Even the most experienced Salesforce pros have made mistakes, experienced growing pains, and had to learn lessons the hard way… but you don’t have to!

We’ve asked some experts to share their best advice, and we’re counting down the Top 5 mistakes you might be making with Salesforce that are costing you time and money.

At Chargent, we’ve seen firsthand how well Salesforce works for organizations, from direct-service nonprofits, to massive manufacturers, to subscription SaaS companies.  And we’ve also seen some of the same time-consuming, expensive mistakes across all of them.

Mistake #1: Not Bringing in the Experts

Salesforce works well right out of the box – but it works even better with a trusted implementation partner to guide you through the process. Bringing in a consulting partner early on can help you avoid expensive mistakes. Further, projects led by the experts get up and running faster, so you can realize a return on your Salesforce investment faster. 

Choosing the right partner is key. Look for a partner with deep Salesforce expertise, and knowledge of your specific industry or business model. They can help you define requirements, identify roadblocks, and configure your Salesforce org to set you up for success, and ultimately, save you time and money in the long term. 

Mistake #2: Failing to Plan

As the saying goes, nobody plans to fail – they just fail to plan.  Planning for Salesforce success means thinking through your day-to-day workflows and business goals before you begin the implementation process. What are your data migration needs? How will you leverage process builders, and flows?  

If you can answer these kinds of questions, you will be better positioned to optimize the platform and avoid tedious re-work post-implementation.

Mistake #3: Forgetting Your Users

Even the best-planned Salesforce instance doesn’t work if no one is willing to use it.

You may be the one creating the roadmap for your Salesforce system, but your users are driving the car. Your job is to ensure that everything works in a way that fits the way they work.

Involving users early and often helps you get it right. Make sure that your plans include User Acceptance Testing, as well as regular, ongoing training. Set it and forget it does not apply here.

Mistake #4: Reinventing the wheel

Salesforce is an incredibly powerful, ever-evolving tool – and one common, expensive mistake that organizations make is thinking they need to customize absolutely everything. Before you bring in developers, check the AppExchange – there might be an expert who has already solved the problem for you. 

The Salesforce ecosystem is massive and robust, and often, for a reasonable investment, you can save significant time and money by taking advantage of resources that are already available.

Mistake #5: Making Changes in Production without Testing in a Sandbox

It’s a familiar scenario for Salesforce Admins: your organization is operating on Salesforce and things are going great. You make a few minor adjustments, right in your production environment – after all, what could go wrong? Perhaps it’s installing a new app, or changing a few configurations, and suddenly, things stop working as expected.

Now, you’re faced with the time-consuming task of figuring out what went wrong. And critically, your system is not working properly for your users.

There are few absolutes in life, but this is one. Never make changes directly in your production environment. Always test in a Salesforce sandbox first.

So take it from our experts and avoid these top Salesforce mistakes that are as common as they are costly.  By doing so, you’ll not only save time and money but also maximize the return on your Salesforce investment. And should you need further assistance, we’re always here to help. Take the first step and get started now.