Salesforce Sales Cloud Reviews

I am not involved in hands-on activities as I manage the team. We primarily work with connections provided by our partners.

Salesforce is used for managing the data of our clients. It helps our sales team keep track of meetings and other relevant information.

The solution is very easy to use. It allows for straightforward data input, which is crucial for our operations.

I cannot comment on improvements as we haven't used their customer service.

We have been using Salesforce for an opportunity with our partners and inputting relevant details.

The solution is stable. Our team has not reported any difficulty.

We have never used Salesforce's customer service.

Positive

We prefer using local solutions like RD Station in Brazil due to pricing considerations.

We did not do the initial setup. It was handled by our partner.

We received access through our partner, so no direct implementation team was involved on our side.

As we do not pay for Salesforce directly, it's difficult to calculate a specific ROI. We receive access when we sign with partners.

Salesforce is considered expensive in the Brazilian market, suitable for big companies. We usually opt for local solutions like RD Station.

We use RD Station for CRM needs in Brazil, as it's easy to deploy and manage.

I do not have additional advice as we are not extensive users.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Any organization with leads and a positive pipeline that spans different geographies can benefit from using Salesforce Cloud to manage its entire sales cycle effectively.

Salesforce includes various objects that help manage records of all incoming leads. These leads may come from different sources, such as workshops or other channels. Once the leads are collected, organizations use various methods to engage with them, including email marketing or direct calls. Each organization has its process for analyzing leads. 

For example, if a lead responds to an email, it may be considered a valuable lead. The sales or business development team will then reach out to understand their needs. The qualified leads eventually enter the opportunity pipeline. Salesforce provides a platform to manage and process these leads, from initial collection to closing opportunities, streamlining the entire process.

One of Salesforce's key features is its comprehensive management of the opportunity pipeline. You can document all relevant details during client discussions and use Chatter for team communication. Roles and permissions allow team members to see the status of opportunities and plan their actions accordingly. Salesforce offers extensive customization options, allowing you to tailor the opportunity pipeline to meet specific customer needs.

Additionally, Salesforce supports integration with various tools. You can connect it with marketing solutions, whether Salesforce's own or third-party platforms. Telecalling and quotation generation can be managed directly within Salesforce, eliminating the need for separate tools. The platform also facilitates asset assignment during contract phases. 

One concern with Salesforce's CPQ solution is that the integration and user interface are not as seamless as possible. Although CPQ was successfully integrated into Salesforce following its acquisition, there are still noticeable gaps in the UI and the features. These issues reflect the challenges of merging acquired solutions with the existing Salesforce platform, which, despite successful integration, still shows areas for improvement.

I have been using Salesforce Sales Cloud for over five years.

Occasionally, certain features may not work due to ongoing maintenance or background updates. If you encounter an issue and raise a ticket, Salesforce responds quickly. Their support team provides direct assistance for major issues.

It can be scaled both horizontally and vertically.

It offers excellent technical support with multiple service levels. For prime customers, on-call support is available. There are three levels of support: at the basic level, you raise a ticket and receive a response based on the ticket's severity within 24 hours, with most issues resolved in a few days. Prime customers benefit from direct, on-call support, ensuring a high level of service.

Positive

The initial setup depends on the organization's requirements. It is relatively straightforward for a small organization with only fifty licenses. However, for a larger organization that needs 500 licenses and has extensive requirements, the process becomes more complex due to the significant customization needed. Thus, the setup complexity is directly tied to the client's specific needs.

I rate the initial setup a six or seven out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

It streamlines the entire sales process, allowing top executives, such as the CEO, to easily access sales performance data without connecting with numerous individuals. They can review pipeline statuses and overall performance directly from their laptop. This efficiency significantly benefits CXO-level executives by providing a clear and comprehensive view of sales operations.

Pricing for Salesforce can be high compared to some other products. For example, Zoho often has lower prices.

Forecasting in Salesforce involves analyzing conversion rates and probabilities set by the customer for each deal. For instance, if a positive pipeline is forecasted for six months to a year, you can predict the potential revenue for the upcoming quarter based on these probabilities. Additionally, historical data from previous years can help refine these forecasts. Immediate predictions rely on the current pipeline, while long-term forecasts use historical data to project revenue over the next few years.

Salesforce requires minimal maintenance because it handles infrastructure management itself. The primary maintenance tasks involve managing customizations, adding new users, and addressing evolving requirements, particularly in larger organizations. Other than these updates, Salesforce operates with little need for additional maintenance.

Salesforce can be costly, but it is highly recommendable if it aligns with your organization's needs.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Salesforce offers a comprehensive suite of CRM functionalities to support various aspects of sales and customer relationship management. I am currently focused on managing APAC roadmaps and strategies, and this product has been implemented for Australia and New Zealand this year. While I oversee the broader approach, one of my managers handles the detailed aspects of the implementation. It provides extensive CRM capabilities, including but not limited to case management. It can also integrate with other ERP systems, allowing for a more holistic view of sales and operations.

At our pharmaceutical company, we previously struggled with properly logging customer cases. Now, we can track cases effectively and manage responses more efficiently. We can also attach relevant documents directly to each case, which is a significant improvement over our previous system, in which everything was handled via email. This change enhances our ability to monitor cases and track their progress over time. Additionally, we have access to reporting features, including KPIs and dashboards, which allow managers and team leaders to review case-related data and performance metrics.

We do have a backlog, and we're currently working on addressing it. However, we're trying to overcome some limitations with the standard Salesforce features. We're exploring options to find a technical resource who can assist us with this backlog. 

Certain fields are not editable using standard Salesforce features, and I'm not fully aware of the specifics regarding this. Additionally, we're experiencing issues with copying and pasting data, which is impacting the efficiency of our customer service. These are the main challenges we're currently facing.

I have been using Salesforce Sales Cloud since April.

12-15 users are using this solution. 

It is scalable, but scaling it to meet the diverse needs of the APAC market can be challenging. Each market has unique requirements; for example, Australia and New Zealand might need to view only seven fields or features, while China might require twelve. The current setup displays all 40 fields, which makes it difficult to tailor the system to specific market needs. Improving flexibility to customize and control what each market sees would address these challenges and better support the varying requirements across regions.

Understandably, transitioning from a basic system to a feature-rich technology can be overwhelming. While I haven't been directly involved in the execution, it seems clear that comprehensive training could address many of these issues. The shift to using a technology with numerous features can be challenging, especially when users face more information than they need. For instance, displaying too many options when only a few are necessary can create confusion. This feedback highlights the need for improved training and possibly some adjustments to the user interface to streamline the experience and focus on what's essential.

It is expensive.

We're using SAP Commerce.

Previously, tracking cases effectively was a challenge, but with the recent improvements, we now have a better mechanism for monitoring cases received from customers. To enhance its functionality further, it would be beneficial to integrate this with an ERP or SAP system in the future. For instance, linking cases to trigger returns or other processes isn't set up yet.

Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

We use the tool to manage our sales pipeline and life cycle.

The most significant features of Salesforce Sales Cloud that boosted our sales productivity are workflow management and integrated commentary. Workflow management allows us to progress from exploration and qualification to closing a sale. The integrated commentary feature lets us open conversation threads around a sale and bring in team members, enhancing collaboration.

The tool's reporting feature is also good, giving an idea of the number of open leads. We do benefit from automated alerting and reporting. This automation ensures we are automatically notified if something changes or an event occurs.

One consistent comment about the product internally is that it has a steep learning curve, especially for some sales executives. Simplifying the interface would be a big leap forward. Like a chatbot, fewer clicks and more direct AI interaction could help. A simplified interface with AI support would make things much easier. We need an AI feature like ChatGPT that helps us to hold conversations.             

I have been working with the product for five years. 

I rate the product's stability a nine out of ten. 

The solution is scalable. I rate it a ten out of ten. My company has around 7000 users. If we are more successful, we will increase our usage. 

I haven't contacted the support yet. 

I think the tool's setup experience is easier now because I know it, but initially, I found the learning curve quite steep. If I had to score it on complexity, with ten being easy, I'd probably rate it around six or seven.

There are many mouse clicks and things to be aware of, along with many controls. You can get stuck wondering why you can't move something from one stage to another. You get used to it over time, but the learning curve is steep.

I think Salesforce Sales Cloud has improved our control and visibility over the sales process, likely shortening our sales cycle. The workflow elements give us a better handle on the stages in the pipeline, helping sales executives focus on moving things along. This has sped things up compared to our previous sales life cycle.

Learning how to use Salesforce Sales Cloud took me about three months. I quickly developed a core set of skills but kept finding useful features over time.

My advice for those looking to use Salesforce Sales Cloud is to invest time at the beginning to understand the key features and how to use them. People often try to learn it on the side, only doing things when necessary. Focusing on proper usage from the start will prevent many issues and save time.

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten. 

Clients create business opportunities in the life sciences and retail industries. They launch their initiatives using Salesforce CRM and Salesforce Cloud.

Salesforce Sales Cloud enhances deal closures. We can implement checks to ensure proper data entry with validation rules. For instance, when the first option is selected, the second option can be automatically pre-selected based on default settings, simplifying the user’s job. The user does not need to manually address all possibilities or answer all customer questions. Using permutation and combination constraints, we can automate subsequent selections based on previous choices, managed through validation rules at the back-end level.

Primary features include navigation and process flow, which indicate your stage throughout the opportunity’s life cycle. At any given point, it shows your current status and probability. The reports and dashboard functionality are major highlights of Salesforce. Additionally, it is user-friendly and has a simple configuration, making it easily adaptable to any sales-related detail.

They should also include ATP and CTP functionality. Whenever there is a sale or opportunity, sales representatives should be able to determine what is available in the inventory and how much can be delivered to the customer. For example, if I take an order today, it might take ten days to produce and deliver the product. This is the ATP. If a customer orders 100 cell phones, the CTP functionality helps determine if we can deliver that quantity.

This insight is provided when ERP systems are integrated, as ERP systems handle inventory. However, even without an ERP system, this information is crucial. The ATP and CTP stock should be monitored or mentioned somewhere in Salesforce to make decisions easier for sales representatives.

If my inventory has 10,000 cell phones from 8 AM to 6 PM at the start of the day, any confirmed orders should reduce this inventory count. We can monitor my inventory in real-time and decide whether to accept new opportunities based on current stock levels.

I have been using Salesforce Sales Cloud as a partner for five years.

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

We cater the solution to medium and large businesses.

I rate the solution’ scalability a nine out of ten.

Support is good.

Positive

The initial setup is easy. Deployment will take a minimum of one week. Once you buy the license from Salesforce, it typically takes two to three days. After that, we need to start configuring the system in a separate process.

I rate it an eight out of ten.

Our customers have gained significant benefits. The customers I worked with used to manage their leads and opportunities using Excel and other local applications. When we implemented Salesforce, we unified all the data from different companies within a group onto a single platform. We performed the data migration and provided access to all sales representatives. 

As a result, the sales process, lead generation, and opportunity management saw a drastic reduction in order processing time. Previously, closing an opportunity took at least two to three weeks. With Salesforce Sales Cloud, due to the visibility of the data structure, insights, and analytics, they could make decisions more quickly.

Pricing is reasonable.

Workflows are a concept and an automation tool. They require a trigger—whenever an action takes place based on user input, the system will trigger a workflow and handle the rest of the tasks. This automation happens with the help of the workflow functionality.
It depends on the organization. For example, if it's a defense-related or government organization, they use the government or private cloud.

I recommend the solution. The availability of resources in the market has increased tremendously. Salesforce technical support, knowledge base, and manpower are widely available. Training materials, tutorials, and other resources are also freely accessible, making it easy for anyone to use Salesforce. It is easy to understand, user-friendly and offers many key features.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

It's for managing the sales cycle.

When it comes to the lead management process, we track and evaluate the different stages and the challenges in each stage. It's so that the entire team has visibility of what's going on with each individual lead.

It has significantly impacted the sales cycle because we are able to get more precise updates, report back to our senior execs using the Salesforce stats, and make database judgments. So, it has shortened the sales cycle.

I like that I can customize the sales process to a particular team so that, based on whatever framework I use, I can significantly adapt sales. That's the security of the system.

It might be easier if there were better integration with other sales systems or clouds that are not powered by Salesforce. For example, when we work with partners, such as Amazon or any other major tech company, sometimes we collaborate to develop a sales lead. 

We use integrations between Salesforce instances so the partner can add opportunities to our account and vice versa.

The integration between systems used by different partners is very hard. So, that's something that can definitely be improved.

There are features I would like to see in future releases. It could give recommendations on what could be a possible next step and highlight important points; that's where AI would come in. If it sees patterns in sales and Sales Cloud could evaluate it and showcase to us how that sales cycle could be shortened – that would be a great feature.

I have been using it for five years now. 

The solution is fairly stable. I have not faced any issues. 

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.

The solution adapts to our use cases. It's highly customizable, but you just need to know how to customize it.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup a six out of ten, with one being easy and ten being difficult. 

It's just a matter of enablement. Sometimes, when it comes to inputting data, it has to be in certain formats, and it doesn't work properly. When you convert it to a report, it doesn't display the report correctly, so you need to know exactly how it needs to be tailored.

Our IT team deployed it.

I would recommend having a good Salesforce administrator. Other than that, it's pretty easy to use. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. I would recommend using it. 

I have expertise in Salesforce Sales Cloud, Revenue Cloud, and a little experience in Experience Cloud as well. I have been using Salesforce Sales Cloud for around three years. The Sales Cloud is generally used for lead management, where we can grab leads, convert them, and track opportunities and accounts. It helps manage our entire business process and track revenue by setting up quotes, orders, and invoices.

Salesforce has helped by providing a comprehensive system to capture opportunities and leads, maintaining everything in one place, and tracking customer data. Additionally, the automation features enhance business operations and revenue growth.

Salesforce provides a lot of tools out of the box like opportunity tracking, automation, and linking between account, contact, and posting. The lead conversion process, approval processes, and automation are particularly valuable.

The developer console might be enhanced. Sometimes, there can be a lot of open files, and improving the learning process of data processing would be beneficial.

I have been using this solution for around three years.

There are no stability issues found yet.

The solution is scalable.

Most of the time, customer service resolves the issues effectively. Sometimes they provide guidance on whether the issue is on their side or ours and suggest solutions.

Positive

As a Salesforce developer for three to four years, I consider it the best CRM to use. It is the first CRM I have worked on.

The initial setup doesn't take much time, it depends on the deployment tool used. For Capado, the setup might take one day or half a week. For others, it may be as quick as one hour.

Generally, we use tools and follow a structured process to deploy. Specific tools might be required as per customer requests.

I am not exactly sure about the numbers, but the licensing for different purposes can be checked online. The cost might vary if you need licenses for specific functionalities like CPQ.

I would recommend Salesforce for an enhanced revenue system, whole automation process, and CRM to lead management.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

We use Salesforce Sales Cloud for lead management, contact and account management, sales forecasting, collaboration, and workflow automation.

I've found lead management to be the most valuable feature of Salesforce Sales Cloud. It helps capture, track, and manage leads throughout the sales process. The tool is easy to learn. 

One aspect I find challenging with Salesforce Sales Cloud is its forecasting feature. While it's useful for analyzing sales data and predicting future revenue, I've encountered instances where the outcomes weren't as perfect as expected.

I have been using the product for three years. 

I haven't encountered any bugs with the product. 

The tool is scalable. My company has 35 users. 

Whenever we encounter issues or have questions regarding the product, we contact their support team by creating a ticket. They are always ready to assist us. 

Positive

Our organization decided to go with Salesforce Sales Cloud because it provides all the features we need to offer to our customers.

The tool's deployment is easy. 

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.