Salesforce Partners: 5 Things to Look For
February is coming. Do you have big sales goals this year? As an account executive, having the right implementation partner can help you sell more Salesforce solutions, retain more clients, and reach those lofty goals.
Choosing a Salesforce partner should go way beyond who’s available or who’s the cheapest. It’s a decision you should consider carefully, because choosing poorly could have repercussions for you and your clients and choosing wisely has big benefits.
So, how do you weed out the good partners from the bad to find exactly the right fit – someone who will not only “wow” your clients but also help you reach your sales goals? Here are 5 things for Salesforce reps to look for in a Salesforce partner.
1. A good Salesforce partner will co-sell with you.
Selling someone on a Salesforce solution should be a team effort, because the business benefits all parties involved. A good partner will sit in on conversations and meetings with you when you meet with potential clients. Whoever you work with should be willing to do demonstrations, should have success stories they can share, and should be willing to communicate with the client to determine what they need and what kind of solution will work best for them.
A good partner understands “Platform as a Service (PaaS).” They know all the products Salesforce offers – beyond CRM – and can sit down with a client to explain exactly how Salesforce can serve a business’ needs. Do they need Community? Do they need Service Cloud? A good partner can look at things at the platform level and be able to offer services a client may need but hasn’t even thought of yet.
2. A good Salesforce partner understands how to “right-size” an implementation.
It’s not about selling the moon. It’s about selling a solution that fits with a client’s needs. Overselling will leave you with an unhappy, unsuccessful client whom you will lose in the end.
A good partner takes the time to understand what the client is trying to achieve and can come up with a solution that fits their needs and their budget. Is the client just trying to pilot Salesforce to get an idea of ROI? Then you want to give them something small for starters – something you can scale up later once you perfect the system they want.
3. A good Salesforce partner focuses on building great working relationships.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies out there who will take the business, do the work (poorly), never interact with the client, and leave you high and dry once they’ve checked the boxes and received payment.
Look for someone to work with who has a partnership mentality over a “turn and burn” mentality. A good partner is always there when you need support and can help you when it’s time to expand their services.
When RTS Labs has worked with different Salesforce clients and sales reps, what we’ve learned is that it’s all about building relationships so that everyone is successful. When we take on a new project for a client, we assign them an account executive who checks in with the client every three months. As a Salesforce account executive, this saves you time and hassle from being the go-between when there are support questions. It also helps you stay on top of opportunities for upgrades and expanded services. Having a finger on the pulse of your clients will not only help you capture more sales opportunities, it will help build loyalty and increase referrals. This has been our practical experience when working with clients and reps.
4. A good Salesforce partner is willing to meet you in person.
There’s a lot to gain from one-on-one time. A good partner is always happy to meet you in person to talk about a project, a client, or strategize and develop the relationship.
This “one man shop” that farms the work offshore is a dime a dozen. When push comes to shove, they will only get you so far. Look for a partner you can meet in person and develop a relationship with – one who has a larger, more sustainable business.
5. A good Salesforce partner understands the larger technology ecosystem.
Knowing Salesforce is great but understanding how an organization fits into a large technology strategy is even better. Salesforce implementations for larger companies require competence beyond Salesforce development.
Look for a partner who knows technology – who looks at the big picture and dives deeper before taking on the work.
Finding the right partner is important. In fact, having the right partner could make your life much easier, help you close more deals, and ultimately build more solid long-term relationships. So choose wisely, and call us just to start a conversation. No commitment. You can pick our brains and feel out if we might be a good fit for each other.