New Salesforce Has to Keep Selling

Unprecedented growth slowdown means cloud-software pioneer can’t just focus on cost cuts

Salesforce put on its annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco last year and began laying off 8,000 workers in January.Photo: Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg News

Selling is the one thing Salesforce has long excelled at. Until recently.

The company founded by salespeople to make software for salespeople is in the midst of the worst sales slump in its history. Revenue growth for the fiscal fourth quarter ended January is expected to fall below double-digits for the first time since Salesforce went public in mid-2004. This for a company that has averaged year-over-year revenue growth of 25% per quarter even since it broke through the $10 billion annual revenue threshold in early 2018. 

What's News

Continue reading your article with
a WSJ membership

Subscribe Now

Already a member? Sign In

Sponsored Offers