5 Steps to choose Salesforce consulting partner

Once you are decided to make the move to Salesforce for CRM. Or possibly you’re already using Salesforce CRM but are looking to take further advantage of the system to generate required ROI. The next big step is figuring out the best way to implement it. Choosing the right business partner is not just about making the implementation process as smooth as possible; it's also setting up a productive professional working relationship that should last well into the future - from initial project scoping through deployment, training, support and future upgrades. Bodhtree's Salesforce implementation services help you get up and running fast to deliver better experiences for your customers and make life easier for your staff. But what happens once you’ve made that decision? What’s the best way to get the solution running as quickly and effectively as possible?
The answer is to work with an implementation partner who can escort the entire process by industry best practices. Here are five key points to consider.
1) EXPERIENCE
The importance of experience simply can’t be understated. Let us think in this way: who would you rather have your doctor, someone just passed out of a medical school or someone who has a few notches on their belt? While the recompenses might not be as high, the benefits of experience are just as great when it is about implementing Salesforce. With experience comes innate knowledge about how to overcome some of the common challenges, eventually providing a faster implementation and a better end result.
2) CERTIFICATIONS
Salesforce has a number of certifications for developers, administrators and more through to certified technical architects. To receive these Salesforce certifications, people must undergo arduous testing to prove their knowledge of the solution and their ability to cater to the relevant situations. Working with the partner whose team is highly certified means that you are in very skilled hands.
3) SATISFIED CLIENTS
Once you are assured about the experience and certifications, it’s always important to do your due diligence and see what the partners existing client have to say by the means of their success stories. You will be working closely with your implementing partner, so it’s always smart to check in with their customers to be sure that they can provide what you are looking for in terms of project deliverability, responsiveness, etc. After all, would you buy a new product on Flipkart without reading the reviews first? Probably not.
4) INDUSTRY EXPERTISE
Now that you have analyzed on the experience, certifications and satisfied clients, the next step is to determine if they have any expertise specific to your industry. The industry expertise can prove to be a big advantage when it comes to delineating capabilities, mapping them back to business needs and following implementation best practices. A partner with varied industry expertise will have deeper understanding into your specific pain points and can offer more educated, well - researched solutions on how to use Salesforce to solve respective problems. Additionally, the partner’s experience implementing similar solutions for others in your industry should be a ready reckoner enabling your implementation faster and smoother.
5) GEOGRAPHIC PRESENCE
Last but definitely not the least, it’s important to consider partner geographic presence. If your business is in Germany, does it really make sense to work with a partner who is only located in the Singapore, even if they outstrip all the other considerations? Not really. If you are planning for a global implementation, working with a partner who also has global presence can easily provide team members to your different locations which will be a huge benefit and can really help push-start your implementation and use of salesforce.
PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS
These five points are very important to consider while looking for a Salesforce implementation partner as Salesforce itself uses them to guide its partner program. Indeed, these are important five of a number of other key requirements that partners must validate in order to achieve Salesforce’s partner designation. I’m proud to share that Bodhtree is one among the Cloud Alliance Partners worldwide.