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TO ASK
BEFORE
YOU HIRE A
STRATEGIC
SALESFORCE
ADVISOR
By now, you’ve probably
realized that Salesforce is much
more than a tool: it is its own
platform ecosystem. In June
49,000
Salesforce-related jobs
2017, Indeed.com listed over
49,000 Salesforce-related jobs
on its pages with large demand
from top companies like Bank of
America, Amazon, and JPMorgan Internal
88%
Fortune 100
survey companies use
Chase. According to an internal at least one
survey, a whopping 88 percent Salesforce app
4.5
million installs
What all this means is that But again, where to start?
Salesforce is big. Enormous,
You’ll find no shortage of
even. So it’s okay if you’re feeling
professionals claiming to be the
just a little overwhelmed. That’s
best advisor for your business.
probably why you’re in the market
But as with any hiring process,
for a strategic Salesforce advisor,
not everything you read on a
someone to guide your business
resume is true, and not every
as you implement this new
person you interview will be up
platform and make the shift to the
for the task.
Salesforce way of doing things.
You need a sherpa who knows In this ebook, we will discuss six
the terrain—the hills and valleys, questions to ask before you hire a
the narrow passes and steep strategic Salesforce advisor. Some
inclines—and who can guide you will be intuitive, others less so. But
to the summit of achievement. if you understand what to ask,
why to ask it, and what answers
to expect, you’ll save time and
money—not just in interviewing,
but also in transforming your
business into a Salesforce
powerhouse.
05 Are you
certified?
16
What is your
implementation
07 What
experience do
you bring to
methodology?
20
the table? What’s
your price?
10 Who
are your
references?
13
Who do you
work for?
SECTION ONE
With the CRM platform still as young as it is, you’re not likely to
see anyone list “Salesforce training” under their courses taken
at college (though Penn State does offer “Salesforce Reporting
Fundamentals,” and others are following suit). However, there are
two markers you can look for that indicate that an advisor has
studied, been trained, and met professional qualifications for the
industry.
SALESFORCE CERTIFICATION
TRAILHEAD
If certification is the cake, we’ve now come to the
icing. Trailhead is a free interactive learning tool
provided by Salesforce that covers the basics of
the platform. The website offers 200 modules
covering everything from storytelling and artificial
intelligence to app creation and advanced
formulas. Upon completing a module, users
receive a badge, with “superbadges” awarded for
completing multiple modules in a series. Taking
a look at advisors’ badges and superbadges on
their Trailhead community profiles is a quick and
easy way to get a feel for the training they’ve
completed.
6
SECTION TWO
What experience do
you bring to the table?
What
How big are industries
your clients? have you
worked with?
7
WHAT INDUSTRIES HAVE YOU agencies but only one for a
WORKED WITH? non-profit, chances are he would
Dave Averill, customer service much rather do work for another
manager at Salesforce.org, writes, government agency than for
“Find a partner who is an expert your charity. It’s nothing to hold
at your type of organizational against him, personally—you and
model, if you can. Some partners the advisor both want to play to
are great at serving direct service his or her strengths.
organizations, and some are great
at serving grassroots environmental WHAT IS YOUR CSAT SCORE?
organizations.” Projects are going
The customer satisfaction, or
to look different for a government
CSAT, score is a key performance
agency than for a media outlet. If
indicator for any advisory or
you’re a nonprofit, billing is going
implementation partner. You
to work much differently than
can find these CSAT scores on
for a retail store. Look at what
the AppExchange. Customer
clients the advisor has worked for
satisfaction scores are calculated
in your specific industry, whether
using customer feedback
it’s finance, education, real estate,
collected over an 18-month
manufacturing, healthcare, etc.
period.
8
SECTION THREE
10
“My first job out of college ◦ What kind of work did the
was as a consultant ... after advisor do for you?
a whirlwind six weeks of
training that had nothing ◦ How responsive was she? Did
to do with ERP, I was she work quickly or keep you
designated an expert up-to-date on her progress?
systems integrator on
◦ How well did the advisor know
PeopleSoft, the ERP system
the ins and outs of Salesforce?
later devoured by Oracle
How often was she stumped?
(ORCL). I learned what ‘ERP’
meant about 36 hours before ◦ Was she accountable?
I showed up on my client’s
doorstep. ◦ Did she complete the work she
was hired to do?
“Over the next several
years, I worked on four so- ◦ Would you work with her
called ‘full life-cycle’ ERP again?
implementations. Every
one was delivered late,
over budget, and with more One of the strongest indicators
bugs than a youth hostel in of an advisor’s future work is
Bangkok.” the work she’s done in the past.
Hopefully you like what you hear,
and the reference’s endorsement
supports everything the applicant
has said.
ERIC KRANGEL
Business Insider
11
SECTION FOUR
INDEPENDENT
CONSULTING
FIRM
INDEPENDENT
If the applicant is independent, that means that he has
no one else to turn to when he needs help. He has no
formal system of support to fall back on, no coworkers
to consult with. He is his own resource. That will make
all of the other questions we’ve discussed all the more
important. If this advisor falls short, you can’t have him
replaced easily—you have to either stick it out or start
the entire hiring process over again.
CONSULTING FIRM
If the consultant represents a consulting firm, there’s a
whole slew of new questions for you consider:
14
Registered: Partnership
Value Score (PVS) of
0–249
Silver: 250–449 PVS
Gold: 450–699 PVS
Platinum: 700–1000 PVS
What is your
implementation
methodology?
Agile, as its name implies, is all ◦ The client feels more involved
about speed and dexterity. In in the work being conducted
Agile, focus is placed on small and is less likely to be
teams that organize themselves, surprised by developments or
not by tasks, but by time. Teams finished projects.
are responsible for organizing ◦ Because of client feedback,
their work into clearly defined projects are more user-
periods of time—called “sprints”— focused.
to which they assign a list of
◦ Teams and clients alike learn
deliverables. When organizing the
how to prioritize better as
sprint, teams work closely with
projects continue.
clients to determine/prioritize
deliverables based on business ◦ When time is an issue,
value. At the end of the sprint, deliverables of greater
the most important deliverables importance are completed
have been completed. If any tasks faster.
have not been completed, they ◦ Agile is the preferred
are those that the client deemed methodology of Salesforce.
less important, and the client and
team reprioritize work for the Of course, one of Agile’s greatest
coming sprint. strengths is one of its greatest
weaknesses, as well: not all clients
Agile relies on a high level of
want to be as involved as Agile
client involvement throughout
methodology demands. However,
as teams report on progress and
this can easily be adjusted so that
send deliverables to the client
clients are only consulted at the
for review. Various advantages
beginning and end of each sprint.
include the following:
17
Agile
Development
Waterfall
Method
18
WATERFALL