What Does a Mentor Do?

You’ve invested a lot in CRM and ERP solutions, and you want to get the most out of them. On platforms like Salesforce and FinancialForce, the possibilities for business transformation are endless, but knowing where to start can be overwhelming and difficult…

…unless you have access to a Salesforce or FinancialForce consultant or “mentor” walking with you every step of the way.

That’s where we come in. We want to help you get the most out of your investment in Salesforce and FinancialForce. 

But what does a mentor do? Today we’re giving you a window into what a mentor-client relationship looks like at OpMentors. 

A mentor evaluates current processes with your company’s objectives, goals, and pain points in mind.

Business consulting is a mentor’s top priority at OpMentors. We don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to these solutions because we understand your business has unique objectives, goals, and challenges. 

We want to help you grow your business — Salesforce, FinancialForce, and other digital tools are the vehicles we use to do it. 

Every day our mentors work to enhance your technology investments so they meet your unique business needs. First, we ask questions about your processes, values, mission, goals, and pain points. This assessment phase helps us determine 1) which challenges we’ll tackle first and 2) what action steps we’ll take next to optimize these tools for your business.  

A mentor configures and customizes Salesforce, FinancialForce, and additional solutions for your business.

When you set out to build a house, first you need raw materials. Think of your solution as a house. In Salesforce or FinancialForce, you have access to lots of “raw materials” — fields, modules, and functions. Once a mentor charts a course based on your unique business needs, they build a firm foundation using these raw materials. This process is called configuration. 

Adding a field to an object, defining certain values for a given function, or updating a page layout are all a part of configuration, and your mentors use these raw materials to build the perfect “digital house” house for your business. 

Sometimes you need functions not included in a platform’s “raw materials.” These functions require additional coding or development. This process is called customization. 

A mentor configures and customizes these platforms so they’re optimized for your business. 

A mentor creates process flows and tests them before the solution goes live. 

Evaluating and fine-tuning your company’s processes is an important part of our work. To ensure streamlined processes, a mentor creates process flow documents and configures Salesforce and FinancialForce so processes and integrations run smoothly. 

A mentor tests these processes by playing out multiple scenarios on the platform to check for glitches and make sure requirements are met for functionality. 

They also let project managers, business owners, software developers, and other end users in your organization “test-drive” these solutions before they go live! This phase is called “user acceptance testing” (UAT) or “end-user testing” and ensures your customized version of Salesforce and FinancialForce meets the unique needs of your business. A mentor is like an additional team member because they work closely with project managers and others in your organization.  

A mentor deploys your solution and walks with you every step of the way until you’ve mastered Salesforce and FinancialForce. 

Our mentors deploy all of your configuration and customization items to your “production environment” — a term developers use to refer to the environment where these features and functions will be put to use by end users. In this case, the production environment is your Salesforce or FinancialForce platform. A mentor also helps you migrate all of your existing data to these platforms so you have a 360 view of your business in one place.

Once your solution is live, our mentors don’t let you go at it alone. We walk with you step by step until you’ve mastered these tools. Our mentors aren’t just consultants — they’re great teachers! 

A mentor uses different means for teaching you how to maximize Salesforce and FinancialForce for your business. They organize and lead workshop calls with you and other end users in your organization. They also teach you how to use speks: in-app training documentation, explanations, and videos you can refer to long after our journey together has ended! If you want to learn more about our partnership with Spekit, you can read more here.  

Our mentors also lend ongoing support to your team and Salesforce or FinancialForce system administrators until you feel confident using these solutions. 
With a little help from a mentor, you can master these tools, even if the task seems overwhelming at first. Our team can optimize Salesforce, FinancialForce, and additional solutions so they meet the unique needs of your organization. But if we’re honest, we’re most passionate about the mentoring relationship we’ll build along the way as we work together to transform your business. Schedule a call today, and let’s talk about how OpMentors can walk with you until you’re leading and growing your business with confidence.