Salesforce Sales Cloud Reviews

Pros

The feature set is honestly mind-blowing and the level of customization goes way beyond what most systems offer. After working with it for the past two years, I still haven't run into anything it can't handle in some form. A lot of it comes down to how much complexity and time you're willing to invest. There's plenty of room to get creative with the way the system operates and the reporting tools are especially valuable for managers.

Cons

Getting everything set up exactly the way you want is very complicated. Although it's marketed toward small and mid-sized businesses, it feels pricier than what most SMBs can realistically afford. On top of the software cost, you usually need to bring in a company to handle the setup which can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Then there's team training, an admin to manage it and if you need additional development, you'll also need an IT-focused developer. Overall, it becomes extremely expensive.

Pros

Right away, the well-designed layouts stood out. There's also a great amount of customization available which makes it flexible for different needs. The reporting framework is good overall and the visibility the system provides is definitely valuable.

Cons

Getting started does take some training so there's a bit of a learning curve. Dashboarding and reporting still have room for improvement and the overall look and feel could use an update since it comes across as a bit dated.

Pros

At this point, I can barely remember working without it and the same goes for almost everyone around me. From building customized reports and keeping lead and client databases organized to sending emails with ready-made templates and tailoring dashboards, it's the tool I naturally rely on throughout the workday.

Cons

Since it's such a widely used platform, there really aren't any major issues that stand out. If I had to point to one annoyance, it would be the upload process. I have to leave the page I'm on, hit the upload button, locate the file, click upload again, add it to my account and then go back to where I started. A single upload button like many newer platforms offer would cut out a lot of those extra steps though it's still only a minor inconvenience overall.

Pros

Every department can tailor the software to fit the way they work which makes it incredibly customizable. It has made our workflows at least ten times more efficient and being able to track productivity is a huge plus.

Cons

Moving from the classic to the new version definitely came with a learning curve. That said, the transition was worth it because the new version is a much better version overall.

Pros

Teams across the organization can set up different views depending on what matters most to them. It's simple to adjust priorities, highlight the important details and keep everything organized so it's easy to locate. Reporting can take some time to understand because there are so many available options but that's also part of what makes it valuable. There are tons of fields and combinations you can use when building reports.

Cons

One issue that comes up a lot is how slow new version can be.

Pros

No matter what we've needed to accomplish, the software has been able to handle it. And whenever our admin runs into something they can't sort out on their own, there's a whole community of experts available to help with answers and guidance.

Cons

The paid support model, along with the limited free help available, can make it tough for smaller companies that are just getting started to figure out the best way to implement the software.

Pros

The interface is easy to move through and there are plenty of customizable pages and fields to work with.

Cons

I understand reporting is not really its intended purpose but it feels very close to being a truly powerful tool for analyzing data. If more reporting infrastructure were added, it could become incredible.

Pros

A really effective way to stay on top of opportunities and potential leads. It also works very well when you're out of the office since your colleagues can still keep up with your deals and see what's going on.

Cons

Navigation can be a little tricky at times especially with the new Lightening Beta. Other than that, there really isn't much I dislike about the software.

Pros

It's incredibly powerful and I honestly can't see an organization operating properly or efficiently without it.

Cons

Getting new people up to speed can be challenging when they've never used it before. Even so, the support is very accessible and the FAQs make it possible to find just about any answer you need.

Pros

Keeping up with customers and lead generation is much more manageable thanks to the many useful reminders and automated tasks built into it. The graphical view of the process is also very helpful and being able to pull reports quickly gives a clear picture of performance, whether you want an overall view or something more specific.

Cons

Sometimes adjusting the interface for very specific needs can be the difficult part. The platform offers a wide range of tools and has everything included but that also means some features can be harder to locate and not always quick to access. It is not a major drawback though because once you become more familiar with the interface, finding and using them gets much easier.

Pros

There's a lot of power in this cloud-based CRM and the wide range of apps and plugins gives you plenty of ways to tailor it to your organization's needs.

Cons

At the same time, you pretty much need an app for almost everything. The reporting in the base product is honestly a joke. The default invoices the system generates are very unattractive and difficult to customize. A lot of the terminology in the core product is unnecessarily confusing, things like invoice/receipt versus proforma invoice versus receipt, for example. On top of that, you can't rename those buttons or objects which makes staff training much harder than it should be. It's marketed as having very powerful functionality but to actually use those capabilities properly, you end up paying a lot extra for the apps and plugins you need.

Pros

One of the best parts of this product is how functional it is, along with the helpful communication you get whenever you have questions or run into issues. It feels very simple overall and while there is a slight learning curve, the setup and configuration process is fairly easy.

Cons

My biggest frustration with this product is the dashboard feature in the Classic version. There is not much you can do with it when it comes to customization or configuration especially for displaying data in ways that sales or marketing teams could use more effectively.

Pros

There's a lot packed into this software. It connects with other systems, including email servers and lets you keep track of a huge amount of information. It works really well as an organizational tool for a business especially when you want everything stored and managed in one place.

Cons

One thing that held me back was how tough it felt. It can do so much but I often had the sense that I wasn't using it to its full potential because I didn't fully understand how everything worked. To really take advantage of all its functionality, you have to be pretty deliberate about learning the system.

Pros

Book's NPO edition gives you a huge amount of flexibility which is honestly both its biggest strength and part of the challenge. After I finally configured everything to match what my nonprofit needed, it turned into a really great donor management solution and the fact that it was free made it even better. The mobile app is also very useful to have on hand.

Cons

Since the system is so feature-rich and customizable, getting it set up in a way that actually fits your needs can take a very long time. I had to spend quite a while searching Google and digging through the message boards to figure things out. Once everything was in place, it worked really well but that level of complexity can feel pretty overwhelming if you're not comfortable working behind the scenes in the backend.

Pros

Having all of a student's information available on a single page was really helpful and made things much more convenient.

Cons

The design and font choices felt a bit dated. It would be better if the interface looked more modern and was easier on the eyes when using it on a phone or while meeting with a student or customer in person.

Pros

One thing this software does really well is customization. Sending customer emails comes with plenty of formatting options, including the ability to add inline images which makes messages much more flexible and polished.

Cons

It can feel awkward to work in. The Case view is crowded and there's a lot of redundancy throughout the interface. When you're trying to complete something, there are often two or three different places on the screen that let you do the exact same thing. That leads to extra buttons and links, more clicks than necessary and a tool that feels less easy to build in and use.

Pros

Having used it on two separate occasions, I can say it provides a very flexible platform that can be customized to fit most business needs.

Cons

I honestly didn't come across any major issues while using it. In both cases, it delivered exactly what you'd want from a CRM.

Pros

Working with this software, one of the biggest advantages has been the team behind it and the level of support and expertise they provide. The reporting features have significantly improved the quality of the work we're able to deliver and the platform integrates with any tool already in use.

Cons

At times, it's hard to know what you're missing because there are so many features and functions packed into the platform. That can make it feel complex and a bit tough to navigate which makes the strong support team and detailed help resources especially valuable.

Pros

One of the biggest strengths here is how flexible and customizable it is while still being simple to use and quick to learn. There's also a huge amount of helpful information online so finding answers or guidance is rarely difficult. It offers plenty of automation options and useful ways to keep users aligned with data entry standards. The AppExchange is another major advantage since you can usually find just about anything you need if it's not already included out of the box.

Cons

The biggest downside is the cost. It can be expensive enough that some small businesses end up not moving forward with it.

Pros

Getting this set up and rolling across our organization was very easy and the learning curve was minimal. We had been urgently searching for a CRM and kept hearing positive things about it. After testing it ourselves, it became clear pretty quickly that this was the right solution for what we needed.

Cons

Cost is higher than some competing options though lower than others. It feels fairly middle-of-the-road for small business pricing while the feature set is right up there with the rest. Of course, everyone wants the lowest price possible but considering the value this product delivers, I really can't complain much about what it costs.