February 2021 - Cutopia

Everything You Need to Know About Salesforce for Small Businesses

When your business is growing, you need to have the right tools to support your expansion. As a small business, investing in a high-quality tool can be intimidating. But, starting out with the best tools can make your business explode even faster than you expect.

If you’ve been looking for a customer relationship management system (CRM), you’ve probably heard of Salesforce. While it may seem like Salesforce is only for big businesses, that’s not true! You can easily use Salesforce for small businesses, too.

While getting Salesforce might seem like a big step, it’s more approachable than you think. Here’s everything you need to know about implementing Salesforce in a small business.

What Is Salesforce?

Almost any team can use Salesforce to help them grow! Salesforce is a great tool to take your business to the next level. But what is Salesforce, actually?

Salesforce is a CRM system and a whole lot more. You already know that establishing meaningful customer relationships leads to your business’s success. A CRM like Salesforce helps your business create sales processes, maintain relationships through automation, and take the guesswork out of when to call that customer back.

Exceptional customer service is a promise when you use Salesforce. Whether you’re offering help desk support, pitching new leads, or following up with clients, Salesforce has you covered. Since Salesforce is cloud-based, you can rest assured knowing your customer data is safe.

While Salesforce was designed to expand your sales and marketing, now it’s used in many business areas for easy automation. Plus, the platform is completely customizable to integrate a ton of apps and programs. This powerful business information tool is constantly evolving to help your business reach new levels.

As small businesses grow, they often need help automating business processes. If your business manages everything on paper, Salesforce can offer a birds-eye view of your business that you’ve never seen before. In short, Salesforce is the business manager you’ve been dreaming of.

Salesforce Integrates With Tools You Already Use

Adding a new tool to your tech stack is a big decision. Few things are more frustrating than trying to use many tools that don’t work together. Plus, getting buy-in for new tools can be a huge headache.

One of the most powerful parts about Salesforce is that it brings together the tools you already use into one dashboard. Since you already implemented Salesforce, adding apps is easy!

There are a ton of options available in the AppExchange to make Salesforce work for you. Pulling all your data into one view can make it easier to make business decisions quickly. Using a comprehensive dashboard can help save your business time and money, too.

No matter what tools you use, you can find automation that makes day-to-day tasks easier for your employees. When your best people are spending less time doing paperwork and more time focusing on what they do best, your business thrives. Salesforce can help small businesses take advantage of their employees’ talents and skills in a whole new way.

Free Training Is Available

Implementing a new system can be tough, especially for small businesses. Changing the way your team does their job isn’t for the faint at heart, but knowing you have support can make a huge difference. Learning how to use Salesforce doesn’t have to be hard or expensive!

Salesforce may not always seem intuitive, but one of the best parts about Salesforce is its free training courses! Once your implementation finishes the project, your team may be left with more questions than you can answer. While you can always hire a part-time Salesforce consultant to train your team, you can also help your team grow by encouraging them to complete Salesforce training courses online.

While learning to use a new system may be intimidating, it helps to have free options available. Sharing Salesforce training courses with your team can even help them prepare for a new platform!

Is Salesforce Affordable for Small Businesses?

When so many big companies use Salesforce, it’s easy to assume that it’s out of your budget. You may be surprised to learn how affordable Salesforce can be for your business.

When you get Salesforce, you pay one time for implementation and a monthly fee for user licenses. Since a small business has fewer users, Salesforce can offer a great bang for your buck. Your business gets top-of-the-line features to compete with big businesses without the huge monthly expense that comes with other robust tools.

Many business owners implement Salesforce only to be surprised that they need to hire an administrator once the platform is developed. Hiring a new administrator can seem intimidating after paying for implementation, especially when you look at the average salary for these roles.

However, there is a better option for small businesses. Many small businesses don’t need a full-time team member to support their Salesforce platform. Hiring a part-time Salesforce administrator can help manage your platform and keep your users working effectively.

Even setting up new automation and custom coding can be affordable! Freelance Salesforce developers can be hired on a per-project basis to help businesses grow on a budget. Having access to part-time Salesforce help can make taking on an implementation much more approachable.

Why You Should Choose Salesforce for Small Businesses

Transforming your business is as easy as getting Salesforce. Competing with big businesses may feel daunting, but using the same tools that allow big companies to get ahead can help.

If you’re looking at Salesforce for small businesses, you’re ready to level up and grow your business. Free training, fully-integrated apps, and an easy-to-use dashboard are certain to shift your business. So what are you waiting for?

Once you’ve decided to commit to Salesforce, you’ll need a team to help with the Salesforce platform. That’s where we can help! We offer the best part-time Salesforce administrators, developers, and consultants.

Ready to find the right Salesforce team member for your business? Contact us today to get the support you need at a price you can afford.

Why Your Business Should Outsource Part-Time Salesforce Developers

Many small business owners like you know how valuable Salesforce can be for their businesses. In fact, you might be tempted to start automating every part of your business as soon as the implementation is done! However, you may be wincing at the cost of hiring a full-time Salesforce developer so soon after your costly implementation.

Outsourcing your development projects is a great way to start customizing your Salesforce platform. That’s where part-time Salesforce developers can be of huge value.

Whether you’re just getting started with Salesforce or looking to expand your current platform, a freelance Salesforce developer can help your business grow.

Here’s why a part-time Salesforce developer is a must for any small business.

Get the Help You Need When You Need It

It may seem like you need someone on your team full-time to get all your projects done. In reality, a part-time Salesforce developer can ensure that your projects get done on time, every time.

Full-time developers can get bogged down with projects and other day-to-day management tasks. If they don’t have enough to keep them busy, you may be paying for your developer to twiddle their thumbs. By hiring a freelance Salesforce developer, you can have someone on hand whenever you need them, without paying them when you’re not ready to take on a new project.

Outsourcing development can help you do more than you might think. When you hire a part-time Salesforce developer, you can focus on the most important projects and receive a freelancer’s valuable input on what projects would benefit your business. Plus, you can be sure they won’t make decisions based on office politics or other factors outside their purview.

While you may not have someone fully focused on your development projects, a freelance developer can bring a unique perspective to your projects. A freelancer’s work with other clients can help them bring new ideas and strategies to your business. They will also be incentivized to finish projects quickly and perform well to keep winning work from your business.

Accomplish More and Save Money With Part-Time Salesforce Developers

When you look at a freelancer’s hourly rate or project rate, it may seem steep. But, compared to a yearly salary and benefits, a part-time Salesforce developer can be a more affordable choice.

If you’ve been thinking, “Should I hire Salesforce developers?” you’ve probably already started to budget for your development projects. However, trying to hire someone full-time and having them take on a dozen projects at once can fall apart. When your employee has too many open projects at once, there’s no guarantee that anything will get done.

A part-time Salesforce developer can help you focus on high-impact projects. By prioritizing your projects, you can decide which project will make the biggest difference for your business. That means you only move forward with tasks that move the needle.

When you hire a part-time Salesforce developer on a monthly basis or a per-project basis, your projects are also more likely to get done on time. Even with fewer hours, your developer’s focused attention helps you make progress incrementally. By taking on one project at a time, you save money by spacing out your projects and can more easily determine the ROI of each project.

You can also hire many freelance Salesforce developers that specialize in each type of project. Having an expert ensures that your coding or automation gets done fast, so hiring the right person can save you significant cash in the long run.

Stay on the Cutting Edge

One of the reasons you started with Salesforce was to modernize your business. There are many ways to transform your company with Salesforce, but an insightful developer can help you focus on what will make the greatest difference in your business. The last thing you want is a developer who is stuck in their ways.

Salesforce is always evolving, and you need a developer that’s up to date with the latest and greatest that the Salesforce platform has to offer. Working with a freelance Salesforce developer can ensure you’re getting relevant and timely programming skills. Since your developer is working on various projects for different clients, they can bring inspiration from other clients and offer a new perspective that makes your business better.

Diverse opinions are imperative when it comes to creating a great platform. Having an expert on hand can mean your developer serves as a freelance Salesforce consultant, too! Their input can guide which projects you take on next, what tasks you choose to automate, and what systems you integrate into your platform.

A skilled part-time developer brings more than a successful project to your business. As freelancers, they may be more likely to keep up with the industry and improve their skills than a full-time employee is. That means they can bring your business new ways to use the Salesforce platform as your business grows.

Outsourcing Salesforce Development Can Help Your Business Thrive

Every business owner wants to see their business grow, which means their tools must be up to the challenge. Having the right technology as you grow means constantly updating your tools to meet your business needs. Experienced part-time Salesforce developers can help you customize your Salesforce platform so it serves your business at every stage.

Finding the perfect developer doesn’t have to be tough. Even if you’re hesitant about outsourcing, you might be surprised by how much a part-time Salesforce developer can do. Plus, when you hire development help from Cutopia, you always get the best developer for your next project.

If you’re ready to expand, it’s time to hire a freelance Salesforce developer. Contact us today to get the project support that you need now!

5 Mistakes Small Businesses Make When Hiring a Salesforce Developer

Even when you have a trusty Salesforce administrator on your team, you occasionally need a developer to make Salesforce work well for your small business.

As your team gets accustomed to using Salesforce, you may need more integrations and custom coding to get everything you want out of the platform. With the right Salesforce developer, you can make the platform even more powerful as your business grows. But, hiring a Salesforce developer is no walk in the park.

Business owners may want to jump in and find a developer right away. However, if you’re still wondering, “Should I hire a Salesforce Developer?” you may be rushing in too soon. There are a ton of mistakes you may miss if you’ve never hired a Salesforce developer before.

Here are the 5 mistakes to avoid when you’re hiring a Salesforce developer.

1. Hiring a General Developer

As a small business owner, you probably aren’t an expert in different coding languages. That’s okay—no one expects you to be! But, if you hire just any developer to handle your Salesforce platform, you may end up sorely disappointed.

Knowing what makes a Salesforce developer different is the key to making a smart hire. So, what is a Salesforce developer, and what do they do?

Every developer writes code in particular languages, and Salesforce developers specialize in Apex and Javascript. Knowing how to customize the platform for your business needs is what an expert Salesforce developer excels at. That’s only part of why you need someone beyond your run-of-the-mill dev.

A dedicated Salesforce developer can also help you simplify your business practices. The right developer can make creative solutions to automate your business processes, build out useful dashboards, and create applications to your exact specifications. Even if you’re not sure exactly what you need, a freelance Salesforce developer will guide you to create the tool your business needs.

If you hire just any developer, they may not be able to help you actualize your vision. Avoid this mistake by looking for Salesforce-specific technical skills and thought leadership in your interview.

2. Trying to Save Money With a New or Inexperienced Developer

Between accessible coding boot camps and free Salesforce training, you may have many developers answering your job posting. However, that doesn’t mean every applicant is the best choice for your Salesforce needs.

Some business owners may try to save on budget by hiring a less experienced Salesforce developer. While you don’t need to break the bank to get exceptional work, hiring the least expensive (and likely least skilled) is a common mistake for small business owners.

Before you hire a Salesforce developer, ask for a portfolio to see their past work. While it may seem smart to hire someone with a ton of certifications, they may not have real-world development experience to showcase. If they are charging by the hour, that may mean you end up paying a ton more than you expected for development changes.

In many cases, a small business does not need the most experienced or most expensive developer to meet its goals. However, a newbie developer may not cut it for your dev projects, either. Finding a skilled, knowledgeable developer is one of the easiest ways to ensure your platform is designed to fit your business needs, even as you grow.

3. Looking for a Full-Time Developer Right Away

When you need a new team member, it may seem natural to hire someone full-time. However, a part-time Salesforce developer may be a better choice for your organization.

Many small business owners jump to hire a full-time developer and find they don’t have enough work to keep them busy! Plus, after a pricy implementation, adding a new salary to your payroll may be out of the question. While this mistake is common for small businesses, it’s also a big error you’ll definitely want to avoid.

Building out your platform and automating your processes are crucial to take full advantage of Salesforce. However, that doesn’t mean you need to create every automation right away! Salesforce grows with your business, so it’s important to have access to a developer when you need them… and only when you need them.

A freelance Salesforce developer is a great choice for rapidly expanding businesses that need development help. Having a part-time Salesforce developer available to you can help you tackle the projects you need without searching for extra tasks to justify your hire.

4. Hiring Someone With Outdated Practices

Technology evolves quickly. Some business owners want to hire a developer with years of experience with a business just like theirs. We don’t blame you!

However, if a Salesforce developer worked for one company in-house, they may not be the most up to date on the latest programming practices. Salesforce is always making improvements and introducing new features, so it’s important to have a developer that tries new things and creates cutting edge solutions to your business problems.

A freelance Salesforce developer can help you create modern, relevant solutions that use the latest Salesforce features. Plus, a part-time developer’s experience in different industries can help bring a new perspective to your platform.

5. Getting One Person to Do it All

Trying to hire the perfect person is always a downfall when you’re looking for a Salesforce developer. When your budget is limited, it’s tempting to hire someone who can wear as many hats as possible. However, this approach can be a mistake when you hire someone who can’t focus exclusively on development.

Different development projects can call for different talents and insights. Having just one developer to rely on means you may not get the same quality of work on every project. If you hire a full-time developer, they are bound to have strengths and weaknesses, but they may be resistant to outsourcing projects they aren’t experienced in handling.

When you work with a part-time Salesforce developer, you can always have the right person for the job. Unfortunately, that means you have to find the right person for each project. Getting a freelance Salesforce developer from Cutopia can ensure you always have the right dev for any job.

Don’t Make a Mistake When Hiring a Salesforce Developer

If you’ve been wondering, “Do I need a Salesforce developer?” it’s time to hire someone. However, the wrong Salesforce developer can cost your small business a lot of time and money. When you’re hiring a Salesforce developer, don’t forget to keep these common mistakes in mind to make the best hire.

Finding a fool-proof part-time Salesforce developer is easy with Cutopia! Contact us today to find the right developer for your small business.

A Guide to Launching Salesforce for a Small Business

Imagine getting high-quality sales leads for your business without working hard. It sounds impossible, but it can happen with the best small business CRM.

You can use Salesforce for a small business, and you can hire a Salesforce consultant for help. It doesn’t matter if you have a few employees or 30-40.

Keep reading to learn how to launch Salesforce and if you need a freelance Salesforce administrator.

Consider Your Goals

Before you set up and launch Salesforce for a small business, you should think about why you want to use it. Many companies need a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, but you can do a lot with Salesforce.

You can keep track of customer data and organize it all. And you can manage contact information.

Another benefit is that you can use Salesforce to help with your social media marketing. You can view customer social profiles right in Salesforce, so you can grow your online audience.

Salesforce also lets you provide customer service. And if you hire a freelance Salesforce administrator, you can have help with all of it.

Choose the Right Plan

Salesforce offers four different CRM plans that you can use for your small business marketing. The Essentials plan is great for basic sales and customer service tools, and it’s a good place to start.

If you have a bigger small business CRM budget, you can get the Sales Professional plan. It works well for sales teams of any size, whether you have a single employee or a team of 40.

The Service Professional plan has similar pricing to the Sales Professional plan, but this one is perfect for customer service You can use it with any number of employees in your small business.

If you want more marketing automations, you can use the Pardot Growth plan. It works with any size team and can support up to 10,000 contacts. You can hire a freelance Salesforce developer for more assistance on any plan.

Take Advantage of Training

If you want to use Salesforce for a small business, it can be hard to get started. Luckily, Salesforce created Trailhead, which is a free training website. You can use it to learn the basics of the CRM.

Then, you can understand how it works. Even if you decide to hire a Salesforce administrator, you should know the basics.

And since Trailhead is free, you can work through a few of the lessons or courses. Choose a couple that make the most sense for your business.

If you have questions, you can ask your freelance Salesforce consultant. Then, you can make sure you’re using Salesforce efficiently.

Document Your Processes

As you set up Salesforce for a small business, make sure you document each step you take. When you need to repeat those steps for new customers, you can follow those steps to streamline the process.

Your documentation doesn’t have to be long or have a ton of detail. But consider listing out any settings you change and what tools you use to organize and enter customer data.

If you ever forget the steps or need to have a part-time Salesforce administrator, the documents should provide the essential information. You can use a document or spreadsheet to log everything.

It can also help to document the process of setting up accounts for users. If you ever hire a new part-time Salesforce developer, you can use that document to create their profile.

Add Your Company Information

As you set up Salesforce for a small business, you should add some basic company information. Include your company name, address, phone, and email to your profile.

You can also add your timezone to help with your small business marketing. That way, you won’t send an email to your customers when they’re all asleep.

Adding your company’s fiscal year can also help you with contact management. If you only want to contact customers a certain number of times per year, you can use your fiscal year to track that.

Include as much information as you feel comfortable with in Salesforce. Then, you can use it for everything from social media marketing to customer service.

Verify Security Settings

Before you start using Salesforce for a small business, you should secure everything. You can use Health Check to verify that your passwords, networks, and sessions are as strong as possible.

To go to Health Check, go to Setup in Salesforce. Then, you can search for the feature and edit your settings.

Health Check will tell you which settings are the most vulnerable, such as weak passwords. You can change your password to something stronger to help.

Go through each of the options and make them more secure. Have your part-time Salesforce consultant and other employees do this with their passwords and settings as well.

Create a Sandbox

Another thing you should do when setting up Salesforce for a small business is to create a Sandbox. In Salesforce, a Sandbox is a copy of your production organization.

You can use the Sandbox to try new settings and features. Any changes you make in the Sandbox won’t affect the live version of your Salesforce account.

So if you make a mistake or don’t like your changes, you don’t have to worry about fixing them. If you do like what you changed, you can apply them to your production org when you are comfortable.

Set Up Reports

Salesforce is the best small business CRM because it offers a couple of different ways to create reports. First, you can use Power of One, which is a formula that can summarize data.

Case Safe ID is also a great formula, and you can use it to change record IDs in reporting tools that don’t recognize case-sensitivity. You can view the alpha-numeric record ID to more easily import and export data.

Using formulas can help you and your Salesforce consultant view reports and track your small business marketing. Then, you can make sure you reach all of your company goals.

Using Salesforce for a Small Business

If you want to improve your customer relations and contact management, you should use Salesforce for a small business. The CRM tool offers many benefits and features to help you.

Be sure to consider how to safely set everything up, though. You can hire a Salesforce consultant to help you through the process. Then, you can launch it without any problems.

Do you want to hire a Salesforce developer? Contact us today.