Salesforce Implementation Cost – The Ultimate Guide

 

Cost always plays an important role in implementing the CRM platform within your organization. “How much is Salesforce implementation worth?” is one of the most common questions asked by organizations before developing the CRM platform. Depending on your requirement, the Salesforce implementation cost for your company can range from $10,000 to $100,000.

 

However, it is important to note that Salesforce is not a CRM platform that is restricted to high-end enterprises. People often assume that it is an extremely expensive platform to develop and use as a CRM. However, that is not true. Looking at the needs and preferences of startups and small businesses, Salesforce has rolled out the Essentials edition where organizations can avail themselves of sales and service cloud features at the starting price of $25/month/user. This busts the myth of Salesforce being a CRM platform exclusively designed for large enterprises.

 

Salesforce has been successful in helping businesses generate decent returns on their investments for over two decades. This proves that the CRM platform allows users to optimize their business processes and drive more revenue home. This makes it important for businesses operating all scales and belonging to all industries to make smart investment decisions when it comes to deciding the Salesforce implementation cost.

 

What Does Salesforce Implementation Cost Include?

Calculating an ideal cost for implementing Salesforce can be a challenging process. Several factors play a role in a Salesforce implementation partner finalizing their price and businesses allocating their budget.

 

Here are some of the key elements that make up your Salesforce implementation cost:

 

Salesforce License

This is the cost you need to pay for obtaining one or more Salesforce licenses. Based on your business processes and goals, you can choose the license(s) that best suits your needs. Salesforce licenses can be paid for on a monthly or yearly basis.

 

Salesforce Consultancy

Most Salesforce implementation partners also act as effective Salesforce Consultants for their clients. These services include providing all possible assistance to the concerned organization throughout the course of Salesforce implementation. This cost differs for different service providers and is often included in the final proposal made to the clients.

 

Data Migration

Whether you are willing to move legacy data to Salesforce or transfer records from one Salesforce org to another, Salesforce implementation partners help you do the same. The cost of data migration involves the price of helping you organize your database and move the same from one storage platform to another. If you are willing to purchase specific ETL tools for migrating your data, you will need to pay for the same as well.

 

CRM Customization

The needs of every organization are different and unique. This involves Salesforce developers customizing the CRM platform based on the specific needs and preferences of their clients. From choosing the right tools to add to deciding upon the functionality of the CRM platform, Salesforce customization revolves around tailoring the platform based on your requirements.

 

Salesforce Integration

Being a highly customizable platform, Salesforce can be readily integrated with a range of third-party platforms. If you are willing to merge the functionality of Salesforce with a suitable application, you would be charged for Salesforce integration by your implementation partners.

 

Salesforce integration allows you to blend the functionality and data of two different platforms and provide users with a centralized system. For example, if you are willing to use Salesforce for data visualization, you can integrate it with platforms like Tableau.

 

Admin Training

If you are new to Salesforce or CRM in general, your Salesforce partner may train your administrators to use Salesforce in the best way possible. This would allow you to optimize the CRM platform and achieve your business goals in the best way possible.

 

User Adoption

Salesforce implementation is not limited to designing and developing the CRM platform. It also includes training users to work on the platform and get them used to its features. Whether you are switching from an alternate CRM platform to Salesforce or upgrading your Salesforce org, your Salesforce implementation cost is likely to include the cost of user adoption.

 

After-launch Support

Once the CRM platform is developed and launched, your Salesforce implementation partner would maintain the same via after-launch support. This includes conducting regular checkups, providing updates about newer versions, adding new tools to the platform, and much more. When you are charged for implementation services, you may have to pay your developers/implementation partners for after-launch support.

 

The Cost Of Salesforce Licenses

The Salesforce license you purchase forms a large chunk of your overall Salesforce implementation cost. Salesforce offerings are divided into different “clouds” based on the processes they help you streamline and the departments they are ideal for.

Here, we would discuss the prices of the two most commonly used Salesforce offerings – Salesforce Sales Cloud and Salesforce Service Cloud.

 

How Much Does Salesforce Sales Cloud Cost?

The cost of Salesforce Sales Cloud is divided into four distinct editions – Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited.

 

Salesforce Essentials ($25/user/month)

This is the most basic Sales Cloud edition that provides users with fundamental features for managing their leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities. The Essentials edition also offers features like email integration and mobile customization to the users.

 

Salesforce Professional ($75/user/month)

This edition is ideal for small and medium businesses willing to streamline their sales processes. Along with the features of Salesforce Essentials, it provides users with additional features like lead scoring and sales forecasting.

 

Salesforce Professional ($150/user/month)

Taking Salesforce services a notch higher, this edition helps medium and large enterprises to leverage their sales processes. It provides users with the additional features of workflow and approval automation.

 

Salesforce Unlimited ($300/user/month)

The final edition of Salesforce Sales Cloud is designed for large enterprises with complicated processes and larger volumes of data. Along with all the features offered by the previous editions, the Unlimited edition of Sales Cloud provides users with configuration services and 24/7 support.

 

How Much Does Salesforce Service Cloud Cost?

Just like Salesforce Sales Cloud, the cost of the Service Cloud is divided into four different editions – Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited.

 

Salesforce Essentials ($25/user/month)

This is the most basic Service Cloud edition that provides users with fundamental features like cross-company collaboration, multi-channel management of cases, case mapping, and other basic features. The Essentials edition is designed to cater to the needs of a small service team.

 

Salesforce Professional ($75/user/month)

This edition is ideal for small and medium businesses willing to streamline their customer service processes. Along with the features of Salesforce Essentials, it provides users with additional features like service contracts, entitlements, and order management.

 

Salesforce Professional ($150/user/month)

Taking Salesforce services a notch higher, this edition helps medium and large enterprises to leverage their customer service processes. It provides users with the additional features of service analytics with AI-based functionality.

 

Salesforce Unlimited ($300/user/month)

The final edition of Salesforce Service Cloud is designed for large enterprises with complicated processes and larger volumes of data. Along with all the features offered by the previous editions, the Unlimited edition of Service Cloud provides users with configuration services, training services, and 24/7 support.

 

How Much Does Salesforce Consultancy Cost?

The cost for Salesforce consultancy essentially depends on the manner in which you avail of consulting services. Broadly, there are two different ways in which you can avail yourself of Salesforce consulting services – hiring in-house consultants and hiring Salesforce contractors.

 

Hiring in-house Salesforce Consultants would require you to pay them fixed salaries which may range from $130,000 to $180,000 annually. This would lead to you having to pay a fortune every year just to obtain consultancy services.

 

It is, therefore, always advisable to hire Salesforce contractors who provide consultancy services on a contractual basis. Here, the price of Salesforce consulting services would differ from one individual (or agency) to another. However, as you would not be required to pay these services providers fixed salaries and the job is done on an on-demand basis, this is a more cost-effective option for Salesforce implementation.

 

Other Salesforce Implementation Expenses

Although the exact cost would be different for different service providers, here is how much you can expect to pay for different services related to Salesforce implementation:

 

1. Data migration – $10,000 – $35,000

2. Salesforce Customization – $5,000 – $60,000

3. Salesforce Integration (for a complex project) – $30,000 – $50,000

4. Admin Training (for a mid-sized company) – $10,000

5. After-launch Support – $10,000 – $40,000

6. Salesforce QuickStart Packages – $1,000 – $14,000

 

The Final Word

This was a comprehensive guide to make you well-versed with your potential Salesforce implementation cost. Before you finalize setting up the CRM platform within your organization, make sure you take all the above-mentioned aspects into consideration and chart out a detailed budget.