The perception is not the reality - Sales Representative Salesforce Employee Review

2.0
Oct 17, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Recognizable company for resume purposes Free snacks

Cons

Salesforce boasts a great exterior perception, but the real deal is less than glamorous. The sad thing is once you’re hired, if you do want to go elsewhere, other employers wonder what’s wrong with you because of the positive perception Salesforce has. I’ve listed several reasons why I have not recommended Salesforce to my network below. Corporate monster: The company tries to stifle employee concerns with surface-level actions like weekly team-lead meetings regarding employee worries, but nothing changes. All that happens is generic and blanket corporate messages funneled back to concerned employees. It takes years to adjust concerns about quota (ie: why is my Oklahoma quota the same as a Bay Area quota? Which, by the way, is still not resolved). Non-promotions: The company touts “rapid promotion” within the sales path, but the honest truth is that the first three to five years (ie: SR, EBR, and ESB AE) are just doormat positions with little additional salary that take longer than promised to get through. Resentment: Additionally, it is a widely known fact internally that the company hires overqualified individuals at a lower level title than they deserve. This creates a consistent stream of resentment throughout the organization. General work/life balance: For SRs (Sales Reps), our stack ranking is a joke. It leads people to act so immorally and just creates more junk for other people to deal with and waste time on. Since we are stack ranked, everyone is afraid to take a vacation since that means their numbers will be behind others that take no vacation. The department tried to alter the policy saying that reps that take at least 4 days off PTO will not have to worry about that month effecting their promotion, but does not adjust their actual quota for the month (meaning your paycheck still suffers). Lovely. Go to Box or Netsuite, or another great startup-like company that will value you. I’ve recommended other companies over the one I’m currently working for time and again. That alone should speak volumes.

Explore other reviews about Salesforce

5.0
Jun 17, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great culture and team. Supportive

Cons

Don’t really have bad things to say.

4.0
Jul 9, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I've spent over 8 years with Salesforce in various management and individual contributor roles, all customer or partner facing. Some of the pros: - vibrant, fast paced culture - smart, fun, aggressive colleagues - management is focused on latest tech trends and staying or becoming a leader for many of them - by and large, customers and partners are very positive about the technology - good benefits and perqs - hip urban culture at HQ - a chart-your-own-course mentality that rewards those who aggressively seek out the job they want and pursue it, or sometimes even create it

Cons

After my long tenure and many Dreamforce conferences, I'm nearly fried. To say the culture is fast paced and the focus is always changing is an understatement. The reason Salesforce always seems on top, and chasing the latest trend, and in the press, is because employees are expected to run harder, carry more, cheer loudly, and pivot constantly. It's the world's biggest startup in behavior. But at the same time, with the recent influx of top career sales leaders from Oracle and what appears to be a board-level mandate for doubling revenue, employees are being asked to do even more with even less, fill higher quotas with smaller territories, less help, and the big company bureaucracy is rearing it's ugly head. Worse still is the politics. When you hire a bunch of smart, aggressive people, and put them in an environment of outsized expectations, throw in a bunch of re-orgs and changing management, and sprinkle with uncertainty and constantly changing priorities, you inevitably get people back stabbing each other and throwing others under the bus to appear smarter and more worthy of promotion. The few at the top will get very, very rich. The rest will lose the sense of personal ownership and start to wonder why they've given up health and family

782
avatar
Salesforce Response
1y
It's not often that you get the opportunity to respond to a review 10 years in but your comprehensive and thoughtful review has managed to hold on as one of our most popular even a decade in :) It’s exciting to see that the things we love most about the Salesforce of today — super smart colleagues, being at the forefront of tech trends and establishing ourselves as leaders in the space, great benefits and perks to name a few — haven’t changed in the past 10 years. We acknowledge the challenges you faced, such as the pace, shifting priorities, and internal politics. Your advice on maintaining our foundational vision while avoiding big-company bureaucracy is helpful as we continue to grow as the #1 AI CRM. Salesforce is committed to balancing growth with employee well-being and staying true to our core values. We appreciate your insights and dedication over the years. Thanks again for your feedback!
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All