Essential Questions to Ask a Salesforce Development Partner in 2025

Embarking on a Salesforce project, whether it’s an initial implementation, complex customization, or strategic integration, is a significant undertaking. The success of this journey often hinges on one crucial decision: choosing the right Salesforce development partner. It’s more than just finding someone who can code; it’s about securing a strategic ally who truly understands your business objectives and can translate them into effective Salesforce solutions. This blog will equip you with the essential questions to ask a Salesforce development partner during your evaluation process. By asking these targeted questions, you’ll gain clarity on their capabilities, methodology, and overall fit, ensuring you pick a team that will genuinely contribute to your long-term success.

What is Your Proven Experience and Expertise within the Salesforce Ecosystem?

When evaluating questions to ask a Salesforce development partner, this is where you absolutely must start. It’s not enough for a company to simply say they “do Salesforce.” You need to dig deeper. Beyond general certifications, what specific Salesforce clouds do they truly specialize in? Are we talking Sales Cloud optimization, intricate Service Cloud implementations, sophisticated Marketing Cloud journeys, or perhaps robust Experience Cloud portals? A truly capable Salesforce development company will have deep, demonstrable expertise in the areas that matter most to your business processes.

Ask them to showcase case studies or provide concrete examples of Salesforce projects with similar scope, scale, and complexity to what you’re envisioning. Look for quantifiable results – actual improvements in efficiency, sales growth, or customer satisfaction. Does their experience align with your industry? Understanding industry-specific nuances can significantly impact the success of your Salesforce project and accelerate your time to value. Finally, how do they stay updated with the latest Salesforce releases, features, and best practices? This is crucial for long-term platform health and ensuring they remain a valuable Salesforce consulting partner.

What is Your Preferred Project Methodology? How Will You Ensure Transparency and Collaboration?

This is one of the key questions to ask a Salesforce development partner regarding their operational style. Understanding their project methodology provides insight into how they manage the journey from initial concept to a live solution. Do they primarily employ Agile, Waterfall, or a hybrid approach? More importantly, how do they adapt their methodology to different project types and, crucially, to your specific preferences and working style? A rigid approach can lead to friction, so flexibility is a strong indicator of a good Salesforce implementation partner.

Ask them how they manage requirements gathering and documentation. A clear, thorough process here is absolutely essential to prevent scope creep and ensure that the final solution aligns perfectly with your expectations. What tools do they use for project management, communication, and deployment? Think about tools like Jira, Asana, Azure DevOps, or specialized Salesforce deployment tools like Gearset or Copado. Finally, how frequently will you receive updates, and what does their communication plan look like throughout the Salesforce project lifecycle? Clear, consistent communication helps manage expectations, fosters trust, and is a hallmark of a transparent Salesforce development partner.

Describe your Quality Assurance (QA) and Testing Process for Salesforce Projects

This is a vital question to ask a Salesforce development partner because it directly impacts the reliability and stability of your new solution. A technically brilliant solution means little if it’s riddled with bugs or fails under pressure. What is their comprehensive testing strategy? Do they conduct thorough unit testing for individual components, rigorous integration testing to ensure different systems play nicely together, comprehensive user acceptance testing (UAT) to confirm it meets your business needs, and robust performance testing to handle your expected load?

Crucially, inquire about their guaranteed Apex test coverage for any custom code. While Salesforce mandates a minimum of 75%, a truly quality-focused Salesforce development company often aims higher, sometimes 90% or even 100%, to ensure maximum code integrity. How do they manage and resolve bugs, both during the development phase and after deployment? Their answer will define their commitment to delivering a stable, high-quality Salesforce solution that you can trust.

How Do You Ensure Data Security and Compliance Throughout the Project?

Given the sensitive nature of the data you’ll be entrusting to your Salesforce CRM, this is a non-negotiable question to ask a Salesforce development partner. You need absolute confidence that your valuable information is protected. What specific protocols and safeguards do they have in place to ensure data security throughout the entire development lifecycle and beyond?

Furthermore, inquire if they adhere to relevant industry-specific compliance standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS, especially if your business operates in regulated sectors. What are their robust policies regarding data backups and disaster recovery? A reliable Salesforce development partner will have clear answers and proactive measures to protect your critical business data from any potential threats or unforeseen events.

What Post-Implementation Support and Training Do You Offer?

The completion of the development phase and the go-live date are certainly major milestones, but the project doesn’t truly end there. This is a practical question to ask a Salesforce development partner for long-term planning and value. What kind of ongoing Salesforce support do they provide after the initial deployment? This could include maintenance, enhancements, or troubleshooting any unexpected issues that arise. A good Salesforce implementation partner understands that continuous support is vital for optimal performance.

Do they offer comprehensive user training sessions? And crucially, how do they ensure high user adoption? A technically perfect solution is of little use if your team doesn’t embrace it or know how to leverage its full potential. Finally, how do they facilitate knowledge transfer to your internal team? This empowers your staff for long-term self-sufficiency and continued Salesforce optimization, ensuring you get the most out of your investment.

Can You Describe the Team That Will Be Assigned to Our Salesforce Project?

This is an important question to ask a Salesforce development partner to understand exactly who will be working on your critical project and how they’ll operate. Will they provide dedicated project managers, business analysts, developers, and QA specialists, or will resources be shared across multiple clients? Understanding their team structure gives you insight into accountability and collaboration.

Are their resources primarily in-house, or do they rely heavily on subcontractors? This can impact communication, quality control, and overall project continuity. How do they handle resource availability and potential team changes throughout the Salesforce project? Knowing this upfront helps manage expectations and ensures consistent progress.

What is Your Pricing Structure, and What is Included in Your Proposals?

This is a pragmatic question to ask a Salesforce development partner that can save you significant headaches down the line. Understand their billing model: do they charge hourly, fixed-price, or use a hybrid model? Each has its pros and cons, and the best fit depends on your project’s predictability. Crucially, how do they scope projects and manage potential scope changes? A flexible yet controlled approach is key.

Will their proposal clearly outline all deliverables, timelines, and costs, with absolutely no hidden fees? Transparency here is non-negotiable. Finally, and very importantly, how do they manage budget overruns or unforeseen challenges that might impact costs for your Salesforce implementation? A trustworthy partner will have a clear process for addressing these, keeping you informed every step of the way.

How Do You Approach Designing A Scalable and Future-Proof Salesforce Solution?

A truly strategic Salesforce development partner thinks beyond the immediate project completion. This is a critical question to ask a Salesforce development partner if you’re looking for long-term ROI. How do they consider your future growth, evolving business needs, and the dynamic nature of the Salesforce platform itself?

Do they incorporate best practices that allow for easy integration with other systems you might adopt later, or with future Salesforce product enhancements? How do they leverage native capabilities like Salesforce Flow and other low-code/no-code functionalities to ensure your solution remains agile and adaptable? A forward-thinking partner ensures your Salesforce investment grows with your business, rather than becoming obsolete.

Can You Provide Client References and Testimonials?

This is a final, but absolutely crucial, question to ask a Salesforce development partner. While their answers to all the other questions are important, hearing directly from their past clients offers invaluable, unfiltered insights into their actual working style, reliability, and the success of their projects.

Look for references that highlight their problem-solving abilities, responsiveness in communication, and overall client satisfaction with their Salesforce consulting services. A reputable partner like them will be proud to connect you with businesses they’ve helped succeed. Concretio and its Salesforce Development Services are one such example.

Conclusion

By thoroughly addressing these questions to ask a Salesforce development partner, you’ll gain a holistic understanding of a potential partner’s capabilities, culture, and commitment. This due diligence isn’t just a formality; it’s a strategic imperative that lays the foundation for a successful, long-lasting, and truly impactful Salesforce journey.