Item: Salesforce Sales Cloud
Rating: 10
Author: Sam Walker

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Salesforce Sales Cloud as our 'one source of truth' for most things related to our customers. We use it for more than just the CRM capabilities, having built custom objects and Flows that enable us to use Salesforce to process jobs all the way from a Lead through Opportunity and then to the point where the finished items are dispatched to the customer. The ease of customisation and automation means we use it as extensively as we can.

Pros and Cons

Customisation
Automation
User Interface
Reporting

Lightning version sometimes misses Classic functionality
Some error messages/handling is not especially helpful

Return on Investment

Instantly we were able to produce 30% more quotes each month
The variety of reports has dramatically increased and we no longer ask the software supplier to create bespoke reports at large cost
The UI and customisations and automations have a large, but hard to quantify, affect on the overall operation

Scalability

With Salesforce it all comes down to customisation. In most instances if you can write down the process/rules you can then build that using custom fields, objects, or flows. You don't need developers or IT experts for this either, so much of the knowledge is democratised through Trailhead and other free online resources that you really can build whatever automations you want.

Customer Data Management

We don't use many of the Einstein features as our business model doesn't lend itself to it, but the way Salesforce can be utilised to house vast amounts of data, stored in logical relationships means it is very easy, even without AI, to get your hands on the info you need.

Alternatives Considered

HubSpot CRM

Hubspot isn't a huge amount cheaper and the customisability is a lot more limited. As a bespoke manufacturer, who is keen on efficiency, having a CRM we can really tailor to our needs makes a big difference.

We also tried Prospectsofts CRM but this has very limited customisation and therefore wasn't an option for us.

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?

Yes

Did implementation of Salesforce Sales Cloud go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Salesforce Sales Cloud again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

Salesforce Sales Cloud is great if you need a highly customisable CRM solution and you have someone with some IT knowledge to implement their 'click not code' solutions. They really are easy to use and the free Salesforce Trailheads make it very easy to learn, but you still need some internal resource (or budget for external support) to make the most of the system. The only scenario where I don't think salesforce would be of benefit is if you don't need much customisation, don't have the budget, or you have no scope for putting some hours in to customise it to your needs.

Where customisation is key, Salesforce exceeds expectations

Software Version

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Salesforce Sales Cloud