This is a little like saying "My friend just wants to go into space. Maybe leave a satellite up there or something. Is there an easy way for him to do this?"
OK, not
quite that complicated, but what seems like a simple question is probably not going to have a simple answer.
The place to start is
Salesforce.com. That's what "everyone uses". He should check out the features & prices & see if it's a good fit. (The Group plan @ $15 per user per month probably does everything he needs.) If so, he can save himself (you?) a lot of time looking for alternatives.
Then there's "free" open source software. Your friend will pay for CRM one way or another. Free or low-cost options will cost him in the time it takes to set them up and get them working, provided he has the skills, which it sounds like he doesn't. (People who build software that businesses will use to make more money expect to get money for their effort. They don't have a very charitable spirit towards other people's profits.
)
Sugar CRM is the king of the open source packages. Sugar is big and complex enough to run a huge business, but even though you can download the community edition for free, getting it all setup and running without help is going to be almost impossible. (Even the download page places the CE as something for developers to play with - not something for business owners to try and get running on their own.)
Fortunately, they offer paid options too that can make the process easier. Competitive with Salesforce? Your friend's call.
Another contender is
VTiger. It is hosted with a free trial.
Also check out
OpenCRX and
Hipergate. These are true open source packages that are free to downlaod and use, but again setup is on you.
Finally, there are lots of "10 best CRM tools" articles in the Googleverse, which means very little since what's best for a huge company with 1000 branch offices can't possibly be best for your friend's tiny business.
But this one is pretty good. The links are worth following up, as they seem to be tools more focused on small businesses and less on large ones.
Or if your friend really can just make up the budget himself, he can call up Microsoft or IBM and have them fly in an army of CRM consultants to speak with him. In German, of course.