Most CRM evaluations end up as feature checklists. Feature checklists are the wrong tool: every modern CRM has every feature you’ll see in a demo. What predicts CRM success is fit against your actual sales process, integration to the rest of your stack, and adoption by your team. This scorecard weights the categories that matter and lets you compare four platforms on a defensible basis.
The eight evaluation categories
Sales process fit
Weight: 20%- Does the platform’s standard pipeline match your sales stages out-of-the-box?
- How much custom configuration is needed to match your forecasting categories?
- Does the platform handle complex deal types (renewals, expansions, multi-product) natively?
- Does it support your sales hierarchy (territories, teams, account ownership rules)?
Configurability vs complexity
Weight: 15%- How much can be configured without code?
- Does the platform discourage custom code, or invite it?
- How well does it handle approval workflows, validation rules, and conditional fields?
- Will future admins be able to maintain configuration without consultant support?
Integration capability
Weight: 15%- Does it have native connectors to your ERP (Business Central, NetSuite, SAP, Xero, MYOB)?
- How does it handle marketing automation integration (Mailchimp, Pardot, Marketo, native)?
- Does it integrate with telephony (Aircall, RingCentral, native)?
- Is the API mature, documented, and rate-limit-friendly?
Reporting and analytics
Weight: 10%- How good is out-of-the-box reporting?
- What does building a custom report look like?
- Does it have native BI capability (Einstein Analytics, Power BI integration, HubSpot Reports)?
- Can dashboards be embedded in other tools or shared externally?
Mobile and field experience
Weight: 10%- What does the mobile app look like for an outside salesperson?
- Does it work offline?
- Can it capture meeting notes, photos, and signatures in the field?
- Does map/route view help field reps plan their day?
Total cost of ownership
Weight: 10%- Per-user-per-month for the edition you actually need.
- Sandbox, storage, and add-on costs you’ll need within 12 months.
- Implementation services cost.
- Ongoing administration and admin/dev day-rate to maintain it.
Vendor and partner ecosystem
Weight: 10%- How easy is it to find Australian partners with industry experience?
- What does support look like for your size (named CSM, ticket support, community)?
- Are there active user groups and certification training in Australia?
- Is the vendor investing in the platform (release cadence, AI features, ecosystem)?
Adoption and change management
Weight: 10%- How intuitive is the UI for a salesperson who hasn’t seen it before?
- How does it handle data hygiene (duplicates, contact roles, account hierarchies)?
- Does it prompt or punish poor pipeline behaviour?
- What does the salesperson see when they open it on Monday morning?
How to score
- Score each platform 1–5 against each category. Use the questions to drive the score; don’t score on vibe.
- Multiply each score by the category weight to get a weighted score.
- Sum the weighted scores to get a total out of 5.
- The platform with the highest weighted score wins on paper. Cross-check against the qualitative findings — sometimes the second-place platform is the better operational fit.
- Demo the top two platforms against your actual data and your most awkward sales scenarios. The platform that handles those well is the platform you should buy.
Quick read on each platform
Salesforce Sales Cloud
Sweet spot: Mid-market and enterprise. Complex sales processes. Multi-cloud strategy (Sales + Service + Marketing). Strong configurability ceiling.
Where it weakens: TCO higher than competitors. Steeper learning curve for admins. Easy to over-customise.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
Sweet spot: Mid-market. Existing Microsoft 365 footprint. Strong for organisations using Power Platform and Teams heavily. Integrated with Business Central or Finance/Operations.
Where it weakens: Smaller Australian partner pool than Salesforce. UI improvements ongoing but trail Salesforce in some areas.
HubSpot Sales Hub
Sweet spot: Small to mid-market. Marketing-led businesses. Inbound sales motion. Teams without strong sales-ops resource.
Where it weakens: Functional ceiling at enterprise. Less configurable than Salesforce. Add-on costs (operations, custom objects, sandboxes) accumulate.
Pipedrive
Sweet spot: Small business. Sales-led, transactional B2B. Simple pipeline, fast deployment, low admin overhead.
Where it weakens: Limited beyond pipeline management. Not strong for service, marketing, or complex configurations.
Want a structured, vendor-neutral selection process run for you? We do this with our clients all the time: requirements workshop, weighted scoring, scenario demos, reference checks, and a fixed-price implementation plan. Read the long-form CRM implementation cost guide or book a CRM scoping call.