When it comes to assessing your Salesforce support needs, two roles come to mind: Salesforce Consultant and Internal Admin. Any decision makers within your organization will inevitably question which route to invest time and money. Let’s start with the basics, what are these roles and what do they do? 

Salesforce Consultant: a Salesforce certified Administrator is someone who consults, problem-solves, and designs solutions based on the requirements of your organization. This person is external from Salesforce and interaction is limited to the life of the project or subsequent contracts. This also brings diversified perspectives and backgrounds to the table. 

Internal Admin: this person has a long-term vested interest in project and organizational success and is dependent on the organization for livelihood, aka you hire this person to be an employee. This could develop into limited purview of Salesforce potential down the line. 

Before you decide what’s best for your business, there are several things to consider: how many users will you have, how many licenses are needed alongside which types, the cost of these license variations, how much customization is required, does your staff need training, and can you afford to bring on another employee or only commit to an hourly basis? We’re a little bit biased when it comes to the solution you should choose. Since we offer Salesforce consulting services, here’s why this route would prove most valuable to your business:

More Affordable Than a Full-Time Employee

This one is a big factor, money. When it comes to Salesforce support needs, you’ll want the expertise and guidance but also know you’re digging yourself into a financial hole to do so. Salesforce Consultants primarily work on an hourly or contract basis, this means you’re eliminating the overhead associated with hiring another full-time employee. No worrying about budgeting for health, 401k, or other benefits. You’re basically getting more value for your money because you’re getting the equal if not better expertise without an annual salary price tag. Consultants are also less emotionally invested. Good consultants don’t take it personally if your preferences, processes, or goals don’t align with their suggestions. They know their role is to gather requirements, plan, and execute the project based on their existing wealth of knowledge. 

You Have Unique Needs 

When it comes to taking an out-of-the-box solution and customizing pieces to fit your needs, a Salesforce Consultant checks all the boxes. They will have a basic blueprint and understand the requirements your org specifically needs. Because they are working on a contract basis, they will have previous project knowledge and experience to leverage when scoping out solutions. This varied perspective  If you’re relying on an in-house Admin, then you’re limited to the scope of their experience which most likely will be just with your org. The training or learning curve associated with an in-house Admin can also contribute to delays with implementation, while Salesforce Consultants are more likely up to speed with latest patches or system updates. 

Knowledge is Wealth

Salesforce Consultants come into a project with existing technology experience and knowledge. This background can prove invaluable when it comes to recommending solutions to your technology needs and won’t be exclusive to the Salesforce platform. Their knowledge of applications or products that integrate with Salesforce means you have more than just the AppExchange at your fingertips. Basic understanding of typical software snags or troubleshooting is an everyday occurrence for a Salesforce Consultant who can then advise accordingly if they come up during a project or implementation. This also comes in handy if your staff requires any training. Salesforce Consultants can provide details relevant to the products your team interacts with regularly and cut through the noise of another update release. Some Consultants even create videos or well documented processes for your team to reference even after the project is closed (we might know a thing or two about this). 

Overall, the decision of whether to go with an Internal Admin or an independent Salesforce Consultant really boils down to your company’s needs and your budget. Mapping out your goals for what you want in your org, how many users will be involved, and the timeline to get things rolling are all crucial to the decision. And if you go the Internal Admin route and aren’t satisfied, there are always Consultants ready to assist.