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What Client Success Means at Idealist Consulting

By: Alison Wandschneider

My dad is an information gatherer, a journalist. Behind his goofy, easy-going facade, he maps out the story beforehand without you even realizing it. His silent prep is also silent support.

When he was teaching me to drive, he carefully guided me down slow one-way roads and larger ones that had a concrete median. He made sure I only drove our older car (so that in case I had a fender bender it wouldn’t be with our new car).

And he kept calm, which helped me stay calm. Which, to this day, has helped me quell anxiety when driving and left me with a perfect driving record.

His thoughtfulness in the background kept me focused, calm, and successful. Sometimes, I think about my time learning to drive when helping our clients who are new to Salesforce.

It’s not just about having someone, anyone help you learn. It’s about having the right person to help you navigate the sometimes anxiety-inducing, overwhelming road in such a way that everyone stays calm and walks away prepared for what’s next.

 

The instructor can make all the difference

When you first learned to drive, you had experienced instructors, parents, and more helping you. And hopefully, your efforts to save for a car and keep it in good shape weren’t done completely alone either.

With Client Success at Idealist Consulting, we are the experienced Driver’s Education teacher, pointing you to slower streets while you get the hang of driving, keeping you stay calm when you need help. We’re the parent helping you pick out your first car, and reminding you how to keep it in good shape.

 

Client Success- what exactly does this mean?

Currently, Client (or sometimes called Customer) Success means a lot of different things to different people. In some arenas, it looks like customer support (ie “this is broken, help me fix it!”); in others, it’s more in line with a traditional account management model. With the variability in definitions and approaches, it’s important to really understand the model and approach for Client Success and learn how to best leverage those resources.

The Client Success concept, as we’ve defined it, is all about making the client as successful as possible. It’s a supportive, consultative approach to reinforce education and clear communication during a project.

This means that during your Idealist Consulting project, we will have monthly check-ins, Project Health surveys, and a direct point of contact for you to reach out to when you need help with challenges (and it’s not a salesperson).

 

5 ways Idealist Consulting’s Client Success stands out

 

1. We take a white glove approach.

We’re invested in you and helping you learn, understand, and expand with Salesforce. We believe in a personalized approach that caters to your team’s needs.

 

2. We have honest and vulnerable conversations.

And lots of them. Why? Because we want to make sure we’re all on the same page.

We review how things are going, and if they aren’t going well we suss out why and help fix it. Whether that means resetting expectations, providing additional educational materials, or reframing the engagement.
 

3. We set you up for success.

Our goal is for you to be so empowered using and administering Salesforce that you don’t need us for the small changes.

We not only get your Salesforce instance set up; we also provide recommendations for governance and ownership of your Salesforce instance moving forward. (But we’re always here if you need to come back.)

 

4. We have a structured feedback loop.

The whole intent is to allow your team and ours to voice challenges and accomplishments. We call out expectations or assumptions to confirm everyone is on the same page.

We also bring light to the success of the project, not just the roadblocks.

 

5. We allow you to take ownership.

We don’t just hand you the keys to your brand new Salesforce instance at the end of the project and expect you to run it. We sit in the passenger seat next to you, helping you navigate.

We encourage clients to think through how they’ll manage requests and questions from their team once the project is live. We help you think about possible approaches for maintenance and governance of your Salesforce instance.

We also teach you about all the resources you have access to now that you’re in the Salesforce family (#SalesforceOhana). And then we help you use these resources to teach and guide your own team down a path of success.

 

Who benefits from the Client Success model with Idealist Consulting?

Right now our Client Success is only for new Salesforce implementation projects. All large Salesforce implementation projects receive formal Client Success resources. However, this thread of our personalized approach can be seen throughout even our smallest engagements. All of our clients benefit from our philosophy of empowering clients.

 

Ready to work with us?

We’re ready to work with you! Just reach out using the link below.

 

Let’s Talk

 

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