Sales Cloud Discovery has specific workshops and artefacts.
Stage 1: Strategic alignment
- Meet with the VP Sales / CRO. Understand: revenue model, sales motion (inbound/outbound, B2B/B2C, transactional/enterprise), sales team structure, KPIs.
- Confirm vision: what's Salesforce expected to deliver?
Stage 2: Sales process mapping
- Workshop with sales leaders + reps.
- Map the funnel: lead generation -> qualification -> opportunity -> close.
- Capture stage definitions, exit criteria, who owns each stage.
- Capture multiple sales motions if they exist (new business, renewals, expansions).
Stage 3: Data model design
- Lead, Account, Contact, Opportunity, Product, Pricebook, Quote, Order, Asset.
- Custom objects for vertical needs (e.g., for B2B SaaS: Subscription, Renewal).
- Relationships and what cascades.
- External Id fields for data migration.
Stage 4: Pipeline & forecasting
- Stages -> Forecast Categories mapping.
- Probability per stage.
- Quota structure.
- Forecast hierarchy.
- Reports and dashboards needed for sales managers.
Stage 5: Lead management
- Lead source tracking.
- Lead routing rules (region, industry, segment).
- Lead conversion process (when does Lead become Account/Contact/Opportunity).
- Marketing integration (Pardot/MCAE).
Stage 6: Quoting & pricing (if applicable)
- Standard pricing or CPQ?
- Discount approval process.
- Quote -> Order -> Invoice integration.
Stage 7: Collaboration
- Account Teams, Opportunity Teams.
- Sharing model (private vs public Read).
- Cross-region collaboration if global.
Stage 8: Integrations
- Marketing automation (Pardot/Marketo).
- ERP for orders.
- Customer Success / CSM tooling.
- Reporting / BI tools.
Stage 9: Reporting
- Pipeline dashboards.
- Activity reports.
- Forecast accuracy tracking.
- Win/Loss analysis.
Stage 10: Process artefacts
- Process flow diagrams.
- Use case scenarios for UAT.
- Training material outlines.
A senior Sales Cloud consultant has a workshop kit per stage — pre-built questions, templates, common patterns. The 10-stage approach makes Discovery comprehensive without missing critical areas.