Everpeak Partners

Salesforce Optimization & Development Consulting based in Portland, OR

Oliver Sholder

Why should you upgrade from Salesforce Classic to Lightning?

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Salesforce Lightning. It’s the word on the streets. We’ve all probably heard it at some point. Like the new iPhone or a new car we might not know the fine details behind it, but we probably know it’s an upgrade of some kind. And like most upgrades we’re probably thinking we can do without it. Your current car is still getting you from point A to point B and your phone is still taking calls. Additionally you’re probably thinking your Salesforce Classic is still managing your customers fine too. No need to upgrade.

However, in this case the differences between Classic and Lightning can’t be compared to minor upgrades like that of a phone or a car. Salesforce Lighting isn’t a minor upgrade like more RPMs in a car or a better camera in a phone. Lightning is a fundamental shift in how Salesforce is structured and how the system is coded. The differences between the two would be like comparing a horse drawn carriage to that of a new Audi.

So exactly what sets Salesforce Lightning apart from Classic?

 

For starters, it’s the future. 

CRM Software for any business is an investment. And like any investment a business makes, it should take care of your current present day needs and your future needs. Salesforce Lightning is an investment in the future. While Salesforce isn’t going to be turning out the lights at the offices of Classic next week, you do want to set up your business for future enhancements and the capacity for improving your user’s experience. The level of scalability and customizations that are available in Lightning have the engine to grow in tandem with your business that Classic simply doesn’t.

It’s better for the users. And that’s how a CRM should be. 

While there are many benefits of Salesforce Lightning for admins, at the end of the day the features and upgrades have to make sense for your users and the people who will be using it day in and day out to close deals. Starting with the home page; it’s a clear night and day difference for your users. The customizable dashboards and assistant features to clearly manage tasks and track leads takes Classic from a simple menu to a detailed cookbook. The modernized user interface itself will have your users being thankful for the upgrade. In Lightning, it’s more than just a more appealing color scheme or layout. It’s about what’s under the hood too. Leads, Contacts, Accounts and Opportunities are still the bedrock in Lightning but it’s not just a new skin, but a fundamental overhaul of the entire platform.

Salesforce Lightning is a powerful tool that can benefit a business of any size. The scalability and customizations really make it the perfect tool for companies the size of Amazon and your local ten person, family owned business.

How to Build Sales Stage Best Practices in Salesforce Lightning

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Intro: It’s more important than ever to have clarity in your sales process with today’s hectic & constantly evolving business environment where key details can get lost in the shuffle. Many small and mid-size businesses that I’ve advised have sales process in Salesforce don’t have clear definitions for what qualifies a lead or opportunity to move to the next stage. I am writing this blog post to share fundamental best practices I’ve learned from consulting with 200+ businesses to streamline and enhance their sales process in Salesforce.
 
 
1: Define Clear Stages using Salesforce’s “Guidance for Success”
 
Problem: Definitions for Lead Status and Opportunity Stage in Salesforce are not being used with consistency between reps. To one sales development rep (SDR), the status, “Nurturing” status means that the prospect is activity engaged in the sales process. To another SDR the term “Nurturing” means the prospect is disengaged and should be placed into series of automated emails. This creates a lack of process cohesion and causes issues with Salesforce reports and dashboards.

Solution: Use “Guidance for Success,” a feature in Salesforce Lightning that allows each stage to have text below it. In “Guidance for Success”, write out clear definitions for your stages.  It’s a collapsable element so it can be hidden when it’s not needed but it’s always available as a reminder of the true company-wide definition of the stage. Of course, you need to make sure you have good practices, definitions stages to begin with. But having a definition that everyone agrees on makes your sales process more consistent, reporting more accurate and ensures that pipeline forecasting from Salesforce can be trusted.

 
 
2: Define a standard to convert leads
 
Problem: Sales reps are converting leads differently. Similar to when there is a lack of definition with stages, lacking a clear definition with the Lead Conversion point causes many similar problems with reporting. In addition, with most sales processes, it also results in some records stuck as leads while other records are in the contact / account / opportunity objects.

Solution: Here is the way I like to explain my approach to defining a lead conversion point. Sales is like dating; if there is not interest on both sides, it’s not going to happen. When both sides agree there is a potential opportunity to do business together, that is when the lead should be converted. It doesn’t mean all the details are hashed out and it doesn’t even mean that all the decision makers are onboard. It just means that the lead has been qualified internally and has expressed interest in moving forward with the sales process.
 Every business is different so the conversion point can be earlier or later in the process. The element of having some degree of qualification and agreement from the buyer and seller is key to converting the lead, that’s the main takeaway.
 
 

3: Implement Key Fields with an Exit Criteria   
 
Problem: As a salesperson moves through the sales process, new additional data points should be tracked and different data points become relevant at that part of the sales cycle. For example, a budget might not be defined until the 5th sales conversation. However, Salesforce could lacks data validation to remind the rep to collect the data before moving on. In addition, the ‘Budget’ or ‘Amount’ field could be buried in a huge list of other fields.

Solution: First, implement Key Fields in Salesforce. Key fields are dynamically shown based off the stage. For example, in the “Nurturing” stage, you might show a field called “Follow-up Date” and a reason why they were set in the “Nurturing” stage while in the “New” Stage, you might show basics like “Name,” “Job Title” and “Lead Source.” By using the key fields, you can define fields that should be either captured or referenced at a particular stage.
Second, implement validation rules to enforce exit criteria. For example, you can’t move to the proposal stage until there is a budget defined. This is a gentle reminder for reps to enter in the data they are supposed to be inputting. Sometimes people forget and automating a reminder is a great way to ensure data gets up to date and management gets the reporting they need to make important decisions.