Salesforce Sales Cloud Reviews

“Outdated and falling behind”

Pros

Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, this software feels somewhat outdated. There still aren't many alternatives out there but this one really hasn't aged well.

Cons

It simply hasn't kept up with the growing demands in this space. New features haven't been added and I haven't seen any real innovation from the company.

“Lead tracking and remote teamwork”

Pros

Keeping tabs on sales and leads was really useful. Since I was working remotely in this role, it made it much easier to communicate, monitor activity and pass leads along to the regional sales reps.

Cons

The software includes a lot of features and they seem to be built into almost every part of the platform. That can be useful for some users but in my role it also caused confusion and wasted time because I had to sort through features that weren't relevant just to find what I actually needed.

“CRM with endless flexibility”

Pros

This is hands down the best CRM available. The open API and AppExchange give you countless ways to tailor the platform to your needs and it connects really well with other top-tier software. New version has also brought some major improvements that make the overall experience even better.

Cons

Top-tier software comes with top-tier pricing. Building workflows could still be more user-friendly and the sales team tends to push Pardot pretty aggressively.

“Business data powerhouse”

Pros

It's a massive platform and you can practically do just about anything with it. It feels like the World Wide Web for business tools especially when it comes to maintaining and managing customer and sales data. Overall, it's very comprehensive and flexible.

Cons

That same depth can also make it pretty overwhelming when you're trying to customize it to fit your needs or train other people on the specific features they'll use. I still catch myself wondering where a certain function is and end up checking Salesforce's internal guides to find it. I'm not an admin but I've also seen how expensive Salesforce can be and I've even noticed teams sharing licenses just to avoid the high cost.

“Contact and help desk tools”

Pros

Their contact management and helpdesk tools have been excellent to work with. Adding custom fields is fairly easy and the filtering options plus the reporting system are really strong.

Cons

Biggest downside is the price. It's very expensive and billed per user, per month and that includes not just internal staff but also customers who need portal access which adds monthly user fees there too. We were also pushed into upgrading to new version and that meant reworking some of our integrations. On top of that, I really dislike how the layout defaults to "Chatter" when the actual information is under the "Related" tab. There's also far too much JavaScript on the pages.

“Reporting across locations”

Pros

One of the biggest wins with this software is how much information it lets us store for contacts and leads. It's been really useful for keeping everything organized and consistent across several office locations. The reporting tools also give us far better access to our data than we've ever had before which has made a huge difference.

Cons

We did need a few customizations and that made the rollout more expensive than expected. That said, this really wouldn't be much of a concern if you're only planning to use a standard out-of-the-box setup.

“Too bloated and expensive”

Pros

If you're running a large company with lots of employees who need to work together, this CRM can definitely be worth having.

Cons

Customer support sometimes seemed nearly as confused as I was which made things even more frustrating. There's just far too much going on, with way too many options and as a one-person operation, Salesforce felt way too big for someone like me. On top of that, it was very, very expensive and they also pushed extra add-ons that you had to pay for.

“Office 365 reports and visibility”

Pros

Having it connected with our Office 365 gives complete visibility of all incoming mail right inside the portal. The monthly reports are also very helpful since they give management a clear picture of the company's inflow and outflow.

Cons

It still needs integration with an HR attendance app, such as Cossec Apta so we can pull details like employee utilization, attendance and day-wise work allocation. The dashboard looks very eye-catching but it should follow the company's structure or team hierarchy better. For example, if a lead or project gets stuck at any stage, it should immediately be visible to the team lead on the dashboard.

“Reporting and tracking”

Pros

This tool gives you a ton of functionality to work with. The reporting and tracking tools are a huge part of how I do my job day to day. It's really helpful being able to review lead and account history quickly and creating new opportunities is easy. There's also plenty of flexibility to customize the setup based on how your team works and which data points you want to capture.

Cons

Getting started with it can take time because the platform is incredibly powerful. That learning curve feels even steeper for anyone moving from the classic version to new version. At times it can feel confusing or a bit redundant although some of that really depends on how your team has everything configured.

“Feature-packed and fast”

Pros

There was a huge range of features and whenever the server was performing well, the system felt fast.

Cons

If the company didn't put effort into building a great sales workflow, it was hard to get the most out of the staff. The interface is very utilitarian and honestly unpleasant to look at for 40 hours a week. Simple tasks also take too many clicks and management seemed more focused on dashboard reports than on people actually getting the work done.

“Platform built for customization”

Pros

Its multi-tenant architecture is a big advantage and the metadata layer gives it a lot of flexibility for innovation and customization. It feels like much more than just a CRM, it's really a full platform, not just another piece of software.

Cons

At times even simple tasks can become surprisingly difficult because of certain platform limitations. For example, you still can't make Opportunity Line Item a lookup and some ideas have been left open for over 10 years.

“Reporting and integrations”

Pros

Being able to pull reports quickly, keep up with my customers and monitor closed deals for crediting and commission has been a huge help. The integrations are also really useful for updating information fast.

Cons

There are a lot of features and options so it can feel a little overwhelming at times and it is not always the most user-friendly. Other than that, I really rely on it for just about everything.

“great daily workflow”

Pros

One thing that really works well is how it connects everything with other applications and in the end it becomes something you rely on every single day.

Cons

There were times when customer support didn't seem to have all the answers and it sometimes felt like they were passing the issue along instead of fully addressing it.

“Lead tracking powerhouse”

Pros

Having a CRM like this has made a huge difference in how I track and follow up on insurance sales opportunities. I no longer have to scribble notes on sticky pads or in a notebook and then lose track of follow-ups under a pile of unrelated information. The setup is very simple and the system is easy to use overall. Creating lists of potential leads is simple and the reporting tools do a really good job of helping make sure everyone is staying on top of their work. The biggest advantage for me is being able to document and track every interaction with clients in one place.

Cons

I wasn't the person handling the integration but from what I understand, it did take some time to get everything aligned with the systems our company already uses and with the way we wanted it to function. One downside I've noticed is that adding information can involve more clicks than necessary. There are times when I wish it were a bit simpler and didn't try to handle so many things at once although that can also be seen as a benefit. With all the added detail, it's possible to get a little lost.

“Reliable database performance”

Pros

It's been dependable and fairly consistent overall. As a database, it does the job pretty well and performs reliably most of the time.

Cons

Given the price, I expected more built-in sales functionality. A lot of the features I actually use come through add-ons and many of those include extra tools that cost even more.

“Useful contact hub but tricky setup”

Pros

Having one place to store all of my contacts is really helpful and I can get to everything quickly when I need it. I also connected the account to Mailchimp which makes sending bulk emails much more convenient and helps keep both databases updated at the same time. Depending on what features you actually need, the pricing can also be pretty affordable.

Cons

This platform really works on a pay-to-play model. The more you spend, the more features you unlock but that does not always make it any simpler to use. The setup was not very simple for me and my bulk uploads kept mixing up the fields and parameters. Because of that, I ended up entering contacts one by one. I originally signed up for the Professional plan but after the setup headaches and a couple of years of struggling with it, they introduced the cheaper and more user-friendly Essentials version. I switched over and features like mass upload and a few others were much simpler there. I can understand how the Professional version could be valuable if this is the main system you use every day and you have the budget for training, customization and support but it is definitely worth being clear about your needs before committing.

“Integrations and customization”

Pros

One thing that really stands out is how well it connects with nearly any product suite. The marketplace is huge, with a wide range of add-ons and just about every software platform seems built to work alongside it. It's also incredibly customizable which gives a lot of flexibility. On top of that, the mobile app is excellent and feels very polished.

Cons

Getting comfortable with it is a real challenge. It's so complex that people are hired specifically to manage it and there's even formal training just to learn how to use it properly. When things aren't set up correctly, data may not sync, integrations can break without much effort, the system can start to feel sluggish and reports may not generate accurately. The interface also doesn't have much visual appeal to me.

“Sales data powerhouse”

Pros

When it comes to organization and tracking, this software has been outstanding. It keeps deals, contacts and accounts stored in a very structured way, with quick access to everything in one place. The level of customization is practically unlimited so building the reports you need is very doable. On top of that, it connects with a huge range of other products which makes it even more useful. It really works well as a single hub for keeping all sales information together.

Cons

The real value of SFDC depends entirely on how consistently people use it. If information is not entered or not entered the way leadership expects, then it simply does not get tracked properly. You only get out of it what you put into it. That said, the setup process can become very tedious especially in the beginning. It really requires a project manager during implementation, along with someone certified to make sure the integrations are configured correctly and actually working. This is definitely not a system you can rush into setting up.

“Constant crashes and no edits”

Pros

One useful part of this software was being able to log support desk tickets and pull up information later whenever I needed it, including using the search function to find details.

Cons

A big problem was that the application crashed very often, likely depending on how it was configured in my organization. On top of that, once I submitted a client ticket or case, I wasn't able to go back and make any additional changes.

“Reports with a simple interface”

Pros

Across several businesses I've worked with, this platform has been part of the workflow, one company adopted it later while another had been using it almost from day one. From a user perspective, the move from our previous CRM was fairly convenient. Even though the product has a wide range of functionality, the interface is relatively easy so it doesn't take long to learn. One feature I've especially appreciated is the ability to customize reports, whether for exporting data or displaying it on a cloud-based reporting dashboard.

Cons

My biggest challenge so far has been the new version interface. To be fair, like any new system, it takes some time and patience to adjust to. That said, certain parts of it, especially the report builder, feel much less simple than the original version. It uses a block-style builder that comes across like a partial drag-and-drop setup. When you first use it, it looks like you should be dragging items manually but the system actually auto-places selections into a group instead. It's a bit confusing at the beginning although once you understand how it works, it stops being much of a problem.