With a supercharged platform such as Salesforce, things can get complicated fast and mistakes are often inevitable. Operations officers or IT directors often manage CRM, or customer relationship management, system implementations on their own or with a limited team, on top of their daily duties. The project then drags along, delaying other work with it. Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. That’s why most Salesforce customers work alongside certified consulting partners. These platform experts use their knowledge of the system to help you map your current processes onto the Salesforce framework. Even with a partner, though, there are a few common Salesforce implementation mistakes that can devalue or even completely derail your project.
Here are a few to watch out for, and how to avoid them:
Mistake #1: Not Knowing Your ‘Why’
You know you need it. You know it’ll open new possibilities for your business. What you may not know, however, is which avenues to take or what you want the final product to accomplish. Without a clear plan mapped out early on, you’ll likely end up over-budget with a half-usable org. Not what you paid for, right?
How to Dodge It:
Know your current struggles and inefficiencies and ask, “How can Salesforce solve them?”
For example, if you know you want to:
- get more intelligent data insights
- automate some data entry processes
- reduce time spent creating reports
then you’ll be able to communicate these goals to your team and your Salesforce consulting partner more effectively. Defining desired outcomes helps your partner outline a more detailed scope of work, giving you a more accurate quote and timeframe for implementing and launching the system. With a clear blueprint, you and your partner we can build an org architecture custom-tailored to bring you the most value possible
Mistake #2: Underutilizing Automation
Salesforce delivers value to your business by synchronizing your data in one cloud where you know all the data is accurate–what’s often referred to as a single source of truth. Automations consistently gather that data, modify other records based on triggered actions, send emails, and even analyze results with predictive insights. It reduces the risk of human error during data entry and analysis, while letting employees focus on more important tasks.
Salesforce’s automation options can seem daunting or even overwhelming. When confronted with the complexity of automation, some business owners settle for the bare minimum, missing out on the value they’re already paying for. Remember, you’re investing in Salesforce for its time-saving capabilities–so put them to work.
How to Dodge It:
The most prominent form of Salesforce automation is Flows. From the initial action trigger to the desired end state, every step is visually mapped out in Flow Builder and can easily be edited or expanded to fit your evolving business. Your consulting partner can create interconnected custom Flows that document user actions, generate reports, send email notifications and more. During your planning stage, set aside time to discuss different departmental tasks with your consulting partner to see which can be automated for efficiency.
Mistake #3: Ending Development After Implementation
A successful implementation is an achievement worth celebrating, but keep in mind, as technology progresses and your business grows, so will your Salesforce org.
Each year, Salesforce releases three updates, containing anything from major Cloud-wide changes to field consolidations or bug fixes. Even more frequently, partners list add-ons to the AppExchange that further expand Salesforce’s functionality. Without regular examination and deliberate development of your org, you could miss out on huge time-saving tools.
How to Dodge It:
An advanced CRM is not meant to be stagnant – the more you use it, the more you and your team will think of new ways to utilize its flexible features and add partner solutions to fill in any gaps that are slowing you down. It is important to continue polishing your processes so that you keep your business evolving with the platform that powers it. Set up a plan to regularly audit your org – at least once per Salesforce release – so you can regularly identify new projects that need development.
If you don’t plan to constantly update and optimize, you won’t need to hire a full-time Salesforce administrator; but don’t let your org stagnate. This is where consulting partners such as Banjaxed offer flexible Salesforce Team Services contracts for 5-10 hours of Salesforce work per week, including regular maintenance, small projects, and bug fixes. We also work on a by-project basis, consulting with you and tackling specific goals as needed.
Making a plan for post-launch service is a key step many companies miss initially, but a vital one to keep your org polished and running smoothly.
Now What?
Implementations can seem like a tumultuous ocean of unknowns, but we’re with you every roll and pitch of the way as you get your Salesforce sea legs
As a consulting partner, we serve you beyond implementation–designing, building, maintaining and optimizing your org in perpetuity. We can also create custom training resources that are proven to increase user adoption.
Together, we can navigate the Salesforce trail from start to finish. Even if you aren’t ready to partner yet, but need more org advice, give us a call. We’d be happy to help!
