7 Tips to Prepare Data For Salesforce Migration

 Transferring your property’s movable assets requires careful planning and the right resources. You need the right-sized truck to move furniture and experienced laborers who can load and dispatch crucial items safely. Transferring company records is equally challenging for businesses with large heaps of data.

As a business, you use multiple work apps on a day-to-day basis. These apps contain data that is exchanged with business departments, clients, and customers on a day-to-day basis. However, since the majority of business apps are decentralized and offer limited storage, data exchange is often an indispensable and time-consuming affair. 

“Only 28 percent of business apps are integrated which makes data migration a crucial need for enterprises”.

Salesforce is a great platform to migrate and unify your enterprise data. You can leverage the platform's built-in and third-party tools to migrate seamlessly from disparate systems to Salesforce. Salesforce Data Migration allows you to overcome the security, storage, and accessibility limitations of decentralized systems.  

While Salesforce Migration is beneficial to enhance productivity and bridge data silos, its preparation requires careful planning. Lack of preparation can result in data loss or change in data behavior. Before you conduct a full-fledged/partial data migration in Salesforce, do spend a little time planning and preparing your data.

In this blog, we have listed 7 tips to prepare your data for migration. So without further ado, let’s jump straight in:

1. Share the Scope of Migration Clearly

Business executives have a clear-cut understanding of project scope. However, before you prepare data for migration, do discuss with all stakeholders and migration specialists about what you intend to do post-migration. This will give them a clear approach for data analysis, selection, identification, and migration order.

2. Conduct a Full-Fledged Data Audit

From spreadsheets to word documents, there are various formats and files where data is stored. Many times, the data is duplicated and repetitive. Conducting a comprehensive data analysis can help you eliminate unnecessary spreadsheets from migration which otherwise would take a lot of time and cause a situation of confusion.

3. Segregate Your Data into Groups

Do group your data in various categories. This will help users to understand what was migrated and where the data is present post-migration. Do group your data into three categories such as: 

1. Data to be migrated

2. Data to be deleted

3. Data to be archived for a certain period (let's say 1 year or 2 years)

4. Select Custom Fields Carefully

If you want to add custom fields, select multi-select picklists and pursue single select picklists and optional fields for additional data collection. To monitor and distribute data, select single select picklists as it runs very fast.

5. Clean the Clutter Completely

Before you proceed with data migration, do know the organizational and management rules of the database. Differentiating vital information can help you ensure the consistency and validity of the transmitted data. Additionally, don’t forget to merge or replace incomplete records so that records remain original and consistent.

6. Backup Old Environment Data

Before you initiate on-premise to Salesforce or Salesforce to Salesforce Data Migration, do ensure your old environment data is backed up. This is an important consideration as your migration process can fail at times. To secure data backup, you can use credible tools like Trujoy or any other as suggested by your data migration expert. You can check in with your migration partner to know your immediate backup needs.

7. Understand Your Project Timeline

Salesforce Data Migration timeline varies from project to project. For simpler projects, migration can be completed within hours or a few days, however, for big projects it may take weeks or months. Before you migrate data to Salesforce, check if the data is properly validated or not. This will help you know the timeline/cost of the project, based on which you can hire suitable migration experts. 

Bottomline

Data Migration plays a crucial role in enhancing collaboration and communication levels in an organization. Before you plan for migration, do segregate, clean, and validate data. Additionally, check for backup and include all important stakeholders. By following the above tips, you will have a better approach for Salesforce Data Migration and make the best use of your enterprise data. In case you need our assistance, feel free to reach us at Damco Group.

Damco Group is a Salesforce Consulting Company offering diversified services ranging from CRM implementation to administration. Our data migration services aim at seamless switchover from on-premise/cloud platforms with minimal downtime.

Remote vs In-House Salesforce Administration: Which Model to Choose?

91 percent of customer-centric companies with ten or more professionals actively use customer relationship management software. Salesforce being the #1 CRM for the seventh consecutive year is the first preference of most CRM users. Despite having great business management capabilities, optimizing Salesforce is a challenge, not every business overcomes with flying colors.

For some companies, operational costs are too high while for others adjusting custom settings from time to time is a serious headache. Operational cost is usually high because most users don’t know how to optimize their CRMs. Half of the CRM users don’t use 50 percent of license features which leads to high operational costs. Similarly, less exposure to the Salesforce environment prevents most users from customizing it in the best possible manner. 

Difference Between Remote and In-House Administration

As a Salesforce user, you don’t need to administrate CRM on your own. You can hire remote or in-house administration staff. As the name suggests, Remote Salesforce Administrators are professionals who manage your business processes from distant locations. They are easy to hire, retain, and can onboard as soon as you sign contracts with them.

In-house Salesforce System Administrators on the other hand work in your brick-and-mortar office and are available physically. They offer the best services however, they come at a hefty cost which not all businesses can bear. While both administration models offer significant advantages and limitations. In this blog, we will touch upon both the pros and cons of each model so that you can decide the best-suited model for your organization. 

Pros and Cons of In-House Salesforce Administration Services

Pros:

1. Deep Involvement

In-house Salesforce administration professionals know about your business in more depth. They can adjust your license’s functionalities and internal business processes on an ongoing basis. 

2. Quick Response

In-house Salesforce System Administrators are available on-demand and can handle critical issues, updates, and customizations in a fast manner. With quick resolution and system changes, your team will not face any disruption in workflow. 

3. In-Project Expertise

Internal administration professionals have already honed their skills over the years on your projects. Most likely they won’t have any problems in maximizing your CRM usage and performance. 

Cons:

a ) Higher Cost

When you hire professionals in-house, you are bound to give them a monthly salary which is quite hefty given the present market conditions. Additionally, you need to take care of their perks, increments, or certifications, you will have to spend excessively on that as well.

b) High Staff Turnover

Salesforce administrators take care of your projects as well as your client’s projects. Since your internal workforce can change at any time, you will find difficulty in hiring employees. This can impact your workflow and delay customer service.

c) Market Competition

Building a team takes a lot of time and patience. Additionally, you have to constantly hone your employee’s tech and soft skills. However, since your competitors are constantly on the lookout for better professionals, it's much more difficult to retain employees for large periods.

Pros and Cons of Remote Salesforce Administration Services

Pros:

1. Reduced Costs

Remote Salesforce administration is less costly than in-house administration majorly due to geographical reasons. For instance, talented professionals in Asia-Pacific countries will cost you less than the ones based in the USA. Additionally, you don’t have to spend on infrastructure setup or office space.

2. Easy Availability 

In remote administration, you don’t worry about resource hiring or retention as professionals can be hired and onboarded as quickly you sign-up contracts with them. Easy availability and on-demand support help you stay ahead of the curve.

3. Flexibility in Contracts

In-house professionals work for specific time durations and have limited tech knowledge. Remote Salesforce Administrators on the other hand are available 24/7 and can work as per your time zones. You can alter their contracts and pay for the hours of work depending on peak/non-peak season.

Cons:

1. Transparency Concerns

When you hire Remote Salesforce Administrators, you don’t control your work processes and data. Since you can’t trust them completely, there can be transparency and trust issues. 

2. Security Risks

Remote administration teams have direct access to your CRM platform and customer data. However, you can sign NDA agreements with them to ensure the data is not used for espionage or nonbusiness-friendly activities. 

3. Communication Gap

When you work in different time zones and share different cultures, languages, and ethics, communication gaps do happen. However, you can minimize them by checking a professional's interpersonal skills and availability as per your time zone.

Conclusion

Both in-house and remote Salesforce administration have their advantages and disadvantages. Depending on your support needs, team size, and budget, you can choose the right Salesforce Administration Services. We hope the above information helps you make a well-concerted decision while you plan to avail of administration support for Salesforce. At Damco Group, we have enabled hundreds of organizations to administrate and optimize Salesforce at cost-effective budgets and can help you realize your true potential as well.

Bridge Productivity Gaps With a Field Sales Management Software

A field sales management solution is a necessary tool for businesses carrying out on-field selling activities. It offers a wide range of functionalities that differ from one solution to another. However, some of the important functionalities of an FSM software include order capturing, route optimization, sales forecast, visualization, AI analytics, etc, each of which is a crucial component for efficient field operations management.

Along with common FSM software features, some field management software also offers GPS connectivity, chatter feature, and real-time data access/sharing features that make the field service experience even easier for sales reps. While functionalities are more or less the same in most field service management software, there are subtle differences that can make selection a daunting task.

As the developer of FieldSales Connect - an FSM solution dedicated to field service/sales businesses, we are often inquired by FMCG/CPG companies. If you are a business with a significant dependency on-field operations, this blog is for you. We hope this helps you make a well-concerted decision for selecting the right desirable FSM app for your business.

Features & Usage of Field Sales Management Software

So what should you look for in an FSM solution? Let’s have a brief look at important features and their usage. 

1. Digital Attendance Recording to Overcome Manual Tracking

When you have field management software, you don’t need to maintain manual registers. Agents can check-in using mobile/desktop applications and mark their attendance. Geo-location features of the FSM app can be used to know an employee’s whereabouts adding the much-needed transparency required to monitor remote employees. 

2. WorkSchedules For Smart Decision Making

Sales representatives meet multiple customers daily which requires pre-planned schedules, real-time location, and details of the customer. With a field sales management solution, your field agents will be able to access full-fledged customer details and be aware of meetings in advance. With this, they can plan their day effectively and be ahead of their schedules. 

3. Route Planning to Optimize Travel Cost and Time

Sales reps travel from one customer site to another. They note down various addresses and are constantly in a rush adding to their inconvenience. If you have a large workforce, consider adopting an FSM solution with route planning features. This functionality allows reps to view customer locations, schedule meetings with incoming leads, access automated route-based recommendations to save on time and cost.

4. Appointment Reminders So Your Reps Don’t Miss Out

On-field representatives keep note of hundreds of meetings and appointments every week during peak season. To ensure your sales reps don’t miss on probable customers, consider using a solution with great automation capabilities. Damco’s Salesforce Field Service solution offers customizable automation workflows that can be used for automated notifications and reminders. 

5. Integration Capability to Ensure Better Data Access

Lead optimization is the primary aim of on-field executives, however, they need adequate information to convince clients. Integrating important work apps/data with FSM solutions allows representatives greater access to data. Representatives can give presentations, access reports, crucial documents, proposals, etc to maximize conversions on the field. 

6. Create Orders and Close Deals in an Instant Manner

Field service management software leverages automation workflows that allow you to shorten processes and close deals in a swift manner. With FSM software, your representatives no longer have to call the main office or wait for the office to record an order. Sales reps can create orders on the go and ship them to close deals promptly.

7. Real-Time Tracking of Sales Representatives for Better Analysis

Managers do not have a full-proof method to ascertain the truth of a field service professional. While some agents travel the required distance, others may not travel the same distance and still charge similar reimbursements. To verify the veracity of sales agents, real-time tracking of FSM software can be helpful. The features allow businesses to track appointments attended, employee check-ins and check-outs, distance traveled, and other key analytics which is helpful to decide employee performance levels.

8. Actionable Insights For Better Decision Making & Sales Optimization

Sales Managers track and collect data from various sources and use it to make intelligent sales decisions that include identifying opportunities, nurturing leads, and assigning field sales professionals for conversion. Salesforce-powered Field Sales Connect leverages Artificial intelligence, visual analytics, and automated reporting that can help you gain deep insights about prospects and customers.

Wrapping Up

Field Sales Management Software can help you overcome the limitations of traditional field management practices. With automated scheduling, increased mobility, intelligent data analysis, and enhanced data accessibility of FSM Software, you can have better prospecting, engagement, conversions, and performance analysis. To streamline your sales pipeline and ensure maximum opportunity conversion, consider implementing an advanced solution with the above features. 

Damco Group is an established IT Services and Solutions Company with over 25 years of expertise in implementing, administering, and maintaining tech-integrated software. Check out our Field Sales Software FieldSales Connect developed on the Salesforce platform. The solution contains most of the above-listed features and can help you bridge gaps in your field management practices.

How to Avail the Best Salesforce Professional Services For Your SaaS Project?

Development support plays a crucial role in the success and failure of your Salesforce project. Right from Salesforce implementation, administration, training to support, you require development assistance through the project lifecycle.

While you need development support for Salesforce, making a hiring decision can be difficult even when there is no dearth of development professionals in the digital space. With so many Salesforce development companies available, you can easily make a wrong move which can burn out your budget without showing any significant impacts.

Before you align Salesforce professionals to your project, do conduct deep research and analysis about potential partners and their track record. In this blog, we have highlighted 5 points that will help you make a well-concerted hiring decision. So without further ado, let’s jump straight in!

1. Programming Skills

You shouldn't ignore programmer skill level while making a hiring decision. The best way to gauge the skills and tech acumen of Salesforce Developers is to ask them real-world problems and see their vision and how they would approach those challenges. You can ask them to optimize the code of your Salesforce project to know their skill level better. Prefer developers with experience in Apex, Visualforce, C#, JavaScript, and Java.

2. Communication Skills

A project developer must have effective communications skills. This is important because a developer needs to communicate with administrators, tech architects, in-house staff, and business executives on a day-to-today basis. Salesforce professionals should communicate in a jargon-free manner so that even non-tech users are fully aware of what’s going on.

3. Certification and Partnerships

To select a Salesforce developer with the best skillset, check their certification and partnership levels in depth. Companies with Silver, Gold, Platinum or Registered partnership levels would be a good bet. Additionally, ask your Salesforce professional services company about the availability of developers for your project. 

4. Engagement Methods

While some companies offer on-site Salesforce development support, many companies offer only remote engagements. As a business, you should look for a Salesforce professional services partner that offers onsite, offsite, and hybrid (available on-site and off-site both) engagements. With flexible development support, you can make the best use of your budget and resources.

5. Flexibility in Price Model

There is no standard price model to hire Salesforce developers for your project. You can align Salesforce professionals with your project needs and development support. You can go with the ‘Fix Price Model’ where a fixed price is quoted along with a timeframe for project completion, ‘Dedicated Model’ where experts are hired for a specified period only, or 'Time & Material Model' where you hire Salesforce developers for a fixed number of hours.

Bottomline

Development support is critical for optimal Salesforce management. However, identifying the right development team can seem tough especially if you are just getting started with Salesforce. Before you decide to hire Salesforce Developers, do comprehensive research about partner firms. Try checking their price model, engagement methods, certifications, and partnership levels in depth to make a cost-effective hiring decision that will not only add value to Salesforce but also help you optimize Salesforce licenses.

Damco Group is a Salesforce professional services partner with 25+ years of experience in CRM implementation, administration, training, and innovation. Our certified Salesforce professionals have hands-on experience in implementing dynamic Salesforce org that simplifies your day-to-day business functioning.

4 Considerations For a Hassle-Free Salesforce Data Migration

Do you intend to replace your old and outdated database systems? Or want to use the auxiliary application, database, or storage system along with the current CRM? If that’s the case, Salesforce can be a great choice for your organization.

The cloud-based SaaS solution offers easy migration through its built-in tools. With the help of a Salesforce Migration expert, you can carry out a hassle-free migration with little to no downtime. In this blog, we have listed crucial points that will help businesses have a seamless data transfer:

1. Analyze the Scope of Migration

Understanding workflow and data structure can help you overcome potential migration issues. Before getting started with Salesforce Migration, you should identify the source/destination for migration, select a migration pattern, tools, and more by consulting with a suitable expert. Hiring an expert will help you plan migration much better than what you would do with your in-house team.

2. Consider Pre-Migration Checks

Before you upload data in Salesforce, check that the data loader is configured as per your organization's timezone. Also, ensure that email deliverability is turned off so that customers don’t get unnecessary emails. Lastly, before going for migration pay special emphasis on defining order and methods for data migration. 

3. Don’t Bombard All Data at Once

Consider cleaning, optimizing, validating, and de-duplicating source data before beginning Salesforce Data Migration. This will help you reduce errors and simplify the testing process. We suggest firms not bombard all data at once, instead begin with small data sets (batches). This not only will make the process easier but will also help in eliminating errors in initial trials. 

4. Document the Entire Process

All the major testing and migration highlights should be well documented in a workbook. It would be helpful in case you revisit the previous migration changes or plan for a future migration/upgrade. Also, make sure you record data restrictions on various objects, relationships of primary/foreign keys, and log issues concisely.

Bottomline

Salesforce Migration requires thoughtful planning and consideration. With the above tips, you will be able to overcome complexities involved in migration and realize successful data migration be it from on-premise systems to Salesforce or vice-versa. To maximize the success of the migration process, do align certified Salesforce experts with proven tech acumen and prior experience.

Damco Group is a Salesforce Consulting Company that offers all kinds of data migration assistance to CRM users. For the Salesforce platform, we offer Salesforce to Salesforce Data Migration as well as on-premise to cloud migration support assistance.