Salesforce is one of the most powerful platforms a revenue team can use—but it’s also one of the easiest to misconfigure when you’re new. Most admins and RevOps pros don’t get in trouble because of something huge. It’s the small choices that snowball: a field here, a permission there, a workflow nobody documented.

If you’re new to Salesforce or scaling your RevOps function, here are the most common beginner mistakes we see—and how to avoid them before they turn into bigger operational headaches.

Treating Salesforce Like a Spreadsheet

This is probably the #1 rookie mistake. New users come in, see records laid out in rows, and start treating Salesforce like Google Sheets.

What this leads to:

• Overwriting data without understanding hierarchy or relationships
• Custom fields everywhere (“just in case”)
• Manual work that should be automated

Salesforce is not a spreadsheet. It’s a relational database with structured objects and relationships. If you skip that part, nothing else works well.

How to avoid this:
Learn the object model before building anything. Salesforce has a great primer here:
Salesforce Data Model Basics

At Revenue Ops LLC, we help clients untangle this exact problem—especially when early “sheet thinking” leads to inconsistent data.

Creating Custom Fields Before Checking What Already Exists

New admins love creating fields. Need to track something? New field!
Except… Salesforce already has hundreds of standard fields and many of them are built for reporting, integrations, and features you want to work.

Common beginner issues:

• Duplicate fields (“Industry,” “Industry Type,” “Customer Industry”)
• Breaking AppExchange integrations
• Confusing users with similar field names

How to avoid this:
Check standard fields first. Salesforce provides lists of all standard fields by object:
Object Reference Guide

Only create a new field when:

• No standard field fits
• You know how it will be used in reports
• You understand how it impacts page layouts, validation rules, automation, and API integrations

Ignoring Profiles, Permission Sets, and Security

A lot of beginners take the easy route: give users more access so “nothing breaks.”
That works—right up until the moment everything breaks.

Symptoms:

• Users see things they shouldn’t
• Accidental mass updates
• Broken workflows caused by unauthorized changes
• Auditing or compliance issues

Salesforce emphasizes the importance of structured, least-privilege access:
Salesforce Security Basics

How to avoid this:

• Build profiles around job functions
• Use permission sets for exceptions
• Review access whenever roles change
• Never give “Modify All Data” unless absolutely needed

A secure org = a stable org.

Letting Automation Get Out of Control

Salesforce gives you many ways to automate: Flow, Process Builder (legacy), Workflow Rules (legacy), and Apex.
Beginners often stack too many automations on top of each other—especially Flows—without understanding execution order.

This causes:

• Flows firing multiple times
• Conflicting logic
• Infinite loops
• Poor performance

Salesforce’s current recommended automation tool is Flow Builder:
Flow Best Practices

How to avoid this:

• Consolidate logic into fewer, well-structured flows
• Use decision points to avoid duplication
• Document everything
• Don’t automate a process until you fully understand it

At Revenue Ops LLC, we spend a ton of time helping clients unwind “Flow sprawl.” If you’re stuck there, we’ve seen it all.

Not Using Page Layouts and Record Types Correctly

Record types and layouts are powerful—but they’re also easy to misuse.

New admins often:

• Create too many record types
• Add every field to every layout
• Overcomplicate the user experience

This leads to frustrated reps and slow adoption.

How to avoid this:
Use record types sparingly. Salesforce provides guidance here:
Create Record Types

Use page layouts to guide behavior. Show only what each role truly needs.

If a sales rep can’t find what they need quickly, they won’t use Salesforce the right way.

Forgetting to Clean Up After Building

You test something, build a field, try a configuration… and then move on. New admins often forget to delete or deactivate what they created.

Over time this leads to:

• Orphaned fields
• Confusing page layouts
• Dusty automations running in the background
• Data quality issues

How to avoid this:

• Document every change
• Use a naming convention
• Clean up unused fields regularly
• Review automation every quarter

Salesforce’s Health Check tool is a great place to start:
Health Check

Not Training Users (And Expecting Adoption Anyway)

Salesforce only works when people use it consistently.
Beginners often build features without explaining why or how.

Result: Low adoption. Poor data. Angry sellers.

How to avoid this:

• Build short, role-specific enablement guides
• Use Salesforce’s built-in learning paths
• Incorporate training into onboarding
• Host short office hours or “RevOps walk-throughs”

Salesforce provides great free training through Trailhead.

Avoiding Sandboxes and Testing in Production

We get it—testing in Production feels faster.
But new admins often underestimate the risk.

Potential disasters:

• Accidental triggers
• Workflow conflicts
• Corrupted records
• Broken integrations

Use a Sandbox every time, even for small changes:
Salesforce Sandboxes

A safe testing practice saves you hours (or days) of cleanup later.

Skipping Documentation Because “I’ll Remember”

No, you won’t.
None of us do.

Poor documentation leads to:

• Confusion when troubleshooting
• Difficulty onboarding new admins
• Mistakes when modifying automation later
• Risk when your only admin leaves

How to avoid this:
Document every major configuration choice and why you made it.
A simple Google Drive folder or Notion database works.

Final Takeaway: Salesforce Isn’t Hard—But It Is Easy to Do Wrong

Salesforce becomes powerful and easy to work with once you build strong fundamentals.
Most problems beginners encounter aren’t technical—they’re architectural or strategic.

If you avoid the mistakes above, you’ll:

• Build cleaner workflows
• Keep data quality high
• Improve user adoption
• Reduce rework
• Make your revenue engine more predictable and scalable

And if you want expert eyes on your setup—or need help untangling a messy org—we’re here to help.