by Henry Abenaim | Sep 6, 2018 | Blog, Salesforce Tips
Proper training is key to business success for both the present and the future. It does require some real investment, but it more than pays for itself if you make the right decisions. With the plethora of options out there for training, you might be tempted to just dive in and create a nifty high-tech training program for your team. However, before you do, make sure you take some time and set out a smart plan to make sure your learners are getting the most out of what you give them. To aid in the planning process, we have a few essential tips that can really make the difference in high-quality results. Avoid these training mistakes below, and get your learners the in-depth, quality training you want, instead of having the information go in one ear and out the other.
Lack of Concrete Goals
If you don’t know exactly what the goal of the training is, how can you expect great results? Step one to any good training is defining a couple concrete goals, both long term and short term. Once you have your goals, sit down and evaluate what training materials and content you currently have and what additional materials you might need to achieve your goals. You may be surprised to find that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel or hire a consultant to get the results you want. Finally, don’t be hesitant to take advantage of the skills your team already has to bridge gaps. Maybe you want to ask around and get feedback on the quality and needs of the training. Keep it open, but always with your concrete goals in mind
Information Overload
It isn’t hard to throw too much at someone new. You want them to get on board as fast as possible, and with all your specific business processes and practices, there are usually quite a few documents to go over. But showing a little restraint at the beginning can actually make things faster in the long run, as people will be able to steadily retain information and not get overwhelmed. One technique is to break your content down into smaller courses, rather than tackling the whole thing at once. This allows people to digest the whole thing over the course of a few sessions and enables them to better retain everything they have learned.
Lack of Hands-On Training
Technology-based training is the primary vehicle for all businesses these days. While LMS’s and other training options are very effective, don’t forget that the hands-on variations are, generally speaking, the most effective form of training for most people. Short, practical, relevant courses will give your learners the best results, and wherever possible, look to give your learners an avenue to ask questions and get quick answers from a qualified trainer.
Do keep in mind though that different people learn differently, and consider making all of the information available in different formats, such as written or pre-recorded in a demo. When training content is all kept to the same style, learners who happen to match well with that kind of content will significantly outperform those who have different learning styles. If you can deliver content using a variety of methods including visual, auditory, written, and activity-based elements, and make them as hands-on and active as possible, you will improve the overall success in all of your training.
Don’t be Boring
Believe it or not, this is one of those things that most companies just don’t think about. They focus on getting the bare bones content into some form of video or document, and then just hand it over to the learner, regardless of how interesting or well presented it is. But think back to those classes we have all have had during our schooling: where a boring, monotone teacher is droning on and on and putting half the class to sleep. Is that what your content is like? If so, can you really expect your team to get focused and learn what they need to learn?
Recent learning trends have been combating this and spicing up that dull old business training process. Gamification is one of the more popular and fun methods, making training interactive and adding a little bit of lighthearted competition. Newer applications and programs are also making it super easy to add videos, images and interactive widgets or icons, to keep variety and break up the content.
Training that Doesn’t Grow and Evolve
Your company isn’t static, so why should your training be? As your company grows and times change, so will your needs, practices and goals. As all of this natural growth occurs, so should your company training. Whether it is training for current employees on a new technology or business strategy or updating your basic content to correctly reflect your current business practices, evolving your training along with your business is an essential component. It doesn’t make much sense to train your employees on outdated practices. Not only will it be confusing, but it will also be demotivating to ask people to learn something that isn’t entirely relevant.
Whether you have a brand new Salesforce system or have just recently upgraded and updated a number of your processes, you will need to train your team. If you can keep in mind these common training mistakes, you should have a solid foundation for creating a better and more effective training, and ultimately get the most out of your investment!
-Ryan and the CloudMyBiz Team
by Henry Abenaim | Aug 15, 2018 | Blog, Salesforce Tips
Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or expert admin, or have recently inherited an org, there are a number of things just about any admin can do to make their org more user-friendly. With some of these simple tricks and processes, you can not only give your users a better environment to work in, but you can also reduce the administrative challenges on your end too!
So what does it mean to have a user-friendly org? We all get that it means to tailor the system towards your users’ specific needs, but a truly user-friendly system will have most if not all of the characteristics below:
- Easy to use and understand, leading to higher adoptions
- Enforced business processes – a properly designed user experience will naturally enforce business process, and not allow gaps or loopholes for improper practices
- Increased user buy-in and confidence in their processes
- Significantly increased efficiency from a well setup system
- Increased data integrity & accuracy – making it easier for users to create records, and ensure they are accurate
So without further ado, here is our list of tips that in even small amounts, will be able to make your org more user-friendly:
1.) Reduce data entry and duplicates
This might seem like a no-brainer, but that’s why we put it at number one. Why spend hours entering data, or dealing with duplicate records if you don’t have to? One of the big advantages of Salesforce is that you have so many options for automation. And you should automate just about as much as you can. Lack of automation can lead to:
- Inefficient processes – manual data entry wastes time, plain and simple
- Turns off users – a user who has to repeat multiple steps throughout the day will likely be a disengaged user
- Data quality issues – the time users spend manually inputting tedious amounts of data, the more likely they are to make mistakes
- Reporting issues – if you have data quality issues, you certainly can’t use that data for reporting. Now your decision makers can’t have reliable metrics to track performance and understand where the company stands.
If you have some significant processes that need automation, feel free to talk to one of our Salesforce Specialists and see how we can streamline your data entry process.
2.) Use visuals and a smart UI layout
Spending a bit of time thinking about the visual layout and design of your org will make a big difference to people who work with it every day. A page full of small lines of text immediately looks overwhelming. Spice it up with as many visual indicators as you can.
For example, consider using custom icons (via custom fields) on account pages to indicate what type of account it is, or on a related case list!
Also, consider laying out your important pages in a way that people will naturally be led through the page. The Gutenberg Diagram has been a proven as one of the smartest ways to approach UI.
The tldr: People generally look at the top left first and visually scroll diagonally to the bottom right. Use this to your advantage for placing the most important elements on your page.
3.) Embed reports and dashboards
Keeping with our theme of making things as visual as possible, a good admin tip is to embed relevant reports onto different pages, such as accounts and opportunities. This will make it easy for your users to see all sorts of important details, without needed to scroll through lines of data.
Make sure you spend some time, talking to your users and execs to find out exactly what reports they would like and what would help them the most.
4.) Streamline what users see
There are a lot of fields in most Salesforce orgs. Too many fields some would argue. Make it easier on your users by keeping layouts clean, organized and focused with only the fields that are really necessary. present fields when relevant, focus user attention.
In addition, you can customize search layouts, so that when users are searching for records, only the most relevant fields will be displayed.
5.) Add help text
For those fields that you do keep on each page, adding help text will make everything a bit easier. You will be hard pressed to add too many helpful tips. Define just about anything for your users with these simple hover tools, such as what type of data is required, or how to understand the input.
6.) Enable quick actions
Salesforce Quick Actions are a great way for users to focus on the most important workflows and information that they need every day. This integration works from any computer or device that connects to Chatter. Through the Chatter feed, users can log cases, add notes to records and more! native in chatter feed. Can quickly do it when mobile, traveling etc. Because Quick Actions can be easily accessed from Salesforce1, they are pretty much an essential addition for any user who is regularly on the road.
That wraps it up for our quick 6 Admin Tips for a more user-friendly org. Feel free to comment below with any thoughts or other user-friendly org tips that you find particularly helpful.
-Ryan and the CloudMyBiz team
Ready to upgrade to the world’s #1 CRM? Already have Salesforce but need some improvements?
Whatever your needs, we have you covered. Contact one of our Salesforce experts and we will find you a better business solution.
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by Henry Abenaim | Aug 6, 2018 | Blog, Salesforce Tips
Are you considering a new Salesforce implementation? Or maybe you just implemented Salesforce. Great! But before you continue with business as usual, there are a few things you should consider. Salesforce, like most major investments, takes a little bit of love, practice and know how to get the most out of. From a high-performance car to planting your own garden, how much you put into your investments dramatically influences what you get out of them. Whether your Salesforce Org is brand new, or a couple of years old, it’s never too late to adopt better practices and improve your business.
So in that vein, we have put together a short but powerful list of tips, based on research, discussion with Salesforce, and our own personal experience, on how to get the most out of your Salesforce implementation. The tips fall under two categories: things to do before your implementation, and things to do following a Salesforce implementation.
Preparing for a Salesforce Implementation
Think of it as moving into a new house or apartment. You don’t just pick a random place, sign a mortgage and drive straight over. A lot of planning and preparation is needed to make the big move, just the same as it is for a Salesforce Implementation.
Business Process Review
This is your chance for a better system and process. A well designed Salesforce platform should mirror, support, and augment your business process, reflect your internal roles, hierarchies, security, and enable your organization to be more efficient. Take a little time, think about what you have that works, what doesn’t and what you could do to improve. This is your foundation…make a commitment, invest in it, and you’re well on your way to a positive, organization-changing implementation.
Get Advice from Certified Salesforce Expert
Just about any businesses can benefit from receiving expert advice. A certified Salesforce expert can help you develop a deeper understanding of your business goals and advise on best practices or potential solutions. Certified Salesforce experts can help you in just about any area of your business, from figuring out a better system architecture to the strategic guidance of creating a better business roadmap that aligns with your implementation.
Review Your Data
Do you know where all of your data currently is? Are you planning/preparing to move from silos to one system of record? Once you’ve taken the time to review your data the best thing you can do it simplify! Not everyone on your team or inside of Salesforce needs to see every bit of minutiae, so be smart about your permissions, security and how everything is divided. If you do it right, not only will you avoid your team from feeling overloaded with data, which will negatively affect adoptions, but you will also set the foundation for a more secure and streamlined database.
Designate an IT project manager
As you prepare for a new implementation, you absolutely need to designate an individual who can work across functions, quickly gain consensus, make decisions and remove obstacles, and serve as the overall project champion. Having an IT project manager significantly improves both the quality of the implementation and the speed at which the implementation progresses. In addition, having continuity and leadership throughout the duration of the implementation will help immensely to ensure all goes smoothly and ensure that all your expectations are met. If you are working with a certified Salesforce developer and Consultant, this will be one of your primary contact points with the Salesforce expert.
Be Ready to Get Involved
Even if you are working with a developer or consultant to install Salesforce, you need to be ready to get your hands dirty. The more you participate with the implementation team, the better everyone can remain in sync, and generate the best results. Too little participation often leads to project delays and misaligned expectations.
Be Ready for Change. Expect Change
And set aside some extra funds for just in case you want to make additional changes. No project goes perfectly smooth from start to finish. Understanding this from the beginning will help ease any tensions or stress later on.
Post- Implementation Tips
Following your successful implementation, you need to remember that everything isn’t done yet. You still have plenty to do to make sure your system is optimized and stays that way.
Train, Train, Train
Training is one of the most critical points in ensuring user adoption and the long-term success of your Salesforce implementation. It’s crucial that users not only learn how to use the system, but that they know how to make the most of it. If you can make the commitment to effective, ongoing training, you’ll end up with a confident and effective user base. And remember to keep on training as time goes on. The more you invest in your team’s knowledge, the more they will be able to do!
Plan for Support
Having a plan to support your user base is important to the continued growth of your platform. If you have a consultant or developer working with you, discuss with them a support plan that meets your needs to ensure any unexpected issues are covered. Make sure you have a plan ready to go for how you are going to support your user base.
User Feedback
Make sure your users have a way to submit support requests, make suggestions for improvements, and request additional training. Engagement with your team is critical to make sure your users know you’ve got their back and that they’re going to be heard. This will significantly improve user adoption, and of course, the better your user take to the new system, the better they can perform their jobs.
Automate All the Things
While some automation may be better left to the Salesforce partner who did your implementation, there are plenty of smaller tasks that you automate yourself. Things such as auto scheduling emails, workflows, and task notifications, can all significantly streamline your day and give you more time to focus on your most critical tasks.
Download Apps from the Appexchange
Why build when there is a marketplace of over 3000 pre-built apps. Need an email marketing client? Check. Want a better call center. Also check. Need to put fun quotes and emojis into your org? Yep, got that too. Need advice on the best app to use for a particular pain point? Our Salesforce consultants are happy to help.
Use Analytics
Reports & Dashboards should be relevant for the business. Take the time to learn how to utilize and build proper reports and dashboards. If they are showing irrelevant information, or the information they show isn’t easy to understand, you aren’t doing yourself any favors.
Salesforce1 Mobile
Finally, think about adopting Salesforce1. With Salesforce’s mobile integration, you can carry all your vital information with you anywhere you go, and access it from any device. Essential for any business that goes on the road regularly!
Whew. How’s that for a short list? No matter what stage of the Salesforce journey you are on, hopefully these tips have given you a little something extra to improve your experience.
If you are still hungry for more, stay tuned for our comprehensive guide to getting the most from a Salesforce Implementation, coming out in the next few weeks.
-Ryan and the CloudMyBiz Team
Ready to upgrade to the world’s #1 CRM? Already have Salesforce but need some improvements?
Whatever your needs, we have you covered. Contact one of our Salesforce experts and we will find you a better business solution.
Contact Us
by Henry Abenaim | Jun 5, 2018 | Salesforce Tips
If you are like most people, then you probably have a number of passwords scattered across many different logins, and you have to remember which goes where. This can be a real headache! It is all too common to get them mixed up or to simply forget what you entered. Maybe you created something new and strange at the spur of the moment, and now you have only 3 chances to get it right before your account is locked out. We have all been there, right? Well, there is a better way to remember your Salesforce Login.
No, I’m not talking about one of the many password saving apps out there, (that is a conversation for another day) I am talking about Lightning Login. This is a handy feature created by Salesforce to help you avoid those pesky login issues. You can create more secure passwords that you won’t have to worry about remembering, and avoid getting locked out. And yes, Lightning Login is available for both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience!
Click here for a step-by-step guide!
-Ryan and the CloudMyBiz Team
by Henry Abenaim | Apr 30, 2018 | Salesforce Tips
Most Salesforce users know that the default values of individual fields can be modified. Like most objects in Salesforce, you can customize just about any field to display just about any value as a default. However, did you also know that you can set up fields to have different default values for different users? As of Summer 2017, all versions of Salesforce (Classic and Lightning) have supported creating field-level default values as either constants or formulas.
‘Sure, that sounds great, but how does it really help me’ you say? One idea is that you could set up different groups of users to have a customized “Language Preference” field, based on which group they are in. Alternatively, you can set up an “Urgent” field to be checked, whenever an account is created by a specific user group. The options don’t stop there. Give it a shot and with a little creativity, you should be able to modify the default values for some great perks!
How To Define Default Field Values
