Beyond the Quick Start: Mastering Salesforce Management

Obstacle: 

Our customer is a small team of around twenty people passionate about building and providing niche medical devices.  They bought Salesforce, Salesforce CPQ and some related tools thinking that a Quick Start implementation would get their complex business process out of PDFs and into the cloud.

However, shortly after their implementation they found that their old Salesforce Partner didn’t quite get it right.  Plus once they started using the tool their requirements began to change as they got to know the platform.  They had no in house skillset to make changes on their own.

Solution:

This is where our Advisory Services team came to the rescue!  We jumped in and were able to provide the ongoing Salesforce support that this customer needed.  We immediately began helping by following our Advisory Services approach:

Perform a Health Check:

Our health check involves reviewing the current Salesforce or Certinia setup to understand its configuration, integrations, and data quality. We look for inefficiencies, compliance with best practices, and areas where the system might be underutilized or misused. This process helps us identify immediate issues that could impact operations or user satisfaction.

Document and Prioritize a Backlog:

After the health check, we compile a list of all identified improvements or issues into a backlog. Each item on this list is documented with details like expected benefits, complexity, and urgency. Prioritization is key, focusing first on changes that will deliver significant business value or resolve critical problems, balancing quick wins with longer-term strategic enhancements.

Addressed Day to Day Admin Tasks:

Regular admin duties include user management, solving ad-hoc queries, maintaining data integrity, and ensuring system performance. By efficiently handling these tasks, we keep the system running smoothly that builds trust and understanding with users, which is crucial for implementing larger changes later on.

Meet Regularly with Stakeholders to Groom the Backlog:

Regular meetings with key stakeholders like sales leaders, marketing teams, or IT ensure that the backlog remains aligned with business goals. These sessions are for reviewing the priority of backlog items, getting feedback on ongoing projects, and adjusting plans based on business shifts or new insights. Grooming the backlog keeps everyone informed and engaged, enhancing the relevance and acceptance of changes.

Deliver New Functionality in Sprints:

Adopting an Agile methodology, we work in sprints to introduce new features or improvements while addressing day to day admin responsibilities. Each sprint focuses on delivering a small set of prioritized changes from the backlog. This approach allows for frequent reassessment and adjustment, ensuring that the Salesforce org evolves in step with our customer’s needs.

Conclusion:

People often purchase Certinia PSA or Salesforce thinking that the product will run itself, requiring little to no ongoing maintenance.  The reality is that no business is stagnant and the upkeep of a robust tool like Salesforce is challenging and often goes neglected.  The Salesforce ecosystem is vast and most folks “don’t know what they don’t know”.  Juggling business operations (your ‘real job’) while keeping track of Salesforce administration is a daunting task. Our customer gained a trusted advisor to design and implement a plan to help them delight their customers.