Considering a Salesforce CRM Implementation – Here is a Good Starting Place
One of the best investments you can make in your Salesforce CRM success is to have a clear plan. Just as you wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, you don’t want to start with Salesforce CRM without a plan. A plan will help you to communicate with everyone, to do things in the right order, identify key resources, and keep a clear end date in mind.
As you plan and prepare to get Salesforce CRM up and running, complete the following steps (in this order):
• Build your team
• Define and prioritize your goals and requirements
• Define your process
• Map your process to Salesforce CRM functionality
• Define the reports you need
• Train your administrator
• Communicate with your users
Build Your Team
To a small business with limited resources, the term “project team” may sound intimidating. But it doesn’t take a huge team, you just need to cover the following key roles—in fact, the same person can cover more than one role.
• An executive sponsor
• A project owner to get the application up and running (this could be a Salesforce Partner)
• An administrator to manage Salesforce day to day
• A power user who really knows your company’s business processes
The executive sponsor lends his or her influence to the project by becoming its champion. Having that person’s full support and participation—from the planning stage until the go-live date and beyond—is absolutely critical.
The project owner, who leads the implementation project, must understand the organization’s business processes to map them to Salesforce. This person would also manage the Salesforce Partner.
The person who is the designated administrator manages Salesforce day to day and makes new functionality available. It’s also a good idea to have the administrator involved in the implementation project. A technical background is not necessary, but may be helpful.
And to make sure that Salesforce CRM meets the needs of your end users, it is essential to involve key power users in the planning process
Qualities of a Good Salesforce Administrator
Software as a service (SaaS) makes system administration much easier than it was with traditional software. Setting up, customizing the application, maintaining it, training users, and “turning on” the new features that become available with each release—all are just a few clicks away.
The administrator is one of the most important people when it comes to making Salesforce CRM a success. The role of the administrator for a small business is not necessarily a full-time position. In the initial stages of the implementation, the role will require more concentrated time (about 50 percent). After go live, managing Salesforce CRM day to day will require much less time (about 10-25 percent). [In the event you do not have this personnel bandwidth, your Salesforce Partner could train an administrator post implementation]. Find the right person for the job and continue to invest in that person’s professional development.
Here are some qualities to look for in an administrator:
• A solid understanding of your business processes
• Knowledge of the organizational structure and culture to help build relationships with key groups
• Excellent communication, motivational, and presentation skills
• The desire to be the voice of the user in communicating with management
• Analytical skills to respond to requested changes and identify customizations
Set Your Goals
In addition to a clear destination, it also helps to have a plan that breaks down the journey into manageable steps.
Setting your goals includes three key steps:
• Define the company's vision
• Define the goals that support this vision
• Prioritize and document your requirements
Define the Company's Vision
Every successful CRM project starts with a clear vision of where you want to be as a result of the project. It's very important that your key executives are involved in defining this vision, that you document the vision, and that it is understood by everyone.
Define Your Goals
Next, determine which concrete goals support your vision. Keep in mind that different groups within your organization are likely to have different goals. For example:
• Executives want to improve sales and track top performers or customer issues
• Sales managers want better visibility into their pipelines and reports that summarize key information
• Sales reps want to easily access the sales materials they need and cut down on administrative work
Prioritize and Document Your Requirements
Most people-and most organizations-want to take on more than they can handle at any one time. Clearly defining your goals and then prioritizing them will make it easier to decide what to put off, should that become necessary. Having some early "wins" is essential: when people experience the value of Salesforce CRM first hand, they're more likely to support adding additional features.
[Thanks to Salesforce.com for the blueprint to starting an implementation]
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