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Struggling with low Salesforce user adoption? Codleo Consulting is here to help! In our latest blog, we uncover the 5 most common Salesforce adoption challenges that businesses face and provide actionable solutions to overcome them. Whether it's pipeline visibility, simplifying processes, or training managers to effectively use Salesforce, we offer tailored strategies to boost adoption and ensure your Salesforce investment delivers maximum ROI. Ready to transform your team's engagement with Salesforce? Explore our insights and let Codleo Consulting guide you to success!
Last month, a VP of Sales from a potential customer said something surprising: 'The sales forecast spreadsheets never match what’s in Salesforce.' He was frustrated with the low adoption of Salesforce by his sales team.
Wait, what? Still using spreadsheets for sales forecasting when you have Salesforce?
Actually, low Salesforce adoption is more common than you might think. One clear sign is when teams keep using spreadsheets to manage forecasts and pipelines, even with Salesforce available.
When we dug into this issue with the VP of Sales, here’s what we found about the impact of low Salesforce adoption:
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Limited pipeline visibility: A Salesforce dashboard gives a clear view of the pipeline’s size, quality, and trends from multiple angles. Spreadsheets, however, usually only offer a flat, one-dimensional view.
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Double the effort: Maintaining sales data in both spreadsheets and Salesforce takes extra time and creates more work.
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Inconsistent information: Different teams using their own spreadsheet formats leads to confusion and inconsistency.
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Lack of consolidation: Trying to roll up data from multiple spreadsheets into a single view is time-consuming and inefficient.
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Accessibility issues: Spreadsheets are harder to access on mobile devices or when working remotely, especially if someone else is updating them at the same time.
Low sales adoption of Salesforce can be a real issue, but the good news is, it’s usually pretty easy to fix.
To address it, though, we first need to understand why it happens. So, we asked the VP of Sales what he thought the reasons were behind the low adoption in his company. Below are the reasons he shared, along with some actions we recommend to help boost Salesforce adoption.
Fear of Performance Visibility
The Sales Adoption Issue:
The VP of Sales explained that some salespeople are hesitant about having their performance seen by others. This is especially true for those who may not be meeting their targets. By keeping sales data in spreadsheets, it’s easier to avoid that visibility.
Our Sales Adoption Tip:
First, make sure this isn’t a management issue. If managers are constantly pressuring salespeople about every big deal, it may discourage them from fully using Salesforce. Even if you move everything to Salesforce, there’s a risk that salespeople might start hiding information.
If you're confident that management pressure isn’t the problem, review the visibility settings in Salesforce. Decide who should have access to what data.
Sale is a high-visibility role. If some people aren’t comfortable with that, they may not be in the right role. Being transparent is part of the job.
Managers Don’t Know How to Run Pipeline Reviews in Salesforce
The Sales Adoption Issue:
The VP of Sales shared that many managers don’t know how to effectively use Salesforce reports and dashboards for pipeline reviews or sales forecasting. While it doesn’t take much expertise, it does require some basic knowledge.
Salesforce tools like reports and dashboards help manage the sales process, but they can’t do the job for you. Managers need to understand how to use them properly.
Our Sales Adoption Tip:
Train your sales managers to conduct both short-term and long-term pipeline reviews in Salesforce.
This blog post and the video included offer a great starting point, showing how to use one of the most helpful charts on the Salesforce dashboard. It’s an excellent way to learn how to conduct a funnel review.
No Pipeline Reports or Dashboard Charts Set Up
The Sales Adoption Issue:
When Salesforce is first introduced, sales teams are often shown impressive dashboards. Yet, many companies using Salesforce still don’t have proper pipeline reports or dashboards set up. Or, if they do, they aren’t effective at showing sales performance.
If managers can’t get the insights they need from Salesforce, they’ll go back to tracking opportunities in spreadsheets.
Our Sales Adoption Tip:
The fix is simple: set up opportunity management reports and dashboard charts that give managers a clear view of sales performance and the pipeline.
We’ve shared plenty of resources to help with this. Check out our popular blog post, 12 Charts That Should Be On Your Salesforce Dashboard, or take a look at Spot Poor Quality Deals Using Salesforce Dashboards for more tips.
Salesforce Is Too Difficult to Use
The Sales Adoption Issue:
According to the VP of Sales, there are too many fields and validation rules in Salesforce, making it hard to create and update opportunities as they move through the sales process.
Salespeople will naturally choose the easiest path. If Salesforce is complicated and hard to use for managing deals and creating forecasts, sales adoption will drop. Both managers and their teams may switch back to using spreadsheets.
Our Sales Adoption Tip:
Take a close look at how Salesforce is set up. Are all the fields really necessary? Can you reduce the number of mandatory fields? Are there too many validation rules in place?
To improve sales adoption, Salesforce should be easy to use and genuinely helpful for salespeople. There are many ways to do this. Start by checking out our blog post 5 Compelling Ways to Increase Salesforce Benefits or 5 More Compelling Ways to Increase Salesforce Benefits for practical tips.
Lack of Sales Management Motivation to Use Salesforce
The Sales Adoption Issue:
The VP of Sales mentioned that some Sales Managers just don’t see the need for Salesforce. They’ve always used spreadsheets, which are familiar and easy to use, so why change?
In some cases, it’s not that the manager doesn’t understand Salesforce but rather lacks confidence in using it. They don’t want to seem inexperienced or struggle with the system in front of their team.
Our Sales Adoption Tip:
The first issue is becoming less common, but when it does occur, Sales Managers need proper education. Demonstrations and reading about the benefits of Salesforce dashboards can help them see its value in managing sales performance.
For those who lack confidence in using Salesforce, private training sessions can make a big difference. We’ve found it’s usually not a capability issue, but rather a matter of helping them feel more comfortable and capable when navigating the system.
Update: Improved Salesforce Adoption in Our Customer’s Sales Team
I’m happy to share that the prospective customer we mentioned earlier has now become a GSP client.
We held several workshops with their sales team to better understand their concerns. This helped us create a customized plan to boost Salesforce adoption and improve their forecasting accuracy.
To begin, we simplified their Salesforce interface by removing unnecessary fields and validation rules.
Next, we took steps to streamline their sales process. We implemented tools like Conga and DocuSign to generate customer-ready quotes and proposals directly from Salesforce. We also introduced the Product Selection Wizard to make it easier to find and add products to opportunities.
We rebuilt their reports and Salesforce dashboard charts. Now, the sales team has complete visibility into the sales pipeline and can forecast accurately using Salesforce.
We also introduced a new feature that allows salespeople and managers to easily track sales performance against targets. This has significantly increased the system’s popularity among the sales team.
New metrics now track user adoption more effectively, focusing on the quality of interactions with Salesforce rather than just logging in. This helps identify team members who could benefit from additional coaching to make the most of the system.
Finally, we conducted one-on-one coaching sessions with each sales manager. We showed them how to run pipeline reviews and sales forecasts in Salesforce, giving them the confidence and skills to manage their teams using reports and dashboards.
As a result, the old sales forecast spreadsheets have been eliminated.
So, farewell spreadsheets. Welcome to improved Salesforce adoption, accurate forecasting, and a more efficient way of working!
Contact us today for a consultation and start improving your Salesforce adoption!
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