Ultimate Salesforce Implementation Checklist for Your Business!

You have done your research and you’re all set for Salesforce implementation in your organization – except you’re not sure where or how to begin!

From the time Salesforce started, it has steadily grown towards becoming world’s #1 Cloud solution with its impeccable features and seamless adoption. Today, over 88% of the Fortune 100 companies use at least one Salesforce offering.

One of the biggest reasons why Salesforce made it to the top is its ease of implementation and maintenance. However, you cannot optimize Salesforce to its fullest unless you’re prepared and have adequate expert consultation and support to guide you through the process. 

Thus, to help you out, we have prepared a well-researched “Salesforce Implementation Checklist” so that you leverage the true benefits of Salesforce and its features for your business. 

But before we begin, let us give you a glimpse at what might happen if you dive directly into Salesforce implementation without planning it out.

You might face these challenges without a Salesforce Implementation Checklist

• Your team may be new to Salesforce: Your team members might be inexperienced when it comes to Salesforce and without proper planning and research, they might have difficulties in integrating Salesforce with your legacy process.
• You are not able to optimize it fully: Salesforce is easy, efficient and full of features that can transform your business. However, lack of preparation may lead to poor customization and optimization of Salesforce in your organization.
• Your team may lack training: If your staff is not fully trained and prepared for Salesforce implementation, they may limit their usage and not completely leverage Salesforce and its offerings. 
• You feel like you have no control with the new tool: In the absence of proper planning and training, your team may have questions and doubts before carrying out even their routine tasks. As a result, they may resist the transition. 
• You are way beyond your expected deadline: Salesforce implementation takes time, efforts and cost. Without a proper plan in place, you might go overboard with your expected delivery time and even budget.

As a Salesforce partner, we have assisted many organizations in their Salesforce adoption journey and have identified a few steps that optimize the implementation process.

In this blog, we are going to share those tips and help you make the most of the Salesforce platform. 

Your Salesforce Implementation Checklist

Set Clear Goals

Before you start the implementation process, you need to introspect and find out the following –

• What are you looking to achieve by adopting Salesforce in your organizations?
• What are the areas that you would like to be enhanced with Salesforce?
• How do you plan to provide Salesforce training to your plan?
• Are you going to take assistance from Salesforce consulting companies or will this be an in-house process?

           Understanding the purpose for your decision would lead you to setting realistic goals for

           your team. You need to keep in mind that technological transition is a gradual process and        having a clear intent would help your team in accelerating the Salesforce adoption process. 

Pro tip: The smaller the goals, the better. Divide your plan into smart, achievable targets. 

• Discuss with key leaders

Salesforce implementation process is a collective journey. Before you zero down any goals, timelines or targets, discuss with the key leaders of your organization. Take into consideration their suggestions and doubts. If you have the nod of approval from the leaders, it will be easy for you to introduce Salesforce and reap its benefits.

• Get stakeholders on the same page

As we have mentioned earlier, Salesforce implementation and integration requires the support of the entire organization and hence, it is important that you communicate clearly with all the stakeholders and get their approval before you begin.

Having them onboard would translate into smooth transition and better response from employees at all levels. 

• Choose a right partner

Having an expert Salesforce Consulting Partner by your side will help you choose the best course for your organization. There’s so much more to the process – you can customize Salesforce as per your requirements, there are updates to keep up with and your team needs to be trained.

A right Salesforce Partner will take care of these tasks and ensure that your Salesforce implementation is a success. 

• Set an achievable timeline with a realistic implementation cost

Salesforce implementation cannot be hasty. The integration process, data migration, team training and transition will take months to complete . Thus, you need to have a clear discussion with the experts to determine an achievable timeline along with the budget required for the entire process.

• Introduce customization

Salesforce can be tailored to suit your unique needs – and that is why it rules the Cloud industry. Salesforce can help you unlock your marketing potential like never before with its multiple facets like the Community Cloud which leverages social media for conversion or Customer 360 that can help you unify all the customer information on a single profile.

Unfortunately, many organizations are unable to delve deeper into it and get the best out of Salesforce in the absence of guidance and knowledge. So, it is important that you communicate with your Salesforce team about your organizational needs and desired results so that they can customize Salesforce accordingly. Get to know the tool more, you will be surprised to find out what it holds in store. 

• Train your team

Salesforce can do wonders to the efficiency of your organization – all you require is trained professionals who can help you optimize its use.

Make sure that you set in place a training program for all the team leads so that they can pass on the knowledge to their team.

Keep an open door policy for any doubts and questions. And most importantly, be prepared for hiccups initially; it may take some time but a trained team will make Salesforce adoption simpler and successful. 

• Keep up with the new updates

Salesforce has new updates thrice a year – winter, summer and spring. They’re seamless and automatic without any downtime. But you need to be aware of what changes they bring so that you can prepare your team and update your software accordingly.

• Get support from your partner

Your Salesforce tool will need updates and maintenance. So, it is crucial that you choose a partner who can provide you ongoing support and help you achieve success through Salesforce.

Summing up

Salesforce implementation can be the best decision you make for your business – but you will need a roadmap to make it happen. We hope that you are now on the first step of your Salesforce implementation journey and our checklist has helped you initiate the process.

However, should you find yourself in a dilemma, do drop us a quick message and we will come to your rescue!