When we launched Quote.ly as a Salesforce-native quoting solution for Value-Added Resellers, we were certain we'd found product-market fit. Salesforce is the gold standard in CRM, and VARs selling complex IT solutions to government contractors needed powerful quoting tools.

Then we started doing outreach. Cold calls. LinkedIn messages. Direct conversations with hundreds of VARs across the country.

The data shocked us: Only 1 in 10 eligible companies actually used Salesforce.

This wasn't a sampling error. This was a fundamental misunderstanding of how small and mid-sized VARs actually run their businesses.

Where Salesforce Excels

Let's be clear: Salesforce is an extraordinary platform. For the right organizations, it's absolutely worth the investment.

Salesforce shines when:

• Enterprise scale: Large VARs with 100+ employees benefit from Salesforce's comprehensive ecosystem

• Complex sales processes: Multi-stakeholder deals requiring robust pipeline management and forecasting

• Deep customization needs: Organizations with technical resources to build custom apps and workflows

• Integration requirements: Companies running enterprise tech stacks needing unified data across platforms

• Dedicated admin resources: Businesses that can afford full-time Salesforce administrators

For these organizations, Salesforce's enterprise pricing makes sense. The ROI is there. The platform delivers immense value.

The 10% of VARs using Salesforce are typically larger, more established firms with strong technical capabilities and dedicated operations teams.

The 90%: Why Most SMB VARs Skip Salesforce

But what about the other 90%? The small to mid-sized VARs doing $2M-$50M in revenue with 5-50 employees trying to compete for government contracts?

1. Cost Burden That Doesn't Scale

Between Salesforce Sales Cloud, CPQ add-ons, and necessary integrations, a 10-person VAR faces $50,000+ in annual costs. For companies operating on thin margins in competitive government procurement markets, this represents significant overhead that could go toward inventory, vendor relationships, and sales talent.

2. Complexity Overhead

Salesforce's power comes from flexibility. But flexibility requires configuration, customization, and ongoing administration.

Most SMB VARs don't have:

• Full-time Salesforce administrators

• Technical teams to maintain custom integrations

• Time to navigate hundreds of configuration options

• Budget for Salesforce consultants at $150-250/hour

They need solutions that work immediately, not platforms requiring months of setup.

3. The Quoting Gap

Salesforce doesn't include native quoting functionality that meets VAR needs. You need additional CPQ licensing, custom integrations with distributor price files, product catalog management, and complex pricing rules for contract vehicles like SEWP, GSA, and ITES-4H.

The gap between "CRM" and "functional VAR quoting system" requires substantial additional investment.

4. Distributor Integration Reality

VARs live and die by real-time pricing from distributors like Ingram Micro, Tech Data, D&H, Arrow, and Synnex. Salesforce CPQ wasn't built for the VAR model where:

• Pricing changes multiple times daily

• Margins are razor-thin (5-15%)

• Contract vehicle pricing overrides standard pricing

• Product availability determines what you can actually quote

Building these integrations requires custom development that's often cost-prohibitive for SMB VARs.

What SMB VARs Actually Use

So if 90% of SMB VARs aren't using Salesforce, what are they using?

The reality is often painful:

• Excel spreadsheets (60%): Manual pricing lookups, no automation, version control chaos

• Basic CRMs (20%): HubSpot Free, Zoho, Pipedrive—without true quoting capabilities

• Email + PDFs (15%): Completely manual quote generation and distribution

• Legacy tools (5%): QuoteWerks, ConnectWise—dated interfaces, limited automation

These tools create operational inefficiencies, pricing errors, and compliance risks—especially under CMMC 2.0 requirements for government contractors.

The CRM-Agnostic Solution

This insight drove our evolution. While Quote.ly serves the Salesforce market exceptionally well, we recognized the 90% needed something different.

CRM-agnostic quoting platforms solve the core challenges:

Works With Your Existing Tools

• No forced CRM migration

• Integrates with HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, or runs standalone

• Connects to your existing workflows

Transparent, Affordable Pricing

• Dramatically lower cost of ownership compared to Salesforce + CPQ

• No hidden add-ons for quoting functionality

• Predictable monthly expenses

Zero Configuration Required

• Works out-of-the-box for VARs

• Pre-built distributor integrations

• Contract vehicle support (SEWP, GSA, ITES-4H, 2GIT) included

Built for Government VARs

• CMMC 2.0 compliance features

• UNSPSC code mapping for federal procurement

• Real-time contract vehicle pricing

The Cost Reality

A 10-person VAR using Salesforce with CPQ typically faces $50,000-75,000 in Year 1 costs (platform, CPQ, custom integrations, admin support). Annual recurring costs settle around $50,000+.

Modern CRM-agnostic solutions deliver the same quoting functionality at a fraction of that cost often saving SMB VARs $40,000+ annually. For businesses operating on 10-15% margins, this difference is transformative.

The Right Tool for the Right Size

This isn't about Salesforce being "bad." It's about market fit.

Salesforce is exceptional for enterprise VARs with complex needs, technical resources, and budgets to match. For the 10% operating at that scale, Salesforce delivers tremendous value.

But the 90% of SMB VARs need something different: affordable, purpose-built, ready-to-use solutions that don't require technical expertise or massive budgets.

Making the Right Choice for Your VAR

Choose Salesforce if you:

• Have 75+ employees with dedicated operations teams

• Process complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise deals

• Need deep customization and have technical resources

• Can justify $50,000+ annual CRM investment

• Already use Salesforce and want native integration

Choose CRM-agnostic quoting if you:

• Are a 1-75 person VAR focused on growth

• Need affordable, predictable pricing

• Want quoting functionality that works immediately

• Sell to government contractors requiring CMMC compliance

• Use (or want to use) lightweight CRMs or no CRM at all

• Need mobile-first quoting capabilities

The Bottom Line

Salesforce isn't wrong, it's just wrong for 90% of SMB VARs. Understanding where you fall in that spectrum determines whether you need enterprise power or SMB agility.

The 90% represents thousands of VARs generating billions in revenue without access to purpose-built, affordable quoting tools. That's why CRM-agnostic solutions are winning and why the future of VAR quoting isn't one-size-fits-all.