A successful Salesforce implementation should positively impact your ROI and productivity. Unfortunately, not every implementation yields the expected results. Many implementation challenges end up being people-centric. If you’ve taken the time to invest in Salesforce, but don’t feel like you’re reaping the benefits, you may be looking at a user adoption problem. Salesforce is a game-changing tool, but its success in your organization is reliant on user adoption. A lack of proper adoption among your team can mean immediate CRM failure.
With proper training, your team should feel empowered and capable of using Salesforce’s capabilities to conduct day-to-day business. Especially as you enter into the early phases of your Salesforce journey, it’s important to know the signs of lacking Salesforce adoption and how to increase adoption if needed.
Signs to Spot a Lack of Salesforce Adoption
1. Low Login Rates
Low login rates indicate inefficient, irregular use of your CRM. If your login rates fall short of your expectations, your team members could be shying away from Salesforce. Consider whether this may mean that they’re reverting to using legacy systems or spreadsheets instead. Working in Salesforce should simplify processes rather than complicating them. Hesitance to embrace this new tool could indicate a lack of proper training or resistance to change. If your team is avoiding Salesforce, could it be because they have yet to see its value?
2. Resisting Change & Reverting to Old Systems
Change can be hard. Even when switching to a more convenient system, it’s common to revert back to familiar territory. For a successful Salesforce adoption, leadership should be open to hearing feedback from the team as they step out of their comfort zone. If there is a lack of understanding, more training may be needed to explain the benefits. If they have been properly trained and still perceive Salesforce as being less convenient or more complex than former systems, further optimization may be needed to tailor Salesforce to your needs. Dig into the “why”. If your team is resisting change, would additional training or further system optimization allow them to embrace Salesforce?
3. No Leadership/Management Policies to Support the System User Input Requirements
Not all of the adoption is in the hands of the users. The organization’s leaders must stand behind and above the investment by leveraging it for the full/optimized impact on their own customers and future customers. Policies that provide guidance to users on what and how to input the data to create a reporting structure that is meaningful, tells the story about performance, and provides insight to rapid, accurate decision making is the role of the leadership. As a leader, do you have the policies in place to set Salesforce adoption expectations for your team?
One of our favorite features in Salesforce is the ability to provide custom help and guidance for each field that is required to be populated. Another great strategy is to minimize the number of manual inputs and maximize the automation for updates, notifications, and advancement of workflow.
4. Data Entry Issues
If your team isn’t regularly keeping Salesforce data up-to-date, you likely have an indicator of poor adoption. Keeping current with changing data is critical for a sales team. Leaders are put in a tough spot if they’re not able to track the latest sales progress. One of Salesforce’s many benefits is its real-time view of customer data, but if changing data is missing or not up-to-date, that benefit is diminished. With data entry issues, preventable mistakes could become inevitable. To have a single source of truth, your team must be bought-in to the policies set in place to prioritize data accuracy. If proper data entry is not yet a priority for your team members, would additional training and further communication of the great importance of accuracy impact their view of Salesforce?
5. Lack of Meaningful Reports or Dashboards
The data in your Salesforce system can be leveraged in such impactful ways through reports and dashboards. A reporting structure that prioritizes maintaining the right reports is essential. Vague reporting or irrelevant metrics are no way to keep your team’s interest – make sure it’s relevant for them. Do your data-entry-focused team members understand the importance of their role in producing impactful reports and dashboards?
How to Increase Your Organization’s Salesforce Adoption
A successful Salesforce adoption is the result of a well thought out adoption strategy to set your team up for success. The following are a few ways to see an increase in adoption for your organization.
1. Communication Grows Engagement
As a leader, you set the mindset for a new system implementation in your organization. Your team members want to see the big-picture benefits of utilizing Salesforce properly. Be sure that you’ve communicated the concrete reasons for making the change to Salesforce. Remember to be open to feedback from your team as they get started and to consider suggestions for improvements to your system given the unique needs of running your business operations.
2. System Simplicity
Salesforce has so many features. A new user without proper training can quickly become understandably overwhelmed, especially if they have too much access. Your Salesforce setup should make your team’s (and customer’s) lives easier, not harder. Dashboards should show frequently used options and search should be available. Set up access so users only see the tools they need for their role. Keep it functional. Allow Salesforce to be at the center of your business by integrating the tools your team uses to keep from excessive tool switching. Reduce manual work with reminders or automate tasks to take routine items off your team’s plate, allowing them to be more productive elsewhere.
3. Proper Training From Onboard to Follow-Up
The best way to show your team that you are committed to a successful Salesforce launch is through a thorough onboarding. Be sure to provide follow-up training as well to field questions as your team gets acclimated to Salesforce.
4. Gamification & Incentives
Keep your adoption process engaging through friendly competition. Consider incentivising active and effective use of the platform to set your organization up for a culture of commitment to this new, valuable tool.
5. Measure Key Salesforce Adoption Metrics
Keep a regular pulse on your Salesforce metrics to help you see insights into various areas of usage. Metrics to track include:
- Login rates
- Leads according to lead source
- Record creation rates
- Activity completion
- Number of opportunities by stage
- Activity completion rates
- Opportunities closed & lost
- Forecasts
Utilize WhiteRock’s Expertise for Better Salesforce Adoption
You are capable of increasing your organization’s Salesforce adoption, but you may need some external support in order to get it right. As your partner in all things Salesforce, WhiteRock is here to help with your adoption strategy. If you believe that further optimization may be needed for your team to be successful with Salesforce, that happens to be WhiteRock’s sweet spot. We want to set you up for success and see your team succeed on your CRM journey. A Salesforce implementation alone does not equal success. User adoption is key.
At WhiteRock, we take the time to understand your needs, and map out a plan to optimize the right solution. WhiteRock has the experience needed to help fine-tune your complex processes through highly accountable change process flows related to improvements in your CRM and related systems. Reach out to us at learnmore@whiterocktech.net or via the form below!