
Digital Stratify Team
August 26, 2026
8 min read
Checklist d'implémentation Salesforce : le playbook 60 étapes pour un go-live réussi en 2026
Une checklist pragmatique de 60 étapes pour l'implémentation Salesforce, du scoping au go-live, avec les jalons qui prédisent le succès.
The difference between a Salesforce implementation that lands adoption and one that quietly fails is rarely technical. It is the discipline of running through a real checklist across the full lifecycle. Here is the 60-item playbook, organized by phase, that our engagements consistently run.
Phase 1: Scoping and diagnostic (weeks 1 to 2)
- Current-state operating model documented (funnel, handoffs, KPIs).
- Interviews with 5+ frontline sellers, 3+ managers, marketing lead, CS lead.
- Existing tech stack inventory with per-tool spend.
- Data quality baseline: duplicate rate, orphan records, field completeness.
- Adoption baseline of current CRM (if any).
- Business outcomes agreed (forecast accuracy target, adoption target, revenue lift).
- Prioritized backlog with effort and ROI estimates.
- 3-year TCO model shared with CFO.
- Success metrics defined and dashboard mockups approved.
- Executive sponsor identified and RACI signed.
Phase 2: Salesforce configuration (weeks 3 to 10)
- Object model reviewed against future-state operating model.
- Custom fields and record types justified against use cases.
- Page layouts designed by role (rep, manager, executive).
- Sales process stages defined with exit criteria for each stage.
- Lead-to-opportunity conversion path documented.
- Lead routing rules built and tested.
- Lead scoring rules or model deployed.
- Duplicate rules and matching rules configured.
- Validation rules for data hygiene.
- Sharing rules and permission sets by role.
- Approval processes for discounting or exceptions.
- Territory management if applicable.
- Forecast categories and forecast methodology.
- Sandbox environments (Developer, Partial, Full Copy as needed).
- Change management strategy: profiles, permission sets, permission groups.
Phase 3: Data migration (weeks 6 to 12)
- Data audit against source system.
- Field mapping documented.
- Dedupe pass on source system before migration.
- Data enrichment strategy (Salesforce Data Cloud, Clearbit, Zoominfo).
- Staging sandbox load with sample data.
- User acceptance testing with real users on staged data.
- Full data cutover plan with rollback contingency.
- Post-migration validation reports (row counts, sample checks).
Phase 4: Integrations (weeks 8 to 14)
- Integration architecture documented with data flow diagram.
- ERP integration (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Cegid, Business Central).
- Marketing automation integration (Marketing Cloud, Marketo, HubSpot).
- Slack or Teams integration.
- DocuSign or Conga document generation.
- Data enrichment tools.
- Product usage or PLG signal ingestion.
- Financial systems (Stripe, subscription billing).
- API rate limit modeling and headroom.
- Middleware evaluation (MuleSoft, Workato, Boomi) if applicable.
Phase 5: Reporting and dashboards (weeks 10 to 14)
- Executive dashboard with adoption, forecast accuracy, pipeline coverage.
- Manager dashboards by team.
- Rep personal dashboards.
- Marketing dashboards with funnel handoff metrics.
- Customer success dashboards with expansion pipeline.
- Reports agreed with finance for forecast reconciliation.
- Alerts and notifications configured for stalled deals or missed SLAs.
Phase 6: Enablement (weeks 12 to 16)
- Playbooks written for each persona.
- Training sessions delivered per role.
- Video assets recorded for future onboarding.
- In-app guidance (Salesforce In-App Guidance, WalkMe).
- Admin enablement completed with your internal admin.
- Change communications aligned with go-live date.
Phase 7: Go-live and hypercare (weeks 16 to 20)
- Go-live checklist executed with named owners.
- Hypercare rotation staffed for the first 4 weeks post go-live.
- Weekly adoption tracking with executive reporting.
- Retrospective at 30, 60 and 90 days with continuous improvement backlog.
The 5 milestones that predict success
- Executive sponsor commits time weekly for the full duration.
- Enablement budget is at least 15% of implementation cost.
- Data migration includes source-system dedupe before Salesforce load.
- UAT includes 10+ real users, not just IT or admin.
- Adoption tracked from day one, not month three.
Common corners that get cut (and cost)
- Skipping the paid diagnostic to save 2 weeks. Cost: 3 to 6 months of rework in year 2.
- Under-investing in enablement. Cost: adoption below 40%.
- Migrating dirty data. Cost: dashboards nobody trusts.
- Building integrations before the operating model is stable. Cost: rebuild integrations 3 times.
- Rushing UAT. Cost: post-launch fires.
How we use this checklist
Digital Stratify runs this exact 60-item playbook on every mid-market implementation. Every item is either checked or explicitly de-scoped in writing, so nothing hides. See our Salesforce implementation service.
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