As M&A dealmakers look for ways to create more efficient workflows and spend more time on the parts of their job that a computer can’t replicate, Google Chrome extensions provide a solution to increase daily productivity.
Google Chrome is the most popular browser, according to the Digital Analytics Program (DAP), which tracks over 1.39-billion web visits. So if you're not using Chrome, now might be the time to start.
From finding prospective companies and contacts to engaging top executives, here are 8 Google Chrome extensions to make your work life easier.
Enhance Your CRM
Connecting to your CRM is a must do for every investment professional. Your team should be able to rely on the CRM as your single source of truth. From company research to email chains, any and all relevant information about a target lives in your CRM.
Getting information from your inbox to your CRM is vital but it does not need to be time consuming. With the help of your CRM’s google extension, it’s as easy as one click.
HubSpot’s LinkedHub
You’re reaching out across multiple channels: phone calls, emails, and LinkedIn messaging.
Make it easy on yourself to log those LinkedIn messages to your HubSpot account with HubSpot’s LinkedHub. Rather than copying and pasting LinkedIn messages, click one button to make sure you're sharing the full communications picture with your team.
Sync contact, company, and conversation data to HubSpot effortlessly.
Featured perk: Synced LinkedIn conversations update automatically.
DealCloud
Keep your emails synced to your DealCloud account with The DealCloud Chrome Extension. What does this look like? An email sent directly from Gmail can be synced upon send and tagged to the relevant entries in DealCloud (contacts, companies, deals, etc.)
Ensure that you're logging communications to your CRM, but make that process easy for yourself and your team.
Featured perk: The customizable deal workflows. Allow your team to see every stage of the deal process and configure the DealCloud platform to fit your workflows.
Salesforce
This extension highlight goes out to all those Salesforce Investors out there! All 150k of you.
With this extension, you can pull in Salesforce data directly to your Gmail or Google Calendar. View all contacts, leads, accounts, and opportunities associated with emails and calendar events. Search Salesforce records – without leaving the page you’re working in.
Featured perk: The email template feature. No more searching through your inbox.
Find and Research Targets
After deciding your team’s prospecting strategy, the search begins. Here are the tools that can help you discover the right companies and contacts.
Grata
Grata’s extension makes it simple to find company information as you browse the web.
On a company’s website you can pull up their Grata profile right from the page — See the company’s employee count, ownership status, funding stage, history and business model all in a single view. You can also add relevant companies to your target list, find executive contacts, and sync all this information with your CRM all while you’re still on the company’s website.
Featured perk: The Similar Companies feature. Automatically pull a list of comparable companies you might be unaware of, streamlining your workflow and company searches.
PitchBook
PitchBook is the industry standard when it comes to finding M&A data on a company. Most likely, you’re already using this tool, so it’s time to hook up the PitchBook extensions.
This extension uncovers essential information on companies, investors, deals and more as you browse the web, read the news or do online research. With one click, you can find comprehensive company data. It’s easy to find, vet and pursue promising opportunities—without moving between tabs.
Featured perk: News article scanning. Highlight and right-click on a company, scan a news article or search within the extension to uncover everything from basic details to hard-to-find company info.
Hunter
No matter what CRM you use, Hunter is a great option to find emails and build lists of contacts.
The Domain Search is the most powerful email-finding tool of its kind. Click the icon in Chrome to find all the email addresses related to the website you’re visiting. It includes the most common email pattern used, department filters and the public sources.
The email addresses are marked verified or returned with confidence scores. If you already know the name of the person you would like to contact, type it in the search field. The Email Finder will return the found email address along with a confidence score and sources. Hunter is trusted by more than 3 million people.
Featured perk: The email confidence scores. Hunter's email finder will return the found email address along with confidence score and site their sources.
GetProspect
Start looking up emails for free with GetProspect.
This extension is essential for the LinkedIn savvy investor. Find emails for a particular LinkedIn audience and create a list seamlessly.
The extension also features CRM contact management and has an email finder by domain name feature. This plugin is fast, easy-to-use, and helps you get accurate business email addresses in seconds.
Featured perk: The bulk email finder tool. Build email lists in seconds.
Manage Day-to-Day Tasks
When finding and engaging targets, your to-do list adds up quickly. If you’re looking to move away from a messy Google doc or handwritten lists, look no further than the Todoist extension.
Todoist
Todoist helps you stay productive by allowing you to organize and prioritize tasks, set reminders and due dates for important deadlines, and check off tasks once they’re complete — all within the Google Chrome browser.
Need to set aside time for industry research? Prepare a deck by tomorrow? Respond to emails? Whatever the task, Todoist can help you plan your day properly. Todoist is mobile friendly giving you the freedom to add items whenever they come to mind.
Featured perk: View a progress report with customized productivity trends.
