Item: Salesforce Sales Cloud
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use the SF Sales Cloud to keep track of leads/customers and manage pipelines. We are a start, and hence, we are generating a lot of leads from various sources. I import leads and customers and log our conversations to SF so that we can keep track of the conversation. When I have to do an email campaign, I can easily export a list of contacts with different filters. Another primary use is to keep track of the pipeline, and I report to the CEO monthly on the pipeline summaries. We also use it to store critical documents on the account level, such as CDA, MSA, SOW, etc.

Pros and Cons

User interface.
Log email as I send them from Outlook.
Customization

I have hard-coded the auto-update of the phone number format and state format from some codes shared by the community, but I do not know where to do it. I cannot reset it either.
It is unclear what functionalities each version has. We use the enterprise version, and it seems we can only have one design of the pipeline. But different business segments would have very different sales cycles, and hence, pipeline tracking would be different. It would be nice to have this available in our version.
It seems I cannot create a report to pull notes logged at the account levels.

Return on Investment

The inbox feature allows me to see when the customer opens my email, and hence a timely follow-up could result in a higher response rate.
The mobile app allows users to gain access to leads and customer contacts on the go, which increases sales team productivity and enhances customer conversations.
The reports of the notes on the account level are not working, which is causing manual work in the weekly report to leadership.

Scalability

There are some pros and cons, but overall, there are more pros than cons, and hence, I gave it a 7. As mentioned in previous questions, the Inbox feature, leads, customer contacts, conversation log via email, and mobile app increase productivity. Still, some reporting tools are not working as smoothly as I would like.

Customer Data Management

I'm not sure if this is part of the AI-driven Einstein 1 platform, but when I want to add a new account, I could start typing the company name, and SF will automatically list a few options for me to choose from. If I pick any of them, the website, address, and phone number can be auto-populated into the fields. However, it seems the function has not been active lately.

Alternatives Considered

NetSuite ERP

It was a decision made by the VP before I joined the company. However, my previous organization was also switching from NetSuite ERP to Salesforce due to the high level of customization required. However, SF is a widely used platform, and many other suppliers (such as Zymewire) have plugged into SF, which makes it very versatile.

Key Insights

Do you think Salesforce Sales Cloud delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Salesforce Sales Cloud's feature set?

Yes

Did Salesforce Sales Cloud live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Salesforce Sales Cloud go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Salesforce Sales Cloud again?

Yes

Other Software Used

ZoomInfo SalesOS, Hunter

Likelihood to Recommend

I like to document everything, if not all, of the most crucial conversations. Salesforce can log the conversation as we send emails via Outlook, which helps us to go back to find out the history if we speak to the same person again. It's an easy-to-use CRM tool, and the mobile app can be handy if we are out in a conference talking to prospects and customers. We can easily pull the conversation history if we are talking to someone in the system. I also use the Inbox added feature, which can track if the recipients have opened my emails. However, it is not easy to keep track of pipelines across different industries if the sales cycles are different, at least for the enterprise version.

Salesforce Sales Cloud Review.

Software Version

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Salesforce Sales Cloud