2. Jill Harrison
Consulting Practice Director, Silverline
@silverlinecrm / @loveofbrooklyn
10+ years working with the Salesforce platform!
Clicks Not Code โ
The Power of the Force.com Platform
3. Session Objectives โ
โ Share automation experiences
โ Learn about options for automation on the platform
โ Discuss best practices
โ Leave this session with some ideas to put into practice!
4. Agenda โ
What are the ways you can introduce automation and
innovate your business workflow on the platform?
5 min Introductions
15 min What should you automate? How can you prioritize for maximum impact?
15 min How can you automate? What are your options?
10 min How can you iterate to keep current?
5 min Resources, Wrap Up & Next Steps
5. Introductions โ
Who are you? What industry are you in? What is your role?
What stage are you at in your Salesforce implementation?
Have you used Salesforce to automate processes?
7. Framework for Automation โ
How can I identify and select which processes to automate?
User Feedback
Do your users have an open channel to provide feedback about the system?
Do they have a way to ask questions or submit suggestions for improvement?
User Research
Observe how users interact with the system in day to day operations.
What are their key pain points or inefficiencies? Where are they spending lots of time or
manual effort? Are there opportunities for better collaboration or reminders?
Department & Stakeholder Outreach
Does your company have a Salesforce steering committee or a resource which looks at
opportunities for the platform to support new teams or processes? Proactively approach
departments and leadership to solicit ideas or provide potential opportunities.
Expert Feedback
Do you recognize there are opportunities for better efficiency on the platform but donโt
know where to start? Partner consulting firms have seen it all and can help you prioritize
based on best practices.
8. Evaluation Criteria โ
What may signify that a process may benefit from automation?
โ Key Business Challenge
โ Operational Pain Point
โ Lots of Manual Steps
โ Requires Many Data Updates
โ New Records Must Be Created
โ Time & Resource Intensive
โ Recurring Process
โ Happens on a Schedule
โ Approvals Required
โ Need for Consistency
9. Group Discussion โ
What processes may be good for my company to automate?
Which have lots of manual steps or meet these criteria?
Where do I start and how do I prioritize?
10. So, what are my options to automate?
There are four key ways you can automate processes on the platform.
Workflow Rules Approval Processes Visual Workflow Process Builder
โ Field Updates
โ Email Alerts
โ Create Tasks
โ Immediate
โ Scheduled
โ Multiple Actions
IDEAS:
โ Set opportunity name
โ Big Deal email alert
โ Contract task for
closed opportunity
โ Can specify criteria
โ Supports multiple
approvers or delegates
โ Approvers can easily
respond โyesโ or โnoโ
through email or
Chatter posts
โ Easily tracked
IDEAS:
โ Approve pricing
discount %
โ Approve time off
โ Campaign collateral
and email approval
โ Supports complex
branching logic
โ Interface for info
capture
IDEAS:
โ Route escalated cases
to a new queue based
on territory or region
โ After an opp is closed,
calculate discount and
apply to all products
โ Build a simple agent-
friendly wizard
designed to collect
customer information
โ Create a new record
โ Post to a feed or a
Chatter Group
โ Send an email alert
โ Create a task
โ Initiate a trigger
โ Auto-submit into an
approval process
IDEAS:
โ Create a contract after
an opportunity is won
โ Post congrats to a
Chatter group when an
opp is won
11. Other Options to Automate โ
Beyond these four, what are my other options?
โ Validation Rules
โ Formula Fields
โ Formula Fieldsโฆ with images!
โ Auto-Response Rules
โ Lead & Case Assignment Rules
โ Lead Conversion
โ Scheduled Reports & Dashboards
โ AppExchange Apps
Be sure to check out the โProcess Automationโ module on Trailhead.
Click here to get started!
12. Group Discussion โ
What ways have you incorporated automation into your
companyโs Salesforce org? What has worked well for you?
How have you measured success or impact?
13. How can I keep automation current? โ
Iโve automated my processes. Now what?
Salesforce needs refreshing as your organization grows and adoption
of the platform changes. How can you keep current with the needs of
your business users and make sure your automation meets their
needs?
Some ideas:
- Institute regular check-ins with stakeholders
- Develop a โcenters of excellenceโ program for power users
- Iterate, iterate, iterate
14. Tips & Tricks โ
Some helpful reminders from those who have learned the hard way.
โ Before configuring workflow rules, make sure the default workflow user is set up.
โ Go to Setup > Create > Workflow & Approvals > Settings to specify!
โ Before deleting a workflow alert, make sure no workflows are using it.
โ Make sure you appropriately name and describe your workflow rules, tasks and field updates.
โ Use images in conjunction with formulas to display nice user-friendly indicators on your records, in
your list views, or on your reports.
โ Turn off workflow rules before doing data loads - or else you might trigger a lot of emails!
โ Create & test your workflow rules and process builder tasks in a sandbox / developer org first.
โ Leverage the Community and User Groups to ask questions and solicit feedback!
โ Be sure to train your users on what to expect and how to submit requests.
15. Salesforce Trailhead - [link]
Great guided courses for learning all about the platform. Plus, theyโre fun!
NYC Salesforce User Group - [link]
One of the most active Salesforce user groups in the world.
Next meeting: Tuesday 8/25 at Silverlineโs office in Union Square! [register here]
NYC Developer User Group - [link]
For admins and developers alike. Learn more about the platform and automation!
Button Click Admin podcast - [link]
Tune in and listen to all the ways you can use configuration to automate Salesforce!
Resources โ
Youโre not alone! Check out these great resources for more.
16. Group Discussion โ
What is the first process youโd like to automate after today?
How will you do it?
