SalesForce Cloud computing allows companies to connect and provides a CRM that builds a strong network where companies can grow together. Their solutions give teams an overall view of each customer, and give transparency across customer management systems. No matter the size of the company, SalesForce cloud computing can scale to meet the needs and adapts for changes big and small.

Solutions from SalesForce integrate easily with your existing digital infrastructure for customer data and analytics systems. The information of your customers is stored in a secure way, which protects your customers from data scrapers. Give your customers peace of mind while protecting their information and your business by using a trusted CRM system that integrates all pertinent data through one highly protected system.

Through using SalesForce cloud solutions, your team can automate tasks, thus reducing the burden on both your sales and service teams. Tasks that were once redundant can now be handled by AI, allowing for a more efficient company model, increasing both productivity and efficiency. Customers will get your team’s full attention when they aren’t bogged down by mind-numbing tasks and are able to fully serve their needs through the use ofSalesForce Cloud Computing solutions.

Sales Cloud

Sales Cloud simplifies your sales process and stores all of your customer’s pertinent data on one platform. Instead of using multiple programs to serve a customer, take notes, place orders, and send information to your service team, having all of the tools to run your business in one package makes for a smooth experience that boosts efficiency.

Your customers will receive better support, and your team will have less burden on them, allowing them to provide the best service possible. Businesses who use SalesForce have seen better agent response time, and are receiving better feedback from customers.

Service Cloud

Service Cloud can be used through app technology and travel with a company’s service technicians and professionals. The intuitive technology can display related help answers for common issues service professionals run into while serving customers, making for better customer experiences.

When it comes to serving customers, Service Cloud gives your team the power to connect with knowledge portals and receive the support they need to solve problems in a timely manner. Instead of troubleshooting on the phone with customer service, they can simply search for the answers they need and provide an on the spot solution.

Furthermore, the service cloud tracks all orders and deliveries for technicians in the field, and helps to manage orders all in one platform. Deliveries are tracked, and drivers and technicians are able to plan their day accordingly, making for better scheduling opportunities.

Financial Cloud

Financial services companies use the Financial Cloud to integrate data and unify customer experiences. Through the financial cloud, you can aggregate customer data such as savings goals, geography, and other demographics in order to build personalized solutions that create loyal customers. By analyzing information that is provided through the Financial Cloud’s reporting process, your business can see key areas of improvement and evaluate major KPIs.

Digitally, Yours or Future-Forward – What’s Drives a Smart Workplace?

It’s the year 2030. You’re greeted at the office by a robot that’s offering you tea/coffee. The lights switch on and the blinds open automatically in your office pod – without you having to lift a finger. Does this seem like a reality that’s taking shape in a galaxy far, far away? Think again.
Smart office and digital workplaces are dominating the future and the future is now.

Futuristic Workplaces have the “Smarts” for Digital Transformation:

Advanced communication and a convenience-driven lifestyle have created a forward-looking workforce – one that’s highly-engaged, productive, and more capable than ever before.
Naturally, in order to keep up with their dynamic pace, workplaces need to change their tune and embrace innovative digital workplace solutions that are technologically-sound. If they fail to do so, every lost opportunity will lead to an “Ex” employee. Backing this claim is Randstad which says that 40% of workers would quit if their workplace lacked state-of-the-art digital tools. Plus, research by Nokia suggests that an American smartphone user checks their phone once every six-and-a-half minutes! In short, people today are heavily reliant on technology – be it in a personal or professional capacity.

The message is loud-and-clear: Employees today are ready for a workplace that’s:

• Flexible and adaptive to their changing lifestyles.
• A balanced blend of people-centricity and digital technology goals.
• Spearheads digital-first thinking and gives rise to smart spaces.

Changing Dimensions of the Dynamic Workplace
– 4 Key Factors for Successful Implementation & Seamless Adoption.
An explosion of smart workplace technologies and employee lifestyle changes have brought about a tectonic shift in the way organizations and people operate today. For instance, a recent study suggests that 60 percent of the time, Fortune 1000 company employees are not at their desks. In such a scenario, an integrative use of modern work styles and maturing technologies such as Video Conferencing, Robotics, AI, Machine Learning, and Cloud Computing becomes imperative.
Additionally, research by MetLife demonstrates that 56 percent of employers view automation technologies like AI, analytics, and robotics in a positive light. All in all, digital workplaces and smart offices as concepts are gaining momentum and finding a huge fan base in today’s Gen-Z. To that end, let’s list the 4 factors that can translate a static, physical workplace mindset into a more dynamic and digital one:

1. Prepare ahead for the arrival of the Digital Revolution. To start with, train your employees to become technology- friendly, thus giving birth to the “digitally-fluent” generation.
2. Going digital means diving deep into data mines. Create a mechanism to organize information that can be  accessed in a quick, systematic, and efficient manner.
3. Move strategically from solely-physical office space to a physical (office), virtual (electronic tools), social (a network of team, managers and customers), and mental (company’s values, beliefs, and goals) one.
4. The end-goal should be to create a digitally-driven work vibe that feels personal, collaborative, mobile-enabled, and employee-oriented – all at the same time.

Multi-Purpose Technology, Infinite Advantages:

Even though the rate at which smart technology is discouragingly slow, digital-first workplaces are finding their footing gradually. If implemented properly, organizations stand to gain a multitude of benefits, namely:

Impactful business advantages such as:

1. Real-time insights into performance, growth, problem areas, potential, etc.
2. Use of innovative technology such as robotics and AI that helps reduce costs frees up resource time by offloading repetitive tasks and inspires people to be more productive and creative.

Enhanced efficiency and access to in-depth information anytime, anywhere – Courtesy of digital knowledge-sharing platforms.

1. Faster, global interactions due to virtual inter-connectedness.
2. Rise of intelligent, collaborative, and agile business environment that benefit individuals and organization together.

Real-time insights into performance, growth, problem areas, potential, etc.
Use of innovative technology such as robotics and AI that helps reduce costs frees up resource time by offloading repetitive tasks and inspires people to be more productive and creative.

Closing Thoughts:
Workplace trends such as “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device) and the creation of private spaces such as “office pods” are making life easier for everyone. Armed with greater flexibility, employees are driven to contribute more and be more. Perhaps, the irony of it all is that virtual systems can liven up any work space – if only seen through smart, futuristic prisms that throw light on “next-gen” technologies. So the real question isn’t about choosing between digital or future workforce, it is about combining both to leverage the values and benefits of tomorrow, today.

Salesforce is a Customer Relationship Management or CRM platform designed to improve the customer interaction aspect of businesses. It is a cloud-based platform and is one of the most commonly used CRM systems by businesses of all sizes. Here is how a small business benefits from Salesforce.

Scalability
You may be a small business now, but you definitely have your sights set on bigger goals. You need a CRM platform that can grow and adapt with your changing needs, or in other words, is scalable. This is exactly what Salesforce does. It is a flexible platform, and that is precisely what makes it so attractive for large and small businesses alike.

Use AI to Improve Your Business

AI plays a key role in the growth of your business by analyzing the existing data and offering meaningful insights. This may sound too fancy or too expensive for a small business, but Salesforce‘ Einstein AI is an affordable AI service that offers market predictions, customer behavior patterns and other useful information that can be extremely valuable for a small business. The AI also gleans the necessary information from your emails and calendar and removes the need for manual data entry.

Increase Productivity
Salesforce can help automate a lot of tasks related to storing and sorting customer information. This frees up your employees and lets them focus more on other areas of business. It will also help them target the right clients to call for making sales and increase the efficiency of the sales calls.

Improve Your Marketing Strategy

The Salesforce CRM can connect to social media and use the information to help you identify potential customers. This can also help you create a marketing strategy aimed at converting those prospects into customers. In addition to this, it also tells you how much time and effort has been spent on each customer. You can compare this with the revenue generated by the customer and realign your services to ensure that you are spending an optimum amount of time on each customer.

Improve Your Sales
Did you know that increasing your customer retention rate by 5% can lead to a 25% to 95% increase in profits? With the comprehensive customer history at your fingertips, you can provide better customer service and retain more customers. The increased revenue can always be used to attract new clients and grow your business. While gaining more customers is important, it is equally necessary to keep the existing ones happy.

Join the Salesforce Family Today!
Do you know what Unilever, Aston Martin, Fireclay Tiles, Onmibees, and Crowdcube have in common? All of them use the Salesforce CRM platform! They have become more efficient, flexible, and have witnessed an increase in their customer base. These companies may be of different sizes, but they have all found common ground in Salesforce. It is the leader in the CRM industry and has achieved this status by continuously adapting to the changing needs of the market and adopting the latest technology to provide excellent service to the clients.

Are your sales predictions based on a data-driven forecast? Or are they more a reflection of your ideal or desired outcome?

Let me give you an example from my own experience on how “wish-casts” tend to play out. At a recent meeting at a Fortune 500 firm, the company’s CEO took an Executive Vice President (EVP) to task over her revenue forecast, saying, “These numbers aren’t acceptable. You have to do better over the next two quarters. Come back with a 15% increase over last year or don’t come back at all.”

To be fair, the original numbers presented to the CEO reflected a 4% year-over-year increase. But clearly, that wasn’t enough. The CEO’s objective was to report higher numbers to the board, analysts, investors, and beyond. The only problem with this scenario, however, is that the new numbers requested by the CEO were inaccurate — or worse, potentially unattainable. There was no real basis or rationale for increasing the numbers, other than the fact that the CEO wanted to see a higher projected number. And as a result, the company’s sales organization had no choice but to face excessive pressure to meet their CEO’s revenue “wish-cast.”

Fast forward two quarters down the road. Here’s what happened:

Fortunately, the sales team successfully achieved a number higher than the EVP’s initial 4% forecast but still below the CEO’s requested 15% target. As you can imagine, the CEO wasn’t pleased with this performance but was nonetheless able to report a certain level of success on the quarterly earnings call. Unfortunately, the numbers alone don’t tell the full story. Achieving “success,” from the CEO’s perspective, came at the expense of margins and future growth. For the Sales team to hit this more aggressive target, they had to offer customers greater-than-usual discounts and sacrifice cultivating prospects for the rest of the year (which, in turn, damaged the margins associated with those new opportunities).

And in spite of this, the same scenario would play out again while forecasting for the second half of the year. However, this time, with few critical differences.

First, the Sales organization was now in a weaker position to impact revenue — a byproduct of the sales pipeline being leaner after having been pillaged for short-term gain in the first half of the year. This alone made it challenging for the sales team to compete effectively in the marketplace. In fact, the situation became so dire that two senior sales leaders started actively looking for new opportunities because they no longer believed in the business’s ability to succeed in the future. This created a domino effect wherein the working environment became increasingly negative, to the point where the company’s two major account teams felt discouraged and disengaged. It was clear that the business was on a downward spiral.

Watching this play out was painful. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it happen all too often — and there’s a good chance you have, too. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here’s what CEO’s can do about it:[/vc_column_text]

2. Avoid Counterproductive Pressures
When reviewing revenue forecasts, if you only ask: “Can you get more revenue into this month/quarter?” followed by “Why not?” without discussing any of the factors that contribute to these results, then you are setting yourself up for failure. As an executive, you deserve to have a clear understanding of forecasts and expected results. This is something the sales team can easily put together for you. However, when the projected numbers don’t match your expectations, it’s very easy for anxiety to start to take hold across the entire organization.

As a starting point, don’t increase the frequency of revenue and forecast reviews. Doing so only creates more pressure and stress for your team. Keep a regular forecasting schedule and set clear expectations around how the team can achieve the goals you’ve set. If your requests don’t materialize — especially in the short-term — avoid relying on heavy-handed pressure tactics to drive results. (It rarely works.) This is not to say that you can’t motivate your team to succeed; after all, that’s the way you can ensure that your team constantly performs at a high level. This is called eustress: a positive kind of pressure that motivates and pushes people to perform with a high degree of success. Unfortunately, more often than not, many leaders go well beyond eustress and push their teams to a state of distress. This creates a culture of fear and ultimately causes people to operate and behave in counterproductive ways (i.e. misleading customers, overcommitting, deeply discounting, etc.). Not to mention, it will cause people to retreat, especially when the stakes are exceptionally high.

3. Understand the End-to-End Sales Process
Evaluating forecasts and results at monthly and quarterly milestones is essential, especially for a publicly-traded company. This is what helps executives understand early on any sales patterns that either inhibit or contribute to revenue growth. The best way to evaluate this is by being involved at the early stages of the sales pipeline, not just when deals are about to get closed. Doing so provides a bird’s-eye view onto the overall health of your revenue streams and can help inform decisions about where additional resources could be most valuable for achieving business objectives. If you only look a month or even a quarter ahead, there’s really very little you can do to impact those objectives. Getting involved further back in the process gives you — and your team — more opportunities to implement changes and can (and will) positively improve desired outcomes. There’s no question about it: forecasts are important decision-making tools for any executive. You have the power to influence the future strength of your business almost uniquely through your interactions with sales. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to make a lasting impact. Resource form salesforce blog