Creating a High-Level Vision

From Wikipeadia

1.Organizations summarize their goals and objectives in mission and vision statements. Both of these serve different purposes for a company but are often confused with each other. While a mission statement describes what a company wants to do now, a vision statement outlines what a company wants to be in the future.

Define a clear Vision Statement

A vision statement is forward looking where do you want the companies’ Salesforce Platform to be 5 – 10 years from now? How does this implementation support your overall Corporate Goals. (If you don’t have Corporate Goals or Corporate Vision Statement do them first) Yes, this is a process that will encompass year of growth and benefits where do you want it to take you? I often hear stuff like” We want a 360 view of our customer” well that is a good start but is generic.

Why is a Vision Statement so important? It gives guidance to the team. It sets out what to do without the need for micro management. It becomes the compass for both the team implementing Salesforce and the folks who will decide where Salesforce is used and where it won’t be used.  It shares the goal with the end users and gets them on boad. No CEO has the time or energy to micro manage every aspect of their business much less Salesforce. As the Head Coach the CEO leads the team and picks the Quarterback in this case the Executive Sponsor of the Salesforce Implementation. Share the Vision then live it by example.

A good Vision Statement also lays out the benefits that this project will achieve. This sets the bar for the team. It will also give managers a clear idea of what is expected of them. Define how the team will benefit. Setting some number goals will also help, reduce costs by 20% by using Salesforce to be the one source of Customer Sales & Service Data. Define that a bit more, like “Our Sales will be tracked from Lead Sourcing to Product or Service Delivery, Deal Closed won”. Now flesh it out a bit more what department will be involved? What will the use Salesforce for and what will not be done in Salesforce. Keep it high level, a good Vision Statement should be broad yet clear. Share the big opportunity that this implementation will bring for everyone. What will the positive outcomes be? What existing pain points and problems will it solve?

Most importantly a vision statement shows commitment from top management to this goal. It sets the tone and aligns the company towards that goal. The Vision Statement outlines the guiding principals of the Why behind the What. It helps the Team see the ultimate goal behind all of the hard work. The team will feel part of the success as activate participants.

Sample:

XYX Corp CRM Implementation Vision Statement

Our Corporate vision is to grow by 25% in the next 2 years and 50% in 5 years. We will use Salesforce to support that vision in the following departments: Outside Sales, Customer Service, Tech Support and Inside Sales. Salesforce will be the Record of Truth for All Sales related information.

Improve Collaboration in the Sales Process from when Marketing Generates Leads then to Inside Sales Qualification, then to Outside Sales closing the deal to Customer Service & Tech Support delivering the end product.

All information about the Sales Process will be in Salesforce, from Lead to Quote to Closed won.

All Reporting will be done directly available real time from Salesforce.

All key communications with customers and within our company will be in & through Salesforce.

Getting Started with Implementation Salesforce Resources:

https://help.salesforce.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=015300000034eqiAAA