Jake Dayton

Aug 17

Best Practices For Increasing Your Salesforce ROI

By Jake Dayton Blog No Comments

Maximizing the value of your CRM is an important factor in increasing productivity and profit for your business.

Whether your company is new to Salesforce or has been using it for years, ROI (Return on Investment) should always be at the top of your mind. However, with all that Salesforce can offer it can be confusing to figure out how to get the most out of your org.

Do not fear! We have curated some best practices that we think are essential to increasing your Salesforce ROI.

How to Maximize your Salesforce ROI

Train Your Workforce

One of the beauties of Salesforce is that it brings all of your business’s custom information together in one easy-to-read place - making things a lot simpler for every one of your employees! However, having untrained or undertrained employees can throw the benefits of Salesforce right out the window.

It is imperative to have a properly trained workforce that is ready to get the most out of Salesforce. Now I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t this a little obvious? Of course my employees will be properly trained,” but don’t think we are crazy for suggesting this tip just yet! Being properly trained for their position and being properly trained in Salesforce are two vastly different things. In a study performed by Cloudingo, data showed that nearly 40% of Salesforce users found the ease of use of their org unsatisfactory.

That is an extremely large number of people that are struggling with their Salesforce org right now!

In order to increase your Salesforce ROI, it is important to ensure that your employees are always aware of the broader goals of your business and are confident on how to use Salesforce to achieve these goals. Training is an extremely important part of any employee's journey with salesforce; take a look at these tips from Salesforce themselves on how people have found success training their new users in the past. By taking advantage of an in-depth and multifaceted training process, you are sure to get the very most out of your workforce and Salesforce ROI.

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Maximize the Value of Your Data

Another main benefit of Salesforce is that it stores all of your customer data on one simple and accessible platform. Unfortunately, the majority of data that is available to businesses goes unused and unanalyzed.

One way to help maximize the value of the data that you collect is with the “Custom Fields” feature within Salesforce. If there’s a specific piece of data that isn’t represented in your object’s standard fields, you can create your own custom field to start keeping track of the specific data you want.

Along with “Custom Fields,” Salesforce also comes with a built-in “Reports” feature that will allow you to process the data you have collected in a neat and simple manner. With Reports, you can examine your Salesforce data in almost infinite combinations, display it in easy-to-understand formats, and share the resulting insights with others quickly and easily. Reports are definitely a tool that all should be familiar with.

The Salesforce AppExchange also can also play an important role in leveraging your data. With the AppExchange, you are able to utilize your data within thousands of apps. One prime example of this comes with S-Docs! With S-Docs you are able to incorporate your Salesforce data into professional-caliber invoices, reports, summaries, letters, and so much more. By being able to use your Salesforce data to create so many different types of documents, S-Docs gives you the ability to share and manipulate your metrics like never before.

Finally, before everything else, it is important to establish the importance of data and metrics with the entirety of your workforce. Building a data-centric work environment and placing great importance on the numbers you collect will not only help everyone stay on the same page but will greatly improve the ease and efficiency of your data collection. Everyone being able to look at and learn from the data will create an environment of successful workers striving to outperform last quarter’s numbers. All in all, becoming a data-first company can greatly improve your Salesforce ROI.

Leverage Automation

Automation is one of the best things that Salesforce brings to the table. With various add-ons and built-in features, you are able to automate

much of the sales process with the help of Salesforce. Your sales team can focus on turning leads into customers instead of housekeeping and time-consuming tasks. Let's dive into how you can leverage automation with Salesforce!

Process Builder

Process Builder Is the Salesforce hub for automation. Without having to know any code, you can create “if, then” statements to automate all sorts of different processes within your salesforce org.

With just a couple of clicks you can automate your Salesforce org to create records, schedule calls, post to chatter and do a variety of other important yet time-consuming tasks. Here are a couple more examples of what Process Builder can do:

Create a record
Launch a Flow
Post to Chatter
Call Apex code
Update related records
Invoke many other processes

Being able to automate a variety of processes without any add-ons is one of Salesforce’s greatest benefits - however, sometimes you need some more help. That is when you turn to the AppExchange!

Utilize the AppExchange

Although Salesforce allows you to automate a variety of processes within the platform, there are a countless number of third-party applications that can further your business automation, too. From staying on top of tasks with the help of a calendar to drafting beautiful professional electronic documents, there is an app for almost everything in the AppExchange - one of them being S-Docs.

Although we are a little biased, we believe that document generation and e-signature are two of the most important aspects of your business that need automating. For example, your sales team shouldn’t have to be bogged down by creating contract after contract; they should be focused on turning leads into customers! Your customer service team shouldn’t waste valuable time drafting personalized communications; they should be problem-solving and building relationships.

With S-Docs, you get the only 100% native document generation solution for Salesforce. This means that automating your documents has never been faster or more secure than it is with S-Docs.

Automation can save your business a lot of time and money; with the help of Process Builder and the countless apps in the AppExchange, you can leverage automation to its full potential and help increase your Salesforce ROI.

Always Keep Learning

Now that we have gone through some of the more nitty-gritty tips in order to increase Salesforce ROI, we finish off with a general best practice that you and your team should always follow: Keep learning! Salesforce is an ever-changing platform that consistently adds new features and functions that can help streamline your business processes. Keeping up to date with the newest updates and continuous improvements of the platform will help your business stay on top of all things Salesforce, allowing you to maximize the benefits of the CRM.

Holding regular retraining and testing sessions to keep your employees' knowledge up to date and encouraging continuous use of Trailhead is a great way to maintain a workforce of consistent learners. But it is not just your workforce that needs to consistently be learning, it's everyone! Everyone in the company should be up to date with Salesforce to make meetings, briefings, reports, and everything in between a smooth and easy process. If you have a business full of Salesforce masters, you are sure to get the most out of your organization and see a huge increase in your ROI.

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Increase Your ROI with S-Docs!

S-Docs takes document generation and e-signature automation to the next level!

We are the only 100% native document generation solution for Salesforce; this means the document automation process will be faster and more secure than any third-party system on the market. Your sales team will be able to focus on turning leads into customers instead of waiting and worrying about the creation of their contracts, invoices, etc.

Over the past ten years we’ve acquired a deep network of trusted partners and helped countless businesses solve their document generation and e-signature needs, and we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon!

For more information about how we can help your organization request a demo today or reach out to sales@sdocs.com

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Jul 27

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E-Signature Request Declined

By Jake Dayton Documentation, S-Sign No Comments

Introduction

S-Sign allows you to quickly and easily send e-signature requests to customers, prospective employees, coworkers- practically anyone you can imagine for your business needs. However, at times, your recipient may want to decline the e-signature request. This article will explain what happens when a recipient declines an e-signature request, as well as what this looks like from both the recipient and sender’s point of view.

What Happens When A Signer Declines an E-Signature Request- The Recipient’s Point Of View

Most of the action that takes place when a signer declines an e-signature request happens on the recipient's end. This section will walk through exactly what the recipient sees and the actions they take in order to decline the request.

As the recipient accesses the document that requires their signature, they will be brought to the document with this action bar on the bottom of the screen. The button to the far right allows them to decline the signature.

After selecting the “Decline Signature” option, they will be brought to this screen where they are able to provide a reason for declining the signature.

After selecting the “Yes” option, the recipient will then be shown this notification.

Their work is done! It is as easy as that from the recipient’s point of view. They have now successfully declined the signature.

What Happens When A Signer Declines an E-Signature Request- The Sender’s Point Of View

The sender of the e-signature will receive an email when the recipient declines the request. This email will notify the sender that the request has been denied and provide the recipient’s reasoning as to why they declined the request. An example of this email is shown below.

As you can see, the same message that the recipient submitted can be seen in the email that the sender receives.

Furthermore, the S-Sign Envelope Sign Status field will now be updated to “Declined”.

That's it! The sender now has the notification that the signature on the document they requested has been declined, the recipient's reasoning as to why, and this information updated in their Salesforce org.

Jul 21

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10 Simple Tips To Make Salesforce Easier

By Jake Dayton Blog No Comments

We’ve all been there. Sitting in front of our computer, staring at our Salesforce home page, and not being completely confident on how to best use/navigate the interface.

With the vast amount of functions and information that a Salesforce org can offer, we sometimes still get lost on the platform. But, after doing some research and calling on our employees' personal experiences, we have discovered some simple tips that can help make Salesforce just a little bit easier to use.

Let's dive into 10 simple tips on how to make Salesforce easier for you!

Overall Advice For Salesforce Users

Be Patient
Join the Trailblazer Community with Trailhead
Familiarize Yourself with the Salesforce Help Experience
Install the Correct Apps for Your Org

Be Patient

Before getting into the nitty-gritty details of how to improve your Salesforce user experience, it is important to address how to properly approach your Salesforce journey.

Whether you’re just beginning your job or have been using Salesforce for many years, there is bound to be something that will stump you. As the platform is constantly evolving, it is nearly impossible to understand every little function that it offers. That is why the very first tip is to stay calm and be patient.

Salesforce, while extremely useful, can definitely be tricky at times, so approaching the platform with the right mindset will greatly help improve your Salesforce experience. Being patient and having an open mind that is ready to learn will take you a long way when using Salesforce! Now that we have the right mindset, we can move on to some other helpful tricks!

Join the Trailblazer Community with Trailhead

One of the most helpful resources that Salesforce offers is Trailhead. With millions of users worldwide, Salesforce offers this all-in-one site where you can connect with other Tailblazers and learn the functionality of the platform. Trailhead offers a countless number of “trails” where you can learn any and all things Salesforce.

Along with these courses, Trailhead is the spot where you can join a group of other Salesforce users, read about the hot topics in the Salesforce world, and see any upcoming events that may be happening. Fully immersing yourself in the Salesforce universe is one of the great ways to make Salesforce easier for you!

Familiarize Yourself with the Salesforce Help Experience

While Trailhead and the courses that it offers are a great resource for learning the Salesforce platform and its functions, some problems require a bit more in-depth assistance. This is where the Salesforce help experience comes in!

By giving you the ability to search for exactly what you are having trouble with and providing in-depth documentation on common problems, the Salesforce help experience is a great place to solve your problems and learn how to use the platform. We all need help sometimes; familiarizing yourself with the Salesforce help experience will surely make Salesforce easier for you!

Install the Correct Apps for Your Org

One of the best aspects of Salesforce is the AppExchange! The AppExchange provides thousands of apps that can help you improve your Salesforce experience greatly. From apps as simple as calendars to ones such as S-Docs, which can create professional and electronic documents seamlessly, there is an app for everything on the AppExchange.

We suggest taking a few minutes to browse around and find which apps will help make your Salesforce experience that much easier. Now that we have gone over some basic advice on how to make Salesforce easier for you, let’s get down to business with six tips that are sure to help improve your user experience.

Nitty Gritty Tips to Make your Salesforce User Experience Easier

Set Your Record Default to Details
Make the Switch to the Correct Pinned List View
Customize the App Launcher
Add Related List Quick Links
Utilize Notes
Utilize Favorites

Set Your Record Default Tab to Details

One of the most helpful things you can do to improve Salesforce is changing the default record tab from “Activity” to “Details.” While the Activity tab can be helpful, most of the information that you will want to access, no matter what line of work you are in, is in the Details tab. For example, if you are using the Account object, the account number, contacts, account status, and much more are located within this tab, so having it be the first thing you see when you open an account can save a lot of time and make your Salesforce experience that much easier.

To do this, first, click on the Setup cog in the upper right corner and then click on “Edit Page.”

Next, click on any of the tabs (Activity, Details, Chatter) and then set the “Default Tab” on the right-hand side of the screen to “Details.” Then click the save button at the top right.

You’re all set! Now when you open any account, the page will automatically open with the Details tab giving you access to the data you want faster and easier than before!

Make the Switch to the Correct Pinned List View

One of the most tedious aspects of Salesforce is the “Recently Viewed” list being pinned by default for all objects. While this may be helpful for some, being able to see all records at once is much more convenient. This allows you to search for any record you want to access even if you haven't viewed it recently. This is an easy switch that can save you time and make navigating Salesforce a lot easier. Here’s how to do it!

First, click on any of the objects at the top, (We chose Opportunity in this example), and then click just to the right of “Recently Viewed” in order to access the dropdown menu.

After clicking here, the dropdown menu will appear. Select “All Opportunities.”

After clicking this, you will be brought to the All Opportunities page. Select the pin directly to the right of where it says “All Opportunities.”

And that is it! You will now be able to see all of your opportunities displayed in front of you whenever you click on the Opportunity tab. Unfortunately, you will have to repeat this process for every object that you want this change to be made for, but nonetheless, this tip will help you save time and make navigating Salesforce a lot easier!

Customize the App Launcher

The App Launcher is one of the handiest tools in your Salesforce org. It can help you quickly navigate between the different pages that are most important to you. The App Launcher, however, can often be rather messy and cluttered; moving the apps that are most important to you to the front of the launcher will help save you time and make navigating the Salesforce interface a lot easier.

The App Launcher is the dotted icon located in the top left corner of the page.

After you click on the App Launcher, a dropdown menu will appear. Unfortunately, the apps we most frequently use are not at the top. In order to fix that, simply click on the “View All” button at the bottom of the dropdown.

It's as easy as that! Now in the dropdown menu of the App Launcher, you will see the apps that are most important to you, making your life a lot simpler and Salesforce easier to navigate!

Add Related List Quick Links

The Salesforce interface can often get cluttered and confusing. This next tip will help condense your pages greatly. Getting rid of the Related tab and simply adding the Related List Quick Links tab will make your pages look a lot cleaner while still giving you access to related records.

When you are on a specific record page, navigate to the setup cog and then click “Edit Page” at the bottom of the dropdown menu.

Once you are in the page editor, delete the Related Lists Tab located on the right of the screen. To delete there is a trash can symbol at the top right of the tab.

After this is deleted there will be a blank box left in its place. Click on it, then navigate to the left-hand side of the screen and type “related” into the search bar. Click the option that reads “Related List Quick Links.” Then click Save in the top right.

You are now good to go! As you can see below, the previous Related List has now been replaced with a much cleaner and easier-to-navigate quick links tab.

You can also add single related lists if you would still like to view some of the options in full. Overall, this feature will help condense your page and make Salesforce easier to navigate!

Utilize Notes

We all know that when dealing with customers and clients things can get complicated, and you can often forget certain aspects of a conversation or account. That is where the notes function comes in handy for accounts and opportunities!

In the top right-hand corner of any account or opportunity page, there is a “New Note” button. This allows you to record a note that will be saved directly under the “Notes & Attachments” related list for that specific account/opportunity. It’s as easy as that!

There are also two other ways to record notes within each account/opportunity page. One is under the Activities tab with the “Log a Call” feature and the other is under the Chatter tab where you can post your notes and updates for all of your colleagues to easily access.

Taking notes is a great way to remember specific information about each account and can make your Salesforce experience a lot easier!

Utilize Favorites

Last but not least is one final quick tip that can help save you some time while navigating your Salesforce org. The Favorites feature allows you to pin any aspect of your org for easier access. Whether it's a specific account, lead, quote, etc. that you find yourself going back to often, or even simply the All Opportunities tab, you can click the star at the top right of the screen to save that page in the favorites dropdown bar for easier access later on!

Although it’s only a small tip, it can help you navigate Salesforce that much faster and easier!

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Make Salesforce Easier with S-Docs!

Your Salesforce documentation becomes much easier with S-Docs! Here at S-Docs we know how important document generation and e-signature are for today’s businesses.

Developed by former Salesforce Technical Architects, we are the only 100% native document generation solutions for Salesforce. Because of the added security and speed provided, we have hundreds of trusted partners spanning a variety of different industries.

Over the past ten years we have helped a countless number of businesses solve their document generation and e-signature needs, and we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon!

For more information about how we can help your organization request a demo today or reach out to sales@sdocs.com