Salesforce’s CRM model has proved itself to be a power to reckon with when it comes to finding and keeping clients. Even with a number of other CRM products in the market, Salesforce has become the go to name of a number of start-ups and enterprise level companies. If you are planning to implement Salesforce in your company, one of the ways to work with its potential is to get associated with the community of Salesforce Partners and choose someone who will take you there.
However in the huge Salesforce Partner network, how do you choose who will be the perfect match for your brand, who will help you decide which features do you need that will get you audience specific to your business? In this article, we will talk about a few points, which will help you find the right partner, if followed right.
Finding the ideal Salesforce partner for your business is a process, which like every process comes with a set of plan and agenda.
Let us see what yours should look like –
Get acquainted with the Platform
Start with knowing the features that Salesforce offers to brands in your business domain. Look at the introductory and explanation videos to understand how it works and list down 4 – 5 discussion points to go over with the prospects.
Tip: It’s very tempting to go in depth of the Salesforce product but refrain from doing that. Focus on understanding how it works and ways it can help you, specifically.
Get to the Salesforce Partner pool
1. Use App Exchange
The platform is the best place to find a number of certified Salesforce partners in one place. Read their reviews, look at their social profiles, see the kind of services or products they offer and then add the most suited one in the bucket.
2. Make use of your network
Seep through your social and professional network and find if there is someone who understands how Salesforce works and might help you make the most of it.
Possibly, now you will have a list of potentials ready with you, the next step is to know what you want and what you have to offer for it. Here are the things that you need to have for this stage –
• A rough draft of what you are looking to achieve and the timeline
• A calculated fixed budget
• Payment Cycle
• Role of the Salesforce partner – Project Executioner or Consultant till you get a hang of it
Following everything mentioned above, you will now definitely have an agenda of how to go about finding and finalizing a Salesforce partner. Once you find him/ her, clarify their role and then trust them while finding time to learn from what they have to offer. At the early stages, divide your project into phases and analyze how the partnership is going before drawing cheques with huge numbers.
In the end, it is very important to focus on building a long term relationship with your partner.
Now that you have an idea of how and where to find Salesforce partners and the things that you need to have ready on you, once you have the list of potentials, it is time to ensure that you are not making these common mistakes –
1. Keeping money over experience
On your search to finding the right Salesforce partner, the chances that you come across cost friendly people with limited projects and reviews, are very high. The only thing that will come out at the back of investing in cheap partners is – Your project and goal will take a lot more time to get completed, solely because of the lack of your partner’s Salesforce experience. Also, the deviations in plans will be a lot more in this case, which might take you away from your planned roadmap, keeping you from realising Salesforce potential to its full.
2. Investing in a Salesforce Developer
While at an early stage it might seem wise both financially and end result wise to hire a Salesforce developer who would work closely with you, but with time when your team grows, you cannot simply rely on a developer. The platform is too big for a developer to handle. Always try and go for a Salesforce partner that has the back of a team, which would handle your business needs, holistically.
Bringing the article to an end, here are few takeaways –
Have a rough idea of what you are looking for, do your homework and set your expectations right when it comes to looking for a long term Salesforce partner. In the end, always aim at creating lasting relationships with the chosen partner.
