Salesforce Sales Cloud Reviews

“Reporting and customization”

Pros

After spending more than 10 years with SFDC, plus a 2-year break using Pipedrive at one company, I keep coming back to how incredibly powerful it is. I also served as the admin for two different organizations because I had the most hands-on experience with it. The platform is packed with so many features that it's hard to even list them all. Its customization is a huge strength even if it can cut both ways. Coming from a simpler CRM like Pipedrive, the reporting in SFDC is the feature that really separates it for me. As a sales director, I need practical data I can actually use to guide performance and improve the business and SFDC lets me break that data down pretty much any way I need.

Cons

If someone is brand new to SFDC, it can feel pretty intimidating at first. The amount of customization alone is enough to overwhelm a new user. Realistically, you'll probably need a course or several days of YouTube videos just to get comfortable with it. There are a lot of tabs, views and features to sort through which can get confusing fast. It becomes even more disorienting when moving between companies because depending on how each instance was configured, it can feel like you're using a completely different product.

“Flexible CRM tools”

Pros

This platform can handle just about anything. It goes well beyond a basic CRM and you can configure it to fit multiple parts of your business in a way that actually makes sense.

Cons

Getting everything set up is extremely complicated. In most cases, you end up needing to hire an expensive developer to manage and run it properly.

“strong customization”

Pros

After more than 10 years of using it, including in my time in the brokerage business with over 100 users on the platform, I've been extremely satisfied with what it offers. Adding new client information was easy and the data filtering tools made managing my staff much more effective. The customization options for building out the CRM were a huge advantage. It helped me stay on top of data updates, send and receive emails, track phone calls, monitor dates and times, manage appointments and handle notifications all in one place. If you already have CRM experience, the platform is fairly simple to navigate.

Cons

That said, the software can feel overly complex for people who struggle with computers. Anyone completely new to CRM systems may find it frustrating especially as more features get added over time. The starting product is reasonably priced but unlocking the CRM's full potential can get expensive. On top of that, getting help through the helpdesk can sometimes be difficult.

“Sales tracking that works”

Pros

Working in sales, I need something that helps me stay on top of leads and prospects and this tool really does that. Anyone who has ever managed leads in an Excel sheet knows just how valuable Salesforce can be. One thing I appreciate is that the learning curve is not too bad so you can start using it pretty quickly. It is especially useful for sales because you can segment prospects and move them through different stages of the journey like cold, warm and hot. Overall, it is an excellent tool.

Cons

There is definitely a ton you can do with it and that can make it feel a little intimidating at first. I do wish there were a more simplified version for new users, just to help people get comfortable with the software before diving into everything... but hey, that's showbiz baby.

“Secure CRM with endless options”

Pros

From security to stability, this platform has been excellent for managing the entire lead-to-opportunity lifecycle. Working in a sales-focused organization and as a sales consultant, I can confidently recommend it. The app store also offers a huge range of options so just about any company can use SFDC to build a CRM that feels truly tailored to its specific business needs.

Cons

One thing that still frustrates me is how difficult customer service can be to access. Basic support is not very effective and every higher level of support is paid which really does not feel worthwhile when you only have one or two questions in a year. **sigh**

“Essential team hub”

Pros

Honestly, I can't imagine working without it. It keeps my day-to-day tasks organized, gives my team visibility into my pipeline and lets me pull reports on my activity and progress toward goals. Pretty much our whole company relies on it too, Sales, Customer Support, Marketing, Legal, everyone. There are so many ways to use this platform that it still feels like we've only begun to tap into everything it can do.

Cons

One thing I still struggle with is the new version experience. I originally learned on Classic years ago so switching over has been tough. New version definitely looks more modern and polished but it feels noticeably slow.

“Organized workflows and tracking”

Pros

Everything stays really well organized which makes it much easier to keep track of the information I need. I can connect vendors to accounts, link employees to comments and tie solutions directly to projects. There are countless ways to relate different pieces of information to a single activity which makes the system very flexible. I can also set up tasks for myself to stay on schedule and create tasks for my team too which helps guide everyone and makes the workflow more transparent.

Cons

Getting it implemented was pretty rough which honestly was not too surprising. We chose to launch it at the end of the year and that created a lot of challenges. At that stage, it became clear the solution was not fully ready to support our needs. Still, going through that difficult rollout ended up teaching us a lot about how to use SF and what we needed to adjust to make it work better for us.

“Excellent customer tracking”

Pros

Using this for sales at ADT has been a really positive experience. It makes customer communication simple and helps me stay on top of every account without losing track of anything. After coming from the car business, I can honestly say the lower-cost CRMs don't even compare to what this offers.

Cons

I really can't point to any gaps in the functionality or usability of this product.

“Flexible reports and scripting”

Pros

One of the best parts is how much freedom and flexibility it gives across reports, objects and display options. That level of control makes more nuanced decisions and actions possible and in many cases you can even script them.

Cons

Getting started can be tough because the learning curve is pretty steep. On the plus side, there's a strong community out there so it's easier to find help and get up to speed.

“Dashboards and reporting”

Pros

There's a lot packed into this tool and that's what really makes it stand out to me. The reporting and dashboards are features I've been digging into more lately and they're incredibly powerful. Once a company gets organized and puts clear guidelines in place for how accounts and opportunities should be set up, the system can do a huge amount.

Cons

Customer support has been a letdown. Even paying for the higher-tier support still feels like the quality is pretty low. It's such an advanced platform and people use it in so many different ways so I get that it's hard to support well but that weakness definitely shows.

“Task tracking and live dashboards”

Pros

Keeping up with tasks feels much more manageable with this CRM because it lets me organize everything clearly and set certain tasks or reminders as higher priority. I have used it across different jobs and I still prefer it over other CRMs I have worked with. The red overdue tasks are especially helpful and it makes it simple to stay on top of my clients. The dashboards are another feature I really enjoy. At one company, I could see in real time how far I was from my goal, where I ranked against other sales reps and how my team was performing overall.

Cons

Biggest downside for me has been reporting. I appreciated that I could create almost any report I needed but the process felt much more difficult than it should have been. Even after using the system for 3 years and getting training on how to build reports, I still do not feel fully comfortable creating a brand new report from scratch.

“Reporting and integrations”

Pros

One of the biggest strengths of this tool is its reporting capability. Once you understand how to work with it properly, there's a lot you can accomplish. It also connects well with different sales and marketing platforms and bringing all that data together can really help shape stronger growth strategies for an organization.

Cons

At the same time, the reporting side can get pretty complicated. Even after putting in hours to build a report, the final result can sometimes turn out completely different from what you expected.

“Organized sales hub”

Pros

Simple and efficient overall, it lets me manage leads and business opportunities from one dashboard. As a sales professional, staying organized really matters and this keeps track of everything in one place.

Cons

Finding duplicates can be difficult at times and the data is not always that searchable.

“Ad tracking with deep insights”

Pros

One of the biggest benefits is being able to see detailed reports that show exactly which ads our leads are coming from.

Cons

It's extremely detailed so there's definitely a learning curve and it takes some time to get comfortable with it.

“Poor support and broken integrations”

Pros

Honestly, they feel behind compared to other CRM systems. I really don't see much quality here and if the choice were mine instead of the company's, I'd switch to a different platform today.

Cons

On top of that, none of the integrations they advertise seem to work properly. They're either buggy all the time or they slow the whole system down a lot. Once you become a paying customer, the account executive basically disappears and getting support or even a callback in a reasonable timeframe is nearly impossible. I've already spent two days just trying to add another license and even after it was paid for, I still couldn't get anyone from support to help get it set up. Our AE and her manager still haven't called back about it. Dealing with them has been incredibly frustrating and takes way too much time. Everyone keeps saying someone will follow up by the end of the day but nobody ever does. They even try to close support tickets before the issue is actually resolved.

“organized deals”

Pros

Among the CRM tools I've used, this one stands out as the best. The newer version interface is very user-friendly and as a sales rep/account manager, it helps me stay on top of my deals and accounts without much hassle.

Cons

Reporting tools are definitely powerful but they can also be a bit confusing at first. It took longer than I expected to feel fully comfortable navigating the system and building my own reports. That said, it does offer plenty of useful guides, walkthroughs and insights that make the learning process easier.

“Highly customizable platform”

Pros

Right out of the box, it comes packed with a lot of best practices. The platform is extremely customizable and it really works as a PaaS as well as a CRM. You can build pretty much anything you need without much trouble, no matter how complex the requirement is.

Cons

The downside is the cost. It's expensive and the pricing doesn't decrease as your user count grows.

“Custom cloud access”

Pros

Having everything in one comprehensive, customizable system has saved our sales department a lot of time. You can choose the options that fit your needs which makes it really flexible. It also made customer information much more accessible for us and since it's cloud-based, I can get to the data from anywhere. As a client services manager, that was especially valuable because I wanted access even while on vacation and this tool absolutely delivered on that. I do still wonder though, how well it would suit a company with around 200 employees.

Cons

Customer support definitely needs work. When you leave a message, the response can take far too long. It's also expensive so for the amount being paid, the level of customer care should be much better. Since the platform is open to developers some features can feel outdated at times. They also need to pay more attention to the needs and convenience of medium-sized businesses.

“Customer management hub”

Pros

One thing that really works well is how comprehensive it is. We rely on it to manage customer account details, track marketing and sales leads, support our customer community and plenty more.

Cons

Interface feels a bit dated. It doesn't really have that modern HTML5-style appearance with updated widgets and menus. Yes, you can customize it with code but out of the box it doesn't look especially modern.

“Flexible platform for growing teams”

Pros

Since launching this tool in 2013, we've relied on it the whole way. The flexibility is a huge plus and there are plug-ins and add-ons for just about anything we might need. We've built our entire sales and marketing workflow inside the platform and are still discovering new ways to use it. I'm also a big fan of the company itself, the CEO/founder, the mission, the Dreamforce events, and we even adopted the 1-1-1 model in our own business. It really stands out as a top choice for startups and companies of all kinds.

Cons

Getting started can be tough when you're facing a completely blank setup. It can also be frustrating trying to reach sales contacts especially since those representatives seem to change pretty often.