You maybe spend so many hours a day in and out scouring through the internet articles about effective Salesforce administration. As a very powerful the CRM platform, Salesforce has the capacity to integrate with any existing systems and has many customization features to achieve any complicated functionality. So, the users can see a lot of information out there, which could be sometimes confusing too. There are many Salesforce communities too where the users come together and support each other with the tips and tricks they found out for more effective Salesforce administration and engage in discussion as to the best use of Salesforce.
This being said, there a couple of simple but effective tips which may help you to drive your Salesforce CRM efforts to the next level. These tips can be considered as the basement for planning your Salesforce approach.
1. Getting a Developer Org
Developer Org by Salesforce is a free offering from Force.com, which will make things easier for the users to do development on Salesforce. You can take it up as an easy and engaging way to learn about Salesforce, for training others and to develop new applications. As we mentioned above, the most amazing fact about the Developer Org is that it comes absolutely FREE!
Even if you have a sandbox for development with your Salesforce edition, it is critical that you get your own customized Salesforce version. Doing this, you won’t lose the entire work when you make any changes to the org. Ideally, Developer Org is a place where you can test things as in a real production environment and explore many new features.
2. Engage actively in the community to keep yourself updated
If you want to get the best out of Salesforce, it is crucial to join any of the reliable Salesforce community. As we can see, Salesforce now has a largely flourishing set of users across the globe, and many among them are actively contributing to the betterment of this platform. The resource people are available out there in many communities to offer advice to newbie users.
You can always get something new to learn from the experts in those communities who know the in and out of Salesforce. Now, there is more than one way to connect with such communities. Along with engaging in such communities, you can also be part of the Stack Exchange follow #askforce hashtag on Twitter, etc. There are plenty of blog posts, also discussing various aspects of Salesforce and also hundreds of webinars and Youtube vlogs. You may also try and find out the local user groups for Salesforce from whom you may also get some direct support also.
By following the above tips, you can surely learn a lot of Salesforce and become a pro in its usage over time. Being a part of these, you can also find yourself connected to many people across the globe who are willing and available to help you to master all the intricacies of using Salesforce. Along with these general tips, let’s explore some of the major user tips next.
Salesforce user tips
Creating list views
For whatever purpose you use Salesforce, you tend to spend most of the time looking at different list views out there. Whether it is a list of opportunities which is nearing to the closure window or checking the new leads for today, you will be dealing with a lot of them on a daily basis. So, the users need to know the best way to work within your organization in terms of creating custom list views to get the information which is most relevant. It is also possible to set up a single list view to give a broader picture in whichever way you want it.
Creating mail templates
If your enterprise actively uses Salesforce with comprehensive integration to all businesses processes, then you might have come across the feature of mail templates. In a similar way to using List views, you can create some standard templates for e-mails too to make the mailing process easier. However, many people don’t know how to create some personal templates handy. If you have a specific format to address the prospects or want to type in the same message many times a day, then personalized mail templates can be a boon.
Learning the reports
Flosum.com points out that one thing you have to really get acquainted with are the reports on Salesforce. All business administrators like to see stats about your performance and achievements, and Salesforce reports are the best way to do it. Some such sample reports could be:
Closed Opportunities for the month
Cases in follow up with each agent at this time.
Quarterly sales figures etc.
All these reported can be generated instantly on Salesforce and can be represented in various ways as charts, diagrams, or graphs. Salesforce Reports have may utilities based on the nature of your business and the type of reports needed. You can easily find out your strengths and weaknesses through such reports and realign your business plans. You may also compare yourself with your competitors to see where you lack or gain through Salesforce reports.
Creating dashboards
To follow up the Reports, you need Dashboards. The dashboard offers a visual representation of the repots. On Salesforce, you can get up to 20 charts, lists, or tables on the dashboard in a single view. These are called components which can be arranged as you like. Each component relates to one report. Personalized dashboards can provide you with custom information based on your business and industry. The uses can access the standard dashboard as created by the managers or admins, but going a step ahead, a custom dashboard can give you the exact information you need. Once you master the art of handling reports, then dashboards are drag and drops.
Along with these, one thing every Salesforce should be aware of is the AppExchange. This is like the App Store for iPhones or the Play Store for Android. You can find many premium and fee apps here to be clubbed with Salesforce to achieve add-on functionalities. There are hundreds of apps available there now, which range from basic programs like building Dashboards to highly functional apps like Financial Force, which is cloud-based accountancy application. When you are customizing the Salesforce platform for your purpose, it is always worth to check out the availability of apps rather than approaching a developer to custom code your application needs.
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