Lane Four

Author: Stephanie Damgaard

  • How and Why We Do Salesforce CPU Audits

    How and Why We Do Salesforce CPU Audits

    Once you encounter the dreaded “Apex CPU time limit exceeded” error in Salesforce, it’s up to you to deal with it. This error means that the functions in your system are now exceeding its ability to process actions. It’s a canary in the coal mine, likely a sign of much bigger issues.

    You have two options once you’ve encountered this error. Firstly, you can try reducing the number of records that you’re updating at one time. But this isn’t possible for most organizations, because tools like Marketo will always want to make updates in large batches.

    A better route is to do a CPU audit. Even if you’re not getting this error, an audit is always a good idea if you’re trying to scale. Especially if you’re concerned that Salesforce is “messed up” after years of user turnover, added tools, and changing processes.

    Whatever the case, CPU audits are a part of maintaining overall good organizational performance.

    Getting to the Source of the Problem

    A typical approach to CPU audits is to take a systematic look at everything going on in Salesforce to see what might be slowing it down. But this can take weeks or months to complete, and we need to fix things fast for our clients. So instead, we get straight to the source of the problem by prioritizing the non-performant parts of the application.

    We start by looking at what’s happening on the creation of a lead, contact, or account. This allows us to test exactly how long, on average, it’s taking the system to run Apex code, validation rules, workflow rules, process builders, and database queries.

    In doing this, we can easily pinpoint the process or code that is slowing Salesforce down, and determine exactly what to fix.

    Even Small Processes Can Slow Down Your System

    Recently, in running our assessment with a SaaS startup client, we discovered that a legacy process that determined Lead Source was grinding their system to a halt. It turned out that this process, which they didn’t even know was running, was largely responsible for their issues.

    When we replaced the old, complicated function with a single process builder, their Salesforce performance improved by a whopping 50%.

    This situation is not at all unusual. Small, under-the-radar processes often cause havoc to much of the system. And with our approach to auditing Salesforce performance, we’re able to identify and fix these culprits quickly and easily.

    Need a Salesforce
    Expert?

    Talk to Us

  • Lane Four is Officially a Partner of Outreach.io!

    Lane Four is Officially a Partner of Outreach.io!

    We are excited to announce that Lane Four is officially a partner of Outreach.io.

    Over the past several years, our team has helped dozens of high-growth startups implement Outreach as a core part of scaling their sales operations and achieving efficiency in their processes.

    We look forward to doing more of this work with companies who choose Outreach as their sales engagement platform and Salesforce as their CRM.

    To learn more about the work we’ve done with clients to implement Outreach, check out our recent webinar on How to Scale Outbound without Data Chaos.

    Need a Salesforce
    Expert?

    Talk to Us
  • The New Lightning Flow Builder is Almost Here!

    The New Lightning Flow Builder is Almost Here!

    On February 8-9, along with the SFDC Spring ’19 release, the new Lightning Flow Builder (already live in Sandbox) will arrive in your Salesforce instance.

    With the promise of a better user experience and the ability to automate complex business processes completely code-free, there’s a lot for Admins to look forward to with this feature.

    Here’s a recap of why you should be excited about the new Lightning Flow Builder:

    • It’s faster, easier, and better looking
    • It’s Flash free
    • Salesforce Lightning Design System will add and update Flow Builder features regularly
    • The functionality of native Salesforce apps like Lane Four will improve as a result

    We can’t wait!

    FEATURED RESOURCE

    Salesforce for
    SaaS Blueprint

    Learn More

  • More Salesforce Data Storage Coming in Spring ’19

    More Salesforce Data Storage Coming in Spring ’19

    The Spring ’19 Release brings major increases to data storage for Salesforce orgs. Starting in March, orgs will begin to see a shift from 1GB to a whopping 10 GB in storage.

    Monitoring storage has long been a headache for orgs who reach or exceed limits as their number of records grows. Given this, the storage increase will greatly reduce pressure on admins to monitor data levels and clean old data. It will also allow for greater freedom in creating data and object structures that result in more records.

    Has Salesforce storage been an issue for your org? Check here to see how the data increase will impact your edition of Salesforce.

    FEATURED RESOURCE

    Salesforce for
    SaaS Blueprint

    Learn More
  • Design Salesforce Lead-to-Account Ownership Lifecycles That Work

    Design Salesforce Lead-to-Account Ownership Lifecycles That Work

    Join us on Thursday, January 3 for a 30 min live webinar on how to design lead-to-account ownership processes in Salesforce that really work.

    In this webinar, Lane Four Founder Andrew Sinclair will present a framework for understanding a range of ABM ownership models.

    We’ll cover the following topics:

    • Why ABM makes ownership harder
    • Modern sales ownership considerations
    • Typical ABM ownership models
    • Techniques for improving accountability and follow up times
    • How automation can help you reach more leads

    After the webinar you’ll have the tools and strategies you need to design an ownership lifecycle that will help you effectively manage sales processes, increase conversion rates, and drive revenue for your company.

    [vcex_button url=”https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7FjP6lAtSUK8prDYlHbWFA” title=”registration” style=”flat” align=”left” color=”#66d7d1″ size=”large” target=”self” rel=”none”]Register Now[/vcex_button]

    FEATURED DOWNLOAD

    ABM Metrics 101

    Learn More
  • Want to Speed Up SDR Response Times? Try Using an SLA in Salesforce.

    Want to Speed Up SDR Response Times? Try Using an SLA in Salesforce.

    One of the biggest headaches for marketing operations teams is slow response times from sales reps on qualified leads. Luckily, implementing an automated service level agreement (SLA) in Salesforce is a hassle-free way to resolve this common problem.

    A lot gets in the way of sales teams responding to leads. For example, confusion about responsibility or issues around commissioning can cause reps to ignore some leads while competing to reach others.

    An SLA solves these problems by creating clarity between marketing and sales teams, holding SDRs accountable for their activities, and measuring exactly what’s happening with follow up.

    How does an SLA work?

    An SLA occurs at the point where sales and marketing intersect—that is, the point of hand off for specific Salesforce records from marketing to sales. With an SLA, sales agrees to take responsibility for records of a specific type. Having an SLA empowers marketing to hold individual sales reps accountable for action actually happening on the records.

    An SLA does this by acting as a ticking clock on the records in question—typically leads (and contacts, since you should be using both leads and contacts in ABM). It logs the date and time that a lead reaches a certain stage—like “qualified.” Then it tracks the exact amount of time it takes a sales rep to log a follow-up task that moves the lead into another given stage—like “unqualified” or “engaged.”

    If all you need is a simple SLA, you can create it by tracking the change on something like a lead status using the process builder in Salesforce.

    But many organizations doing ABM need to use more complex rules. For example, taking business hours into account, using multiple SLA types, re-qualifying leads, or other specifications. If this is the case, you’ll need to use custom development or an additional tool.

    How will an SLA help me?

    Configuring an SLA in Salesforce enables you to do a few key activities:

    • Send reminder emails to and create tasks for SDRs, prompting the actions you want to incentivize
    • Reassign leads automatically if follow up doesn’t happen within the SLA time frame. (For example, if the lead sits with one rep for 24 hours with no activity, it can automatically be assigned to another rep and the SLA begins again.)
    • Monitor SLAs via a dashboard or report—managers can accurately track several aspects of team and individual performance in real time
    • Report on key metrics like number of open SLAs, how quickly your sales reps are responding to leads, and more

    Ultimately, setting up an SLA will help avoid confusion and increase your conversion rates. And choosing a tool with the right customization options can help get it off the ground.

    Want more tips on doing effective ABM in Salesforce? Download our new e-guide.

    Unlock Salesforce to Unlock Revenue
    with Lead-to-Account Matching & Routing

    Learn More

  • 4 Tips for Managing Your Account-Based Ownership Model

    4 Tips for Managing Your Account-Based Ownership Model

    With the arrival of account-based sales and marketing strategies, the ownership model in Salesforce is no longer as simple as it once was. Different teams and individuals are responsible for the same information as it moves through your system, and the hand-off points for important data are numerous.

    Even with data to define a fit model, account intent, and lead-to-account matching, your ownership model needs to work at scale. Otherwise, you’ll have to manage ownership manually.

    An effective ownership model makes it clear who is responsible for a lead when it comes in the door, and holds reps accountable for following up. Here are 4 key ways to make this happen when you’re starting out with account-based strategies.

    1. Look at the whole picture.

    Being account-based means critical account data is spread across leads, contacts, and accounts, with different owners at different stages of the life cycle. Sit down and map out the whole cycle to build a well-thought-out model. In this process, consider what rules, processes, and automation will make the cycle fast and efficient.

    2. Pick an ownership model that aligns with your business needs.

    While account-based work often begins with marketing, the outcome depends on sales picking up what marketing is putting down. Given your company structure, what kind of ownership model will ensure that sales quickly follows up on leads? Consider an internal SDR team that reports to marketing, and/or creating an SLA with sales to ensure clear assignment rules and timely follow up.

    3. Consider segmentation and automation for your assignment flow.

    You’ve worked hard to generate quality leads, but what happens to the leads that aren’t matched to target accounts? To avoid losing them, you’ll need to ensure that you have a plan for assigning these records. Processes like regional segmentation and automated round robin assignment can help handle unmatched leads.

    4. Be proactive in considering how ownership might change.

    Team changes will inevitably happen: people will go on vacation, switch departments, get promoted, and leave the company. In order to avoid losing leads, make sure you have a plan in place to quickly handle re-assignment.

    What changes will you make to ensure your ownership model runs smoothly?

    FEATURED RESOURCE

    Data Management for Account-Based Sales

    Learn More

  • Tips for Reporting on ABM Metrics in Salesforce

    Tips for Reporting on ABM Metrics in Salesforce

    There’s no question that ABM adds complexity to your Salesforce processes, and reporting on ABM metrics is no exception. But with just a bit of customization, it’s actually quite simple to report across Salesforce objects and get the ABM metrics you need.

    Build these three custom reports in Salesforce, and you’ll gain insight into the effectiveness of your ABM strategy with just a few simple tweaks.

    1. Account with Campaign Reports

      Account with campaign reports are possible with a process builder automation to populate the account lookup field on a campaign member. This report type is useful for metrics like multi-touch attribution before an account qualified date, number of campaigns interacted with by an account prior to a given date, or the number of touchpoints on an account before a particular event.[br][br]Using this free rollup wizard tool will allow you to create a range of attribution reports based on campaign actions—including multi-touch, last touch, and first touch attribution reports.

    2. Accounts with Meeting Information

      If you’re logging meetings on both leads and contacts, lead–to-account matching will allow you to bridge the gap and generate account-based reports within your activities. Then you can see what specific activities are happening at an account level, and break this down to look at how much of any activity type is occurring on a given account. This report type can give you the big picture on which accounts are being worked most, which aren’t being worked enough, and the breakdown of activities on these accounts.

    3. Campaigns with Activity Reports

      With a bit of automation relating a task or event to its most recent campaign, you can create campaign with activity reports. This will give you detailed insight into follow-up activity on key campaigns. For example, following a high-touch ABM campaign you could report on the number of touch points that have happened on a to the contacts that were part of the campaign.

    Final Tips

    No matter what kind of ABM-style reports you’re hoping to create, keep in mind that the earlier in the cycle you create the account record, the more data you’ll have available to report on. And finally, don’t forget to look into the standard reporting functionality you already have in Salesforce before building or investing in complex new systems. You probably already have a lot of what you need.

    Want to learn more about measuring ABM in Salesforce? Check out our on-demand webinar, “Get Salesforce ABM Ready.”

    FEATURED DOWNLOAD

    ABM Metrics 101

    Learn More