We are a Salesforce ISV with a time tracking and project management app on the AppExchange. We’ve had leads flowing in from the AppExchange and prospects are evaluating our app and purchasing it. Now comes the hard slog. How do we ensure that more prospects hear about our app and the wonderful things that it can do for them. And with so many apps listed on the AppExchange for each category, how do we stand out?
We’ve tried several methods in the past. Ranging from Google Adwords to Linkedin Ads to promoted content on Twiter. We’ve tried email marketing and Salesforce’s AMP program too. A lot of these are fairly expensive options. But there are several free ways to market your AppExchange app too. Amanda Nelson’s article has some great ideas on marketing your app for free. You should definitely check it out.
Like several ISVs that we’ve spoken to, our marketing budget is finite and restricted :). So in looking out for simple but effective marketing options, we figured that guest blogging would be a good option for us to check out. And the Salesforce AppExchange is a great place to start publishing great content. It’s a fantastic place to build brand awareness among your target audience.
My first article Slack + Salesforce = More Productivity appeared on the AppExchange blog on January 26th 2022. I thought my experience would be useful for other AppExchange Partners
Here are some guidelines on how to get published as a guest blogger on the AppExchange.
Your first step is to check out the Salesforce guest blogging guidelines. Once you’ve done that, figure out a topic that will be of interest to your customers.
Submit an application to the AppExchange Social Media Marketing Content team with details of your AppExchange blog post idea.
If the Content Marketing team likes your idea, they will email you asking for a draft of your blog post. You need to set this up as a shared Google doc or as a Quip doc. This way the Content Marketing team can easily share any feedback and/or edits with you.
Once you share the draft with the Content Marketing team, they will review it and get back to you with their edits and suggestions.
You then use those suggestions and flesh out your complete blog post. Use relevant statistics, images and other visual aids to make your post more interesting.
There’s a section at the end of the blog for an author bio. That’s a great place to include a listing to your AppExchange App.
Once you are done with all of your writing work, submit the post back to the Content Marketing team. They will queue it up to be published. On average, they share two blog posts a week. So you should have your blog post published within a month, except during holiday periods.
The Content Marketing team also does some social media marketing of the blog posts. I haven’t seen that yet for my blog post. But I’m hoping that will happen soon. 🙂
I hope you found these guidelines helpful. Go ahead and give guest blogging a shot and share your feedback. Meanwhile, I would love to hear your comments on Slack + Salesforce = More Productivity.
It doesn’t matter how effective you might be at team management; it’s all but impossible to avoid the possibility of something going wrong with projects sometimes. In many cases, problems might be completely out of your hands. Delays are not uncommon, a survey has shown that a staggering 77% of projects run late, with 75% going over budget.
Although delays can be infuriating for all involved, project management will need to keep their focus and concentrate on what to do next. An important part of dealing with delays is communicating them with the client. This can be tricky to do and get the desired results, so here are 6 top tips on how to communicate project delays effectively.
1. Update The Customer as Soon as You Know
Having to tell a client that their project is delayed can be an awkward situation and something that a lot of people would try to avoid if possible. This might lead some people to try and delay telling the client, but this is only likely to worsen the situation.
It’s best to make the client aware of any delays as soon as you know. Doing so will help you maintain your professionalism despite the delay. It will also help give the client time to make other necessary arrangements. If you leave it until the last minute, you can leave the client in a tough situation with no time to fix it.
2. Keep Records
If there is a delay, the client may have questions. In such cases, it’s best to have all the answers available to you. Keeping productivity records will ensure you can show the client that you’ve practiced strong team management to keep the project running on time. You can also consider using project management software like the PK4 Time
PK4 TimeTracker Gantt Chart
Tracker to help ensure you can show your client that your team has been working hard to reach the best possible performance levels.
Using a project management tool like the PK4 TimeTracker can help you manage projects, organize tasks and build confidence within your team. You don’t need to shuffle between complex spreadsheets, email and other tools to keep your projects on course. Everything happens within one integrated system. And you’ll have all the time that your team has spent on the project, right at your finger tips. So you can present accurate data to your customer to back up your efforts. And you can make it easy by giving your contractors access to the PK4 TimeTracker Mobile or Web app, so that tthey can track their time to the project as well, without needing to be in Salesforce.
3. Have a Solution Ready
Before you let your client know about any delays, it’s best to have a solution available. When you have a solution available, it helps to demonstrate that you’re doing what you can to rectify things as soon as possible.
Having a solution is one of the most important aspects of workplace management. Telling the client about your solution will help to take the edge of the bad news and help them to focus on the positives instead. It also allows the client to have their say about your solution, allowing them to contribute to making it work.
It’s important to remain positive yourself. Remember, you’re the professional and project management is what you do best, so you should always give the impression that you’re in control even when overall performance doesn’t go to plan.
4. Don’t Blame Others
Blaming other people for poor performance is a sign of poor team management, no matter how accurate you might be. If the client presses you for specific reasons regarding work priorities or similar, you should be honest with them, but it should never be done to try and deflect blame away from yourself.
Blaming others will make you look very unprofessional and will achieve nothing. It can make you look as though you’re unwilling to accept responsibility yourself, which could make your client concerned about how the rest of the project management will go.
There’s no need even to mention why a project has gone wrong or who is to blame in most cases. The client will usually only be concerned about what is being done to get everything back on track as much as possible.
5. The Client Is Not Your Enemy
It’s entirely understandable if the client is frustrated at delays. After all, they have their time management and other issues to worry about. However, this does not mean a client becomes the enemy if they express their frustration. Remember that the client will want the project completed in good time more so than you do, and they will likely cooperate with any attempt at getting things going again. You will likely need their cooperation to keep productivity high and get the project back on track, which means not making enemies.
You should certainly avoid saying it’s the client’s fault; doing so will only make them defensive. Instead, try to focus on work priorities and do what you can to get the client and team members working together to reach the same goal.
6. Update Often
In the case of a delay, it’s a good idea to keep the client regularly updated. They will be eager to know what progress is being made and will likely become frustrated if kept in the dark. You don’t necessarily need to keep in touch with them every day, but you should at least keep them posted on significant developments.
By keeping the client updated, you can help put their mind at rest while also giving them the opportunity to contribute. They may have a way of helping to make everything run as desired, so it’s a very good idea to have them fully on board.
Summary
While communicating project delays can be awkward, you can make things go much better if you communicate effectively. Remember to communicate as quickly and as honestly as possible and be ready to present a solution. It’s also essential to always remain professional. Avoid blaming other people and instead focus on what you intend to do to overcome the problems you’re facing.
Keeping time management details and other useful records can also be very beneficial. Doing so can help you identify where things went wrong, and they can also show to clients that you’re doing your best if you’re pushed to give explanations. Regardless, it’s best to keep on communicating clearly and do what you can to keep the client and your team working hand in hand with you.
