What is our primary use case?
I generally use
Salesforce Sales Cloud for our sales process, setting up the entire opportunity lifecycle from lead generation to contract closure. It helps integrate our sales process with contract management and marketing solutions, ensuring that analytics are available for management and operational monitoring of sales figures.
What is most valuable?
The
Einstein Analytics and the inbuilt reporting are very useful for keeping track of pipeline movement. The customizability using the lightning features allows customization for specific business flows or departments. It is easy to customize. The main features are these. Additionally, it is very effective when used with discipline, providing a real-time view of the sales organization, benefiting from proper marketing campaigns and integrations.
What needs improvement?
With today's generative AI capabilities like
ChatGPT, it should be possible to directly communicate with the software rather than navigating through the entire system manually. A conversational interface can improve the user experience. Additionally, the training material should be less technical to allow business users to manage it more easily.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with
Salesforce Sales Cloud for 7 years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Depending on the complexity of the configuration, deployment can typically take between three days to two weeks. If there is data migration, it may take an additional two weeks. Integrations with solutions like
SharePoint or marketing solutions depend on specific needs but generally take one to two weeks for a greenfield vanilla implementation.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Salesforce Sales Cloud is very stable. Sales processes do not require 24/7 real-time access, but stability is crucial when reviewing sales pipelines and running campaigns. It's user-friendly and effective, generally always available and resilient.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Salesforce Sales Cloud is totally cloud native, requiring no additional effort for scalability.
Salesforce Network charges based on licenses, and if the number of users is large, one can negotiate better deals. It scales effortlessly with user growth.
How are customer service and support?
Support requires a subscription and when taken, the service is pretty nice. Larger customers receive better responses, while smaller customers may experience challenges.
How would you rate customer service and support?
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup requires expertise from individuals with
Salesforce experience. Once the basic organization structure is established, adding or removing users is simple and does not require complex procedures.
What was our ROI?
Salesforce Sales Cloud is a fantastic tool but requires disciplined data entry by sales personnel and operations teams to maintain data quality. When handled properly, it brings substantial ROI, especially for larger organizations. For smaller teams, alternatives like Zoho might be more cost-effective.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing varies and can be negotiated based on volumes. Without negotiation, costs can become expensive. The price is reasonable for enterprise customers if managed correctly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
There are several AI-based tools available that offer easiness to use. Tools like Zoho,
Zendesk, and Dynamics have been mentioned as alternatives. Some solutions are more AI-native, useful for sales pipeline monitoring and operations management.
What other advice do I have?
It's imperative to ensure data quality, as the effectiveness of the tool depends on it. Properly trained teams following best practices will find Salesforce Sales Cloud invaluable. For very small teams, cost might be a consideration. My rating for Salesforce Sales Cloud is seven. There are modern AI products that are now in the market offering better capabilities.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
*Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner