Four Success factors when selecting a Salesforce implementation partner
Digital transformation is the process of using digital technology to modify or create new business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements. Making digital technology work relies heavily on successful implementation. With Salesforce as the leading CRM system, let’s dive into the success factors of an implementation and how a SI-partner can help.
What is a Salesforce implementation partner?
Simply put, an implementation partner is an organization that has been reviewed and approved by Salesforce to implement their CRM solutions like Salesforce Sales cloud, Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Salesforce Service Cloud. Salesforce implementation partners can receive different levels of appreciation from Salesforce. The highest partnership status for a Salesforce implementation partner or consulting partner is the Salesforce Summit partner status. This is equivalent to the platinum partner status that Salesforce used until the end of 2021.
Why 90% of all Salesforce customer collaborate with a implementation partner
Especially with companies or organizations new to Salesforce, It is quite a challenge
to consider all aspects and implement a new CRM solution with so many configuration options. Hiring employees to oversee the implementation process can be expensive and in most cases creates a large pressure on an individual or team overseeing the implementation. 9 out 10 companies prefer to work with a Salesforce implementation partner, to reduce the pressure on their own organization and leverage the advantage of experience.
SI-partners and ISV partners
We already talked about the difference in ranking of partners, additionally there is also a difference from a technical perspective. Salesforce works with SI-partners and ISV-partners. SI stands voor ‘System Integration’. System Integrators focus on bringing together various Saas products or clouds like Salesforce Sales-, Service- or Marketing cloud, Tableau, Mulesoft or Einstein to ensure a complete solution for a customer. SI-partners - like Gen25 - bring a solution offering to life via implementation or optimization.
ISV is a different ballgame, ISV stands for ‘Independent Software Vendors’ and they focus on delivering specialized software applications. They typically partner to complement a solution offering or create an integrated solution offering for a target market. Official registered ISV apps are listed on the Salesforce Appexchange. 3 Out of 4 Salesforce customers use one or more apps from the 4.000 apps present on the Appexchange.
Four factors when selecting a Salesforce implementation partner
When selecting a Salesforce implementation partner there are four key factors to take into account.
1. Timing: to quote Salesforce on this, when is the best time to engage with a Salesforce partner? "As early as possible! When a partner is deployed late in the process, opportunities regarding project scope and insights are always missed. The way to start a smooth implementation is by working together at the start of the journey.”
2. Cultural fit; to move forward you need to understand each other and have a mutual beneficial way of working. Consensus only on the goal which should be achieved isn’t enough, the path to get there isn’t walking itself.
3. Level of technical expertise; the level of technical expertise is important for a Salesforce implementation partner. Salesforce uses a wide variety of certifications for specific clouds. Specific cloud knowledge is great, but with the increasing number of multi-cloud solutions the ability to provide platform level integration is really making the difference for the future readiness of a Salesforce .org..
4. Industry experience; Although as an organization you have a big role in bringing in the industry domain knowledge, it’s very effective to work with a partner who knows what you're dealing with in your business. Salesforce has specific cloud configurations which can be beneficial for your industry and leverage the power of experience on your own Salesforce .org.
Gen25 the #1 implementation partner in the Netherlands
Experience comes from delivering on projects and creating solutions. Gen25 was the first Salesforce implementation partner in the Netherlands and has delivered over 200 projects successfully. Experience and expertise go hand-in-hand and we are a true multi-cloud Salesforce partner with strong integration knowledge. With the opening of the Uk office in 2020, Gen25 also entered the UK Salesforce market.
Do you want a strong start of your Salesforce implementation project? Let’s pick up the Gen25 discovery together. Are you already using Salesforce and do you want to check if your .Org is still up to date? Let us help you with our Salesforce health check.
