Chances are, if you’re reading this, we already know your story: You heard the buzz about Salesforce, and you went for it.
A CRM that’s easy to set up, incredibly adaptable, and helps scale your company? Sign me up!
But now, a few months after implementation, you’re starting to notice the results aren’t meeting your expectations. Even worse, they’re not meeting your executives’ expectations.
Now your higher-ups are breathing down your neck about wasted time, bad leads, data missing from reports, skipped steps in the approval procedures… Your company’s Salesforce process is a mess, and it’s your mess to clean up.
Don’t worry, you haven’t been scammed. At least, not by Salesforce. The platform really is everything it’s advertised to be, but only when it’s properly implemented. More often than not, the implementation phase is where Salesforce problems start, because the bare-bones basic version of the platform doesn’t come optimized for your company’s needs out of the box.
A bare-bones basic setup is all you get with certain Salesforce contractors. Without the right partner to create bespoke code and automated functions that are customized to streamline your company’s unique process, you’re left with the Salesforce equivalent of a kitchen full of the world’s best ingredients… and no chef.
3 Common Salesforce Problems Caused by an "Undercooked" Implementation
You're not making Web-to-Lead work for you
Why are your leads so low in Salesforce? Some companies, when first implementing Salesforce, think manually creating leads won’t be an issue. It’s just a few data fields and clicks, how hard could it be?
This is where it helps to have experienced, dedicated Salesforce consultants who are invested in giving you the best results (not just interested in cashing your check). We’ve seen companies fall victim to the “how hard could it be?” mentality before, and all too often the answer is “much harder than it has to be.”
Particularly if you’re looking to scale up, at high volume, manually inputting every lead is time-consuming and impractical. We recommend utilizing the built-in web-to-lead form Salesforce component, which can be easily added to the HTML of your website. However, adding this feature that automatically inputs customer-reported lead data into Salesforce is just the first step.
If you’re already using the web-to-lead form, you may have noticed that its default state leaves something to be desired. To return to the cooking analogy, it’s unseasoned… raw.
Optimizing your web-to-lead form, which is possible in every imaginable way within Salesforce, allows you to add custom buttons, relevant fields, graphic highlights, and other interactivity/styling features that vastly improve the quality of your leads.
When your Salesforce developer implements and customizes your web-to-lead form, you can count on an increase in fast, specific, and quality leads without missing information.
Your sales reps are spending too much time moving data during conversions
Why aren’t we closing faster and better with Salesforce?
Salesforce has all the customizable features to make your conversions fast and easy… if they’re set up for you.
In their default state, Salesforce conversions are a manual operation, which isn’t such a big deal when your sales reps are converting only a few a day - but if you’re scaling up to thousands a day, suddenly your reps are spending hours moving data around when they should be selling.
On top of that, just like the web-to-lead form, if you haven’t had custom fields added to your lead conversion process, vital data you need isn’t following your lead as it converts to an opportunity!
Your approval process is missing or is not set up properly
Whether you’re dealing with an inexperienced newbie or a rogue rep, there’s a nightmare scenario that’s possible when you don’t have an adequate approval process setup in Salesforce: A report lands in your executive’s inbox, and they find out a high-stakes deal was closed before they’d seen or approved it!
In Salesforce, essentially every step of the conversion and closing process is fully customizable, so we suggest that our clients implement customizations that stop deals from closing without proper approval. It’s even possible to add criteria that route approvals to various approval levels based on the risk of the deal.
When your Salesforce developer takes the time to build out adequate approval process automation, you can rest easier knowing that it will prohibit any deal from being advanced until it has the required sign-off.
Don't settle for Prix-fixe Salesforce when you can have its features made-to-order!
Salesforce is the absolute top-of-the-line when it comes to customizable CRM software, but if it’s not implemented with expert care and attention to detail, it can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Fortunately, Salesforce optimization is our bread and butter, and we’ve been able to assist clients in generating more leads, delivering reports with high data quality, and reducing process times by 75% or more.
Working up an appetite for some Hawaii Salesforce consulting a la Cloud Pacific? Contact us through our own fully-customized web-to-lead form here.