People often ask me what’s the biggest concern I have when implementing Salesforce. Which technical issue or process keeps me up at night?
The answer is neither. It’s change management.
Technical details usually get flushed out and the results are often good enough. Processes can be adjusted to reinforce how the tool should be used.
But people often don’t like change. Sometimes they avoid it, push it away, or even sabotage it.
Newness often creates discomfort. It’s a shift from something people are used to dealing with (even if it sucks), to something different (even if it’s better).
One way to tackle this is to address the elephant in the room. Talk to various stakeholders and users and let them know there will be a period of frustration. And that’s OK. We’ll get through it together.
For example, I have a client that’s currently moving from Google Sheets to Salesforce. My first meeting with the programs team was simply to show them what Salesforce is. It was basic training. I didn’t ask them any questions, as those will come in subsequent meetings.
The takeaway
Address main concerns directly. Don’t avoid them, tackle them first. Everything that follows will be, by definition, easier.