Leveraging Native SFDC Sales Cloud Processes

So, you’ve invested in Salesforce. But are you using the native Salesforce Sales Cloud Object Model to its full potential? If not, you may want to think about how you can maximize your usage of the platform.

It’s always best to start simple and think about how you can enhance what you already have (using native functionality) rather than reinventing the wheel to build custom processes that usually just end up overcomplicating things.

Dwight Shrute says it best. Keep It Simple Stupid. (I feel you Dwight; kinda hurts my feelings too). But with K.I.S.S. in mind, let’s look at some of the ways we can maximize usage of Salesforce’s existing object model of Lead → Contact/Account → Opportunity.

There is a constant debate around whether Salesforce’s Lead object should in fact be utilized at all. Just Google it and you’ll see what I mean. Everyone’s got an opinion.

Some organizations think the native SFDC Sales Data Model (starting with Leads) is an archaic way of thinking. And sales people will almost always tell you they prefer to work from the contact level. It’s an ‘easier’ way to keep track of contacts as they live under a single account.

However, the fact is, this data model has been proven, works well (if used effectively – that’s why I’m writing this blog), and is here to stay for the foreseeable future. So why not use it to your advantage?

Again – the main idea here is also to encourage the use of what Sales Cloud already offers natively: LEADS. Should you decide to use Contacts instead, or perhaps a custom Object as a Lead, you’ll lose access to valuable out-of-the-box functionality such as: Web-To-Lead, Lead Assignment Rules, Lead Queues, conversion metrics from Campaign Members when the Opportunity is a result of Sales Qualifications, etc.

We find that once a solid sales process is defined for an organization, sales people are able to adapt easily with proper training. In addition, there is no need to overwhelm the database with unnecessary Accounts / Contacts / Opportunities if there is no clear evidence of a future sale. Lastly, streamlined processes and clean, reliable data translate into valuable metrics that can truly measure the success of your business.

Lead Object – What is it and how should it be used?

Sales needs to do some evaluation and qualification actions to determine if this person will ever buy something from your organization.

Using the Lead Object enables you to maintain two separate processes:

1. Leads who have shown interest in your product and/or match your target market.
2. Sales-qualified opportunities and customer accounts.

By managing leads in a systematic and structured way, both the numbers of generated leads and converted leads can be increased. Lead statuses assist sales managers in evaluating their team by making aspects of the pipeline visible (e.g.; conversion rates). Salesforce leads are easily distinguishable through lead statuses. This equips our marketing team to efficiently calculate ROI.

The ideal lead lifecycle using SFDC native functionality looks something like this:

To break this cycle down a bit, let’s take a closer look at each object and its related processes.

Leads

Leads can come from Marketing Automation tools, imports, referrals, manual creation… the sources are endless, but the overall process for managing potential new business lead records is essentially the same:

1. New Lead gets created, no existing Account / Contact in the system (this should be easily distinguishable with the help of any deduplication rules or marketing automation tool).
2. Lead is engaged and showing interest in your product or service.

Let’s consider the following scenarios starting from the point of SQL – when the sales qualification process begins. Leads should have their own lifecycle of statuses that lead up to a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL); we’ll save that for another post. Most organizations have additional deviations of this process to consider, but again, per Dwight’s recommendation, we are keeping it simple:

• SQL: Sales determines there is a potential sales opportunity with this particular lead. Lead record is converted to a Contact (Converted Lead Status = Qualified), Account (Account Type = Prospect) and Opportunity (Opportunity Type = New Business).
• Recycling: Sales determines there could be a potential sales opportunity, but the timing is not right. Record remains as Lead and Lead Status is changed to ‘Recycle’ (or something similar depending on your organization’s terminology). Additional processes can then be triggered from here (e.g., Marketing nurture programs).
• Disqualification: Sales determines there will NEVER be an Opportunity with this Lead. Record remains as Lead and Lead Status is changed to ‘Disqualified’ (or something similar).
• Existing Accounts: Sales determines there is an existing account that the lead should be associated with. Lead record is converted to a Contact (Converted Lead Status = Converted Contact) and attached to an existing Account (no new Opportunity record is created).

Example New Business Lead Lifecycle

Assuming an Opportunity record was created, the Lead (now Contact) goes through the Opportunity sales cycle, eventually landing in the Opportunity Stage of Won (🎊) or Lost (😐).

Closed Opportunity – What’s Next?

Managing Account Types

What should happen to Accounts when an Opportunity is Closed? Using native SFDC Account Types will ensure teams with downstream activities (e.g., CS) have accurate data to base their processes on.

Any good SFDC admin should have automation setup on the backend to manage Account Types. For example, when an Opportunity is Won, the Account Type would be set to ‘Customer.’ This can be the trigger for your CS team to take over Account management.

Lost Opportunity Accounts would be categorized as Backlog, Icebox, or something similar. This can be the trigger for your Marketing team to kickoff reinvigoration nurture campaigns.

One final point here: once an Opportunity is Closed – won or lost, doesn’t matter – it should NEVER, EVER, under any circumstances be moved to an earlier stage. In our experience, we’ve seen this have a (significant) negative impact on forecast and pipeline metrics. Downstream processes should instead be based on the closed record.

At Kisler Group, we understand the power the native Salesforce Sales Object Model can have on your business, but we also realize it can be complicated to master on your own. We offer helpful training so your Salesforce admins and users can master this technology and feel comfortable using it every day. Our team of Certified Salesforce experts are also happy to work with you to determine what business processes you should automate, and setting up those automations for you. To learn more, visit our website or contact us today!