This email may be a little controversial. I don’t mean it to be, but it’s something I’ve noticed more often these days.
Salesforce, as a company, has certain targets to meet. They tend to focus the client’s attention in a very specific way.
What this translates to is: Salesforce will most likely recommend products and services that are owned by Salesforce, as opposed to what is actually the best fit for the client.
For example, if a client needs a way to calculate product pricing, Salesforce may press that Revenue Cloud (CPQ and CPQ Billing) is the best path forward.
By contrast, Salesforce partners and agencies usually have a different perspective. They are more likely to recommend products and services which may or may not be owned by Salesforce. So if a custom solution or 3rd party product is a better option, they would probably (hopefully) propose it over a Salesforce equivalent.
The takeaway
This difference of perspective is important to acknowledge. As Salesforce consultants, we need to adhere to certain standards. Understanding and translating our client’s needs into appropriate solutions is a key element of that standard.
Not all of those solutions will be aligned with what Salesforce would recommend, and that’s OK. We should be directionally aligned with Salesforce, but serve our client’s needs first.