Should You Hire a Consultant for your Salesforce CRM Implementation
While writing this article, we came across some information that totally blew us away!
- 91% of companies in North America with 10 or more employees have implemented a CRM system (CRM Magazine, 2017)
- Over 64% of firms believe that CRM tools are impactful or very impactful (LinkedIn, 2016)
Great news? Not quite! Read on!
- Less than 40% of businesses have a CRM adoption over 90% (CSO Insights, 2016)
- Manual data entry is the #1 challenge during CRM adoption (Hubspot, 2018)
What do the first 2 statistics tell you?
That CRM is popular and is now considered a must-have by many organizations? Correct!
However, the last 2 statistics tell a different story: that not all businesses are embracing CRM – even a highly-configurable, out-of the-box-solution like Salesforce – with open arms.
Many reports show that high CRM fail rates are not uncommon among organizations. This is true even for Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM. In fact, many businesses find Salesforce CRM implementation overwhelming and confusing. And because it isn’t implemented properly, they often receive little to no payback on their technology investment.
So how can organizations reduce their chances of CRM implementation failure?
Can following a systematic, step-by-step Salesforce implementation methodology do the trick?
Yes…and No.
Salesforce recommends a 4-step CRM implementation methodology:
- PREPARE: Build a team, define your vision, set goals
- SET UP: Import data, define permissions, add customizations
- IMPLEMENT & GO-LIVE: Manage deployment and engage users through training
- CUSTOMIZATION: Introduce additional functionality as needed
However, there’s more to a successful Salesforce CRM implementation project than just these 4 steps.
Here’s where hiring an expert consultant who can provide Salesforce implementation services can make the difference between Salesforce CRM Implementation success and failure.
What can a Salesforce consultant do?
As part of their Salesforce implementation services, a Salesforce consultant can help you with:
- Needs analysis & information-gathering
- Planning
- Design
- Data migration
- Implementation
- Validation
- Training & communications
- Post-deployment support
Why you should hire a Salesforce consultant
Salesforce is packed with many world-class, customizable functionalities that are fairly easy to use (with a little training). Nonetheless, for a team or organization new to Salesforce (or even CRM in general), getting used to its features and learning to work with them can be challenging, especially in the beginning. The process can become significantly easier with a qualified, experienced Salesforce consultant helping your team with deployment and transition.
First up, the consultant will help you determine your company’s specific goals and needs by asking probing questions like:
- Why do you need CRM?
- Why Salesforce in particular?
- What do you hope to achieve with Salesforce?
- Which features or functionalities are critical to your organization?
This information will help them determine how to tailor the CRM for your organization’s objectives. It will also inform the Salesforce implementation methodology they use. A good consultant will always start the implementation process by focusing on you and your needs (“this is what we think will work well for you”) rather than on them and their capabilities (“this is what we can do for you”).
Depending on the requirements, an expert Salesforce consultant will ensure that the proper steps are taken to prevent data loss or other risks during migration. They will also ensure that the implementation process is streamlined, and completed on time and within your budget.
Unlike a Salesforce contractor, a Salesforce consultant will advise you on what should and shouldn’t be done for your project and organization. They will take the lead on your project, ask probing questions and even make you uncomfortable on occasion – all for your own benefit. And if they have prior experience with projects similar to yours, they will know the conditions for success and guide you accordingly.
A Salesforce implementation project rarely ends with the official ‘go live’ date. A competent consulting partner with a clear support and account management program will provide post-implementation support to help you with training, transition and adoption.
A final word
Salesforce CRM can help you face the ever-changing challenges of today’s business landscape and stay ahead of the competition. That’s why it’s critical to find a Salesforce consulting partner you can trust. This partner will help you harness the powerful Salesforce ecosystem to benefit your organization in tangible ways so you can streamline processes, boost employee productivity, enhance your sales and marketing strategies, and delight your customers.
For close to a decade, SaaSnic Technologies has provided Salesforce implementation services to clients all over the globe. We offer SaaS services across the entire Salesforce ecosystem. If you have a Salesforce Development project you’d like to discuss, get in touch!
