What is your opinion on GoHighLevel (GHL) as an all‑in‑one CRM, and would you recommend diving into it?
I’d dip my toe in GoHighLevel by watching a 30‑minute tutorial and setting up a test environment (which costs about $297 for agency access). I’d spend only a couple hours experimenting—maybe building a simple automation—until someone actually asks me to build a GHL solution. That’s my general approach to new platforms: learn just enough to deliver value when a client needs it, rather than trying to master every feature upfront. Let clients guide what you learn based on the opportunities and money they present.
I understand the concern about friction, but GHL isn’t as cumbersome as it seems. The onboarding process is relatively straightforward, and once a client adopts the platform they’ll stay with it for a while, leading to recurring revenue. However, I believe there’s more opportunity in building a general‑purpose automation platform rather than white‑labeling an out‑of‑the‑box CRM. That’s why I suggested focusing on broader solutions.
No, GHL isn't necessary. It's just a tool that gives you about 80% of a good CRM out of the box, and it's fairly well pre-configured. However, you can often get a better setup by adding your own process knowledge to other platforms like ClickUp, Monday, ASA, or Trello. The pre-configuration of GHL can lock you into a specific workflow, so don't feel compelled to use it.
He explains that GHL is like a peg leg—it does many CRM functions well and gets you up and running fast, but it limits flexibility and articulation compared to tools like Make.com or NN, which act as glue and extensions of his own workflow, letting him build anything. He prefers those because they integrate seamlessly with his business, whereas GHL feels restrictive. He also notes that selling GHL often involves an MLM‑style resale model (buying a license and reselling sub‑licenses), while selling his own automation solutions means selling his expertise and custom‑built systems, which is fundamentally different from affiliate sales.
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