Salesforce
Every record, with Einstein overlaying.
Salesforce is the enterprise CRM default — Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud + Einstein AI across everything. 10,000+ AppExchange apps, Apex code for custom logic, Flow for no-code automation. Serious horsepower if you need it — and serious cost if you don't.
Opportunity · Atlas Logistics - Annual Contract
Sales Cloud
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Closed Won
Record details
AccountAtlas Logistics Ltd
Amount€184,000
Close DateJun 14, 2026
OwnerÁine O'Brien
ContactSinéad Murphy
Lead SourceInbound · Webinar
IndustryLogistics
TypeNew Business
Einstein AI
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Next best action
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Similar closed-won
Last modified: 14 minutes ago by Áine O'Brien
Deal ID · 0067X00000KAW9E
The Cloud ecosystem
Salesforce's "Clouds" aren't products — they're the platform.
Each Cloud is a pre-configured vertical on top of the same underlying platform. Sales, Service, Marketing, etc. share data natively — you're not integrating products, you're switching views.
Sales Cloud
Pipeline, forecasting, territory management, compensation
Service Cloud
Case management, knowledge base, omnichannel routing, field service
Marketing Cloud
Journey Builder, Email Studio, Mobile Studio, Audience Studio
Commerce Cloud
B2C + B2B ecommerce, formerly Demandware. Headless-ready
Experience Cloud
Customer portals, partner portals, community sites on Salesforce data
Data Cloud
CDP + real-time data graph. Unified customer profile across all Clouds
Customisation ladder
How Salesforce actually gets customised, from clicks to code.
Salesforce's superpower is its layered customisation model. 80% of changes are no-code; 20% need Apex. Here's the ladder we climb when implementing.
L1
Object + Field Builder
Custom objects (Contracts, Properties, Cases), custom fields (picklist, lookup, formula, rollup). Point-and-click. Most admin work lives here.
Admin
L2
Page Layouts + Record Types
Which fields appear for which record type (consumer vs business). Field-level security. Different layouts for different teams. Still click-based.
Admin
L3
Flows (no-code automation)
Record-triggered flows, screen flows, scheduled flows. Salesforce's native automation — replaces Workflow Rules + Process Builder (now deprecated).
Admin + Dev-lite
L4
Lightning Web Components (LWC)
Custom UI components in JavaScript. Embed into record pages, create bespoke experiences. Modern React-like framework.
Developer
L5
Apex (server-side code)
Java-like language for triggers, classes, web services. Complex business logic that Flows can't express. Runs on Salesforce servers.
Developer
L6
Integrations via APIs
REST + SOAP APIs for inbound/outbound. MuleSoft (owned by Salesforce) or Zapier/Workato for no-code integration layer.
Developer + Platform team
The real cost
Salesforce TCO — what it actually costs to run.
License fees are the visible cost. Hidden costs are implementation, admin headcount, consulting, and AppExchange add-ons. Here's the shape for mid-market Irish orgs.
License fees
€75-165/user/mo
Sales or Service Cloud Enterprise. Expect 15-40 users at mid-market. Multi-Cloud discount when bundled.
Implementation (year 1)
€30k-120k one-off
Partner consultancy, data migration, integrations, training. Scales with complexity.
Admin + dev retainer
€3k-12k/mo
Part-time Salesforce admin or ongoing partner retainer. Managing changes, new builds, cleanups.
AppExchange add-ons
€500-3k/mo
DocuSign, Conga, Gong, Outreach, Marketing analytics. Easily adds €30k/year for mid-market stack.
Einstein AI seats
+€50/user/mo
Einstein features gated behind upgrades. Sometimes pivotal; sometimes snake oil — evaluate per use case.
Data storage
€25/GB/mo over limit
Base storage limited. Heavy attachment usage (PDFs, images) can bite later. Monitor quarterly.
Realistic year-1 TCO for 30-user mid-market org: €180-320k all-in (licenses + implementation + retainer + AppExchange). Year 2 ongoing €80-150k. If that's multiples of your HubSpot alternative — that's the question to answer before buying.
The honest view
When Salesforce is the wrong choice.
SMBs under 20 people
Salesforce's complexity exceeds what a 5-20 person team can absorb. Licenses + implementation + admin needed. HubSpot/Pipedrive/Zoho fit far better at this size.
Teams without admin resource
Salesforce needs an admin — internal or contracted. Without someone owning the config, it decays fast. Not self-serve the way HubSpot is.
Fast-changing startup
Salesforce rewards stable processes; penalises weekly pivots. Early-stage startups changing CRM schema monthly find it too heavy.
Budget under €50k/year CRM
Salesforce's real TCO starts around €70-100k/year mid-market. If CRM budget is €20k-50k, Pipedrive, Zoho, or HubSpot Starter will do the job and leave room.
Marketing-first acquisition model
HubSpot was built around inbound marketing. Salesforce's Marketing Cloud is powerful but expensive, and it wasn't originally built for lightweight SMB marketing.
UI-sensitive teams (sales reps who hate data entry)
Salesforce's standard UI feels dense. Reps often resist. HubSpot + Pipedrive have dramatically cleaner UX. Budget for UI customisation if reps matter.
Frequently asked
Salesforce questions.
HubSpot is faster to stand up, easier to self-manage, cheaper at mid-size. Salesforce is more customisable, has deeper reporting, stronger enterprise integrations, and bigger AppExchange. The practical question: will you invest in admin + consulting? If no, HubSpot. If yes, Salesforce unlocks its power.
Related
Related CRM platforms
Should you invest in Salesforce?
60-minute call. Share your team size, process complexity, industry, existing stack. We'll give honest guidance — Salesforce fits or it doesn't; we'll tell you either way.