Salesforce, the world’s cloud-based CRM of choice, has the power to grow your business by providing a holistic view of your customers and connecting disparate channels of information. With flexible features suited for every business and industry, Salesforce can take your business to the next level by streamlining processes and boosting efficiency. However, it can take time to learn how to integrate Salesforce to fit your business requirements.
When looking for the right Salesforce consulting firm to help you maximize your investment in the platform, there are several details to consider. Below you can learn more about what a Salesforce consulting firm can do for your business, factors to consider when choosing a firm, and what makes a Salesforce consulting firm good (and by good, we mean really good) .
If you’re looking to migrate from another CRM to Salesforce, make enhancements to your current Salesforce org, or automate some of your sales, marketing, or service processes, a Salesforce consulting firm can provide your business with the right support, guidance, and expertise to help your business drive digital transformation. Many Salesforce consulting firms will provide basic services such as CRM consulting, CRM integration, and cloud migration.
Here at Kelley Austin, we apply our CRM consulting expertise and industry-wide experience to help businesses implement the right Salesforce solutions based on their business objectives. Key services we provide as a Salesforce consulting firm include New Product Implementation, Product Enhancements, Data Migration, Managed Services (ongoing, scalable Salesforce support), System Architecture, User Experience (UX) Design, Implementation Repair and much more.
A well-versed Salesforce consulting firm should have a broad range of knowledge in most, if not all, areas of the Salesforce ecosystem so they can determine which Salesforce products make the most sense for your business. After reviewing your business goals and objectives, a Salesforce consulting firm will work with you to determine the scope of the project, timeline and budget, and the best solutions to implement based on scalability and achieving high-quality results.
While Salesforce only provides consulting/implementation services for select accounts (~6%), companies looking to implement Salesforce for their business can work with their Salesforce Account Executive to help them find the right Certified Salesforce Implementation Partner.
If you’re looking for a particular area of expertise, the Salesforce AppExchange contains a comprehensive database of Salesforce consulting firms where you can search by categories such as industry, location and certifications. Salesforce Partners can help you go live with implementations, reach your goals, and maximize your investment in the platform.
Salesforce also offers a variety of success plans that can provide your business with expert guidance and support, although this is different from the consulting services offered by partners. These plans include their Standard Success Plan, Premier Success Plan, and Signature Success Plan. Each success plan offers different levels of expertise and personalization.
Whether you’re a Salesforce veteran or implementing Salesforce solutions for the first time, there are always new features and products being rolled out on the platform. This can be daunting for businesses who are ill-equipped to handle the complexities of the implementation process and even for the most experienced of project managers.
Working with a Salesforce consulting firm can help your business optimize your sales and marketing efforts as well as improve the customer experience by leveraging an entire team of experts.
As your business grows and evolves, it’s critical that your Salesforce Org does the same. Choosing the right Salesforce consulting firm ensures that you can achieve your business objectives without worrying about skill gaps, a prolonged implementation timeline, or staying up-to-date with the latest releases. Working with a Salesforce consulting firm is not only a cost effective solution, but also allows for faster response rates and more informed decision-making.
Sales Cloud and Service Cloud are both integral products built on the core Salesforce Platform that have many overlapping features. Understanding the differences and similarities between the two is key for businesses who are looking to implement one or both products. While Sales Cloud specializes in the management of Leads and Opportunities, forecasting, and sales process automation, Service Cloud focuses on the management of Cases and Knowledge, customer support, and field service. Both share Accounts and Contacts as well as basic Case Management.
A Salesforce consulting company can help you determine whether your business needs Sales Cloud, Service Cloud or both after working with you to determine your business goals and long-term objectives. Given that Sales and Service departments often share a common customer base, there are a multitude of reasons why implementing both products for your business may be the way to go and a Salesforce consulting firm can help you make an informed decision for your business.
If you want to get the maximum investment out of the Salesforce platform, there are several factors to take into consideration. While this list could certainly be longer, here are our top five pieces of advice to get you started.
Research. Research. Research. We can’t stress this enough. There are tons of Salesforce consulting companies out there so we realize this process can be daunting, but it’s crucial for helping you determine which partner is right for you. Reading industry-specific case studies is a great way to figure out what solutions are right for you based on businesses who’ve found success after adopting Salesforce.
Case Studies and customer success stories can also help you find solutions specific to your business and you’ll often find that these problems are not unique to your company. Salesforce’s official Trailblazer Community is another great place to find advice from peers and can help you identify your goals and expectations before selecting a Salesforce consulting firm.
No one likes to hear the hard stuff, but that’s exactly what a good Salesforce consulting company will ask of their clients. They may push you to think about your business in new and challenging ways based on previous success with similar clients and the wealth of Salesforce knowledge that they bring to the table.
“Consultants don’t exist to simply implement the solutions you tell them to. They’re there to provide valuable feedback based on experience and to challenge you to think beyond the systems you already know.”
Good consultants are not afraid to ask the hard questions, not because they like to see how you melt under pressure, but because they’ve witnessed how other businesses have failed before in their processes and want to see you succeed. Consultants don’t exist to simply implement the solutions you tell them to. They’re there to provide valuable feedback based on experience and to challenge you to think beyond the systems you already know.
Reading customer reviews on the Salesforce AppExchange is a great way to get a feel for the types of projects a Salesforce consulting firm has worked on, how they work with their clients, and the true breadth of their experience. The AppExchange can also provide your team with other important aspects about a potential partner such as key team members, certifications, areas of expertise, awards, and more.
For example, if you’re a business in the Financial Services industry, it may be helpful to see if a particular Salesforce consulting firm has experience working with similar clients. Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask your designated Salesforce Account Executive (AE) about which certified Salesforce Implementation Partners are right for your business and project types.
While it may be tempting to look for an implementation partner that’s the most economical choice for your business, going cheap can cost you more money in the long run. Our advice is to look for partners that offer comprehensive solutions based on meeting long-term business goals.
Asking specific questions related to pricing structure such as the true cost of “per hour” pricing, if there are any extra fees outside of hourly rates, and what is included in the contract are all critical questions to consider before wading deep into the waters of a complex project.
Don’t be afraid to ask multiple Salesforce consulting firms for proposals to compare what each offers before making a final decision. Just ensure when comparing multiple proposals that you understand what is/isn’t included in each of them. You may see a cheaper proposal that only includes 70% of the functionality that the more expensive proposal includes. It’s important to compare apples to apples when evaluating cost.
Understanding Salesforce’s robust certification system can help you make the final choice when looking for a partner. Salesforce offers credentials for Salesforce Administrators, Consultants, Developers, Architects, and Marketers. Certified Salesforce Implementation Partners are then awarded specific tiers — Registered, Ridge (Silver), Crest (Gold), and Summit (Platinum) — based on the number of certified experts on the team and a multitude of other categories.
Examining a partner’s certifications can tell you if they’re up-to-date on the latest releases as well as if they’ll be a good fit based on your project requirements, industry, and business size. This is just as important for a 10,000+ employee company as it is for a 500 employee company, to select a partner that makes sense for them, which isn’t always a Summit (Platinum) partner. A medium-sized business may be better off working with a Ridge/Crest (Silver/Gold) partner.
Choosing the right Salesforce consulting firm will not only help you achieve your business goals faster, but can also help you make more informed decisions about your company. A good Salesforce Partner will have well-rounded expertise across the entire Salesforce ecosystem, including ample experience with Sales, project management, and related technologies and apps that Salesforce integrates with.
Working with a diverse team of experts means that you have access to an entire knowledge base that is readily available to find the best solutions for your business. Additional details to consider when looking for the right Salesforce consulting firm for your business may include less tangible factors such as:
At Kelley Austin, we believe that successful projects begin with trust. We work hard to ensure that you trust our expertise so that you can know that we have your company’s best interests in mind. Trust should also work both ways, meaning a Salesforce consulting firm should be able to
trust that their clients will be willing to put in the time and effort it takes to make the project a success. You’re an expert in your company, we are experts in Salesforce, and if we both trust each other, we can find the perfect balance between adapting the business to the technology, and the technology to the business.
Collaboration is an important part of successful Salesforce projects and begins with understanding who the key team members are at your company that need to be involved. Once you’ve determined who will be working on the project, it’s equally important to understand the various roles on the consultant’s side as well.
Important roles such as Consultant, Project Manager, and Solution Architect should be clear and defined with points of contact established at the beginning of the project. Communication between the Salesforce Partner and team members should be clear and direct. This builds accountability between both parties and a natural sense of open collaboration.
Passion can be difficult to measure, but we believe that it’s an important factor in every project that we take on. Consultants need to feel passionate about the work they’re doing and businesses need to feel excited about the changes being made to their systems and processes.
At Kelley Austin we are passionate about bridging the gap between business and technology. We love helping businesses find the value in Salesforce as a tool for employees, customers, and partners to utilize rather than a burden. We see your success as ours.
Whether you’re a company that’s looking for the right technology partner to implement a product like Marketing Cloud for your business, or you’re in need of custom development, knowing what factors to consider when selecting a Salesforce consulting firm is critical.
A good Salesforce Partner will offer a variety of professional services and expertise across the Salesforce ecosystem. Once you’ve defined your goals and project requirements, you’ll want to ensure the partner you select is able to meet those requirements and offers a holistic approach that will benefit your business in the long run.
At Kelley Austin, our team is ready to meet your technical implementation and integration needs. We are experts in Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Custom Development and Integrations. Our team has successfully delivered hundreds of projects across a variety of industries. Contact us today to get started today.
At Kelley Austin we're proud to provide tailored Salesforce solutions across a variety of industries. Our expert knowledge and many years of experience in all aspects of the Salesforce ecosystem have earned us high levels of satisfaction from our clients.
We're ready to find the right solutions for your industry today.