Salesforce Setup

Overview

Salesforce is the enterprise CRM standard. It's infinitely customizable and infinitely misconfigurable. This skill covers GTM-specific Salesforce setup: object model for B2B SaaS, opportunity pipelines, lead management, Flows automation, reporting, and enrichment integration. Designed for teams that have outgrown HubSpot or require enterprise-grade customization.

Authoritative Foundations

• Salesforce Architecture — Lead/Account/Contact/Opportunity — Opportunity stages, forecasting categories, and RevOps object hygiene.
• Marc Benioff — Trust selling, land-and-expand, customer success in CRM — Trust selling, land-and-expand, customer success in CRM
• Force.com Platform — Flows, validation, reporting — Flows, validation, reporting

When to Use

• "Set up Salesforce for our sales team"
• "Configure Salesforce opportunity pipeline"
• "Set up Salesforce Flows automation"
• "Build Salesforce reports and dashboards"
• "Migrate from HubSpot to Salesforce"

Step-by-Step Process

Load crm-toolkit first — crm-selection, contacts-vs-leads (Lead vs Contact decision), salesforce-blueprint, and implementation-partners (Salesforce almost always needs SI help).

Phase 1: Object Model

Standard B2B SaaS object hierarchy: Lead → Account → Contact → Opportunity.

Contacts vs leads: Use the Lead object when SDRs qualify inbound before opportunities exist. Convert Lead → Account + Contact + (optional) Opportunity. Skip Leads only for low-volume founder-led motions — see crm-toolkit contacts-vs-leads reference. Do not mirror HubSpot lifecycle as custom Lead fields without a conversion path.

Enterprise motion: Load crm-toolkit → benioff-enterprise-playbook — land-and-expand opp structure, CS fields, trust/commitment logging on Opportunity.

Custom objects for SaaS-specific needs: Subscription (track recurring revenue), Customer Success Plan (health score, QBRs), Integration (partner tracking).

Key custom fields on Opportunity: MEDDICC dimensions (Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Champion, etc.), ICP fit score, enrichment status, lead source detail, competitors in deal.

Phase 2: Opportunity Pipeline

Sales process: Define path per record type. Standard: Prospecting → Qualification → Discovery → Demo → Proposal → Negotiation → Closed Won/Lost.

Stage requirements: Required fields per stage. Qualification: MEDDIC dimensions populated. Proposal: Amount, Close Date, Competitors. Negotiation: Decision Process documented.

Validation rules: Close Date cannot be in the past. Amount > $0. Next Step required when stage changes. Stage cannot skip forward.

Phase 3: Lead Management

Lead conversion: Lead → Account + Contact + Opportunity. Required mapping: company name → Account Name, email → Contact Email. Auto-assignment rules based on territory, deal size, or round-robin.

Web-to-Lead: Form submission creates Lead. Auto-enrich via Flow before assignment. Score leads based on ICP fit + engagement.

Phase 4: Flows Automation

Replace Process Builder and Workflow Rules with Flows (Salesforce's modern automation tool). Key Flows:

• Auto-create task when opportunity stage changes
• Alert manager when deal stalls >14 days
• Create renewal opportunity 90 days before contract end
• Enrich contact on create via external service webhook

Phase 5: Reports and Dashboards

Sales dashboards: Pipeline by stage, rep activity, forecast vs quota, win rate by source, deal velocity.

Revenue dashboards: MRR/ARR trending, churn analysis, expansion revenue, cohort retention.

Data quality dashboards: Missing required fields, stale opportunities, duplicate detection, enrichment gaps.

Phase 6: Enrichment Integration

One-direction push: External enrichment (Clay, LeadMagic) → Salesforce. Never Salesforce → enrichment platform.

Flow-triggered enrichment: Contact created → Flow calls external webhook → enrichment data writes back to Contact/Account fields.

Scheduled enrichment: Weekly batch job re-verifies emails >90 days old, refreshes firmographic data on key accounts.

Output Format

Salesforce configuration document with: object model diagram, opportunity pipeline map with validation rules, lead management flow, Flows automation catalog, dashboard specs, and enrichment integration architecture.

Quality Check

• Object model: Lead → Account → Contact → Opportunity hierarchy configured
• Opportunity stages defined with required fields and validation rules
• Lead scoring and assignment rules active
• Key Flows automating repetitive tasks
• Dashboards for sales, revenue, and data quality
• Enrichment: one-direction push, never two-way sync

Common Pitfalls

1. Over-customization before process. Custom objects and fields without a defined process create complexity without value. Design the process, then configure Salesforce to support it.

2. No validation rules. Close dates in the past, $0 opportunities, blank required fields. Validation rules enforce data quality.

3. Process Builder instead of Flows. Process Builder is deprecated. Migrate everything to Flows.

4. Lead assignment without enrichment. Routing an unenriched lead means reps waste time researching. Enrich on lead create, then assign.

5. Report sprawl. 50 reports nobody reads. Build 5-7 dashboards that answer the most important questions. Archive the rest.

Execution Artifacts

• references/framework-notes.md — named frameworks, citation anchors, and operating assumptions
• templates/output-template.md — copy-paste deliverable structure for the user
• scripts/check-output.py — local checklist validator for required sections This skill includes lightweight artifacts the agent can load on demand: Use the artifacts when the user asks for an implementation-ready deliverable, a repeatable workflow, or a quality check rather than generic advice.

Related Skills

• crm-toolkit: Selection, contacts-vs-leads, salesforce-blueprint, benioff-enterprise-playbook, partners
• crm-integration: CRM configuration principles
• pipeline-management: Deal stage design
• hubspot-setup: HubSpot alternative (no Lead object)
• attio-setup: Attio alternative (status + lists)
• hiring-agencies: SI / RevOps agency pilot