You Want Better Salesforce Reports? Don't Just Change the Fields, Change the Game.

As a sales or marketing leader, you know what you need from your data. The conversations we have with new clients often start with requests that sound exactly like this:

• "We need a field for XYZ because that’s critical for our Q3 reports."

• "We have to categorize this object by ABC to finally get our customer segmentation right."

These are the right requests. You have a clear vision for the insights you need to drive growth, and your CRM should be the engine that delivers them. The instinct to add new fields, tweak page layouts, and adjust picklist values is spot on.

But here’s the hard truth we’ve learned from years of cleaning up Salesforce instances: technical changes alone are meaningless.

You can design the most brilliant data model in the world, but if your team doesn't adopt it, you’ve just invested in a shiny, empty shell. This is why any data governance project must have a parallel workstream from day one: Change Management.

The Leadership Blind Spot: A Red Flag We See Often

I was on a call recently with a C-suite executive team. The CEO wanted his sales reps to start breaking out Opportunity amounts by fiscal year and projected revenue realization. His take? "Just add the fields. They'll figure it out. It's not a big deal."

That, right there, is a major red flag.

His goal was to have executive dashboards that provided a nuanced, year-over-year revenue forecast. A fantastic goal! But if the people entering the data aren’t trained on how to use the new fields and why it’s suddenly critical, the data they enter will be inconsistent, inaccurate, or just plain missing. The dashboard he wants will be completely useless.

The fix isn't complicated—it might be a 10-minute huddle and a one-page guide—but skipping that step guarantees the project's failure.

When Do You Need Change Management?

So, how do you know if your "quick update" to Salesforce actually requires a formal change management plan?

Look at the new expectations you’re setting for your team. Are you introducing any of the following?

• New definitions (e.g., what officially constitutes a "Key Account")

• New fields that need to be filled out

• New applications of existing fields

• New business processes

• New dashboards or reports that create new accountability

• New responsibilities for team members

Our rule of thumb: If your project involves more than two or three of these, you need a change management strategy. Sometimes it can be light. Other times, it requires a comprehensive rollout.

A Simple Framework for Effective Change Management

Getting started doesn't have to be complicated. Begin with a clear-eyed assessment of the human impact.

Step 1: Determine the "Who" and the "How Much"

First, identify every group that will be impacted by the changes. These are likely your existing departments or teams (e.g., Enterprise Sales, Mid-Market Sales, Marketing Ops, BDRs).

Then, for each group, scale the impact of the change on their day-to-day work. A simple 1-3 scale works best for most projects.

• 1 - Minimal Impact: A small change to their workflow that requires awareness but little new action.

• 2 - Moderate Impact: The change requires them to learn a new process or consciously apply new definitions in their daily tasks.

• 3 - Significant Impact: The change fundamentally alters a key process, requires new skills, or creates a major shift in their responsibilities.

Step 2: Anticipate the Risks from Naysayers

Once you know who is impacted and how significantly, put yourself in their shoes—especially those in the "Significant Impact" group. There will always be people who are annoyed by change or don't want to follow along.

Brainstorm 3-5 potential objections or negative comments they might bring up.

• "This is just more admin work that takes me away from selling."

• "Why are we changing this? The old way worked fine."

• "I don't understand why this new field is important."

Considering these risks ahead of time allows you to build proactive counter-arguments and support systems directly into your communication plan.

Step 3: Define Your Communication and Training Strategy

With your impact and risk analysis complete, you can now determine the right level of support needed for successful adoption. You must provide the "How" so individuals can embrace the change.

• For Minimal Impact groups, a simple email announcement and a quick reference guide might be enough.

• For Moderate Impact groups, you may need a formal presentation, a short training session, and office hours for questions.

• For Significant Impact groups, a deeper process redesign, dedicated training workshops, and updated documentation are likely necessary.

No matter the approach, your goal is to ensure no one is left wondering what they are supposed to do or why it matters.

Clean data, powerful segmentation, and insightful dashboards don’t come from adding a few fields. They come from marrying smart technical solutions with a thoughtful, human-centric plan for adoption.

If you’re ready to get both sides of the equation right, let’s talk.