Getting The Most Out Of Salesforce
Salesforce is a huge conscious investment for any business. Of course, it can’t perform miracles – it requires forward planning, foresight, and management to maximise its potential. However, the system has such immense capabilities that with correct use it can greatly improve your profitability – after all, there are very good reasons that Salesforce is the world’s leading CRM system.
So, how do you get the most out of Salesforce? As with many things in life, work to get the key fundamentals in place and everything else will follow.
There are 3 primary considerations;
1. Know What You Need
- It may sound simple, but it is incredible how easy it is to lose sight of this. Have a clear vision as to what Salesforce is, and what it is not. This will help you develop boundaries and manage everything within them. It’s possible to move these boundaries over time, so long as you have quantified why that change is happening and the business rationale behind it.
- As time goes on it is easy for a Salesforce org to get pulled in multiple directions, with addons bolted on here and there without proper qualification. Define and simplify your processes so that in 5 years’ time you don’t end up with an unmanageable monster.
2. Get Behind It Fully
- Adoption is directly correlated with the way the senior leadership team drives the solution. Demonstrate to everyone what’s possible, what’s in it for them, and help them understand the true value of the system. Measure people’s performance based on the metrics and disallow unnecessary out-of-system workarounds that leave scope for grey areas. If your Salesforce org is configured correctly in line with point 1 this should be second nature to you.
3. Know Your Administrator Plan
- Appoint an administrator. Whether hiring in-house or using the support of a managed service team, this part is vital. You invest in Salesforce (amongst other things) for the knowledge that the platform is constantly evolving, that there is a wealth of experience available, and you can’t roll everything out from the first day. As your business grows, so will your needs, and you will most definitely need experts readily close to hand that understand the system and how it is structured.
- Whichever administration model you decide upon, allow them time to assess new releases, train on new capabilities, and the freedom to make new suggestions. There is a whole wealth of information available and your administrator should be right at the forefront.
To summarise, in order to get the most out of Salesforce, you need to have a business plan, adequate leadership support, and an administrative team that will help maintain and monitor your investment. Achieve each of these points and you will soon be on your way to success.
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