10 Things to Prepare Before You Start Your Search for a Salesforce Consultant to support your existing Salesforce instance
As your business grows, optimizing your Salesforce instance becomes essential. Here are 10 key preparations before you start searching for a Salesforce consultant or managed services provider to help you scale your salesforce instance.
Determine the Number and the role of End Users Understand how many people are accessing the platform. This helps in assessing the level of support and customization needed. It’s easy to pull a report from Salesforce to assess. Example If you have 50 sales reps, 10 customer service agents, and 5 marketing staff using Salesforce, you'll need to ensure the platform is configured to support these 65 end users and their workstreams.
Assess the Processes in Use Identify the processes you’re leveraging within Salesforce. Are you using it solely for traditional CRM activities like sales, or have you integrated other processes such as marketing automation, customer success, or service operations? This can be a simple list in a spreadsheet.
Understand Your Industry Regulations If you operate in highly regulated industries like healthcare or finance, ensure your Salesforce consultant has experience with compliance and regulatory requirements specific to your sector. When it comes to healthcare or financial services you will want someone with experience in those industries.
Start a Backlog of Requirements Maintain a simple document, like a Google Doc, to list all the tasks, improvements, and features you want to implement. This will help the consultant understand your priorities and scope of work. It can be as simple as “I wish our CRM did this” or “I want to change…”
Review Existing Integrations and Custom Code Document any integrations built with custom code. This will provide insight into the complexity of your current setup and highlight potential areas that may need attention. Salesforce consultants know where to look for integrations that are plug n’play such as LinkedIn Navigator. But if you have something that requires custom code, that needs to be documented.
Define Your Goals and Objectives Clearly articulate what you aim to achieve with your Salesforce instance. Whether it's improving sales efficiency, enhancing customer service, or driving marketing automation, having defined goals will guide the consultant in creating a tailored strategy. These goals may vary by stakeholder group.
Evaluate Data Quality Conduct a high level review of your data quality. Clean, accurate, and well-organized data is essential for effective Salesforce management. A couple of examples of where the data is falling short is helpful.
Prepare Your Team Ensure your team is ready for collaboration. Having key stakeholders who can provide input and feedback will make the engagement more productive and ensure that the solutions developed align with your business needs.
Set a Budget and Timeline Establish a realistic budget and timeline for the project. This will help you find a consultant who can deliver within your constraints and avoid scope creep.
Research Potential Consultants Look for consultants with a proven track record in your industry. Check references, case studies, and reviews to ensure they have the expertise to meet your specific needs.
Preparing these aspects will streamline the consulting process, ensuring you get the most value from your Salesforce investment. Ready to take the next step? Select “Contact” from the top right to connect with us.
