Salesforce vs Salesloft
The High-Value Sales Stack: Salesforce vs Salesloft
Why B2B Teams Need a ‘System of Record’ AND a ‘System of Action’
In high-value B2B sales, the stakes are significantly higher. You aren’t just shifting a product; you are navigating complex buying committees, multi-month procurement cycles, and six-figure contracts. To win, your team needs more than just a digital address book—they need a platform to execute strategy.
This brings us to the ultimate tech stack debate: Salesforce vs Salesloft.
While they are often compared, the reality for a high-performing British B2B team is that they aren’t competitors. They are teammates.
1. The Core Difference: System of Record vs System of Action
To choose the right tool, you first have to understand the ‘category’ of software you are evaluating.
Salesforce (The CRM): This is your System of Record. Its job is to be the ‘single source of truth’ for the entire organisation. It tracks the macro-view: deal stages, contract values, account history, and revenue forecasting.
Salesloft (The SEP): This is your Sales Engagement Platform or System of Action. It sits on top of your CRM and focuses on the micro-view: the day-to-day workflow of a seller. It is where your reps live to send personalised emails, make calls, and execute multi-channel ‘cadences’.
2. Salesforce: The Foundation for High-Value Deals
For high-ticket B2B sales, Salesforce is almost non-negotiable for three reasons:
Bespoke Account Mapping: High-value deals involve multiple stakeholders. Salesforce allows you to map complex hierarchies (Parent/Child accounts) and track every ‘Influencer’ or ‘Champion’ within the buying committee.
Revenue Intelligence: With tools like Salesforce Einstein, leadership can get AI-driven forecasts. In high-value sales, knowing if a £500k deal will close this quarter is the difference between hitting or missing the board’s expectations.
Complete Customisation: Every enterprise has a unique sales process. Salesforce can be moulded to fit yours perfectly—whether that includes specific compliance steps, legal approvals, or bespoke ROI calculators.
3. Salesloft: The Engine for High-Touch Outreach
If Salesforce is the ‘brain’, Salesloft is the ‘muscle’. In high-value sales, you cannot afford a ‘spray and pray’ approach. Salesloft excels at:
Precision Cadences: Rather than sending one-off emails, Salesloft allows you to build ‘High-Touch Cadences’—a sequence of LinkedIn touches, personalised videos, and phone calls designed to break into a specific C-suite office.
Conversation Intelligence: Salesloft records and analyses your calls. For high-value sales, this is a goldmine for coaching. Managers can see exactly where a rep fumbled a high-stakes objection and rectify it before the next meeting.
Rhythm & AI Guidance: It uses ‘Rhythm’ to prioritise a seller’s day. It alerts them: “This high-value prospect just opened your proposal three times; phone them now.”
4. The Comparison: Which One Does Your Team Need?
When deciding where to invest your budget, it helps to look at the specific strengths of each platform:
Salesforce (The CRM)
Salesloft (The SEP)
5. The Verdict: The Power of ‘Better Together’
If you are a B2B team selling high-value solutions, the answer is rarely ‘either/or’. The winning strategy is a Bi-Directional Sync. When you integrate Salesloft with Salesforce, your reps perform all their tasks in Salesloft (where they are faster and more productive), and that data automatically flows back into Salesforce. This ensures your data remains clean and your forecasts stay accurate without manual admin.
Take Control of Your Sales Strategy
Choosing the right tools is only half the battle; the real secret to high-value B2B success is having a robust system that guarantees results. If you want to move the dials and ensure your team never misses their numbers again, we’ve created a guide to help you master your sales process.
Download our Free Guide: How to Guarantee Your B2B Sales Team Hit Target
