If you’re in sales, RevOps, or sales management and you’re sick of the mess that is CRM collaboration—this is for you. Whether you’re chasing clean pipeline data or just want to keep your sales team on the same page (for once), Scratchpad promises to make Salesforce less painful. But let's be real: tools only help if you set them up right and actually use them. So here's a step-by-step guide to collaborating with your sales team in Scratchpad—no fluff, no hand-waving, just what works.
Why Scratchpad? (And Why Not Just Use Salesforce?)
Let’s get this out of the way: Salesforce is powerful, but it’s also clunky. Updating deals, taking notes, and collaborating with your team can turn into a game of “where did that go?” Scratchpad sits on top of Salesforce and tries to fix that. It’s meant to be quick, easy, and (mostly) less painful, letting you spend more time selling and less time wrestling with your CRM.
But Scratchpad isn’t magic. It’s only as useful as the way your team uses it. This guide is for folks who want practical steps—not “transformative synergy”—to actually get stuff done together.
Step 1. Get Everyone Set Up (Don’t Skip This)
Before you can collaborate, everyone needs access. If you skip this, you’ll spend more time troubleshooting logins than working deals.
Here’s how to get started:
- Sign up: Each team member should create their own Scratchpad account using their Salesforce credentials. This keeps permissions and data consistent.
- Check permissions: Make sure everyone has access to the right Salesforce objects (Opportunities, Accounts, Contacts, etc.). If Scratchpad can’t “see” it, neither can your team.
- Install the Chrome extension: It’s optional but highly recommended. It makes updating deals in context much easier.
- Mobile access: There’s a mobile version, but honestly, it’s not as full-featured. Stick to desktop for heavy collaboration.
Pro tip: Get everyone set up during a team meeting. That way, you can handle any “it won’t let me log in” problems together instead of over Slack.
Step 2. Agree on What “Good” Looks Like
If you don’t agree on what’s expected, you’ll just create another mess (this time, in a new tool).
- Define required fields: What info do you actually need for an Opportunity or Account? Agree on what’s really required—don’t just copy Salesforce’s defaults.
- Note-taking standards: Decide if everyone should use a specific template for call notes or deal reviews. Templates save time, but don’t go overboard with complexity.
- Update cadence: How often should deals be updated? Daily? Weekly? Be realistic—daily is great, but only if your team will actually do it.
What to skip: Don’t spend hours building out complex templates or automations before you’ve seen what your team actually uses. Start simple.
Step 3. Use Shared Views and Workspaces
One of Scratchpad’s best features is the ability to create and share views of your pipeline, notes, and tasks. This is where collaboration actually happens.
How to set up shared views:
- Create a Workspace: Think of this as a shared dashboard for a team or project (e.g., “Q3 Pipeline Review”).
- Add key fields: Show only what matters. Hide the noise.
- Share with your team: Invite the relevant sales reps, managers, or ops folks.
- Real-time updates: Everyone sees changes as they happen, so you’re not chasing version history.
Popular shared views to try:
- This quarter’s pipeline by stage
- Deals with next steps missing
- At-risk opportunities (e.g., no activity in 14 days)
- Closed-won/closed-lost for post-mortems
Honest take: Shared views are only helpful if people use them. If your team still lives in spreadsheets or ignores the workspace, ask why. Is it too complicated? Not showing what they need?
Step 4. Collaborate on Notes (Stop Losing Context)
Sales notes shouldn’t live in a dozen Google Docs or someone’s brain. Scratchpad lets you take, organize, and share notes tied directly to Salesforce records.
To make the most of notes:
- Take notes in Scratchpad, not elsewhere: Every meeting, every call—put the notes in the Opportunity, Account, or Contact right in Scratchpad.
- Use templates for consistency: Templates are handy, but don’t let them become a burden. A simple “Call Date, Next Steps, Objections” works for most teams.
- @Mention teammates: Need help from a manager or want to flag something for RevOps? Use @mentions to pull them in. They’ll get notified.
- Pin important notes: Pin critical info or meeting summaries so they don’t get lost in a sea of updates.
What doesn’t work: If your team is copy-pasting notes from Google Docs or Slack after the fact, you’re missing the point. Push for real-time note-taking during meetings.
Step 5. Assign and Track Tasks (So Nothing Falls Through the Cracks)
Scratchpad lets you create tasks linked to Salesforce records—think follow-ups, contract reviews, or next steps after a call.
Best practices:
- Assign tasks to teammates: Don’t just create a task for yourself; assign it to the right person. Make sure they know it’s there—notifications help, but a quick Slack message never hurts.
- Set clear due dates: “ASAP” isn’t a deadline. Use real dates so you can actually track progress.
- Review open tasks regularly: Build time into your sales meetings to review outstanding tasks together. If things are falling behind, talk about why.
What to ignore: Don’t overcomplicate things with endless subtasks or dependencies. Keep it simple so people actually use it.
Step 6. Use Comments and @Mentions (But Don’t Overdo It)
Scratchpad supports comments on records and notes. This is great for quick questions, feedback, or flagging issues—without flooding everyone’s inbox.
How to use comments well:
- Be specific: “@Sam What’s the latest on this deal?” is better than a vague ping.
- Keep it concise: Long debates belong in meetings, not note comments.
- Limit notifications: Not every update needs an @mention. Use them when you actually need a response.
What to watch for: If your team starts ignoring notifications, it’s a sign you’re overusing comments or tagging everyone for everything.
Step 7. Review and Iterate—Don’t Set and Forget
You won’t get collaboration perfect on day one. That’s normal.
- Get feedback: Ask your team what’s working (and what’s not) after a couple weeks. Be blunt: is this actually saving time, or just adding another step?
- Adjust templates and views: If people aren’t using a template or view, simplify it or kill it.
- Keep training short and practical: Don’t waste time on hour-long trainings. Short, focused sessions or quick Loom videos are plenty.
What to ignore: Don't chase shiny new features unless they solve a real problem your team has. Focus on the basics.
A Few Things That Don’t Work (From Experience)
- Top-down mandates: If leadership rolls out Scratchpad without buy-in from reps, it’ll get ignored.
- Over-customization: The more complicated your setup, the less likely people are to keep it updated.
- No feedback loop: If you never ask the team what’s working, you’ll end up with a ghost town.
Keep It Simple. Iterate Often.
That’s really the heart of working well with your sales team in Scratchpad. Don’t spend weeks perfecting templates or building dashboards no one uses. Start small, get buy-in, and adjust as you go. The whole point is to make Salesforce suck less—so keep your process as simple as possible, and let your team tell you what’s actually helpful.
If you want your sales team to actually use your CRM, meet them where they are—and don’t be afraid to change things up if it’s not working. Simple, honest collaboration always beats a “perfect” process on paper.