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Best CRM On the Market But Only When Implementation and Training Handled With Care
September 26, 2013

Best CRM On the Market But Only When Implementation and Training Handled With Care

Stephanie Gaughen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Professional

Modules Used

  • SalesCloud
  • Force.com
  • Chatter
  • Partner Portal
  • Content
  • Knowledge

Overall Satisfaction

  • Open source platform, so organizations can customize applications.
  • Increases sales - as long as users adopt the system.
  • Salesforce does not support non-enterprise organizations well. That is where partner organizations can make a big difference.
  • Users must adopt the system for all the promises Salesforce makes to come true.
  • If implementation fails, the systems fails. Executives must give employees time to implement the system.
  • Training is key to successful implementation and adoption. This requires help from a partner organization.
  • We are growing rapidly and have increased sales by 30% this year.
  • We have increased our contacts and leads exponentially.
Salesforce is not a system you can simply quit using. It's easier for small businesses but nearly impossible for enterprise. Obviously, data management would be a huge issue in not renewing the software.
Salesforce is the best CRM on the market today but it only works when implemented effectively. Salesforce has built their partner marketplace around this fact. They don't have the professional services capabilities to help every organization identify their needs; customize and integrate applications; implement solutions; train staff and maintain the system over time. Organizations looking at Salesforce must plan to hire outside help to make the implementation successful. This isn't unique to SaaS. A lot of sales and marketing software platforms also build their services marketplace around this concept. Many people feel like they can handle the implementation and training themselves but they fail to make it a priority and give themselves the time they need to get the job done right. Fortunately, there are many skilled consultants, developers and integrators in the marketplace today ready to help.

Product Usage

  • Sales opportunity visualization.
  • Sales and marketing pipeline management.
  • Contact management.

Evaluation and Selection

Implementation

Make sure you have the system requirements well defined. Make sure executives understand the importance of this to the success of Salesforce or any CRM. If you don't understand the requirements, you won't make the best decision for your needs. That can cost you a lot of money and wasted time.
  • Implemented in-house
  • Professional services company
We are a Salesforce consulting company.

Training

  • Online training
  • In-person training
  • Self-taught
In person training is really the best way to learn this stuff.
No, in order to really see ROI, it's important to get training from an expert. If people don't know how to use the software, they won't use it and the whole initiative fails.

Support

We are not on the enterprise edition and therefore limited to email support, which can take hours or even days to hear back. As a partner and development company, a lot of the questions our users have can be answered internally but most organizations don't have that luxury. Having a consultant readily available to answer quick questions would be extremely important for small-to-mid organizations.