Solution Design is the largest portion of this Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant certification exam,  which constitutes 21% of total score in entire exam. The topics include designing sales process, lead conversion, implementation considerations, Enterprise Territory Management, Sales Cloud Einstein and etc. There's a lot to cover, so let's get into it!

NOTE: This post is written in April 2020 and content might be changed/updated overtime. The content is inspired by focusonforce.com.

Guideline for Solution Design

  • Given a set of requirements, design an end-to-end sales process from lead to opportunity to quote to close to order.
  • Given a scenario, analyze customer requirements to determine an appropriate solution design considering capabilities, limitations, and design trade-offs.
  • Given a scenario, identify an appropriate approach when designing the lead conversion process.
  • Describe the implementation considerations when designing a sales process. (validation rules, automation, record types, page layouts, and triggers).
  • Given a scenario, determine when it is appropriate to include custom application development or a third-party application.
  • Describe the appropriate use cases for Account and Opportunity Teams and the effect on sales roles, visibility, access, and reporting.
  • Explain the capabilities and use cases for Enterprise Territory Management.
  • Explain the capabilities, use cases, and design considerations when implementing Orders.
  • Explain the capabilities, use cases, and design considerations of Salesforce mobile applications pertinent to the sales process.
  • Explain the capabilities and use cases for Sales Cloud Einstein as it relates to the sales process.

End-to-End Sales Process

  • Lead Management
    • Lead generation through marketing campaigns
    • convert Lead to Account, Contact and Opportunity
  • Account Management
    • use Account to store information about customers and individuals
    • use Business Account to store information about companies, use Person Account to store information about individual customers
    • add or update with 3rd party data using Lightning Data
    • create opportunity from Account Standard button or Related List
  • Contact Management
    • use contact to store information about the person associated with the account
    • use Contact Roles (picklist) to specify the role of contact in an Account (Classic only), Opportunity, Contract or Case
      contact-roles
    • create Contact from Account Related List
  • Opportunity Management
    • create opportunity from existing Account or converting a qualified Lead
    • use Opportunity Stage to keep track of progress and set Probability for each stage
    • create new Sales Process in Setup > Sales Processes:
      sales-process
    • Sales Process can be set for each record type of Opportunity
      opportunity-sales-process
  • Product and Price Book Management
    • create Products associated with Price Books and set List Price
    • Price Book and Products and be selected in Opportunity Related List
    • a Product must have a standard active price added to the Price Book
  • Quote Management
    • create Quote from Opportunity and sync the items with Opportunity
    • a Quote that is synced with Opportunity causes any change to line items in the Quote to sync with the products on the Opportunity, and vice versa.
    • create Quote PDF and email to customers
    • use Quote Template to customize the Quote PDF
    • use Salesforce CPQ for more advanced Quote and Order management.
  • Contract Management
    • Contract is written agreements between a company and its customers
    • use Contract to establish and document contracts with accounts
    • set Contract status to Activated to indicate that it is in effect
    • Contract can be created for an Account or Order
  • Order Management
    • Order is an agreement between a company and a customer to provide services or deliver products with a known quantity, price and date
    • place an Order once an opportunity is set to Closed Won
    • an order must be associated with an Account and Contract but contract can be made optional or remove altogether in Order Page Layout
    • create Order from Contract or Account Related List
    • Order Product can be added to an Order prior order activation (once activated, you cannot add new Product but you can still edit the existing one).
      order-status-add-product

Requirement Analysis and Solution Design

  • Requirement Elicitation
    • Customer's pain points are identified and requirements are gathered in requirement workshops.
    • Early and frequent communication is essential to gain buy-in from the customer and ensure success of the project.
  • Gap Analysis
    • Gap between existing and desired business processes is identified while analyzing requirements.
    • "As-Is" and "To-Be" business processes may be analyzed in order to define requirements accurately
      • "As-Is" business process defines the current state of the system
      • "To-Be" business process defines the desired state of the system
  • Requirement Prioritization, Categorization and Scope
    • Requirement Prioritization - prioritized according to level of urgency (high, medium and low)
    • Requirement Categorization - classified based on system capability (data, security, business process, reporting and etc.)
    • Requirement Scope - work that is needed to be performed (in-scope or out-of-scope)
  • Solution Design
    • Solution Design Document outlines system specifications, based on which solutions are built
    • Solutions are developed both declaratively or programmatically.

Lead Conversion

Lead Conversion Process

  • Create Leads to identify potential customer or business.
  • Set Lead to Qualified if they meet the criteria based on company's business process.
  • Convert Lead into Account, Contact and Opportunity and continue work on Opportunity to close the deal.

Lead Conversion Options

convert-lead

  • Create Opportunity during Lead Conversion is optional.
  • Choose Existing Contact or Account record if it already exists.
  • Duplicate Rules can also set up in Duplicate Management to prevent duplicate accounts and contacts from being created when lead is converted.
  • NOTE: during lead conversion, if existing accounts and contacts share the name specified on the lead, one can choose to update the existing accounts and contacts (only the empty field will be updated automatically, the current field values are not overwritten)
  • It is possible to associate Contact that is not directly associated to the Account if Contacts to Multiple Accounts is enabled (find in Setup > Account Settings).
    account-settings-contacts-to-multiple-accounts
  • Specify new owner for the new converted records.

Lead Conversion Miscellaneous

  • If Person Account is enabled and the company field on Lead has value, then a Business Account, Contact and Opportunity are created when converting Lead.

  • If Person Account is enabled and the company field on Lead is empty, then a Person Account and Opportunity are created when converting Lead.

  • Data in standard Lead fields are automatically mapped to Account, Contact and Opportunity fields.

  • Standard Lead Conversion field mapping can be found here.

  • Custom Lead fields can be mapped to custom fields on Account, Contact and Opportunity as well.

    • Navigate to Setup > Object Manager > Lead > Fields & Relationships > Map Lead Fields
      map-lead-fields

  • If Existing Account or Contact is chosen, the mapped data field will not be overwritten when converting Leads.

  • If fiscal year in Salesforce is Standard, the Close Date for Opportunity is assigned to the last day of current fiscal quarter.
    standard-fiscal-year

  • If it is Custom, the Close Date will be assigned to last day of current fiscal period.
    custom-fiscal-year

  • Lead conversion process cannot be reverted.

  • Once Lead is converted, it can no longer be viewed or edited unless the user has "View and Edit Converted Leads" permission.

    • NOTE: Even if you have this permission, you still cannot filter it in the Lead List View. If will only appear in Recently Viewed List View.
    • NOTE: Even if you modify the Lead to other status, the Lead is still Converted.

  • However, Converted Lead can be viewed in Leads with converted lead information report.

  • After Lead is converted:

    • the Campaign Members are moved to the new contact
    • all open and closed Activities will be attached to converted Account, Contact and Opportunity, but only open activities are assigned to the new owner

  • Lead cannot be converted if it has pending Workflow Action or Active Approval Process.

  • Lead Conversion Settings:

    • Require Validation for Converted Leads - Validation Rules, Workflow Actions, and Apex Triggers can be enforced
    • Preserve Lead Status - prevent lead status from being changed
    • Enable Conversions for Salesforce Mobile
    • Hide Opportunity Section of Convert Lead Window
    • Select "Don't create an opportunity" by Default in Convert Lead Window
    • Create a Task During Lead Conversion when Subject is Blank
      lead-settings

  • When a lead is converted, the most recent campaign it was a member of is saved in the Primary Campaign Source field in Opportunity.

    • NOTE: this may not be accurate as the primary campaign source may have been an earlier campaign.
    • If the contact is added to the lead but was not created on conversion, the primary campaign source can take the most recent campaign from the contact.
    • If an opportunity is manually created, the primary campaign source field is not populated and must be selected by the user.

  • When a lead is converted, the Account, Contact and Opportunity will automatically followed by Chatter post (but only if new record is created, choose existing won't see the post).
    convert-lead-to-contact

  • If Campaign Influence is enabled, when a contact is automatically assigned, those campaigns that the contact is a member of are also included in the campaign influence list, along with any other campaigns the lead was a member of.

Account & Opportunity Teams

Find out more about Account & Opportunity Teams.

Enterprise Territory Management

Find more about Enterprise Territory Management, Territory Forecast and Territory Sharing.

Order Management

  • Order is an agreement between a customer and a customer to deliver products or provide services with a known quantity, price and date.

  • Order must be associated with an Account, optionally with Contract.

  • Contract is usually used as a reference for an Order when a company requires the customers to commit a service for a certain period of time or product delivery.

  • Enable Order in Setup > Order Settings:

    • Enable Orders
    • Enable Reduction Orders - allow users to process product returns, service reductions, and service cancellation
      • NOTE: not all features needed to reduce order is available in Salesforce Lightning.
      • NOTE: only activated orders can be reduced.
    • Enable Negative Quantity - allow users to add order products with negative quantities
    • Enable Zero Quantity - allow users to add order products with zero quantities
      order-settings

  • Create and Clone Order

    • User can create an Order from Orders tab or Orders Related List from Account.
    • Order by default can be associated with Account, Contact, Opportunity, Quote and Contract.
    • An Order can be cloned but products are not cloned in Salesforce Lightning. However in Salesforce Classic, cloning an order will also clone the products.
    • When an Order is Activated, it cannot be cloned as an Activated Order's status cannot be edited.
      cannot-clone-order
    • When an Order with products is cloned, the new order's currency or price book cannot be changed in Salesforce Classic.

  • Activated Order can be reduced by clicking Reduce Order button. This button will only appear if the order status is Activated.

  • Reduction Order cannot be created from Reduction Order Related List in Salesforce Classic, Salesforce Lightning, however it can be created with 'Reduce Order' button.

  • NOTE: create Reduction Order Product is unavailable in Salesforce Lightning.

  • Steps to create Reduction Order in Salesforce Classic:

    1. Click Reduce Order button on Order page to create Reduction Order
      create-new-reduction-order
    2. Click Select Products to Reduce from Order Products Related List:
      add-reduction-order-products
      • NOTE: you will get an error if you specify the quantity to be positive or smaller than the negative of the order item's quantity. You are also not allowed to modify the product price as it is inherited from the original order product. Account name also cannot be changed on Reduction Order.
      • NOTE: this item screen is very smart to know if you have any product that is available for reduction (if you have multiple Reduction Order).
    3. Find out reduction on the Order Products and activate the Reduction Order:
      order-products-reduction-related-list

  • Some Order Management Considerations:

    • Account field on the Order cannot be changed if:
      • the Order is Activated
      • the Order is Reduction Order
      • the Order has associated with Reduction Order
    • Price book cannot be changed or removed once it is assigned
    • Order End Date cannot be earlier than Start Date
    • Order End Date cannot be edited when it is associated with Reduction Order, unless the user has 'Edit Activated Order' permission
    • 'Edit Activated Order' permission also allows edit on Order products of an Activated Order or Reduction Order, and also access to 'Deactivate' button to change order status from Activated to Draft.
    • You can't deactivate the order until you delete its Reduction Orders
    • If Order is associated with Contract:
      • Contract must be Activated in order to activate the Order
      • Order End Date can't be earlier than the Contract's Start Date
      • Order End Date can't be later than its Contract's End Date
      • Order Start Date can't be earlier than the Contract's Start Date
      • Order Start Date can't be later than its Contract's End Date
    • The status field on Order or Reduction Order is not editable in Salesforce Classic. When user click 'Activate' button, the status field is changed from Draft to Activated.
    • The status must always require 'Draft' and 'Activated' picklist values, the administrator can add additional values into status picklist.

Salesforce Mobile App

  • Setup > Notification Delivery Settings can be utilized to ensure certain type of Chatter notifications appears on the Salesforce App:
    notification-delivery-settings
  • Push Notification Settings can also be set on the native mobile app (Android or IOS):
    push-notification-mobile-app
  • For the email notification, the user can set it on their personal user profile:
    chatter-email-settings

Sales Cloud Einstein

  • Sales Cloud Einstein is a new Salesforce product that is available for an extra cost in Enterprise and Unlimited editions.

Einstein Activity Capture

  • Einstein Activity Capture allows sales reps to keep their email and calendar applications in sync with Salesforce.
  • Einstein Activity Capture captures emails and events from Microsoft or Google account and add them to the activity timeline of related Salesforce records, such as Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Quote and etc.
  • It can also capture and sync Contact and Event between Google/Microsoft accounts and Salesforce.
  • 'Sales Cloud' License or 'Standard Einstein Activity Capture' Permission is needed to use Einstein Activity Capture feature.
  • Email Capture can be disabled for the user's configuration.

Einstein Insights

  • Einstein Insights provides relevant updates and follow-up reminders to sales reps, helping them to win opportunities and nurture relationships with accounts.
  • Einstein Account Insights:
    • display news-related insights, such as whether the account is expanding or changing its company leadership (display up to 3 news articles that come from English news sources)
    • on account record page, insights are based on account's key fields, such as Account Name, Website and etc.
    • on home page, insights are based on the accounts owned by current user, the accounts they follow, and the accounts they are on account team member of.
    • insights can be emailed and shared with others from the home page
  • Einstein Opportunity Insights:
    • displays deal predictions, follow-up reminders, and key moments related to opportunities
      • deal predictions are based on recent activity and existing opportunity data
      • follow-up reminders are shown when a contact hasn't responded or there hasn't been any communication in a while
    • on opportunity record page, insights are based on the opportunity detail
    • on home page, insights are based on opportunities owned by current user

Einstein Automated Contacts

  • Einstein Automated Contacts suggests new contacts and opportunity contact roles or add them automatically by analyzing email and event activity.
  • Example of suggestions:
    • display suggestions for new contacts on home page or Account page
    • display suggestions for new opportunity contact roles on home page or Opportunity page
  • 'Added By Einstein' contact list view shows the contacts there were added by Einstein automatically.

Einstein Scoring

  • Einstein Scoring allows sales reps to prioritize leads and opportunities by scoring, helping them to prioritize their work.
  • Einstein Lead Scoring:
    • use data science and machine learning to score leads based on the company's successful conversion patterns
    • a 'Lead Score' field is added on Lead
    • all the fields of the past leads are analyzed to determine which current leads have the most in common with leads that have previously converted
    • scores are refreshed based on the reanalysis of lead data every 10 days
  • Einstein Opportunity Scoring:
    • gives each opportunity a score from 1 to 99
    • a 'Opportunity Score' field is added on Opportunity
    • score is calculated based on the information about the opportunity's owner (such as win rates), record details, history and related activities of the opportunity and related account
    • positive and negative factors that contribute to the score are displayed

Einstein Forecasting

  • Einstein Forecasting improves forecasting accuracy, obtain forecast predictions, and track sales performance.

  • User can switch from table view to graph view to view prediction trend graph with key performance indicators and filters.

  • Prediction Column

    • Prediction column shows predictions based on opportunities within the Best case and Commit forecast categories.
    • It can be added to the forecast page, which shows the median predicted amount for each team and team member based on opportunities within Best Case and Commit forecast categories.
    • One can click a value in the prediction column to view details about the prediction.

  • Prediction Details

    • A value in the prediction column can be clicked to view details about the prediction.
    • Range, breakdown, and top factors are displayed when one clicks a value in the prediction columns
    • Breakdown values include:
      • wins from existing deals
      • wins from new deals
      • pulled in opportunities

  • Prediction Trend Graph - a visualization of the predicted closing opportunities within a forecast period.

  • Prediction Summary Graph - a simplified version of the Prediction Trend Graph that provides quick summary of the prediction trend graph, it is displayed on the Home page and in the Einstein Analytics Mobile App.

Einstein Analytics

  • Einstein Analytics provides access to more advanced analytics dashboards.
  • Sales Analytics app can be used to get deeper insights into sales data.
  • The prebuilt dashboards, lenses, and datasets can be utilized for data exploration.
  • Sales users can access to Sales Analytics Home dashboard to see summarized information such as latest wins, win rate, average deal amount and etc.
  • The leader dashboard shows KPIs and specifics about quota, changes in pipeline, team trending, average sales cycle and etc.
  • Sales rep can view their quota attainment, bookings, and pipe activities for a specific period.
  • User can also view performance trends by geography, source and customer.

Well, that's all about it! It is indeed a long post, hope that helps! See ya!

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