Sales Pipeline Archives - gettectonic.com

17Jan

Salesforce Foundations

We are excited that Agentforce Service Agents are now live! Agentforce Service Agent is the autonomous conversational AI assistant to help your customers with their service and support needs. What does this mean for Foundations Customers?Salesforce Foundations is required for all customers in order to try or buy Agentforce. Additionally, customers who have Foundations can try Agentforce Agents for free with a limited number of credits to test a use case or deploy a proof of concept. Salesforce Foundations is not a product or add-on. It’s a multi-cloud feature set that will be added to Sales and Service Cloud — no integration needed, with no additional upfront cost for our customers. It includes foundational features from Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, and Data Cloud. Salesforce Foundations provides a 360-degree view of your customer relationships across sales, service, marketing, and commerce through integrated applications and unified data. It also boosts productivity with streamlined, visually friendly user interface improvements, that you can turn on or off per your requirements. If you’re a Salesforce Sales Cloud or Service Cloud customer, you’ve become accustomed to the power, convenience, and full-featured functionality of our trusted CRM. Adding the additional functionality and engagement capabilities of a new Salesforce Cloud is exciting, but it’s also a big change for your organization to consider when you’re not sure about the value it brings. So, what if you could use essential features in the most popular Salesforce Clouds and turn them on when you’re ready? Now you can with Salesforce Foundations. Salesforce Foundations is a new, no-cost addition to your existing CRM that equips you to expand your business reach. The suite gives Salesforce customers on Enterprise, Unlimited, and Einstein 1 editions the power of Data Cloud, and access to essential Salesforce sales, service, Agentforce, marketing, and commerce capabilities. This suite is built into your existing CRM, and provides new functionality to give you a more robust 360-degree view of your customers. This chart shows the Salesforce Foundations features you get with your current Sales Cloud or Service Cloud package. You get Sales for Salesforce Foundations You get Service for Salesforce Foundations You get Marketing for Salesforce Foundations You get Commerce for Salesforce Foundations You get Data Cloud for Salesforce Foundations You get Agentforce for Salesforce Foundations If you already have Sales Cloud * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes If you already have Service Cloud Yes * Yes Yes Yes Yes If you already have Sales & Service Clouds * * Yes Yes Yes Yes *Your current Salesforce product. Benefits of Salesforce Foundations The features you get with Salesforce Foundations open doors to all sorts of new ways your teams can work more efficiently and engage with your customers on a more personal level. The benefits listed below are only a few of the ways Salesforce Foundations can help your business grow and thrive. Check out Discover Salesforce Foundations to see the full list of capabilities included with Salesforce Foundations. With Salesforce Foundations, your organization benefits from: Sales features that help you take care of your entire sales pipeline, from prospecting to closing. You can manage your leads, opportunities, accounts, and contacts in the preconfigured Sales Console. Service features that make it easy to provide proactive, personalized support to your customers through the preconfigured Service Console. Omni-channel case routing makes sure the most qualified agents work each case, Knowledge Management helps agents provide accurate and relevant help articles to customers, and macros help agents complete repetitive tasks with a single click. Agentforce brings the power of conversational AI to your business. Try out an intelligent, trusted, and customizable AI agent and help your users get more done with Salesforce. Agentforce’s autonomous apps use LLMs and context to assist customers and human agents. Marketing features that allow you to join data from disparate sources, better understand and analyze your customers, and choose how to connect with your audiences. You can create customized marketing campaigns powered by Salesforce Flows to send at the right time. Commerce features that help boost sales with a Direct to Customer (D2C) online storefront. You can define customer experiences like search, carts, and checkout. Pay Now lets you generate secure payment links for customers when opportunities close, so you get paid faster. Data Cloud functionality that creates unified profiles by aggregating data from all of your data sources into a single view so you can better understand your customers. Create customer segments to more accurately target campaigns, analyze your customers, and manage consent data. Data Cloud also powers features so you can send online store order confirmation emails and marketing messages. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

January 17, 2025in Data, Enterprise, Salesforce, Salesforce Flow, Salesforce Foundations, Salesforce Sales Cloud0 Comments

14Jan

On Premise Gen AI

In 2025, enterprises transitioning generative AI (GenAI) into production after years of experimentation are increasingly considering on-premises deployment as a cost-effective alternative to the cloud. Since OpenAI ignited the AI revolution in late 2022, organizations have tested large language models powering GenAI services on platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. These experiments demonstrated GenAI’s potential to enhance business operations while exposing the substantial costs of cloud usage. To avoid difficult conversations with CFOs about escalating cloud expenses, CIOs are exploring on-premises AI as a financially viable solution. Advances in software from startups and packaged infrastructure from vendors such as HPE and Dell are making private data centers an attractive option for managing costs. A survey conducted by Menlo Ventures in late 2024 found that 47% of U.S. enterprises with at least 50 employees were developing GenAI solutions in-house. Similarly, Informa TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group reported a rise in enterprises considering on-premises and public cloud equally for new applications—from 37% in 2024 to 45% in 2025. This shift is reflected in hardware sales. HPE reported a 16% revenue increase in AI systems, reaching $1.5 billion in Q4 2024. During the same period, Dell recorded a record .6 billion in AI server orders, with its sales pipeline expanding by over 50% across various customer segments. “Customers are seeking diverse AI-capable server solutions,” noted David Schmidt, senior director of Dell’s PowerEdge server line. While heavily regulated industries have traditionally relied on on-premises systems to ensure data privacy and security, broader adoption is now driven by the need for cost control. Fortune 2000 companies are leading this trend, opting for private infrastructure over the cloud due to more predictable expenses. “It’s not unusual to see cloud bills exceeding 0,000 or even million per month,” said John Annand, an analyst at Info-Tech Research Group. Global manufacturing giant Jabil primarily uses AWS for GenAI development but emphasizes ongoing cost management. “Does moving to the cloud provide a cost advantage? Sometimes it doesn’t,” said CIO May Yap. Jabil employs a continuous cloud financial optimization process to maximize efficiency. On-Premises AI: Technology and Trends Enterprises now have alternatives to cloud infrastructure, including as-a-service solutions like Dell APEX and HPE GreenLake, which offer flexible pay-per-use pricing for AI servers, storage, and networking tailored for private data centers or colocation facilities. “The high cost of cloud drives organizations to seek more predictable expenses,” said Tiffany Osias, vice president of global colocation services at Equinix. Walmart exemplifies in-house AI development, creating tools like a document summarization app for its benefits help desk and an AI assistant for corporate employees. Startups are also enabling enterprises to build AI applications with turnkey solutions. “About 80% of GenAI requirements can now be addressed with push-button solutions from startups,” said Tim Tully, partner at Menlo Ventures. Companies like Ragie (RAG-as-a-service) and Lamatic.ai (GenAI platform-as-a-service) are driving this innovation. Others, like Squid AI, integrate custom AI agents with existing enterprise infrastructure. Open-source frameworks like LangChain further empower on-premises development, offering tools for creating chatbots, virtual assistants, and intelligent search systems. Its extension, LangGraph, adds functionality for building multi-agent workflows. As enterprises develop AI applications internally, consulting services will play a pivotal role. “Companies offering guidance on effective AI tool usage and aligning them with business outcomes will thrive,” Annand said. This evolution in AI deployment highlights the growing importance of balancing technological innovation with financial sustainability. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

January 14, 2025in Data, Enterprise, Generative AI, Google, Technology0 Comments

Service Cloud or Sales Cloud for Service

4 Reasons to Use Salesforce Service Cloud Over Sales Cloud’s Standard Case Functionality When businesses aim to elevate their customer support operations, Salesforce is often their platform of choice. While Sales Cloud and Service Cloud both help manage customer interactions, their core purposes differ. Sales Cloud focuses on managing the sales pipeline, whereas Service Cloud is specifically designed to optimize customer service and support processes. Here are four compelling reasons to choose Service Cloud for your customer support needs. 1. Advanced Case Management Features Service Cloud offers robust tools to manage customer cases with efficiency, far surpassing the basic case functionality available in Sales Cloud. Key Service Cloud Features: While Sales Cloud does support basic case management, it lacks these advanced features. Attempting to replicate them in Sales Cloud often requires extensive customization and development. 2. Omni-Channel Support for Seamless Customer Communication Modern customer service spans multiple channels, including chat, email, phone, and social media. Service Cloud provides powerful omni-channel capabilities to unify communication across all these touchpoints—something Sales Cloud does not offer. Key Service Cloud Features: Sales Cloud’s functionality centers on sales processes, leaving it without native support for omni-channel routing or social media integrations for customer support. 3. Knowledge Base for Self-Service and Agent Efficiency Service Cloud enables organizations to build and maintain a knowledge base, empowering both customers and agents with quick access to solutions. Key Service Cloud Features: Sales Cloud does not include tools for creating a knowledge base, self-service portals, or case deflection, as it is designed primarily for sales teams. 4. Entitlements and Service Contracts for Enhanced Customer Support Service Cloud provides specialized tools for managing entitlements and service contracts, ensuring customers receive the level of support they’re entitled to. Key Service Cloud Features: Sales Cloud does not offer dedicated features for managing entitlements or service contracts, limiting its utility for businesses focused on structured customer support. Why Service Cloud is the Better Choice for Customer Support While Sales Cloud is a powerful tool for managing sales pipelines, it falls short in addressing the complex needs of modern customer support. Service Cloud provides: If your priority is delivering exceptional customer support and enhancing customer satisfaction, Service Cloud is the clear choice. With its comprehensive features, your support team will be empowered to work more efficiently, resolve issues faster, and provide outstanding service across all channels. Invest in Service Cloud to transform your support operations and create seamless, satisfying experiences for your customers. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

January 6, 2025in Salesforce, Salesforce Service Cloud0 Comments

30Dec

2024 The Year of Generative AI

Was 2024 the Year Generative AI Delivered? Here’s What Happened Industry experts hailed 2024 as the year generative AI would take center stage. Operational use cases were emerging, technology was simplifying access, and general artificial intelligence felt imminent. So, how much of that actually came true? Well… sort of. As the year wraps up, some predictions have hit their mark, while others — like general AI — remain firmly in development. Let’s break down the trends, insights from investor Tomasz Tunguz, and what’s ahead for 2025. 1. A World Without Reason Three years into our AI evolution, businesses are finding value, but not universally. Tomasz Tunguz categorizes AI’s current capabilities into: While prediction and search have gained traction, reasoning models still struggle. Why? Model accuracy. Tunguz notes that unless a model has repeatedly seen a specific pattern, it falters. For example, an AI generating an FP&A chart might succeed — but introduce a twist, like usage-based billing, and it’s lost. For now, copilots and modestly accurate search reign supreme. 2. Process Over Tooling A tool’s value lies in how well it fits into established processes. As data teams adopt AI, they’re realizing that production-ready AI demands robust processes, not just shiny tools. Take data quality — a critical pillar for AI success. Sampling a few dbt tests or point solutions won’t cut it anymore. Teams need comprehensive solutions that deliver immediate value. In 2025, expect a shift toward end-to-end platforms that simplify incident management, enhance data quality ownership, and enable domain-level solutions. The tools that integrate seamlessly and address these priorities will shape AI’s future. 3. AI: Cost Cutter, Not Revenue Generator For now, AI’s primary business value lies in cost reduction, not revenue generation. Tools like AI-driven SDRs can increase sales pipelines, but often at the cost of quality. Instead, companies are leveraging AI to cut costs in areas like labor. Examples include Klarna reducing two-thirds of its workforce and Microsoft boosting engineering productivity by 50-75%. Cost reduction works best in scenarios with repetitive tasks, hiring challenges, or labor shortages. Meanwhile, specialized services like EvenUp, which automates legal demand letters, show potential for revenue-focused AI use cases. 4. A Slower but Smarter Adoption Curve While 2023 saw a wave of experimentation with AI, 2024 marked a period of reflection. Early adopters have faced challenges with implementation, ROI, and rapidly changing tech. According to Tunguz, this “dress rehearsal” phase has informed organizations about what works and what doesn’t. Heading into 2025, expect a more calculated wave of AI adoption, with leaders focusing on tools that deliver measurable value — and faster. 5. Small Models for Big Gains In enterprise AI, small, fine-tuned models are gaining favor over massive, general-purpose ones. Why? Small models are cheaper to run and often outperform their larger counterparts when fine-tuned for specific tasks. For example, training an 8-billion-parameter model on 10,000 support tickets can yield better results than a general model trained on a broad corpus. Legal and cost challenges surrounding large proprietary models further push enterprises toward smaller, open-source solutions, especially in highly regulated industries. 6. Blurring Lines Between Analysts and Engineers The demand for data and AI solutions is driving a shift in responsibilities. AI-enabled pipelines are lowering barriers to entry, making self-serve data workflows more accessible. This trend could consolidate analytical and engineering roles, streamlining collaboration and boosting productivity in 2025. 7. Synthetic Data: A Necessary Stopgap With finite real-world training data, synthetic datasets are emerging as a stopgap solution. Tools like Tonic and Gretel create synthetic data for AI training, particularly in regulated industries. However, synthetic data has limits. Over time, relying too heavily on it could degrade model performance, akin to a diet lacking fresh nutrients. The challenge will be finding a balance between real and synthetic data as AI advances. 8. The Rise of the Unstructured Data Stack Unstructured data — long underutilized — is poised to become a cornerstone of enterprise AI. Only about half of unstructured data is analyzed today, but as AI adoption grows, this figure will rise. Organizations are exploring tools and strategies to harness unstructured data for training and analytics, unlocking its untapped potential. 2025 will likely see the emergence of a robust “unstructured data stack” designed to drive business value from this vast, underutilized resource. 9. Agentic AI: Not Ready for Prime Time While AI copilots have proven useful, multi-step AI agents still face significant challenges. Due to compounding accuracy issues (e.g., 90% accuracy over three steps drops to ~50%), these agents are not yet ready for production use. For now, agentic AI remains more of a conversation piece than a practical tool. 10. Data Pipelines Are Growing, But Quality Isn’t As enterprises scale their AI efforts, the number of data pipelines is exploding. Smaller, fine-tuned models are being deployed at scale, often requiring hundreds of millions of pipelines. However, this rapid growth introduces data quality risks. Without robust quality management practices, teams risk inconsistent outputs, bottlenecks, and missed opportunities. Looking Ahead to 2025 As AI evolves, enterprises will face growing pains, but the opportunities are undeniable. From streamlining processes to leveraging unstructured data, 2025 promises advancements that will redefine how organizations approach AI and data strategy. The real challenge? Turning potential into measurable, lasting impact. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more Top Ten Reasons Why Tectonic Loves the Cloud The Cloud is Good for Everyone – Why Tectonic loves the cloud You don’t need to worry about tracking licenses. Read more

December 30, 2024in Agentic AI, Artificial Intelligence, Data, Enterprise, Generative AI, Technology0 Comments

27Dec

Sales Leads and Lead Scoring

Sales teams often face a growing pile of leads, making it overwhelming to determine where to focus their energy. How do you prioritize effectively? Lead scoring is the answer. This methodology helps rank prospects based on their likelihood to convert into customers. By mastering lead scoring, sales teams can win more deals and drive revenue growth. What is Lead Scoring? Lead scoring is a strategy used by sales teams to evaluate and rank potential customers by assigning values based on their behavior, demographics, and interactions with the business. This process identifies high-quality leads and determines their likelihood of conversion. By implementing lead scoring, sales teams can focus their time and resources on the most promising prospects. Why is Lead Scoring Important? According to the Salesforce State of Sales Report, sales reps spend 25% of their workweek researching, prospecting, and prioritizing leads. These activities are essential for moving prospects through the sales funnel, yet balancing them with other responsibilities is a challenge. Lead scoring streamlines this process, enabling teams to be more productive by focusing on high-value leads. This improves conversion rates while helping sales leadership better forecast pipelines and revenue. For example, imagine a sales rep for a medical software company trying to close deals with 100 hospital leads. Pursuing them randomly wastes time. However, with lead scoring, they can identify the top 10 most promising leads based on specific criteria, saving time and increasing success rates. Key Components of an Effective Lead Scoring System 1. Data Categories 2. Implicit vs. Explicit Data 3. Quality Data A reliable lead scoring system depends on accurate and up-to-date data. Keeping CRM records current and synced ensures a dependable scoring process. 4. Rule Definition Define criteria based on your most successful customer profiles. Identify patterns of attributes and behaviors that consistently lead to conversion. Similarly, assess unconverted leads to understand traits that signal low potential. 5. Manual vs. Predictive Scoring Steps to Implement Lead Scoring Common Lead Scoring Mistakes to Avoid Tools and Software for Lead Scoring The right tools can make lead scoring more efficient: If you’re short on data, opt for tools that can leverage anonymized external datasets to build your scoring model, transitioning to your own data over time as you scale. Real-World Examples Lead Scoring: Your Path to Higher Conversions By effectively implementing lead scoring, your sales team can prioritize high-value leads, boost conversion rates, and achieve sustainable revenue growth. Whether you choose manual or predictive methods, the key is to focus on what drives success for your business. Take control of your sales pipeline—lead scoring will show you the way. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

December 27, 2024in Data0 Comments

14Nov

Agentforce at Work

Agentforce Salesforce Agentforce in Action: A Practical Example of Using Agents in Salesforce Autonomous Agents on the Agentforce Platform Agentforce represents a transformative shift in Salesforce’s strategy, poised to redefine how users engage with their CRM. By introducing both assistive AI—enhanced by generative AI for capabilities like summaries and sales emails—and autonomous AI, which empowers agents to automate actions without human oversight, Agentforce helps users operate more efficiently in Salesforce. Despite the excitement around Agentforce, most blogs and marketing materials focus on AI hype rather than practical applications. This insight focuses on illustrating how these tools work and the tangible value they can provide for your organization’s custom processes. Curious about setting up Agentforce agents using both out-of-the-box actions and custom actions? Let’s dive in. What is Agentforce? Agentforce is Salesforce’s conversational AI tool for CRM. In simple terms, it lets users “talk” to Salesforce. Powered by generative AI and the Atlas Reasoning Engine, Agentforce processes user input to perform tasks like summarizing data from objects, updating fields, and generating content such as emails or knowledge articles. This innovative tool is only at the beginning of its journey, likely setting the stage for a future where CRM interactions may evolve beyond traditional form-based interfaces to more intuitive chatbot-style engagement. Scenario: Managing Sales Pipeline Consider a salesperson with the daily objectives of tracking deals, managing pipeline opportunities, and identifying potential risks. Traditionally, this would require manually navigating numerous Salesforce objects, risking data inconsistencies and user errors. Agentforce’s assistive actions can streamline much of this, automating processes to identify key deals, summarize progress, and track deal risks across the pipeline. Let’s take a closer look at configuring a custom action for a pipeline summary. All powered by Salesforce Agentforce. Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring a Pipeline Summary Action Agentforce Use Cases: Getting Started Agentforce offers powerful tools for implementing AI-based functions within Salesforce, but to realize productivity gains, consider the following: Agentforce’s standard actions are a great starting point, providing immediate productivity impacts that can be enhanced as you customize actions to meet specific needs. For tailored guidance on integrating Agentforce, explore Tectonic’s Salesforce Agentforce Consulting Services. Tectonic’s expertise can support your organization in optimizing user experience, boosting productivity, and training users to responsibly leverage Agentforce’s capabilities across industries and channels. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

November 14, 2024in Agentforce Platform, Data, Generative AI, Mulesoft, Salesforce

26Oct

AI FOMO

Enterprise interest in artificial intelligence has surged in the past two years, with boardroom discussions centered on how to capitalize on AI advancements before competitors do. Generative AI has been a particular focus for executives since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, followed by other major product releases like Amazon’s Bedrock, Google’s Gemini, Meta’s Llama, and a host of SaaS tools incorporating the technology. However, the initial rush driven by fear of missing out (FOMO) is beginning to fade. Business and tech leaders are now shifting their attention from experimentation to more practical concerns: How can AI generate revenue? This question will grow in importance as pilot AI projects move into production, raising expectations for financial returns. Using AI to Increase Revenue AI’s potential to drive revenue will be a critical factor in determining how quickly organizations adopt the technology and how willing they are to invest further. Here are 10 ways businesses can harness AI to boost revenue: 1. Boost Sales AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots can help increase sales. For example, Ikea’s generative AI tool assists customers in designing their living spaces while shopping for furniture. Similarly, jewelry insurance company BriteCo launched a GenAI chatbot that reduced chat abandonment rates, leading to more successful customer interactions and potentially higher sales. A TechTarget survey revealed that AI-powered customer-facing tools like chatbots are among the top investments for IT leaders. 2. Reduce Customer Churn AI helps businesses retain clients, reducing revenue loss and improving customer lifetime value. By analyzing historical data, AI can profile customer attributes and identify accounts at risk of leaving. AI can then assist in personalizing customer experiences, decreasing churn and fostering loyalty. 3. Enhance Recommendation Engines AI algorithms can analyze customer data to offer personalized product recommendations. This drives cross-selling and upselling opportunities, boosting revenue. For instance, Meta’s AI-powered recommendation engine has increased user engagement across its platforms, attracting more advertisers. 4. Accelerate Marketing Strategies While marketing doesn’t directly generate revenue, it fuels the sales pipeline. Generative AI can quickly produce personalized content, such as newsletters and ads, tailored to customer interests. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 30% of outbound marketing messages will be AI-generated, up from less than 2% in 2022. 5. Detect Fraud AI is instrumental in detecting fraudulent activities, helping businesses preserve revenue. Financial firms like Capital One use machine learning to detect anomalies and prevent credit card fraud, while e-commerce companies leverage AI to flag fraudulent orders. 6. Reinvent Business Processes AI can transform entire business processes, unlocking new revenue streams. For example, Accenture’s 2024 report highlighted an insurance company that expects a 10% revenue boost after retooling its underwriting workflow with AI. In healthcare, AI could streamline revenue cycle management, speeding up reimbursement processes. 7. Develop New Products and Services AI accelerates product development, particularly in industries like pharmaceuticals, where it assists in drug discovery. AI tools also speed up the delivery of digital products, as seen with companies like Ally Financial and ServiceNow, which have reduced software development times by 20% or more. 8. Provide Predictive Maintenance AI-driven predictive maintenance helps prevent costly equipment downtime in industries like manufacturing and fleet management. By identifying equipment on the brink of failure, AI allows companies to schedule repairs and avoid revenue loss from operational disruptions. 9. Improve Forecasting AI’s predictive capabilities enhance planning and forecasting. By analyzing historical and real-time data, AI can predict product demand and customer behavior, enabling businesses to optimize inventory levels and ensure product availability for ready-to-buy customers. 10. Optimize Pricing AI can dynamically adjust prices based on factors like demand shifts and competitor pricing. Reinforcement learning algorithms allow businesses to optimize pricing in real time, ensuring they maximize revenue even as market conditions change. Keeping ROI in Focus While AI offers numerous ways to generate new revenue streams, it also introduces costs in development, infrastructure, and operations—some of which may not be immediately apparent. For instance, research from McKinsey & Company shows that GenAI models account for only 15% of a project’s total cost, with additional expenses related to change management and data preparation often overlooked. To make the most of AI, organizations should prioritize use cases with a clear return on investment (ROI) and postpone those that don’t justify the expense. A focus on ROI ensures that AI deployments align with business goals and contribute to sustainable revenue growth. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

October 26, 2024in Generative AI

24Oct

Artificial Intelligence and Sales Cloud

Artificial Intelligence and Sales Cloud AI enhances the sales process at every stage, making it more efficient and effective. Salesforce’s AI technology—Einstein—streamlines data entry and offers predictive analysis, empowering sales teams to maximize every opportunity. Artificial Intelligence and Sales Cloud explained. Artificial Intelligence and Sales Cloud Sales Cloud integrates several AI-driven features powered by Einstein and machine learning. To get the most out of these tools, review which features align with your needs and check the licensing requirements for each one. Einstein and Data Usage in Sales Cloud Einstein thrives on data. To fully leverage its capabilities within Sales Cloud, consult the data usage table to understand which types of data Einstein features rely on. Setting Up Einstein Opportunity Scoring in Sales Cloud Einstein Opportunity Scoring, part of the Sales Cloud Einstein suite, is available to eligible customers at no additional cost. Simply activate Einstein, and the system will handle the rest, offering predictive insights to improve your sales pipeline. Managing Access to Einstein Features in Sales Cloud Sales Cloud users can access Einstein Opportunity Scoring through the Sales Cloud Einstein For Everyone permission set. Ensure the right team members have access by reviewing the permissions, features included, and how to manage assignments. Einstein Copilot Setup for Sales Einstein Copilot helps sales teams stay organized by guiding them through deal management, closing strategies, customer communications, and sales forecasting. Each Copilot action corresponds to specific topics designed to optimize the sales process. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

October 24, 2024in Artificial Intelligence, Data, Salesforce, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Technology

03Oct

October 2024 Outage

On October 1st, 2024, Salesforce experienced a significant outage impacting over 80 instances, causing core services to slow to a crawl. The outage, which began around 6:30 UTC, remained unresolved over 8.5 hours later, with the root cause still unknown at that time. The outage has been particularly damaging, as Salesforce emphasizes trust as one of its core values, promoting transparency and reliability in its service delivery. While the Salesforce Trust website, which provides real-time system status updates, remained operational, some users reported difficulty accessing it when they needed outage details, adding to their frustration. This disruption has been a major blow to organizations that depend on Salesforce for essential business functions such as customer relationship management (CRM), sales pipelines, and workflow management. Key Facts About the Outage Am I Affected by the Salesforce Downtime? If you’re unsure whether your instance is affected, you can check the real-time list of impacted cases on the Salesforce Trust website. To do this, identify your organization’s instance (e.g., NA54, EU13) and compare it to the affected list. However, the Trust site itself has experienced intermittent outages during the incident. Customers have reported issues such as: If you’re encountering these problems, your Salesforce instance is likely impacted. How Salesforce is Responding Salesforce has initiated an emergency release in phases, with the first phase nearly complete. Afterward, validation checks will be performed to assess system stability. While some customers have reported that their instances have recovered, others continue to experience severe issues. Salesforce Support has provided general troubleshooting advice, such as using alternative browsers or clearing caches, but many users have found this ineffective, as the root cause lies within Salesforce’s infrastructure, not user-side configurations. What to Do Now Looking Ahead Although the root cause of the outage remains undetermined, Salesforce has committed to providing regular updates. Customers are encouraged to monitor the Salesforce Trust website and communicate with support teams. Once the cause is identified, Salesforce plans to release a detailed report on the incident and how they will prevent future occurrences. Conclusion Salesforce’s outage on October 1st has caused widespread disruption for businesses globally. While emergency updates are underway and some instances are recovering, full resolution may take time. In the meantime, staying updated and preparing for intermittent issues is critial for those who rely on Salesforce for their daily operations. Stay tuned for further updates as Salesforce continues working to restore full functionality across all affected instances. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

October 3, 2024in Salesforce

09Sep

Predictive Analytics

Industry forecasts predict an annual growth rate of 6% to 7%, fueled by innovations in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and data engineering. In 2023, the global data analytics market was valued at approximately $41 billion and is expected to surge to $118.5 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.1%. This significant expansion reflects the growing demand for advanced analytics tools that provide actionable insights. AI has notably enhanced the accuracy of predictive models, enabling marketers to anticipate customer behaviors and preferences with impressive precision. “We’re on the verge of a new era in predictive analytics, with tools like Salesforce Einstein Data Analytics revolutionizing how we harness data-driven insights to transform marketing strategies,” says Koushik Kumar Ganeeb, a Principal Member of Technical Staff at Salesforce Data Cloud and a distinguished Data and AI Architect. Ganeeb’s leadership spans initiatives like AI-powered Salesforce Einstein Data Analytics, Marketing Cloud Connector for Data Cloud, and Intelligence Reporting (Datorama). His expertise includes architecting vast data extraction pipelines that process trillions of transactions daily. These pipelines play a crucial role in the growth strategies of Fortune 500 companies, helping them scale their data operations efficiently by leveraging AI. Ganeeb’s visionary work has propelled Salesforce Einstein Data Analytics into the forefront of business intelligence. Under his guidance, the platform’s advanced capabilities—such as predictive modeling, real-time data analysis, and natural language processing—are now pivotal in transforming how businesses forecast trends, personalize marketing efforts, and make data-driven decisions with unprecedented precision. AI and Machine Learning: The Next Frontier Beginning in 2018, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, a leading engagement platform used by top enterprises, faced challenges in extracting actionable insights and enhancing AI capabilities from rapidly growing data across diverse systems. Ganeeb was tasked with overcoming these hurdles, leading to the development of the Salesforce Einstein Provisioning Process. This process involved the creation of extensive data import jobs and the establishment of standardized patterns based on consumer adoption learning. These automated jobs handle trillions of transactions daily, delivering critical engagement and profile data in real-time to meet the scalability needs of large enterprises. The data flows seamlessly into AI models that generate predictions on a massive scale, such as Engagement Scores and insights into messaging and language usage across the platform. “Integrating AI and machine learning into data analytics through Salesforce Einstein is not just a technological enhancement—it’s a revolutionary shift in how we approach data,” explains Ganeeb. “With our advanced predictive models and real-time data processing, we can analyze vast amounts of data instantly, delivering insights that were previously unimaginable.” This innovative approach empowers organizations to make more informed decisions, driving unprecedented growth and operational efficiency. Real-World Success Stories Under Ganeeb’s technical leadership, Salesforce Einstein Data Analytics has delivered remarkable results across industries by leveraging AI and machine learning to provide actionable insights and enhance business performance. In the past year, leading companies like T-Mobile, Fitbit, and Dell Technologies have reported significant improvements after integrating Einstein. Ganeeb’s proficiency in designing and scaling data engineering solutions has been critical in helping these enterprises optimize performance. “Scalability with Salesforce Einstein Data Analytics goes beyond managing data volumes—it ensures that every data point is converted into actionable insights,” says Ganeeb. His work processing petabytes of data daily underscores his commitment to precision and efficiency in data engineering. Navigating Data Ethics and Quality Despite the rapid growth of predictive analytics, Ganeeb emphasizes the importance of data ethics and quality. “The accuracy of predictive models depends on the integrity of the data,” he notes. Salesforce Einstein Data Analytics addresses this by curating datasets to ensure they are representative and free from bias, maintaining trust while delivering reliable insights. By implementing rigorous data quality checks and ethical considerations, Ganeeb ensures that Einstein Analytics not only delivers actionable insights but also fosters transparency and trust. This balanced approach is key to the responsible use of predictive analytics across various industries. Future Trends in Predictive Analytics The future of predictive analytics looks bright, with AI and machine learning poised to further refine the accuracy and utility of predictive models. “Success lies in embracing technological advancements while maintaining a human touch,” Ganeeb notes. “By combining AI-driven insights with human intuition, businesses can navigate market complexities and uncover new opportunities.” Ganeeb’s contributions to Salesforce Einstein Data Analytics exemplify this balanced approach, integrating cutting-edge technology with human insight to empower businesses to make strategic decisions. His work positions organizations to thrive in a data-driven world, helping them stay agile and competitive in an evolving market. Balancing Benefits and Challenges – Predictive Analytics While predictive analytics offers vast potential, Ganeeb recognizes the challenges. Ensuring data quality, addressing ethical concerns, and maintaining transparency are crucial for its responsible use. “Although challenges remain, the future of AI-based predictive analytics is promising,” Ganeeb asserts. His work with Salesforce Einstein Data Analytics continues to push the boundaries of marketing analytics, enabling businesses to harness the power of AI for transformative growth. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

September 9, 2024in Salesforce Data Cloud, Salesforce Einstein, Salesforce Marketing Cloud

05Sep

Salesforce Foundations Announced

Salesforce Inc. today introduced Salesforce Foundations, a new suite of features designed to help large enterprises operating across multiple industries unify their sales operations. As a prelude to Dreamforce this free Salesforce upgrade allows customers to combine data and functionality from Salesforce products in a single, new portal. Available at no cost to all Salesforce Sales Cloud and Service Cloud users, Salesforce Foundations consolidates functionality from the company’s Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, and Data Cloud platforms. The goal is to create a more cohesive experience across departments, breaking down silos to enable seamless collaboration. In addition to these core features, Salesforce Foundations offers trial-based access to a variety of third-party applications available on the AppExchange marketplace. This initiative comes in response to a recent study revealing that 55% of Salesforce customers feel disconnected when interacting with different departments within their organization. The lack of integration between sales data and workflows in various departments has often created a fragmented customer experience. Bringing Departments Together Salesforce Foundations aims to eliminate these silos by providing a unified platform for all departments, ensuring a consistent view of an organization’s complete sales operations. Foundational Features for All The platform provides users with access to essential functionality from each of Salesforce’s key cloud products, along with free trials of top partner apps. These features are made available through a customizable user interface with a guided setup experience. As a result, features like email campaigns (previously exclusive to Sales Cloud), secure payment links (from Commerce Cloud), and targeted segmentation (Data Cloud) are now accessible to all Sales Cloud and Service Cloud users. The main advantage of Salesforce Foundations is its ability to harmonize customer data across departments. For example, Sales Cloud users can now access data previously available only to Data Cloud users. By providing access to this unified data, Salesforce believes it can offer numerous benefits to customers. Driving Revenue and Collaboration One of the most significant benefits of Salesforce Foundations is its potential to drive revenue by fostering collaboration across sales, service, and marketing teams. With a unified data set, teams can gain superior insights into customer behavior. Marketing teams, for instance, will be able to track customer interactions with the service department and use this information to craft more targeted advertising campaigns. Sales teams will also benefit from the ability to turn quotes into cash more quickly. They can now access secure payment links, a feature previously exclusive to Commerce Cloud, allowing them to bill customers directly without waiting for instructions from the commerce department. Service teams, in turn, can assist marketing efforts by accessing sales quoting tools and secure payment links, enabling them to upsell products and services more effectively. AI and Partner Integration Salesforce Foundations also supports artificial intelligence applications by grounding them in more contextualized customer data. For example, marketing teams can use AI to create more targeted segmentation lists based on service case histories or sales pipeline stages, data that was previously unavailable to them. In recent years, Salesforce has been actively transforming the data architecture of its applications, with many now built on the Salesforce Data Cloud’s metadata-driven foundation. This allows Salesforce Data Cloud to house not only the data but also the context (metadata) that surrounds it. As a result, businesses can more easily establish relationships between data tied to the same customer or user across various software solutions. These software solutions primarily include Salesforce products like Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, but they also extend to third-party applications that integrate with the Data Cloud. Now, with the introduction of Salesforce Foundations, customers can visualize this data within a unified portal, apply filters, and even trigger actions such as upsell opportunities. To further enhance productivity, Salesforce is offering free trials of third-party applications from the AppExchange, including Webex by Cisco, DocuSign, and RingCentral. These “launch partner apps” are designed to improve collaboration, streamline document management, and lower operational costs for customers. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

September 5, 2024in Salesforce Sales Cloud

19Aug

SaaS Data Protection from Own

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Own, the industry leader for SaaS data protection and activation, today announced the release of Continuous Data Protection for Salesforce customers, further strengthening its product offering to include unprecedented recovery and analysis capabilities. In an industry-first approach, Own Continuous Data Protection provides a turn-key solution that delivers significant value to customers that have mission-critical, frequently changing, or highly valuable data within Salesforce. Own is the only SaaS data protection platform that proactively detects and stores data changes in Salesforce by leveraging platform events to prevent data loss. “This innovative approach to Continuous Data Protection will provide our Salesforce customers with an unparalleled advantage for capturing every change to their data ” said Adrian Kunzle, Chief Technology Officer at Own. “From the company’s inception almost 10 years ago, it has been our goal to ensure that no company operating in the cloud loses their data. At Own, we are the first to reimagine Continuous Data Protection for greater data resilience and scalability, and to ensure business continuity. This new solution offers true continuous data protection, and equips our customers with the most complete dataset to enable greater data fidelity to power AI models.” Own’s release of Continuous Data Protection (CDP) is a groundbreaking development in data protection and activation. Traditionally, backup and recovery solutions that specialize in protecting SaaS application data leverage a high-frequency model that provides multiple snapshots per week or day. Continuous Data Protection from Own pushes data changes to a backup as they happen, allowing businesses to capture changes in their data in near real-time. In addition to creating a more resilient and scalable approach, the higher-fidelity datasets this offering creates will enable organizations to unlock new ways of leveraging analytics and AI models across their vital information. “This innovative approach to Continuous Data Protection will provide our Salesforce customers with an unparalleled advantage for capturing every change to their data,” said Adrian Kunzle, Chief Technology Officer at Own. “From the company’s inception almost 10 years ago, it has been our goal to ensure that no company operating in the cloud loses their data. At Own, we are the first to reimagine Continuous Data Protection for greater data resilience and scalability, and to ensure business continuity. This new solution offers true continuous data protection, and equips our customers with the most complete dataset to enable greater data fidelity to power AI models.” Continuous Data Protection is a step forward in the world of SaaS data protection, enabling Own Recover for Salesforce customers to recover rapidly changing, mission-critical data faster, enhancing data resiliency and scalability. Continuous Data Protection provides the ability to: The Continuous Data Protection offering will be generally available on August 19, 2024. About Own Own is the industry leader in SaaS data protection and activation, trusted by thousands of organizations to ensure the availability, security, and compliance of mission-critical data, while unlocking new ways to gain deeper insights faster. Own ensures data resiliency and empowers organizations to bring historical context to life for predictive insights and inspiration. By partnering with some of the world’s largest SaaS ecosystems such as Salesforce, ServiceNow and Microsoft Dynamics 365, Own enables customers around the world to truly own their data and transform their business. It’s their platform. It’s your data. Own it. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

August 19, 2024in Salesforce

02Jul

Salesforce Hotel Sales Enablement

Elevate Customer Experiences in Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Outstanding customer service is crucial for a positive travel experience. Customers expect personalized recognition and VIP treatment, necessitating enhanced personalization in communications and experiences across marketing, sales, and customer service. Salesforce Hotel Sales Enablement Salesforce provides a dynamic CRM platform tailored to the travel industry, featuring sales and marketing automation, data-driven analytics, and extensive customization options. It improves operational efficiency, customer engagement, and fosters innovation, offering travel agencies a competitive edge. Destination Success: Salesforce Hotel Sales Enablement for Travel Agents Travel agents often face challenges like dispersed customer data, real-time information gaps, and fragmented communication channels. Salesforce CRM offers a solution with an all-in-one platform for customer management, marketing automation, and data analysis. Leading travel companies like Hotel Tonight, Cleartrip, Caesars Entertainment, Anantara Vacation Club, and Intrepid Group use Salesforce products to enhance various aspects of their business. Why Travel & Hospitality Professionals Need Salesforce CRM Sales Cloud centralizes data storage, tracks customer requirements and preferences, manages bookings, provides real-time client information, enables personalized marketing, and facilitates data analysis for business performance. It also ensures secure collaboration and information access, boosting productivity. Explore key challenges below and how Salesforce Sales Cloud helps travel and hospitality agents overcome them: Key Challenges Salesforce Solutions Guest Experience Personalization Stores detailed customer profiles for tailored services and communication. Customer Data Management Consolidates customer information into a centralized database. Operational Automation Streamlines booking processes, guest communications, and other tasks. Enhanced Guest Communication Provides integrated communication tools for timely, personalized interactions. Revenue Optimization Offers insights into booking trends, guest spending habits, and market dynamics for dynamic pricing. Multiple Systems Integration Synchronizes data across various booking channels and integrates with financial, accounting, and other software. Adapting to Market Changes Provides flexible, scalable solutions for quick adaptation to market conditions and technological advancements. How Service Cloud Can Streamline Customer Support Salesforce Service Cloud enhances customer support by providing automated request management and deeper understanding of customer interactions. For instance, Anantara Vacation Club improved response times and customer satisfaction by transitioning to Service Cloud, achieving significant growth and high satisfaction scores. How Salesforce Can Facilitate Partnership Management Salesforce’s Partner Relationship Management (PRM) system and partner portals powered by Experience Cloud enhance collaboration with partners and affiliates. For example, Pernod Ricard used Experience Cloud to improve interactions with distributors and create customer communities. How Experience Cloud Helps Create Smooth Booking Management Salesforce Experience Cloud allows travel and hospitality businesses to create custom web portals for managing reservations, checking real-time availability, and processing booking modifications. How Marketing Cloud Helps Deliver Marketing Excellence Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketing Cloud Account Engagement provide sophisticated marketing automation tools for executing targeted campaigns and personalized guest engagement, as demonstrated by Intrepid Travel’s improved customer engagement and personalized journeys. How CRM Analytics Provides Strategic Insights CRM Analytics offers advanced analytics capabilities for data-driven decision-making, identifying trends, forecasting demand, and optimizing pricing strategies. This helps improve investment returns and predict future trends. How Salesforce-Powered Web Portals Can Enhance Travel & Hospitality Operations Salesforce Experience Cloud enables the creation of connected digital experiences for travel and hospitality businesses. Custom web portals built on Salesforce provide personalized digital experiences for customers, streamline booking processes for travel agents and partners, and improve internal collaboration for hospitality staff. Solutions Built on Salesforce Experience Cloud For Whom What Can Be Built Solution Benefits Customers Personalized Travel Portals, Self-Service Support Centers Easier travel planning, management, and access to support and travel advisories. Travel Agents and Partners Agent and Partner Portals Streamlined booking processes and better visibility into revenue and reservations. Employees Internal Collaboration Platforms, Training Platform Improved task management and access to real-time business insights. Examples of Custom Solutions Expert Salesforce Consulting with Tectonic Tectonic helps travel and hospitality businesses maximize Salesforce’s potential by creating customized self-service portals, booking portals, and integrated web platforms. With over 650 successful projects, Tectonic ensures proper configuration, data migration, ongoing support, and training for Salesforce products. Sales Enablement Strategy Sales enablement is crucial for evolving sales teams to sell with the latest technologies. Equip your sales teams with the right blend of assets and information using an elegant platform to help them increase sales and convert leads faster. Sell Faster with Sales Programs Sales Programs built into CRM guide sellers to success with AI-powered coaching and relevant resources, improving productivity and connecting programs to sales results. Best practice templates and intelligent, automated program delivery make it easy. Challenges Reps Face Reps often struggle with identifying stakeholders, strategy, and deal details. Sales enablement provides the necessary education and guidance to advance prospects through the sales pipeline effectively. Benefits of Sales Enablement Investing in a strong sales enablement process lifts the entire sales team and the company, connecting sellers to key players, ensuring consistent messaging, and increasing productivity. Content updated August 2023. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

July 2, 2024in Marketing Automation, Salesforce Data Cloud, Salesforce Experience Cloud, Salesforce Hospitality Travel and Transportation, Salesforce Implementation Services, Salesforce Marketing Automation, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot), Salesforce Optimization, Salesforce Personalization, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Salesforce Service Cloud, Unified Knowledge

11Jun

Understanding and Growing Your Monthly Recurring Revenue

Understanding and Growing Your Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is a vital metric for subscription-based and managed services businesses. It indicates whether your business is growing or shrinking and is crucial for making strategic decisions. Understanding and Growing Your Monthly Recurring Revenue is a key to building, monitoring, and exploding your pipeline. What is Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)? While revenue represents your company’s total income, MRR is the predicted monthly revenue from active subscriptions. It includes all recurring charges such as subscriptions, service retainers, promos, discounts, and add-ons, but excludes one-time fees. Why is MRR Important? MRR provides insights into financial performance, growth potential, churn, and customer value. It is essential for strategic planning and investor relations. Benefits of Calculating MRR: Types of MRR: How to Calculate MRR: The basic formula for MRR is: MRR=Number of active accounts×Average monthly revenue per accounttext{MRR} = text{Number of active accounts} times text{Average monthly revenue per account}MRR=Number of active accounts×Average monthly revenue per account Steps to Calculate MRR: Example Calculation: MRR=(100×$50)+(50×$100)=$5,000+$5,000=$10,000text{MRR} = (100 times $50) + (50 times $100) = $5,000 + $5,000 = $10,000MRR=(100×$50)+(50×$100)=$5,000+$5,000=$10,000 So, the MRR for that month would be $10,000. Advanced MRR Calculations: Growing Your MRR: MRR is a crucial metric for understanding your customers, finances, and growth potential. By tracking and managing MRR, you can make informed decisions and drive sustainable business growth. As the subscription-based and managed services landscape evolves, prioritizing MRR is essential for improving and innovating revenue streams. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more Top Ten Reasons Why Tectonic Loves the Cloud The Cloud is Good for Everyone – Why Tectonic loves the cloud You don’t need to worry about tracking licenses. Read more

June 11, 2024in Salesforce Financial Services Solutions, Salesforce Hospitality Travel and Transportation, Salesforce Manufacturing Automotive Energy, Salesforce Revenue Cloud, Salesforce Sales Cloud

06May

Outcome Based Selling

Unleash the Power of Outcome Based Selling: Focus on Future Outcomes, Not Just Products Outcome-based selling is akin to painting a vision of the future for your customers. It involves understanding their goals deeply and presenting your offering as the means to help them achieve those objectives. It’s a bit like asking the customer not what they expect the purchase to cost, but how much it is worth, so they cannot afford not to close the deal. Getting to the core of your customers’ desires requires more than just asking about their business goals. It involves delving deeper into their aspirations and challenges. This is where outcome-based methods of selling comes into play, enabling you to guide buyers towards envisioning a brighter future. Outcome-based selling is a sales strategy that centers on understanding a customer’s needs and desired outcomes. It prioritizes presenting your product or service as the key to achieving those outcomes, rather than merely focusing on its features and immediate benefits. Unlike traditional product-based selling, which emphasizes unique specifications, outcome-based selling revolves around demonstrating how your offering can contribute to the customer’s long-term success. How is outcome-based selling different from solution selling? While both approaches aim to address customer goals and pain points, outcome-based selling goes beyond solving a specific problem. Instead, it focuses on illustrating how your product or service can help customers achieve their broader business objectives. Solution selling, on the other hand, often involves addressing a specific challenge without necessarily considering the larger context of the customer’s goals. Why is outcome-based selling important, and what are the benefits? Outcome-based selling fosters trust and credibility by aligning your offerings with customer goals. This trust is crucial in today’s sales environment, where buyers expect sales reps to act as trusted advisors. When customers perceive you as a partner invested in their success, it increases the likelihood of closing deals and opens doors for upselling opportunities and referrals. Some key benefits of outcome-based selling include: Increased deal value: By focusing on customer outcomes, you may uncover additional selling opportunities that add value to the deal. Accelerated sales velocity: Prioritizing outcomes encourages buyers to provide critical information early in the sales process, speeding up deal progression. Long-term relationships: Demonstrating commitment to customer success builds trust and lays the foundation for future sales opportunities and referrals. Challenges of outcome-based selling Despite its benefits, outcome-based selling poses several challenges: Longer time commitment: Understanding customer goals requires in-depth discussions and may involve multiple meetings, making it a time-intensive process. Rep training: Shifting from a product-focused to an outcome-oriented mindset may require additional training and resources for sales reps to adapt successfully. Implementing outcome-based selling: A practical example Let’s walk through a hypothetical sales scenario involving La Familia Panaderia, a local bakery: Understanding the problem: Through open-ended questions, uncover Daniela Lopez’s concerns, such as payroll accuracy and comfort with new technology. Offering a solution: Highlight how your accounting software addresses Daniela’s needs, such as automating payroll and providing user-friendly features. Closing the deal: Present your software as the solution that fulfills Daniela’s desired outcomes, reassuring her with a demonstration and support resources. Tips for successful selling with an outcome-based focus Be a trusted advisor: Approach customer conversations with a consultative mindset, focusing on how you can help them achieve their goals. A subject matter expert provides advice in the customer’s best interest, not just the seller’s. Ask the right questions: Use open-ended questions to uncover customer pain points and desired outcomes, actively listening for opportunities to delve deeper. Articulate value: Clearly communicate how your product or service contributes to the buyer’s desired outcomes, backed by case studies and data. It is really about a method of selling that hinges on putting the customer first and guiding them towards achieving their goals. While it requires patience and understanding, the long-term benefits of building trust and fostering lasting relationships make it a worthwhile approach for sales professionals. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more Top Ten Reasons Why Tectonic Loves the Cloud The Cloud is Good for Everyone – Why Tectonic loves the cloud You don’t need to worry about tracking licenses. Read more

May 6, 2024in Salesforce Sales Cloud

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