Compare Lead Management Blog
Sales Lead Management, Lead Tracking and Software

Is Sales Force Really that Good?
4 November 2005 in Lead Management Software | Comments enabled

For a while now, Sales Force has had a lock on the web based CRM and lead management space. I guess I just figured they had the most sophisticated and best solution out there. Recently I signed up for a demo of Sales Force and was pleasantly disappointed. I say pleasantly because once again I wasn’t wowed by the 600 pound gorilla, which leaves room for Leads360 to make its mark on the sales force automation and lead management space.

In my experience bigger is rarely better in the software market. In fact, the bigger the company, the slower they move and the less likely they are to be on the cutting edge. Furthermore, I’ve found that small to medium size companies are often made up of small amount of mostly smart people rather than a large amount of mostly average people. Read more about this paradigm in my post about Big Companies, Small Minds.

In exploring the Sales Force demo I realized that it is not that sophisticated in comparison to the Lead Manager. There are a number of features and functions that are much more advanced and have been built out much further than we have done so to date. However, I think there is a major aspect to the software that is lacking. The user interface and workflow is highly un-intuitive; which is rather ironic seeing as Sales Force is software about developing a more intuitive and enhanced workflow in your sales organization.

My best guess in what has happened with Sales Force is that it has been compounding development and features over the past 5 or so years. This fact, combined with the incredible, nearly vertical, rise in technology capabilities has caused the solution to be, for lack of a better word, a Frankenstein.

My business partner, Charles often refers to a software solution as Frankenstein when it has been piecemealed together over time. I think that Sales Force has become something of a Frankenstein. I really did like some of the deeper configuration capabilities, but found that setup was truly a nightmare. I’m sure had I done training and taken advantage of all of the support and frequent calls from my sales representative, I would find it that much easier. But after all, I’m biased. I love our solution and I think we’ve come along at jus the right time. Read more about why I think it is the right time for lead management.