Success

Guides
for Your
Salesforce
Einstein
Journey

Stage of Journey: I’ve Purchased

Einstein & Need to Implement

Guide 2: Get Einstein fully

adopted in your org

Congratulations! You have embarked on an exciting journey
to transform the way you do business. You have great
expectations for improving your sales process, customer
experience, and enterprise pro tability. This guide about
Salesforce Einstein implementation will help you to achieve
your expectations for Einstein analytics.

Prior to starting the implementation, we recommend that

you get your house in order through a series of steps:

 Understand Advanced Analytics, AI & Einstein

 Set Expectations for AI

 De ne Clear Business Goals

 Prepare Salesforce Environment

 Do a Readiness Assessment

Get the detailed rundown of these steps at Guide 1 in this

three-part series: I’m Learning or Seriously Considering
Purchasing (https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
learning/).

A 9-point checklist for implementing

Einstein

Here are the next steps for implementation. We’ll discuss

each of these in more detail below:

1 Create the core team
2 Gather business and technical requirements

3 Design the data architecture

4 Identify data transformations and processes

5 De ne segmentation and personas

6 Set up integrations

7 Build, train and deploy models for each business

outcome

8 Create reports for insights vs. actions

9 Establish ongoing maintenance program

1. Create the core team

Salesforce Einstein Implementation Core Team

Members

Steering/Executive Leadership

C-level leaders that report to the CEO as part of their

responsibility

Project/Change Management

Representation from the PMO o ce that oversees

projects across the organization, much like an air
tra c controller

Product or

Line of Business
 The P&L owner of at least one line of business that
will use the Einstein models and recommendations

Data & Insights

Your core BI team that is responsible for reports and

analyses

Salesforce/IT

The Salesforce administrator and at least one other

person with deep knowledge of the data warehouse
or source systems

Advanced Analytics

The person who can review the models and

recommendations for technical validation and ensure
they are implemented correctly

2. Gather business and technical

requirements

Requirements are essential to de ne the scope of the

project. These are provided by line of business owners and
the executive team. They are a wish list for the ideal state.

Also the reporting, IT and analytics teams can provide

requirements based on existing processes and deliverables.
And they should also envision a re-imagined state that’s
made possible by new analytic capabilities, data availability,
and reporting options.


Involve all stakeholders, make this fun!

 The requirements should address these major topics:

 Database Structure

 Data Access & Quality

 Visualization & Distribution

 Execution & Actionability

Now, prioritize! Once you pull together the requirements,

put them into three buckets:

 Must have

 Nice to have

 Out of scope to explore later

Don’t miss this prioritization – it’s an important step to keep

the project moving forward and avoid the dreaded scope
creep.

3. Design the data architecture

The data model (also called data warehouse or data mart) is

a framework of how the data structure is set up to support
reporting, predictions, and the delivery of
recommendations used in Einstein.

It needs to accommodate:

 Data from di erent original sources

 Transformations and storage of transformed data

 Di erent levels of granularity needed for the end uses

described in requirements.

The architecture should also include how the data is

migrated into/out of the warehouse with details of 
frequency, volume, and elds involved.
Data models can be built inside Salesforce. Or they can be
built externally using data platforms like Heroku, or
completely outside the Salesforce Platform with results fed
into update Salesforce.  Each of these has their pros and
cons. So take time to arrive at the right solution for you.

4. Identify data transformations and

processes

Transformation is the modi cation of source data to add

value for analytics. It is perhaps the most important aspect
of this exercise, but it’s often overlooked. Some types of
transformations are:

 Summarize

 Categorize

 Reduce

 Derive

Each of these transformations requires well thought out

processes. The processes should allow you to scale and
support multiple use cases, for example across products,
geographies or customer segments.

''
Transformation is the
modi cation of source data to
add value for analytics. It is perhaps the
most important aspect of this exercise,
but it’s often overlooked. 


5. Define segmentation and personas
Following transformations, segments and personas give a
handle on how analytics should be built and delivered.

This is also when the use cases must be paired with the
segments so that you can create actionable “plays” for sales
and marketing to drive outcomes.

6. Set up integrations

After you collect, transform and segment the data, the next
step is to connect everything in scope. Con gure the key
integrations between data warehouse to Salesforce, to
Einstein, and to other clouds (i.e., Marketing Cloud, Service
Cloud).

You can set up an intermediate staging area between

warehouse and other integrations to handle
transformations, cleansing and append. The refresh
sessions must factor in the frequency, volume and
granularity of data.

7. Build, train and deploy models for

each business outcome

Here comes the fun part! It’s time ( nally!) to deliver on the
dream of “right customer, right time, right o er.”

Based on the requirements, you have created the data,

transformations and segments. Using Einstein Discovery,
you can build models for each of the scenarios such as
cross-sell, retention and product penetration.

Then map out which user will get the output of each model,
and weave this into their call scripts, customer interactions,

and day to day operations.
 For example, if a customer is deemed likely to attrition,
initiate conversation about suggestions on how they can get
more out of their existing relationship like taking advantage
of subscription pricing, moving balances to higher interest
deposit accounts, etc.

Without this mapping and clarity of process, the models and

recommendations will not be used to their full potential.
And worse, they can be interpreted incorrectly. The
consequence is, your return on investment in Einstein may
be delayed or not materialize.

This can be avoided by tying the Einstein recommendations

to speci c Salesforce users and their daily tasks.

''
Map out which user will get the
output of each model, and
weave this into their call scripts,
customer interactions, and day to day
operations.

8. Create reports for insights vs. actions

A common mistake made with Salesforce Einstein

implementation is with reporting. Often, users create one
set of reports to try to serve many masters. But, there are in
fact two distinct types of reports that should be generated
by Einstein:

 Exploratory reports

 Action-oriented reports

The rst kind of report is exploratory. It generates insights

so leaders and decision-makers can better understand the 
customers, product and markets. These reports cover broad
trends, and tend to be stable over time. They provide both
leading and lagging indicators that drive the business.

The second kind of report is action-oriented. It is geared for

the front lines or anyone directly involved in the customer
experience – including the websites and mobile apps. These
reports have to be time-sensitive and granular. They
provide one action recommendation at a time, to be
followed by another recommendation based on the
customer response. Think of this like a survey with question
path changes based on the previous response.

Providing both these types of reports will go a long way to

making Einstein serve – and satisfy – many masters!

9. Establish ongoing maintenance

program

While still in the development phase, it is critical to also plan

for future maintenance. Get commitment from the entire
organization. This involves maintenance of each of the
above steps, such as requirements, design, architecture,
reporting, and feedback on the actions.

 Re-visit the requirements to see if any assumptions,

business models, or market environment changed

since starting the project

 Look at data sources that may have become obsolete

or otherwise changed

 Review the data quality practices and identify areas of

improvement

 Evaluate the segments and see if these are still valid;

these are especially fast changing

 Conduct tests to determine if change in performance


is statistically signi cant (like decrease in attrition,

increase in average account balances)

 Calibrate or modify the models at least once a year;

build the foundation and capability to deploy several

models simultaneously (like touch frequency + next

best o er)

Should you do implementation in-house

or hire an external consultant?

There are a few options for who can implement Einstein.

You can:

 Do it internally

 Use a Salesforce systems integrator

 Engage an Einstein specialist

Let’s look at the di erences to help you decide which is a

better t for you.

Doing it yourself

A successful Salesforce Einstein implementation requires a

team. Choose representatives (as many people as you need)
from functional areas where you need:

 Initial requirements

 Sign-o on key stages

 Ownership to implement 
 Report lessons learned to their areas
The important thing here: These teams and representatives
should meet quarterly for the next one to two years to
re ne and improve initial deployment.

What are the risks? The team might not have the
experience, bandwidth or chemistry to make all this
happen.

The good news is even if you decide to seek an outside

partner, this internal team will allow you to quickly absorb
the integration, reduce friction to change, increase adoption
and achieve ROI.

So, assemble this team whether you do the implementation

internally, or hire external help.

Using a Salesforce systems integrator

Einstein is a Salesforce product and therefore it requires

deep knowledge of the inner workings of your Salesforce
Org. The objects, elds, data, relationships, work ows,
triggers, license provisioning, permissions, and so on must
be con gured properly. There can be no lingering or
outstanding issues of the core implementation itself.

Advantages of Systems Integrators

A traditional systems integrator (SI) brings such technical

knowledge and experience. This skill set is objective in
nature: it’s pretty much black and white as to steps that
must be taken. An SI can install Einstein in your instance,
provision the authoring and distribution license, map the
elds, and set up reports so you’re “up and running.”

Choosing to work with an SI is ideal if they know your

business really well and have deep industry knowledge. An
SI can be a great asset if you are new to Salesforce and the
infrastructure still needs to be sorted out.

Disadvantages of Systems Integrators
On the other hand, SIs often lack expertise in many aspects
of data driven processes. Unlike the base implementation of
Salesforce, which is a technical endeavor, implementing
advanced analytics like Einstein requires full understanding
of the data life cycle from creation, transformation and
modeling, to execution. SIs may not have capabilities to
solve your data issues, or recommend best practices based
on experience in a multitude of industries, use cases, tools,
platforms, and modeling environments.

It’s important to know the role that a systems integrator

can, and likely cannot, play. Where the SI’s knowledge leaves
o , you will need expertise in data, analytics, and your
industry.

''
If you value a consultant who
leads with strategy not
technology, an Einstein analytics
specialist can be the right t.

Working with an Einstein analytics

specialist

Although a specialist like Valgen is a partner within the

Salesforce consulting program, when it comes to Einstein
they di er signi cantly from nearly all other SIs in three key
aspects:

1. Roots in analytics

First, typically the core DNA of their practice is rooted in

real-world advanced analytics with decades of experience.
Einstein is a recent arrival. The practices of predictive
analytics and AI for business intelligence have been around
for a long time! If this analytics experience is important to 
you, a specialist may be a great t.
 2. Strategic Salesforce Einstein implementation

The second major di erence is that analytics specialists see

Einstein as a strategic, not a technical implementation.
Strategy is the root of all the steps:

 From the ground up with discovery and design

 While documenting your current practices and future

needs

 When capturing the desired vision/future state and

designing how to bridge this gap

That’s why this implementation is equally subjective and

objective, part science and part artistry. So if you value a
consultant who leads with strategy not technology, an
Einstein specialist can be the right t.

On the ip side – specialists may lack the army of

consultants and certi cations, and the perceived comfort
blanket that these bring. They also may not have hundreds
of projects in online reviews, because they don’t take on
migration, CPQ, custom development, and a plethora of
projects that a general Salesforce consultant takes on.

But because Einstein specialists are focused on Salesforce

analytics – and often just a handful of industries – they
more than o set the size advantage. The strategic quality of
the work o sets quantity of technical projects.

3. Data quality and advanced analytics

The third and perhaps most important di erentiator is that

specialists work with advanced analytics as an entire
ecosystem. This includes data architecture, data quality, and
data transformations that are key to getting the best
predictions and reports.

In contrast to a general SI that tends to gloss over the poor

data quality in your organization, the analytics specialist will
pour over the details to identify aws and weak points. They

will recommend – and likely insist on – corrections. Because,
they know that poor data quality can derail your ability to
create accurate and reliable predictions. You would miss out
on generating revenue and pro ts that are consistent and
scalable. Clean data will prevent that outcome.

If you already deployed Einstein and you’re not happy with

the results, see Guide 3
(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-help/) – the
next Guide in this series to help you to be successful with
your Salesforce Einstein implementation.

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Guide 1 - Learn

Are You Ready for Einstein?

Bene ts of advanced analytics & Salesforce Einstein

(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
learning/#salesforce-einstein-bene ts)

What you need to know before the Einstein journey

(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
learning/#planning-for-einstein)

How to tell if you are ready for Einstein

(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
learning/#readiness-for-einstein)


 (https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
implementation/)

Guide 2 - Implement

Get Einstein fully adopted

in your org

Salesforce Einstein implementation checklist

(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
implementation/#salesforce-einstein-
implementation-checklist)

Should you implement in-house or with an external

consultant? (https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-
einstein-implementation/#inhouse-external-
consultant)

Systems integrator vs. Einstein analytics specialist

(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
implementation/#systems-integrator-einstein-
specialist)


(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-help/)

Guide 3 - Fix

Get your results soaring

with Einstein

Salesforce Einstein help with goals and business

issues (https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
help/#business-issues)

Data quality, data interruptions and analytic model

inaccuracies (https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-
einstein-help/#data-issues)

Legacy system and structural problems

(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
help/#structural-issues)

User adoption and acceptance issues

(https://www.valgen.com/salesforce-einstein-
help/#user-issues)


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