Is it the Right Time for a Salesforce Needs Assessment?
How healthy is your Salesforce org? Do your users feel like it causes more headaches and problems than it solves? Are you looking to make strategic moves around solving key challenges?
With the right partner leading the way, a Salesforce needs assessment can provide actionable information about your Salesforce configuration. It can tell you what’s working, what’s not, and what could provide value as you grow your business.
It’s a great starting point for developing a sustainable Salesforce strategy. After all, once you’ve made the initial investment in Salesforce it should be one of your biggest assets for helping your team bring in revenue and deliver value to clients.
Whether you’re wanting to tackle a lingering issue or add new functionality, getting a clear picture of what’s needed to move forward is always the right solution in our experience. Here are some key times when a Salesforce needs assessment can help.
Before and After Big Change
There are certain milestones that typically signal it’s time for a needs assessment. Simply put, they’re anything that could cause changes to how your configuration works or how you work with it. These include:
Major organizational changes.
Changes to your Sales team or their process.
Adding new lines of business or switching a line of business.
Making the decision to hire a Salesforce admin.
Let’s dig a little deeper here. If your organization is planning for or has already implemented any significant changes, then it’s time to analyze how your Salesforce configuration is helping ensure their success.
If the system was built for your previous incarnation, then it most likely will need work to align with your new way of doing business.
It’s a great opportunity to think deeper about how these organizational changes are reflected at the process level and the right partner can help guide your thinking on that.
if other challenges exist
There are certainly other times when a needs assessment can be helpful as a first step and your people are your greatest asset in helping identify if this is the case. Listen to their feedback about how Salesforce is helping them deliver value to your clients. If that feels stunted, then it’s time to identify why.
These challenges can include:
When your business relies on custom code and has no developer contracted or in-house.
Users are reverting to manual systems outside Salesforce that should be in your org.
When your Salesforce configuration includes lots of integrations that have changed over time.
Your organization is ready for new functionality and wants to plan for it strategically.
When outside expertise could help guide strategy and planning around Salesforce for the good of the organization.
A needs assessments is a great opportunity to think about your processes and the value they’re providing. After all, Salesforce is a great CRM for running almost every aspect of your business but it depends on reliable data and buy-in from your users. When your business changes and grows, so too should your configuration.
Ready to get more value out of your Salesforce and be strategic with your goals? Contact us and let’s chat about the challenges you’re currently facing with Salesforce.