7 Factors Determine Your Salesforce Readiness
by Dorian Earl, founder & CEO, Development Consulting Partners
Excited to start your Salesforce trial? Sure. But are you truly ready to move forward?
Before you answer, consider these 7 factors (and view our companion video) for ensuring you get the most out of this possibilities-are-almost-endless customer-relationship-management software.
At the onset, we don’t know what makes your business unique. However, answering our 7-item list ahead of time will make for a smoother process. During our initial conversations, we’ll want to know those answers so we can build what you need.
1. Why am I interested in Salesforce?
Before beginning the trial, ask yourself: “Why am I moving to Salesforce?”
What things are you trying to accomplish by moving to a CRM? Is it to unify your data? Do you have data in many different places? Are you working under different systems? Do you have different spreadsheets you need in one place? Are you seeking to unify your processes?
Perhaps you’re finding it increasingly difficult tracking processes affecting your:
• sales
• support
• marketing
• onboarding
• training
Salesforce enables you to unify these processes and improve your interdepartmental coordination. Remember to have your “reason why” you’re seeking solutions via Salesforce.
2. Identify your goals
What are your goals? Why would you be moving to Salesforce? What measurable improvements are you seeking? Let’s make sure Salesforce can help meet those goals.
3. Understand the platform
Salesforce is not intuitive. If you start the trial today, it’s not configured for your specific business. Countless business use this CRM platform, so customization is needed to get the most out of it.
The good news: You can build any company process on top of it, such as those affecting sales, support or marketing. The less-than-good news? When you start your trial, the software isn’t preconfigured for your organization’s specific needs. We at Development Consulting Partners have lots of clients who, after completing their FREE 14-day trial say, “This doesn’t make sense to me. It wasn’t intuitive. Are you sure this is the right fit for me?” It certainly can be the exact fit you’re seeking, provided you understand its nuances.
4. Know your tech stack
What technological tools are you using? Most companies we chat with are using an email suite. They also have a document-storage or document-management system. These businesses have a website and use social media. They use an enterprise resource planning system that’s often a proprietary system unique to their organization. You might want to integrate your proprietary ERP system with Salesforce.
5. Establish a timeline
What’s your timeline? Is it realistic? A large enterprise company recently asked Development Consulting Partners, “Can we implement Salesforce in two days?” The answer: Depends on your needs, but no, you cannot.
You can take Salesforce out of the box and start using it in two days. But your systems, your processes and your tech stack aren’t preconfigured in Salesforce. That’s why you’re seeking our assistance and expertise. We take the necessary time to learn your business and build those elements in your Salesforce platform, but that takes more than two days. It will probably take our first day together just to learn your business.
6. Got budget?
What are you willing to spend?
You might need:
• market automation
• market integration
• custom development
• training
• data management
• data enrichment
All those items require different skill sets the members of our team possess. However, you should have a budget in mind if you need those things. Here’s an interesting fact: Many business owners and entrepreneurs don’t know they do need those things when considering Salesforce.
To get you on the right track from the get-go, Development Consulting Partners performs a needs analysis. We generate a product canvas to talk through what elements you need to achieve success using the platform. Plus, we determine your projected costs and establish an implementation timeline.
Consider:
• What do you have in-house?
• What do you need from us?
7. How do you self-identify?
What type of customer is your target? What kind of data will you be tracking? Most companies integrate their email and calendar systems into Salesforce. You might want to expand your integration, for example, to encompass document taxonomy and/or a document-signing solution.
Is your organization business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C)? How does your business work? Who are your customers? Know yourself. Know your market. Answering those questions is important because Salesforce offers different license types. For example, you can purchase Salesforce for $200 a year or $2,000 a year. What’s the difference? Salesforce turns on certain feature sets depending on what you’re purchasing.
Different sets offer the ability to:
• integrate or add automations
• integrate with other software
• section off security based on user profiles
• build customized reporting
Your organization might not need all those options (which lowers your cost). Or your business might require all those capabilities, which not only increases your cost but depends on Development Consulting Partners to provide more support to ensure Salesforce is successful for you.
We build what you need
Are you a small-business owner? Salesforce Essentials might be just right for you. In our Salesforce Essentials blog, we explore the possibilities this Salesforce edition offers small businesses. Remember: DevCon Partners builds what you need.
Questions? Feel free to contact us.
ABOUT DEVELOPMENT CONSULTING PARTNERS, LLC
Seeking superior Salesforce support? Experience the DevCon Difference℠. Development Consulting Partners, LLC is a certified Salesforce Partner. Founded in 2017, Development Consulting Partners serves clients across North America via a coast-to-coast team of trusted Salesforce experts. These specialists implement affordable & customized business solutions centered on the possibilities offered by the world’s #1 CRM platform: Salesforce. Find out how our consultants can invigorate and elevate your organization.