I’ve been touting the virtues of web-based software here on ReadyMadeWeb for quite some time, and recently I’ve talked a bit about how SalesForce is the ideal solution for non-profits looking for a comprehensive, easy, and worry-free database solution.  Though I’ve worked with SalesForce, I’m not a day-to-day user, so I thought I ought to get someone on ReadyMadeWeb to talk to our audience about why SalesForce is so great.

Thankfully, I ended up talking to Nathan Spiwak of the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation (and soon-to-be certified SalesForce consultant) when I recently spoke there on the subject of web traffic measurement.  Spiwak was kind enough to answer a bunch of a questions I sent him via email.

Here’s our Q&A:

ReadyMadeWeb: What motivated you to start looking at SalesForce?
Spiwak: Several industry reports (Gartner, Forrester, etc) list Salesforce as a major competitor in the CRM business so I thought it was worth a look.

ReadyMadeWeb: What features or aspects of SalesForce sold you on the product?
Spiwak: The product donation (10 free licenses) is compelling in itself, but what really sold me on it was using it.  You can sign up for a free 30 day trial and just start poking around.  Immediately I saw how intuitive the user interface is and how easily an administrator can customize it for your particular needs.

ReadyMadeWeb: Did you have any trouble convincing your organization to use web-based software?  If so, how did you win the rest of the organization to your way of thinking?
Spiwak: There was some resistance to using a web-based software, but we looked at Salesforce’s security record and other companies that feel comfortable letting Salesforce handle their data—it was very reassuring.

ReadyMadeWeb: How difficult was the process of transferring your data into SalesForce?
Spiwak: There are several data migration tools that come with Salesforce.  They range from very easy to use to very powerful.  We were fortunate to have a Salesforce consultant help us with our initial data migration, but with a little bit of training anyone can do it with the tools provided.

ReadyMadeWeb: In what ways have you been able to customize SalesForce?  Have you run into any problems with customization?
Spiwak: We use Salesforce to run all our events, marketing efforts, grants, survey data, application information, time tracking, project management, and more.  Building new things inside Salesforce is a cinch, you don’t need any coding experience, it’s all just point and click.  But there is a limit to what you can accomplish with the point and click interface, that’s when it’s good to have a Salesforce developer available.

ReadyMadeWeb: What would you say to another organization considering SalesForce as a CRM option?
Spiwak: If you want your database to only do one thing (like donation management) then there is probably a solution made just for that task and it will work right out of the box.  But if you want a database that is flexible, easy to use, and can handle the needs of your entire organization then Salesforce is hands down the best product (and the best bang for your buck!).

Some of the benefits that Nathan and I didn’t cover in our interview are the benefits that apply to all web-based applications—they’re more secure, they ensure that all your data is kept in one place, they keep your data backed-up, and perhaps the biggest advantage is that they’re not a software package you have to install, update, and maintain on your own servers.  That’s why SalesForce uses its “no software” emblem shown at the top of this post.

Thanks again to Nathan Spiwak sharing his time and experience with ReadyMadeWeb and our audience.

If you have an interesting case study involving web-based applications, social media, or open-source software—we’d love to hear from you! Drop us a line at info@readymadeweb.com.

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