Salesforce is the major player in CRMs. Yet, I don’t use Salesforce, and in all likelihood, you don’t either.
Reflecting on why neither of us pay for the market leader will help your consulting firm gain and retain clients.
According to Salesforce, they’re the undisputed leader in CRM software.
And while it’s true that their platform powers millions of companies worldwide, remarkably few small consulting firms deploy Salesforce.
For good reason.
Their licensing model is convoluted and using the platform is a hassle.
Unless you’re ready to hire a full time CRM administrator to wrangle all the configuration options, the complexity of Salesforce quickly outweighs the benefits.
Customer support? Count on wandering through endless loops of documentation before accessing any real help.
Salesforce has steadily lost customers to simpler, lower cost alternatives. My prediction is that small consulting firms will continue to avoid the CRM giant.
Here’s the problem in a nutshell: Salesforce overestimates their offering’s value to customers and underestimates the importance of being Easy to Do Business With (ETDBW).
ETDBW = Easy to Do Business With
ETDBW can outweigh virtually everything else a buyer considers.
For instance, you might think the average Josephine chooses which supermarket to shop in based on cleanliness, freshness of produce, selection or price. You’d think wrong.
Studies show the #1 driver of choice of supermarkets, by far, is location.
As a consultant, low scores on ETDBW will knock your consulting firm out of the consideration set regardless of your impressively smart team and your dynamite case studies.
I have witnessed brilliant, well-known consulting firms lose lucrative engagements because they gave the impression that they’d be less responsive and cooperative than the local cable company. (That’s bad!)
Fortunately, you’re not a supermarket locked into a location or (I assume) unduly internally focused.
You determine how ETDBW your consulting firm is.
Are you over-complicating your messaging, your approach or your deliverables?
Are you making it frustrating to engage, or is partnering with your firm as easy as stealing candy from a baby.
Challenge yourself and your team. You’ll probably find your consulting firm isn’t quite as ETDBW as you think.
A handful of practices you can adopt:
- Offer a range of services at widely varied fees.
- Be easy to reach. (Make your contact form obvious and easy to navigate)
- Respond quickly to every prospect and client.
- Communicate clearly, directly and professionally.
- Don’t fight small battles with your clients.
- Make your information easily accessible.
Those are just the tiniest tip of the iceberg of practices that make consulting firms ETDBW.
What else do you to do make it clear that you’ll be a great consulting firm to work with?
Text and images are © 2025 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
