2. Getting your data into Salesforce.com
• What is the process?
– Understanding and exporting data from source systems
– Consolidating data
– Cleaning and organizing the data
– Importing
– Check and validate data
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3. Profiling/Exporting Data from Source Systems
• Pain points
– Data in various systems
– Can involve multiple people/departments
– Process can be time consuming
• Key Questions
– What are the sources of data?
– Who is going to use the data?
– What data is relevant moving forward?
– Will any custom fields need to be added?
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4. Profiling/Exporting Data from Source Systems
• Solutions
– Plan and prepare
– Communicate to others what you are planning to do with the
information
– Build templates for others to use
– Conduct as few exports as possible
– Understand the business needs and processes
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5. Consolidating Data
• Pain points
– Multiple files
– Many different file formats/layouts
– Possible variations in field names
– Data formats could vary from file to file
• Key Questions
– Has all the data been gathered?
– Are field formats consistent?
– Does each file contain all the required information/data points?
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6. Consolidating Data
• Solutions
– Have teams return files rather than individuals
– Enforce the use of templates
– Communicate the importance of the process
– Get management on board
– Remove any irrelevant fields
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7. Clean the Data
• Pain points
– Not an easy process
– Can be time consuming
– Maintaining consistency across record types
– Determining which information is correct
• Key Questions
– Have all the duplicates been removed?
– Are naming conventions consistent?
– Is the data complete?
– What defines a winning record in the case of duplication?
– Has the owner for each record been identified?
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8. Clean the Data
• Solutions
– Use a data management tool if available
– Develop and agree on rules that determine what stays and what
goes
– Work with the people that are closest to the data
– Conduct data quality analysis
– Check for missing data and fill in where possible
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9. Import
• Pain Points
– Can seem overwhelming
– There are many different parts that need to end up matching
correctly
– Making sure data is loaded in the correct order
• Key Questions
– Have the import file fields been mapped to fields in Salesforce.com?
– Is the order of import defined?
– Are test batches ready to import?
– Is a process laid out for loading related items?
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10. Import
• Solutions
– Take a step back and review all the information
– Map out a relational diagram and start from the top
– Use a data management tool if available
– Import a small test batch to verify the process is working
– Make any adjustments to the import file before importing the
complete file
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11. Check and Validate
• Pain Points
– The reality check
– Time consuming
• Key Questions
– Have data quality reports been built?
– Are all the relevant data points accounted for?
– How do the reports in Salesforce compare to the source data?
– Do any changes need to be made?
– Have key stakeholders approved of the information?
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12. Check and Validate
• Solutions
– Build reports and test summaries
– Work with others that understand the data and can offer possible
explanations for any variations
– Make sure key stakeholders sign-off
– Save back-up copies of original data
– Don’t worry, it can be cleaned-up if need be
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13. Lessons Learned
• Do your research ahead of time
• Gain a deep understanding of the data and how everything
is related
• Communicate the process with both users and management
• Set firm dates and schedule (build in some flexibility)
• Ask for help if you need it
• Remember that everything can be corrected
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14. Resources
• Salesforce.com Learning Center
– 5 steps to getting your data into Salesforce CRM
– Salesforce CRM Getting Started Guide
– 5 steps to a successful implementation
– Apex Data Loader user guide
• Our Salesforce.com user group
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