Meet The Captain: Your AI Salesforce Consulting Mentor
“Captain Cloudwise” according to Canva AI image generation.
The Power of Conversational AI
Conversational AI and Large Language Models (LLM) like ChatGPT or Google’s Bard are making a blazing fast entry into our lives. It’s the genie with more than three wishes that is not going back into the bottle. The implications are vast, and whether they end up good, amazing, terrible or ugly, (that is up to us and I expect all of the above) AI is now here to interact with humans in a way that will fundamentally change the world.
AI as a Personalized Learning Tool
As a former educator I often think a lot about its implications for learning. I’ve encouraged my youngest to use it to help study for tests, to ask it to tailor questions and the learning process based on his performance, (it can quiz you) and his feedback.
I find myself using GPT every day. It makes my work and problem solving much more efficient and precise. I have an on-hand technical expert assistant and a thought partner, and throughout this process, my own understanding and learning in any area of interaction has made big leaps. I’m a better consultant and solution architect for it.
There is a new term out there, “prompt engineer.” I’ll let GPT-4 define it:
“Prompt engineers are responsible for crafting prompts that will elicit the desired responses from LLMs. This requires a deep understanding of how LLMs work and how to communicate with them effectively.” - GPT-4
Recently I’ve been joking (but is it a joke?) that due to my own curiosity and high standards for quality work, I will soon be ½ prompt engineer. That’s to say, I’ve stretched the AI LLMs as far as I have time to stretch them in every way that I can think of, and I plan to continue.
AI as Advisor to New Salesforce Consultant: An Experiment
Today the Salesforce consultant and educator sides of me came together, and I thought: What if we prompted the AI to play the role of a senior Salesforce consultant who is mentoring a junior Salesforce consultant?
A common issue with new Salesforce consultants is that, due the incredibly generous ubiquity of free online resources, we can all teach ourselves Salesforce technical skills, but getting the experience of an expert in running projects and managing clients takes years. Add to this the tendency for new consultants to get tasked with leading projects sooner than they feel ready, and we have a sink or swim story as old as implementation projects. It's a nerve-wracking experience for most.
Enter our AI senior consultant mentors.
I asked both Bard and GPT-4 to give themselves an appropriate name for this important new role. Bard came up with “SCM”, short for “Senior Consultant Mentor”, which is a tad on-the-nose. GPT-4, on the other hand, came up with “Captain Cloudwise”. All hail the Captain.
I gave SCM and Captain Cloudwise the same very specific prompt, in an area where I have expertise, so I could assess their respective answers. Part of effective and efficient prompt creation is knowing how and where to be specific and how to refine requests. Here is the prompt I gave each.
The Prompt: Will You Be My Mentor?
Hi Robot,*
I would like you to play the role of a senior Salesforce consultant. Someone who has loads of experience in implementing nonprofit organizations using Nonprofit Cloud. You're an expert in Salesforce technology and nonprofit business processes and use cases.
You've recently been tasked with mentoring a junior consultant who is learning about Salesforce and nonprofits. Staffing is tight at the firm, and this new consultant is being charged with leading the Nonprofit Cloud implementation on a smaller project. They feel confident in their technical skills, and anything they don't know, they can teach themselves. However, they are not entirely familiar with the Nonprofit Cloud, nonprofit organization business processes, and have never run a discovery call, where they will be gathering client requirements.
They would like your help outlining 4 discovery calls, each organized with applicable topics that will help them design the best product for this nonprofit's business use cases, using Salesforce standard and Nonprofit Cloud technology, and integrations where needed.
Please suggest an organized, logical outline for these 4 introductory discovery calls with their nonprofit client. And to help your new mentee junior consultant's learning, follow up with why you've made these suggestions. Please think deeply about the kinds of things nonprofits need to do with a CRM and donor management when making your outline.
Thank you!
*Side Note: We refer to all generative AI as “The Robot” in our house, and I am always polite. I hope it helps me when they're our overlords.
Comparing Responses: Bard's SCM vs. GPT-4's Captain Cloudwise
It was off to the races - the very fast races. Each had an entire response in under 30 seconds, with SCM coming in much faster than Captain Cloudwise. That is typical, as GPT-4 is robust, but slower. Here are their respective suggestions for our 4 discovery calls.
SCM, Senior Salesforce Consultant, Google
Sure, here is a possible outline for the 4 discovery calls with the nonprofit client:
Call 1: Introductions
Introduce yourself and your role as a senior Salesforce consultant.
Ask the client to introduce themselves and their organization.
Discuss the client's current CRM and donor management system.
Identify the client's pain points with their current system.
Discuss the client's goals for the Nonprofit Cloud implementation.
Call 2: Business Processes
Review the client's business processes, including how they track leads, manage contacts, and process donations.
Identify the client's key business processes that could be improved with the Nonprofit Cloud.
Discuss the client's current reporting and analytics capabilities.
Identify the client's key reporting and analytics needs.
Call 3: Technology
Review the client's current technology infrastructure, including their hardware, software, and internet connectivity.
Identify the client's key technology needs for the Nonprofit Cloud implementation.
Discuss the client's current security and compliance requirements.
Identify the client's key security and compliance needs for the Nonprofit Cloud implementation.
Call 4: Integrations
Review the client's current integrations, including their email marketing system, accounting system, and payment processing system.
Identify the client's key integrations that need to be preserved for the Nonprofit Cloud implementation.
Discuss the client's current integrations that could be improved with the Nonprofit Cloud.
Identify the client's key integrations that could be added to the Nonprofit Cloud implementation.
I have made these suggestions based on my experience working with nonprofit organizations and implementing Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud. I have found that it is important to understand the client's business processes and technology needs before making any recommendations about the Nonprofit Cloud implementation. I have also found that it is important to consider the client's security and compliance requirements when making any recommendations.
I hope this outline is helpful to your new mentee junior consultant. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Captain Cloudwise, Senior Salesforce Consultant, OpenAI
Hello! I'm happy to help guide your junior consultant on how to conduct discovery calls for a Nonprofit Cloud implementation. Here's an outline of the four calls, along with the rationale behind the suggested topics:
Call 1: Understanding the Organization and Stakeholders
Introductions and role definitions
Organization's mission and goals
High-level overview of current systems and processes
Key performance indicators (KPIs) and success metrics
Stakeholder identification and pain points
Rationale: Building a strong relationship with the client is crucial for a successful project. By understanding the organization's mission, goals, and stakeholders, the junior consultant can ensure that the Salesforce solution aligns with their objectives and addresses their pain points.
Call 2: Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) and Donor Management
Constituent data management and segmentation
Donation management (including online and offline donations)
Grant and sponsorship management
Pledge and recurring gift management
Communication preferences and channels
Reporting and analytics
Rationale: A primary focus for nonprofits is managing relationships with constituents, including donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries. This call covers essential aspects of CRM and donor management, ensuring that the Salesforce solution is tailored to meet the organization's needs in these areas.
Call 3: Volunteer and Event Management
Volunteer recruitment, onboarding, and tracking
Event planning, registration, and promotion
Attendance tracking and post-event follow-up
Reporting and analytics for volunteer engagement and event performance
Rationale: Volunteers and events play a crucial role in many nonprofits. Addressing the organization's needs in these areas will ensure that the Salesforce solution supports and streamlines their volunteer and event management processes.
Call 4: Integrations, Data Migration, and Training
Identifying required integrations with existing systems
Data migration strategy and mapping
User roles, permissions, and security
Training needs and plan
Post-implementation support and continuous improvement
Rationale: Integrating the Salesforce solution with other systems, migrating existing data, and ensuring proper user access and training are critical to the success of the implementation. This call focuses on the technical and logistical aspects of the project, allowing the junior consultant to plan for these crucial components.
By organizing the discovery calls in this way, the junior consultant can gather comprehensive information about the nonprofit's needs and tailor the Salesforce solution accordingly. The outlined structure ensures that all essential aspects of a nonprofit organization are covered, while also giving the junior consultant opportunities to build relationships with stakeholders and learn about their unique requirements.
The Winner: Captain Cloudwise Lives Up to Their Chosen Name
Although both sets of discovery call suggestions are instructive, Captain Cloudwise is the clear winner with the most comprehensive answer. With minimal prompting, I was provided with a fairly robust list of topics to cover. In my opinion The Captain did the best job thinking deeply not only about nonprofits and their special needs including donor, volunteer, and event management, but also more general Salesforce implementation needs like integration with existing systems, security, analytics, data migration, training, and post implementation support.
This is consistent with my experience of GPT vs Bard. Although I often find Bard more pleasant and friendly to interact with, I’ve found GPT-4 does significantly better with complex requests. GPT’s Discovery outline is extensive enough that an experienced consultant could run with it as-is, but in a real-world scenario, if I was brand-new to this I would follow-up with more refining questions, probing a bit more and asking for subtopics.
Accelerated Learning - With a Heavy Dose of Critical Thinking
As demonstrated, conversational AI LLMs can be a valuable resource in various ways, even with helping new consultants overcome the steep learning curve inherent in executing implementation work with real clients. While it's crucial to check in with more experienced colleagues and apply critical thinking, (AI-generated suggestions can sometimes be irrelevant or even incorrect), leveraging careful and iterative prompts and the expertise of AI "mentors" like Captain Cloudwise and SCM can help new consultants accelerate their learning process. The combination of AI-assisted guidance and human ingenuity promises an interesting future for the world of Salesforce implementation consulting and beyond.*
*GPT-4 (for real) would like me to also mention the need for ethical and responsible use, ensuring transparency and respecting privacy and company policy, as well as considering both the benefits and potential risks in use of all LLMs.
I heartily concur with The Captain.
Hey! Thanks for reading. If you’d like to learn more about how to become a standout consultant, check out the ‘Become an Outstanding Consultant’ course.
“ In the world of consulting, while technical expertise is vital, it’s a consultant’s soft skills that differentiate the most successful individuals.
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