Some of the biggest companies in the world use Salesforce to meet their business needs. Adidas, ADP and T-Mobile all utilize the customer relationship management (CRM) platform to streamline and optimize their sales processes, but many of Salesforce’s customers are also startups and small-medium businesses (SMBs). While other CRMs can be easily outgrown as a company gets larger, Salesforce offers solutions that can be scaled and upgraded to meet the needs of any business – from startup to enterprise level.
Salesforce offers small businesses the capabilities of an enterprise-level CRM. To get the most out of their investment in Salesforce, small businesses should utilize specific aspects of the software to help them acquire and retain customers, as well as boost sales and manage contacts. Small businesses already using Salesforce can look to the tips below to help optimize their use of the platform:
Connect email and calendar with Einstein Activity Capture – Salesforce users can save time logging email correspondence and events by connecting their email and calendar to Salesforce with Einstein Activity Capture. Small businesses can use Einstein Activity Capture to automatically log their email conversations and attach them to their leads and contacts in Salesforce.
After Einstein Activity Capture is enabled and connected, emails and events are automatically associated with related Salesforce records. Users can also control which activities are shared, and can visualize their sales activity in the Activities dashboard.
Automate processes with Lightning Flow – Salesforce’s Lightning Flow empowers businesses of any size to reap the benefits of process automation – including a better user experience for customers, automated business workflows and increased productivity. Small businesses can use Lightning Flow to automate complex or repetitive tasks to drive better efficiency in their business processes.
Lightning Flow also allows users to gain full control of the user experience for customers and employees. With this tool, users can create guided, visual processes and easily add them to a record, app, portal or console.
Workforce training with Trailhead – Trailhead is a free resource for Salesforce users to increase their knowledge and business skills. This incredible resource can also serve as a way to enhance workforce training. Whether they are an admin, user or developer, there is a “trail” designed to meet their needs and grow their professional skills. Trailhead makes learning accessible and helps its participants develop the knowledge and skills needed to advance their careers.
SMBs, who may not have the funds or resources needed to provide extensive training to employees, can benefit from tools like Trailhead, which hosts more than 50 learning paths on topics ranging from product knowledge and leadership training to business trends. These lessons are organized into trails, modules and units that are easily digestible and divided to suit specific roles or needs.
Optimize lead generation – Salesforce, in combination with data optimizing technology, helps users to track, manage, and qualify their leads throughout the sales cycle. The adage “data is king” consistently rings true for all aspects of the sales process. By being able to access data, visualize it and determine actionable insights based on it, sales teams can make decisions that go beyond a gut feeling or intuition.
Additionally, organizations can more accurately allocate marketing dollars and other resources when more data is readily available. Beyond closing the initial sale, data optimization tools can help SMBs nurture relationships, which can eventually result in a loyal and returning client base.
For SMBs, operating like the large enterprise that they want to become is easier when they’re already utilizing enterprise-level tools. Throughout a business’s life, Salesforce provides a scalable solution that grows with the organization, and gives them an advantage by empowering them with tools that allow them to operate at the efficiency of their largest competitors.
Jon Robinson is the president of Lunar, a technology-based business consulting and product development company focused on automating the sales and marketing process. An entrepreneur at heart, Robinson has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience, which guides his expertise in building businesses and growing companies to reach their highest potential.
