Using a Salesforce Centers of Excellence strategy to reboot your Salesforce Platform

What do you do when you take over the responsibilities of being the Salesforce Product Owner when you are handed an org that doesn't have documented rules on how/why it was setup as is? Adoption and usage among sales and service teams is uneven, reports are incomplete and at best suspect, data hasn't been cleaned up or de-dupped in ages (or ever!). You want to make the most of your org but don't know where to begin or start?

If you have the team in place you can take the basic elements of Salesforce Centers of Excellence to approach doing a "reboot" of your Salesforce Org. For a company lacking internal Salesforce admins and experts, partnering with a Salesforce consulting firm becomes essential to implement a Center of Excellence (CoE) strategy effectively. Here's how such a company can work with a Salesforce partner to put this strategy in place:

1. Assessment and Planning:Collaborate with the Salesforce partner to conduct a thorough assessment of current Salesforce usage and identify areas for improvement. Work together to define the mission, objectives, and KPIs for the Salesforce CoE, ensuring alignment with the company's overall goals and strategies.
2. Stakeholder "buy in", basically form a CoE Team:With guidance from the Salesforce partner, establish the principles of a core CoE team consisting of key stakeholders from various departments within the organization. The Salesforce partner can provide expertise in selecting team members and defining their roles and responsibilities. Their feedback will help you establish outcomes, rules and guidance for achieving results from your Salesforce org.
3. Training and Enablement:Rely on the expertise of the Salesforce partner to develop and deliver customized training programs tailored to different user roles and skill levels.Leverage the partner's resources, such as training materials and virtual workshops, to facilitate ongoing enablement and support for Salesforce users.
4. Customization and Optimization:Collaborate closely with the Salesforce partner to customize Sales Cloud to meet the specific needs of the organization. Utilize the partner's experience and best practices to optimize processes and workflows within Sales Cloud for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
5. Governance and Compliance:Work with the Salesforce partner to establish governance policies and compliance standards, leveraging their expertise in data security and regulatory requirements. Utilize the partner's resources and tools for conducting regular audits and ensuring adherence to established guidelines.
6. Promotion and Recognition:Partner with the Salesforce consultant to develop internal marketing campaigns and communication strategies aimed at promoting Salesforce adoption and usage. Highlight success stories and achievements resulting from effective Salesforce utilization, with support from the partner in creating compelling narratives and presentations.
7. Feedback and Iteration:Engage in regular feedback sessions with the Salesforce partner to gather insights on user experiences and identify areas for improvement. Collaborate on iterative improvements to CoE strategies and initiatives based on feedback and evolving business needs.
8. Integration and Collaboration:Leverage the expertise of the Salesforce partner to integrate Sales Cloud with other systems and tools used within the organization. Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among Salesforce users with support from the partner in setting up community forums and user groups.

You can do this internally without a partner however it will require a decent amount of time, expertise and experience by your team to implement best practices to get you to your desired outcome. If this is the first attempt at it and/or you are up against any hard timelines, it is strongly suggested to consider a Salesforce Consultant agency to come in to advise, supplement and help you with this task (budget considerations would apply).

By partnering with a Salesforce consulting firm or partner, a company without internal Salesforce admins and experts can effectively implement a Center of Excellence strategy to improve adoption and usage of Sales Cloud within their organization. This collaborative approach ensures that the company benefits from the expertise and guidance of experienced professionals throughout the process.