Salesforce Sales Cloud Reviews

“Complete CRM”

Pros

Just about every tool on the market seems to connect with it somehow. The surrounding software ecosystem is honestly staggering and once you compare it with other options in the space, it becomes pretty clear why it stays so dominant. It's tough to find another platform that supports enterprise-level needs this well. From managing leads and opportunity pipelines to delivering strong analytics, it covers most of the core things an organization expects from a CRM.

Cons

For something that has been around this long and is used by so many companies, you'd expect the UI and overall user experience to be far more polished and enjoyable. That really hasn't happened. Even with the newer version interface, it's still far from simple. Between the baffling gaps in functionality that seem like they should have been addressed years ago and the tough customization process, this CRM can seriously test your patience. That disconnect feels even stranger given how popular it is. On top of that, the pushed paid support is hard to ignore. Even though they don't handle onboarding directly, there always seems to be a third-party tech partner ready to help with setup at a very high hourly cost. It definitely doesn't add up to a pleasant experience.

“Paperless student process”

Pros

A couple of years ago, our organization adopted it to handle applications and registration for students entering courses at our university-level training campus and it completely changed our workflow. We moved every part of the student process from paper to an online system which has made everything far more efficient and positive for our team. Being able to access applications and manage the entire process from anywhere in the world while traveling has been a huge advantage. It gave us the powerful platform we needed to make the whole operation fully paperless.

Cons

That level of capability also brings a fair amount of complexity. Our setup had to be built from the ground up and it took significant time, expense and the work of a couple of programmers to get everything functioning the way we needed. Still, I see that as part of the tradeoff for having a system this powerful since it definitely is not something that comes ready to use right out of the box.

“APIs for easy integration”

Pros

Working as an integration developer, I use it to connect with our internal applications and it fits that job really well. Integrating with it is easy and it's simple to work with overall. It also offers a wide range of APIs which makes connecting it to other systems much more convenient.

Cons

One downside is that it's hard to find free training materials for it.

“Features with flexible setup”

Pros

Once it's set up properly, the platform is surprisingly simple to work with even though it's packed with a lot of advanced features. There's a ton of flexibility and customization so it can be adjusted to fit just about any workflow or business need. It also connects well with most of the tools we already use which makes day-to-day work much easier. The mobile apps are really well done too and they let our team keep using the software while out of the office. That's been especially valuable for our sales staff. Trailhead is also a huge plus because it makes learning the system much faster and more manageable.

Cons

Even with plenty of videos and training resources available, the system can still feel overwhelming when you're new to it. There's definitely a learning curve before most users become comfortable with all of its features. On the few occasions we needed help from support, the response time was quite slow. I've also heard similar complaints from other users so that's clearly an area where improvement is needed.

“Client relationship tracker”

Pros

Working in sales and marketing, I've seen this become a really valuable tool for improving how you manage business. It lets you capture the full picture of each client's business in one place. The fields are easy to move through, whether you're entering staff details, saving notes or laying out your next steps. Something as specific as noting that Susan, the office manager, has three children and is a Sun Devil alum can make a big difference for relationship building. Being able to review those details before a visit and then add follow-up notes afterward makes the process even more effective.

Cons

Even in a sales environment, I don't always need every section to be filled out. For someone who hasn't worked with a powerful CRM before, getting around the system at first can feel a little frustrating. Aside from that initial learning curve, it's still a very useful program overall.

“Customer tracking made easy”

Pros

Keeping up with customers, clients and events is really convenient with this tool. The layout is organized in a way that makes documenting just about every detail you can think of feel very natural. One feature that helps a lot is the "recents" section since I often remember extra things to add after I've already clicked away.

Cons

The only part I'm not crazy about is that the font feels a little too small which can be tough on already strained eyes.

“Data-rich prospecting dashboards”

Pros

There's a ton of useful data and account information in it which really helps with the work I'm doing. The dashboards are also a big plus because they keep me focused on activity and prospecting.

Cons

At times, the platform feels a bit bulky and not very simple to use so it can get overwhelming and make it harder to find what I need.

“Top CRM with endless options”

Pros

Among sales CRMs, this one feels like the top-tier choice. It gives sales teams a huge range of features and plug-ins to work with and it does much more than just help reps monitor their pipeline. There are also plenty of marketing tools built in which makes it useful for tracking campaigns as well. The flexibility is one of its biggest strengths since you can tailor nearly everything to fit your industry, team structure and plug-in needs. AppExchange is another major plus because it offers a ton of additional options.

Cons

For small to midsize businesses, the price can be a real obstacle. If you are running a smaller team or working with a startup budget, it may simply not be affordable. It also takes buy-in from the sales team to get real value from it and there is definitely a learning curve. On top of that, setting up custom fields, reports and other adjustments may require extra training or even support from an IT consultant.

“Customization and API flexibility”

Pros

Salesforce is one of the richest SaaS platforms I've used although getting everything configured and building the right workflows can be pretty complex. On the plus side, it's highly customizable, offers sandbox capabilities and gives access to APIs and direct queries which I really enjoy working with as a technical user.

Cons

As mentioned, if you're a beginner or running a startup, setting up the business rules on your own is almost impossible. You'll likely need to bring in a contractor to handle it so the learning curve is definitely there and it's not very simple to pick up.

“All accounts in one place”

Pros

Having all of the account information gathered in one place is really convenient and the system is very simple to use overall.

Cons

The setup took a bit longer than expected but we were able to get through it without too much trouble.

“Forecasting and pipeline visibility”

Pros

Sales forecasting tools are really great and the opportunity and pipeline management features do a good job of keeping everything organized. Mobile access is also a big plus since it makes it much easier to stay on top of deals while away from the desk.

Cons

In more complex sales environments, you'll probably need a sales admin to help set up and maintain the right workflow and process properly.

“great features and value”

Pros

There's a lot you can get done with this software and it's fairly simple to work with overall. That said, I still miss the older version. The new "lite" version doesn't feel as simple and having to reload each page while working makes the process feel slower and more tedious. Even with that, it's still good software overall.

Cons

It isn't very simple to use and it can be somewhat slow when loading or saving.

“Custom reports with flexibility”

Pros

It's really customizable for the way our business operates and the reporting tools give us the numbers we need to make better, more informed decisions.

Cons

There are a huge number of features that can be turned on. That may be up to the IT or engineering team but from an end-user perspective, the sheer amount of functionality can feel a bit overwhelming and burdensome to work through.

“CRM flexibility”

Pros

The functionality is really what puts this at the top of the CRM category. It lets you do just about anything you need.

Cons

There are still quite a few small tweaks the user experience could use. One example is merging clients. We had thousands of duplicate records in our organization and many of them had multiple accounts because our imports weren't merging correctly for a while. Since the system only allows 3 clients to be merged at a time, cleaning that up takes hours when it could be much faster if more than 3 could be merged at once.

“Flexible but overwhelming”

Pros

It covers a lot and gives you plenty of places to keep client information. There are also lots of customization options which is helpful. People across different departments can use it, adjust it to fit how they work and still access the information that matters to them.

Cons

At times, it feels like there's a little too much happening. Since information can be stored in so many different places, it can get overwhelming and leave you checking too many areas to find what you need.

“Reliable reporting and flexibility”

Pros

At the company where I work, this CRM is the tool we rely on for tracking activity and running reports and it has been very effective without any crashing issues. Since it's web-based, it gives us a lot of flexibility when creating reports. It's also useful that reports can be exported in either Excel or PDF format. Another advantage is that you can buy as many user licenses as your budget allows.

Cons

To be fair, the system is expensive and it does come with a few limitations. It's also not especially user-friendly which is why many organizations end up depending on IT administrators to handle users and access permissions. Overall, there's definitely a learning curve before you become comfortable using it.

“Data management and integrations”

Pros

Across four different jobs, this has consistently been a core part of how we manage and maintain our data. Every company used it a little differently and for its own purposes yet it still helped me keep everything clean, structured and organized. The huge number of integrations has also made it much simpler to align processes and set up automation in a way that feels user-friendly.

Cons

Moving from the classic to the new version has been a real challenge. Many of the integrations we already rely on still don't carry over to the new version and the interface feels completely different to me which makes it pretty intimidating to work with.

“CRM for sales tracking”

Pros

From tracking accounts and contacts to seeing where sales are headed, this software covers a lot really well. It works especially well as an add-on for web development and online sales because you can follow performance and adjust things when needed. It also helps with communication which makes it even more useful day to day. Overall, it feels like a very strong CRM product.

Cons

Because there are so many features some users will need a higher level of technical understanding to know how to set them up, implement them properly and use them effectively. It also takes training to get the rest of the team comfortable with everything. On top of that, parts of the interface can be a bit confusing since some features are not always very simple for everyone.

“Many options and flexibility”

Pros

There's a huge range of options available and how much value you get from it really depends on how your organization decides to use its full potential.

Cons

At the same time, it can feel overwhelming and pretty complex. With so many features to choose from, it's not always simple to figure out what's truly necessary versus what's just a nice extra.

“Flexible database tools”

Pros

It gives you plenty of customization options and offers a huge database for storing information.

Cons

It's not very user-friendly for people who aren't experienced and it still doesn't match the flexibility of a fully custom-built CRM. Updating data can also be frustrating since there isn't really a way to handle it without doing a lot of it manually.