4 common Salesforce implementation mistakes and how to avoid them

More companies are implementing Salesforce to consolidate customer data, improve sales and marketing efficiency, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, not all Salesforce implementation projects meet their goals and deliver the expected outcomes. In some cases, companies end up with CRM systems that are too difficult and costly to maintain. In other cases, business users resist adopting the new CRM system, which can result in low ROI. 

Notably, such Salesforce implementation failures typically arise from errors during project planning and execution, rather than from external factors. Luckily, many of these mistakes are predictable and preventable, so with proper strategic planning, companies can significantly increase the likelihood of successful implementation. 

In this article, experts from Itransition, a certified provider of Salesforce solutions and a Salesforce implementation partner, highlight common implementation mistakes and share recommendations on how to avoid them.

Over-customization

While Salesforce provides extensive marketing, sales, and customer service management capabilities, companies rarely rely solely on the platform’s out-of-the-box features. Instead, many businesses make at least some modifications to the solution’s functionality, UX, and UI using native configuration tools or code-based customizations to better align Salesforce with their internal workflows, industry requirements, or end-user needs. 

Although customization enables companies to deliver capabilities that native Salesforce tools cannot, such as unique business logic, custom reports, or highly tailored interfaces, there is always a risk of over-customizing the solution. In such a case, a company can end up with a CRM system that is too difficult and expensive to maintain. As a result, over-customization can lead to technical debt, making even minor updates risky and time-consuming. It can also increase IT staffing costs, since heavily customized systems typically require experienced specialists to support them.

Recommendations:

• After gathering Salesforce customization requests, use prioritization frameworks such as MoSCoW or RICE to identify customizations that will not deliver high business value and exclude them.
• During project execution, carefully document all custom-coded modifications, including their technical specifications, to ensure clear documentation that facilitates maintenance and future upgrades and minimizes technical debt.
• Establish a change control board as well as a formal change request management process to ensure that all new requests for modifications, including custom-coded ones, are analyzed and authorized to minimize the risk of over-customization in the future.

Lack of user training 

Even with a properly configured and customized system, a company can fail to achieve a high Salesforce implementation ROI if its employees cannot efficiently use the CRM solution and its rich feature set in their daily operations. This problem is often rooted in a lack of proper training that equips users with the necessary skills and helps them feel confident with the new system.

Recommendations:

• After determining user roles in the new CRM system (e.g., sales manager, support agent, admin), map each role to the specific tasks users will perform daily to define the required competencies and skills.
• For each user segment, create blended learning programs that combine online modules, instructor-led training, peer-driven learning, and other formats to support diverse learning styles and preferences, thereby maximizing training engagement and efficiency.
• In each team, select the most experienced and enthusiastic members to serve as Salesforce “champions,” who will help their less-savvy peers navigate the system and demonstrate proper use.

Poor AI governance

As AI technology is now deeply integrated into Salesforce’s product stack. Therefore, the success of a Salesforce implementation now heavily hinges on the efficient integration and adoption of the platform’s AI capabilities. However, only 33% of respondents to IBM’s State of Salesforce 2025–2026 report say their AI initiatives are meeting ROI targets, while 72% report they are unable to scale AI use across business units.

According to the same report, one of the key barriers to Salesforce’s AI adoption is the lack of governance frameworks to ensure that AI systems have access only to well-governed data and operate properly in real-world conditions. In the context of agentic AI initiatives, this can lead to solutions that make flawed decisions and execute unauthorized actions across business systems, creating operational, ethical, and security risks. Still, only 21% of respondents to the report report having the governance necessary for agentic AI.

Recommendations:

• Review your existing policies on data sourcing, storage, access, and disposal to ensure compliance with ISO 25012, ISO/IEC 42001, and other relevant AI governance standards, as well as Salesforce’s common data governance practices.
• Implement Salesforce’s native data governance automation and monitoring tools, including Data 360 Governance to automate access policy enforcement across applications, Data Mask to protect sensitive information during AI agent testing, and Event Monitoring to track AI agent activity.
• Establish an AI governance committee including data science, risk management, and compliance management specialists to conduct regular data audits, identify and resolve data-related issues, and ensure adherence of AI solutions to corporate data governance policies.

Inaccurate cost estimation

Many companies focus primarily on initial Salesforce license fees and overlook additional implementation cost drivers, thereby underestimating total project spend. As a result, Salesforce implementations can easily exceed budget and fail to deliver the expected ROI.

Recommendations:

• Thoroughly review your overall project scope to determine and calculate all upfront implementation cost factors (i.e., licensing fees, customizations, integrations, initial user training) and ongoing implementation costs (subscription renewals, solution maintenance, salary for system admins and support specialists, etc.).
• Consider running a pilot Salesforce implementation to identify the effort and resources required for data migration, customization, integration, and other activities for the full-scale implementation, creating a more realistic budget.
• Allocate a portion of your estimated budget to a contingency fund to cover unforeseen expenses during Salesforce implementation, without resorting to emergency funds that can delay the project and increase costs.

Final thoughts 

Salesforce implementation mistakes are common, especially among companies undertaking their first Salesforce rollout and those managing Salesforce projects without professional support. Over-customization, inadequate user training, lack of data governance, and inaccurate cost projections are among the most common mistakes that can negatively affect Salesforce implementation ROI. To avoid these and other costly mistakes, consider engaging a certified Salesforce partner who can analyze your company’s goals and requirements and provide a reliable, step-by-step project roadmap to prevent common implementation pitfalls.