Building a successful Salesforce® instance requires careful planning and execution. While a recent Ad Victoriam Salesforce Blog provided outlines for a great roadmap for implementation, even with a strong plan, mistakes can happen. Here, we delve into some of the most common pitfalls that can derail your Salesforce implementation, and how to navigate around them.

5 Implementation Tips (+1)

1. Underestimating the Importance of Data Migration: Dirty, inaccurate, or incomplete data in your legacy system will translate directly into Salesforce.  Solution: Invest in data cleansing and standardization before migration. Identify and eliminate duplicate records, and ensure consistent formatting for fields like addresses and phone numbers.
2. Neglecting User Training and Adoption: Salesforce is powerful, but it’s only valuable if your team uses it effectively. Solution: Develop a comprehensive training and adoption program tailored to user roles. Provide a mix of hands-on sessions, online tutorials, and ongoing support resources. Don’t underestimate the importance of change management – address user concerns and encourage feedback throughout the process.
3. The “Big Bang” Approach: Trying to implement everything at once can be overwhelming and lead to delays. Solution: Break down the implementation into manageable phases. Prioritize critical functionalities and focus on getting those embedded first. This allows for a smoother rollout and quicker user adoption.
4. Ignoring Customization Needs: Salesforce offers a robust platform, but it may not perfectly fit your unique business processes.  Solution: Don’t be afraid to leverage customizations like workflows, automation, and custom objects. However, maintaining a balance between over-customization and future upgrades can be challenging.
5. Lack of Communication and Collaboration: Salesforce implementation is a team effort. Internal stakeholders, Salesforce consultants, and IT teams must be on the same page.  Solution: Establish clear communication channels and regular meetings. Define roles and responsibilities for each team member involved.

Bonus Tip: Not Having a Post-Implementation Plan: Your work isn’t done after launch.  Solution: Develop a plan to monitor user adoption, data quality, and system performance. Regularly review metrics and identify areas for improvement. Schedule ongoing training sessions to keep users up to speed with new features and best practices.

By avoiding these common mistakes and following a well-defined plan, you can ensure a smooth Salesforce implementation that delivers real value to your organization.

Summary

A successful Salesforce implementation requires a strategic approach. While a defined roadmap is crucial, pitfalls can still arise. This blog explores common mistakes such as poor data migration or neglecting user training, offering solutions like data cleansing and phased rollouts. It emphasizes the importance of customization to fit your specific needs while advocating for clear communication and collaboration throughout the process. Remember, a successful implementation goes beyond launch; a post-implementation plan to monitor user adoption and system performance is essential for ongoing success.

How AdVic Can Help

Whether it’s a Salesforce implementation, enhancement, or integration project you are mulling over, let the AdVic® U.S.-based Team – who works on your hours – do the heavy lifting by addressing your complex challenges through our cloud, integration, and data expertise, leaving you to what you do best – servicing your customers. Let’s talk about your Salesforce project today!

Related Resources:

Inside a Salesforce Implementation: From Initiation to Go-Live
When Outsourcing a Salesforce Implementation Makes Sense
Sales Cloud Implementation Best Practices
Tips for a Successful Salesforce Implementation

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On a recent episode of the Ad Victoriam Salesforce Simplified podcast, the topic was Salesforce ROI. Our guest was Josh Eich, Senior VP and Head of Enterprise Sales at Ironclad, a company that deals in contract management software. Here are just a few of the highlights from that conversation.

Hindering the Potential of Salesforce ROI – The Biggest Mistakes

Early in our conversation with Josh, we wanted his thoughts on the biggest mistakes companies often make when implementing Salesforce, the ones that might hinder the potential of ROI.

Overcoming The Struggles Companies Have with User Adoption

Maximizing user adoption is something companies struggle with when implementing Salesforce solutions. We asked Josh to talk about some effective strategies for encouraging user buy-in and engagement.

Leveraging Data and Analytics

We thought it important to ask Josh how businesses can leverage data and analytics within Salesforce to drive very specific ROI-focused outcomes.

The Cost Effectiveness of Salesforce

For companies considering Salesforce, oftentimes a key question is: what are some cost-effective ways of getting started with Salesforce and still achieving a positive ROI? Here’s how Josh handles that question…

More Salesforce Blogs from AdVic

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Have you ever attempted to tackle a Salesforce® implementation in-house, lacking the necessary knowledge and expertise, only to find yourself falling short of achieving your goals? Perhaps you’ve experienced the frustration of navigating through the complexities of Salesforce features and functionalities, resulting in wasted time, effort, and resources. Your initial excitement may have waned as you questioned the suitability of Salesforce for your needs.

This is where the importance of engaging a Certified Salesforce Consultant becomes evident. Without the guidance of an experienced partner, you risk prolonging the implementation process and squandering additional resources.

Recognizing the 9 Signs: When to Bring in a Salesforce Consultant

If you’re keen to steer clear of the pitfalls of a DIY implementation, consider these nine indicators as compelling reasons to seek the assistance of a Certified Salesforce Consultant.

1. Stagnant or Declining Sales: A consultant can help identify areas for improvement and unlock the full potential of Salesforce to boost sales.
2. Customer Satisfaction Issues: A well-optimized Salesforce system significantly enhances customer experience.
3. Lack of 360-Degree Customer View: Fragmented customer data across different systems hinders sales, service, and marketing efforts. A consultant can unify customer data for a holistic view.
4. Poor User Adoption: Low user adoption of Salesforce indicates a need to improve user engagement and address challenges faced by end-users.
5. Difficulty Proving ROI: A consultant can help measure progress and demonstrate the impact of Salesforce on achieving your business goals.
6. Underutilizing Salesforce Capabilities: Consultants can identify and leverage valuable features and apps within the Salesforce ecosystem to maximize your investment.
7. Stalled Salesforce Projects: Overburdened internal teams might struggle to complete Salesforce projects on time. A consultant with expertise in various areas expedites project completion.
8. Salesforce Innovations: Salesforce is constantly evolving with new features, functionalities, and integrations. A consultant keeps you updated on the latest advancements and advises on how to leverage them for your specific needs.
9. Focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI is playing an increasingly important role in Salesforce. A consultant can help you explore all of Salesforce’s AI-powered tools for deeper insights and data-driven decision-making.

How AdVic Can Help

If you’ve concluded that you need help with your Salesforce system, we invite you to contact an Ad Victoriam Certified Salesforce Consultant today to see how we can help address your challenges to increase the value of your system. If you are not ready to chat, check out the resources below for additional guidance. 

Related Resources:

The Power of Managed Services in Technology Management
You Build It and They Come Doesn’t Work with CRM Adoption

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A Salesforce® implementation can be a complex and daunting process. Even if you’ve already implemented Salesforce before, starting a new implementation from scratch can present new challenges. To ensure that your implementation is successful, there are certain steps you need to follow. In this AdVic® Salesforce Blog, we’ll discuss eight important steps to follow when starting a Salesforce implementation.

1. Define Your Goals and Objectives

The first step in any Salesforce implementation is to define your goals and objectives. What do you want to achieve with Salesforce? What business problems are you trying to solve? What are the specific outcomes you hope to achieve? By defining your goals and objectives, you can ensure that your implementation is aligned with your business needs and objectives.

2. Create a Roadmap

Once you’ve defined your goals and objectives, you need to create a roadmap for your implementation. This roadmap should include a detailed plan of action that outlines the steps you need to take to achieve your goals. It should also include timelines, milestones, and a budget.

3. Identify Stakeholders

Identifying stakeholders is an important step in any Salesforce implementation. These are the people who will be affected by the implementation, including executives, managers, users, and IT staff. It’s important to involve stakeholders early in the process to ensure that their needs are considered and that they are supportive of the implementation.

4. Design Your Data Model

The data model is the foundation of your Salesforce implementation. It’s important to design your data model carefully to ensure that it meets your business needs and is scalable. You should consider how your data will be organized, how it will be used, and how it will be accessed. This will ensure that your implementation is optimized for performance and usability.

5. Configure Salesforce

Once you’ve designed your data model, you need to configure Salesforce to meet your business needs. This includes setting up custom objects, fields, and workflows. You should also configure security settings and user access to ensure that your implementation is secure and compliant with your organization’s policies.

6. Test Your Implementation

Testing is an important step in any Salesforce implementation. You should test your implementation thoroughly to ensure that it meets your business requirements and that it is free of bugs and errors. This includes unit testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing.

7. Train Your Users

Training your users is essential to ensure that they are able to use Salesforce effectively. You should provide training on how to use the system, how to enter data, and how to run reports. You should also provide ongoing training and support to ensure that users continue to use Salesforce effectively.

8. Monitor and Optimize Your Implementation

Once your Salesforce implementation is live, you need to monitor it regularly to ensure that it is meeting your business needs. This includes monitoring performance, usage, and adoption. You should also optimize your implementation over time to ensure that it continues to meet your evolving business needs.

Summary

Starting a Salesforce implementation can be a challenging process. However, by following these eight important steps, you can ensure that your implementation is successful and meets your business needs. By defining your goals and objectives, creating a roadmap, identifying stakeholders, designing your data model, configuring Salesforce, testing your implementation, training your users, and monitoring and optimizing your implementation, you can ensure that your Salesforce implementation delivers the business outcomes you expect.

Whether it’s a Salesforce implementation, enhancement, or integration project you are mulling over, let the AdVic® U.S.-based Team – who works on your hours – do the heavy lifting by addressing your complex challenges through our cloud, integration, and data expertise, leaving you to what you do best – servicing your customers. Let’s talk about your Salesforce project today!

Related Resources:

Inside a Salesforce Implementation: From Initiation to Go-Live

When Outsourcing a Salesforce Implementation Makes Sense

Sales Cloud Implementation Best Practices

Tips for a Successful Salesforce Implementation

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After their initial Salesforce® implementation, certain business practices become easier and productivity enhances. But with time, your business, industry, and even Salesforce features change and it may become necessary to modify or improve the functionality of your Salesforce platform to do more with less, and keep teams aligned and focused on the customer experience. 

In this article, we will discuss how a company that has already implemented Salesforce can modify, improve functionality, or add features to keep their teams aligned, focused on customer experience, and growing revenue.

Review and Evaluate Current Processes

The first step in modifying or improving Salesforce functionality is to review and evaluate current processes. This involves assessing how the current processes are working and identifying areas that can be improved. By analyzing data and gathering feedback from employees, businesses can gain insights into the effectiveness of their current processes and identify areas where changes should be made.

Identify Areas for Improvement

After reviewing and evaluating current processes, businesses should identify areas for improvement and leverage the system you already have. This may involve identifying bottlenecks in the sales process, improving the customer experience, or automating repetitive tasks. By identifying areas for improvement, businesses can prioritize their efforts and focus on the changes that will have the most significant impact.

Modify or Add Custom Functionality

Once businesses have identified areas for improvement, they can modify or add custom functionality to Salesforce to address these areas, plus implement process improvements and efficiencies. This may involve creating custom fields, workflows, or page layouts to streamline processes or adding custom integrations to connect Salesforce with other systems. By customizing Salesforce to meet their unique needs, businesses can optimize their processes and improve the customer experience.

Train Employees

To ensure that modifications or new features are effectively implemented, businesses must train their employees on how to use them. This may involve providing training on new features or workflows or retraining employees on existing functionality. By investing in employee training, businesses can maximize their teams’ productivity, ensure that their teams are aligned, and are focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Monitor and Analyze Results

Finally, businesses must monitor and analyze the results of any modifications or new features added to Salesforce. This involves tracking performance metrics such as sales, customer satisfaction, and productivity to determine the effectiveness of the changes. By analyzing data and gathering feedback from employees and customers, businesses can continue to optimize their Salesforce functionality and keep their teams aligned, focused on the customer experience, and growing revenue.

Remember, modifying or improving Salesforce functionality is an ongoing process. By continuously optimizing Salesforce, businesses can streamline their processes, improve the customer experience, and grow revenue. And that’s where AdVic’s consultants excel. So, whether you need strategic roadmapping, a data solution, or integration to your current Salesforce platform, our 100% U.S.-based team – which works on your hours – specializes in developing and implementing a technical blueprint that will allow your organization to achieve your goals. Let’s begin mapping out your next steps today!

Related Resources:

Get More Out Of Your Salesforce Clouds

Have Salesforce? Features That Maximize Your ROI

What to Know When Migrating Salesforce Data to a Legacy System

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Residential Elevators is the premier electrical equipment manufacturer focused on home elevators. Their product is custom-built in the USA for the home in which it will be installed. Manufacturer Representatives manage projects from conception through installation. Their factory-trained elevator mechanics are the best in the business, and their world-class Service Department handles all services for the life of the elevator. This is why they need the best technology and Salesforce partners to provide employees and customers with exceptional service.

Why Did They Choose AdVic? 

Already equipped with a legacy system that catered to their business needs, Residential Elevators needed a system that offered even more. Their legacy system had functionality around scheduling and mapping on mobile, however, AdVic® and Salesforce® offered an even better solution. 

Luckily, Residential Elevators had a digital system that stored and maintained their data, however when they decided to pivot to a better system, Salesforce, they ran into the challenge of mapping the processes and the mapping of all the historical data that we had into a new system.

It is very common for organizations to undergo data migrations at some point in their development, and of course, poor planning and lack of resources contribute to slow user adoption, but AdVic prevents that.

Moving data from one place to another is challenging. It can be a costly, time-consuming, and complex venture. We do our best to ensure that this process is as seamless as possible by providing teams with the right tools to succeed.

Another challenge that many organizations face when undergoing digital transformation is stakeholder buy-in. For Residential Elevators, it is the same thing. With the help of AdVic, WebEx, and Zoom calls, we were able to continually sail through the process of the benefit that we’re going to get at the end. Initially, the adoption rate was tough, but making it easy by having everybody trained and part of the process was impactful.

A View From Customer Service 

With the help of AdVic, the customer experience has also advanced. Initially, the Customer Service team at Residential Elevators had a difficult time viewing customer data as a whole. Their new system allows a much better visual representation of the overall customer process and what the customer has done with them from start to finish. In addition, tying in some other ancillary components outside of Salesforce and integrating those into Salesforce has helped their team.

Efficiency in Business

Residential Elevators’ biggest increase in efficiency comes from the mobile side, which gives their field service technicians the ability to do all their work on a mobile platform they call an “E tool,” which is a mini laptop and can process the payments and everything right there from the phone, and has helped that process grow and evolve. 

Before they used to have to pull out a small “E tool” kit, a small laptop, and do all of their work on that using a thick client that would integrate back into their home systems or would data sync at certain periods back into their home system, where this is more real-time, no real synchronization other than the app, of course, but this is a more real-time information strand that they get to see as they’re going out to that customer’s job site.

Efficiency for technicians also means efficiency and satisfaction for customers. Techs are equipped with customers’ history with the company before even stepping on-site allowing them to be knowledgeable about the customer and their needs. 

Where Are They Now?

As previously mentioned, migrating from one system to another is a challenge within itself, but when done right it can transform the way employees work for the better. The initial project of implementing Salesforce Service Cloud eliminated top pain points for Residential Elevators’ employees, who once needed to key in 60+ job-related data points to close out the day, which increased productivity and accuracy. Their digital transformation also replaced manual keying and tracking once we implemented the Salesforce Service Cloud mobile app. 

Residential Elevators is now seeing profound improvements with their new and improved CRM system. In the ever-evolving world of Salesforce, their technology is continuously seeing updates, new features, and more functionality that enables their business to progress. 

Are you an electrical equipment manufacturer considering a Salesforce implementation? You will want to seriously consider a consultant who is not just interested in building your next project but wants to build your business for future success. The AdVic team is ready to start your project today. Reach us here.

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If you work at or serve a charitable organization, chances are that you’ve thought of ways in which your organization could run more efficiently. 

Maybe your board is searching for new technologies, new processes, and anything and everything in between that might help the organization do more with less? 

If this sounds like your situation, Salesforce’s Nonprofit Cloud could be an answer. 

Here are six keys to making the case for Salesforce’s Nonprofit Cloud, plus tips to ensure it’s impactful: 

1. It’s free! Through The Power of Us program, Salesforce® offers each nonprofit up to 10 free licenses (and this includes fiscally sponsored projects). Sign up for the trial, register your nonprofit with the Power of Us application, and you’ll have your free licenses within 30 days. 
2. It’s more than a virtual rolodex. Yes, you will keep all of your contacts in Salesforce. But you’ll also do so much more. Want to see who’s donating frequently for a new campaign? You got it. Want to see who hasn’t volunteered in more than six months? You’ve got that, too. With actions like donations and volunteer activity living in Salesforce, it becomes easier to track and measure existing (and new) KPIs. 
3. No, it doesn’t mean trashing your legacy systems. Salesforce is the leader in CRM software, so let’s just say, “there’s an API for that.” Quickbooks, Xero, Freshbooks, and just about every other SaaS product will integrate with Salesforce fairly easily. And the more data coming in, the more analysis you can do. 
4. Salesforce is what you do with it. There is an age-old adage in the IT world regarding data, GIGO: Garbage in, garbage out. And it’s the same with Salesforce. If you don’t have the processes (and discipline) in place to use your new system, it won’t be very valuable. On the other hand, if you and the rest of the team are willing to learn, adopt, and use Salesforce, you’ll be able to unleash its full potential. Secure executive buy-in and commit to getting the whole team on board and explain how it will help you better serve your mission. 
5. Figure out your budget. Ask a Salesforce implementation partner to put together a quote for you. Be honest with your needs and your expectations and walk away with a budget, at the very least. This can be an important part of the decision making process. Also keep in mind that some partners offer pro bono options. As a certified B Corporation, AdVic is committed to donating 1% of our consulting time on an annual basis, roughly 1,200 hours, to help nonprofits implement Salesforce. So, if you don’t really need a mobile app and 1,000 integrations, there are ways to do this without dusting off your checkbook. 
6. Make an implementation plan. Unless you have extensive experience configuring Salesforce, or the time to learn along the way, you’ll need to figure out how to get from vision to reality. The two main options, hiring an experienced Salesforce administrator or looking for outside help, both have their pros and cons. Once again, the recommendation would be to ask a Salesforce partner to help you make the right decision for your organization (figure out who oversees their pro bono budget and start with them). 

Salesforce’s free Nonprofit Cloud is a powerful tool for any charitable organization. Data all living in one place, no more Google Sheets and Docs and Excels, and the end of manual data entry for the sake of data entry. Whether you have a staff of twenty or two, Salesforce can free your team up to grow your impact. 

If your nonprofit organization is considering a Salesforce solution, drop AdVic a note, as we’re always eager to connect with missions we can get behind. 

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The Client’s Quandary

The AdVic Multi-Cloud Fix

• Migrated more than 200K case records/fields from multiple tables into Salesforce® after an extensive data cleansing process which significantly increased data integrity and usability.
• Configured Sales and Service Cloud enabling clients to decrease reliance on manual process for safety screenings and customer questionnaires.
• Built custom provider ranking and search functionality, which displayed best-fit providers based on geographic location (point to point rather than Zip Code-based), feedback, gender, and session allotment/utilization, etc.
• HIPAA-compliant safeguards established, including password-protected authorization sheet transfer (Salesforce to Provider), and security event monitoring to quickly detect breaches.
• Linked people records to families through Health Cloud’s Household functionality to establish patient/family record access levels based on patient permissions.
• Tailored dashboards by client to furnish service utilization data to each customer.

Introducing Service Cloud Accelerator from Ad Victoriam Solutions

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Ad Victoriam Solutions knows there is no simple answer to that question. A decision to outsource is a strategic, tactical, and financial choice. The answer to the question has to be based on your own company’s internal structure, talent, needs, and goals.

Outsourcing Considerations

Perhaps you are looking to reduce and control your operating expenses, improve company focus, gain access to expertise, or free internal resources for other purposes. And it may also be that the experienced resources within your company are hard to find or are just not available.

If, in the end, you decide that outsourcing your Salesforce implementation makes sense, the next – and most important question is – what should you be looking for in a Salesforce implementation partner?

The RIGHT Salesforce Implementation Partner Has…

The Skill Set You Need: Your partner needs to have expertise in custom development, integrations, system automation, data governance, reporting, and more, to implement any feature or functionality needed.

The Experience You Need: Your partner should possess a wide range of industry and cloud computing experience, giving them the intellectual toolbox to offer alternative perspectives proven to drive success metrics.

The Accessibility You Need: Your partner should be available to support your needs – your project doesn’t stop just because somebody goes on vacation.

The Communication You Need: Your partner should hold scheduled calls and provide updates along with demos to keep you abreast of each milestone. That way, you know exactly how your project is progressing and there are no surprises.

The Staffing You Need: Your partner should be well-staffed with a deep bench of certified Salesforce professionals – able to handle multi-cloud systems and integrations – ensuring that your implementation project remains on target.

Ad Victoriam Solutions, a top recognized Salesforce Consulting Partner since 2014, checks off all of the implementation partner boxes above, and more. Our passionate and knowledgeable team of certified Salesforce professionals across the country is standing by to accelerate your successful implementation project starting today. 

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