Guide to Hiring a Salesforce Implementation Consultant

May 10, 2023
A Guide to Salesforce Implementations: Finding a Consultant; The Implementation Checklist; Typical Implementation Costs; Project Timelines; and Post Go-Live Planning.
You need work done; we can match you with a Consultant who's done it before.
You need work done; we can match you with a Consultant who's done it before.

3 Ways to Implement Salesforce

A successful Salesforce implementation needs to start with proper planning.

This doesn't simply mean designing and architecting the tool you want to actually use.

It requires a top-down look at your organization: current Business Systems utilization, internal Salesforce capabilities, business units impacted by this new technology, and ongoing resource allocation strategy.

Using the Internal Salesforce Team

Very few organizations can handle a new Salesforce implementation project without outside Consultants.

However, there are established Salesforce Centers of Excellence that possess the Digital Transformation vision, the Salesforce architecture capabilities, and the hands-on resources (Administrators and Developers) needed to handle the actual build.

That means either hiring full-time staff, or finding the right expert consultant for the job.

But hiring a consultant is more complicated than many people realize, especially if you have limited working knowledge of Salesforce. There are many different types of Salesforce projects, and there’s also a lot of variation among Salesforce Consultants. You’ll be choosing between offshore and local, many skill sets and specializations, and between individual freelancers and partner consulting firms.

Engage a Salesforce Consulting Partner

Salesforce Consulting Partners are Professional Services organizations that are Strategic Partners to Salesforce, particularly in helping companies implement Salesforce for the first time. Consulting partners are given a Consulting Partner Trailblazer Score that is based on a 1,000 point scoring system. Points are determined based on the partner’s ratings on Customer Success, Innovation, and Engagement. This system is meant to ensure that all Salesforce Consulting Partners are held to a quantifiable standard and represent the Salesforce brand well.

It's worth noting that much of Consulting Partner's business comes from Salesforce directly, who also relies on them to help "co-sell" and acquire Customers to purchase additional Salesforce products. Also important to note that just because a company is a Certified Salesforce Partner, it doesn't mean they focus specifically on new implementations. Partners focus on a wide range of Salesforce projects and it's important to evaluate their core capabilities to ensure alignment with your project goals.

Hire Independent Salesforce Consultants

A Salesforce Contractor (or Independent Salesforce Consultant) is a professional available for hire whose skills and experience focus on Salesforce. These are usually individuals who can assist with Salesforce projects, but they are not directly connected to the Salesforce organization the same way as a Consulting Partner. These individuals work independently and consult directly with end Customers, helping them to implement, support, maintain, or enhance their Salesforce instance. Often, Salesforce Customers will use a Contractor to help identify the right Consulting Partner, if needed, and then work as the Project Lead to oversee their work.

You can expect to hire a Salesforce Contractor for ~60% of the cost of utilizing a Consulting Partner.

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Types of Salesforce Implementation Consultants

The title 'Salesforce Implementation Consultant' is a bit of a catch-all, so it's important to evaluate skill sets at a deeper level.

In short, a Salesforce Implementation Consultant leads the end-to-end discovery, design, and implementation of one or more new Salesforce products or platforms.

Most Salesforce implementations are highly complex projects requiring cross-disciplinary Salesforce Consultants each bringing a specific capability to the table during different phases of the project lifecycle.

A Salesforce Implementation Consultant will typically assume one of five main roles:

Business Analyst

The Business Analysts is involved early on in the implementation process, helping to gather requirements, document current processes, and help translate those processes into the new technical solution. This is part of Project Discovery.

Solution Architects

Solution Architects come on board during the Discovery phase and use the deliverables from their Business Analyst to design the deeper functionality needed. Similar to the BA, Architects work closely with the business, optimizing their operations and ensuring that end results align with future state goals in the short-term and long-term.

Technical Architects

Technical Architects come from Engineering backgrounds and deeply understand Salesforce's capabilities and technical limitations. The Technical Architect will collaborate with SAs to make sure their plans work and can be implemented.

Then, Technical Architects take these designs a step further by leading the actual project planning, scoping, and integration strategy. This individual will stay on board throughout the end-to-end project, typically overseeing the work of Salesforce Engineers during build.

Administrators / Consultants

An Administrator or Consultant will do all of the hands-on work that involves point-and-click or declarative automation (i.e. flows), including setting up user profiles and permission, building out reports and dashboards etc. All-star Salesforce Admins might be kept on post-implementation to help lead change management, training, and all ongoing maintenance work.

Developers

Salesforce Developers build all complex automations using Apex code, create custom front-end experiences with Lightning Web Components, and handle all custom integration work and use of APIs. Developers are essential to any implementation because their capabilities are what help unlock the true potential of how companies can build custom solutions on top of Salesforce.

Best Salesforce Implementation Consultants & Partners

The Salesforce community includes thousands of Certified Salesforce Partners, in addition to 30,000+ Independent Salesforce Consultants available globally. Understanding how to select the right Consulting Partner or Independent Consultant is a critical first step.

First and foremost, there is no one-size-fits-all Salesforce Partner.

The best Partner for implementing Marketing Cloud isn't going to be the best Partner for implementing Salesforce CPQ.

One of the most important decisions you’ll make is whether to engage with a Consulting Partner or hire Independent Consultant. Each have the core Salesforce competency to deliver this type of work; however, the way in which they operate alongside your team will differ greatly between these two options.

Hiring a Salesforce Implementation Consultant

FoundHQ personally matches companies with Salesforce Consultants that meet the project's specific requirements. You tell us what you need, and we’ll handpick the right people from our community of over 3,500 pre-vetted, Certified Salesforce Consultants.

Get matched to a Salesforce Consultant today.

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