The 3 Stages of Salesforce: Implementation, Enablement, and Support

by | May 27, 2020 | Salesforce

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Over the past few months, your business has likely relied on cloud-based systems more than usual. With so many working from home due to the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, businesses were forced to shift to online processes. For many, that meant relying on their CRM more than before and discovering issues in how they leverage this critical system.

Where are you in your Salesforce usage? Have you just started with Salesforce implementation? Been using the system for years? Ready to move to the next level?

No matter where you are, be aware that your Salesforce CRM system holds the power to activate your business – if you let it. Too often, businesses think purchasing a CRM is the solution to their problems. They forget that business enablement tools are only as useful as the people and processes around them.

Why Your Salesforce CRM May Be Failing You

Though it may be hard to hear, if your Salesforce CRM is failing you, it likely has a lot to do with how you are your team are using it. Study after study shows successfully implemented CRMs bring in up to a 29% boost in sales and a 34% increase in productivity. Yet, the median CRM failure rate is as high as 40% due to initial poor adoption.

You have the means to harness productivity and revenue boosts through your CRM, if you’re willing to put in the time to make it work for your business.

1. Implement Right

What does “right implementation” look like for your CRM? It starts with looking at the big picture: what are your goals, and how can a CRM help you reach them? Armed with this knowledge, you can select the right system and tools for your business. Start small and targeted: get only the tools you need right now. You can always add on extensions as your team expands use. Other steps to follow are:

  • Invest in install and customization, and, depending on your business’s size and CRM knowledge, continued support
  • Create an obtainable implementation timeline, in collaboration with your team and your provider
  • Identify point people in each area (i.e., sales, marketing, customer service) to disseminate information on implementation and training to each group effectively
  • Establish a communication plan for getting the word out on implementation and training, including where individuals should direct questions and get answers

2. Enable usage

As we said at the top, your CRM is only as functional as the people and processes around it. That begins with targeted and ongoing training on your system and its integration into daily processes and practices. If your CRM is failing, investigate why. Often, it’s a lack of adoption, with many hanging on to old processes like excel sheets and other systems. Help them transition to using your CRM. Increase adoption with the following:

  • Add customizations to sales team workflows, scorecards, dashboards, and other elements, so they become intuitive for your team to use
  • Create drip campaigns targeted to your business so you can automate processes that speak to your needs
  • Automate other elements like lead generation, creation of follow-up tasks, and reminders to aid in adoption
  • Leverage the powerful data generated by your CRM with custom dashboards and invest in learning how to capture and interpret data
  • Integrate your CRM with existing systems like accounting, customer service, and your website for a seamless system addressing your needs

3. Support success

Once you have a good thing going with your CRM, you need to ensure you keep it going with regular, quality support. Keep data clean with monthly or quarterly cleanses to eliminate duplicates, assess field accuracy, and update incomplete records, among other issues. Your data is what drives your results – bad data in means bad data out. Support your CRM success with:

  • Regular training for new hires and re-training for your team as you install new updates
  • Centralized knowledge base for all team members to go when starting a new process for the first time
  • Dedicated support resources (internal or external) to step-in for complex issues and other intense support needs

The Salesforce + NuGrowth Solution

As a Salesforce partner for over 10 years, the experts at NuGrowth Solutions know the #1 CRM system inside and out. We’ve worked with business of all sizes and industry to create a Salesforce solution that increases team productivity, identifies meaningful insights, and provides executives with objective, accurate data to manage operations

Discover our implementation, enablement, and support options to help you no matter where you are in your Salesforce journey. Get in touch at 800.966.3051 or www.nugrowth.com to find out more.

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