What it takes to select the ideal Salesforce Consulting Partner?

Several aspects have to be considered before selecting the right Salesforce Consulting Partner as partnering with the wrong Salesforce Consulting Company can incur losses for your organization than profit. Let’s take a close look on some of the best strategies to follow while selecting the most desirable Salesforce Consulting Services provider.

1. Gain basic information about Salesforce and its prospects before you purchase. Having a basic awareness about Salesforce and how its applications can be of use for your business is extremely important. As Salesforce is a platform with exceptional capabilities and endless possibilities, it is desirable for businesses to have an outlook about Salesforce by watching the free demo videos that is made available to users on both Salesforce.com and Salesforce.com foundation website.
2. Make use of AppExchange to identify a certified Foundation Partner and go through the reviews they have got, the products and finally get information about where they are located.
3. If you are about to purchase licenses from Salesforce.com Foundation, then get in touch with the Account Executive and communicate with them by specifying about the project details and asking about whom they think would best satisfy your requirements.
4. Make use of your network of contacts to choose the ideal Salesforce Integration Consultant by getting in touch with someone who can make you aware about the advantages and drawbacks to expect and the lessons they might have learned from their experience working with an organization of similar size and requirements.
5. Once done, a request for proposal has to be posted. Ensure it is not a copy of old outdated software and it has to be used for initiating a discussion and receiving a list of interested consultants. Each of the consultants has their own way of working process and it is desirable to ask for demos and case studies so as to find out whether they match your expectations.
6. Approach an expert rather than those who are interested just in taking up your project for the sake of earning revenue. Expert consultants who have years of experience working with clients are usually expensive and would probe queries consistently and take up the lead in your project in an effective way. Order Takers on the other hand gives you more authority and they will do only what you say to them.
7. It is very essential to have a proper budget in place and brands often get services for what they pay for. It is desirable to communicate with the consultant and negotiate a budget without compromising on the quality aspects.
8. Data migration is important for the success of your business and it can be a very expensive option too. However it is worth the money being spent for the consultant. The merging of data from outlook contacts, Microsoft Access, multiple Excel Spreadsheets and Email Newsletter Database etc would be the basis of data migration process.
9. Businesses should have an understanding of the project management methodology of the consultant they have partnered with so that they feel satisfied about the input from the consultant about the project throughout. For understanding the working of the new system and guiding it towards success, ask the consultants to have the demo of the completed work as early as possible.
10. Some of the important roles when it comes to Salesforce Consulting Services by the consultant company and also internally would include;
    • Strategic Consultant
    • Data Architect
    • Change Management Consultant
    • Technical Project Management
    • Organizational Project Management
    • Project Administrator
    • Consultant Management
11. Let the Salesforce Consultant continue the project in a phased manner and this helps businesses to improve the confidence and trust with the consultant based on the results and performance they deliver in each of the project phases.
12. Try to establish a long term relationship with the Salesforce Integration Consultant and consider the effectiveness of their ongoing support before deciding to make them your future Salesforce consulting partner based on the future improvements.         

Conclusion

Businesses should find a Salesforce Consulting Partner whom they trust and are confident about the performance they are about to deliver. This can be achieved by meeting all those who are going to be involved with the project. As we all know, consulting is a business which involves interaction and close coordination, so find the best output for your business by selecting the ideal Salesforce Consulting Company.