Tips to Get the Most out of Salesforce
Start with why.
One of the most important steps to take before deploying Salesforce is to define your purpose and make sure everyone understands it.
That is, why are you implementing Salesforce?
- What are your Salesforce goals over the next 6 to 12 months?
- What processes do you want to improve?
- What pain points or roadblocks currently hold your organization back?
- How do project stakeholders currently feel about your processes, programs or services? Could the experience be improved or enhanced?
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Outline your Current Systems and Processes
Start high level, asking the following:
- How do you currently manage your data?
- What processes or activities do your existing systems and applications support?
- At a high level, this could be sales, marketing and communications, customer success, order fulfillment, facilities management, enrollment, etc.
- Then go a level deeper, creating a flow chart for each of the above activities.
Identify Stakeholders
Adoption is mission critical to the success of your Salesforce implementation. To get the team on board, involve them from the start as a collaborative effort.
If a process touches multiple departments or hands, get them involved from the beginning (Remember, Salesforce is not just for sales and marketing, it can be used across numerous functions). Ask about what challenges they face in their workflows, gather their ideas, feedback and input on what could make it better. If Salesforce is developed with their needs and workflows in mind, adoption will be much easier.
Set the Stage for Long-Term Success
Develop a cadence for training and auditing. Regular training will ensure adoption and adherence to standardized processes and best practices. (Hint: Once per year is not enough.)
You’ll also want to create a schedule for regularly auditing your Salesforce organization. This is one thing that’s commonly overlooked, but it’s imperative to ensure your Salesforce grows with your organization.
Documentation is also critical. Creating a centralized hub or dashboard to serve as a single source of truth when changes or updates occur will help ensure these stay with your organization rather than residing with one administrator or developer (this leaves
organizations vulnerable should that person leave).
Finally, be sure to set the right expectations. Implementing Salesforce takes time and resources. There is also a learning curve, but when the proper training is put in place, it makes the process much smoother.