Salesforce Opportunity Teams

Imagine stepping into a world where every sales opportunity is like a unique puzzle, with its pieces scattered across the expertise and efforts of various team members. This is the world of Opportunity Teams in Salesforce, a dynamic realm where collaboration meets strategy, transforming how sales opportunities are approached and conquered. 

Picture a sales team, each member with unique skills and insights, coming together to create a tapestry of success. It is a game-changer that invites us to explore how collective strengths, when orchestrated harmoniously, can turn potential opportunities into triumphant deals.

So, in this blog, we covered:

• Salesforce Opportunity Teams and how is it different from Account Teams
• What is an Opportunity Split
• How to start using Opportunity Team 

What is an Opportunity Team in Salesforce?

Opportunity Teams are explicitly assembled for individual sales opportunities within Salesforce. They are tailored to manage and close a particular deal or sales opportunity. Members of an Opportunity Team can include a variety of roles, such as sales representatives, technical experts, or legal advisors, depending on the needs of the specific Opportunity. Each member can have a defined role and set of responsibilities related to the Opportunity. The team collaborates on a single opportunity, sharing information and tasks to move the deal forward. Salesforce allows for tracking the progress and contributions of each team member.

An Opportunity Team is different from an Account Team. An Account Team is concerned with managing a customer account, encompassing all interactions and experiences with that customer. This team is more stable and long-term, staying active as long as the account exists. It includes diverse roles, such as account managers, sales managers,  customer service representatives and others, who collectively ensure the health and development of the customer relationship. 

While Opportunity Teams are best suited for targeted, complex sales processes involving specific deals, Account Teams are ideal for nurturing long-term customer relationships and managing broad aspects of customer engagement. The distinction between these two types of teams lies in their focus, duration, roles, access to information, and ultimate objectives, making each vital in customer relationships and sales management within Salesforce.

Example

Imagine a company, “TechCorp,” using Salesforce to manage its sales processes. They have a new opportunity to sell a complex software solution to “ClientX.”

• Formation of the Opportunity Team: A unique Opportunity Team is formed within Salesforce for this specific deal. The team includes Anne (the lead sales representative), John (a technical expert), and Maria (a legal advisor).
• Roles and Collaboration: Anne leads the engagement with the client, John provides technical demonstrations and answers product-specific queries, and Maria handles contractual aspects. They collaborate closely, with Salesforce tracking their contributions and the overall progress of the Opportunity.
• Outcome: This focused approach, enabled by the structure of the Opportunity Team, allows TechCorp to address the specific needs and concerns of ClientX effectively, leading to the successful closure of the deal.

In this scenario, the Opportunity Team’s targeted and collaborative approach, facilitated by Salesforce, was crucial in securing the deal with ClientX. This demonstrates how Opportunity Teams in Salesforce can be instrumental in managing and winning specific sales opportunities.

Benefits of using Salesforce Opportunity Teams

1. Collaborative Selling:  When salespeople are part of an opportunity team, they are more likely to work together, exchange knowledge, and coordinate their efforts to close the deal. All key stakeholders should be engaged and on the same page throughout the sales process, and this cooperation helps make that happen.
2. Accountability and Transparency: Opportunity Teams make it easy to see how each team member is pitching in and what they’re up to about the Opportunity. This transparency helps monitor development, locate obstacles, and ensure team members fulfill their duties and obligations.
3. Consolidated Communication: Opportunity Teams facilitate debates, file sharing, and opportunity-related communication. Efficient cooperation and decision-making are fostered by centralizing communication, ensuring all team members can immediately access crucial conversations and information.
4. Flexibility nd Scalability: The Opportunity Teams feature is scalable and flexible, letting you add or remove team members as the sales cycle progresses. This adaptability enables you to change the team’s makeup depending on changing needs, adding new members with certain skills or letting go of those who aren’t contributing anymore.
5. Sales Performance Tracking: Using Opportunity Teams, you can monitor sales performance indicators specific to teams, like team win rates, average deal size, and time-to-close. With this information, we can better understand what works, where we can make improvements, and how to make data-driven decisions to boost sales.

Also Read – Salesforce Knowledge Management – A Detailed Guide

What is an Opportunity Split?

An Opportunity Split in Salesforce is a feature that allows you to distribute credit for a sales opportunity among team members who contribute to the deal. This feature is handy in organizations where sales efforts are collaborative and multiple individuals play a role in closing a sale.

How it Works:

• In Salesforce, when a sales opportunity is created, the revenue associated with that Opportunity can be split among the team members.
• Users can define the percentage or portion of the opportunity revenue each team member is responsible for.
• This allocation can be based on factors like effort, involvement in the deal, or the team member’s role.

Types of Splits:

Salesforce typically offers different splits, such as Revenue Splits and Overlay Splits.

• Revenue Splits allocate the actual revenue credit among team members.
• Overlay Splits are used to give credit to team members who provided support or assistance but were not directly responsible for the revenue.

How to Start Using Opportunity Teams?

Step 1: Check Your Salesforce Edition

• Confirm that your Salesforce version includes the Opportunity Teams feature. Generally, this functionality is provided in the Salesforce Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions.

Step 2: Enable Opportunity Teams

• Log in as an administrator.
• Go to Setup. In Lightning Experience, select the gear icon and choose Setup. In Salesforce Classic, you’ll find Setup at the top right.
• In Setup, search for “Opportunity Teams” in the Quick Find box.
• Select Opportunity Team Settings.
• Click on the checkbox to enable Opportunity Teams.
• Optionally, you can set a default Opportunity Team for users.

Step 3: Configure Page Layouts

• Still in Setup, customize the Opportunity page layout to include the Opportunity Team-related list.
• Visit the Object Manager and choose the Opportunity option
• Click on Page Layouts and choose the layout you want to modify.
• Drag the Opportunity Team-related list to the desired location on the page layout.
• Save your changes.

Step 4: Set Up Opportunity Team Roles (Optional)

• You can define specific roles for team members (e.g., Sales Engineer, Account Manager).
• Search for “Opportunity Team Roles” using the Quick Find box in Setup.
• Add, edit, or delete roles as per your organization’s needs.

Step 5: Educate Your Team

• Inform your sales team about the new feature.
• Provide training or resources on how to add team members to an Opportunity Team.

Step 6: Use Opportunity Teams

• Sales representatives can now add team members to opportunities.
• On an opportunity record, scroll to the Opportunity Team-related list.
• Click “Add” or “Edit” to modify the Opportunity Team.
• Add team members and assign roles and access levels as needed.

Conclusion

Integrating Opportunity Teams within Salesforce is more than just a feature; it’s a paradigm shift in collaborative sales management. This journey through the realms of Opportunity Teams reveals an undeniable truth: the collective strength of a team, harnessed effectively, is a formidable force in the sales process. 

As you venture into optimizing your sales strategies with Opportunity Teams, remember that continuous learning and adapting to new tools are essential. 

To further enhance your Salesforce skills and stay ahead in this dynamic field, consider joining our saasguru community on Slack. Connect with like-minded professionals, share insights, and learn from real-world experiences. 

Additionally, saasguru’s online Salesforce bootcamps provide hands-on training and exposure to real projects, equipping you with practical knowledge and skills to excel in your Salesforce journey. 

Join saasguru today and take a significant step toward mastering Salesforce and transforming your sales strategies.