In this episode of “How I Solved It” on Salesforce+, #AwesomeAdmin Brittanee Charles solves a disconnected sales process using custom objects, Flow, and App Builder. Learn how she approached building her solution and her tips for developing admin skills.
We had two different sales processes in our organization: land sales and home sales. Each process was complex, yet related. Everything starts with buying a piece of land, then building the home on that land, and finally selling the home. As anyone who has ever experienced a part of any of these steps knows, there’s a lot of complexity involved in each stage of the process. Our teams were having a hard time connecting the data from each of these processes across the organization, and there were lots of manual data entry points, which led to risks of user error.
Well, cue the #AwesomeAdmin theme song, because as an #AwesomeAdmin, I came to the rescue! I built a solution with a few custom objects for property, home listing, and interested buyers; used those custom objects to build some automations with Flow; and then created some super user-friendly pages using App Builder. The app I built handles land and home sales in a connected and streamlined way that exudes #AwesomeAdmin style.
You can see the full solution in action by watching my episode, but while you’re here, I’ll share how I approached the problem using a few of my favorite skills from the Salesforce Admin Skills Kit: process automation, designer’s mindset, and attention to detail.
Automation is the ultimate #AwesomeAdmin skill, in my opinion. The ability to eliminate manual, repetitive tasks and streamline processes makes everything easier and everyone happier. In building this solution, I knew that if I could get rid of human error in data entry wherever possible, I’d be able to save my users time and save the company from wasting resources. That’s why I used Flow to handle many of the formerly manual data entry tasks. One bonus of automation? You can create standardization across the organization, making sure data is in the same format. And, I have to say it, automating enables everyone to be more efficient with their time. Spend more time doing the harder tasks and less time doing the mundane. It’s a smart way to make solutions scalable and your organization more productive.
While process automation might be the most powerful #AwesomeAdmin skill, designer’s mindset might be the most underrated. When I was building this solution, I was constantly seeking input from my users to make sure I was building something they would actually use. I spent a lot of time making sure they could use my solution intuitively—without having to think too much—which meant they would want to use it. Your best (Salesforce) friend in designing human-centered solutions is Lightning Pages. Using Lightning Page components allows you to design experiences for your users that are simple, customized, and performant. In my solution, I put related list and flow screen components right onto the opportunity page so that my users didn’t have to leave their familiar territory or make extra clicks to get their work done.
As they say, it’s all in the details! My solution worked only because I paid very close attention to all the details of these complex sales processes. I tested, tested, and retested everything multiple times to make sure it worked. Especially when you’re dealing with data, it’s critical that you pay attention to the details: How many data entry points are there? When exactly do things need to be updated? Who uses which data when and how? When you migrate data between processes and systems, you need to make sure you include all the necessary components for making sure it’s successful.
Make sure you check out my episode and the rest of “How I Solved It” on Salesforce+!
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