From Call to CRM: How AI Meeting Note-Taking Helps Teams Work Smarter

AI meeting note taking as part of a business strategy is gaining momentum. Learn how AI note takers transform team meetings and how your business can take a competitive edge with AI note taking assistants copiloting your workflows. 

Takeaways

  • AI note takers are evolving from lightweight speech-to-text apps to full-featured AI meeting assistants that let enterprise teams boost team productivity and customer interactions. 
  • Apart from sales and customer meetings, AI meeting note taking finds its application in education, support, and financial services, where capturing conversations and transforming them into action is crucial for business success.
  • AI note-takers are more than just voice transcribers. They’re intelligent meeting assistants, saving hours for teams through automation and insights. For example, SUMO’s AI Note Taking assistant for Salesforce tires meeting notes directly to CRM and turns your calls into usable data like follow-ups, next steps, and lead insights. 
  • CRM based note-taking allows for queryable meeting notes and insights that can be used to drive sales and better serve customers. This way, your team always gains full context on engagement, closes deals faster, and delivers better customer outcomes.

The Landscape of AI Note Takers: From Solo to Team Use

Source: Market.us

First speech-to-text apps made for meeting note taking started appearing in the mid-2010s, and their benefit was clear instantly. Having AI to transcribe and write down your conversations is such an immense time- and effort-saver that it was only a matter of time before teams started to adopt it on a larger scale. 

Now, AI note-taking is stepping into the next level of adoption. Businesses integrate it into their workflows and not just for internal use but as part of a customer service. 

The AI note-taking market is expected to grow from USD 450.7 million in 2023 to about USD 2.5 billion by 2033. This means it’s projected to grow at an average rate of 18.9% per year between 2024 and 2033.

Even though AI meeting apps share the same speech-to-text technology, their functionality, integration, and compliance differ significantly depending on a use case. Let’s explore in detail.

How Teams AI Note Taking Differ From Individual Apps

The following factors are always decisive in enterprise and business application.

Factor #1. CRM Integration Tuns Notes Into Actions

For business use, AI note-takers provide seamless integration with CRM, while solo apps store notes in isolation. The former is a definite advantage for teams—you don’t need to manually input data or toggle between different apps.

Case in Point: SUMO’s AI meeting note-taker for Salesforce

SUMO’s AI meeting note-taker integrates natively with Salesforce. It transcribes and logs your call notes, turning them into Salesforce data. You can further generate smart email follow-ups, meeting agendas, and next steps based on your conversation. AI meeting notes are synced to the correct CRM records, giving you a full picture of your agenda.

Factor #2. Teams Need to Collaborate

Team-purpose AI note-takers let you share notes, manage roles and permissions. Notes are searchable, categorized, and structured around business workflows. These features are absent or limited in most single-user AI note-takers.

Factor #3. AI Note-Taking For Workflows

Enterprise-grade AI meeting note takers like SUMO go beyond basic voice transcription. Instead, AI note-taking becomes part of the entire customer engagement strategy—where your meeting notes are not just stored but help you take a next step whether it’s to close a deal, onboard a new user or serve your customers better.

Factor #4. Features

Teams AI note takers often come with expended functionality such as:

  • Automatic transcription and summaries – Transcribe conversations and generate clear summaries with action items.
  • Searchable and organized notes – Sort past conversations using keywords, tags, or filters.
  • Collaboration tools – Share notes, comments, and editable agendas for better teamwork.
  • Follow-up and task generation – Auto-generate email follow-ups, next steps, or task lists based on your notes.
  • Multi-language support and speaker recognition – Handle meetings in different languages and identify individual speakers.

Factor #5. Security & Compliance

Last but not least, enterprise AI note-takers meet industry-grade standards (SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR). You can adjust user access controls, track audit trails, and store data in encrypted environments. Personal tools provide only basic data security and should not be used to process sensitive customer, financial, or healthcare data at the enterprise level.

Why AI Meeting Note-Taking Matters For Business More Than Ever

Zoom: AI For Meeting Summaries & Action Items
Source: Zoom

Productivity Increases Through Automation

According to Salesforce research, reps spend 70% of their time on non-selling tasks. Among the biggest time-eaters is personalizing communication.That’s where AI helps. 

AI meeting note takers like SUMO can automatically capture key points from meetings and turn them into ready-to-use follow-ups, so you can focus on building relationships instead of writing notes.

Conversation Intelligence Drives Revenue

AI note taking helps sales reps and customer success teams prioritize high-value opportunities and flag at-risk deals before they derail.

An example, summarized call insights enables better deal execution and coaching delivering a 481% ROI for Gong. Another study by Nucleus shows a 38% increase in sales rep capacity, an 8% lift in win rates, and 4% more revenue—all thanks to features like call summaries and recommended next steps.

Automated Data Capture Eliminate Follow-Up Gaps

AI note taking assistants can spot action items during meetings and sync them to your Asana or GitHub. This automation cuts manual hand-offs and ensures decisions turn into actions—without email ping-pong or forgotten to-dos.

AI Improves CRM Data Quality & Forecasting

Enterprise AI note-takers log all meeting details, decision points, and next steps directly into CRMs like Salesforce. This leads to cleaner, more actionable data that strengthens forecasting. 

When notes go missing or are manually typed post-meeting, critical details slip through the cracks—impacting pipeline health and executive decision-making.

Better Customer Experience & Service

By capturing accurate, structured notes from client conversations, businesses ensure every follow-up is informed and timely which contributes to customer engagement. For example:

  • Tebra reports, AI Note Assist cuts clinical documentation time by 30–50%, enabling healthcare providers to spend more time face-to-face with patients.
  • Inspire Veterinary Partners are saving about 6 hours per veterinarian per week and improving patient engagement with AI note taking and automated meetings followups.

Industries Where AI Note-Takers Are Becoming a Must-Have

Now, let’s see where AI note-takers are becoming indispensable, and how they’re changing the way people work and communicate.

AI Note Taking for Sales Meetings

In sales, every conversation is an opportunity. An AI Note-taker assistant can automatically record, transcribe, and summarize sales calls. Moreover, you can capture buyer signals, blockers, or objections and you approach with the right action items to close deals faster.

AI Note-Taking for Service Providers

Professionals like engineers, real estate agents, and consultants can speak naturally during client calls while the AI listens in and generates structured notes tied to the project or client record. Whatever key details, tasks, and decisions you discuss, they are accurately captured and easy to find later.

AI Note Taking for Support Calls

Support agents juggle call handling and documentation. An AI meeting assistant can capture the full conversation, then generate accurate summaries with key customer issues, resolutions, and followups. Advanced AI note-taking assistants like SUMO provide meeting summaries, next steps, and scheduling as a call to action to customers after the call.

AI Note Taking for Financial Advisors

Advisors meet clients regularly, discussing life goals, investments, and risks. AI note-takers ensure these details are captured properly. You can summarize calls, flag compliance terms, and prep review-ready meeting notes.

AI Note-Taking for Students

In remote learning, AI helps to transcribe and summarize lectures automatically. It benefits both students and lecturers. By having your lectures AI recorded and processed with AI, you can improve lectures and plan your curricular better, not to mention the sharing capabilities that lets everyone stay on track. 

How SUMO’s AI Note-Taker Turns Meetings Into Actionable Outcomes

SUMO offers more than just an AI note-taker — but a powerful AI meeting assistant native to Salesforce for sales and customer-facing teams. It joins your calls automatically, whether you’re using Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom. 

During the meeting, it takes notes, creates transcripts, and summarizes key points. Afterward, it helps you send follow-up emails that pull directly from the meeting notes, so you always move conversation forward till the desired action.

Key features:

  • Auto-joins meetings (Google Meet, Teams, and Zoom)
  • Generate AI meeting notes with transcripts and summaries
  • Searchable notes by context via an AI chat
  • Syncs natively with Salesforce or other systems through API
  • Automated follow-up generation based on meeting content 
  • Works with SUMO’s booking, planning, and inbox tools to simplify your workflow
  • Built for secure, compliant use in healthcare, government, education, and other regulated industries.

See how SUMO’s AI assistant helps your team stay prepared, follow up faster, and keep engagement moving forward.

How to Bring AI Meeting Note-Taking Into Your Business

Before you roll out AI note-taking across your team, here’s a down-to-earth checklist to help you make the right call:

1.Is It a Good Fit for Your Workflow?

  • What kinds of meetings will it cover—sales calls, support tickets, team standups?
  • Who actually needs the notes, and what happens to them afterward? 

2. Does It Play Nice With Your Tools?

Make sure it works smoothly with your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot). Double-check it connects with your calendars, video calls, and email tools—no one wants to deal with disconnected systems.

3. Is It Secure and Compliant?

Look for compliance with SOC 2, HIPAA (if you’re in healthcare), or GDPR. Built-in encryption, user permissions, and activity logs keep things tight.

4. How Smart Is the AI, Really?

  • Can it accurately transcribe your meetings—even when people talk fast or talk over each other? 
  • Does it pick up action items, key decisions, and next steps? 
  • Bonus points if you can use templates or automate follow-up tasks.

5. Can You Actually Find the Notes Later?

Notes should be easy to search, filter, and link to related projects or deals. It helps if you can tag things or sort by topic, person, or meeting type—so nothing gets lost.

6. Can Your Team Work With It?

Your teams should be able to share notes, add comments, and make edits (with the right permissions). Look for features like shared agendas and collaborative follow-up planning.

Finally, start with a pilot team or a few key meetings. Set goals (like time saved or CRM accuracy) and offer training so your team actually uses it—and sees the value fast.

Summing Up [Off Topic]

On my first job (that’s 15 years ago, shh!), I had to e-interview a developer for a case study. Me: a fresh graduate, 100% humanitarian. Him: a senior developer who spoke tech like was born with it. All I had was the recorder on my phone. 

So, I didn’t make notes — I’ll recap the details later, I thought. I didn’t understand half of what he said — I’ll transcribe it later, I thought. You can guess how that went.

Mid-conversation, I see my recorder is NOT recording. I panic but keep a poker face, desperately scribbling down whatever I can. Needless to say, the case study turned out terrible. 

Now, with every meeting transcribed and organized with AI automatically, I often wonder how many conversations were lost to moments like that. In business, missed or wrongfully captured data may cost your thousands or lost revenue and clients.

Luckily, AI note-takers are now part of every conversation and it’s exciting to see how AI takes them further, opening new use cases and delivering measurable impact.

If you’re considering making AI note taking part of your team’s workflow, consider SUMO. Book a call with us so we’ll guide you on how SUMO can power your business.

Human + AI: 7 Ways Reps Can Use AI to Engage with Customers Faster & Smarter

AI isn’t about replacing people; it’s about removing the outdated friction in how we work. By handling repetitive tasks, AI lets sales and service teams to focus on what really matters: customer conversations. Learn how you can deliver faster, smarter customer engagement with AI. 

This post breaks down the key types of AI powering customer experiences today, real-world examples of how companies use them, and ways you can apply them in your organization—from scheduling and support to follow-ups and personalization.

Key Takeaways

  • AI helps businesses connect with customers. Not just faster but smarter. From booking appointments to resolving issues, AI speeds up interactions without making them feel corporate-face.
  • By analyzing behavior, preferences, and timing, AI can tailor every touchpoint—from recommendations to follow-ups—at scale.
  • AI doesn’t work alone—it integrates across your customer journey. Whether it’s AI chat, scheduling, or post-meeting follow-ups, the best results come when AI integrates in your workflows, CRM, and channels.
  • SUMO’s AI Customer Engagement Platform turns everyday tasks into smooth, connected experiences. By handling scheduling, meeting notes, and smart follow-ups, SUMO helps teams stay focused on real conversations—while the AI does the heavy lifting.

What is an AI Customer Experience?

AI-powered customer experience means using tools like chatbots, virtual assistants, and machine learning to help customers solve problems or get answers faster in cases where human involvement isn’t necessary.

Instead of copy-paste replies, AI can understand what really matters to a customer at that moment and respond in a way that saves both their time and the company’s.

For instance, a chatbot can book your customer’s appointment in seconds, auto-matching their preferences with your availability, while it would take far more time and effort from both sides to agree on a time via email or phone. Instead, AI takes care of those routine intermediate steps to make customer interactions truly meaningful. Let’s see how.

5 Main Types of AI for Customer Engagement

If you’ve ever chatted with a bot, received a product suggestion that actually made sense, or got a follow-up email before you even thought to ask—chances are, AI was involved. Here’s what technology stands behind it:

AI Scheduling For Faster Connections

AI tools that handle appointment or meeting booking, often through conversational interfaces or forms, to connect customers with the right person at the right time. These systems blend machine learning, calendar integrations, and chat interfaces.


Use Cases:

  • AI meeting assistants for Salesforce that book meetings based on prospect availability and CRM data
  • AI self-service appointment booking with intent recognition
  • AI agent for dynamic field service route and visit time optimization

Example: SUMO’s AI chatbot for appointment booking doesn’t just show the available slots but reads and responds based on the context. If your customer says, “I’m free to meet in the morning,” SUMO will suggest meeting slots based on time zone and location, taking into account the travel time.  

Conversational AI For Human-Like Engagement

AI that enables two-way communication through text or voice. It mimics human conversation to guide people through tasks like booking appointments, answering questions, or resolving issues.

Use cases:

  • AI chatbots (e.g., website support, FAQs)
  • Voice assistants (e.g., smart IVRs, Alexa/Siri integrations)
  • Live chat co-pilots (AI assists human reps in real time)

Natural Language Processing (NLP) For Creating The Context

NLP allows AI to read, understand, and generate human language in text. It comes as part of Conversational AI but can be used independently. e.g. to interpret and process meeting notes.

Use cases:

  • Auto-generated replies in customer service
  • Summarizing support tickets or conversations

Example: SUMO’s AI meeting note taker generates transcripts and meeting summary. The latter can be shared with customers to engage them better for further action. These notes are easily searchable through the users CRM and can be referenced to prepare for next step meetings or to ensure coordination.

Machine Learning (ML) for Personalization

AI that learns from data to spot patterns and make predictions. These systems tailor websites, emails, and messages for each person based on who they are, what they like, and how they’ve interacted before. Instead of copy-passed replies or bulk product suggestions, customer engagement actually feels personal.

Use cases:

  • Predicting churn (which customers are likely to leave)
  • Lead scoring (ranking prospects based on behavior)
  • Personalized recommendations for product or content

Example: Salesforce Lead Scoring Tool can 

Generative AI for Content & Followups 

AI that writes customer responses, articles, or knowledge base updates. Generative AI models are trained on large language datasets and integrated with CRM or support tools to deliver contextually appropriate content. AI that creates new content based on prompts or data.

Use cases:

  • Personalized email content
  • Dynamic product descriptions
  • Custom replies to customer inquiries
  • Auto-generated knowledge base articles

In practice, these types of AI for customer engagement aren’t used in isolation. Instead, they complement one another — all tied together through APIs or CRM integrations to help businesses and customers solve their daily tasks and get practical value. Speaking of which.

Benefits of AI For Customer Engagement

AI can bring a lot of real, measurable benefits to how your business engages with customers. Let’s look at the key ways AI helps with some stats backing it up.

24/7 Service 

AI neither sleeps nor takes shirts, no sick days, so customers can get help anytime. According to Gartner, by 2028, 70% of service interactions will start and finish within third-party virtual assistants.

Faster Responses

AI chatbots and assistants reply instantly, so your customers aren’t left waiting. IBM found that AI-powered chat can cut response times by 99%. That’s a huge jump in customer satisfaction. 

Consistent Brand Interaction

Responding a hundred times to a very simple question can be frustrating for support agents — and why shouldn’t it be? We’re only human, after all, and we can’t be programmed to have just one emotion. But AI can, and for good. 

Whether a customer reaches out on chat, email, or social media, AI can make sure the tone, speed, and quality of the interaction stay the same across the board. AI will never lose its temper but will be consistently willing to help your customers until they’re happy.

Personalize at Scale

Not just for your top customers, but for everyone. AI analyzes data and suggests the right message, product, or timing for each person. AI schedules reminders or follow-up messages at the right time, so customers feel remembered and valued.

Better Service Through Automation 

AI frees up your time and effort for actual service. You can focus on solving specific customer pains instead of filling in the CRM, or spend more time with a patient instead of writing documentation.

With AI handling the basics, your team can focus on higher-value conversations or those where human touch is really needed — the tricky cases, the big deals, the people who need a thoughtful response.

Higher ROI Through Insights

AI can spot signs that a customer might leave or struggle and lets you reach out before they churn. 

Self-Service Leads to Satisfied Customers

AI doesn’t just answer questions — it helps resolve issues faster. It pulls up order details or suggests solutions on the spot. That’s important, because Salesforce found that 30% of customers want AI to help resolve their issues more quickly. 

So in short: faster responses, more personalized service, fewer dropped balls, and a team that gets to do more meaningful work. That’s the real value of AI in customer engagement.

Now, shall we see what that looks like in action? Let’s examine some of the best AI tools that you can apply in your business to increase customer engagement.

7 Ways AI Revisions Customer Engagement At Every Touchpoint

1. Schedule appointments with the perfect time for everyone

    Booking a time to talk to someone shouldn’t feel like solving a puzzle. AI-powered scheduling tools now find the best times automatically, sync with calendars, and even adjust for time zones and availability across teams.

    Example:
    Bank of America uses AI-driven appointment scheduling to let customers quickly book time with specialists—whether for mortgages, investments, or account help. It saves time on both ends and makes walk-ins feel like VIPs.

    Deliver that same VIP experience for your customers with SUMO’s AI-powered appointment management

    2. Support customers 24/7 & actually help

      We’ve all dealt with robotic bots that do more harm than good. But AI has come a long way. Today’s smart assistants can understand intent, escalate complex issues, and even learn from past interactions.

      Example:
      H&M uses AI chatbots across its global support channels to handle common questions, process returns, and suggest outfits—automatically switching between languages and even tones, depending on the customer.

      3. Send follow-ups that drive action

        After a purchase or a meeting, follow-up matters. AI now automates this—sending reminders, summarizing discussions, or suggesting next steps based on what was said.

        Example:
        Salesforce + SUMO AI note taker lets you automate follow-up emails based on your meeting notes. After a meeting is booked and held, AI scans the notes and drafts personalized emails for next steps right in your CRM — saving time and keeping the conversation moving.

        4. Recommend what customers want

          AI doesn’t just guess what customers want—it watches what they browse, buy, and abandon, then tailors suggestions in real time.

          Example:
          Sephora uses AI to personalize product recommendations based on past purchases, skin tone, and even beauty goals shared through a quiz. It’s like having a digital beauty advisor that remembers you.

          5. Resolve issues before they escalate

            Instead of waiting for complaints, AI can flag issues early—like noticing a drop in app usage, a pattern of delayed orders, or unusual payment activity—and prompt a follow-up before the customer even asks.

            Example:
            Spotify uses AI to monitor user behavior and jump in when it detects playback issues or unexpected errors—often offering personalized help or credits before the user submits a support ticket.

            6. Guide customers on self-service, at their pace

              Some people just want to solve things on their own. AI-powered help centers and virtual agents now make it easy by predicting what users are looking for and showing step-by-step help.

              Example:
              Zoom uses AI to power its helpdesk, guiding users through account setups, billing fixes, or troubleshooting—all without waiting for a human rep. The system learns what works and improves over time.Fast-track the cases that matter most

                7. AI spots when a human needs to step in and gets the right agent on it. 

                Example: AI-driven dispatching systems, equipped with natural language processing and machine learning capabilities, can analyze and prioritize incoming emergency calls.

                Make Every Customer Interaction Count with SUMO CEP

                SUMO’s AI Customer Engagement Platform takes the hassle out of everyday tasks—like scheduling, follow-ups, and meeting prep—so your team can focus on what really matters: real conversations with real people.

                Whether you’re in healthcare, finance, education, or retail, SUMO helps you turn each interaction into a thoughtful experience. Engage customers faster, smarter, and more personal—without adding to your team’s workload.

                Ready to see it in action? 

                Learn how SUMO can simplify your customer engagement with AI.

                Salesforce AI Assistants: How AI Automates CRM Tasks You Actually Care About

                When Salesforce launched Agentforce in October 2024, it marked the beginning of the AI-first CRM era, powered by intelligent assistants designed to support users in their daily work. While the buzz around Salesforce AI has only grown since, many businesses are still struggling to turn that promise into real, measurable daily impact.

                In this post, we’ll walk you through practical ways AI can automate your key CRM tasks, and highlight the best Salesforce AI assistants that are already proving their value in real-world workflows.

                Key Takeaways

                • Salesforce AI assistants are made to work with humans, not in their place. They become part of your workflows, helping you automate routine tasks, access data fast, and build smarter processes.
                • Factors driving Salesforce AI Assistant adoption are fragmented CRM experience, complex admin across different user roles, and manual tasks that eat up team productivity and impact the entire organization’s efficiency.
                • By type, AI assistants in Salesforce can be embedded out-of-the-box, natively built in Salesforce, or integrated third-party tools for specific AI tasks. By use cases, they cater to sales and marketing teams, customer support, e-commerce, analytics specialists, and admins.
                • SUMO’s Customer Engagement Platform provides AI-powered engagement tools that assist sales, support and service professionals to book meetings, proceed with next-best actions, generate conversation summaries, and engage with contextual follow-ups—all native in Salesforce.

                What are Salesforce AI Assistants?

                Salesforce AI assistants, also known as Agentforce Agents, are like helpful coworkers built right into your CRM. They use natural language models and machine learning to support your team with everyday tasks like booking meetings, following up with customers, writing emails, and keeping records organized.

                In a nutshell, Salesforce AI assistants:

                • Work alongside sales, support and service professionals 
                • Make your Salesforce CRM smarter so you accomplish things faster & easier
                • Adapt to your role without excessive training
                • Live inside your Salesforce workflow so you don’t need to jump between apps. 

                Why Salesforce Teams Adopt AI Assistants At Scale

                Salesforce teams are embracing AI assistants not just for the hype—but for real results. With 83% of AI-powered sales teams seeing revenue growth and 4 out of 5 users reporting higher productivity, it’s clear that AI isn’t just a trend. Rather, it’s a competitive edge for Salesforce. Among the factors driving adoption are the following.

                Salesforce CRM Landscape is Highly Fragmented

                Salesforce is packed with features. Its versatility has made it a universal CRM for organizations across industries—from education and healthcare to government and nonprofits. Still, this very strength can also be a drawback. Developers, sales reps, and marketing managers all are using it differently. 

                A fragmented CRM experience complicates communication among users, management and teams. Salesforce AI assistants solve this by providing contextual support for each user’s role. They work through a simple chat interface and easily embed directly into your workflow, no matter your Salesforce role.

                AI Gets Things Done Faster

                Salesforce reports that 81% of teams are now testing or actively using AI for their daily routines in support, marketing, customer relationship management, and admin.

                Instead of forcing your way through endless objects and tabs, you can simply ask an AI chat, “Show me my meeting notes for this client” or “Draft a response to this customer request.” AI frees up your time for the next action that matters in your daily work. 

                Data Management in Salesforce is Limited

                Traditional Salesforce CRM search is limited to strings, forcing users to rely upon exact or partial text matches to surface results from pre-defined fields. While you can apply filters, they still require your manual configuration or navigation. 

                AI agents step on the next level allowing you to manage and process data based on contextual search.

                For example, SUMO’s AI meeting assistant lets you pull your Salesforce meeting notes for a particular client or time frame. It returns a human-like summary, links to communication history, and associated records, so you don’t need to click into each record to piece together a full picture. What’s more, you can take your next action, e.g. book a meeting or write a follow up right from an AI chat or email. That’s way less toggling and more convenience with data handing. 

                How Businesses Benefit

                Salesforce AI tools do more than speed up tasks — they transform how teams think and operate, unlocking real value across the entire business.

                • Sales Teams Do Selling, not CRMing: AI helps reps focus on deals that are actually likely to close and spend less time chasing dead ends or managing CRM.
                • Customers Feel Like You’re There When They Need You: You can analyze data at scale and jump on problems before they snowball into negative reviews or lost clients.
                • Marketers Finally Know What Works: Instead of a tiresome dashboard wondering which email or ad campaign performed best, marketers using Salesforce AI get insights fast, on-the-spot, and adapt messages to actually drive conversions. 
                • Service Teams Don’t Burn Out: AI handles simple questions and routes incoming support tickets based on priority and topic. So, service agents handle more complex issues—and fewer repetitive ones.
                • Tech Teams Work Smarter, Not Harder: Admins can auto-generate logic, test variations, and roll out changes confidently.
                • Leaders Make Decisions with Confidence: Executives now use predictive dashboards that highlight not just what is happening—but what will happen next. They can plan smarter for growth.

                Types of Salesforce AI Assistants

                By type, Salesforce AI assistants can be

                • Salesforce’s out-of-the-box (embedded into the CRM),
                • Native (built on top of Salesforce), and
                • Integrated (third-party tools connected to Salesforce). 

                The primary difference between all three is how deeply each type integrates into your Salesforce org and the features you can access. Let’s explore each type in detail.

                AI Built by Salesforce

                Examples: Agentforce, Salesforce Einstein Copilot, Einstein Search, Einstein GPT

                Salesforce includes several AI-powered tools out of the box, which you might know under the Einstein brand. These AI assistants (aka Agentforce) are developed by Salesforce and already embedded across different Salesforce Clouds—Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, etc. 

                If your edition and license type support them, you can enable them via Salesforce Setup. Once enabled, these tools become a part of your CRM experience living natively in your dashboards, record views, and search bars.

                How AI assistants by Salesforce are different:

                • Made by Salesforce
                • No external integrations needed, only configuration
                • Based on Salesforce metadata and CRM context
                • Accessed via natural language inside Salesforce UI
                • Secure and aligned with Salesforce’s permission model

                Salesforce-native AI Assistants 

                Examples: SUMO’s Customer Engagement Platform

                Native AI assistants for Salesforce like SUMO’s Agentforce Engagement Assistants are built on top of Salesforce using its native tools like Apex, Flows, and Einstein APIs. Compared to the Einstein tools, they provide extended functionality, e.g. conversational AI for appointment scheduling, call notetaking, meeting planner based on AI scraping web information, etc. 

                They combine the deepest level of integration and Salesforce-grade security which is an ideal choice for enterprise and large scale teams or those that operate in 

                How native Salesforce AI assistants are different:

                • Built with native Salesforce tools
                • Provide deep integration level along with more powerful functionality
                • Custom logic and automation
                • Full access to Salesforce data model
                • Data is managed and stored at Salesforce meaning highest security and full compliance

                Integrated Tools

                Examples: ChatGPT, Conversica, Notion AI integrated with Salesforce

                AI revolves around a variety of use cases that can enhance the CRM experience, especially considering how much users hate toggling between the apps. To address this, many external AI tools provide APIs or extensions to connect to Salesforce. 

                While these tools aren’t as seamless as native Salesforce ones, they can still fill in a certain gap with your Salesforce CRM. An example, you can automatically collect and consolidate leads from various industry-specific sources into a single CRM view. 

                However, since these AI tools operate outside the Salesforce environment, they raise concerns around data security and compliance. Additionally, their integration and set up is often way more complicated than native ones.

                How integrated Salesforce AI assistants are different:

                • AI outside Salesforce but pushes/pulls data into/from it
                • Requires data access and permission setup
                • Useful for specialized tasks that aren’t possible in Salesforce out of the box

                AI Assistants by Use Case: Salesforce Tasks You Can Automate

                While Salesforce AI assistants are a broad notion, in practice, the use case defines their functionality and capabilities. Most of them fall under one of the following categories, yet some functionality may overlap.

                1. AI Sales Assistants 

                AI Sales Assistants help sales reps engage with leads, prepare for meetings, write follow-up emails, and close deals faster while syncing and processing all data in Salesforce.

                Use cases:

                • Prepare for meetings using AI which researches and summarizes public information about a company, contact or lead and summarizes notes from previous customer interactions.
                • Auto-capture meeting notes and highlights directly on a specified  Salesforce object
                • Write meeting follow-ups based on context and next step actions
                • Mine data like meeting notes or conversations and auto-prompt the next action (e.g. schedule a demo call)
                • Score and prioritize leads based on likelihood to convert (Einstein Lead Scoring)
                • Offer a consultant or a demo meeting as a sales call to action

                2. AI Marketing Assistants

                The prime goal of Salesforce AI assistants for marketing is automation of email sequences and workflows. Marketing teams can support campaign creation, email content generation, and performance analysis with AI.

                Use cases:

                • Suggest routes for email campaigns based on specific goals (e.g., nudge X contacts to webinar) and build sequences with variations (e.g., split tests).
                • Write subject lines and email copy with generative AI
                • Analyze email bounce or open rates and suggest improvements
                • Recommend customer segments for targeted campaigns
                • A/B test automation paths (e.g., for webinar follow-ups)
                • Offer meetings with a sales rep or an invite to a marketing event as a call to action
                • Define high-performing content assets

                3. Customer Service Agents

                Customer support agents powered by AI automate responses to frequently asked customer questions and help human agents work faster.

                Use cases:

                • Handle support tickets with chatbots (Einstein Bots)
                • Summarize case history for a support rep before they respond
                • Recommend help articles during a live chat
                • Suggest resolutions based on past similar cases
                • Triage incoming tickets by urgency or topic
                • Offer one on one support meetings for tier two cases

                4. Ecommerce Agents

                AI ecommerce agents embedded into Salesforce assist customers on retail or digital storefronts by answering questions and suggesting products.

                Use cases:

                • Recommend products based on browsing or purchase history
                • Answer questions about order status or return policies
                • Offer upsell suggestions during checkout
                • Personalize promotions in real time based on behavior
                • Offer exclusive events or personal shopper meetings for VIP customers

                5. Collaboration Agents

                Make team communication and planning easier by summarizing conversations and assisting with workflows.

                Use cases:

                • Summarize threads relevant to a deal or campaign
                • Capture action items from meetings and log them in Salesforce
                • Help team members stay aligned on shared accounts or tasks
                • Generate daily or weekly briefings on customer activity

                6. AI Analytics Assistants

                Sales leaders use AI to understand how reps allocate time across tasks like calls, emails, or follow-ups. AI can support Salesforce analysts and managers with data queries, reporting, and workflow creation. 

                Use cases:

                • Answer natural-language questions like “How many leads converted this month?”
                • Create reports and dashboards automatically
                • Suggest workflow automations (e.g., follow-ups after form fills)
                • Detect data anomalies or incomplete records
                • Help configure rules or permission sets 

                7. AI For Devs and Admin 

                AI in Salesforce isn’t just for frontline users—it also lets techies manage orgs, support users, and deliver business value faster. Developers and admins can save time on manual reporting, uncover data insights more easily, and even build smarter workflows with less effort.

                Use cases:

                • Generate Apex classes, triggers, and LWC components
                • Code review and be-bugging
                • Automatically generate unit test classes
                • Navigate documentation via AI chat

                7 Best Salesforce AI Assistants to Save Time and Boost CRM Productivity

                Provider Integration Main Features Best For Pricing
                SUMO Native Salesforce AI scheduling, meeting prep & lead research, note taker & follow-ups, AI website chat Customer engagement, sales and service teams On-demand
                Agentforce Assistant Native Salesforce AI chat, role skills, content gen, insights Sales, service, marketing $500/100K credits or $2/convo
                Agentforce Dev Salesforce IDE Code gen, completions, docs help, tests, scanning Developers, admins Open beta
                Conversica Integrated API + AppExchange AI email/SMS/chat, lead follow-up, analytics High-volume lead processing From $2,999/mo
                Clari Native Salesforce Pipeline insights, forecasts, deal risk, tracking Sales, revenue teams $80–120/user/mo avg
                Slack AI Slack + Salesforce Summaries, actions, lookups, SF data ref Cross-team collab $10/user/mo (add-on)
                Sweep AI Native Salesforce Admin tasks, flow setup, schema mgmt, alerts Admins, RevOps $1.5K–$5K/mo

                1. SUMO: Best Salesforce AI Assistant For Sales, Support & Service Teams

                SUMO provides an AI-powered customer engagement platform natively built on Salesforce AI.

                You can schedule appointments intelligently, auto-research your meeting attendees, summarize conversations, generate follow-up messages, and more—all while keeping data safe in Salesforce. 

                One of SUMO’s key strengths is how its AI assistant aligns with Salesforce workflows. The AI lives inside Salesforce and integrates with records, making it a lightweight yet powerful and fully-compliant tool for customer engagement and lead prospecting in healthcare, government, education, nonprofit and retail.

                Key Features:

                • Engage prospects via SUMO Agentforce chat to qualify and book meetings.
                • Schedule appointments based on capacity, routing, roles, etc.
                • Automate appointment self-booking, reminders & follow ups 
                • Research leads and companies before meetings scanning public professional info.
                • Generate meeting agendas, topics, and discovery questions.
                • Capture real-time notes and action items with AI meeting note taker
                • Draft and automate personalized meeting follow-ups.

                Pricing:

                • On-demand

                Explore How SUMO Gives Your Team More Time for What Matters

                2. Agentforce Assistant (aka Einstein Copilot) by Salesforce

                Einstein Copilot is a generative Salesforce AI assistant first released in February, 2024 and later evolved to Agentforce Assistant. It uses natural language understanding to answer your questions and recommend next steps. 

                You can chat with Agentforce in a similar way like with any AI chat about any data related to your Salesforce CRM and trigger required action.

                Agentforce Assistant browses your account history, opportunity status, and contact records to help you with day-to-day CRM tasks such as writing emails, summarizing notes, updating records, or even preparing pipeline reviews. If you’re tired of searching through Salesforce, Agentforce lets you pull insights quickly without navigating the full interface.

                Key Features:

                • Embedded AI chat assistant for Salesforce 
                • Pre-built with role-based skills for Sales, Service, and Marketing
                • Can be extended with industry-specific skills (e.g., healthcare, retail)
                • Supports custom actions through Copilot Studio
                • Grounded in real-time CRM data via Data Cloud
                • Integrated with Einstein GPT for content generation (emails, summaries)
                • Available in Salesforce UI and channels like Slack

                Pricing:

                • Two pricing models for Agentforce: Flex Credits and Conversations
                • Flex Credits: $500 USD per 100,000 Credits
                • Conversations: $2 USD per conversation

                3. Agentforce for Salesforce Developers

                Formerly known as Einstein, Agentforce for Developers brings Salesforce-specific generative AI right into the developer’s IDE. It helps developers and admins with code writing, debugging, and documentation within Salesforce.

                Among the features, you may create Apex code from prompts, generate validation rules, write test classes, and explain existing code. 

                If you’re into a large Salesforce org, where maintaining documentation or understanding legacy code can give you a headache, Agentforce is a painkiller. Unlike low-code tools, Agentforce for Devs still requires technical knowledge but lets you avoid context switching or documentation browsing to complete dev tasks. 

                Key Features:

                • Dev Assistant chat for code generation, documentation, and explanation using slash‑commands
                • Inline code completions
                • Unit test generation
                • Documentation management and explanation
                • Support for best practices: linting, static analysis, and security scanning through supplementary tools

                Pricing:

                • Currently in open beta

                4. Conversica for Automated Lead Processing in Salesforce

                Conversica is an AI-driven digital assistant platform that helps you automate lead engagement and follow-up. Its flagship offering, Revenue Digital Assistants, reaches out via email or SMS, maintains conversations with prospects or customers, and hands off qualified leads to human teams. These assistants mimic real conversation patterns, not like robo-bots everyone hates talking to.

                While it’s not native to Salesforce, Conversica integrates well through API or AppExchange to sync all conversation data with your CRM records. If you run high-volume lead pipelines, where manually following up on every inbound contact would take you ages, Convertica saves your time. 

                Key Features:

                • Two-way conversational assistants for email, SMS, and chat 
                • Outcome-based dialog flows designed for lead qualification, reactivation, and retention
                • Multilingual support 
                • Self-learning AI that adapts to improve conversations
                • Omni-channel engagement across email, SMS, and web chat 
                • Integrations with 50+ CRM/marketing systems, including Salesforce
                • Analytics and reporting to track engagement, conversion rates, and ROI 

                Pricing:

                • Basic plan: $2,999/month (annual billing) 
                • Unlimited user seats; pricing tiers vary by functionality

                5. Clari for Revenue-Driven Salesforce Teams

                Clari is a revenue intelligence platform that connects to Salesforce and layers AI-driven insights on top of pipeline data. It helps sales teams with forecasting, deal inspection, activity tracking, and risk identification.

                Rather than acting as a conversational assistant, Clari analyzes the history and trends of deal activity, emails, meetings, and CRM entries to spot patterns that may lead to closing or stalling.

                Sales leaders and reps use Clari to get a more accurate view of their pipeline health and sales execution. The platform applies AI to determine which deals are slipping, which need attention, and what the likely outcome will be. 

                Key Features:

                • Revenue orchestration: pipeline intelligence, deal scoring, AI-driven forecasting, risk alerts, activity tracking 
                • Native Salesforce and email integrations for real-time insights

                Pricing:

                • Modular; average investment ~ $80–120/user/month
                • Median total deal value ~$81K/year

                6. Slack AI For Salesforce Team Collaboration

                Slack AI, introduced by Salesforce for its Slack collaboration platform, brings generative AI capabilities into team conversations. It helps summarize threads, extract action items, and provide instant answers based on company knowledge or linked systems like Salesforce. For example, a user can ask Slack AI to summarize a long sales thread or surface a key contract detail discussed earlier.

                When connected to Salesforce, Slack AI can become a lightweight assistant for cross-functional teams. Marketing, sales, or support reps can get updates on deals, tickets, or customer issues without leaving Slack. 

                Key Features:

                • Conversation summarization, daily digests, answer retrieval, document or Slack data lookup 
                • Can reference Salesforce data when connected via integrations

                Pricing:

                • Add-on for paid Slack plans: $10/user/month

                7. Sweep: Salesforce AI Support Assistant

                Sweep is an AI assistant designed to help Salesforce admins and RevOps teams automate and manage Salesforce configuration using natural language. Instead of navigating setup menus or writing configuration scripts, admins can describe what they want to build (e.g., “Create a flow to reassign leads based on territory”) and Sweep AI generates the underlying automation or configuration needed.

                This tool is especially useful for smaller operations teams or orgs without full-time Salesforce admins. It reduces the time and technical effort required to set up automation, update objects, or maintain the data model. Sweep AI integrates directly with Salesforce and keeps a change log, which is useful for auditing and rollback. It is not a general-purpose assistant but highly focused on backend configuration and org management.

                Key Features:

                • AI agent in Salesforce for admin tasks—automating flows, fixing fields, managing schema, detecting issues
                • Real-time documentation, schema monitoring, Slack alerts, workflow connector support

                Pricing:

                • Analytic tier: $1,500/month/company
                • Control tier: $2,500/month
                • Full agentic tier: $5,000/month

                Summing Up

                Salesforce AI assistants are becoming part and parcel of productive teams across sales, service, marketing, and operations. Whether embedded, native, or integrated, AI tools help businesses to eliminate CRM friction and automate repetitive tasks. 

                SUMO stands out as a powerful Customer Engagement Platform that delivers Salesforce-native AI for intelligent scheduling, lead prospecting, and meeting automation.

                Ready to experience true AI-powered engagement inside Salesforce? 

                10 Real-World AI Customer Experience Examples That Actually Work

                Your brand surely has some sort of online customer interaction. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can make those interactions faster, easier, and more convenient for both your team and clients. In our post, we’re featuring 12 inspiring real-world AI customer experience examples, along with takeaways you can apply to your strategy.

                Key Takeaways

                • AI-driven customer experiences like conversational chatbots, AI customer engagement software, and recommendation engines help companies answer questions faster, book appointments without back-and-forth, and suggest the right actions at the right time.
                • AI takes over repetitive tasks—like checking availability or answering FAQs—so customers get help instantly, even outside business hours.
                • Companies using AI in customer support & service are cutting costs by 20–30%, and those with existing automation can let AI handle up to half of all requests without needing a human.
                • From tech giants like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoom to healthcare providers, governments, and nonprofits, real-world examples show that AI makes service faster for users and more manageable for teams.

                Best Examples of AI Customer Experiences in Action

                AI experiences are not just science fiction predictions anymore—businesses across all sectors are actively using them showing measurable impacts. Companies that use AI for customer service are cutting their support costs by 20–30%. And if they already have some automation in place, AI could handle up to half of all customer requests — meaning even fewer calls or chats need a real person.

                From 24/7 AI chatbots, smart self-service portals, and virtual assistants to predictive analytics, AI-driven customer experiences have penetrated our lives. AI brings better service, streamlined communication, and takes care of the boring stuff — things we couldn’t even imagine automating years ago.

                Here are the most impressive AI customer experience examples implemented by leading companies and organizations across SaaS, retail, healthcare, education, and beyond.

                1. Salesforce Einstein: The AI CRM Sidekick

                Salesforce Einstein: The AI CRM Sidekick
                Source: salesforce.com

                Salesforce has always been a pioneer in technology adoption. In 2016, the platform launched Salesforce Einstein, an integrated suite of tools that enables an AI-driven sales and marketing experience within the Salesforce CRM.

                Under the hood, it uses machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and predictive analytics. Combined, these technologies help sales and marketing teams rank leads, suggest the best times to reach out, and even write emails.

                As an example, the Einstein Lead Scoring tool lets you evaluate your leads based on their behavior, interaction track record, and general customer profile data, so you can focus your efforts on the most promising leads.

                How AI Impacts Sales Team Experience

                Sales teams that have been using it for some time report a 25% boost in sales conversion. AI improves Salesforce teams’ productivity and helps target the right prospects, rather than scattering efforts on someone who’ll never converts.

                Empower Your Salesforce Teams with an AI-Powered Sales Assistant

                2. HubSpot: AI Email Suggestions + Meeting Booking

                HubSpot: AI Email Suggestions + Meeting Booking
                Source: hubspot.com

                If you’re on the HubSpot CRM, you may already be unconsciously using its first AI tools for content writing and CRM reporting tasks which has been around for 2 years. With the help of AI, HubSpot can white your personalized email replies that are content-aware and include smart meeting links if your prospect is close to purchase. You can also share calendar links that are personalized to the recipient’s behavior and lifecycle stage.

                How AI Impacts Marketing Team Experience

                The company has no plans to stop scaling its AI adoption. In April 2025, HubSpot announced its new AI tool suite, Breeze. It automates customer support with 24/7 agents and personalizes marketing outreach with real-time account research, all integrated across their platform.

                3. Zoom: AI For Meeting Summaries & Action Items

                Zoom: AI For Meeting Summaries & Action Items
                Source: zoom.com

                Zoom launched its AI Companion in 2023. Like other AI meeting note-takers, it transcribes your meeting summaries, lists key actions, and highlights major discussion points. Only now, you don’t need any connectors, so there’s less friction and better data management. If you communicate with customers via Zoom or use it internally, you can just follow the meeting without manually taking notes on paper.

                How AI Impacts Meeting Experience

                Zoom reported that 74% of leaders say AI saves them one or more hours a day on meeting tasks like messages, emails, and follow-ups. Now, teams can stay focused on the conversion while AI ensures nothing important is missed.

                Turn Conversations Into Conversions with SUMO’s AI Meeting Assistant

                4. Lightspeed + Intercom’s Fin Agent: AI For Customer Support

                Source: fin.ai

                Lightspeed is a global commerce platform for retailers, restaurants, and hospitality businesses. By partnering with Intercom, they rolled out an AI Fin Agent that browsers their knowledge base and handles customer support by answering simple user questions like “How do I reset my password?”.

                It’s not just a chatbot that pulls links to articles, but conversational AI ,which makes the customer support experience feel human and personalized.

                For complex support cases, Fin passes all the information to a human, so the customer doesn’t need to repeat anything. On the employee side, AI Copilot backs support agents by suggesting helpful replies, pulling in relevant knowledge base content and speeding up onboarding for new team members.

                How AI Impacts Customer Support

                With the help of AI, Lightspeed processes up to 65% of customer conversations automatically. Their agents close 31% more conversations daily with the help of AI.

                5. Allina Health: AI For Patient Engagement

                SoundHound voice AI agent

                Allina Health, a nonprofit healthcare provider, recently launched “Alli,” an AI-powered voice agent that automates call center operations. Alli integrates with Allina’s EMR to instantly identify and authenticate callers.

                Patients can now manage appointments and, in the future, refill prescriptions, locate providers, and get answers to non-clinical questions. All without waiting on hold. The AI voice agent reduces call center workload and gives patients faster, more convenient access to services.

                How AI Impacts Patient and Staff Experience

                Since the launch, Alli has helped Allina Health achieve faster average call times and resolve 80% of incoming calls in under 45 seconds, without adding staff. By handling routine tasks like identity verification and scheduling, the AI agent lets support representatives focus on complex and sensitive patient needs.

                6. CVS Health: AI-Powered Vaccine Scheduling

                Source: cvs.com

                In response to the 2021 COVID-19 vaccine rollout, CVS Health launched an AI-powered vaccine scheduling service. It simplifies and digitizes the check-in process for patients looking for immunization and vaccination. Intelligent vaccine scheduling software automates self-service appointments, routes patients to the nearest location and suggests the optimal time slots based on your capacity.

                How AI Impacts Patient Scheduling 

                AI makes patient scheduling more accessible and convenient by going online and paperless. Nearly 80% of patients adopted this capability and are actively using it according to CVS Health report.

                7. Arizona State University: AI Chatbot for Student Engagement

                Arizona State University’s AI chatbot  Sunny
                Source: heysunny.asu.edu

                Arizona State University’s AI chatbot, Sunny, uses a knowledge base to answer students’ and parents’ questions. Launched in 2019, Sunny handles student questions around admissions, class registration, financial aid, and more. About 5,900 students engaged with Sunny to inquire about their classes and remote alternatives to ASU services in March 2020 during the peak of the pandemic.

                How AI Impacts Student Engagement

                AI not only cuts down the administrative workload for universities but also drives student engagement. Among AI experience examples are smart educational scheduling software, personalized notifications about upcoming deadlines, and campus events. Students enjoy 24/7 informational assistance and a better onboarding experience.

                8. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: AI for Appointment Support

                Source: va.gov

                In the public service sector, AI can automate government appointment scheduling, community engagement and public service delivery.

                An example, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs deployed an AI assistant VA chat. With this, veterans can book appointments, navigate claim statuses, and access benefits via chatbot. The solution uses Dialogflow and NLP to understand context-sensitive inquiries and guide users accurately.

                How AI Impacts Public Service

                AI improves public service experiences by making information more accessible and reducing wait times.

                9. Sephora: AI for Product Choice and Appointment Booking

                Sephora: AI for Product Support and Appointment Booking
                Source: sephora.com

                Sephrora delivers one of the best AI customer experience examples with its Virtual Assistant. It uses AI to recommend best-fit makeup products based on your previous interactions and purchased items. Moreover, you can book beauty appointments in-store via chat or online platform. It’s an excellent example of how a retail brand can blend AI into its omnichannel customer experience.

                Sephora’s Reservation Assistant helps customers find beauty products, book in-store beauty consultations, find available time slots and nearby store locations. No back-and-forth needed. Launched via Facebook Messenger, in under 2 years, it increased booking rates by 11% — leading to happier customers and higher in-store spending. 

                How AI Impacts Customer Experience in Retail

                If your goal is to increase foot traffic and create more meaningful online customer interactions, SUMO’s AI-driven retail scheduling software provides a simple way to scale in-store visits.

                10. Crisis Text Line: AI for Mental Health Support

                Crisis Text Line is one of the world’s most prominent mental health support lines offering free, 24/7 support. Their AI chat scans incoming text messages in real time with NLP and machine learning models. Then, it detect patterns linked to suicide, self-harm, or severe distress.

                AI flags these messages for immediate human intervention and also helps counselors by suggesting potential next responses based on successful outcomes from past chats.

                How AI Impacts Nonprofits

                Thanks to AI, Crisis Text Line reduced their response time for high-risk texters from 2 min to within 39 seconds. The system ensures that limited human resources are focused where they’re needed most.

                Summing Up

                Each of these AI customer experience examples isn’t just about automation—they’re about relevance, personalization, and scale. Whether you’re closing a deal or resolving a support issue, AI streamlines the process. You can automate routine tasks and access the right information at the right time.

                And if you’re looking to bring the same kind of AI-driven efficiency to your own business, SUMO Scheduler is built to help you engage customers faster and smarter.

                Power Your Salesforce with AI Customer Engagement Tools

                5 Best Salesforce Meeting Schedulers & How To Choose The Right One

                Looking to automate meeting scheduling in Salesforce? We’ve shortlisted some of the best Salesforce meeting schedulers, including SUMO Scheduler, Salesforce Scheduler, Calendly, Engageware, and Chili Piper. Learn how they compare by platform capabilities and features to decide on the right tool that fits your needs.

                Key Takeaways:

                • SUMO Scheduler offers the most feature-rich Salesforce Meeting Scheduler combined with powerful platform capabilities. Unlike non-native apps like Calendly or Chili Piper, SUMO is built on Salesforce. For admins and reps, this means even the most complex scheduling workflows run smoothly and securely—with every lead automatically captured, tracked, and followed up inside Salesforce CRM. 
                • Salesforce Scheduler is also native, although it covers only the basics. If you seek to automate internal meeting scheduling, Salesforce Scheduler is fine. Advanced features like flexible assignment logic, room and resource booking, or waitlists are possible with custom coding or configuration.
                • Calendly is user-friendly and great for quick, simple meeting links. It connects to Salesforce via integrated API and provides all basic functionality. Advanced functionality is heavily configured. It’s best for individual users, small businesses, or straightforward meeting scheduling.
                • Engageware and Chili Piper provide core features like lead routing and real-time booking. However, they don’t support recurring or service-based scheduling, so they’re less suited for broader use. While not Salesforce-native, these tools integrate into your Salesforce CRM via API. Configuring your meeting booking flows and syncing data within Salesforce will take time and effort.

                Top 5 Salesforce Meeting & Appointment Scheduling Apps

                SUMO SchedulerSalesforce SchedulerCalendlyEngagewareChili Piper
                Native to Salesforce✅ Yes✅ Yes❌ No❌ No❌ No 
                Online Scheduling✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 
                Real-Time Scheduling✅ Fully✅ Partially❌ Requires Zapier/API config❌ Activity Logging Only
                Appointment Links✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 
                Cancel + Reschedule✅ Email + SMS✅ Email Only
                1-to-1 / 1-to-Many ⚠️(Limited to 5 per appt)
                Recurring Appointments❌ 
                Service-Based Scheduling⚠️ Requires Service Cloud
                Appointment Routing ✅ Round Robin, Priority, Load Balanced, Custom⚠️ Load Balancing Only⚠️ Round Robin Only⚠️ Round Robin Only⚠️ Requires Distro Package
                Room & Resource Booking
                Book from Any Salesforce Object
                Schedule on Behalf of Others
                PricingCustom QuoteIncluded in Salesforce (or paid add-on)Free – $10/user/moCustom QuoteFrom ~$22/user/mo
                Best Fit ForHealthcare, Education, Fin Service, Nonprofit, Retail, Sales & Marketing, EnterpriseInternal Needs, Standard Booking FlowsIndividuals, Small TeamsFin Service, Call CentersSmall Sales & Marketing Teams

                When evaluating a Salesforce meeting scheduler, tech and business decision makers often differ in opinions. 

                Salesforce admins prioritize how well a meeting scheduler fits into your existing Salesforce environment and how it can evolve with your business. Those who are on the business side look for ways to solve their daily tasks, i.e., what the Salesforce meeting scheduler can do out of the box

                That’s why it’s important to differentiate platform capabilities from feature capabilities. While a good meeting scheduler for Salesforce balances both, the platform should always be your first filter, especially if you’re on the admin side.

                What are Platform Capabilities in Salesforce Meeting Schedulers?

                Platform capabilities refer to a scheduler’s integration depth with Salesforce, how it handles data, and how it manages contacts.

                In practice, they determine how much manual work you or your Salesforce admin will need to configure and support meeting scheduling across your organization. When evaluating Salesforce meeting schedulers, consider the following platform capabilities:

                Salesforce Native Scheduling

                SUMO SchedulerSalesforce SchedulerCalendlyEngagewareChili Piper
                Salesforce Native ✅ Native ✅ Built by Salesforce❌ ❌ ❌ 

                Native meeting schedulers run inside Salesforce. It means your meeting data gets right in Salesforce and stored there without being processed by any 3rd party connectors. Enterprises and organizations put Salesforce’s native scheduling as a priority as it reduces integration complexity and guarantees compliance and security.

                Why Matters: 

                • No data syncing issues
                • Utmost security
                • No admin overhead with configuration and support

                Scheduling Journey Builder (Flows) 

                SUMO SchedulerSalesforce SchedulerCalendlyEngagewareChili Piper
                Scheduling Journey (Flows)✅ Flow Builder✅ Flow + OmniStudio⚠️ Requires Integration

                Custom scheduling flows in Salesforce let you automate complex scheduling scenarios (e.g., auto-booking based on lead score or routing to the right rep). You don’t need to write code, so it’s ideal for non techies.

                Why Matters: 

                • Saves admin time & efforts
                • Reduces manual steps

                Automated Salesforce Lead/Contact Creation 

                SUMO SchedulerSalesforce SchedulerCalendlyEngagewareChili Piper
                Automated Lead/Contact Creation✅ Native ✅ Native⚠️ API/Zapier⚠️ API setup✅ Native + API

                It automates your funnel entry point, so reps don’t have to manually enter meeting data.

                Why Matters: 

                • No leads fall through the cracks
                • Faster follow-ups and lead nurturing. 

                Custom Fields for Salesforce Data Capture

                SUMO SchedulerSalesforce SchedulerCalendlyEngagewareChili Piper
                Custom Fields for Data Capture✅ Fully Supports ⚠️Require Dev ⚠️Requires Integration⚠️ Requires Integration⚠️ Requires Connector 

                If your team needs context before meetings (like lead source, product interest, location, etc.) capturing custom data during scheduling, Custom Salesforce fields are invaluable. You can customize your meeting booking form and store data right in Salesforce. On an advanced level, you can Upload/Attach Documents.

                Why Matters: 

                • Everything is centralized
                • Data capture and lead processing without workarounds 
                • Fewer mistakes or missed information

                Single Sign On In Salesforce (SSO)

                SUMO SchedulerSalesforce SchedulerCalendlyEngagewareChili Piper
                Single Sign-On in Salesforce✅ Supports SFDC SSO fully✅ Native

                With SSO, users log in securely without managing separate passwords. If you’re scaling or in a regulated space, this is critical.

                Why Matters:

                • Reduces friction for your users while keeping access secure.

                Salesforce Meeting Schedulers Compared by Platform Capabilities

                SUMO SchedulerSalesforce SchedulerCalendlyEngagewareChili Piper
                Salesforce Native ✅ Native ✅ Built by Salesforce❌ ❌ ❌ 
                Scheduling Journey (Flows)✅ Flow Builder✅ Flow + OmniStudio⚠️ Requires Integration
                Automated Lead/Contact Creation✅ Native ✅ Native⚠️ API/Zapier⚠️ API setup✅ Native + API
                Custom Fields for Data Capture✅ Fully Supports ⚠️Require Dev ⚠️Requires Integration⚠️ Requires Integration⚠️ Requires Connector 
                Upload Documents ✅ Directly to Salesforce❌ ❌ ❌ ⚠️ Not SF-native
                Single Sign-On in Salesforce✅ Supports SFDC SSO fully✅ Native

                What are Feature Capabilities in Meeting Schedulers?

                Features in Salesforce appointment schedulers have the most business impact. They define the daily meeting scheduling and management routine for your team and clients.

                For easy scanning, we break them down into what’s essential for a Salesforce meeting scheduler, what’s nice to have, and what’s only useful in specific cases.

                Tier 1: Essential Features

                If you’re looking to replace manual scheduling in your organization, these features will help you automate your meeting scheduling in Salesforce.

                • Scheduling in Real-Time – Instantly update and adjust schedules based on live changes, e.g. reschedules, late-minute cancellations.
                • Email Appointment Invites From Salesforce – Keeps communication inside Salesforce.
                • Create Appointment Links – For manual sharing or embedding in workflows.
                • Online Scheduling – For self-service booking from public or internal pages.
                • Cancel + Reschedule – For reducing no-shows and admin overhead.
                • Automated Time Zone Support – For scheduling across regions.

                Tier 2: Nice-to-have for Team Collaboration and Automation

                If you have multiple team members, distributed teams, or complex workflows, a simple meeting scheduler won’t do. For support teams, call centers, or sales teams, the following features will help you generate leads through scheduling and improve your customer service.

                • Recurring Appointments – For ongoing meetings or regular check-ins.
                • Schedule On-Behalf of Team Members – Useful for assistants, admins, or call centers.
                • Assignment Rules (Priority, Balanced, Round Robin, Random) – Automates smart routing.
                • Meeting Availability – Let each user tailor their own schedule.
                • Service Based Availability – Book based on the type of service needed.
                • Buffers – Prevent back-to-back meetings or travel issues.
                • Room & Resources Booking – Coordinate physical assets or locations.
                • Schedule From Any SF Object or Case – Flexibility to schedule from wherever the context is.

                Tier 3: Use-Case-Specific Features

                Not required for everyone. Valuable in specific roles or industries like education, support, or partner scheduling.

                • 1 to Many – For webinars, training sessions, or group appointments.
                • User to User – For internal meetings or peer scheduling.
                • Waitlist – Offer earlier slots when cancellations occur.
                • Scheduling in a Salesforce Community – Enables customer or partner self-scheduling.
                • Create, Route + Assign Leads In Salesforce – Ideal for sales and marketing use cases.

                Salesforce Meeting Schedulers Compared by Features

                If you’re choosing a Salesforce meeting scheduler, your feature choice depends on the complexity of your needs.

                FeatureSUMO SchedulerSalesforce SchedulerCalendlyEngagewareChili Piper
                Real-Time Scheduling ✅ Fully✅ Partially❌ Requires config❌ 
                Email Appointment Invites From Salesforce❌ Requires Development⚠️ Requires Config⚠️ Requires Config
                Create Appointment Links
                Online Scheduling
                Scheduling in a Salesforce Community
                Create, Route + Assign Leads In Salesforce⚠️ Requires Config
                Cancel + Reschedule❌ Requires Community License
                Recurring Appointments❌ 
                Schedule On-Behalf
                Room & Resources Booking
                Assignment Rules ✅ Priority, Load-Balanced, Round Robin, Custom⚠️ Load Balance Only⚠️ Round Robin Only⚠️ Round Robin Only ⚠️  Distro Package
                Custom Meeting Availability⚠️ Distro Package
                Service-Based Availability⚠️ Requires Service Cloud
                Buffer Time✅ Custom for all users⚠️ One for all users⚠️ Requires Config
                Schedule From Any SF Object or Case
                1-1 / 1 to Many ⚠️(Limited to 5 per appt)
                Waitlist

                Feature-wise, SUMO’s Salesforce Meeting Scheduler allows for recurring appointments, waitlists, room and resource booking, and service-based availability—all out of the box in Salesforce. Compared to Salesforce Scheduler, SUMO fits more enterprise and large-scale organizations with complex scheduling needs. 

                Calendly, Engageware and Chili Piper close Tire 1 and partially Tire 2 Salesforce meeting scheduling functionality, although not all are out-of-the-box. You may configure some of the advanced Tire 2 & 3 functionality in them, yet the process will take you or your team extra effort and time—or budget.

                Best Salesforce Meeting Schedulers: Overview & Use-Cases

                SUMO Scheduler

                SUMO Scheduler is a Salesforce-native customer engagement platform made for organizations with complex appointment workflows. It provides a powerful meeting scheduler with multi-step logic including service-based availability, location and resource booking, and custom business rules. If your organization needs high configurability and native integration with Salesforce workflows and data models, SUMO’s meeting scheduler is an ideal fit.

                Pros:

                • 100% Salesforce-native: no third-party data storage or external syncs.
                • Supports any complex flows (multi-user scheduling, service/location logic, role-based access).
                • Offers scheduling inside Salesforce Communities and Experience Cloud.
                • Enterprise-grade features and calendar management.

                Use Cases:

                Salesforce Scheduler

                Salesforce Scheduler is a native tool included as a paid add-on in Salesforce clouds (like Financial Services or Health Cloud). With this, you can schedule appointments directly from Salesforce using standard objects such as Leads, Opportunities, or Cases. And it supports automated time zone management, service-based availability, and integration with resource calendars, while staying entirely within the Salesforce ecosystem.

                Pros:

                • Integration with standard Salesforce objects and flows.
                • Managed and supported by Salesforce directly.
                • No need for external apps or data synchronization.
                • Works well for one-on-one scheduling inside customer service workflows.

                Best for:

                • Internal scheduling or basic meeting automation.
                • Simple meeting booking without advanced features needed.

                Calendly

                Source: Calendly.com

                Calendly is a popular standalone scheduling tool known for its simplicity and fast setup. Although not Salesforce-native, it can still be a viable option—especially if your team is already using it or you need to launch basic online booking quickly. With the help of APIs or third-party tools like Zapier, Calendly can push meeting data into Salesforce and support simple scheduling workflows. So, if you don’t need deep platform integration and just want a lightweight solution, Calendly may still fit the bill.

                Pros:

                • Easy to adopt and intuitive.
                • Affordable price tiers.
                • Flexible links for embedding in emails, websites, and outreach tools.
                • Supports basic Salesforce integration for routing bookings to campaigns, leads, or opportunities.

                Best for:

                • Small and mid-size business
                • Orgs that doesn’t require deep Salesforce integration in daily workflows

                Engageware

                Source: Engageware.com

                Engageware offers robust, enterprise-level scheduling capabilities with tight Salesforce integration. It is commonly adopted by large institutions—especially in finance, higher education, and government—who need detailed control over appointment flows, customer segmentation, and reporting. Engageware emphasizes compliance, branding consistency, and customer self-service.

                Pros:

                • Highly configurable scheduling rules and workflows.
                • Strong customer segmentation and routing logic.
                • Handles self-service and agent-assisted scheduling.

                Best for:

                • Orgs focused on fast lead conversion with low complexity scheduling needs.
                • Orgs having internal IT resources to support Salesforce integration options (custom fields, objects, triggers).

                Chili Piper

                Source: Chilipiper.com

                Chili Piper is a scheduling tool built for B2B sales and marketing teams. It focuses on booking meetings—typically right after a form fill or campaign interaction. It routes leads based on ownership, territory, or round-robin rules, and can instantly insert bookings into Salesforce records. Its strength lies in speed, lead qualification, and alignment with revenue operations.

                Pros:

                • Optimized for speed: meetings can be booked immediately after form submission.
                • Strong Salesforce integration with automatic record updates and reporting.
                • Supports team-based scheduling and on-behalf booking.

                Best For:

                • Sales and marketing teams—less suited for customer service or operations.

                How to Choose the Right Salesforce Meeting Scheduler

                Step 1. Define Your Scheduling Needs

                • Who will schedule meetings?
                  (e.g. Sales reps, service agents, medical reps, volunteers, executives)
                • Who are the invitees?
                  (e.g. Customers, partners, patients, internal teams)
                • What is the scheduling format?
                  (e.g. One-on-one, group meetings, round-robin, pooled availability)
                • Do you need to schedule on behalf of others?
                  (e.g. Assistants booking for executives, call center agents scheduling for field staff)
                • Will meetings need to trigger automated actions?
                  (e.g. Lead routing, reminders, follow-ups, record updates in Salesforce)

                Step 2. Assess Platform Fit & Capabilities

                • Native to Salesforce or integrated
                • Key features (e.g. Recurring meetings, real-time scheduling, resource booking, service-based availability)
                • Does it align with your data model and objects in Salesforce?
                • How flexible is it with customization and workflows?

                Step 3. Evaluate Vendor Strength

                • Check user reviews and ratings (AppExchange, G2, etc.)
                • Industry or use case match
                • Support available (chat, email, Salesforce cases)
                • Documentation for users and admins

                Step 4. Try & Test

                • Can you see a live demo or use a free trial?

                Choosing the right Salesforce meeting scheduler isn’t just about booking appointments—it’s about creating a seamless, automated flow between teams and customers. Looking to drive more leads and engage customers through online meetings? Try SUMO Scheduler—built on Salesforce from the ground up.

                Schedule Easily in Salesforce with SUMO

                The Future of Appointment Scheduling: 5 Key Trends to Watch in 2025

                At SUMO Scheduler, we talk to organizations and businesses every day — and we shape our platform around their actual needs. In this post, we share our insights on key appointment scheduling trends to watch this year — and how they’re already reshaping sales, healthcare, education, retail, and beyond.

                Whether you’re a hospital managing patient flow, a university coordinating academic advising, or a sales team pursuing client calls, the way we schedule appointments is changing fast and for the better.

                1. AI Scheduling Assistants Are Becoming the Norm

                Smart scheduling assistants have been a hot topic for some time. AI scheduling assistants can book appointments based on your availability, time zone, and even user preferences — all within seconds and in a single system. With AI outreach agents, you can now suggest meetings automatically through website chat or email—making it easier to capture high-intent leads.

                In healthcare, AI-driven scheduling reduces no-shows and eases the administrative burden. Studies show that 67% of patients prefer self-scheduling via patient portals or apps, which are both fast and easy to use.

                With automated reminders and simple rescheduling through email or SMS, your healthcare organization can significantly reduce patient no-shows.

                For example, our customer Medtronic decreased appointment wait times while ensuring that clinicians had time for training and development. Cleveland Clinic also allows patients to book appointments directly through its MyChart app, streamlining the scheduling process and improving access to care.

                Cleveland Clinic online patients booking MyChart app
                Source: clevelandclinic.org

                AI chatbots can handle scheduling and answering questions 24/7, providing immediate help to those who are in need. 

                Universities are also seeing benefits. Case in point. Using SUMO Scheduler’s AI features, the University of Kentucky now automatically matches students to available tutors based on class subject, availability, and student profile — saving countless hours previously spent on manual coordination.

                2. Omni-Channel Scheduling Is Now an Expectation

                For customer-facing businesses, easy appointment scheduling is vital for success. Consumers expect to schedule appointments how and when they want — whether it’s online, via SMS, over the phone, or in-app. That’s where omni-channel scheduling comes in.

                Retailers, for instance, are offering in-store appointments via website, social media or email campaigns, then confirming them through automated reminders.

                Sephora’s in-store makeup appointment booking system
                Source: sephora.com

                Sephora’s makeup appointment booking system lets customers easily schedule in-store beauty sessions with a consultant, automatically matching them with available times and nearby locations.

                If you’re looking to encourage foot traffic and boost client’s engagement, retail scheduling software is a perfect way to personalize custom service.

                Sephora’s in-store makeup appointment booking system
                Source: sephora.com

                Online appointment scheduling has become a standard in many industries. For instance, 54% of appointment bookings occur during working hours, and 34% of appointments are scheduled online after working hours.

                For sales and marketing teams, omni-channel scheduling tools integrated with CRMs (like Salesforce) ensure that no lead is left behind — prospects can book calls instantly from an email or chatbot.

                More and more people are booking appointments directly through social media. In fact, over 41% of bookings now come from platforms like Instagram and Facebook. That’s a clear sign: if you’re not offering online booking through your social channels, you’re missing out.

                With this in mind, appointment scheduling trends reflect how businesses and customers prefer to communicate today.

                3. Cloud-Based Scheduling Is Now Standard

                According to the report, Healthcare, Hospitality, and Education are among the leading industries driving adoption of appointment scheduling software — with cloud-based solutions quickly becoming the standard across these sectors. 

                Source: Fortunebusinessinsights.com

                Cloud-based software minimizes the initial investment required for implementation. Appointment booking software is not an exception. You can select the feasible solution depending on the nature of your service and budget.

                In education, cloud-based systems are enabling advisors and students to connect from anywhere. 

                In healthcare, cloud-based scheduling platforms are making it easier for multi-location clinics to share resources and standardize operations. The HIMSS survey revealed that 70% of providers plan to move scheduling fully to the cloud by 2026, citing cost savings and scalability.

                4. Capacity-Based Scheduling Helps Balance Demand

                Rather than offering unlimited bookings, modern systems are using capacity-based scheduling to avoid staff overloads and optimize service delivery. This means, you can route appointments based on available personnel, location constraints, or equipment. In field sales or field service, you can minimize travel time by assigning appointments to the nearest representative or specialist.

                For example, COVID-19 vaccination clinics used capacity-based scheduling to balance demand while adhering to public health guidelines. Now, the same logic is helping healthcare organizations manage flu shot clinics, mental health visits, and recurring check-ins.

                In higher education, capacity rules can ensure that popular advising sessions or orientations don’t get overbooked, reducing student wait times and staff frustration.

                5. Actionable Scheduling Data Drives Smarter Decisions

                Appointment scheduling is no longer just about “Let me know if we can meet.” It’s about getting booked for the right meeting by creating a chain of meaningful interactions between your business and customers. The key to making that happen is data. 

                Organizations are now using meeting analytics reports to understand appointment trends, peak times, service gaps, and customer behaviors.

                Sales teams, for example, can track no-show rates by rep or region and adjust outreach strategies accordingly. Retail teams can measure in-store consultation success by product category and optimize staffing.

                Businesses and organizations using SUMO’s Salesforce-native Scheduler can build dashboards to monitor appointment volume by location or service type, helping forecast demand and staff accordingly — and catching inefficiencies early.

                Final Thoughts

                Appointment scheduling trends are heading towards intelligent, connected, and flexible tools. Whether it’s AI doing the heavy lifting, cloud infrastructure making everything accessible, or smarter data guiding decisions — scheduling is becoming a strategic advantage across sectors.

                If your scheduling process still feels like a patchwork of spreadsheets and emails, 2025 might be the year to rethink it.

                SUMO Scheduler supports these workflows natively in Salesforce, giving full visibility into appointment activity across channels.

                Schedule Easily in Salesforce with SUMO

                SUMO Scheduler Is Sponsoring 3 Major Salesforce Events This June

                June is for Trailblazers — and SUMO Will Be There

                This June, SUMO Scheduler is proud to sponsor three major Salesforce events across the UK and US. From community-led innovation to global enterprise showcases, we’re joining the people who are shaping the future of Salesforce — and we’re bringing scheduling intelligence with us.

                Whether you’re attending in person or following online, here’s where you’ll find us and what we’re bringing to the table.


                🎤 London’s Calling | June 6, 2025 | London, UK

                The UK’s biggest community-led Salesforce event, London’s Calling, is celebrating its 10th anniversary — and we’re excited to be part of it. Held at The Brewery in London, this event brings together over 600 Salesforce professionals, developers, architects, and admins for a full day of knowledge-sharing and connection.

                What we’re bringing:
                SUMO will be on site showing how our Salesforce-native scheduling software helps organizations automate bookings, coordinate across teams, and improve service delivery — all with no custom code. Whether you’re managing interviews, campus tours, client meetings, or service appointments, SUMO simplifies it.

                🧠 Expect inspiring sessions, community energy, and a hands-on look at smarter scheduling.


                🇬🇧 Agentforce World Tour London | June 11, 2025 | London, UK

                Hosted by Salesforce, Agentforce World Tour London brings the best of the ecosystem together to explore the next generation of AI-powered engagement. SUMO is proud to be an official sponsor of this event, which focuses on how intelligent tools are transforming customer-facing teams.

                What we’re bringing:
                We’ll be demoing our AI scheduling assistant for Salesforce — from self-booking links to advanced time zone logic, calendar automation, and smart reminders that reduce no-shows.

                📍 Come see how SUMO helps Sales, Service, Education, and Government teams manage complex scheduling — at scale.


                🏙 Agentforce World Tour Boston | June 26, 2025 | Boston, USA

                To round out the month, we’ll be at Agentforce World Tour Boston, joining the East Coast Salesforce community to showcase tools that help businesses do more with less.

                What we’re bringing:
                SUMO Scheduler helps Salesforce organizations reduce scheduling complexity, free up staff time, and increase productivity across distributed teams. Our platform connects calendars, CRMs, and people — without custom development.

                Let’s meet in Boston to talk about how scheduling can power real outcomes.


                ✨ Can’t Make It in Person?

                We’ll be sharing photos, behind-the-scenes stories, and product highlights from all three events on our channels.

                📲 Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and our Blog for live updates.


                We’re excited to connect, share, and show what’s possible with smart scheduling — see you this June!

                Top 7 Salesforce Event Management Apps Compared [2025]

                Managers in event agencies have to deal with a ton of information every day: responding to dozens of clients, preparing commercial proposals, discussing programs with hosts, and drawing up contracts. Keeping everything in Excel turns into a mess—information gets forgotten or lost. That’s where event management apps come in handy. 

                Are you looking to manage events in Salesforce? We’ve created a roundup of the best Salesforce event management software to help you organize and keep track of all your essential event data right in your CRM.

                Key Takeaways

                • Event management apps help remove the stress of event preparation and execution by automating registrations, booking, contact outreach, venue management, and ticketing tasks while syncing all data within Salesforce.
                • SUMO Scheduler stands out as the best Salesforce native event scheduling app, providing a good value for the money. Its Customer Engagement Platform bundles robust event, course and appointment scheduling capabilities for healthcare, higher education, financial services, retailers, and nonprofits. Sales and marketing teams can easily launch branded event registration pages in no time thanks to its no-code, self-explanatory interface. Its seamless Salesforce sync and detailed analytics automate lead procession and ROI insights.
                • For event-heavy companies running multiple and frequent events, Blackthorn and Fonteva are two powerful native event management solutions packed with features.
                • For smaller teams and occasional events, Eventribe, RegFox, and Events by Salesforce are budget-friendly alternatives—each with certain limitations.

                What are Event Management Apps in Salesforce?

                Event management apps in Salesforce are software programs that help you handle the challenges of planning, executing, and evaluating the impact of your events. You can manage registrations, connect with attendees and view 360-degree analytics, all within the Salesforce platform. 

                As more businesses turn to events as a key growth strategy, the need for robust, integrated event management solutions like these has never been greater. After experiencing a second after-pandemic breath, the global event marketing industry is projected to have a market size of $722.67 billion by 2028. Companies are seeking to scale efficiently by adopting event management software—particularly for recurring or large-scale events.

                7 Best Salesforce Event Management Apps: Overview

                NOTE: Our research is based on data available openly on the Internet, including providers’ websites, knowledge bases, AppExchange, Capterra, and G2 reviews. We aim to stay unbiased, helping you save time on research and not aiming to say one solution is better or worse than another. Rather, one solution may fit a particular business use case better than another.

                SUMO Scheduler Events (SF Labs) Eventbrite Cvent Blackthorn Fonteva RegFox
                Native Salesforce
                In-person / Virtual
                Hybrid Events
                Recurring Events
                Branded Event Pages
                Custom Forms
                Self-registration
                Group Registration
                Reminders & Follow-ups
                QR / Mobile Check-in
                Video Integration
                Lead Attribution
                Attendance Analytics
                Flow Support
                Payments
                Refunds

                Ratings and Pricing Comparison

                Feature SUMO Scheduler Events by Salesforce Labs Eventbrite for SF Cvent Blackthorn Fonteva RegFox + Zapier
                Rating (AppExchange)4.92 3.27 4.92 4.25 4.97 4.79 n/a
                Subscription PlansMonthlyFreeMonthlyYearlyYearlyMonthlyFlat + % per attendee
                PricingStarting at $10 user/moFreeStarting at $25 company/moStarting at $2,450 company/yearStarting at $4,800 Starting at $145 user/mo99¢ + 1% per paid attendee

                Pricing tiers depend on the solution’s use cases and feature set.

                SUMO Scheduler, Eventbrite for Salesforce, and Fonteva offer monthly subscription plans, providing more flexibility for organizations with changing needs.

                Cvent and Blackthorn bill on a yearly basis, which can be more rigid but suits companies with long-term event strategies.

                Events by Salesforce Labs is free to use, while RegFox (with Zapier integration) offers a flat fee plus per-attendee pricing model.

                Salesforce Event Management Apps by Type

                There are many tools and software available to event planners such as event schedulers, planners, registration and ticketing apps, venue management, budgeting and communication tools. While they all vary in features and functionality, in Salesforce the core difference between them that most event managers pay attention to is the type of the integration – native and API.

                Native

                Salesforce native event scheduling software like SUMO Scheduler is fully built on Salesforce CRM providing a smooth connection with all its objects (Contacts, Leads, Campaigns, Opportunities). This native architecture eliminates the need for third-party connectors or sync tools, reducing data silos and the risk of integration errors. You can manage events directly inside Salesforce without external tools.

                • Runs entirely on the Salesforce platform
                • Easily works with Flows, Process Builder, and other native tools
                • Faster setup and easier configuration for non techies
                • Security and data protection backed by Salesforce
                • Installable and customizable in minutes

                API-integrated

                API-integrated event management apps like Eventbrite or Cvent lets you connect specialized external platforms with Salesforce.

                • Requires more time on setup and customization
                • Less reliable, more failures in the external system
                • Data can get out of sync between the system and Salesforce
                • External APIs don’t plug as easily into Flows, Process Builder, or Apex triggers as native solutions do.

                Core Features of a Salesforce Event Management App

                Let’s take a look at the most common features that event managers are looking to integrate with Salesforce.

                • In-person / Virtual / Hybrid – Host different types of event formats.
                • Recurring Events – Set up events that repeat on a regular basis.
                • Branded event pages – Create event pages with your company’s look and feel.
                • Custom forms – Collect the exact info you need from attendees.
                • Registration tracking – See who’s registered for your events
                • Self-registration – Let attendees sign up online.
                • Group registration – Register multiple people at once.
                • Reminders / Follow-ups – Send event reminders and follow-up emails.
                • Personalized flows (MC/Pardot) – Create automated, tailored communication with Marketing Cloud or Pardot.
                • QR/mobile check-in – Use QR codes to check in attendees at the door.
                • Video Conferencing Integration– Host virtual events with Zoom or other tools.
                • Flows / Process Builder support – Automate tasks like follow-ups or lead creation using Salesforce tools.
                • Attendance Dashboards – See how many came and what the event delivered in value.
                • Lead Attribution – Track leads and link them to specific events or campaigns.
                • Payment Processing – Collect payments from attendees during online registration or at the door.
                • Refunds / cancellations – Manage cancellations and return payments if needed.

                Advanced features of Salesforce event management apps include waitlists to auto-add attendees when slots open up, RSVP tracking to monitor who has accepted or declined an invite, badge printing and others.

                You can not only automate scheduling, registration, and communication, saving yourself or your team hours of work and billions of neurons—you can also integrate with Salesforce CRM to track ROI and turn your events from hit-or-miss into a measurable marketing channel. 

                7 Best Salesforce Apps For Event Booking & Management

                #1. SUMO Scheduler – Best Event Scheduling Software for Salesforce

                Best Fit For

                • Experiential events, event-driven revenue teams
                • Sales and marketing events, e.g. courses, webinars, product demos
                • Advanced native event scheduling automation within Salesforce 
                • Government, education, healthcare, nonprofits, and revenue teams

                SUMO Scheduler is a Salesforce-native event scheduling app designed for appointment bookings, courses, conferences, and customer meetings. It’s a mature, module-based software kit that combines essential features for both experiential event marketing and appointment scheduling, making it more of a customer engagement platform rather than just a scheduling tool—a perfect fit for sales, service teams, and field sales.

                Because SUMO is built natively on Salesforce, it allows users to automate scheduling workflows and sync all data directly in the CRM without external connectors. All scheduling logic, configurations, and user data remain within Salesforce, enabling event managers and organizations to track attendee engagement and manage follow-ups natively within Salesforce. It is commonly used by higher education institutions, healthcare, government, non-profits, and B2B companies.

                Pros:

                • High AppExchange rating (4.92) with native Salesforce event scheduling 
                • Strong support for recurring group, in-person, and online events + appointment setting with a focus on customer engagement
                • User friendly interface and easy scheduling flows for those unfamiliar with Salesforce.
                • Supports complex event scheduling scenarios for any type – courses, webinars, sales demos, in-person/virtual 
                • Intuitive multi-calendar helps event managers to build, launch, view and filter events in one convenient interface.
                • Best value for money 

                Try SUMO Scheduler today and see how easy event booking can be!

                #2. Events – Free Basic Event Scheduler by Salesforce

                Best for

                • Already having Professional, Enterprise, or Unlimited editions
                • Experienced Salesforce admins
                • Basic or internal event management needs
                Source: AppExchange, Events By Salesforce Labs

                Events by Salesforce Labs is a free, open-source app developed by Salesforce Labs and  available freely on AppExchange. To use this app, you need a Salesforce edition that supports custom apps and components, such as Professional, Enterprise, or Unlimited editions. 

                If you do and look for basic event management capabilities Events can be a good add-on to help your team optimize event planning and tracking. While the app itself is free, keep in mind its tech and biz limitations: 

                • Salesforce doesn’t officially support Labs apps. 
                • In case of any issues you’re on your own, so it’s vital that you know Salesforce infrastructure in and out.  
                • Branding, customization, payments and integrations are either limited or require third-party tools. 
                • If you run internal or basic free events, Events can be your way-to-go. For commercial or large-scale events, consider more complete event management app alternatives.

                Also Read: Choosing Best Native CRM Scheduling App—SUMO Scheduler vs Salesforce Scheduler

                #3. Blackthorn – Best For Event-Heavy Organizations

                Best Fit For: enterprise teams with complex event marketing needs and active calendars.​

                Source: blackthorn.io

                With an average 4.9 rating on AppExchange based on 255 reviews (the largest number of all), Blackthorn has rightfully earned its name as a leading event management platform with all the features you can think of. Event creation, registration management, payment processing, check-ins, and post-event analytics—you name it.

                What users love most about Blackthorn is its ease of use, with an intuitive Event Wizard and prompt support ready to assist with any issue you may have when setting up your events. The only fly in the ointment is its cost and yearly subscription plan, which may be a consideration for smaller teams or organizations that are not heavy on events. It is commonly used by enterprise-grade companies that require detailed CRM reporting and event automation.

                Pros:

                • Fully native Salesforce application.
                • User-friendly Event setup wizard
                • Offers features like event creation, registration management, payment processing, and mobile check-ins.
                • Regular updates and enhancements to the platform.​

                Cons:

                • Some users complain about complex customization requiring technical expertise and lack of support.
                • Highest price with rigid early subscription

                #4. Fonteva Events Salesforce App

                Best Fit For: associations, nonprofits, and enterprises 

                Source: AppExchange, Fonteva Membership

                Fonteva Events is a native Salesforce event management app designed for associations, nonprofits, and enterprise customers. It allows users to manage all aspects of event planning from within Salesforce, including sessions, speakers, sponsors, registrations, payments, and venue logistics. Fonteva’s functionality supports both in-person and virtual events.

                It is built on the Salesforce Lightning Platform, which allows users to customize their events experience with declarative tools. Fonteva is often part of a broader association management suite and includes features like member pricing tiers, engagement tracking, and real-time dashboards. It’s particularly suited for organizations running large-scale conferences and annual meetings.

                Pros:

                • Fully native to Salesforce.
                • Supports in-person, virtual, and hybrid events with features like agenda builders and attendee management.
                • Solid features: hybrid events, automation, analytics, and branded pages
                • Great for multi-track events, registrations, and payments

                Cons:

                • Annual license fee, which may be a consideration for smaller organizations.
                • Some users complain that features are incompatible together and customization may cause things to break.

                #5. Cvent Salesforce App

                Best Fit For: Enterprise-level organizations using Cvent for event management and seeking to integrate attendee data with Salesforce.​

                Source: AppExchange, Cvent Salesforce App

                Cvent is a standalone event management platform with a connector to Salesforce CRM. It allows users to push data such as registrations, attendance status, and session participation from Cvent into Salesforce contacts, leads, and campaigns. The app is not fully native to Salesforce but provides a two-way data exchange between platforms.

                Cvent is often used for enterprise-level event planning including conferences, webinars, and trade shows. The Salesforce integration helps with aligning marketing and sales follow-ups post-event but does not offer deep customization within Salesforce itself. It is suited for organizations that already use Cvent and want to centralize attendee insights within their CRM.

                Pros:

                • Allows syncing of attendee data and activities between Cvent and Salesforce.
                • Supports new attendee activities like ad views and clicks for enhanced engagement tracking.

                Cons:

                • Not a fully native Salesforce application; functions as a connector.
                • Customization within Salesforce is limited compared to native solutions.
                • Some users complain about service quality, misleading and misinformed sales teams.
                • not fit for nonprofits

                #6. Eventbrite – Best For Small Teams & Quick Launch

                Best Fit For: Organizations already using Eventbrite for event management and seeking to sync data with Salesforce.​

                Source: AppExchange, Eventbrite app

                Eventbrite for Salesforce is an integration connector that allows users to sync attendee and event data from Eventbrite into Salesforce. It is not a native app but rather a middleware solution typically offered through third-party platforms like Zapier or integration services. This integration supports the transfer of registration information, contact updates, and ticketing history into Salesforce for further segmentation and engagement.

                Since Eventbrite itself handles public-facing event promotion and ticket sales, it is often used for community events, webinars, and conferences. However, its Salesforce integration is typically limited in terms of automation or CRM-native capabilities compared to fully integrated Salesforce apps. Users commonly rely on additional customization or third-party tools for syncing and reporting.

                Pros:

                • Facilitates the transfer of registration and attendee data from Eventbrite to Salesforce.

                Cons:

                • Not a native Salesforce application; relies on integration.
                • Limited in terms of automation and customization within Salesforce compared to native apps.

                #7. RegFox + Salesforce Integration

                Best for: Budget-conscious teams

                Source: regfox.com

                RegFox is not a native Salesforce app but can be integrated with Salesforce using third-party middleware tools like Zapier or custom API setups. It is known for its flexible registration form builder, conditional logic, and payment features. The integration enables data such as attendee details and ticket purchases to be passed into Salesforce for CRM and marketing purposes.

                RegFox is popular among event organizers looking for a highly customizable frontend for event registration, but the Salesforce integration typically requires technical setup. It is often used by independent event organizers with specific branding and checkout needs.

                Pros:

                • Flexible registration form builder with conditional logic.
                • Supports self-registration, payments, and forms, but limited automation

                Cons:

                • Not a native Salesforce application.
                • Integration requires third-party tools or custom API setups.

                Event Management Apps Use Cases

                Here are the most common use cases for event management software paired with Salesforce.

                Healthcare: Patient appointment scheduling and follow-ups, Wellness webinars and workshops (e.g., diabetes management, mental health awareness), Continuing medical education (CME) events for practitioners, Community outreach programs, Vaccination drives.

                Education: Student event scheduling, enrollment and admissions info sessions, open days, student orientation, alumni events, Online courses and webinar series, Parent-teacher meetings and faculty workshops.

                Nonprofits: Nonprofit event scheduling, charity, fundraising, volunteer sign-ups, church events.

                Retail: Retail appointment scheduling for exclusive in-store events and product launches.

                Sales and Marketing: Product demos, webinars, event-based outreach, thought leadership panels, roadshows, partner events, customer success workshops.

                Technology / SaaS: Developer conferences, meetups, product roadmap webinars, hackathons, investor pitching & networking events.

                Why to Integrate Event Management Apps in Salesforce

                While the majority (60%) of executives bet on events as the #1 marketing channel, 19% of event marketers do not have the right data or 18% do not have the right tools to measure the success of their events. Event management software solves the puzzle equipping you with tools to craft more impactful, engaging, and profitable events. Here are the advantages of using them:

                • Centralized data: Event management apps, especially those native to Salesforce, allow you to store all event-related information within your Salesforce database. 
                • Streamlined workflows: These apps automate various event management tasks, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency. 
                • Less stress, more focus. Event managers spend a great deal of time planning event campaigns. The stress doubles if you’re working on multiple events at the same time. Event management apps save time reducing manual tasks and help you focus on the human aspect of the event rather than operational one.
                • Lower risk of errors, better collaboration. Organizing events requires attention to detail and often team work. A proper software ensures all the different tasks and information associated with planning an event is stored in Salesforce CRM and synced between the responsible members. 
                • Data-backed decisions, more efficient events. Event management apps often include detailed analytics, allowing you to track key metrics and measure the success of your events.

                Summing up

                When choosing an event booking app for Salesforce, it’s essential to weigh the trade-offs between native and third-party solutions by focusing on your specific pain points, desired simplicity, customization needs, and long-term value. 

                Non-technical event planners often struggle with fragmented tools and tech-related issues, making intuitive, scalable solutions especially valuable. Look for apps that support custom objects, offer role-based access, and can flexibly handle everything from small webinars to large conferences. 

                To boost engagement, features like automated reminders are key to reducing no-shows and managing last-minute attendance. 

                Explore how SUMO Scheduler can streamline your event planning process right inside Salesforce—designed for busy teams who need powerful scheduling without the hassle.

                Manage Events in Salesforce with SUMO

                How To Improve Time Management With Business Scheduling Software

                “Batman needs a butler to keep track of his tasks, but you won’t. Find out how Time Management can be the game-changer for your business. ”

                A new pressing issue to be resolved every day? Check.
                Some incredibly effective and trustworthy teammates? Check.
                An incredible arsenal of tools, gadgets and technology? Check.

                There isn’t much that separates a business owner from a superhero, with both regularly facing a constant stream of issues to solve, targets to reach, and problems to eliminate.

                But not every brand owner or entrepreneur can afford a snarky British butler, or buy an entire tech company to fund the daily activities. That is why Time Management plays a crucial role in a business’ day-to-day efforts.

                After all, Steve Jobs once said that “time is the most valuable resource”, and Time Management is a skill that can take your business (and you) to the next level…
                without leaving a comically large hole in your budget.

                But first, let’s start with the basics. 

                What is Time Management?

                Time management is the ability to plan, organize, and effectively deploy an allocated amount of time you have during a timeframe. Successful Time Management involves setting priorities, managing pressing tasks, and making conscious decisions to maximize the productivity of your own job, your team and your overall business.

                Your timeframe could be anything between an 8-hour workday, to a corporate meeting,
                to a university lecture
                , and your ability to prioritize the main talking points, key events and actions discussed during the timeframe define how you’re successful with time management.

                Time is a priceless resource

                Imagine that you are the manager of a creative marketing team in your organization.

                Even for a modest agency, your daily responsibilities could include tasks such as:

                – Developing new marketing materials for clients
                – Setting up meetings with new potential partners
                – Negotiating new/improved contracts with key stakeholders
                – Brainstorming ideas and solutions for a new client
                – Miscellaneous meetings with managers and employees

                Add to that the constant travel and random last-minute meetings, it is safe to assume that time is a resource that plays a huge role in your daily activities.

                But that’s just one example!
                Here are some more Time Management statistics that tell the deeper story.

                Time Management Statistics of 2025

                Time Management Facts and Figures

                According to Business Insider, Smaller companies (around 100 workers) could save nearly $2.5 million, while enterprises (more than 5,000 employees) would save more than $100 million annually, if more of their meetings could be turned into an email.

                Based on a survey from NetQuote, around 45 minutes of an employee or manager’s time is wasted per day because of unorganized workspaces or communication breakdowns.
                This amounts to more than 4 hours a week.

                According to elearningindustry.com, more than 90% of workers admit to wasting time while in the office or working from home. This can range from 30 minutes to 3 hours in procrastination, water-cooler conversations or frequent breaks.

                Interestingly, large-scale businesses are just as affected by time mismanagement,
                as company resources and priority of tasks can get lost behind internal silos, communication breakdowns and a tower of email backlogs.

                Employees can struggle… in time-sensitive industries

                In fact, even time-sensitive, large sectors such as education, IT, retail, banking and government bodies struggle to find ways that can reduce the time spent on monotonous tasks. 

                Case in point, A comprehensive study clearly indicated that time management has  a  positive impact on productivity in the Ghanaian Central Bank. However, it was found that  staff of the bank mismanaged transaction time and delayed task completion due to faulty time allocation.  

                Furthermore, the American Psychological Association found that approximately 46% of stress among frontline workers and psychologists is due to an excessive workload, which is either caused by time mismanagement, or lack of support from the business owners.

                This is exacerbated by the fact that, according to research by Development Academy,
                a staggering 82% of people don’t use any time management system within small or large scale business operations.

                Therefore, acknowledgement and support of the workforce, regardless of industry, 
                is absolutely vital when attempting to improve the output and efficiency of a business. 

                How can Scheduling Software help?

                Scheduling Software allows businesses (or business owners) to organize schedules, appointments, tasks, and resources without losing time on manual, monotonous labor.

                SUMO scheduling software benefits for business

                A scheduling software is designed to automate the process of management, organization and task prioritization among a business, which makes it easier for the employees and managers to coordinate tasks, events, meetings, and allocate resources effectively.

                Let’s go back to your creative marketing team.
                By using a Scheduling Software to better manage your time efforts, you will be able to:

                Insert more hours into creating marketing materials for clients

                Automatically set-up meetings with potential partners

                Self-schedule negotiations with key stakeholders at your desired time

                Gain complete visibility over your team’s solutions for a new client

                Maximize attendance during meetings with your workforce

                How is SUMO Scheduler unique? 

                SUMO Scheduler is a powerful online scheduling software that automates record creation and maximizes your business’ performance.

                With a state-of-the-art interface, SUMO provides a 360-degree view of every time-sensitive event, which offers visibility into the entire time management process of a business.

                With Appointment Scheduling, managers (and employees) can automate tasks such as phone call reminders, email confirmations, SMS notifications, and automate follow-ups for unconfirmed appointments, helping manage every stakeholder meeting meticulously.


                For instance, if your customer service department is divided among customer retention and customer support teams, another asset such as SUMO’s Assignment Engine can help match the specialists and the clients together based on the business’ pre-assigned metrics, thus automatically assigning the right team for the right client instantly.


                This, along with the plethora of personalization options, has allowed companies switching to SUMO Scheduler to save time and money, while also improving customer satisfaction.

                This is how a Scheduling Software allows your business to focus on time management without having to worry about a loss of productivity or revenue. 

                Start your free trial today and experience how SUMO Scheduler can simplify your time management. No credit card required.

                SUMO vs Salesforce Scheduler: A Deep Dive Comparison

                If you’re exploring Salesforce scheduling options, the first ones that come to mind are Salesforce Scheduler and SUMO for Salesforce. Both allow you to automate repetitive tasks, streamline customer service, increase lead conversion, and ultimately help your company achieve its goals. So, which one to choose?


                In this post, we’ll provide an in-depth comparison of Salesforce Scheduler and SUMO for Salesforce highlighting their key features and capabilities to help you decide on the right CRM scheduling software.

                Key Takeaways

                • Salesforce Scheduler and SUMO Scheduler are two scheduling solutions 100% native to Salesforce meaning you don’t need external API integrations to manage appointments in your CRM. The first one is built by Salesforce and comes as an add-on in its editions. The second one, SUMO, is built with Salesforce Lighting and deployed via the AppExchange managed package.
                • Salesforce Scheduler caters to users’ basic appointment booking needs. SUMO Scheduler enables advanced scheduling scenarios for mid-to-large enterprises across industries like healthcare, education, financial services, government, banking and service companies. 
                • Among SUMO’s advantages over Salesforce Scheduler are ease of use, powerful built-in features, extensive customization capabilities, in-depth meeting analytics, seamless integrations with most popular tools and dedicated team support. 
                • For all things customization, Salesforce Scheduler needs an experienced Salesforce admin. For organizations with complex availability rules, it requires extensive customization and doesn’t scale efficiently. In contrast, SUMO Scheduler is intuitive, easily adopted, and maintained no matter your tech level, providing a lower life cycle cost. Its module-based tools are easy to install, configure, and use out of the box without requiring customization.
                • Being a Customer Engagement Platform, rather than just a scheduling tool, SUMO provides event scheduling and field sales capabilities, which are lacking in Salesforce Scheduler and other solutions like Calendly.  

                The Story Behind SUMO for Salesforce

                On my first interview with Todd Adams, CRO at SUMO Scheduler, I had 5 minutes left to ask questions. I managed just one: How are you better than your competitors? With 16 years in sales, Todd knows his 3-minute elevator pitch. He said.

                SUMO is the first Salesforce native scheduling solution on the AppExchange.  When compared to competitors, our advantage is that we are a fully native solution that is extremely powerful, easy to implement, simple to use and highly customizable. It’s extremely mature — we’ve been working on it for 12 years. Salesforce often recommends SUMO for complex scheduling needs — and we’re still ahead of the competition when it comes to native features and overall value.”

                Working on a product with a real competitive edge is a marketer’s dream coming true. But for Salesforce consultants and organizations searching for a powerful native CRM scheduling tool, choosing the right solution means considering many factors. So, let’s see what SUMO and Salesforce Scheduler have to offer in terms of features, integrations, and customization capabilities.

                Salesforce Scheduler vs SUMO: Side-by-Side Comparison

                Salesforce Scheduler and SUMO Scheduler for Salesforce are two native appointment scheduling platforms designed to efficiently collect, manage and moderate incoming booking requests in Salesforce. Here, we state the key feature differences between the two. 

                ✅ – fully available and ready-to-use without coding or external software needed.
                ❌ – limited or not supported out-of-the-box and requires either manual setup thought coding or external software add-on.

                SUMO SchedulerSalesforce Scheduler
                Salesforce Native✅ Built on Salesforce✅  Built by Salesforce
                Appointment Types
                ✅ (1-1, 1-many, many-many, recurring, on-demand)✅ (1-1, 1-many, many-many, recurring)
                Event Types✅ (1-1, 1-many, many-many, recurring, on-demand)✅ Requires config & capacity logic for group appointments, no recurring
                Assignment Logic✅ Round robin, priority based, load balancing & custom❌ Round robin only 
                Multi-Resource Scheduling
                Meeting Temples ✅ 1h, 30-min & custom ✅ less granular
                Smart Reminders✅ Automated, SMS+Email, with custom reminder logic❌ Email only, manual setup
                Self-Scheduling Portal✅ Via website, email, text, social media. Works with any Enterprise license❌ Requires customization & an Experience Cloud licenses
                Self Service Scheduling with Travel Time✅ Built-in❌ Not available
                Appointment Flow Customization✅ Custom booking flows, branding❌ Requires coding
                Reporting & Analytics✅ Advanced Dashboards & Meetings Stats❌ Limited to Salesforce reporting analytics guardrails 
                External Calendar Sync✅ Google, Outlook, Exchange, Salesforce Calendar❌ Salesforce Calendar only
                Video Conferencing✅ Zoom, MS Teams, multi platform integration❌ Amazon Chime only
                Mobile Friendly✅ fully responsive✅ fully responsive 
                Best For Advanced appointment, event and field sales scheduling

                Healthcare, EdTech, Retail, Service Companies, Filed Sales, Government, Nonprofits, Legals, Banks, Sales teams.
                Basic appointment scheduling
                 
                Finance, Sales and Marketing teams, companies already using Salesforce with dedicated tech resources.
                Free Trial ✅ 14-day sandbox trial, expertly led & guided ✅ Self-paced trailhead

                Try SUMO Scheduler today and see how easy scheduling can be!

                Both Schedulers come packed with features and most likely you don’t need them all at once. So, which one fits your business best? Let’s break them down by core features and state the key differences between the two solutions.

                Appointment Booking: SUMO vs Salesforce Scheduler

                Appointment booking is the cornerstone of any scheduling software. Even small features can make a big difference—so let’s break them down one by one, checking off how SUMO and Salesforce Scheduler help you automate appointments and meetings inside your CRM.

                FeatureSUMO for SalesforceSalesforce Scheduler
                Direct Calendar Integration ✅ Google, O365, Exchange & Salesforce Calendar❌ Requires 3rd party connector
                1 to 1 Appointments
                1 to Many Appointments
                Concurrent Scheduling (Many to Many)
                Recurring Appointments
                Round Robin
                First available, Priority based & Load balanced Appointments
                Meetings Templates
                Reminders✅ (Email + SMS) ✅ (Email Only)
                Reschedule / Cancel ✅ (Email + SMS)✅ (Email Only)
                Real-Time Scheduling
                Personal Meeting Links✅ ✅ 
                Group Booking Links✅ (requires customization) 
                Schedule from Any Website
                Schedule on behalf
                Buffer Times✅ custom for each user✅ one for all users
                Upload / Attach Documents

                Both SUMO & Salesforce Scheduler supports:

                • Online appointment bookings
                • Different appointment types (1-1, 1-many, many-many, recurring)
                • Round Robin appointments
                • Email reminders with option to reschedule or cancel
                • Self-Scheduling Portal: Salesforce Scheduler can embed their portal links in a website, mobile or widgets but needs customization. The main difference lies in the branding/theming and the type of users you want to access the portal. In SUMO, regardless of the users, it’s a free-pass portal. For example, SUMO’s education scheduling software lets you embed a self-scheduling portal on your website that doesn’t require students to log in to book campus tours or advising sessions, improving accessibility and reducing drop-off. With Salesforce Scheduler, authenticated users (requires login) is native to them but unauthenticated users are not.
                • Meeting buffer time: In Sumo Scheduler, you can set different buffer times for each user, while in Salesforce Scheduler, you can only set one buffer time for all users. This flexibility is especially useful for teams with varying schedules or appointment types, such as in healthcare, education, or field sales, where prep or follow-up time may differ by role. For example, in medical appointment scheduling, a doctor might need a 15-minute buffer between patients, while a nurse might only need 5 minutes to prep for the next visit. Sumo Scheduler lets you set these buffer times individually, adapting the scheduling process to each role.

                Appointment scheduling features only available in SUMO:

                • First available, Priority based & Load balanced Appointments: SUMO includes build-it appointment assignment logic flows allowing you to automatically distribute appointments among team members without conflicts. Salesforce Scheduler does not offer them as a standard feature. To enable custom appointment flows, you need to code in Flow Builder. 
                • Real-Time Scheduling: SUMO lets you instantly update and adjust schedules based on live changes, e.g. reschedules, late-minute cancellations. 
                • Meeting Links: SUMO provides custom links for any appointment types be it a 1:1 personal meeting link in your email or event registration link on your site for many attendees. In Salesforce Scheduler, you can’t directly generate a link that someone can use to schedule a meeting with you and have it automatically create a Salesforce event. 
                • Schedule on behalf: SUMO lets you book meetings for other team members. It’s especially useful in government appointment scheduling, healthcare, or sales teams where one person handles bookings for others.
                • Upload / Attach Documents: With SUMO, people can upload documents along with appointment setting up. In Salesforce, it requires coding.

                Event Booking: SUMO vs Salesforce Scheduler

                FeatureSUMO for SalesforceSalesforce Scheduler
                1 to Many Event Booking✅  Unlimited✅ 25 participants max /per appointment
                Many to Many Event Booking
                Online Event Registration Sites
                Multi-Event Links
                Paid Events
                Event Desk with QR Code Support

                SUMO Scheduler includes a well-rounded event management kit. You can enable online booking for courses, classes, webinars, or in-person sessions, making it easy for participants to register and manage their schedules. Built-in features like waitlists, automated reminders, capacity limits, and multi-session scheduling help organizers run smooth, scalable events.

                Salesforce Scheduler primarily focuses on one-on-one appointment scheduling and does not offer dedicated event booking features. While it does support multi-resource and concurrent scheduling, they better suit individual appointments rather than large-scale events. For handling registrations, payments, ticketing, or managing large attendee groups, you’ll need third-party integrations.​

                Field Sales: SUMO vs Salesforce Scheduler

                FeatureSUMO for SalesforceSalesforce Scheduler
                Self Service Scheduling with Travel Time Automation
                Travel Time Calendar Sync (Google, Office365, Exchange)
                Assign Users by Zones & Areas

                SUMO Scheduler provides a solid kit for managing Field Service and Sales appointments. With real-time calendar sync, intelligent time buffers calculated based on the route, and customizable booking flows, teams can schedule faster and respond to customer needs without delay.

                Salesforce Scheduler can factor in travel time between appointments if you customize it or integrate with Salesforce Maps. Native support is limited. You can define Service Territories (zones/regions) and assign resources (field reps) accordingly. Scheduler respects territory-based assignment.

                Customization: SUMO vs Salesforce Scheduler 

                Customization features help you maximize brand presence, enable the booking flow that meets your and your audience needs. 

                SUMO for SalesforceSalesforce Scheduler
                Custom Booking Flows
                Custom Meetings Links
                Branded Booking Pages & Portals
                Custom CSS
                Time Zone Sync

                SUMO Scheduler gives you complete freedom to create any scheduling flow no-code: multi-location, multi-user and multi-service. The interface is intuitive and user-friendly, with drag-and-drop functionality and minimal setup requirements. You can create fully branded booking portals without extensive training or technical expertise.

                Salesforce Scheduler requires admins and pro-level users to customize the flows, looks, and features. If you’re on a business side and don’t feel like mastering coding, it will take days if not weeks to set up the scheduling flow you need.

                Integrations

                FeatureSUMO for SalesforceSalesforce Scheduler
                Google, Office365, Outlook & Salesforce Calendars
                Payments with Stripe
                Zoom, Microsoft Teams 
                Google Analytics
                Open Scheduling API for Easy Integration

                SUMO Scheduler integrates with a variety of tools you use everyday. You may enable or disable the ones you need. Google Calendar, Microsoft Office365, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Teams & Google Meet. For paid events SUMO integrates with Stripe.

                Salesforce integrates with a ton of apps but those integrations aren’t included in the Scheduler. Salesforce Scheduler’s only native video conferencing integration is Amazon Chime. If you want to book a Zoom meeting via Salesforce Scheduler, you’ll need to manually copy and paste the meeting link into the event’s location field.

                Calendar Syncs

                SUMO Scheduler offers a no-code, user-friendly integration with Outlook and Google Calendar. Just connect your accounts, set your sync preferences, and you’re done. Non-technical users can easily adopt SUMO, making setup simpler and more intuitive than Salesforce.

                Salesforce Scheduler only pulls availability from the Salesforce Calendar. To sync with Microsoft or Google calendars, you need API setup or Einstein Activity Capture.

                Analytics

                SUMO Scheduler offers built-in meetings analytics to help teams track, measure, and optimize appointment scheduling performance. Users can access real-time dashboards and reports directly within Salesforce, covering metrics like booking volume, agent utilization, and no-show rates. 

                Salesforce Scheduler doesn’t come with out-of-the-box reporting or dashboards; admins have to manually build them. 

                Pricing

                Salesforce Scheduler price is $25/user/month billed annually on top of the cost of Salesforce licenses. Available within Enterprise and Unlimited Sales Cloud and Service Cloud.

                Discounts: no

                Partnership program: no

                SUMO Scheduler is subscription-based per user or per feature starting from $31 user/month.

                Discounts: yes, nonprofits

                Partnership program: yes

                What are Salesforce Scheduler Alternatives? 

                On Reddit threads about Salesforce Scheduler users underdeveloped features and complicated customization. Users are either looking for Salesforce Scheduler alternatives or recommending one. 

                Among the most common suggestions is Calendly. But how is it different from Salesforce Scheduler and SUMO? In many ways. First, let’s break down the general approach to managing scheduling in Salesforce.

                Native Software

                Scheduling from any Salesforce object with all data syncing in your CRM.

                Pros

                • ‘Plug and play’ functionality
                • Minimal setup
                • Enterprise-grade security backed by Salesforce
                • No access to customer data, Salesforce stores all information
                • Extensive customization options

                Speaking the business language, Salesforce native scheduling saves your budget on custom dev, speeds up implementation time meaning sooner lead flow, meaning higher profits.

                API integration

                Requires more initial setup, as you’ll need to configure and integrate an external API with Salesforce. It may involve more complex coding or using third-party integration tools (like Zapier, MuleSoft, or custom-built connectors).

                If the third-party scheduling tool is not fully Salesforce-native, the integration might involve data synchronization issues or maintenance challenges.

                Unlike Calendly, SUMO Scheduler is built natively on Salesforce, meaning it works seamlessly within your CRM without the need for external integrations. This native approach keeps your data secure, streamlines scheduling workflows, and delivers a smoother, more consistent user experience for both your team and customers.

                Read more: Salesforce Native Scheduling: Why a Managed Package is the Best Choice

                Salesforce vs SUMO: Which Scheduler to Choose

                Salesforce Scheduler (aka Lightning Scheduler) is a paid add-on built in Salesforce CRM. Released back in 2020, it enables you to schedule meetings and appointments with basic flow. 

                Well-embedded in most Salesforce workflows due to its “in-built” nature, it allows users to book rooms, manage schedules, and confirm meeting times. Still, you’ll face many limitations when it comes to external integrations or client-specific customizations. 

                Consider Salesforce Scheduler if you

                • Need basic appointment booking
                • Have a bunch of experience with Salesforce 
                • Ready to invest time & resources in development and configuration

                Built on Salesforce’s Lightning Platform, SUMO Scheduler provides a native Salesforce scheduling app that is secure, reliable and enables automatic logging of activities and appointments directly in Salesforce records. This ensures your sales and customer support teams have a 360-degree view of customer interactions without needing to toggle between platforms. 

                As part of the Salesforce ecosystem, SUMO Scheduler benefits from the robust security features and compliance measures already in place within Salesforce. 

                Choose SUMO Scheduler if you

                • Look for a better Salesforce Scheduler alternative while keeping it native to Salesforce 
                • Need advanced scheduling tool with custom flows
                • Prioritize ultimate control and flexibility
                • For group booking, event booking, course scheduling, panel interviews
                • Have low tech capacity
                • Plan to scale in future (and you will)
                • Need a quick launch

                Experience the difference firsthand!

                Schedule Easily in Salesforce with SUMO

                EdTech Trends in 2025: How Scheduling Tools Power Innovations

                “Technology and innovation aren’t going to slow down, and neither should education for the next generation.”

                According to Valuates, Corporate EdTech is a $27.5 billion industry that is growing yearly, with companies such as Coursera, Chegg and Zoom becoming mainstays within the modern educational system. The rapid gamification of EdTech has allowed brands like Duolingo, Kahoot, and Apple Smartwatches to utilize adaptive learning algorithms and reach a larger audience, from universities, to corporations, and even government bodies.

                In this article, we look at the most exciting innovation, trends and opportunities for businesses in EdTech, and how data-backed, modern scheduling software for education can simplify day-to-day tasks on every organizational level within a company. 

                What are the benefits of EdTech?

                Whether you are an educator, school administrator, educational technology enthusiast, or simply an avid follower of growth in education, technology within education serves multiple benefits.

                EdTech, in industries across the world:

                • Increases the reach and scope of education across the globe
                • Tailors the education for regional needs (ex: language, training)
                • Improves access to education in rural areas
                • Increases the potential of learning through gamification
                • Promotes individual learning with immediate access
                • Equips educators with efficient tools for student management
                • Invites students to examine new areas of interest and growth

                Moreover, EdTech allows seamless collaboration between educators and students, allowing them to bypass international borders, with many EdTech platforms and applications simply requiring a stable access to the internet.

                But modern Education Technologies have gone beyond just the internet, with many incorporating Artificial Intelligence, machine learning to further develop their products.
                Here are the 5 most prevalent trends in technology for 2023, and the bold innovations accompanying them. 

                5 Trends shaping EdTech in 2025

                Virtual and Augmented Reality

                According to a FutureEdTech survey, 85% of students love VR and AR experiences, and 73% believe these technologies increase their understanding of subjects. One of the most common ways of utilizing VR in education is via virtual reality classrooms, or immersive training sessions.

                edtech technology trends 2025 innovations

                Artificial Intelligence
                According to the EdTech Association, 92% of educators recognize the potential of AI in tailoring learning courses for individual students. This allows the student with personalized education material focusing on the individual’s weaknesses and strengths, while it provides the educator with time to appropriately analyze and suggest improvements. 

                Gamification for the #win

                In a study conducted by the National Technical University, It was found that challenge-based gamification can improve student performance by 89.45% compared to lecture-based education. Take a look at how students move towards the gamified systems of brands like Duolingo, where they learn with virtual partners and view their personalized progress.

                Remote Learning

                70% of students say online learning is better than traditional classroom learning, and the trend is visible with market development. Estimates suggest that America’s online learning industry will be worth $687 billion by 2030, and businesses are taking notes. Zoom was the most used platform during the COVID19 pandemic for meetings, classes, and even government proceedings. It continues to lead the market. 

                Skilling and Mentorship
                Online-education companies are expanding and emphasizing their enterprise offerings to meet the demand for upskilling and reskilling, according to McKinsey. For example, corporations such as Microsoft have created an ever-expanding database of products and white papers aimed towards providing clients with reliable skilling solutions.

                What are the challenges for EdTech?

                As with all technology, scale & size are not the only potential blockers..
                With a rapidly evolving target audience, EdTech can both be revolutionizing the industry and playing catch up at a moment’s notice, as critical issues can hinder an EdTech’s growth, such as: 

                • Resistance to change within the market → which leads to slow adoption
                • Slow rate of advancement in technology → that can cause delayed rollout
                • Issues transferring solutions across touchpoints → which can alienate the audience
                • The rise of Artificial Intelligence → that can cause the solutions to seem rushed
                • Lack of User Experience data → which can negatively affect customer personas
                how SUMO scheduling software powers educational institutions

                And some of the most esteemed educational institutions have faced similar issues trying to modernize their organizational systems. 

                In March 2020, the President of Columbia University announced a new policy to shift student learning from in-person to online interactions with tutors and mentors.This unprecedented  change initially faced pushback from students and tutors alike, and threatened to disrupt the entire organizational infrastructure.

                The University of Kentucky stated that many students had to make multiple phone calls to schedule an appointment with their coaches. Frequently, students would be unable to contact them across multiple touchpoints (phone, email), leading to lapsed classes, frustration, and disgruntled clients


                Another educational institution faced time, space, and program constraints, which made it hard for the departments to prepare their schedules and ensure consistent progress, due to an outdated, manual system.

                EdTech’s hidden helper: Scheduling Software

                When there is a rise in digital technology used to facilitate learning, there is a need for time management. And where there is effective time management, there is scheduling software. 

                Modern technological solutions designed for education tend to focus on maximizing time efforts for clients, as seen with Duolingo and Kahoot. Interestingly, market research shows some impressive statistics regarding the use and objective success of scheduling softwares.

                • Using an appointment scheduling software can lead to a 30% to 45% revenue increase, according to Yolantis.
                • Forbes reports that 78% of customers are more likely to buy from a business if they receive customized services, something that scheduling software can deliver.
                • Ultimately, GetApp summarizes that 94% of customers would be more likely to find a new business, especially if it has its own booking schedule website
                scheduling software advantages for education

                How is SUMO Scheduler unique? 

                Our online appointment scheduling software automates record creation and maximizes performance.

                With the state-of-the-art interface, and clever integration with AI, SUMO provides a 360-degree view of every appointment booked, which offers visibility into the entire scheduling process of a business.

                Moreover, SUMO allows clients to book appointments at their leisure while guaranteeing that the meeting would take place at the correct time with the correct specialist that meets the specific needs of the customer.

                Through Appointment Scheduling, organizations can automate tasks such as phone call reminders, email confirmations, SMS notifications, balancing all touchpoints

                Most importantly, SUMO is a Salesforce native tool, which means it is up-to-date with the latest technology, and can thus offer bespoke solutions to clients across the industry. 

                Get Started Today:

                The Washington Center has managed to cut out the time-consuming and error-prone process of manual scheduling, improving customer engagement

                Columbia University has seen a dramatic increase in efficiency with manual tasks being eliminated across all departments.

                The University of Kentucky improved appointment flow, and greatly streamlined the student’s (customer) experience.


                Book your free demo to learn more about SUMO Scheduler, and take your EdTech scheduling to the next level. 

                Alliance Partner Program: Earn by Helping Businesses Run Better

                SUMO Scheduler Alliance Partner Program lets you earn money by referring clients to our appointment booking platform. If someone you refer becomes our customer, you get 30% commission.

                It’s great for people working in tech, sales, consulting, or marketing — especially in industries like finance, education, retail, non profit, and wellness. You’ll get access to free software, training, marketing materials, and support. Most importantly, you can offer real value to your clients — all while earning commission. 

                In this post, we break down everything you need to know about the program, and all the benefits you’ll receive as a partner.

                SUMO Scheduler Alliance Partners earn a recurring 30% commission when they become customers.

                For over 16 years, our Alliance Partners have leveraged SUMO’s Salesforce-native appointment scheduling software to deliver cutting-edge scheduling solutions to their clients.

                Are you a good fit to become our Alliance Partner? 
                Here’s everything you need to know. 

                WHO is this Program for?

                SUMO’s Alliance Partner Program includes professionals that specialize in the following industries:

                If you are a tech entrepreneur, a business influencer, an affiliate marketer or a specialist in between, SUMO’s Alliance Partner Program is for you.

                Built on a “customer-first” approach, SUMO aims to deliver an outward-facing, user-friendly solution, values that are reflected in the Alliance Partner Program.

                “I’ve worked with SUMO on several engagements. They’ve always been very collaborative and customer-focused”– says Jim, a Consulting Director and Alliance Partner.

                WHY should you Partner with SUMO? 

                SUMO Scheduler is an all-in-one scheduling platform that provides automated Appointment, Event & Field Sales scheduling tools to Salesforce users.

                Our platform offers meeting, event, and field sales scheduling features, and works across websites, social media, email, text, and more, allowing clients to self-schedule appointment bookings on any device, at any time, with the right person, at their convenience. 

                From Workday, to AstraZeneca, to revered institutions such as Cornell University, SUMO has built a repertoire of esteemed clients, and you too can help deliver cutting-edge solutions
                to clients across the world. Learn more about SUMO’s capabilities.

                HOW many options are there?

                SUMO currently offers two distinctive partnership programs.

                Referral Partner Program:

                • Best fit for Salesforce-based companies & solution integrators
                • Co-target prospects with referrals & bring leads to SUMO Scheduler
                • Get a commission for new customers based on total 1st year revenue!
                • You lead the *creative* charge − we provide scheduling solutions


                Technology Partner Program: 

                • Best fit for SaaS companies & technology resellers
                • Use SUMO’s API to integrate scheduling into your software technology 
                • Purchase licenses from SUMO Scheduler at special pricing 
                • Resell licenses to clients or bundle them as part of your service

                WHAT are the benefits?

                Not only does SUMO’s Partner Program provide comprehensive tools & resources,
                it is specifically designed to align with your unique sales, solutioning, and implementation processes, giving you room for creative input.

                Here are the key benefits of SUMO’s Partner Program:

                SUMO Scheduler's Partner Program Benefits

                Profit Sharing: Gain a 25% commission on SUMO license revenue when someone becomes a SUMO client through your referral.

                Comprehensive training & product certification: A detailed program that will help build confidence with your clients & ensure top-tier service that your brand can support. 

                Free Software & Product Access: Gain complete access to the same SUMO products
                used by Fortune 500 companies worldwide, including all features and early access updates.

                Tailored Marketing Resources: Access to SUMO’s marketing materials & collateral that will help you to position SUMO to your customers.

                Personalized Support: Receive dedicated support parallel to SUMO’s Premier Program without any charge.

                Solution Development: Leverage your unique skill-set and experience to build unique market solutions that meet your customers’ unique needs.

                Professional networking: Join SUMO’s Alliance Partner community for networking
                & knowledge-sharing opportunities.

                WHERE can you start?

                Here is how you can sign up to become an Alliance partner:

                SUMO Scheduler's Partner Program Workflow

                Start your customer engagement journey.

                How Scheduling Software Solves Retail & Manufacturing Challenges

                “In the last three years, the retail industry has experienced growth that would normally take almost a decade to achieve.”

                Did you know that Retail contributes $3.9 trillion to annual GDP and supports one in four U.S. jobs? In the last three years, Retail, the largest private-sector employer in the US
                has experienced growth that would normally take almost a decade to achieve.

                On the other hand, the Manufacturing industry has faced large-scale changes due to disruptions in global supply chains and shortages, with a range of roles & responsibilities
                left having to grapple with our developing world’s geopolitical climate. 

                Interestingly, professionals within the Retail and Manufacturing industries currently face similar challenges that demand prompt assistance from managers and technology.
                In this blog, we look at the most common operational challenges in the Retail and Manufacturing industries and explain how SUMO’s scheduling software for retail solves them, allowing providers and the industry to step into a new era of efficiency, growth, and revenue.

                Who Keeps Retail and Manufacturing Running?

                Before diving into the challenges, let’s explore the diverse landscape of jobs in Retail and Manufacturing, shedding light on the roles, challenges, and transformative solutions defining these industries. 

                The most common roles in the Retail industry are:

                • Sales Associates
                • Cashiers
                • Customer Service Representatives
                • [Store/Chain] Managers
                • Inventory Specialists
                • Clerks & Assistants
                • Cleaning & Maintenance

                The Manufacturing industry includes job titles such as: 

                • Production Managers
                • Quality Controller
                • Specialist Roles (Carpenter, Machinist, etc.)
                • Engineers
                • [Assembly] Supervisors
                • Operational Managers
                • Shipping/Receiving Clerks

                With such a wide range of roles and responsibilities, each of these industries aims to utilize a specialist workforce to deliver products and service in an efficient manner.

                From addressing health concerns to optimizing supply chains, the Retail & Manufacturing industries must stay atop consumer needs, all while balancing their long-term objectives.

                Yet, large industries bring larger challenges that, if mishandled, can jeopardize operational efficiency and business growth.

                5 Key Challenges For Retail & Manufacturing Professionals

                Let’s look into the main obstacles faced by professionals within the Retail & Manufacturing industries.

                1. Issues with Workforce Management 

                With the Retail industry requiring more employees, and the Manufacturing industry losing them, managers have had to face rapidly changing standards, with topics such as salary range, benefits and healthcare becoming key motivators for a professional’s job search. 

                As such, optimizing staff workloads and managing workforce hours has become a hurdle
                for Managers to overcome. 

                1. Lack of Production Scheduling

                This challenge is consistent across the industries, as a disruption in global supply chains
                has left many manufacturers without raw materials to complete products… which are then supplied to retailers for profit. The cycle is disrupted, and delays continue to occur.

                Supervisors & Inventory Specialists need to grapple with the challenge of adjusting production schedules and managing client meetings to accommodate delays.

                1. Struggles with E-commerce & Logistics

                Moving from brick-and-mortar to the online world, both industries have struggled with tackling a plethora of e-commerce related issues, such as managing inventory, tackling international logistics, and coordinating the consumer demands.. 

                Logistics managers must face the unenviable task of coordinating with transportation services, and adapting to the demands of an evolving digital marketplace.

                1. Weak Automation Management

                Manufacturing and Sales employees don’t just use their hands, but they also supervise the technology within their business operations. This “machinery” can range from heavy-duty pressers to a digital scheduling platform, which require round-the-clock management.

                Quality Controllers and Customer Service Representatives thus must find innovative solutions without compromising operational efficiency.

                1. Integration with Modern Technology

                Speaking of innovative solutions; 3D printing, advanced materials, and Artificial intelligence present a wealth of opportunities for Manufacturing. Ditto for Sales. Yet 41% of salespeople believe their days are numbered due to AI automation.

                Many employees are still hesitant when it comes to integrating technology with their day-to-day operations, and thus require an informative, reliable and consistent alternative.

                What Changes are Necessary?

                In 2023, the Retail & Manufacturing workforce encountered different circumstances,
                yet the similar management structures and industry-wide challenges have underscored
                the need for a reliable, advanced and customizable solution. 

                The key issues within the industries consists of these key calls to action:

                • The workforce management needs to be efficient & satisfactory for employees
                • The schedule management must improve, including the communication with clients
                • The integration of technology with manual labor needs to be seamless
                • The solution(s) must balance business objectives & operational efficiency
                • The workforce requires solution that is easy to learn, trustworthy, and adaptive

                How Scheduling Software For Retail Bridges the Gap

                In 2023, the Retail & Manufacturing workforce encountered different circumstances,
                yet the similar management structures and industry-wide challenges have underscored
                the need for a reliable, advanced and customizable solution. 

                The key issues within the industries consists of these key calls to action:

                • The workforce management needs to be efficient & satisfactory for employees
                • The schedule management must improve, including the communication with clients
                • The integration of technology with manual labor needs to be seamless
                • The solution(s) must balance business objectives & operational efficiency
                • The workforce requires solution that is easy to learn, trustworthy, and adaptive

                The right scheduling software helps retailers and manufactures cut down on missed shifts, double-bookings, and enable consistent customer communication. Among its capabilities:
                 

                • Real-time calendar sync 
                • Automated reminders
                • Self-scheduling pages and automated confirmations
                • Templates
                • Team-wide scheduling and availability tracking

                SUMO Scheduler brings all these features and more together into one powerful software platform.

                SUMO Scheduler For Retail: Smarter, Faster, Reliable Operations

                scheduling software advantages for retail

                Time-sensitive tasks are a requirement for any profession, and efficiency is a target for every industry. Scheduling Software possesses the ability to provide a seamless link between day-to-day management and task execution. 

                SUMO’s Appointment Booking Software For Retail can provide round-the-clock assistance regarding above-mentioned issues.

                Features such as Online Scheduler and Assignment Engine allow businesses to create sufficient meeting time between employees and clients, making sure the prospect meets with the right salesperson or production manager.

                The Reminder Engine ensures every target employee receives automated emails, text messages, and phone reminders, reducing the chance of no-shows. Coupled with the Analytics Builder,  the platform can create and schedule unlimited data-rich reports, providing you and your business with on-demand metrics. 
                Finally, with seamless integration to modern technology through its Salesforce native platform, and Certified ISO Compliance, SUMO is a reliable addition to any
                Retail or Manufacturing business.

                Sumo's scheduling software for retail: features and benefits

                Why Retailers Choose SUMO Scheduler

                From efficient workforce management, to round-the-clock automation, SUMO Scheduler’s  Customer Engagement Platform can assist your retail or manufacturing business across various departments.

                It can efficiently moderate e-Commerce related issues faced by managers, and provide seamless integration with modern technology for skeptical employees. 

                SUMO can even assist with lead nurturing and customer engagement growth through personalized campaigns, as this luxury retail client found out.

                The reliable, consistent platform can foster an environment of trust and ensure that the retailer’s or manufacturer’s technical needs are met across all channels and roles within
                the business.

                Ready to simplify scheduling and boost productivity in your retail or manufacturing business? Book a free demo with SUMO Scheduler today.

                Provide your Retail & Manufacturing Business with an industry-backed, automated scheduling solution.

                Enhancing Banking Efficiency with Online Scheduling

                Warren Buffet prioritizes time management above all else. Here’s how his (and your) Bank can do the same with Schedulers.

                When asked in business school about what the most valuable asset for a company is,
                a majority of students usually respond with money or capital. While both answers are fine, the true asset of any organization, company or institution around the world is time.

                Warren Buffett, currently the fifth richest man in the world according to Forbes, once quoted that “the rich invest in time; the poor invest in money”, recommending the strategic use of our time to better organize and manage our business objectives.

                For professionals working in Banking, time is (literally) a commodity that can either improve or impair day-to-day operations, depending on how well it is saved, redistributed and prioritized.

                Let’s look at how the dynamic world of banking operates, and what can be done to improve a Bank’s time management, efficiency, and data security practices through industry-leading solutions. 

                Why is Time Scheduling Important in Banking?

                Across multiple apartments, roles and responsibilities within a Bank, time management and scheduling are factors which help efficiently conduct day-to-day business.

                A Bank Teller is responsible for helping members cash checks, withdraw money, move transactions to different accounts, and much more. This position requires the professional to be strict with time, and utilize time-sensitive methods to assist as many clients as possible.

                Bankers are in charge of meeting with bank stakeholders (both individual clients or enterprises) and helping them acquire assistance such as how and when to schedule follow up appointments regarding loans. As the bulk of their day is spent meeting appointments, having a meeting scheduler greatly enhances their efficiency.

                (Mortgage) Consultants help companies or individuals identify their (mortgage) needs, by assessing their financial records, inflow and outflow of finances. Similarly to Bankers, they require a well-managed and tightly-organized schedule to efficiently handle their clientele. 

                Bank Managers are in charge of efficiently handling administration, operations, communication, training, and security within a branch, a role that requires them to be efficient with their time management and meeting prioritization.

                A Financial Advisor’s priority is to maintain relationships with clients as he/she meets with clients on a regular basis to ensure their portfolio is meeting financial goals. Therefore, smart time management is of immense value when managing a variety of customers and portfolios.

                Insurance Brokers are responsible for finding new customers, promoting and selling our insurance plans. Since their goal is to steadily forge long-term relationships to secure the company’s revenues and growth, they focus their efforts on attracting new clients by inviting them to virtual or in person financial planning events.

                Merchant Services Specialists are in charge of processing services that enable a business to accept a transaction payment through a secure (encrypted) channel. Thus, they hold a highly important responsibility that requires onboarding meetings with potential customers who purchase payment, loan, or line of credit products. 

                Across its multiple departments, from operation responsibilities to technical ones, a well-managed scheduler can not only enhance employee productivity, but maximize the efficiency of the Bank, improving its value as a whole. 

                Benefits of a Scheduler for Banking:

                With a time-sensitive profession focused on the efficient handling of sensitive resources, a Bank’s internal ecosystem can greatly benefit from using modern, technological, and secure solutions, such as Schedulers.

                Impact of Scheduling Software on Key Roles

                Here’s how a Scheduler can assist the aforementioned bank employees in their day-to-day operations: 

                1. Bank Tellers can use the highly configurable “smart matching” systems that match specific customers with the right teller, at the right time. For instance, If a client only communicates in Spanish and requires assistance, that client can simply choose a prompt in the sign-in system (ex: “spanish-language assistance”), and will then be added into the on-location waitlist of a teller that communicates in Spanish.
                1. Bankers can use a Scheduler to schedule any type of appointment: in-person, phone, video, and web conference, in advance. Say a client desires a meeting in three days from now but is not sure about the time; the Banker can immediately send a prompt through the Scheduler highlighting his (her/their) available hours, thus greatly reducing the need for back-and-forth correspondence. 
                1. Consultants, who require regular contact with their client regardless of location, can smartly handle the time conversions by using support for GMT (Global Time Zones) or DST (Daylight Savings Time), reducing the risk of missed opportunities and providing their global clientele with consistent support. 
                1. Bank Managers can quickly cut down on bureaucratic and organizational challenges by automatically insert web conference details into the calendar invitations, seamlessly setting up regular meetings with department heads and evenly managing each sector of their branch efficiently.
                2. Financial Advisors can take charge of multiple portfolios and support evolving needs by integrating the Scheduler into their Finance Cloud platform, or seamlessly integrate it with other solutions.
                3. Insurance Brokers can efficiently build long-term relationships with viable clients by managing an unlimited number of profiles and availability across multiple locations.
                1. Best of all, Salesforce Native Platforms are easy to implement & use, but if there is any assistance required, bank employees can quickly receive assistance from SUMO’s implementation and support team.

                Additional Benefits for Salesforce Users:

                Additionally, for Salesforce users or administrators looking to run their business smoothly, an in-built, Salesforce native platform such as SUMO Scheduler can work to improve efficiency and cut down on lost time, by allowing them to: 

                • Create Rules & scheduling links for meetings, events, or client queues.
                • Use the Salesforce Infrastructure, Security, and Reliability for their objectives
                • Maintain a secure, persistent access with their client database.
                • Gain complete visibility & organizational control over the entire workforce. 
                Key Features of SUMO Scheduler for Banking

                This, coupled with the previously-mentioned benefits, means that an all-in-one automated scheduling platform as SUMO Scheduler supports its users with a dynamic, round-the-clock time management software at their fingertips, with additional utilities and solutions for Banking services that you can learn more about here.

                Data Security and Regulatory Compliance:

                Data security is vital, especially in such a delicate sector such as Banking, where individual and organizational finance need to be safeguarded and protected against cyberattacks.
                That is why, Transparency and Compliance are not only important, but absolutely essential.

                The only data SUMO Scheduler stores using itsPublic API are free/busy appointment availability and user IDs, which can not be used to identify a SUMO user’s real contact details.  The SUMO cloud platform uses “HTTPS only”, which means all data in transit uses TLS 1.0 (and higher) encryption.  

                SUMO has also put a ton of security features in the hands of its customers, enabling them to protect their account through two-factor authentication, account lockout, password policies, and more.

                Finally, SUMO applications are hosted on the Salesforce.com and Amazon AWS platforms that are maintained with 100% uptime guarantee. Our infrastructure is classified with military grade security to guarantee our technology is protected against potential threats.

                Get Started Today.

                This global financial services client credits the SUMO Platform for helping them save up to 25% of the time by eliminating manual effort and minimizing scheduling errors.

                This National Bank’s implementation of SUMO Scheduler allowed customers to schedule appointments with advisors at their convenience, increasing efficiency and positively affecting revenue.

                Join these and 100s of other businesses that use SUMO Scheduler’s secure, reliable, and game-changing scheduling platform within the financial services.

                Book your free demo to learn more about SUMO Scheduler, and always stay two steps ahead of everything that comes your way.

                The Case for Salesforce Native Scheduling: Why a Managed Package is the Best Choice

                Efficient scheduling is a cornerstone of productive sales, customer service, and operations teams. For organizations using Salesforce as their CRM, choosing the right scheduling solution can significantly impact workflow efficiency and customer engagement. While several scheduling tools exist, many teams struggle with standalone solutions like Calendly or the complexities of configuring Salesforce Scheduler. The best solution? A Salesforce-native managed package like SUMO Scheduler.

                The Advantages of Salesforce Native Scheduling

                A native Salesforce scheduling solution integrates directly into your CRM environment, eliminating the need for unreliable third-party connectors. Here’s why choosing a native managed package is the superior option:

                1. Seamless Scheduling from Any Object

                Unlike standalone tools that require complex integrations, a Salesforce-native solution allows scheduling from any Salesforce object—cases, opportunities, leads, accounts, and even community portals. This ensures your scheduling workflows remain embedded within your CRM, leading to greater efficiency and streamlined processes.

                2. Reliability You Can Trust

                With a native Lightning architecture, a managed package scheduling solution directly connects to users’ calendars, ensuring 100% reliability with no scheduling conflicts or dropped appointments. In contrast, non-native solutions rely on external connectors that are often clunky and prone to failures, leading to missed meetings and frustrated customers.

                3. Easy Setup and Use

                A managed package provides out-of-the-box functionality without the need for costly customizations. Unlike Salesforce Scheduler, which often requires significant configuration and custom development, a native managed package is ready to use with minimal setup, making it a hassle-free choice for busy teams.

                4. Superior Customizability

                Salesforce-native scheduling solutions offer far greater flexibility than standalone tools. With a managed package, you can leverage Salesforce automation features such as Flow, Process Builder, and Apex to customize workflows, automate scheduling logic, and enhance user experiences. Additionally, managed packages integrate seamlessly with other Salesforce solutions, ensuring a cohesive and efficient tech stack.

                5. Enhanced Security and Compliance

                Data security is a top concern for any organization. A native managed package operates entirely within your Salesforce org, maintaining your strict security protocols and ensuring compliance with data governance policies. In contrast, non-native tools require syncing data to external platforms, increasing the risk of security breaches and compliance violations.

                Why SUMO Scheduler Outperforms Salesforce Scheduler & Standalone Solutions

                When evaluating Salesforce-native scheduling tools, it’s important to recognize that not all native solutions are created equal. SUMO Scheduler offers distinct advantages over both Salesforce Scheduler and non-native solutions like Calendly:

                • More Comprehensive Features: While Salesforce Scheduler is native, it often requires heavy customization to meet business needs. SUMO Scheduler, on the other hand, is designed with pre-built modules for various scheduling use cases, reducing implementation time and effort.
                • No Custom Development Needed: Salesforce Scheduler frequently requires additional development and configuration, making it less accessible for teams without dedicated admin resources. SUMO Scheduler eliminates this pain point with plug-and-play functionality.
                • Better Integration with Salesforce Ecosystem: SUMO Scheduler leverages both Salesforce’s API and managed package APIs, ensuring seamless integration with your existing Salesforce processes and external applications.
                • Scalability & Reliability: While standalone tools rely on fragile third-party connectors, SUMO Scheduler operates natively within Salesforce, providing a more reliable and scalable scheduling solution.

                Read More: Sumo Scheduler vs Salesforce Scheduler Compared Side-by-Side

                The Bottom Line

                For businesses that rely on Salesforce, a native managed package scheduling solution like SUMO Scheduler is the smartest choice. It offers superior reliability, customizability, security, and ease of use compared to non-native options like Calendly or even Salesforce Scheduler. By choosing a fully native solution, your team can optimize scheduling efficiency, enhance the customer experience, and ensure seamless integration with your Salesforce environment.

                Don’t settle for disconnected scheduling tools—invest in a native managed package that works seamlessly within your CRM. Explore SUMO Scheduler today and experience the power of truly integrated scheduling.