Part 1: Salesforce Implementation Challenges

Avoiding Hidden Risks in Salesforce Implementations That Drains Your Budget

Embarking on a Salesforce implementation can be a transformative journey for your organisation, but it comes with its fair share of risks and challenges. To ensure your project stays on track and delivers maximum value, it's crucial to know the hidden risks that can drain your budget and derail your goals. This article provides a comprehensive guide to navigating these risks, bolstering your Salesforce project assurance, and offering practical strategies to help you manage your Salesforce implementation effectively.

We emphasise the importance of aligning Salesforce with your organisation's strategic goals. This alignment ensures that your Salesforce investment drives meaningful results and supports your business objectives. Next, we explore the critical aspects of planning and preparation, including defining a clear scope, setting realistic budgets, and understanding the future operating model.

As your project progresses, we delve into the complexities of vendor and consultant management, highlighting the need for experienced partners and data architects to avoid common pitfalls. We also address the significance of managing scope creep, ensuring thorough user adoption and training, and maintaining post-implementation support to keep your system running smoothly.

Data quality and migration are also key areas of focus. We discuss the importance of a robust data migration plan and the role of data architects in ensuring seamless integrations. Finally, we emphasise the necessity of ongoing data governance and regular system reviews to keep your Salesforce environment aligned with your evolving business needs.
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The article provides insights into different project stages, from business cases and requirements to testing and solution adoption. By addressing these key areas and actively managing potential risks, you can safeguard your investment, avoid budget overruns, and achieve a successful Salesforce implementation that drives your organisation forward.

Introduction

If you’re a project sponsor, CIO, or CTO, you’re probably excited about Salesforce's possibilities. It’s a powerhouse for streamlining operations, boosting sales, and enhancing customer relationships. However, like any significant investment, Salesforce implementation comes with its own set of challenges that can unexpectedly drain your budget if not carefully managed.

In my years of working with Salesforce projects, I've seen it all—from smooth, on-budget implementations to those dreaded budget-draining disasters that slip to the right and cut the realisable benefits. I remember one project where the excitement of diving into Salesforce led to overlooked details, causing costs to spiral out of control. The team thought they were ready, but they faced numerous unexpected expenses without recognising the hidden risks. If only we had the Salesforce Success Scorecard framework at that time!

​Today, I want to share some of these hidden risks with you, along with tips on how to avoid them. Understanding these potential pitfalls, you can steer your Salesforce project towards success while keeping your budget intact. Let’s dive in!

Inadequate Planning and Requirements Gathering

You’ve likely heard the saying, "Failing to plan is planning to fail," and this couldn’t be more accurate when it comes to Salesforce implementation. Inadequate planning and requirements gathering can lead to unexpected costs and delays that wreak havoc on your budget.

I recall working with a company that was eager to implement Salesforce quickly. They had a rough idea of what they wanted. Still, they didn’t invest the time to thoroughly define their requirements or envision how Salesforce would fit into their future operating model. Their project became a technology lead initiative and as the project progressed, new business needs and changes kept cropping up, leading to a significant change in scope (‘scope creep’). Every additional feature and adjustment meant more time and more money spent.

​To avoid this pitfall, consider these strategies:
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• Envisioning the Future Operating Model: Take the time to develop a future operating model that illustrates how your business will use Salesforce soon. This involves mapping out workflows, processes, and interactions within Salesforce. Visualising how Salesforce will integrate into your daily operations can help you better identify necessary features and potential challenges.

 

• Stakeholder Involvement: Engage all key stakeholders from the beginning. This ensures that the system will meet the needs of everyone using it and reduces the likelihood of significant changes later. Hold workshops and meetings to gather comprehensive input and reach a consensus on priorities. Encourage stakeholders to think about how Salesforce will support their roles in the future.

 

• Detailed Initial Planning: Spend ample time upfront to clearly define the project scope. This includes identifying business goals, necessary features, and user requirements. A well-defined project scope acts as a roadmap, guiding the project and keeping it on track.

 

• Document Everything: Document all requirements, decisions, and changes. This creates a reference that can be used to manage scope and expectations throughout the project and helps hold all parties accountable.

 

• Plan for Flexibility: While sticking to the plan is important, allow some flexibility for inevitable changes. Set aside a portion of your budget as a contingency for unexpected requirements or changes.

I had another client who approached their Salesforce implementation with a more forward-thinking mindset. They spent nearly two months in the planning phase, developing a comprehensive future operating model and hashing out every detail. While it seemed slow progress at first, this thorough approach saved them from costly mid-project changes and kept their implementation within budget and on schedule.

By investing time in meticulous planning, requirements gathering, and envisioning your future operating model, you can prevent scope creep and ensure that your Salesforce implementation proceeds smoothly, avoiding unexpected expenses that can derail your budget. See Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of Salesforce Success Scorecard. ​

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