You are in the process of implementing Salesforce in your organization and roll-out is getting closer by the day. You can’t wait for your vision to be executed and you know that once Salesforce is live everyone's day-to-day will be improved and productivity will increase! All great things - but have you considered post go-live logistics? How will you manage your new application to ensure that everyone gets the most out of your investment? 

When you implement a new technology, there are many factors that you have to take into consideration to ensure a smooth transition. Many companies are so excited to finally roll out the solution that they often do not take time to think about the logistical aspects of introducing a new technology. 

So, before you hit the go-live button, you should ask yourself these 5 key questions.

Question #1) Do you have an established governance board?

What is a governance board anyway? And why do you need one? A governance board is made up of the key stakeholders that can help prioritize product innovations and enhancements. Because Salesforce offers so many diverse customization options, you will need a way to determine which ones will support your business process most closely. Make sure you measure your decisions against the criteria of time reduction, cost reduction, and an increase in output and quality.

Question #2) Do you have an execution team in place?

Complex projects, like implementing a Salesforce sales cloud, can quickly derail. Your execution team will not only implement your vision, but will also provide leadership and process management during roll-out and after. Additionally, your execution team will be dedicated to ensuring that your project spec is aligned with organizational needs.

Question #3) What is your method for dealing with end user questions and requests?

After roll-out, it is inevitable that your team will have questions and requests. If you haven’t yet thought about how you are going to handle these requests, now is the time! Do you have a help desk? An email ticketing system? Or maybe you want to build out some customizations to have questions routed directly into Salesforce. You can even create a collaborative support interface through Chatter. Determining a support strategy before the system goes live is a great way to be more proactive and organized. Your employees will be able to submit support issues quickly and requests get handled in an efficient and timely way.

Question #4) Do you have a plan for new Salesforce feature releases?

Salesforce releases new features 3 times per year. One of the benefits of the application is that each release gets automatically pushed directly to your instance. No longer do you have to wait months for tedious updates on your enterprise software only for them to be obsolete a few months later. When new releases come out you will want to prioritize them and construct a plan for training your team. Which ones are most useful for your business? And then when you decide which ones to implement, you will need a plan to make sure your admins are trained and that each change is being communicated to your users.

Question #5) Have you determined your innovation cadence?

How frequently will you roll out change?  You will have to take into consideration your organizational culture and the end user’s ability to adopt technology and manage change in order to determine the appropriate release schedule. Understanding your organization’s adaptability is key to developing a well-paced agenda. Although it may be tempting to introduce new releases at a fast pace, it is imperative to take into consideration how each introduction disrupts work-flow.

If you consider your answers to each of these questions and develop a solid roll-out strategy, you will be on your road to success with Salesforce. Implementing a new technology is only the first step. You have to develop a detailed plan, assign resources, and constantly iterate your process in order to maximize your Salesforce ROI. 

Attending Dreamforce and want to know more? Check out our session Become a Leader: Maximize ROI Beyond Go-Live. Not attending Dreamforce? Check out our Bluewolf Beyond datasheet and learn how they can help you maximize Salesforce ROI post go-live.