Many Ask: How Much Does Salesforce Cost, Or Why Is Salesforce So Expensive? CloudArc Helps You Save!

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How much does Salesforce cost, or Why is Salesforce so expensive? Let’s explore how CloudArc can help you save!

Many businesses in the market for a CRM like the features and functionality of Salesforce but hesitate due to the expense associated with the licenses, consulting, and service provision that are often part of the standard technology bundle. It’s true that the features in Salesforce “out-of-the-box” are powerful and help a business accomplish its goals. What businesses should consider before dismissing the CRM as an option due to Salesforce cost is a different model to acquire technology that can promote savings and improve outcomes for users.

For businesses wondering why Salesforce is expensive, there is a simpler, less costly license available that can also reduce service and consulting fees.

Most businesses don’t know anything about Salesforce Platform or how to acquire it through an independent Salesforce partner. Salesforce reps usually won’t tell prospective customers about Platform because its license cost is much less than what is charged for Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, or other Salesforce offerings. With lower margins, there is less profit to make off of Platform making it harder for reps to meet quarterly sales goals.

However, independent Salesforce partners and consultants like CloudArc make it our business to encourage Salesforce Platform for customers.

It’s amazing how much functionality exists in Platform to enable businesses to accomplish their goals at a fraction of the cost of Sales Cloud or Service Cloud.

Platform is a great place to start for most businesses to really help them understand how their People, Process,and Technology need to integrate to optimize their implementation of Salesforce.

The significantly reduced cost of Salesforce Platform decreases risk for businesses as they can much more readily unlock significant return on investment for their allocation of resources for Salesforce CRM.

Even if your business already has Sales Cloud or Service Cloud, we can help you find a better pathway to optimize Salesforce implementation using Platform or through the Salesforce Outsourced Partner (OSP) program. Opting to license Salesforce Platform is a simple way to reduce Salesforce cost without losing core functionality.

But how does a license for Salesforce Platform reduce consulting and service costs?

Let’s take a closer look at how to reduce consulting costs first. Working with Salesforce direct and their hand-picked consultants incentivizes the consultants to charge more for complicated configurations and advanced customizations that align with the rep’s emphasis on costlier licenses. At CloudArc, we take the approach of advocating for the customer. Our simple approach of recommending Platform as the starting point saves you license and consulting costs. While you still may require consulting assistance from us, we believe the cost will be less than it would otherwise be for a more costly license that necessitates complex configuration and customization. If at some point in the future, you decide you need more features in Salesforce or even need to transition to Sales Cloud or Service Cloud, we can help you with that as well.

As a Salesforce OSP partner we have the ability to transition you to different offerings in the Salesforce catalog. Nevertheless, our starting point is the recommendation of Platform because of its robust functionality and reasonable cost. It’s such a great resource for businesses needing key features in Salesforce but at a lower price point.

So what about reducing service costs to help manage and reduce Salesforce cost?

What many businesses don’t know is that when you sign up for Salesforce licenses through a direct rep, they typically push businesses to also subscribe to the premium support option. This usually translates to a cost of almost 30% of the total license value a business pays that is in addition to license and consulting expenditures. At CloudArc, we find that our clients generally don’t need or use that much support – especially if they are adhering to a simple structure that elegantly aligns their People, Process, and Technology. Keeping your Salesforce org running smoothly may require some support but a contract that is 30% of the total value of the licenses you purchase is costly and generally not needed. This is especially true if you have an internal Salesforce admin supporting your team.

Even if you don’t have an internal Salesforce admin, a much simpler and less costly path to support your Salesforce instance and users is easily obtained with a much less expensive support model based on a prescribed number of hours per month for which you are billed. Solutions we deliver to you and your users are devised by a combination of onshore and offshore resources to ensure you receive the most robust solutions at a very reasonable cost.

If the price of Platform still gives you pause, let’s look a bit more closely at what you get with Salesforce Platform offered through CloudArc that stands out among CRM offerings.

Salesforce is easily configurable and customizable which can make all the difference for integrating information from your other systems (e.g., your enterprise resource management system, your order management system, etc.) It’s very easy to add one or two custom objects to your Salesforce org to align with your People, Process and Technology and facilitate ease of use for your team. These extra objects, as well as the ease with which users can adopt Salesforce out-of-the-box functionality will provide you with a CRM solution that immediately generates return on investment.

If you have an issue with your Salesforce instance that necessitates rapid support from the CloudArc team, you will receive very quick answers to your questions. Within two hours, CloudArc will reply to your inquiry about an estimated time to fix the problem. Our development team addresses most problems within eight hours. We are able to offer this rapid turnaround because our offshore team begins working to solve your problems when business hours for the US are over for the day. As a result, you will get an answer very quickly to keep your business running smoothly.

Training is another reason why Salesforce Platform provisioned by CloudArc stands out as a technology solution.

Every one of our customers has access to customized training for their business and Salesforce org that is available on demand for viewing at any time. We post these videos in your Training Tab within your Salesforce org. Therefore, new and seasoned users can listen to training content as needed to optimize their adoption of Salesforce.

Salesforce Platform provisioned through an independent partner like CloudArc can reduce Salesforce cost

Finally, Salesforce Platform provisioned through an independent partner like CloudArc can reduce Salesforce cost by increasing your return on investment and team productivity through the use of customized reports and dashboards. CloudArc will work with your team to identify which reports and dashboards are needed for users, managers, and executives. Depending on an individual’s role in a business, the work they need to monitor varies. As a result, specific reports and dashboards to track items within their scope of responsibility are vital to provide data to track outcomes and inform behavior. These data help stakeholders understand what is working well as well as where improvement or even additional training may be needed. With this information in hand, businesses are able to pinpoint what changes or enhancements they need to help their business reach its goals.

Ultimately, the value of Salesforce provided through CloudArc makes the cost of Salesforce much more manageable.

We are very transparent about what you receive for your investment with us. Furthermore, starting with Salesforce Platform or even transitioning via the OSP program will help your business reduce costs and minimize risk by more efficient allocation of license, consulting, and support costs. In the end, Salesforce stands out as the leader in providing value for organizations to help with streamlining processes, improving customer relationships, and promoting return on investment. If you would like to learn more about the CloudArc approach to Salesforce licensing, consulting, and support, check out one of our webinars or schedule a meeting with us. We look forward to hearing from you.