Tips for Choosing The Right Salesforce Consulting Partner

Do you know that 70% of CRM implementation projects fail, causing a huge loss of investment for businesses with no tangible results? (Gartner)

It can happen when a business embarks on a CRM project without understanding the complexities involved, causing mistakes that hinder the project’s implementation. Another reason could be the absence of a well defined strategy, which results in poor planning. It can hamper the process’s continuity and lead to failure.

However, the best practice to avoid these pitfalls is to choose the right Salesforce consulting partner.

They bring a wealth of expertise to the table and understand the intricacies of the platform. Further, they bridge the gap in your team’s CRM knowledge, collaborate with you to set clear objectives and realistic expectations.

Therefore, selecting the best partner among many is indeed a crucial decision.

In order to help you make the right decision, this blog guides you through tips and evaluation criteria to choose among the best Salesforce consulting firms.

Let’s dive in!

Pre-Requisites Of Opting For A Consulting Partner

• Assess Your Goals

Define your objectives and goals as to why you want to partner with a consulting firm. Be clear about all the challenges you are facing related to Salesforce implementation and the opportunities you want to captivate.

Having a clear picture of where you want to reach and achieve success allows you to evaluate potential partners based on their ability to deliver those results.

• Conduct Your Own Research

Research for consulting firms based on your requirements. Consider all the challenges and solutions you might think will work for you. By considering them, you can perform your research. Look out for customer reviews, case studies, and success stories. If you find partners who specialize in your specific industry segment, what could be a better option than that?

• Avoid Rushing

Don’t feel the pressure to choose the first or immediate consultant you meet. As suggested in the previous point, conduct proper research and take time to do it efficiently. Perform comparisons, and then list out the chosen ones.

• Discuss With Your Project Teams

Discuss with your internal teams about the potential partners. Establish a clear communication channel between your internal teams and consulting partners. Your internal teams would be closely working with them, ensuring their comfort is a priority. Plus, it is required to keep everyone informed, aligned, and on the same page.

Factors To Consider While Choosing A Salesforce Consulting Partner

Below are some of the key factors that you must consider while evaluating a consulting partner. By doing so, you check off the right checklist and end up making a decision that will be fruitful for you in the long run.

1. Experience

See if the Salesforce consulting partner has worked on a similar project to yours. Gain insight into their project success rate, as it helps you determine whether they will be able to handle the dynamic requirements of your business.

You can judge their potential by looking at how well they handled problems that occurred during the implementation process. Also, this is an added advantage, as they have already dealt with issues, know how to avoid them while working with you, and won’t repeat the same mistakes.

Consider asking them questions like:

• Have they worked on a similar project?
• If yes, then what is the success rate?
• Do you have industry-specific experience?

2. Expertise

Evaluating the expertise of a company can help you gain insight into how well they are doing in a particular domain and what competence they bring. You can know their strengths and how they will benefit you during the partnership tenure. To evaluate the same, consider the following:

Salesforce Partner Level

Salesforce consulting partners have four tier levels, starting with Base, Ridge, Crest, and Summit Partners. These tiers are assigned to a company after they pass a strict evaluation bar for quality.

Industry-Specific Expertise

Being a business, you must be serving a particular industry. Plus, when you have clearly stated your objectives, it is better to evaluate relevant expertise rather than evaluating generalized expertise of the company you will be partnering with.

Salesforce Certifications

Ask this question: What Salesforce certifications does your team possess?

Certifications are important as they denote one’s expertise in a particular domain. It acts as proof that professionals have met the rigorous standards set by Salesforce and possess the required skills and knowledge.

Therefore, to ensure the collaboration of the right experts with your team, look for the following certifications:

• Salesforce Administrator
• App Builder
• Architect
• Implementation expert or Consultant
• Developer
• Marketer
• Pardot expert
• CPQ Specialist

One such Salesforce consulting partner is Cyntexa, with over 400 certified professionals. They help you with all things related to Salesforce and prioritize customer requirements to develop tailored solutions.

Additional Questions You Can Ask:

• Which industry projects have you catered for the most?
• What was the success rate of those projects?
• What specific industry expert do you consider yourself?
• Do you have any MVPs (Most Valuable Professionals) or specific industry experts in your team?

If the company answers with a yes to the MVP question, then congratulations! You are a step closer to choosing the right partner. MVP is a professional recognized by Salesforce for their exceptional knowledge, leadership, and community contributions.

Cyntexa takes pride in having Shrey Sharma as the CEO, who is recognized as the youngest MVP (2019).

3. Services They Offer

Now that we talked about pricing, you must also see what services you are getting for that particular quote. Ensure that your Salesforce consulting partner offers comprehensive services starting from the initial stage of assessment, designing, and then going further with development, implementation, and training until offering ongoing support.

Moreover, the partner must be able to meet your unique and business-centric goals. Customizing the platform as per your needs while keeping it aligned and centric towards your business goals is a must to do practice.

If you wish to assess their competence, ask for a trial or demo service where they work on a specific part of your project. Their approach and performance help you decide whether they are the perfect fit for your business or not.

By opting for a company that provides a variety of services, you can be confident that all your requirements will be taken care of efficiently and effectively. This will allow you to focus on your core business objectives without worrying about the technicalities.

4. Go Through Customer Reviews

What’s a better way to decide than by listening to existing customers’ opinions of a consulting company? Thus, go through customer reviews on different websites and see what past or existing customers have to say about the company.

Feel free to ask the company for their client references. This gives you an idea of their reliability and credibility. This should be the foremost thing that you should do after learning about a consulting firm.

5. Pricing And Engagement Model

Cost should not be the only consideration, but it is one of the most important aspects when it comes to choosing a partnering firm. Some partners might offer fixed pricing, while others prefer to work on time or project basis. It is up to you as to which pricing and engagement model suits your business the best.

You can ask for quotes based on different engagement models, compare them, and then make the right decision.

Prioritize a firm that is transparent and offers comparative pricing. There are no hidden or additional costs involved in their pricing model, and everything is clearly stated.

Also, consider your budget plan. It is not always necessary that a firm that charges more for its services will only guarantee quality work. This is why other factors should also be considered.

Conclusion

Choosing the right Salesforce consulting company is a critical decision that can significantly impact your business’s growth. The selection requires thorough research and a tight hand on your budget. The aim is to optimally allocate your investment to a company that steps up with you and proves to be a scaling solution.

By considering the pre-requisites and above factors, you can select a company that aligns with your business objectives and can effectively guide you through your org.