Molokomjolk

Sales Director

Valued Contributor

Would it effect your decision to accept a new job if the company didn't use Salesforce?

One of my colleagues just interviewed a new candidate and one of the candidate's key questions was if we use Salesforce as a CRM. The answer was yes which was a massive relief for the candidate.

This sparked a conversation across the sales team afterwards. The consensus was that they would be reluctant to take a new sales job unless the company used Salesforce. Of course there are other factors playing in to this as well but if they stood between two similar offers then the company without Salesforce would suffer.

Curious to see if my colleagues and I are CRM snobs or if this is how most sales savages think.

Would it effect your decision to accept a new job if the company didn't use Salesforce

Attached poll

Yes No

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

☁️ Software Tech

🧢 Sales Management

32

82 comments

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Kodiak

Politicker

19

Senior Account Executive

Gartner reached out ~two years ago for me to interview. I started the process and it was going well. Then I reached out to a friend who had worked there to ask about her experience. She shared that they don't use Salesforce and it's mostly getting savvy with Excel.

I stopped the interview process after that conversation.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

5

🦊

I've heard some stories about that place. Good for you.

Kodiak

Politicker

3

Senior Account Executive

From Corp's IG stories, apparently, they are finally adapting. Good for them I suppose.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

4

Sales Director

That's very interesting. You pretty much assume that a company that size has a system in place.

Kodiak

Politicker

2

Senior Account Executive

Completely assumed that. I only had the final interview left at this point. I think I broke the recruiter's heart when I told them my reasoning. Seemed like I wasn't the first person to give him that reason.

Side note - that recruiter was the best recruiter I've ever worked with. First time I had to do the "not buying but you did a great job" explanation. Usually on the opposite side of that conversation.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

1

Sales Director

I'm thinking about all those poor souls that didn't double check this before accepting the job. Bless em

Kodiak

Politicker

2

Senior Account Executive

For reals!

The first day at my current job I went to sign into my Gmail. After trying multiple times without the password working I turned to the manager and asked to double-check the password.

He looked at me and said, "oh, we use Outlook." I immediately thought about my life choices.

Outlook isn't bad and I still use it to this day. I'd prefer Gmail though.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

Can't win them all.

PhlipOut

Politicker

0

Account Executive

they use Oracle as a CRM

Broncosfan

Politicker

2

Account Manager

They had Salesforce. They got into a pissing match with Saleforce about ownership of the contacts they were putting in. They walked away and created their own "CRM". Their CRM is the biggest pile of dogshit imaginable.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

Damn that sounds absolutely horrible. Whenever I hear a company say that they're going to build something themselves I role my eyes.

CCP

Opinionated

0

VP, Business Development

I've dealt with their recruiters also and they were great. Slalom has awesome recruiters as well as a side bar.

SiliconBBQ

Politicker

0

The Metal Rooster

for work, feel exact opposite

RahRahBooty

Executive

0

Business Development

Ehem… guilty! Talk about immediate regret and a mistake I have not made since.

Broncosfan

Politicker

3

Account Manager

I worked for them for 2 years. There's virtually no way to find past account intel on how they've engaged the account or the contact. It's a complete shit show to do your outreach.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

1

Sales Director

To make sure I understand. Even for closed lost accounts you can't see past engagement? So all that juicy info that you can use to revive accounts is lost?

Broncosfan

Politicker

0

Account Manager

Correct.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

Shocked that any senior sales leader can go to sleep knowing this is happening.

CCP

Opinionated

3

VP, Business Development

Soooo they're in the bottom left of the own magic quadrant?

Molokomjolk

Politicker

2

Sales Director

lol, killer.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

8

🦊

I mean it would depend on the offer, but it would make me think twice for sure.

TheSolicitorGeneral

Politicker

5

Small Market AE

I've used Microsoft CRM and Salesforce. As much as Salesforce has pissed me off in my life, it doesn't hold a candle to how much of a stumbling block Microsoft CRM was. Sales can be stressful enough without your tools literally working against you; Salesforce I've found works against me the least lol

Molokomjolk

Politicker

1

Sales Director

haha I've never used Microsoft CRM but I've heard horror stories for sure.

vidalSaaSoon

Big Shot

0

Account Executive

I got a great offer from a company that sells a customized version of Dynamics... didn’t take the job because I didn’t want to sell Dynamics.

CCP

Opinionated

5

VP, Business Development

Anyone who voted no has never used Microsoft Dynamics. Fact.

Ozz

Politicker

2

Account Executive

Lol, my friend is a Dynamics rep and she says that they never are able to get their prospects to try it again. What a joke.

CCP

Opinionated

0

VP, Business Development

Poor her! She should definitely join Salesforce. Best CRM I've used by far.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Jeez. Both using it daily and selling it. Sounds like a nightmare.

Ozz

Politicker

0

Account Executive

I think they put her on their version of a PIP but it wasn’t her fault that dynamics is trash.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Lol, never heard anyone say anything positive about that system.

CCP

Opinionated

0

VP, Business Development

Its the worst and I've used systems built in house that hadn't seen an update in a decade. MSD was worse than that haha on Salesforce now thank god

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

3

☕️

I prefer HubSpot, so I'd see it as a deterrent, not as an attraction.

Sgt_Trollingham

Valued Contributor

2

Business Development Director

I use Pipedrive, but feel the same away about SF being a deterrent.

Kodiak

Politicker

1

Senior Account Executive

What's your take on HubSpot as the CRM? I've only seen it in limited use for marketing but never fully.

From your answer, I'm assuming it's positive but I'd love to hear more about what makes it stand out over salesforce?

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

3

☕️

There are drawbacks for sure as far as integrations with major tools go, but for the most part, I've only had good experiences with HubSpot. We've been able to integrate most of our tools via APIs if there isn't already an integration in place, and their team keeps putting out tools that make custom integrations easier. I also don't need to hire a HubSpot admin, the system is flexible enough for superusers to really understand how to manipulate it without needing to know how to code.

I will say my least favorite part of the entire HubSpot ecosystem is their closed walls. They do make it hard for external companies to integrate with them because they keep things close to the vest. A lack of a fully baked dev program is a bit of a turnoff, but the usability factor is something I'll take in trade any day.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

1

Sales Director

What do you prefer about Hubspot?

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

2

☕️

Usability factor for new reps--it's very hard to break and is flexible enough that I as the admin/product owner can make it do what I need it to do. I've stood up 3 instances of it now, and every time it delivers.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

That I can understand, can be a steep learning curve for new reps. From what I've seen though it has a lot to do with how SF is built and the processes that are in place. However the junior reps that I've hired recently master their pipelines and processes within a couple of months without me nagging.

Do.it.for.the.checks

Politicker

1

Account Executive

I hate Hubspot. It's a fucking marketing tool. I just want to be able to look strategically at my deals without going to 27 different windows. The last thing I need is the bulk of my view a recap of my activity. I did it, I know what's there/ Show me buyers, deal progress, next steps, red flags, etc.

Also what kind of reports don't allow OR?

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

Yeah that pretty much sums up my experience as well.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

2

☕️

Soooo can I consult with your company to make HubSpot more usable? I think this is a data structuring problem, not a platform problem.

Do.it.for.the.checks

Politicker

0

Account Executive

It very well could be an internal issue. My SalesOps team consists of 1 25-year-old SDR turned Operations.

But I doubt that. Because my dislike has more to do with UI/UX. Hubspot prioritizes screen space to things that just don't matter to me and add clicks to make me edit from different tables.

PhlipOut

Politicker

0

Account Executive

Same, I used Hubspot for a year and really liked it. Great for actually managing your work. calls, sequences, note taking, deal management.

We didn't use for Pricing/Quote process or contracts, so not sure how that side is.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

You had to work from several different systems to manage this or how did it work?

PhlipOut

Politicker

1

Account Executive

nah it was a startup. we just had the prices on a shared drive and legal pumped out the docusigns

RedLightning

Politicker

2

Mid-Market AE

I worked at an org that used a custom CRM, which was a pain to utlize. It also indicates a reluctance to purchase any software that would help sales

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

100% agreed.

Avon

Politicker

2

Senior Account Executive

Idk if it would be a dealbreaker but it wouldn’t help if I was on the fence. But my company switched last year from Outreach to Xant (Playbooks) and I would never work anywhere else if they told me they also use Xant. Sometimes you have such a bad time with a tool (almost) no amount of money is worth going back to it.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

Never used Xant but good intel if anyone tries to bring it up!

CaneWolf

Politicker

2

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

Most of the SFDC instances I've used have been implemented horribly. This wouldn't bother me a bit unless it was a situation such as @Kodiak experienced.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

I've used Salesforce at several companies and the set up does make a big difference for sure.

CaneWolf

Politicker

0

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

I worked for one company that expressed the importance of implementing its product with certified partners and then self-implemented Salesforce. It was a fucking mess.

Rallier

Politicker

2

SDR Manager and Consultant

My company uses Dynamics and ~I wanna die~

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

I'm so sorry to hear that. Seems like there are enough Dynamics users on this thread to start a support group though that might help.

HappyGilmore

Politicker

1

Account Executive

For me I don't mind using SFDC now that I've used it at my last two companies. I can never go back to using Microsoft CRM or even 10x worse, SAP CRM.

Beasthouse

Opinionated

1

Corporate trainer

if they dont have a CRM and run off excell then either take everything over and make it better or bail

Do.it.for.the.checks

Politicker

1

Account Executive

In the past, I would have said no. But after struggling to do anything worthwhile on Hubspot in my current role, it would definitely affect my opinion

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

I used to be in a company where we used Hubspot but switched to Salesforce. Not the easiest transition but it was worth it.

Accidental_Sales_Guy

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Depends more on how they're using Salesforce, I'd have more questions around their SalesOps team.

Poorly configured Salesforce is just as bad (or worse) than excel

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

1

Rolling 20's all day

Every org I've worked for has NEVER had Salesforce. Obviously they are *the* CRM to use at this point but am I really missing that much? That being said I have not enjoyed any other CRM so...

NorthernSalesGuru

Politicker

1

Manager, Outbound Sales

Yeah but if they didn’t let me use Scratchpad there’s a bigger issue at hand. Right @GeneralCorp ?

Kirby

Politicker

1

Sales Representative

It depends on what they do use. Hubspot? Sure! Excel? HELL NO

Mjollnir

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Salesforce is trash. heard they plan to come up with an awesome update but till then, fuck that system.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

@Mjollnir What CRM do you prefer?

Mjollnir

Politicker

0

Account Executive

I hate them all but Hubspot is much nicer

Molokomjolk

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Ah ok. I only used Hubspot for sales briefly but I wasn't too much of a fan as we grew. Very easy to use though. I used it for marketing though which was great.

TheNegotiator

Arsonist

0

VP of Sales

this is shocking news to me. I never really enjoyed using SFDC (or any CRM for that matter) - we use Zoho where I work now, and where i'm going, and I hate it. But I don't see it as detrimental to my ability to sell. I do wish it integrated natively with the tools we use like zoominfo, but that it doesn't again, isn't a major concern for me personally..

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

I agree that the CRM shouldn't be detrimental to your ability to sell. However most sales savages these days spend most of their day outside meetings in the CRM. Then you want that to be an easy process.

NoSuperhero

Politicker

0

BDR LEAD

As long as they have a CRM I think they are going the right direction. One has to understand that not all companies are at a Salesforce level yet, but def have to have some sort of CRM, or in the process of gettting one.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Yeah I wouldn't hold it against a smaller company or a Seed/A-round company. I get the money might not be there and you need something cheaper like Pipedrive or Copper. But I still expect a CRM to be in place.

SandwichMan

Catalyst

0

BDR Team Lead

Salesforce annoys the shit out of me so I can't imagine the alternative being too much worse.

The only deal breaker for me as far as tools/tech stack goes would be if they did not have zoominfo.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

Could it be that you have a poor Salesforce setup?

desperado

Politicker

0

Head of Sales

Salesforce? Not really. A CRM, yes.

I'm currently using Google Sheets as a CRM and it is hell.

Molokomjolk

Politicker

0

Sales Director

How big is the company?

desperado

Politicker

0

Head of Sales

About 1000 total. But I’m leading initiatives on a new business under the parent. We have ~50 total across all departments and 5 on sales. Even with 5, Google sheets is a shit show for tracking opps, leaving notes, etc.

Derpfrickinvalu

Arsonist

0

Account Executive

If the alternative is HubSpot, then that's alright. But if it's Dynamics or some other brand like SugarCRM, run the other way.

Woody

Politicker

0

Business Development Executive

I would focus more on the opportunity, the pay, and industry. Just because they have salesforce doesn't mean the ways they have it set up isn't a disaster. I worked at a firm with salesforce and software on top of it the gave a cadence for email outreach and calls. It provided an efficient automated way to not sell anything. To be successful I took a legal pad and linkedin and developed 5 - 10 new prospects every night. I would come in and pound my hit list on the legal pad to get my leads. They I would login to the software to waste some time hitting my numbers.

pretengineer

Politicker

0

Head of the crumpets

I prefer HubSpot. See it as a huge plus point and being almost a bit edgy if a business is on HubSpot.

It gives me relevant information like what the lead engaged with on the site, and it's a lot easier to use, not to mention i don't need a million accounts to do things I want (e.g. Outreach.io, Notetaking apps bc SF notes are a pain in the ass).

Anyway, Hubspot #1, Salesforce (with a decent ops team supporting it behind) #2, Pipedrive #3, ..... Salesforce without an ops team n e v e r.

FrodoSwaggins

Contributor

0

Sales Development Rep

My previous job didn't use salesforce but we still had a contact database which mainly served the same purpose.

Theloanemperor

Opinionated

0

Loan Officer

Honestly never liked salesforce, ever. Started in sales at 18, 11 years ago, thought it was the absolute worst CRM ever.

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

0

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Meh, not really. In my humble opinion, its "How you use your CRM, how its build/structured/managed" more than "Which" CRM you use. Ive seen good and bad when using SalesForce and likewise with other CRMs. If you have the right people structuring and managing the platform, you're golden. If you have incompetent or disinterested people managing it, you're probably f*cked. 🤷🏻‍♂️

once

Fire Starter

0

Sales Executive

Salesforce or any other CRM....today you must to have a CRM.

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