I Was a Salesforce Consultant. Here’s Why Companies Are Walking Away.
For the past few years, I've helped organiztions implement, customize, and train on Salesforce. I’ve been inside large-scale rollouts, seen companies invest heavily in consultants, and watched teams work through the steep learning curve.
And here’s the thing: while Salesforce is a powerful platform, I’ve been seeing more and more businesses walk away from it. Not because they didn’t try to make it work, but because it simply wasn’t the right fit for their needs from the beginning.
Let me break down the most common reasons why companies ditch Salesforce—and where they go next.
1. Sticker Shock: The True Cost of Salesforce
The first thing that drives many companies away is cost. Salesforce doesn’t stop at licenses—it’s the add-ons, the integrations, appexchange products, and the ongoing consultant or admin support that pile up.
What often starts as a manageable subscription quickly balloons into a major line item on the budget. Small and mid-sized businesses, especially, realize they’re paying for a lot of functionality they’ll never touch.
When the ROI doesn’t match the monthly bill, leadership starts questioning the investment.
2. Complexity That Stifles Adoption
Salesforce is a bit like driving a Lamborghini when all you really need is a Camry. It’s designed for scale, for enterprises with dedicated teams and layered processes.
But for many sales teams, it feels like extra work rather than a tool that makes their day easier. Adoption drops, shortcuts appear, and suddenly the CRM is just a very expensive database. Or worse, teams are going back to using Excel or Sheets to manage their leads and opportunties.
A CRM should enable your sales team, not overwhelm them.
3. Heavy Dependence on Consultants
Here’s an insider truth: Salesforce rarely works “out of the box.” Yes, it’s highly customizable, but that customization usually requires experienced admins or consultants (like I used to be).
That means businesses often find themselves in a cycle of dependency. Every new workflow, field, or integration requires outside help or dedicated internal staff. For companies trying to stay lean, this can be frustrating and unsustainable.
4. Integration Overload
Another reason companies back away: integration complexity.
While Salesforce offers a huge app marketplace, connecting it with lead generation systems, ERPs, websites, or CPQ systems isn’t always straightforward. Middleware solutions and custom development quickly drive up costs and timelines. Going back to my point #3, this also inevitably drives up your consulting fees and costs as well espicially if you're tapping into SMEs.
In contrast, many modern CRMs and ERPs come with native integrations or APIs that make setup faster and less expensive.
5. The Rise of Nimble Alternatives
Today, companies have more options than ever. Platforms like HubSpot, Zoho, Odoo, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offer robust capabilities without the heavy cost or complexity.
And in many cases, businesses are opting for custom-built solutions tailored to their workflows. These alternatives may not have the endless feature set of Salesforce, but they’re easier to adopt, easier to maintain, and better aligned with what growing businesses actually need.
6. Where Salesforce Still Makes Sense
To be fair, Salesforce still shines in certain environments. For enterprises with complex processes, multiple business units, dedicated operations teams, and folks that don't need to be caught up to speed, Salesforce’s depth and flexibility can be a huge asset.
But for many small to mid-sized companies, the platform is simply overkill. The challenge isn’t Salesforce itself—it’s fit.
Final Thoughts
Walking away from Salesforce isn’t failure. In fact, it’s often a sign of maturity—choosing a solution that aligns with your business goals, team size, and budget instead of forcing a square peg into a round hole.
As someone who has worked inside Salesforce projects and now helps businesses evaluate CRM, ERP, and web solutions more broadly, I believe the goal isn’t to chase the biggest brand name. It’s to build systems that scale with you, not against you.
If you’re reconsidering Salesforce—or wondering what alternatives might fit your business better—let’s talk. I specialize in helping companies cut through the noise and design solutions that actually stick.