- Too often, organizations fail to achieve economy of scale. They neglect to negotiate price holds, do not negotiate deeper discounts as volume increases, or do not realize there are already existing contracts within the organization.
- Understand what to negotiate. Organizations do not know what can and cannot be negotiated, which means value gets left on the table.
- Integrations with other applications must be addressed from the outset. Many users buy the platform only to realize later on that the functionality they wanted does not exist and may be an extra expense with customization.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Buying power dissipates when you sign the contract. Get the right product for the right number of users for the right term and get it right the first time.
- Getting the best price does not assure a great total cost of ownership or ROI. There are many components as part of the purchasing process that if unaccounted for can lead to dramatic and unbudgeted spend.
- Avoid buyer’s remorse through due diligence before signing the deal. If you need to customize the software or extend it with a third-party add-in, identify your costs and timelines upfront. Plan for successful adoption.
Impact and Result
- Centralize purchasing instead of enabling small deals to maximize discount levels by creating a process to derive a cost-effective methodology when subscribing to Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Force.com.
- Educate your organization on Salesforce’s licensing methods and contract types, enabling informed purchasing decisions. Critical components of every agreement that need to be negotiated are a renewal escalation cap, term protection, and license metrics to document what comes with each. Re-bundling protection is also critical in case a product is no longer desired.
- Proactively addressing integrations and business requirements will enable project success and enable the regular upgrades the come with a multi-tenant cloud services SaaS solution.
Make Prudent Decisions When Increasing Your Salesforce Footprint Research & Tools
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you need to understand and document your Salesforce licensing strategy, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:
- Make Prudent Decisions When Increasing Your Salesforce Footprint – Phases 1-4
1. Establish software requirements
Begin your journey by understanding whether Salesforce is the right CRM. Also proactively approach Salesforce licensing by understanding which information to gather and assessing the current state and gaps.
- Make Prudent Decisions When Increasing Your Salesforce Footprint – Phase 1: Establish Software Requirements
- Salesforce Licensing Purchase Reference Guide
- RASCI Chart
2. Evaluate licensing options
Review current products and licensing models to determine which licensing models will most appropriately fit the organization's environment.
- Make Prudent Decisions When Increasing Your Salesforce Footprint – Phase 2: Evaluate Licensing Options
- Salesforce TCO Calculator
- Salesforce Discount Calculator
3. Evaluate agreement options
Review Salesforce’s contract types and assess which best fits the organization’s licensing needs.
- Make Prudent Decisions When Increasing Your Salesforce Footprint – Phase 3: Evaluate Agreement Options
- Salesforce Terms and Conditions Evaluation Tool
4. Purchase and manage licenses
Conduct negotiations, purchase licensing, finalize a licensing management strategy, and enhance your CRM with a Salesforce partner.
- Make Prudent Decisions When Increasing Your Salesforce Footprint – Phase 4: Purchase and Manage Licenses
- Controlled Vendor Communications Letter
- Vendor Communication Management Plan
Workshop: Make Prudent Decisions When Increasing Your Salesforce Footprint
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
1 Establish Software Requirements
The Purpose
Assess current state and align goals; review business feedback.
Interview key stakeholders to define business objectives and drivers.
Key Benefits Achieved
Have a baseline for whether Salesforce is the right solution.
Understand Salesforce as a solution.
Examine all CRM options.
Activities
1.1 Perform requirements gathering to review Salesforce as a potential solution.
1.2 Gather your documentation before buying or renewing.
1.3 Confirm or create your Salesforce licensing team.
1.4 Meet with stakeholders to discuss the licensing options and budget allocation.
Outputs
Copy of your Salesforce Master Subscription Agreement
RASCI Chart
Salesforce Licensing Purchase Reference Guide
2 Evaluate Licensing Options
The Purpose
Review product editions and licensing options.
Review add-ons and licensing rules.
Key Benefits Achieved
Understand how licensing works.
Discuss licensing rules and their application to your current environment.
Determine the product and license mix that is best for your requirements.
Activities
2.1 Determine the editions, licenses, and add-ons for your Salesforce CRM solution.
2.2 Calculate total cost of ownership.
2.3 Use the Salesforce Discount Calculator to ensure you are getting the discount you deserve.
2.4 Meet with stakeholders to discuss the licensing options and budget allocation.
Outputs
Salesforce CRM Solution
Salesforce TCO Calculator
Salesforce Discount Calculator
Salesforce Licensing Purchase Reference Guide
3 Evaluate Agreement Options
The Purpose
Review terms and conditions of Salesforce contracts.
Review vendors.
Key Benefits Achieved
Determine if MSA or term agreement is best.
Learn what specific terms to negotiate.
Activities
3.1 Perform a T&Cs review and identify key “deal breakers.”
3.2 Decide on an agreement that nets the maximum benefit.
Outputs
Salesforce T&Cs Evaluation Tool
Salesforce Licensing Purchase Reference Guide
4 Purchase and Manage Licenses
The Purpose
Finalize the contract.
Discuss negotiation points.
Discuss license management and future roadmap.
Discuss Salesforce partner and implementation strategy.
Key Benefits Achieved
Discuss negotiation strategies.
Learn about licensing management best practices.
Review Salesforce partner options.
Create an implementation plan.
Activities
4.1 Know the what, when, and who to negotiate.
4.2 Control the flow of communication.
4.3 Assign the right people to manage the environment.
4.4 Discuss Salesforce partner options.
4.5 Discuss implementation strategy.
4.6 Meet with stakeholders to discuss licensing options and budget allocation.
Outputs
Salesforce Negotiation Strategy
Vendor Communication Management Plan
RASCI Chart
Info-Tech’s Core CRM Project Plan
Salesforce Licensing Purchase Reference Guide