One of the most valuable takeaways from Dreamforce are the customer case studies. These customer success stories give us tons of ideas, and help turn the abstract concept of “running your business in the cloud”, into tangible examples we can all understand. BUT, we often under estimate what’s really involved in truing these ideas into action. I’ve heard countless times, “I need to get back to the office because there is just so much I can do.” But when I look for specific tasks they are actually going to do, I get a blank stare or dazed confusion.
In the past I’ve returned with grand ideas of what I thought would help our business, so I understand the enthusiasm. But I’ve come to learn that if this enthusiasm isn’t managed, we’ll quickly get overwhelmed, causing us to lose track of where to start. Ultimately, this allows the status quo to remain.
The problem with case studies
We need to remember that these success stories are from other companies. Just because they’re doing something doesn’t mean you can implement it tomorrow (or possibly ever). We need to understand that these organizations have a unique mix of culture, people, skill, budget, technology, etc.
Case studies help establish your vision
The reason I love case studies is because they help us establish our vision for the software. But my advice is to use them to guide your vision because only you can figure out what you need to get started. Again, just because another company used a tool on Appexchagne doesn’t mean you’ll have the time, technical skill, or budget to achieve the same results.
Putting ideas into action
Before you get started I suggest you do some form of gap analysis. Here’s what I’ve typically done with clients.
1. Think about what you’re doing today
This means reviewing the systems you use, the responsibilities of these systems, your current business process, how these business processes align with your systems, etc. But, don’t let this become a drawn out assessment by keeping it simple. You just want to understand your starting point. The liberal use of a whiteboard can help with this.
2. Determine what you want to do
You don’t need to be a Visio wiz to do this. Simply make statements of how you want Salesforce to work. I must stress that these need to be specific and actionable tasks. Don’t say, I want Salesforce to manage my post sale activities. Break these activities down into the tasks that need to be done, i.e. send an invoice, assign a service rep to the account, etc.
3. Apply these requirements to Salesforce
Once you have a clear backlog, you’ll be able to figure out how Salesforce will assist you in the completion of these tasks. For example there might be an Appexchange app that does exactly what you need, you may be able to use a simple pick-list field to track key information, a web-to-lead form with a welcome email may satisfy your marketing needs, etc.
4. Prioritize
When you have a clear set of tasks with an understanding of how you’re going to do it, you essentially have an implementation backlog. Now you need to prioritize it! Unless you have a large project team, I suggest you force rank these requirements. This will allow you to start from the top of the list and work your way down.
5. Get to work!
Those validation rules don’t write themselves …
Ppl like you get all the barnis. I just get to say thanks for he answer.