You understand that Salesforce, as great as it is, has limits. That’s why the AppExchange exists. To provide third-party organizations an opportunity to fill those gaps or improve upon core functionality.
However, as a Salesforce consultant, there’s a fine line between recommending an app and suggesting one.
When you recommend something, you’re basically asking your client to trust your judgement. But you’re also taking accountability for the outcome and in case something goes wrong. That’s probably something you’d want to avoid.
On the other hand, suggesting an app also provides trust, but it avoids accountability. The approach here is to offer your client a shortlist of apps. Then you can guide them through an app assessment, or have them do their own assessment. In the end, the client chooses the app, not you.
I know some Salesforce partners and independent consultants got into trouble because they recommended an app that ultimately failed. They were legally responsible for that outcome. So they just don’t make recommendations any more.
The takeaway
When discussing apps, be sure to be careful with your wording. Consider suggesting or proposing apps, instead of recommending or insisting on them. It could avoid a legal dispute down the road.