Is Your Investment in Salesforce Being Undermined by the Break/Fix Model?
Break/Fix: A Headache in the Making
It can be tempting to rely on a break/fix model for maintaining your Salesforce technology. After all, Salesforce is an investment for any organization, so why make an additional investment in support until it’s absolutely necessary?
It’s certainly one approach for maintaining your tech stack, though it’s not the one we’d recommend if you can avoid it. That’s because, in our experience, the risks outweigh any initial benefits or cost savings you might get.
Truthfully, it’s a headache-in-the-making for your daily users as much as your leadership team.
That’s because when you break it down, the break/fix model means you’ll inevitably encounter issues before you address them. It’s reactive rather than proactive. Once you invest in technology that supports the foundation of your business, you’ll wait until there’s an issue with it to engage someone who can fix it.
Written out like that, it sounds like a heck of a gamble. Sometimes it’s the right one, but based on what we’ve seen, that’s exceedingly rare. Here’s what we think is on the line when you want to consider taking that gamble:
A Reactive Position vs. A Proactive Position
In truth, it’s not a question of if but when the system will throw issues at your team. New functionality can spur growth at your organization — it’s also exciting to have — but it can break the Rube-Goldberg of solutions that’s already in place.
With Managed Services, a lot of these issues can be prevented. Granted, no solution is perfectly future-proof since technology can change so quickly, but a proactive approach positions you with these changes in mind. You’ll be one step ahead of your competitors when changes do roll out or when your organization needs to pivot.
Building a Salesforce Strategy vs. Improvising
Something else to consider when building your technology solutions is the strategy that underpins them. Every system and every tool should serve a purpose and provide value. Without this, your systems might be patchy or worse, redundant. Engaging a strategic partner who can help guide these conversations can save time, money, and frustration while helping you build your company strategically.
Managing In-House Talent vs. Engaging a Team of Experts
It’s no secret that Salesforce talent is hard to find. With a strong jobs market and remote options for working, there are a ton of options for people with great Salesforcing skills and companies can be left in the lurch when they move on to other opportunities. The process of finding and hiring the right people is already incredibly involved. Managing and retaining them is a whole other investment of time and budget.
A dedicated internal resource can be the right solution for many teams. It means you have consistent access to one person who is an expert on your organization and the technology that helps it run smoothly. If they’re on-site, your users have readymade support. It doesn’t get much easier or much more top of mind asking for help in person.
As with anything, there can be some drawbacks too. Engaging an internal Salesforce administrator restricts your organization’s knowledge base and technical ability. That one person is your go-to for everything, from the most granular user request to the broadest strategy considerations.
With a Managed Services approach, you can access an entire team of Salesforce Certified experts and their diverse skill sets. Your organization can tap into the product-specific knowledge of one person while basing strategic decisions on collective expertise. It really all depends on what you need. If in-person is your preference, there are options to bring these experts on-site and they can provide as much user assistance as you need depending on the circumstances.
If you’re ready to engage a Certified Salesforce Partner, how do you choose the right one for your needs?
What to Consider Beforehand
Consultants have hands-on experience working with many different issues inside Salesforce. They’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, and they can help guide your decision making around what effort will produce maximum ROI. Experienced consultants can dig into your business requirements and recommend ways to streamline or fix a process all while adhering to your schedule and budget (that’s their job after all).
All that said, they won’t know the ins and outs of your business like you do, so information gathering is key to a successful relationship. A common misconception about hiring a consultant is that after information gathering, they’ll go away for a month and come back with the perfect solution.
While being so hands off in this process may sound great at first — who wouldn’t want to minimize the lift needed to get a project done? — without your input that solution may not be the right solution for you. In our experience, that frustration is entirely preventable when communication has a regular cadence.
Setting Expectations
Those information-gathering sessions should be just the beginning of your work together. An experienced consultant will want to coordinate regular meetings to discuss progress, timelines, and answer any questions that arise. They’ll partner with you and request your input every step of the way. It’s really the only way to ensure that you’re both on the same page and working toward the same goals.
They’ll want your active input and feedback into the solutions they’re designing to ensure they fit your needs and processes. So while the heavy lifting of this task can certainly be taken off your to-do list, plan to spend at least a couple of hours per week communicating with your consultant so things keep progressing smoothly.
What to Look for When Choosing a Salesforce Consultant
If you’re on the hunt for the right Salesforce Consulting Partner, here’s a simple checklist that can help your organization find the right fit.
The Right Salesforce Partner Will:
Have Salesforce experience that matches your needs.
Communicate clearly with your stakeholders every step of the way.
Provide informed recommendations rather than being an order-taker and a “yes” person.
Help you become more self-sufficient and leave you prepared for the future.
Provide documentation outlining their work on your system that can be shared with future stakeholders, users, and technical experts.
Experience that Fits Your Needs
You’ll want to have a clear set of expectations for a consultant before you can gauge if their technical expertise lines up with your needs. Do you want a consultant to be your admin until you find another? Do you need to implement CPQ or another specialized product? Is a local presence important to you? Make a list of what you want and when you want it, determine a reasonable budget based on that list, and then start your conversations with potential consultants.
Clear Communication is Key
The best consultants are transparent about how they work. Period. They’ll be able to clearly communicate what’s possible based on your timeline and budget and what you can expect of the relationship.
They’ll answer your questions as quickly as they can and provide guidance for your decision making. They should either express their enthusiasm to work with you or let you know if they wouldn’t be a good fit for your needs. Either way, there should be no doubt in your mind that they have your best interest at heart. Don’t underestimate the power of your own gut instinct here.
Order Takers and “Yes” People Need Not Apply
You may have some ideas about how to solve a particular problem, and your consultant has probably solved a problem like it. Similar to clear communication, a good consultant should also let you know if a solution won’t work, isn’t maintainable considering your resources, or is based on outdated technology.
They’ll want to provide you with maximum ROI even after their work is done, so their focus should be on why you think that’s the right solution and solving for that need. Expect them to dig deeper into what you’re trying to solve rather than taking orders like a deli counter. A good consultant’s primary focus will be on why that’s a need and the how will follow from there.
Futureproofing Your Salesforce
At the end of the engagement, your major business goals should be met and your Salesforce system should be giving you tons of value. But who’s going to keep the engine running? If it’s the right time to hire an in-house admin, consider having your consultant help interview and assess candidates.
You’ll want to decide on the cultural fit yourself, but your consultant is a great resource for measuring technical ability, especially since they’ll know the exact skill level you’ll need to support your Salesforce org.
Whatever the future holds for your organization, your consultant should have you positioned to confidently meet that future head-on (and yes, this absolutely includes providing documentation so it’s clear to anyone who might use or work on the system in the future what the heck they did to it).
Ready to Dig In?
So are we! Whether it’s questions about Managed Services, a specific Salesforce project, or general guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Contact us today to get the ball rolling.