mask, the CEO, and he responded like the great leader he is at the annual Partner Conference in November 2014. He admitted that they had gotten too focused on sales and had lost their focus on making a great product, and that he had changed his outlook on how to grow the company. They would become a product-centric company. I started to see the shift in focus, and it was a good thing. Getting outside funding is both good and bad. In 2024 the next chapter came: Thryv bought Keap, and today Keap is part of the Thryv family of small business software. ## Keap Features I Don't Use - **Share this record with a group of users:** In the Legacy Action Sets, this is a function I've just never had to use. - **Distribute this record to another Keap application:** I only have one application. This can be valuable for entrepreneurs who own multiple businesses with different partners, but I've never seen anyone use it. Other than that, I use everything in Keap to one degree or another. (But realize I've used the platform since 2008.) Do you need to use every piece of Keap to see a return? Absolutely not. Can you build a lean business with minimal staff by using more of it? You betcha. ## Keap Is Not Right For You (But Keap Might Be) If... Keap is not right for everyone, and I actually help more people decide AGAINST Keap than for it. Some need a simple email tool. Others need something bigger like HubSpot or Salesforce. So here are some ways to know if Keap is not right for you: **You have a "great idea" but no plan yet** Keap now offers starter options, so you can map out your ideas and build the foundation of your systems early. But if you don't have a marketing plan, a budget to launch, and the patience to grind through trial and error, research, false starts, re-starts, and do-overs, write the plan before you log in. (Refer to my [Resources](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/recommended-resources) page for other tools to help you grow.) **You have thousands of SKUs you sell online** This is a "maybe." Some businesses with large e-commerce needs connect Keap to a store like BigCommerce to automate delivery, fulfillment, and follow-up. But that is a custom solution. Keap was designed for smaller businesses with a few products or even dozens of products, especially digital products and coaching programs, not for businesses trying to copy Amazon. **You need to provide detailed quotes with multiple components** If you run an IT consulting firm and you need a quote with dozens or even hundreds of line items, Keap is not a quoting tool. It does have a simple quoting feature that lets you send a quote with a big APPROVE button and a payment link, which helps you stop chasing payments. For anything more complex, you'll need a dedicated quoting tool connected through Keap's API. **You can't spend 5-10 hours a week marketing your business** Let's get real for a minute. No software can be installed in ten minutes, never touched again, and grow your business on its own. Keap is a sales and marketing automation tool, just like WordPress is a blogging tool and a Craftsman® socket is a tool. All tools take time to master. I've had people quit even the simplest email tools because they were "too hard to learn." Growth comes through effort, trial and error, testing and measuring, and tweaking and modifying. Marketing that worked last year may not work this year. That's why the Army changed its slogan from "Be All That You Can Be" to "An Army Of One" to "Army Strong," etc. Ditto for McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and every other big brand you see out there. They are always trying to improve their marketing. You and I, as business owners, must do the same thing. This will require your time. ## Keap Review Conclusion Thanks for reading this far. If you've read this entire page, you know what I think about Keap, both good and bad. I've used databases to track personnel since I was a young Lieutenant at March Air Force Base in 1994 and CRMs since I became a stockbroker in Mobile, AL, in 1997. In 2004 I started using Salesforce.com at a technology startup in Austin, and in 2007 I was retained by Dell to help with their Salesforce.com implementation and new hire training over a 10-month period. So I know a thing or three about these platforms. While I beat up on Salesforce around my site, I do so from the angle of small businesses. It's fantastic and needed for large enterprises, but not for you and me. Keap was started by a small business to help other small businesses. Are they **perfect**? (Are you?) Are they **passionate**? You bet. Are they **greedy, smarmy, snarky** software **scum** who only want to make money at any cost? Not by any stretch of the imagination. Can you buy this software and still lose money and go **bankrupt** and close your doors? Yes.     Keap is right for you if you have the drive to think through a sales and marketing process, put it in one place, and stick with it. Are there other platforms that can help you do that? Sure. But the platform is the second decision. The process is the first. Don't take my word for it. [See what my clients have to say](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/fans). ## Why the CRM Didn't Fix It I've used Salesforce since 2004, Keap since 2008, and HubSpot and Ontraport since 2014. Every tool on this page works. Plenty of owners still give up on it. The tool was never the problem. A shiny CRM with no written process is just expensive dashboardery. Write down how a stranger becomes a customer first. Then pick the software that fits that process. [**Get a process before you get the software →**](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/process-first) Market like you mean it. Now go sell something. Want a sounding board while you fix it? 12 Weeks To Peak™ is 84 days of private coaching with me covering business, faith, family, fitness, and finance. I show up, I listen, and I tell you the truth. [See If We're A Fit →](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak) Not ready for private coaching? [Join the Inner Circle](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/inner-circle). Would you rather have it built for you? [Meet Hank](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank). [Marketing Automation](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/marketing-automation), [Keap CRM Review](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/keap-crm-review), [Digital Marketing](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/digital-marketing), [Keap Infusionsoft CRM](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/keap-infusionsoft-crm) ## Related posts [![Salesforce vs Keap as a Small Business CRM](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/salesforce-vs-keap-small-business-crm.png?height=200&name=salesforce-vs-keap-small-business-crm.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/salesforce-vs-keap) [Keap CRM Review](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/keap-crm-review) ## [Salesforce vs Keap as a Small Business CRM](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/salesforce-vs-keap) ![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) Jun 13, 2025 2026 Update From Wes Infusionsoft became Keap, and Keap is now part of Thryv. The software changed... [Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/salesforce-vs-keap) [![Ontraport vs. Keap CRM by Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer®](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog-files/best-infusionsoft-certified-consultant-icc-logo.png?height=200&name=best-infusionsoft-certified-consultant-icc-logo.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/ontraport-vs-keap-crm) [Ontraport vs. Keap CRM](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/ontraport-vs-keap-crm), [Keap Infusionsoft CRM](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/keap-infusionsoft-crm) ## [Ontraport vs. Keap CRM](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/ontraport-vs-keap-crm) ![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) Jun 13, 2025 2026 Update From Wes Infusionsoft became Keap, and Keap is now part of Thryv. The software changed... [Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/ontraport-vs-keap-crm) [![Master Keap to apply digital marketing best practices to grow your small business sales.](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog-files/lucy-chocolate-factory-sales-marketing-process-small.jpg?height=200&name=lucy-chocolate-factory-sales-marketing-process-small.jpg)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/the-key-to-keap-crm-mastery) [Small Business Marketing](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/small-business-marketing), [Email Marketing Best Practices](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/email-marketing-best-practices), [Marketing Automation](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/marketing-automation), [Digital Marketing](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/digital-marketing), [Keap Infusionsoft CRM](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/keap-infusionsoft-crm) ## [The Key To Keap CRM Mastery](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/the-key-to-keap-crm-mastery) ![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) Dec 31, 2019 2026 Update From Wes Infusionsoft became Keap, and Keap is now part of Thryv. The software changed... 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