Thinking about tackling a Salesforce assessment yourself?
While partnering with an expert can be highly beneficial, a self-assessment is still an option for budget-conscious SMBs.
Here are 5 pro tips to help you conduct an effective DIY assessment and uncover hidden issues:
1. Define Your Goals:
Before diving in, be clear about your objectives. Are you looking to improve user adoption, streamline workflows, or boost data quality? Is the overall performance slow? Integration or scalability problems?
Having a defined goal will guide your assessment and ensure you focus on relevant areas.
2. Leverage Available Tools:
Salesforce offers some built-in tools for the initial high-level view (Optimizer etc.). Utilize reports on user activity, data quality, and system health.
3. Embrace a User-Centric Approach:
The system was built for the users, and they are on the front lines, so their feedback is critical. Conduct surveys, hold user interviews, and observe their Salesforce interactions.
Understanding user pain points can reveal inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
4. Think Beyond the Surface:
Don't just focus on surface-level configurations. Dive deeper into customizations, integrations, and security settings. Analyze historical data to identify trends and potential bottlenecks.
5. Prepare for Resource Drain:
Be realistic – a DIY assessment requires time and effort. Allocate dedicated resources from your internal team. Consider the opportunity cost of diverting resources from other pressing tasks.
The Trade-Offs of DIY Assessments:
While a DIY approach can offer valuable insights, it's important to acknowledge the limitations:
->Lack of Objectivity: It's easy to miss internal biases or overlook blind spots.
->Limited Expertise: Your team might lack the specialized skills for a comprehensive assessment.
->Incomplete Picture: Uncovering complex underlying issues might be challenging.
->Time and Resource Drain: Internal resources may be tied up for extended periods.
While a DIY assessment can serve as a starting point, partnering with a Salesforce optimization expert can provide a more comprehensive and objective evaluation. They offer years of experience, specialized skills, and proven methodologies to uncover issues and roadblocks and create a roadmap for success.
Ultimately, the choice is yours. If you're comfortable with the trade-offs and have the resources, a DIY assessment is an option.
However, for a deeper dive and a clear path towards optimization, partnering with an expert can deliver a more significant return on investment.
If you need a fresh perspective and assessment of your current org, reach out via DM or schedule a call here:
By: Jon Ewoniuk
Book a Free Call here.
Jon is the Founder | Consultant at Peak360 IT. Peak360 IT helps companies solve technical, resource, and implementation challenges on the Salesforce platform. Founded in 2014, Peak360 IT is a Salesforce SI Partner that specializes in Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud - and implementing custom applications and automations on the Salesforce Platform.
With our backgrounds in Software Development, Technology, and Consulting - Peak360 IT has a reputation for developing custom integrations using various technologies, such as MuleSoft, Google Apigee, and other SOA/API frameworks.