Launchpad Lesson 18 - Chatter

Hi again!

This next lesson is designed to show you how Salesforce Chatter works.

Chatter is interesting. I’ve worked with many companies that don’t see a need for it, but in my opinion, it’s one of the best tools for reducing email, keeping everyone informed about what’s happening with leads, accounts, and opportunities, and encouraging users to work within Salesforce.

Of course, some larger companies already use collaboration tools such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. But if you’re a smaller business without those tools, I would seriously consider Chatter as a valuable resource.

Let’s dive in.

Chatter is a Salesforce feature designed to improve communication within your organization. It’s similar to social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

Chatter posts can be viewed by users who have access to your Salesforce organization. Depending on your setup, they may also be accessible to users outside your organization through special Chatter licenses.

You can find plenty of articles online about how Chatter can improve collaboration, help people stay informed, and support knowledge sharing. And those benefits are real. However, we’re not going to transform your business communications in a five-minute Launchpad lesson.

Instead, we’ll focus on two things you can implement right away that could make an immediate difference. From there, you can expand your use of Chatter as your needs evolve.

The first technique is using an @mention.

An @mention is a great way for a salesperson to keep their manager informed about deal progress, or for a sales leader to ask about the status of an opportunity. It’s often much more effective than sending a long, detailed email.

The second technique, following a record and then acknowledging a salesperson’s progress on a deal, is a great way to give people recognition for doing the right things and to demonstrate to a potentially skeptical sales team that Salesforce isn’t there simply so management can monitor them.

Let’s look at the first technique.

An @mention is a very quick and easy way to update someone or ask for guidance. Here’s what you do.

Let’s say I’m a sales representative and I’ve just moved an opportunity to the next stage. I want to provide an update or ask a question.

Because all of my information about the opportunity is already stored in Salesforce, there’s little reason to write an email repeating all those details.

Instead, I can mention my manager directly in a Chatter post.

From the opportunity record, I’ll select the Chatter tab and click Share and Update or Share. The option may vary depending on your Salesforce configuration.

In the post, I’ll type, “Hi, @Susan.” When I type @Susan, Salesforce displays her user record. I simply select her name and then type, “I’ve just moved this opportunity to Product Demo. I’ll need a little help setting it up,” and click Share.

That’s not difficult at all. But the important part is what Susan receives.

She receives a notification from Salesforce indicating that I’ve sent her a Chatter post. The message appears in the notification, along with a link to the opportunity record.

I’m directing my manager to the exact place in Salesforce where she needs to look.

If I’ve done a good job of keeping Salesforce up to date with accurate information, Susan can find everything she needs on that opportunity record.

Why spend valuable time typing all the details into an email that will quickly get buried in her inbox?

Susan can reply directly within Chatter or, depending on her notification settings, reply through email. Either way, the conversation is associated with the opportunity record.

All our discussion about the deal is stored in one place, making it easy to revisit later. And if we want to involve a third person, such as a product engineer, that person can review the conversation and join the discussion.

The second technique is a great way for sales leaders to stay informed about opportunities and recognize sales achievements.

From the opportunity record, simply click Follow.

Following a record allows you to receive updates about significant developments involving that opportunity. Salesforce may provide these updates through notifications or a digest, depending on your settings.

It’s that easy.

My recommendation is for sales leaders to send brief Chatter messages when opportunities move from one stage to another. These don’t have to be major opportunities. In fact, it’s often better if they aren’t.

And don’t wait until the opportunity closes. Recognize progress throughout the sales process.

One of the key principles of leadership and motivation is to catch people doing something right and recognize them for it.

Chatter can be an excellent way to put that principle into practice. It can also help reduce the fear and suspicion that sales teams may feel when Salesforce is introduced.

But it’s up to you and your leadership team to make it happen.

Using Chatter couldn’t be simpler. However, it’s unlikely that your team will start using it simply because you’ve made it available.

You need to develop a Chatter strategy and put it into practice.

For example, a sales manager might establish a policy that opportunity updates should be communicated through Chatter rather than email. Managers can also make a habit of requesting updates through short Chatter posts.

With consistent use, the team will begin to adopt the same approach.

Start small. Once your team becomes comfortable with Chatter, you can identify other ways to use it to address communication challenges within your business.

That’s it for this lesson.

Next, we’ll begin a series of four lessons focused on Salesforce reporting. First up: List Views.

We’ll talk soon!