Salesforce User Adoption: What to Do When Your Team Won’t Use It

Your Salesforce implementation finished six months ago. The consultants are gone. Training sessions are complete. The go-live celebration feels like a distant memory.

But the reality is sobering:

• Login rates hover around 40%
• Pipeline data remains incomplete
• Your sales team still manages forecasts in spreadsheets
• Customer data lives scattered across email inboxes, sticky notes, and shadow systems

You invested $50,000 to $200,000 (or more) in implementation costs. You’re paying $175/user/month for Enterprise licenses. Yet you’re getting Starter-level usage from your team.

The executive sponsors who championed the project are asking questions. The CFO wants to know about ROI. Your sales managers are frustrated. And your team? They’re quietly working around the system you spent months building.

This isn’t a training problem. It’s not a change management problem. And it’s not unique to your organization.

This article helps you diagnose why adoption failed and decide what to do next—whether that means fixing your current Salesforce instance or switching to a platform designed for higher adoption.

Market Data: How Common Is Low Salesforce Adoption?

Before assuming your team is the problem, understand the industry context. Low Salesforce adoption isn’t an isolated issue—it’s documented in research from Gartner, Validity, Accenture, and Salesforce’s own studies.

Over 90% of businesses with more than 10 employees now use a CRM system, showing widespread recognition of CRM’s importance (Source: Technavio research). However, adoption rates tell only part of the story—implementation success tells the rest.

While 76% of CRM users rate their data quality as “good” or “very good,” this confidence is misplaced. The same users report losing customers, missing sales, and hemorrhaging revenue due to data quality issues—revealing a fundamental disconnect between perception and reality (Source: Validity’s State of CRM Data Management 2022).

Gartner estimates that poor data quality costs organizations an average of $12.9 million per year in lost revenue, rework, and operational inefficiencies (Source: Agile Data – Impact of Poor Data Quality).

44% of organizations estimate they lose over 10% of annual revenue due to poor-quality CRM data. Validity’s comprehensive study of 1,241 CRM users found that data quality problems directly impact bottom-line performance (Source: Validity’s State of CRM Data Management 2022).

Half of organizations reported losing new sales directly due to poor CRM data quality, while 75% admit that duplicate or inadequate outreach caused by poor data loses them customers (Source: Validity’s State of CRM Data Management 2022).

Accenture research found that only one-third of executives trust their data enough to derive value from it, highlighting a fundamental crisis in data reliability across organizations (Source: Agile Data – Impact of Poor Data Quality).

75% of organizations admitted that employees fabricate data to support desired narratives rather than provide accurate information—undermining the integrity of business decisions (Source: Validity’s State of CRM Data Management 2022).

64% of CRM users say they would consider leaving their current role if their organization doesn’t invest in improving CRM data quality. In today’s competitive hiring market, forcing teams to work with broken systems has direct retention consequences (Source: Validity’s State of CRM Data Management 2022).

79% of organizations report that data decay accelerated during COVID-19 as employees changed roles, locations, and contact information at unprecedented rates (Source: Validity’s State of CRM Data Management 2022).

From Salesforce Ben’s 2024 Developer Survey: 27% of developers cite technical debt as the biggest Salesforce challenge, with years of customization creating systems that are difficult to maintain and modify. Another 20% identify learning curve and skill gaps as ongoing challenges, while 24.5% report that platform limitations create ongoing obstacles that workarounds cannot fully resolve (Source: Salesforce Ben Developer Survey).

These implementation challenges directly contribute to why Salesforce CRM projects underperform—technical complexity and steep learning curves create barriers that affect both project teams and end users.

But why do these patterns emerge so consistently across organizations? The answer lies in six documented barriers that make Salesforce inherently difficult for teams to adopt. Understanding which of these barriers affect your organization determines whether recovery is possible within Salesforce or whether switching platforms makes more sense.

6 Reasons Your Team Actively Avoids Salesforce

To solve CRM adoption challenges, organizations must first understand what drives resistance. Teams rarely reject CRM systems without reason. In most cases, resistance develops from recurring usability and workflow friction across departments.

Below are the six most common reasons organizations struggle to achieve consistent Salesforce adoption and what those challenges reveal about CRM usage overall.

Reason #1: Overwhelming complexity that paralyzes users

Salesforce is built to support highly customizable business processes. While powerful, this flexibility often creates overwhelming interfaces for everyday users. For many teams, logging into Salesforce can feel like navigating a highly technical system rather than a productivity tool. Multiple tabs, extensive field requirements, layered navigation, and unclear terminology create cognitive overload.

Administrators often unintentionally increase this complexity by adding custom fields, validation rules, and workflow layers as business needs evolve. What starts as customization to meet specific needs often becomes hidden costs in the form of ongoing maintenance burden that teams must manage indefinitely.

The real issue: Complexity without clear value kills adoption. When reps see bureaucracy instead of usefulness, they check out.

Modern platforms such as Twenty CRM attempt to address this challenge by emphasizing simplified interfaces and task-focused workflows. By reducing unnecessary configuration layers, these systems help teams complete work faster while maintaining reliable data capture.

Reason #2: Time-consuming data entry that kills productivity

Across departments, employees prioritize tasks that directly impact customer outcomes and business results. Manual CRM updates often feel like additional administrative work that slows down daily workflows.

After a single customer interaction, users may need to update contact details, log communication notes, update deal or service records, schedule follow-ups, complete required fields, and attach documents. When repeated across multiple interactions, these updates can consume significant time every day.

The real issue: Organizations require structured and consistent data for forecasting, reporting, and customer tracking. Employees, however, prioritize efficiency. Without automation and simplified workflows, this tension reduces adoption.

Reason #3: No clear personal benefit for individual reps

Every workplace tool is evaluated through a simple question: Does this make my job easier or help me perform better?

In many Salesforce implementations, the visible benefits focus on organizational reporting, forecasting, and management oversight. While valuable at a leadership level, these benefits may not translate into immediate improvements in daily user workflows.

The real issue: When CRM helps reps close deals and avoid mistakes, adoption follows naturally. When it doesn’t, resistance is rational.

Reason #4: Frustrating mobile experience in a mobile-first world

Modern business interactions occur across multiple environments including remote meetings, on-site visits, and customer support channels. Capturing information immediately after interactions is essential for maintaining data accuracy.

However, many users find mobile CRM workflows slower or more complicated than expected. Multi-step navigation and limited real-time usability can discourage timely data updates.

The real issue: The highest-quality CRM data is captured immediately after customer interactions. Any friction during that moment increases the risk of incomplete or inaccurate data.

Reason #5: Inadequate training that sets users up to fail

CRM onboarding is often treated as a one-time activity rather than a continuous enablement process. Many organizations provide initial training sessions but fail to reinforce learning through ongoing support, coaching, and system updates.

Salesforce offers extensive capabilities, but without continuous learning, users often rely on basic features or develop inefficient manual workarounds.

The real issue: Salesforce is deep. Without ongoing training, users never improve and often get worse as they forget what they learned.

Reason #6: Integration failures that fragment daily workflows

Most teams rely on multiple tools including email platforms, communication apps, calendars, and document systems. CRM is only one component of daily operations.

When integrations fail or require manual data transfer, users must duplicate information across systems. This redundancy creates inconsistent records and increases administrative workload.

The real issue: Although Salesforce supports extensive integrations, implementing and maintaining these connections often requires ongoing technical investment that many SMBs underestimate. Integration complexity is compounded by Salesforce API limits, which can restrict how frequently your systems can synchronize data—creating delays and requiring additional architectural planning.

Across all six challenges, a consistent theme emerges: adoption declines when CRM increases workload without delivering immediate productivity value.

This realization is driving many organizations to reconsider CRM design priorities. Platforms such as Twenty CRM are gaining attention by focusing on usability, automation, and workflow simplicity rather than feature accumulation. By aligning CRM workflows with how teams naturally operate, these solutions aim to improve engagement while maintaining operational visibility.

Understanding these adoption barriers explains why many Salesforce implementations struggle. More importantly, it raises a critical question: What if CRM platforms were designed primarily for usability and team efficiency rather than administrative complexity?

The answer to that question comes later. First, you need to determine which of these six barriers affect your specific organization—because different problems require different solutions.

Diagnose Before You Fix: Identifying Your Adoption Problems

Before spending more money on training, consultants, or platform changes, you need to accurately diagnose which specific barriers affect your organization. Different problems require different solutions, and misdiagnosis leads to wasted effort.

1. Audit your current state

Start with quantitative data. Salesforce provides built-in adoption dashboards and reports that reveal usage patterns:

• Login frequency by user, role, and team
• Record creation and update rates over time
• Feature utilization (which dashboards, reports, and automations get used)
• Mobile app usage statistics
• Average time spent in the system per session

Look for patterns. If certain teams have high adoption while others don’t, the problem might be team-specific leadership or workflows rather than platform-wide issues. If everyone struggles equally, you’re dealing with systemic problems.

2. Measure data quality

Poor data quality indicates low engagement even among users who log in:

• Percentage of incomplete records (required fields filled vs. optional fields filled)
• Duplicate record count (how many duplicate contacts, accounts, or opportunities exist)
• Stale records (percentage with last modified dates older than 30-60 days)
• Validation rule violations (how often do users bypass or trigger data quality rules)
• Consistency metrics (are similar records formatted similarly, or is data entry inconsistent)

Data quality metrics reveal whether users are going through the motions or genuinely maintaining accurate information.

3. Survey users anonymously

Quantitative data shows what’s happening, but qualitative feedback reveals why. Create an anonymous survey asking:

• What tasks do you find most frustrating in Salesforce?
• What tools do you use outside Salesforce to get work done?
• How much time do you estimate spending on CRM data entry versus customer-facing activities?
• What would need to change for you to use Salesforce more consistently?
• If you could eliminate one thing about Salesforce, what would it be?

Anonymous responses prevent filtered feedback. Users will share honest frustrations they wouldn’t voice in group training sessions or to management.

4. Observe real workflows

Surveys tell you what users think, but observation reveals what they actually do. Shadow several users for a day each:

• Watch how they log calls, update opportunities, and check pipeline
• Document every workaround, manual step, or external tool used
• Note the friction points they may not even articulate because they’ve accepted them as normal
• Track how often they switch between Salesforce and other tools
• Identify tasks they complete outside Salesforce that should happen inside the CRM

Real workflow observation often uncovers problems users have stopped mentioning because they assume nothing can be done about them.

5. Calculate your true adoption rate

Don’t rely on login rates alone. Create a composite score that combines:

• Login frequency (how often users access the system)
• Data quality (how complete and accurate their records are)
• Feature usage (how many system capabilities they actively use)
• Workflow compliance (how consistently they follow defined processes)

Compare adoption scores by team, role, and tenure. This reveals whether you have organization-wide issues or isolated pockets of resistance. It also helps you identify power users whose workflows could serve as models for others.

6. Identify your specific barriers

Once you’ve gathered data, map your findings to the six documented barriers:

If your data shows:

• Users complain about “too many clicks” and “can’t find things” → Interface Complexity
• High percentage of incomplete records and delayed updates → Time-Consuming Data Entry
• Shadow spreadsheets and external tools persist → Built for Reporting, Not Productivity
• Field teams have dramatically lower usage than inside teams → Poor Mobile Experience
• Support tickets and training requests remain high months post-launch → Inadequate Training
• Data duplication and conflicts between systems → Integration Failures

Most organizations face multiple barriers simultaneously. Prioritize based on which create the most friction for your highest-value users.

7. Determine if recovery is possible

This diagnosis reveals a critical decision point: Can you fix these barriers within Salesforce, or are they inherent to the platform?

Recoverable problems:

• Overly complex page layouts that can be simplified
• Too many required fields that can be made optional
• Missing integrations that can be built
• Inadequate training that can be improved with ongoing programs
• Poor mobile configuration that can be rebuilt with simplified Lightning components

Structural problems that can’t be fixed:

• Platform’s underlying complexity that exists beneath any simplified interface
• Mobile architecture that’s fundamentally desktop-first
• Data entry processes that require manual effort no matter how streamlined
• Learning curve that remains steep even with excellent training
• Integration overhead that persists regardless of implementation quality

If most of your barriers fall into the “structural problems” category, recovery efforts will deliver limited improvements at high cost. In those cases, switching to a platform designed differently may be more effective than continued investment in Salesforce optimization.

What to Do Next: Three Recovery Paths

Based on your diagnosis, you have three options. Each requires different investments and delivers different outcomes.

Path 1: Optimize your current Salesforce instance

Your diagnosis revealed recoverable problems rather than structural barriers. Usage metrics show some teams or users achieving good adoption, indicating the platform can work for your organization with adjustments.

You’ve recently implemented Salesforce (less than 12 months ago) and haven’t exhausted improvement options. Leadership remains committed to the platform and willing to invest in optimization.

You rely on Salesforce-specific features or integrations that would be costly to replace.

What this involves:

Simplify interfaces ruthlessly. Remove unnecessary fields, hide unused features, create role-specific Lightning apps that show only what each user needs. Fight the temptation to add more features—focus on using fewer features better.

Automate repetitive data entry. Use Flow, Process Builder, or third-party tools to auto-populate fields, suggest values based on past entries, and reduce manual input wherever possible.

Redesign mobile experience for field teams. Build simplified mobile views that support only the essential workflows field reps need, rather than trying to replicate desktop functionality on small screens.

Invest in ongoing training and support. Create role-specific training paths, establish office hours for questions, develop internal champions who can support their teams, and budget for continuous education.

Fix integrations comprehensively. Don’t settle for partial connections between systems. Invest in middleware platforms or custom development to create seamless data flow between Salesforce and your other tools.

Expected outcomes:

Optimization can improve adoption by 15-25% if executed well, but it requires sustained investment in training, support, and technical maintenance. You’ll reduce the most obvious friction points, but underlying platform complexity remains.

Recovery timelines typically run 3-6 months for meaningful improvement, with ongoing effort required to maintain gains.

Risks:

Optimization efforts can fail if structural barriers prove more significant than you initially diagnosed. You may invest months and tens of thousands of dollars only to reach marginally better adoption that still doesn’t justify your CRM investment.

Path 2: Run a parallel pilot with Twenty CRM

Your diagnosis revealed structural barriers that optimization likely can’t overcome, but you’re not ready to fully commit to switching platforms. You want to test whether a different CRM architecture would deliver better adoption before making a major change decision.

Leadership is skeptical about switching platforms but willing to evaluate alternatives with concrete evidence rather than assumptions.

What this involves:

Select a pilot team of 10-20 users representing different roles and adoption levels. Include both power users (to validate that Twenty CRM can support advanced workflows) and low-adopters (to test whether a simpler platform improves their usage).

Implement Twenty CRM for the pilot team with TaskRhino’s assistance:

• Map their key workflows to Twenty CRM’s architecture
• Configure custom objects and fields to match their processes
• Set up essential integrations with email, calendar, and other tools
• Provide focused training on Twenty CRM’s interface and capabilities

Run the pilot for 60-90 days while tracking:

• Login frequency and time spent in the system
• Data quality and record completeness
• User satisfaction scores
• Time spent on CRM admin work vs. selling activities
• Shadow system usage (are they still using spreadsheets)

Compare pilot team metrics against their previous Salesforce usage and against current Salesforce users who didn’t participate in the pilot.

Expected outcomes:

A properly designed pilot provides concrete data for your platform decision. You’ll know whether Twenty CRM’s simpler architecture genuinely improves adoption for your team, or whether your barriers are independent of platform choice.

Pilot results typically show within 30-45 days. If adoption isn’t measurably better by then, the platform change probably won’t solve your problems.

Risks:

Running parallel systems creates temporary complexity. Pilot users need to know which system to use for which tasks, and data synchronization between platforms requires planning.

Some organizational disruption is inevitable as pilot users adapt to new workflows while the rest of the team continues with Salesforce.

Path 3: Migrate to Twenty CRM

Your diagnosis clearly identified structural Salesforce barriers that optimization cannot overcome. You’ve already attempted optimization efforts without sustainable improvement, or a successful pilot demonstrated significantly better adoption with Twenty CRM.

Leadership has accepted that continuing with Salesforce means accepting permanently low adoption and limited ROI.

What this involves:

TaskRhino provides full migration support:

Discovery and Planning (2-4 weeks):

• Document current Salesforce workflows, custom objects, and integrations
• Identify which Salesforce customizations to replicate vs. which to simplify or eliminate
• Map data migration strategy for contacts, accounts, opportunities, and historical records
• Define migration timeline and rollout plan by team

Twenty CRM Configuration (4-6 weeks):

• Set up custom objects and fields aligned to your business workflows
• Configure Kanban views, pipelines, and table layouts
• Build essential automations using n8n or Zapier
• Integrate with email, calendar, and critical business tools
• Set up Metabase dashboards for reporting and analytics

Data Migration (2-3 weeks):

• Extract data from Salesforce
• Clean and validate data quality
• Map Salesforce fields to Twenty CRM structure
• Migrate in phases (accounts first, then contacts, then opportunities)
• Validate migration accuracy before proceeding

Training and Rollout (3-4 weeks):

• Provide role-specific training on Twenty CRM
• Deploy to teams in phases rather than all at once
• Establish support channels for questions during transition
• Monitor adoption metrics daily during first month

Post-Migration Optimization (ongoing):

• Adjust workflows based on user feedback
• Fine-tune automations and integrations
• Add additional capabilities as teams become proficient
• Establish governance for ongoing maintenance

Expected outcomes:

Organizations typically see:

• 40-60% faster implementation timelines compared to Salesforce
• Adoption rates of 70-85% within first 60 days (vs. 37% industry average for Salesforce)
• Reduced training requirements (hours to productivity vs. weeks)
• Lower total cost of ownership due to no per-user licensing fees
• Better data quality from simpler, faster data entry workflows

Platform migration always involves change management challenges. Even if Twenty CRM is objectively easier to use, some users will resist change simply because they’ve adapted to Salesforce.

You’ll lose some Salesforce-specific features and integrations, requiring either alternative solutions or acceptance that certain capabilities won’t transfer.

Why Twenty CRM Solves the Structural Barriers Salesforce Can’t

If your diagnosis revealed that structural Salesforce barriers drive your adoption problems, understanding why Twenty CRM works differently helps you evaluate whether migration makes sense.

1. Designed for adoption, not feature accumulation

Twenty CRM was built from scratch in 2023 with user adoption as the primary design goal. Instead of adding features year after year, the platform focuses on doing essential CRM functions extremely well with minimal complexity.

The interface is task-focused rather than feature-comprehensive. Users see what they need for their specific role and workflow, not every possible option the platform supports.

Modern tech stack (React, TypeScript, GraphQL) delivers fast performance without the legacy architecture that slows Salesforce.

2. Minimal data entry friction

Twenty CRM requires fewer mandatory fields and fewer clicks to complete common tasks. The platform assumes users want to log information quickly and move on, rather than treating every record as a comprehensive data collection exercise.

Real-time updates happen inline without navigating between screens. Users can update opportunity stages, add notes, or schedule follow-ups directly from list views.

3. Built for how teams actually work

The platform’s Kanban views, table layouts, and pipeline management align with how sales teams naturally think about their work. Instead of forcing teams to adapt to CRM conventions, Twenty CRM adapts to common sales workflows.

Customization happens through configuration, not code. Teams can add custom objects, fields, and views without requiring developers or creating technical debt.

4. Mobile-first architecture

Unlike Salesforce’s desktop-first design with mobile adaptation, Twenty CRM treats mobile as a first-class experience. The mobile interface was designed specifically for touch-based interaction and small screens.

5. Open source transparency

As a GPL-licensed open-source platform, Twenty CRM eliminates vendor lock-in concerns. You own your data completely, understand exactly how the platform works, and can modify it if needed.

Self-hosting options provide full control over infrastructure, security, and compliance without depending on cloud vendor policies.

6. Predictable costs

No per-user licensing fees for self-hosted deployments mean costs scale with infrastructure, not headcount. Organizations avoid the budget surprises that come with Salesforce’s tiered pricing and per-user multipliers.

TaskRhino bridges the gap between Twenty CRM’s open-source foundation and enterprise readiness through comprehensive Twenty CRM services—from implementation and customization to integration and ongoing support. While the platform eliminates licensing costs, expert implementation ensures your team gets a production-ready system that drives adoption from day one.

While platforms like Twenty CRM can significantly reduce adoption barriers through better design and usability, selecting the right CRM is only one part of the equation. Successful CRM adoption also depends heavily on how the transition is planned, executed, and managed across teams.

Using TaskRahino to Execute Flawless CRM Transitions

Recognizing the need to improve CRM adoption or migrate to a new platform is often straightforward. Successfully executing that transition, however, is where many organizations face significant risk.

CRM transformation affects multiple business layers simultaneously, including data migration, system integrations, workflow redesign, user training, and change management. Missing even one dependency can delay implementation, reduce user confidence, and weaken adoption outcomes.

This is where TaskRhino becomes essential.

If you identified mostly recoverable problems and have the budget and leadership commitment for sustained optimization, improving your Salesforce instance is viable. Focus on simplification, automation, and ongoing training.

If you identified structural barriers but want validation before committing to a platform change, run a parallel pilot with Twenty CRM to gather concrete evidence.

If your diagnosis clearly showed that Salesforce’s architecture doesn’t match your team’s needs, migration to Twenty CRM addresses the root causes rather than treating symptoms.

The worst decision is continuing with the status quo—accepting 40% adoption, poor data quality, and limited ROI from your CRM investment. You didn’t invest in Salesforce to achieve mediocre results.

TaskRhino helps organizations make this decision with confidence through expert diagnosis, pilot design, or full migration support. Whether you choose to optimize Salesforce or switch to Twenty CRM, we ensure your next steps are based on evidence, not assumptions.