How to Replace Salesloft Without Losing Productivity
You've decided Salesloft isn't the right fit anymore. Maybe the cost is unsustainable. Maybe you need capabilities it doesn't offer. Maybe your team outgrew it — or never grew into it.
Whatever the reason, the migration anxiety is real: how do you switch sales engagement platforms without your pipeline grinding to a halt?
Good news: we've helped teams make this transition, and it's more manageable than you think. Here's the complete playbook.
Phase 1: Pre-Migration Audit (Week 1–2)
Before you touch anything, understand what you're actually using.
Document Your Current Setup
Cadences/Sequences:
- How many active cadences do you run?
- Which cadences drive the most meetings?
- What's the step structure (email, call, LinkedIn, custom)?
- Which email templates have the best reply rates?
CRM Integration:
- What data syncs between Salesloft and your CRM?
- Are there custom fields mapped?
- How does activity logging work?
- Any automation rules tied to Salesloft data?
Team Configuration:
- How are teams/groups structured?
- What permission levels exist?
- Are there shared vs. personal cadences?
- What governance rules are in place?
Integrations:
- Which third-party tools connect to Salesloft?
- Calendar sync (Google, Outlook)?
- Dialer configuration?
- Conversation intelligence recordings — do you need to archive them?
Identify Your Top 10 Workflows
List the 10 things your SDRs do most often in Salesloft. For most teams, it's:
- Add prospects to cadences
- Send personalized emails from templates
- Make calls with the dialer
- Log activities to CRM
- Check daily to-do list
- Review email open/reply notifications
- Import prospects from CRM or CSV
- Share templates with teammates
- Review cadence performance reports
- Record/review calls
Your replacement platform needs to handle all 10 from day one. Anything missing means productivity loss during transition.
Export Everything
Before your contract ends, export:
- Contact/prospect lists — CSV with all custom fields
- Cadence structures — Document step types, timing, and content
- Email templates — Copy all templates to a doc (Salesloft doesn't always make bulk export easy)
- Performance data — Screenshot or export reports for baseline metrics
- Call recordings — Download any recordings you need to retain (conversation intelligence)
- Team settings — Document permission structures and automation rules
⚠️ Important: Salesloft may restrict data export features during the wind-down period. Do this before you notify them of non-renewal.
Phase 2: Platform Selection (Week 2–3)
The Evaluation Checklist
Rate each candidate platform on these criteria:
| Criteria | Weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-channel sequences (email + phone + LinkedIn) | Must-have | Core functionality, non-negotiable |
| CRM integration (your specific CRM) | Must-have | Salesforce, HubSpot, etc. |
| Dialer quality | High | If your team relies on phone |
| Import/migration tools | High | CSV import, template import |
| Ramp time | High | How fast can reps get productive? |
| Visitor identification | Medium-High | Replaces a separate tool |
| AI chatbot | Medium | Replaces a separate tool |
| Intent signals/daily playbook | Medium | Replaces manual prioritization |
| Conversation intelligence | Medium | If you use it actively |
| Price (total cost of ownership) | High | Include ALL tools needed |
| API/integration ecosystem | Medium | Connect your existing stack |
Top Replacement Options
For teams that want similar enterprise capability:
- Outreach — Closest Salesloft competitor, easy conceptual migration
- HubSpot Sales Hub — Great if you're already on HubSpot CRM
For teams that want to consolidate their stack:
- MarketBetter — Replaces Salesloft + visitor ID + chatbot + dialer in one platform
- Apollo.io — Replaces Salesloft + ZoomInfo at a lower cost
For teams that want simpler + cheaper:
- Instantly.ai — Email-focused, fraction of the cost
- Lemlist — Creative personalization at scale
Run a 2-Week Pilot
Don't commit based on demos alone. Most platforms offer free trials or pilot periods.
Pilot structure:
- Pick 2–3 of your best SDRs for the pilot
- Recreate your top 3 cadences in the new platform
- Run both platforms simultaneously for 2 weeks
- Compare: emails sent, calls made, replies received, meetings booked
- Get rep feedback on daily workflow experience
The pilot tells you what no demo can: how your team actually works in the tool.
Phase 3: Migration Execution (Week 3–5)
Step 1: Set Up the New Platform
- Configure CRM integration first — this is foundational
- Set up email accounts and verify sending domains
- Configure dialer settings (if applicable)
- Set up team structure, permissions, and shared settings
Step 2: Recreate Your Core Cadences
Don't migrate all 47 cadences. Start with your top 5 by meeting generation.
For each cadence:
- Recreate the step structure (email, call, LinkedIn, timing)
- Migrate email templates (copy, don't just import — clean up as you go)
- Set up personalization tokens/variables
- Test the full sequence with internal email addresses
- Verify CRM activity logging works correctly
Step 3: Migrate Active Prospects
Do NOT move prospects mid-sequence. This causes:
- Duplicate emails
- Broken personalization
- Lost engagement data
- Angry prospects
Instead:
- Let active sequences complete in Salesloft (or manually finish remaining steps)
- New prospects go to the new platform starting on migration day
- Completed/paused prospects can be imported as contacts for future sequences
Step 4: Parallel Running Period (2–4 Weeks)
Run both platforms simultaneously:
| Salesloft (winding down) | New Platform (ramping up) |
|---|---|
| Active sequences finish naturally | All new prospects go here |
| No new prospects added | Core cadences live and running |
| Activity still syncs to CRM | CRM integration verified |
| Reps check for replies/notifications | Reps primary workspace |
This overlap period prevents the "cold turkey" productivity drop. Your pipeline stays active while the new platform ramps.
Step 5: Training
Keep training focused and practical:
Day 1 training (2 hours):
- Account setup and login
- Navigate the core interface
- Add a prospect and enroll in a cadence
- Make a call (if dialer is included)
- Check daily to-do list
Day 3 follow-up (1 hour):
- Answer questions from first 2 days of real usage
- Cover reporting and analytics
- Address CRM sync questions
Week 2 check-in (30 min):
- Review adoption metrics
- Address any workflow friction
- Share tips and shortcuts discovered by early adopters
Pro tip: Assign one "platform champion" per team who gets deeper training and becomes the go-to resource. This scales better than training everyone to expert level.
Phase 4: Cutover and Optimization (Week 5–8)
Complete the Transition
- Confirm all active Salesloft sequences have completed
- Final data export from Salesloft (everything you need archived)
- Notify Salesloft of non-renewal (watch for auto-renewal clauses)
- Deactivate Salesloft accounts
- Update any documentation, SOPs, and playbooks
Measure Success
Compare these metrics, pre-migration vs. post-migration:
| Metric | What to Track |
|---|---|
| Emails sent/rep/day | Should be equal or higher |
| Calls made/rep/day | Should be equal or higher |
| Reply rate | Should be stable (template quality matters) |
| Meetings booked/rep/week | The ultimate metric — should not decrease |
| Time to first touch | How fast reps engage new leads |
| Ramp time for new reps | Time to first meeting for new hires |
| SDR satisfaction | Survey reps — are they happier? |
If meetings booked drops by more than 10% in the first month, investigate. It's usually:
- Template quality degraded during migration (rewrite, don't just copy)
- Reps haven't fully learned the new workflow (more training)
- CRM sync issues causing lost data (fix integration)
- Email deliverability needs warming up in the new platform
Quick Wins After Migration
Once you're live on the new platform, capture the value you switched for:
-
If you gained visitor identification: Set up alerts for target account website visits. This alone can generate 3–5 extra meetings per month.
-
If you gained an AI chatbot: Configure it to engage visitors on high-intent pages (pricing, demo, case studies). After-hours chatbot engagement captures leads you were losing.
-
If you gained a daily playbook: Train reps to start each day from their AI-prioritized task list instead of manually deciding who to contact.
-
If you reduced cost: Reallocate savings to content, advertising, or additional SDR headcount.
Common Migration Mistakes
❌ Trying to Move Everything at Once
Don't migrate 50 cadences, 10,000 contacts, and 500 templates in one weekend. Start with core workflows, let the team stabilize, then expand.
❌ Cutting Over Cold Turkey
The "Friday on Salesloft, Monday on NewTool" approach tanks productivity. Always run parallel for 2–4 weeks.
❌ Ignoring Email Deliverability Warm-Up
New email sending infrastructure needs warming. Start with lower volumes and ramp up over 2 weeks. Don't send your full daily volume on day one — you'll hit spam filters.
❌ Skipping Rep Feedback
Your SDRs use this tool 8 hours a day. If they hate the new platform, adoption dies quietly. Survey them at day 3, week 1, and week 4.
❌ Not Documenting the "Why"
When reps ask "why are we switching?", have a clear, honest answer. "It costs too much for what we get" is fine. "Management decided" is not. Reps adopt faster when they understand the reasoning.
Timeline Summary
| Week | Phase | Key Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Audit | Document workflows, export data, evaluate needs |
| 2–3 | Select | Evaluate platforms, run pilot with 2–3 reps |
| 3–4 | Migrate | Set up new platform, recreate core cadences |
| 4–6 | Parallel | Run both platforms, new prospects to new tool |
| 6–7 | Cutover | Complete Salesloft wind-down, full transition |
| 7–8 | Optimize | Measure metrics, capture quick wins, iterate |
Total time: 6–8 weeks from decision to full transition. Most teams see productivity back to baseline within 2–3 weeks of cutover.
Ready to explore your replacement options? See how MarketBetter simplifies the full SDR workflow →