“Can you export this to Excel?”
That simple phrase is like nails on a chalkboard to a Salesforce admin. There are many reasons why your answer to that question should be a resounding HECK NOPE.
1. It’s already out of date
As soon as you hit the “download” button, your data is old. Excel exports are a point-in-time snapshot and don’t provide the information needed to make timely and relevant decisions.
2. It creates multiple versions of the truth
Excel files are easily edited, of course, and your users are likely to save one or more copies – on their computer, in their email, on a flash drive, etc. How do you know which is accurate when sifting through files with labels like “Final V2”?
3. It trains users to keep data outside the system
Enabling users to invent workflows involving Excel spreadsheets (for example, reviewing sales pipeline or tracking call notes) sabotages adoption.
When you hear “I’ll go back in Salesforce and update it later, I swear…” don’t believe it. Ever.
4. It’s a security risk
Salesforce houses a wealth of data that needs to be protected from falling into the wrong hands. The ability to download client lists, price books, email addresses, and the like should be restricted unless there is a clear use case to do otherwise.
5. You can do it all in Salesforce anyway!
Virtually everything a user can do in Excel, they can accomplish in Salesforce. Show them the way!
When there are legitimate reasons for Excel
All that said, there are some situations when List Views and reports don’t cut it, and where an Excel-like view of your records can come in handy.
Salesforce stumbles when it comes to handling large volumes of data. The native mass assignment tools have limited features. Calling down a campaign list takes a crazy number of clicks to log results of the outreach.
If you find yourself running into situations like these or constantly fielding user requests for exports, the Configero Grid is definitely worth a look.
The Grid gives you the power to dynamically search, filter and update thousands of records in a single, intuitive screen without ever leaving Salesforce. By significantly reducing the amount of steps, scrolls and clicks necessary to update data, the Grid can save users time and effort – and drastically improve adoption from your Excel superfans.