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Countdown to the New Year – Top 10 Salesforce tips and tricks of 2013

Countdown to the New Year – Top 10 Salesforce tips and tricks of 2013

Thanks to Salesforce’s No Software model, updates three times a year, and the open-source approach of the Salesforce community, new features and creative solutions to daily requirements are always coming out. The CloudMyBiz team works hard to stay on the forefront of all that Salesforce has to offer, and below are our Top 10 Salesforce features of 2013!

10) Dynamic Report URLs

Have you ever wanted to see a report based on a record you’re working on without having to manually customize another report? Maybe you want to see all open Opportunities for a specific Account, or maybe you want to pull a report of all Cases with the same type as the one you’re trying to resolve. With a custom Detail Page Link, you can create amazing dynamic reports based on any parameter from a record. GreatG has a great walkthrough here for setting up your first dynamic report URL.

9) Embedded Analytics

For years, users have been begging for a way to add charts directly to record detail pages. Previously, you’d have to work with a team of developers to create this kind of functionality, spend weeks or months in development and testing, and if you needed to make any changes, it was back to the drawing board. Well, Salesforce has heard your cries and has added Embedded Report Charts to the Winter ’14 release! Read more in our Tip of the Week – Increase visibility with Embedded Report Charts in Salesforce.

8) Analytics API

In the past, if your developers were trying to create a custom mobile app, a Visualforce page with charts and graphs, or an intricate integration with another system and wanted to include data from a specific report, this required some complex code and a lot of work. In the Winter ’14 release, Salesforce brought us the Analytics API which now allows programmatic access to Salesforce Reports from external systems and via APEX controllers. Check out the Developer Guide (PDF) for more information and full specs, and enjoy all the cool features!

7) Historical Trends

Wrapping up our favorite reporting features from the past year, we’d like to draw your attention to some new features for reporting on Historical Trends.

Historical trending comes with a new custom report type designed to highlight changes between any five snapshot dates. It adds the ability to analyse day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month changes in the Opportunities object and up to three custom objects.

Read more from our colleagues at Bluewolf on this and several other great new features from the Winter ’14 release.

6) Data Loader

The Salesforce Data Loader may not be a new feature, but with its power, versatility, and ease of use for quickly importing, exporting, and mass updating records, it is one of the first programs we open every morning. Developerforce has a great wiki about the Data Loader. If you’ve never used this awesome tool, you should check it out!

5) Email to Salesforce

Yet another oldie but goodie comes to us from Mike Gerholdt, the ButtonClick Admin.

For all of the fancy plugins and connected apps that exist, Email to Salesforce is a great beginner’s way to getting executives and reluctant users to log emails without lifting a finger.

Check out his blog (one of our favorites) for more about Email to Salesforce and a few other forgotten Salesforce features.

4) Salesforce Console for Sales

The ButtonClick Admin wrote a fantastic post about Winter ’14, and among other features, highlighted the Salesforce Console for Sales.

If your sales people ever saw the Service Cloud Console they wanted it immediately. Especially for Inside Sales reps who do a lot of repetitive calling, or list building. And let’s be honest, the Sales Cloud has a lot of clicks- which is ok if you have like 10 accounts, but when you manage hundreds or more you could get carpal-tunnel in a day.

Read more here for his breakdown of this and other new features.

3) Salesforce Side Panel for Outlook

If your team’s primary email tool is Gmail, you may already be familiar with the benefits of bringing the power of Salesforce directly to the email client with a tool like Cirrus Insight. But if your team is using Microsoft Outlook, the functionality was somewhat limited…until the Winter ’13 release. Since then, Salesforce has added some cool new features and tools to the Outlook integration. Watch Salesforce’s intro video to one of these new features below and read more here.

[Story continues after jump]

 

2) Salesforce1

If you’ve been trying to increase your mobile reach with Salesforce, the new Salesforce1 app may be just what you’re looking for. Salesforce1 aims to bring the platform into the internet of things with powerful new APIs and a full suite of useful tools. Definitely a game changer! Read more here and check it out today!

1) Chatter Publisher Actions

Our favorite new feature this year dropped in the Summer ’13 release, and it has been a hit with users, admins, and developers alike. The biggest complaint we hear from users is that it takes too many steps to log a call, create a case, [insert daily task here], and there’s no time to go through that whole process to do one little thing. For admins, this means missing out on valuable metrics, and their requests to make the process faster and easier can leave developers scratching their heads. Well, no more with Chatter Publisher Actions. Read more about this feature here, and enjoy a better, faster, more intuitive Salesforce experience in 2014!


With all the amazing new features and powerful old tools from Salesforce, the possibilities for optimizing your system are endless. It has never been easier to access reports and charts from all over Salesforce and even external systems. Powerful email tools make communicating with customers a breeze. The extension of the Console UI beyond the Service Cloud will make everyone’s job easier, and Chatter Publisher Actions further extend that ease of use to everyone in your system. And the Salesforce1 app will no doubt bring incredible new functionality to your team even while on the go. Keep watching our blog  for updates as cool new features start to emerge in 2014! And don’t forget to sign up for the Tip of the Week to get smarter week by week and become a Salesforce expert!

~Jared and the Salesforce Guys

Tip of the Week – Catch what you missed at Dreamforce ‘13

Tip of the Week – Catch what you missed at Dreamforce ‘13

Whether you were stuck in the office and couldn’t make it out to Dreamforce this year, or you just didn’t get to go to that big keynote or session you were excited about, you still have a chance to take part in Dreamforce ’13! The Salesforce team has uploaded a bunch of videos for you to watch from the comfort of your couch, so now you can catch everything you missed without having to endure the San Francisco rain or an unpredictable time vortex. Check them out here and see what Salesforce has in store!

For your convenience, we here at CloudMyBiz have scoured the videos to bring you our favorites. Check them out below!

Driving Business Value: Using Dashboards as a Call To Action

How Salesforce.com Runs Its Renewals Business in Salesforce

Hands-on Training: See Where You’re Going with Historical Trend Reporting

How Salesforce Manages Customer Support Using Service Cloud

-Jared and the Salesforce Guys

Tip of the Week – Increase renewal revenue with tips from Salesforce

Tip of the Week – Increase renewal revenue with tips from Salesforce

Repeat customers are a great source of revenue and the bread and butter of many companies. Wouldn’t you like some pointers from the experts on how to drive future business from existing clients? Well, if you’re going to Dreamforce 2013, the team at Salesforce has you covered. Check out their session How Salesforce.com Runs Its Renewals Business in Salesforce for best practices from the experts!

While you’re there, don’t forget the importance of networking. If you’re the eternal wall flower and the idea of schmoozing with strangers and rubbing elbows at parties has got you nervous, we’re here to help! Check out our post “Dreamforce Networking: Expressions of awesomeness for the Salesforce aficionado” and breathe easy.

-Jared and the Salesforce Guys

Dreamforce networking: Expressions of awesomeness for the Salesforce Aficionado

Dreamforce networking: Expressions of awesomeness for the Salesforce Aficionado

5 ways to survive networking at #DF13

“I’m not shy, I’m just holding back my awesomeness…”

This year there’s going to be over 100,000 people attending Dreamforce and, if like me, you’re very good at holding back your awesomeness (and the word “networking” sends shivers down your spine), here’s a few tips to get you well on your way to making beneficial and lasting connections at Dreamforce 2013.

The first thing to remember is that humans are inherently social creatures.  Rarely is one born shy or introverted with a desire to hold back their awesomeness.  That is usually a learned behavior and now is the time to unlearn it and let the awesome being that you are shine through!

Firstly, the word “networking” gives me vivid images of people running around desperately trying to get something out of each other.  It’s not a pleasant image and fills me with fear.  Therefore, let’s change it to “meeting new people” or even “making new friends.”  It takes some of the pressure off and makes it sound more enjoyable.  Now that we’ve got over that hurdle and the knot in your belly is loosening a little…

What do you want to accomplish from Dreamforce?

  • Write down a list of:
    • Who you want to meet;
    • Which vendors you want to chat with and get demos from;
    • What are your goals?  For example, each day have one goal such as “Today, I want to meet 3 Certified Salesforce Consultants who I can learn from and exchange best practices with.”  Or, if you’re feeling super gung-ho, have more goals for each day, but be gentle on yourself and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t fully achieve them;
    • What are your pressing questions and for which speakers / attendees?
    • What questions do your colleagues have who are unable to attend?  They’re jealous you’re going and the least you can do is be on a mission to get their questions answered.

Start your research and “meeting new people” before you get there

  • Get onto Dreamforce Chatter and start making connections;
  • If you don’t have a Twitter, Google+ or a Facebook account, set them up right this minute and join all relevant social media pages, groups and forums that spark some interest in you;
  • Let everyone know you’re going to Dreamforce.  Post it on all your social media sites and tag #DF13;
  • Start following industry leaders you know will be there and others you want to talk to.  If you don’t know who they are, research and find out what makes them tick.  Make suggestions on their blog or Twitter feed regarding topics you would like to see covered at Dreamforce and ask questions;
  • Reach out asking for suggestions and tips.  If you resonate with people, then suggest meeting for a coffee, or ask what parties they recommend and meet them there.  They might not be who you need to meet, but they could know someone you should meet.  And hey, it’s another person you didn’t know 5 minutes ago, and connections, no matter with whom, are always good;
  • Get Appirio’s Dreamforce Social App to help you keep track of all the social events during Dreamforce;
  • Join online groups of people that graduated from your college or other courses you’ve done – a super easy way to connect with people you haven’t seen for years who might just be social gurus.

I’m here and surrounded by thousands of people and don’t know what to do next…  cue sweating forehead and the need for a panic switch

  • Put your phone away!  No-one is going to talk to anyone who is closed off with their face in their phone!  Put it away!  Right now!
  • Make sure you dress in a way that makes you feel confident.  If you have last night’s cheese sandwich stains down your t-shirt, your pants are itchy and your shirt is too tight around your newly toned biceps, you’re going to be self-conscious and not particularly open or approachable.  In fact, you’ll probably be pretty scary looking if you’re scratching and shifting around in the corner!
  • Stop freaking out and breath.  There are no zombies in the room.  Only other humans just like you.  Statistics show that in any one room you have a chance of getting on with one in four people.  So, if you’re in a room with 2,000 people, there’s going to be 500 people that you’ll probably get along with.  Score!
  • Okay, you can very quickly get your phone out now, but for a single purpose only.  Check-in to your location and see who else is there that you might know.  Maybe some of the people you connected with on your college alumni page are in the same room as you and you can go and renew your sorority chant or your old bro shake.  Don’t forget to put your phone away after this mission is accomplished;
  • Hold your head high, take your hands out of your pockets, don’t cross your arms and smile.  You’re happy to be here.  Let everyone know that;
  • Still feeling anxious?  Who’s your favorite celebrity / new thought author / internet mogul etc?  How would they act in this situation?  (If your idol is Miley Cyrus, stop reading here).   Now, imagine you’re them.  You’ve got everything to offer and can and will help so many people in ways you can’t even comprehend right now;
  • Start thinking positive thoughts.  Can’t think of any?  What do you like in the room?  Maybe there’s a nice flower arrangement.  How about that guys jacket?  That woman’s shoes?  Why not pay them a compliment?  Maybe the coffee is really good.  Why not say to the woman next to you “This is the best coffee I’ve ever had at a conference this size – do you know what brand it is?”  Focusing on things you really like, changes your energy instantly and makes you more open.

Okay, I’m feeling more confident, how do I start talking to people?

  • If you’re with friends / colleagues, you need to leave your comfort zone and go out on your own.  Maybe make a competition – in 60 minutes, who can collect the most business cards?  This can be positive and negative – don’t rush around bombarding people for their cards and run off to the next person, but use it as a time to force yourself to meet people, listen to what they have to say, engage with them and then, because you’re on a time limit, make your excuses and move on;
  • Ask for introductions.  If the people you’re with know others in the room, then don’t hesitate to ask for introductions.  They should have the common courtesy to do this anyway, but if they don’t, don’t be afraid to ask.  The same goes for new connections you’ve made – don’t be afraid to ask them if they know someone and if they could make an introduction;
  • You’ve just asked the woman in the coffee line if she knows what brand it is.  What do you say next?  Why not ask if she’s been to Dreamforce before?  If she says yes, then ask her for tips and suggestions.  If she says no, then you’ve got common ground and can ask her what advice she’s been given.  Now, I know I’m talking as though this is your first time here and, it might not be, but sometimes, you have to pretend it is to make it easier for you to initially engage with people.  But, if you’re not new to Dreamforce and meet someone who is, you probably have a whole wealth of knowledge you can impart on them that you weren’t even aware of;
  • When joining a group conversation, come in with a question instead of an opinion.  Everyone loves to answer questions and impart advice, but an opinion from someone they don’t know on what might be a serious topic, might not be the best foot forward;
  • Be open to everything and receptive.  Remember to listen.  Don’t be looking around for who you can talk to next.  That’s just plain rude;
  • When you first meet someone, don’t start pitching at them or asking for help right off the bat.  Networking should help both parties and it’s better to get to know them a little first and come across as a human being with communication skills instead of a networking shark;
  • When you do get to the point of asking for help and pitching your ideas (which might be in your follow-up), don’t apologize.  You’re putting a great idea out there that you wholeheartedly believe in and one day you might be the one they’re asking for help;
  • People love to talk about themselves.  Instead of asking “What do you do?” ask “What do you like to do?”  I think it’s fascinating to hear about where people are from:  Maybe they traveled two days to get there via a jazz festival in New Orleans.  Maybe they’re a bodybuilder on the weekends and do flare bartending once a month.  People are fascinating and love to talk about what they’re passionate about – make it your mission to find out what they love;
  • On the same vein, talk about what you’re passionate about.  It doesn’t have to be about work.  It can be about the cross-stitch lion you made last week.  But if you’re passionate about it, you’ll be engaging.

The palpitations have stopped and it’s starting to feel easier, but I’m still shifting my weight, jiggling my foot and backing myself into the corner

  • Remind yourself of your goal for that day.  Have you achieved it yet?  No?  You know what to do;
  • Be on a mission to learn something new each day;
  • If you’re going to an event, restrain yourself with every cell of your being, from sitting in the corner by yourself.  Go and plop yourself right between two people (presuming there’s enough room for you to actually sit there!) and engage in conversation.  “Have you heard Joe Blogg speak before?  I heard he’s got a profound view on….”  This is where that research you did in part 2 comes in handy;
  • Participate in activities that you enjoy.  It makes it so much easier to break the ice and asking someone’s name becomes a natural progression when you’re actively engaged in something;
  • You’re deep in conversation with someone truly enthralling and you’ve signed up for a session that’s in 5 minutes.  It’s a 10 minute walk to get there.  What do you do?  Miss the session.  They’re all recorded and put online, so you can watch it later;
  • When you get a business card, write on it information that will help you remember that person.  What event you met them at, an important piece of information about them.  And don’t forget your business cards too!  Take boxes of them as you’ll most likely get through them all;
  • Go to the parties and many social events.  If alcohol loosens you up a bit, then great, have one drink, but don’t get so wasted that you don’t remember anyone you spoke to and start doing the funky chicken dance.  Also, having a hangover doesn’t put you in a very good place for socializing the next day.  So, party, but look after your well-being in the process.

If you have set goals and missions, if you’ve done your research into the keynote speakers, if you’ve got questions and are putting yourself out there making connections online, nothing bad can happen.  Even if you don’t have these things, nothing bad can happen.  You’ll just leave beating yourself up that you didn’t talk to Mr Blogg about this idea that you’re 100% sure he’d be interested in and the only person suffering will be you.

Yes, you’ll probably talk to people who have no interest in talking to you.  Maybe they’re shy, or they had some bad news that morning or unfortunately they’re just sour and unfriendly.  It’s nothing to do with you – it’s just the way they are.  Let it go and move on.

Above all, remember to be yourself and not someone you think you should be.  Stop worrying about what others think.  Their opinions of you are completely unimportant.  If you’re shy or quiet, it can be intriguing and often attractive, so embrace it fully.  How many people gravitate toward the loud mouth in the corner boasting about how successful he is?  Exactly.  People who are truly doing well usually don’t feel the need to tell everyone about it and that could secretly be you.

-Henrietta and the team at CloudMyBiz

Tip of the Week – Increase visibility with Embedded Report Charts in Salesforce

Tip of the Week – Increase visibility with Embedded Report Charts in Salesforce

Graphs are great for getting an idea of what’s going on with an Account or any other object in Salesforce, and they’re even better when you don’t have to go any further than the Account page to see them. But adding a chart component to a detail page involves some heavy development. That tiny little bar graph could cost you dearly. Well, not anymore!

Winter ’14 is out, and with it comes Embedded Report Charts in Salesforce. Cut the code and take your SOW from 30 hours to 30 minutes! All you need is a report and you’re ready to add visual elements directly to any detail page. And when you need to make changes, all you have to do is update the report and the new view is ready. It’s so simple, even your CEO could do it! Have fun with Embedded Charts and keep an eye out for our next Tip of the Week!

-Jared and the Salesforce Guys

Top 3 Salesforce workarounds

Top 3 Salesforce workarounds

Has user adoption got you down? Does connecting the dots between emails make you want to pull your hair out? Are you baffled by the endless task of sending scheduled reports to employees or customers outside your Salesforce system? Well, sit back and let me help you out. I’ve got the top 3 workarounds to make your Salesforce experience more successful!

3: Collaborate & do business in one place with Chatter Publisher Actions

The biggest complaint I hear from users is that it takes too many steps to do X, Y, or Z in Salesforce. “I’m trying to meet my sales goals and make as many calls as possible. When do I have time to log a call or create a new opportunity? This is taking way too much time!”

Well, as of Summer ’13, Salesforce has a solution with the release of Chatter Publisher Actions. Chatter Actions can be used to create any type of record from any Chatter feed anywhere in Salesforce and is mobile-ready out of the box. And with a little more ingenuity and a custom Visualforce page, they can do even more. With Chatter Actions, your users can ask for a colleague’s advice, log a call, add a new contact, and create a new opportunity or case without ever leaving a record. When they’re done, everything will be logged in the Chatter feed for easy visibility later. Users love it, and you will to!

2: Reduce email clutter & automatically link emails to Cases using Thread ID

When you’re reviewing your notes before reaching out to a client, there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find that crucial email from two weeks ago that has the information you need today. Although Email-to-Salesforce can make this task easier, you’re still left with the manual process of dealing with unresolved items and linking relevant emails to Cases before you can use them.

Many organizations have implemented Email-to-Case for creating new cases, but that’s not the end of what this powerful feature has to offer. Available in most editions of Salesforce, Email-to-Case allows you to add a thread id to all emails from your system and an organization-wide email address you can make available to some or all of your users. Users send an email from a Case record using the organization wide email address, and when a client responds to the email containing the thread id anywhere in the email, Salesforce will automatically connect that email with the corresponding Case record.

Now, every email relevant to the Case will be in one place, right on the Case record. You don’t have to worry about losing it, and if you need to get additional help, there are no emails to forward to a colleague. Just send them to the Case and everything they need is right there.

1: Scheduling reports to Chatter Free users

Scheduled reports are one of the more useful tools offered by the metrics-side of Salesforce. When you schedule a report, it is automatically sent to any user at a set time and day. This is fantastic when the people who need the data are users in your system, but when they are executives with no need for Salesforce access or on the accounts receivable team and just need to know what checks to be expecting, you have to either swallow the cost of another Salesforce license or forward them the reports they need manually.

But did you know that Chatter Free users can receive scheduled reports? That’s right, with just a Chatter Free license, you can automate the process and not pay a penny extra. And with hundreds of licenses available, you should never have to worry about hitting your limits.


With Chatter Actions making it easier for users to do their jobs while respecting your validation rules, user adoption and morale will skyrocket. Cases have never been easier to resolve than when all your emails are automatically linked to them. And with Chatter Free users getting scheduled reports without you having to send them yourself, you’ll have more time to check out more of the cool tools Salesforce has to offer. For other info, please check out CloudMyBiz.com

-Jared and the Salesforce Guys