Salesforce is Missing Something Remarkably Simple

Is Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce, the greatest salesmen on Earth?

He sold the entire business community his CRM software and convinced all of them it could solve every one of their problems. Hell, I've been a customer and user for the better part of a decade, along with everyone else. That market cap right there is 50 billion reasons in his favor.

Marc identified a group of people who were successfully doing their job, which is to convince people to buy something they arguably don’t need, and base their entire day around using it. That is pretty genius. Today, the CRM is as ubiquitous in the life of a salesperson as coffee and oxygen, but while his greatest invention has changed the way humans behave at work, it is missing one remarkably simple human element.

CRMs do not help you shake hands, meet people, and close business. 

Salesforce has managed to reduce human interaction down to data points that change based on your behavior and interest, moving up and down a funnel until that data point is closed or lost. In lieu of fuzzy, intangible metrics like “trust” and “of course I hit my quota for the day,” Salesforce gives employers the validation and quantitative data they need to prove their sales force is actually working, not just “hunting leads on LinkedIn” while they really just read regurgitated inspirational drivel on Pulse.

Full disclosure: I am one of those self important Millennials contributing to said drivel that close no deals whatsoever. My sincerest apologies to all the Influencers on LinkedIn churning out fresh batches, but salespeople can’t close more deals while they read your thought leadership.

Salespeople were good at their jobs before Marc Benioff came into the fold, but employers in this data driven revolution needed validation that they were actually working and Salesforce gave them that in spades.

I mean, if it isn't in Salesforce, did it ever really happen?

However, in a digitally connected world where time is constantly being fought over and attention is bid on programmatically, in-person sales meetings haven’t just become more valuable. They’ve become invaluable. The growth of digital has made us nostalgic for the physical. You can’t play 18 holes of golf and get drinks with someone in a CRM, or by blasting them automated emails.

But don’t just take my word for it. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there has been a 44% YOY growth in the conference and trade show industry. Benioff’s “Dreamforce” conference is happening this week and given its epic size and scope, it is only adding to that metric. It turns out that the greatest salesperson in the world recognizes the need for people to physically talk to one another in order to sell stuff. 

Which begs the question…why aren’t Benioff and his team working on something to make events and meetings smarter and more efficient? Salesforce does not empower its tens of millions of users with the capabilities to find each other in order to create new opportunities. It simply helps them track that interaction after it has happened. Post hand shake. CRMs do not connect salespeople to relevant professionals or organizations they could do business with. Not virtually. Not physically.

Benioff knows that, which is why he tried (and failed) to buy LinkedIn. While it’s probably better off that he didn’t acquire everyone’s 4th favorite social network, it does not change the fact that social and CRM are coming together in a massive way. The balance sheets of enterprise software CRM companies are in the hundreds of billions of dollars, yet they fail to deliver you one that one simple thing.

Relationships that are relevant and matter to your doing business. 

When you’re jetlagged off a cross-country coach flight and just checked into the Marriott conference center in Topeka, Kansas, about to go hobnob with 500 strangers in a crowded room, CRM doesn't help while you are badge hunting. What salespeople really need isn’t a piece of technology to stay organized and spend time off the phone, but a RCM?—?Relevant Connection Maker.

We created SummitSync, the first RCM, so you don’t have to shake hands with 500 strangers in an attempt to find someone (anyone) to do business with. We created SummitSync to help busy professionals unlock the best, most relevant business opportunities at their next in-person networking event. 

Download the app today and give it a shot. Oh, and we connected all of it to Salesforce because your boss was going to ask you to record all the activity anyway. We just eliminated the step.