Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the lifeline for several businesses. It is also true that not every business has the means to operate and configure a complicated Salesforce CRM Implementation process. This is where a Salesforce implementation consulting plays a major role in providing a complete experience as they know how to pay significant returns and help you implement it in the right way.

With the introduction of both Salesforce plans and consultants, it feels like the process of choosing between Salesforce consulting companies is even more complex as the actual implementation itself. It doesn't matter if you are out to implement Salesforce CRM for the first time or you need to optimize your current Salesforce platform. It's not easy to find a trusted partner who knows what they are in for and is also a good choice for your organization.

Deploying Salesforce in your organization is not done with a flip of the switch. Developing a strong Salesforce implementation strategy is key to achieving quick goals, immediate system adoption and high return of interest. The more complexity of your system with integrations, mobile components and tools exceeding Sales Cloud, such as Visualforce, the more robust your strategy should be.

Getting Started

A Salesforce consultant is filled with experience and can get significant returns for you considering you choose the right one in the first place. References are a great place to look into. But in selecting any Salesforce consultancy, you need to look for their business awareness, industry experience and technical expertise. This is not always obvious from client recommendations or even referrals from reliable co-workers.  Furthermore, a business may have an excellent reputation, but it all comes down to the people responsible for your job. Your primary focus should be on the people who will be responsible for your project, not on the general aspects of the firm because the firm’s reputation is not relevant while hiring a Salesforce consultant.

We have created a set of questions to help you decide if a Salesforce.com (SFDC) consultant is suited to your requirements. They are not meant to be used as a questionnaire for the consulting company to fill out the request for proposal.  They are to help you reveal hidden warnings in your search to find the best for your project, so use the questions conversationally instead. That way you will see their shortcomings and know where to look the next time. 

The other thing is,  requirements vary for a client to another, so there's no right set of answers to these questions. Instead, use them to examine how exactly they match your organizational needs and business style.  Also, no consultancy is going to score perfectly,  be satisfied if you get down some of the points, and these questions can be generalized to fit most CRM platforms, not just Salesforce.

Are you certified?

Salesforce certification is the most obvious way to verify if your consultant has the Salesforce knowledge and experience necessary to supervise your implementation or not. It also helps in making sure that the person is up-to-date on the most recent Salesforce releases. Salesforce releases new system feature updates three times in a year (winter, spring, and summer). Every Salesforce certified consultant needs to maintain their certification for these updates by taking a maintenance test every release cycle.

How many references do you have?

The best determiner of future behaviour is past behaviour. While looking at past reviews of a consultant look for the following points.

• What is the response time of the consultant?
• Has a previous client favoured to work with this consultant again?
• How keen the consultant is on Salesforce and its vertical?
  
  

How focused are you on Salesforce?

Salesforce is continuously growing and evolving at a fast rate. You need to work with a consultant who understands Salesforce properly and is fully focused on it. Below are some questions that we think are not as important because some big consulting firms have a small Salesforce practice.

• What percentage of your projects are Salesforce related projects?
• How long have you been a Salesforce consultant?
• How long have you had Salesforce customers with a similar focus as my vertical?
  
  

What is your past experience?

It is ideal if you work with consultants who have been down this road before. To get that information make sure to ask them the following things:

• What is the company size of their average client?
• How much experience do you have with a similar type of project?
• How many total projects have they delivered till now?
  
  

Do you use the Trailhead tool?

Trailhead is an interactive tool for learning Salesforce skills that will guide you through the Salesforce Platform. In this tool, every in-demand skill set is included – whether you are a developer or a system admin, Trailhead has tools to test your awareness of the platform. Finishing a Trailhead module successfully does not make someone a specialist in that particular skill set. But it does indicate that the individual took the time to study a particular topic and that Trailhead evaluated an individual’s achievement.
 

Will you provide technical guidance?

A Salesforce consulting partner should be able to provide you with technical guidance in advance by answering the following questions: 

• What is the most significant scalability problem we are likely to face in this project?
• What is the most significant compliance issue we are likely to face in this project?
• To what extent will the project depend on the custom code?
• To what extent will the project depend on third-party tools? 
• Will the project depend on cloud computing outside of the SFDC platform?
  
  

Are you an independent consultant or part of a firm?

If it's an independent consultant ask the following:

• How would they handle tasks that they are not familiar with? For instance, if your consultant is not a developer, how would he take care of custom coding needs? 
• Do you have any major issues during the course of our implementation that can hinder you from concentrating on our project?
  
  

If it is a consulting firm:

• Are you a Salesforce SIs (system integrators) partner?
• Is your firm on the Salesforce AppExchange platform?
• Do you have any certifications on the AppExchange?
• What is your CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) on the AppExchange?
  
  

What about the price?

Multiple factors contribute to the Salesforce consultant cost. Ideally, you would go for a less expensive option when they are providing the same quality service as the more expensive one. It is not always true that the expensive consultants do a better job, or a less expensive one doesn't. But we would still advise you to not fall for the lure of a bargain. Make sure you include all the above key points before you make your decision and not base your decision just on the price. For instance, outsourcing Salesforce development to India is pretty affordable and at the same time, they offer top-notch Salesforce implementation services and industry expertise to their clients.

Winding-up

When it comes to choosing the consultants, most companies fail to follow the key methods and policies explained in the post. So make the smart decision by taking the help of all the strict instructions mentioned above. While evaluating your needs to hire a Salesforce consultant, think of the problems you want to resolve at both business and technology end. If a Salesforce consulting company has the relevant skills, expertise, and ability to work on those verticals, then go for it.  

If you are up for hiring a Salesforce consulting partner, then  Evon Technologies is a perfect option for your Salesforce consulting needs. We have worked with small, independent companies and large corporations to provide Salesforce consulting and implementation services, so they make the most of this platform. With the help of our Salesforce developers and experts, your team will undergo a smooth transition to the CRM platform and its services. This will enable a streamlined workflow in your future projects to improve internal and external communications in your organisation. Need further guidance? Contact us today or drop an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to start this journey with us.