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Implementation Partner Selection Assessment Tool

게시 일자: Aug 22, 2025
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If you've done this before and want to just start the assessment, jump right to the 'Questions to Consider' section of this document. If you've never completed a partner assessment, start here.
  1. Define the scope of what you want the partner to do, in your own words. This should align to the goals, objectives and business outcomes you discuss with the Salesforce Account team, as well as the licenses you purchase.
  2. Define what your team will take on (e.g., training, data cleansing and/or migration, etc.) and discuss this with the partner. Understand what the partner expects from your team in terms of resources, time commitment and response times. Understand how the partner helps you mitigate any risks.
  3. Assess your team's knowledge, experience, maturity and availability. Be realistic. Does your team have previous experience with Salesforce? Are there other projects that will compete for time with shared resources, such as IT? Having an honest assessment up front of what you can and can't take on will help you get what you need out of your partner.
Once you've met with and gathered information from the partners during the initial introductory meeting, discovery sessions, and review of Implementation Proposals or Statements of Work (SOW), use the Assessment tool to begin the evaluation process. The interactions with the partner, as well as the information provided to you, informs the weighting and ratings.

During the meetings, especially the Implementation Proposal and/or SOW review, make sure you are asking questions of the partner to make sure you're on the same page. ALL questions are good. If you think the partner is using the same word or words differently, make sure you understand the partner and the partner understands you.

In addition to the meetings with the partner, check out the partners - rating, projects completed, certified professional, partner tier, and reported level of expertise and certifications by Cloud. This is available on the Consulting Partner page of the AppExchange.

Note: The partner selection criteria for your project is dependent on the size, complexity and risk of the project, as well as the knowledge and experience of the resources you have available for the project.

A successful relationship is not just about finding a good partner.
It is also about being a good one.
 
솔루션

 

Partner Evaluation Process

  1. Decide who will evaluate.
  2. Decide how you will evaluate.
  3. Complete the evaluation.

 

Decide Who Evaluates Implementation Partners

As early as possible, determine how the partner selection process works for your organization. Depending on the size of your organization and project, as well as the project's risk and complexity, you could have 1 person or a committee created. Once you've determined who will be meeting, assessing and choosing the partner, you're ready to define and agree the partner selection criteria.


Decide How You Evaluate Implementation Partners

Conducting an objective assessment is the best way to select the right partner. Before you begin your assessment, you and your team should agree on the criteria to use and the importance (weighting) of each to the success of your project. The potential assessment criteria and questions to consider are outlined below. Following the questions to consider, we discuss what you should understand about each partner and their approach to the project.


Questions to Consider

Here are some questions to ask potential partners for the assessment.
 

Criteria

Questions to Ask

Track Record of Success
- Describe a similar project and the results you achieved?
- Can you provide case studies?
- Can you provide customer references?
- Describe for me a project that did not go well and how you re-aligned and were successful?
Technical Skills- What technical skill set, including certifications, does your team offer for my project?
Industry and Solution Expertise- What is your experience in “X” industry?
- How many similar deployments have you done in "X" industry?
Company Knowledge- Have you worked with my company before?
Local and/or Global Presence- Will partner resources be on-site, remote, or a both?
Culture Fit- How would you describe your company’s culture?
Business Transformation- How have you helped other customers with similar goals?
- What are the obstacles faced with this type of business transformation?
- How did you overcome those obstacles?
Training Capability
- Can you deliver training to our admins?
- Can you deliver training to our users?
Delivery Model- What delivery methodology do you use?
Resource Availability and Competency
- What is the lead time required for staffing the project?
- Will certified resources be assigned for the duration of the project?
- What is your confidence level that the same project members will see the project through to completion?
- How many similar projects have the resources completed successfully?
Partner Expectations of Customer- What resources do you need from us?
- What is the time commitment you will need from our team?
- How much access from my subject matter experts (SMEs) do you need?



What You Need to Understand

 

Criteria

What You Want from your Partner

Track Record of SuccessYou want to make sure that all of the products (Clouds) you have/are purchasing from Salesforce have been previously implemented by the partner. If they do not have experience with the products, they need to provide a plan to mitigate any risks and you need to agree to the plan.
Technical SkillsYou want a partner who uses out-of-the-box configuration, as much as possible, to support your business processes. You want to understand how they work with you to ensure you understand the benefits of out-of-the-box in addressing your goals, objectives and pain points. This should help you avoid un-needed customizations, protect the technical integrity of your solution, and provide faster time to value for you. It also ensures you can take advantage of the future releases of the products you have purchased.

Note: This applies to Salesforce products that provide declarative coding for configuration.
Industry and Solution ExpertiseYou want the partner to demonstrate that they know your industry and have experience deploying the solution.
Company KnowledgeYou want a partner who knows your company, the business areas impacted and/or has good relationships with your Business and IT stakeholders. If they do have a relationship, you want to understand if they are well thought of by those who have worked with them.
Local and/or Global PresenceYou want to understand where the partner is located (local, regional, national, global) and where the resources will reside during the project (e.g., on-site, remote or both). If you have expectations that the partner will have a resource on-site, understand where the resource is located and plan for any travel expenses. Having the right partner with the right skill set vs. a local partner with the wrong skill set is less expensive in the long run.
Culture FitYou want to understand if the partner has same or similar values and work culture. You want to make sure the partner has an understanding of your culture and what is required to work effectively with you.
Business TransformationYou want to ensure the partner demonstrates their understanding of the business value you are trying to drive, the technical solution to enable the transformation, as well as the impact on the people and processes that will be touched as part of this transformation. You want to understand how they have worked with other customers to truly transform their businesses through a people and process lens.
Training CapabilityYou understand the partner's training methodology and approach and can align it to your training requirements to drive the required behavior and process changes. You understand the partner's point of view on what is required to drive change, and if they have identified any risks with your project.
Delivery ModelYou clearly understand how the partner will manage the project and the phases they'll use to build and deploy the solution.
Resource Availability and CompetencyYou have commitment from the partner that certified, experienced consultants for the Salesforce products, as well as any third party products that are part of your solution, will be assigned for the duration of the project. You understand the lead time to staff the project and if it aligns to your targeted go live date.
Partner Expectations of CustomerYou understand, from the partner, the resources expected from your team, as well as timing, time commitments and responsibilities.
 

Implementation Partner Assessment Template

During the assessment, rate each of the partners High (3), Medium (2) or Low (1) for each of your chosen criteria based on your interactions, presentations, proposals, Statements of Work and references provided. A sample of the tool is shown below. The tool is available in a file attached to this article. 

Criteria

Weighting

Partner 1

Partner 2

Partner 3

Track Record of Success4   
Technical Skills4   
Industry and Solution Expertise2   
Company Knowledge3   
Local and/or Global Presence2   
Culture Fit3   
Business Transformation2   
Training Capability4   
Delivery Model2   
Resource Availability and Competency4   
Partner Expectations of Customer4   
Weighted Score    


Note: When you use this template, make sure the criteria and weighting reflects what you or your evaluation committee have agreed. The weighting is a customer decision. Weighting based on low 1 to high 5.
 

Example of a Completed Assessment

Criteria

Weighting

Partner 1

Partner 2

Partner 3

Track Record of Success4HLH
Technical Skills4HMH
Industry and Solution Expertise2HMH
Company Knowledge3LHL
Local and/or Global Presence2HMM
Culture Fit3MHM
Business Transformation2MMM
Training Capability4HLM
Delivery Model2HHH
Resource Availability and Competency4HMM
Partner Expectations of Customer4HMH
Weighted Score 916881


Resources

Below are additional resources for reviewing and choosing an implementation partner for your organization.
 
Knowledge 기사 번호

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첨부 파일

Partner Selection Assessment Tool.xlsx

55 KB

 
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