The importance of properly implementing Salesforce
Implementing Salesforce is more complex than simply moving your data from one platform to another. There’s a lot of focus around clean data and customising elements to ensure you are getting the most out of your new CRM.
A successful implementation focuses on being agile, communicative, and methodical. Below are some helpful tips we’d like to leave you with to ensure your Salesforce implementation is a success.
1. Define your goals for Salesforce
Many companies implementing CRM systems get sidetracked with the multitude of capabilities of the sales software that they overwhelm their IT and sales staff and end up with disappointing initial results.
If you’re ready to make the switch to Salesforce, it’s important to plan ahead. Have clear goals in mind for how you want the software to improve your business model. Do you want to increase sales by a certain percentage? Are you hoping for a measurable improvement in your customer support results?
Before defining your goals it’s important to first understand why you’re choosing Salesforce. Below are some questions to ask when planning a Salesforce implementation:
- What do you want to accomplish through Salesforce?
- Are you struggling to keep up with leads?
- What problems will you solve with Salesforce?
- Are you struggling with information organisation?
- Do you want to improve your CRM?
- Are you looking to automate everyday tasks?
- How can Salesforce help you with your issues?
Throughout your planning make sure your goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. They should be quantifiable too.
2. Set measurable metrics for your goals
After you’ve set up your implementation, do you know how you’ll effectively monitor whether it’s working the way it’s supposed to? This is when performance metrics come into play.
Your performance metrics should reflect your above Salesforce implementation goals. Here’s an overly simplified example: if your goal is to increase your client retention rate by 5% by Q3.
Then your base performance metric would be customer retention rate.
Examples of other realistic KPIs or SMART goals may be:
- By Q2 increase user adoption by 60%
- Have a 10% faster inquiry response time by Q3
- By Q3 have 15% increase in client retention rate
- Improve total revenue by 2% by Q3
3. Choose your implementation team
A Salesforce implementation team is a group of people within your business who help carry out the vision of your CRM. They’ll help you build the CRM architecture, guid the process and help you test your new CRM in a controlled setting. Your implementation team is important for a smooth transition as it gives every department a chance to provide their feedback on the roll-out. Look through the members of your organisation to select decision-makers. Bear in mind that every member of your company may need to use Salesforce in a different way and for a different purpose.
