How To Get Great ROI on Your Salesforce Deal
So, you just negotiated a killer deal with your Salesforce AE at the end of January for the end of the fiscal year? First off, congratulations! It always feels good to maximize budget.
And, of course, you’re one step closer to having a great CRM that’s the right solution for your needs and can bring your team immense value.
There’s no better time than right now to seize this energy and make the most of your organization’s new investment! So let’s talk about what to consider at this early stage that can help make your next Salesforce project a huge success.
As simple as it may sound, starting at the beginning means just that. Try to keep in mind that the recent demo was designed to show you the possibilities of what Salesforce can do. Out of the box, it’s not quite on that level yet.
But that’s also the power of Salesforce as a CRM and probably why that demo was so persuasive! With all those possibilities, you can design what will work best for your business processes.
Think of it like buying a suit off the rack — it’ll get the job done but it probably needs some tailoring to fit just right.
Key Considerations
Strategy
Start with the end goal in mind. Of all that you hope to accomplish, what’s the main priority? Why? What foundation is needed to support that? Do you have other priorities? What are they and how do they shape your end goal?
Consider where your organization is right now and set attainable goals for the project based on that context. Once your foundation is rock solid, future customization and add-ons are even more powerful.
Time
Consider how quickly you’d like to be up and running to see value from this investment. In this day and age, we all want everything as soon as possible. And why would we be patient when something like Salesforce can make such a big impact for our team?
That said, what does your proposed timeline look like? How much time will it demand from you? Your team? Is there anything major coming up for your organization that will inform the project timetable? Is there any work that needs to be done beforehand?
Admittedly, this can be tough to estimate. We find that asking why can be incredibly helpful when trying to figure out project details.
People Power
You’ve maximized budget with your deal, now it’s time to maximize your organization’s people power. Identify who on your team is the best candidate to champion the project and steward it through the process. Having an internal project manager is an essential ingredient to success, and they’ll help you identify the minimum viable product needed.
They’ll also help with that all-important task of getting buy-in. Change can be intimidating for members of your organization who have been doing things a certain way. It’s important to recognize this up front and involve them early.
This is where having a clear Salesforce champion can really make a difference. By engaging team members throughout the process, business process changes and CRM changes will be a product of their input and feedback. Discover this organically as a team and it isn’t just your CRM that’s stronger for it.
Finding a Trusted Partner
Of all the tasks on your list, finding a trusted Salesforce partner is tops. They can help guide nearly every decision we’ve already talked about. If determining priorities, a timeline, and a Salesforce champion seem daunting, the right partner can help guide you through the process.
Technical expertise is paramount. It can be even more costly down the road fixing the work of a Salesforce partner who follow best practices like balancing customization with maintainability.
You’ll also want to look for a partner who doesn’t say yes to everything. Instead, they’ll offer their expertise and help shape your thoughts around what will work best for your team. They’ll also let you know when something won’t be a smart use of your resources.
A trusted partner can help you identify what you don’t know and implement your new tools strategically. Read here for more on how to choose a consulting partner that can meet your needs.
The right partner can help you keep that feeling of getting a good deal on Salesforce throughout implementation by helping you make the most of your investment.
Our Approach
For nearly five years, we’ve partnered with organizations of all sizes to help them get the most value out of Salesforce. We’d love to be your trusted partner as well.
With our Agile approach, we design Salesforce roadmaps that deliver value right away. We want to seize the excitement of your new tools and get people using the system as quickly as possible so they can be up and running (and so you’re not spending money on licenses you aren’t using).
From there, we iterate. And iterate. And iterate. We keep your users involved in the conversation so we know we’re delivering a CRM solution that meets their needs and works for their business processes.
We focus on finding the right solution for you, keeping it simple, and being people first. You can learn about our other core values here.
If you’d like to know more about our approach, past partnerships, or testimonials take a look at the Cloud Giants fact sheet.
And if you’ve just got a sweet deal from Salesforce and don’t know where to start, we’d love to chat about what’s worked in the past so you can feel empowered to take the bull by the horns.
Whatever your next step may be, we wish you the best of luck!