One of the most popular articles to date in my blog is 7 Tips to stimulate Salesforce.com user adoption. Taking that as a cue that successful Salesforce implementations ranked high on the corporate list of Important Initiatives, I thought I’d explore some of the elements of successful implementations, starting with leadership.
I created an in-depth webinar on the topic so this will be more of a review.
Just as a side note, while I’m specifically referring to Salesforce through this article, in truth the same tips can be applied to any major initiative.
Which Salesforce solution?
Salesforce is a robust, multi-dimensional solution that is in successful use by mucho companies. If you want yours to hit the Success list, then you start by putting aside concerns about which Salesforce solution you need.
Most of us discuss Salesforce.com as if it’s a single solution but it’s functionality is much too diverse to pigeon hole it that way. Companies use to manage sales and marketing , customer service, projects, asset management, and a variety of other functional needs. Additionally, the Force.com platform can be used by companies like Intellicore Design to extend Salesforce’s feature functionality through custom development.
That’s why you need to first start with analyzing your business imperative/pain/opportunity and then strategize your corporate processes. The strategy will, in turn, define your Salesforce solution(s).
What is Leadership’s role in Salesforce implementations?
Here’s the bottom line. Your successful Salesforce implementation starts with Leadership. I’m not saying your implementation will fail if your leadership fails to <er> lead, but you’re well on the way.
I’m defining “leadership” in a collective sense here. This isn’t just about the CEO or COO but about management across all impacted departments.
These folks must:
- Have a passionate need for the change,
- Create a cohesive vision for automation,
- Promote the value of change,
- Lead by example.
Build a business process / Salesforce team
We strongly recommend you build a Salesforce team comprised of representatives from every major functional area impacted by your impending implementation.
This folks will be responsible for defining the business processes you want to automate via Salesforce. Additionally, these folks will play key roles in defining the metrics needed to manage the business. Hint, give this folks KPIs that relate to a successful Salesforce implementation.
Using consultants
Depending on the depth of your internal domain knowledge regarding business processes and Salesforce, it might make sense to hire third-party consultants to help you define automation processes. For example, Salesforce consultants should be able to advise you on best practices for automation across different functional areas.
In deciding which consultant to use, consider the consultants’:
- Business strategy/process knowledge – domain expertise in your functional area of interest.
- Technical expertise.
- Defined design and implementation process.
Define your business strategy
What’s your company’s business imperative/pain/opportunity? Leverage whatever your company is doing well and then bolster its weaknesses. Arenas for consideration include:
- Customer lifecycle experience.
- Partner strategy.
- Product/services development strategy,
- Other major areas of business focus.
If you want to use Salesforce effectively, then define holistic processes that flow from department to department. For example, marketing automation processes should flow right into sales processes should flow right into project management or customer service.
The larger your company, the more complex your process definition requirements and the more we recommend multi-phase application implementations. Thus, while you don’t necessarily have to stall implementations until every gory detail is defined, you do need to have a good vision for your overall Salesforce implementation before you start.
Promoting the value of change
Defining the business strategy is also an important cornerstone to future user adoption once your installation goes live. The source of your messaging to promote the value of change will come directly from your vision. The troops are only going to buy into the need if it’s well-defined.
Define metrics
There are two levels of metrics that your Salesforce implementation will need. The first is the metrics needed to measure implementation success.
The second is what business intelligence your company will need measure the success or failure of your business. Additionally, what metrics will you need to engage in forward thinking and planning. And here’s a tip, think beyond company management. What sorts of metrics will help your rank and file be more productive and efficient?
Summary
Leadership strategy is the beginning of any successful Salesforce implementation. However, leadership doesn’t stop once the implementation begins. It will be their role to continually trumpet the value of the change while users move through the adoption phase.
In my next article, I’ll spend time delving into planning for successful Salesforce implementations.
Related resources
Tips for Successful Salesforce.com Implementations – webinar