My friend’s wife approached me earlier today to learn about Salesforce.
She is the owner of a small art consulting business, advising businesses and high net-worth individuals about which art installations to buy and why.
Last year, she purchased a Salesforce license and was now looking to implement it. Her first reaction was overwhelming. She acknowledged it seemed to have lots of potential, but she didn’t know where to start.
I could have mentioned Trailhead, the free self-learning portal that can explain the basics of Salesforce and beyond.
Instead, I started by asking her multiple questions, such as
- How many people (potential and actual clients) do you need to track in your CRM?
- How many people will need access to these leads and clients?
- What things do you need to track with these individuals?
- How do you want to interact with these individuals?
- What other functionalities do you need?
After hearing the answer to these questions, it was clear to me that Salesforce was capable, yet overkill for her needs. It would be like shooting a mosquito with a tank. Sure, it can do the job, but something simpler could too.
Rather than attempt to convince her that Salesforce is the right CRM, I suggested a few other simpler CRMs that would probably fit her needs more adquently and be easier for her to understand.
The takeaway
Salesforce is awesome. There’s no doubt in my mind. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right CRM for everyone. Sometimes, people need a simpler solution for their simpler problems.