Salesforce Sales Cloud vs FollowUp CRM

HubSpot CRM

Zoho CRM

Bigin by Zoho CRM

HubSpot CRM is a lead management solution that helps businesses with recording calls, logging emails and managing customer data. It has been designed from the ground up and is ready to eliminate manual work and actually help sales teams. It was built ready for the modern world to help users get running and start selling.

Zoho CRM is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution that helps businesses of all sizes close deals smarter, better and faster. The solution lets businesses reach customers through every channel, including telephone, email, social media, and live chat.

Bigin is a pipeline-centric customer relationship management solution designed to help small businesses manage sales pipelines, schedule follow-ups, and update customer records. It enables employees to capture and store prospect and customer details including deals, emails, activities, tweets, and more in a centralized repository.

Salesforce Sales Cloud gives you a 360° view of your contacts, pulling in social activity, campaign and communication history, key contacts & deals, and more.

Sales Pipeline Management

Lead Capture

Shared Contacts

Customizable Fields

Prospecting Tools

Calendar/Reminder System

Segmentation

Sales Forecasting

Reviews for Salesforce Sales Cloud come from a wide variety of industries, including computer software (14% of reviewers), information technology and services (8%), and marketing and advertising (6%). The most frequent use case for Salesforce Sales Cloud cited by reviewers is CRM (49% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Some users report that Salesforce Sales Cloud’s extensive features and integrations can justify its cost for larger organizations. However, reviewers feel the overall cost is high, especially for small businesses, and essential features often require expensive add-ons.

Value for money

The Salesforce Sales Cloud integrations most frequently cited by reviewers are: Gmail (an email management product rated 4.8 out of 5 for its integration with Salesforce Sales Cloud), Slack (a team communication product, 4.8), and SalesLoft (a sales engagement platform product, 4.5).

Integrations

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a CRM program offering key features such as customer database, interaction tracking, reporting/analytics, sales pipeline management, contact management, and lead management, among others.

Salesforce Sales Cloud

Web-based

iPhone

Android

iPad

Zendesk Suite

Pipedrive

HubSpot Sales Hub

NetSuite

Dynamics 365

Freshdesk

SugarCRM

Mailchimp

Insightly

Freshsales

Google Workspace

Starter Suite

Pro Suite

Enterprise

Unlimited

Einstein 1 Sales

Disruptive updates and version issues

Software developer

The only con as and integration admin, we see lot of issues with version incompatibilities and there is no option in Salesforce to use previous version in the integration .

51% of reviewers feel negative about Salesforce’s updates and version management. Some users report that frequent updates can cause system downtime, introduce new bugs, or change the user interface unexpectedly. Reviewers say that learning new features or adapting to interface changes is time-consuming and sometimes confusing. They indicate that version incompatibilities can disrupt integrations and workflows. Users find it challenging to keep up with updates, and they express frustration when critical features are moved or altered without adequate notice or support.

Challenging for small businesses

42% of reviewers feel negative about Salesforce’s suitability for small businesses. Some users report that the platform’s high cost, complexity, and need for customization make it impractical for organizations with limited budgets or technical resources. Reviewers say that setup and ongoing maintenance often require hiring consultants or dedicated administrators, which adds to the expense. They indicate that many features are excessive for small teams, and the learning curve can be steep. Users feel that Salesforce’s support and pricing models are better suited to larger enterprises than to small or growing businesses.

Complex user and account management

45% of reviewers feel negative about Salesforce’s user account management. Some users report that managing permissions, creating or deactivating users, and handling duplicate accounts is cumbersome and unintuitive. Reviewers say the authentication process can be inconvenient, with frequent password changes and multi-factor authentication requirements. They indicate that the interface for managing user roles and access is complex, often requiring administrative support. Users find it difficult to resolve permission errors, manage multiple user types, and prevent data entry issues related to duplicate or similar accounts.

Frequent technical glitches

79% of reviewers feel negative about Salesforce’s bugs and technical issues. Some users report experiencing slow load times, crashes, and system freezes, especially during peak usage. Reviewers say that glitches can cause lost data, require frequent page refreshes, and disrupt workflow. They indicate that search functionality is sometimes unreliable and that syncing with third-party tools can be problematic. Users find it frustrating to encounter errors with attachments, duplicate records, and system updates, which they feel impacts productivity and reliability.

High and escalating costs

consultant

its pricing can be too high for startups and small companies, especially when it includes in extra charges for integration, customization, and continues support.

64% of reviewers feel negative about Salesforce’s pricing. Some users report that subscription fees, add-ons, and required customizations make the platform expensive, especially for small businesses. Reviewers say costs can quickly escalate as more features or user licenses are needed. They indicate that additional charges for support, integrations, and storage add to the financial burden. Users find the pricing structure rigid and sometimes confusing, and they express frustration with contract terms, limited trial functionality, and the need for costly consultants or IT staff.

Centralized business organization

Branch Manager II

It allows us to centralize all the documentation for each individual and piece of collateral so it's centralized and accessible to all in the company

93% of reviewers feel positive about Salesforce’s organizational features. Some users report that the platform centralizes documentation, schedules, and client data, making information easily accessible to all team members. Reviewers appreciate customizable modules and reminders that help them structure workflows and keep track of tasks. They say the system supports collaboration across departments and enables efficient management of large volumes of information. Users find that Salesforce’s organizational tools help prevent missed opportunities and streamline communication, which they believe is particularly valuable for growing and scaling businesses.

Flexible cloud-based access

91% of reviewers feel positive about Salesforce’s cloud services. Some users say the cloud-based platform allows them to access business data from any device, anywhere, which they find essential for remote work and collaboration. Reviewers appreciate the scalability, flexibility, and integration options with other Salesforce products and third-party applications. Users report that cloud storage reduces the need for on-premises infrastructure and enables real-time updates. They indicate that the platform’s accessibility and seamless integrations help businesses respond quickly to customer needs and maintain operational efficiency.

Robust client relationship management

92% of reviewers feel positive about Salesforce’s client management capabilities. Some users report that the platform allows them to centralize client information, track interactions, and manage accounts efficiently. Reviewers appreciate the customizable CRM tools, which they say help maintain detailed records, facilitate communication, and streamline workflows. Users indicate that integrations with other tools and real-time analytics support better decision-making and personalized service. They find that having a single platform for managing client relationships improves collaboration, increases customer satisfaction, and supports business development.

Customer Service

Having the client information and last movement in their orders in a section of the screen is very helpful during customer support calls as this facilitate the overview of the ticket and  provide that upfront understanding of the situation.

CRM Analyst

It brought structure, clarity, and automation to our entire sales workflow, making follow-ups and reporting much easier. Once we completed proper set up and trainin,  productivity improved significantly.

Account Executive

Salesforce has become a central hub for managing customer relationships, forecasting deals, and aligning cross-functional teams. While there’s a ramp-up phase, once optimized, it significantly enhances efficiency, reporting accuracy, and team collaboration.

Executive Marketing Assistant

As someone working in the field of dental marketing—Sales Cloud provides a centralized place to capture and manage every inquiry when it comes to getting leads from Google Ads, Facebook and our website.  

Automated lead assignment helps ensure new patient calls or form fills don’t fall through the cracks and custom lead stages allow our practice to tailor pipelines around consultations, insurance verification, treatment plans, and follow-up sequences.

Lead application support analyst

When I was technical support lead in GCP team, we use Salesforce Sales Cloud to customize issue tracking forms, then integrate it to our internal bug tracking and existing support systems.

Sales Director

Sales Force Cloud is a comprehensive solution that allows you to track customers, opportunities, quotes, and even contracts.  

Senior Business Development Representative

It’s a very capable platform with a lot of flexibility, especially for teams that need detailed reporting, custom workflows, and strong pipeline visibility.

Sr Analyst, Commissions

The reporting and dashboard functionality is particularly powerful—highly customizable and flexible enough to support a wide range of business metrics and analysis needs.

IT Associate

I really like automation flows such as notify to admin when new lead has been created, and sending some personalized email to client and other user with easy in few clicks.

Admin

My favorite thing about Salesforce Sales Cloud is the ability to customize it to the most intricate sales processes.

I can also probably count on two hands the amount of days spent looking at a Salesforce loading screen when I have the fastest internet possible, so the speed of the platform needs to be improved.

Manager, Business Development

In a manager role, it provides me the detailed insight that I need for my own pipeline but also can highlight other pipelines and trends as well in an easy to digest way.

Customer Service Coordinator

We were able to bring almost all of our sales processes into Sales Cloud; legal/contracts, AR/PO's, scheduling, invoicing, marketing, etc.  

Exhibit and Sponsorship Sales Manager

I used Salesforce Sales Cloud primarily to maintain contacts, build my pipeline and manage my opportunities as well as creating reports to share with colleagues.

system technique

It helps to better manage daily activities and business objectives, better focus all sales information by having better visualized graphics and thus making the best decisions.

Account Manager

I have used the software for years and it is amazing because it is the gate keeper for storing leads and contacts that a business owner can use in their sales approach in order to increase their revenue of their organization significantly.

Founder

The platform would freeze , I would make calls and a customer information from five calls ago would appear and the forms I used to collect information would receive 404 error messages when user would try to submit their answes

Product Marketing Manger

Skin customization, lead tracking, engagement tracking, reporting, account overviews, campaign tracking.

Senior Account Executive

This includes ownership, contact/account details, and pipeline management (activity, logging calls, etc.).

Office Coordintator

The customisability of the tool itself is great pro but it can also cause issues once you have finished your setup, particularly if you integrate third party apps from the app exchange.

Customer Marketing Manager

Overall, Salesforce sales cloud is highly reliable for our team to store, organize, and update customer data across each team.

The platform might seem a bit complicated for new customers, and getting everything set up right takes time and a skilled admin. Plus, it can get pricey, especially if you want add more modules or integration.

Customer and Guest Support

It’s a powerful tool that has supported countless businesses in streamlining operations, improving customer management, and driving measurable growth.

Treatment coordinator

Once configured properly, users gain a 360-degree view of leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities, all in one centralized dashboard.

Senior Manager, Paid Social and SEM

Thanks to the Meta Ads integration, we can use the Conversion API to optimize lead campaigns based on which leads convert.

Still need some training to modify process, such as hard/soft consult, escalation process and cases routing rule.

Some aspects of Salesforce aren't so customizable like account plans, but I'd like to think with future updates there will be more wiggle room.

It keeps all accounts organized and can be customizable to the company's reporting needs.

Enrollment Systems Administrator

Data storage limits out of the box are restrictive, and the cost for additional storage is very high.

Salesforce shines with customization and reporting, but setup and cost can be challenging.

Loan Processor

Salesforce is an extremely powerful tool for managing data, workflows, and customer relationships.

We use SF for to fulfil many requirements, predominantly to store account/contact data, run reports, set up campaigns, creat sales opportunities and track individual and team KPIs.

Creative Director

It helps us monitor communications, activities, and task completion statuses, while also facilitating the creation of reports and dashboards to visualize account progress during onboarding.

salesforce sales cloud improves productivity and efficiency by providing a broad range of tools and capabilities to manage every step of a sales process, from lead creation to deal close.

Administrator

It has a system that allows us to escalate issues and find the correct team.

Realtor

With this software, we have been able to automate this process that often times include a lot of filtering and categorizing data and it's something that used to take hours, but now with simple steps we have been able to automate these tasks and focus on more important aspects of selling.

Video Investment

What I liked most about Salesforce Sales Cloud is its robust customization options and seamless integration with other tools, which make it easy to tailor the platform to my specific business needs.

Product Marketing Manager

This software is also giving me the remainder for missed followup and now i am able to do my work efficiently using this software and able to track all my deals in single place.

Inside Product Specialist

Salesforce Sales Cloud enhances the sales motion with excellent lead management, insightful analytics, customizable workflows, and strong security.

Manager- key accounts and projects

The reporting and analytics tools are very strong as well, giving clear insights into sales performance and helping us spot opportunities early.

As a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform, it offers a plethora of features designed to streamline sales processes, improve efficiency, and enhance overall productivity.

Wns global services

The seamless integration with other Salesforce products and detailed reporting capabilities help businesses make data-driven decisions and improve sales performance.

Sr. People Ops

Sometimes it takes too much time to customize fields and navigate through the platform settings.

Technical Consulting Engineer

It is essential software not only for Sales Teams, who can have all information from the Customers and many Automation tools in place but Salesforce Sales Cloud could be fine-tuned for other teams inside a company.

Data Entry

Also a thing that i like about sales cloud is that it integrates seamlessly with other salesforce products which allows us to connect various systems and centralize our data.

IT Administrator Salesforce Administrator

The level of customization available means that it can be tailored to any business needs.

Booking Executive

It has a very outstanding reporting feature that provide us with very insightful reports allowing us to understand the performance of our selling activities.

Business Administrator

It reduced the entire sales cycle from repetitive tasks to being able to automate them and improve collaboration by sharing information through the cloud.

Sales and customer care agent

All companies sizes can get the most of you, if you are a small company with 10 or 100 agents or even if you are a large one they can even provide AI agents to improve your capacity of interacting with your customers.

Lead Management

Users report that Salesforce Sales Cloud’s lead management centralizes, organizes, and tracks leads from capture to conversion. Reviewers highlight seamless integrations with platforms like Outlook, Pardot, and Google Maps, as well as customizable workflows and statuses. They say this aspect streamlines lead assignment, qualification, and nurturing, improving conversion rates. Some users mention initial setup can be time-consuming, but they find lead management highly effective for sales growth and collaboration. Of the 274 Salesforce Sales Cloud users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Lead Management, 89% rated this feature as important or highly important.

Reporting

Sales Management

Tracking

Task Management

Customization

Team Collaboration

Contact Management

Reviewers indicate Salesforce Sales Cloud’s contact management centralizes customer data, tracks interactions, and streamlines communication. Users report that integrations with Gmail, social media, and automation tools enhance efficiency. They find the interface intuitive and appreciate the ability to manage, update, and segment contacts for targeted engagement. Some mention duplicate contact creation as a minor issue, but overall, they value the comprehensive and flexible contact management capabilities. Of the 317 Salesforce Sales Cloud users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Contact Management, 93% rated this feature as important or highly important.

Data Management

Client Management

Small Business

Large Enterprises

Mid-size Business

Freelancers

Salesforce

JobTread

Construction estimating and project management software that empowers companies to more profitably manage their jobs while continuing to grow and scale their businesses.

Builder Prime

Builder Prime is a comprehensive business management software and CRM solution designed specifically for home improvement contractors. The platform seamlessly combines a robust set of features to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive business growth.

Jobber

Jobber is field service management software that helps home service businesses stay organized and deliver great customer experiences. With AI tools like Jobber Copilot and automated marketing features, teams can manage more work while delivering five-star service.

Followup CRM construction CRM & sales platform designed to help contractors measure, record & streamline the sales process.

Reporting/Analytics

Project Tracking

Scheduling

Quotes/Estimates

Contract/License Management

Sales Approval

FollowUp CRM

Windows

 Professional

 Team

President

Most things don't work and they say they will talk to the [sensitive content hidden] about fixing the glitches in the software but won't offer refunds for the months the software couldn't be used.  

The customer service is terrible and the software only works for following up on existing bid proposals.

Project Engineer

Reports still don't work properly for us; promised of integration with ProCore, but after a year, still not integrating, especially to the bid board; no app for android, app for iphone doesn't work well and interface is hard to use on the phone; email integrations spin and then force the program or email to close.

For that they have a good dashboard but that was it for our uses.

The integrations, and tech part of the software is mediocre.

Benefits Customer Service Representative

Issues are fixed quickly and the format is great for your reports.

IT Director

Overall its a decent, lightweight CRM, however, it's not worth working with this shady company that can hold you hostage.  

Salesforce Sales Cloud vs FollowUp CRM Comparison (2026)

Salesforce Sales Cloud

FollowUp CRM

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives