{"id":354,"date":"2016-03-24T23:49:21","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T18:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/?p=354"},"modified":"2026-06-15T18:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T13:21:07","slug":"what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/","title":{"rendered":"What to look for in an offshore partner for your Salesforce Consulting Business?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-355 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/right-offshore-salesforce-partner-300x214.png\" alt=\"What to look for in an offshore partner for your Salesforce Consulting Business?\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/right-offshore-salesforce-partner-300x214.png 300w, https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/right-offshore-salesforce-partner-768x548.png 768w, https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/right-offshore-salesforce-partner.png 1002w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>If you have a Salesforce.com consulting business &#8211; you may be interested in working with an offshore partner. The reasons could be taking the advantage of low costs in offshore markets or having an expert team to quickly work on your projects or it could be that you want a partner to take care of development \/ programmatic customizations while you focus on client engagement. Whatever is your reason &#8211; in this post we will be exploring some of the qualifications you should look for in an offshore partner before you select one.<\/p>\n<p>With Salesforce.com being a popular product suite there are many offshore companies that have become Salesforce.com partner. On Appexchange alone there are over 700 consulting partners listed. In India (one of popular offshore destination) there are over 50 consultants. In addition to this there may be many companies that offer Salesforce.com services but are not a registerd partner. Considering the large base of consulting companies it makes sense to evaluate the offshore partner carefully and methodically.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Here are the qualifications that you should look for in a Salesforce.com offshore partner:<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 ez-toc-wrap-left-text counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/#What_kind_of_%E2%80%98Processes_they_follow\" >What kind of &#8216;Processes&#8217; they follow?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/#How_is_their_%E2%80%98Infrastructure\" >How is their &#8216;Infrastructure&#8217;?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/#What_%E2%80%98Commitment_they_are_ready_to_give\" >What &#8216;Commitment&#8217; they are ready to give?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/#How_%E2%80%98Flexible_they_are\" >How &#8216;Flexible&#8217; they are?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/#What_kind_of_%E2%80%98Expertise_Skills_they_offer\" >What kind of &#8216;Expertise &amp; Skills&#8217; they offer?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/#What_is_their_%E2%80%98Experience_on_Salesforcecom\" >What is their &#8216;Experience&#8217; on Salesforce.com<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/#What_kind_of_%E2%80%98Business_Proposal_they_are_offering\" >What kind of &#8216;Business Proposal&#8217; they are offering?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/what-to-look-for-in-an-offshore-partner-for-your-salesforce-consulting-business\/#What_%E2%80%98Service_Level_Agreements_or_SLAs_they_offer\" >What &#8216;Service Level Agreements&#8217; or SLAs they offer?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_kind_of_%E2%80%98Processes_they_follow\"><\/span>What kind of &#8216;Processes&#8217; they follow?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>What kind of processes they follow while managing an offshore project? What tools they use for project management?<\/li>\n<li>Which project lifecycle they follow &#8211; agile or waterfall?<\/li>\n<li>How they communicate with client? How they manage the communication in each stage of a project? What communication tools they use?<\/li>\n<li>What quality processes they follow? How they keep record of quality checks? Will they share quality process documentation with you? What quality tools they use?<\/li>\n<li>How they bring the best practices from across industry to your projects?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_their_%E2%80%98Infrastructure\"><\/span>How is their &#8216;Infrastructure&#8217;?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>What kind of infrastructure they have? Network connectivity etc<\/li>\n<li>How secure are their office? Do they have dedicated security staff?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_%E2%80%98Commitment_they_are_ready_to_give\"><\/span>What &#8216;Commitment&#8217; they are ready to give?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>How committed are they to their Salesforce.com business? What percentage of their employees work on Salesforce.com<\/li>\n<li>How long they are working on Salesforce.com projects?<\/li>\n<li>Will they put their own resources or subcontract?<\/li>\n<li>Can they identify the key resources that will work on your assignment so that you can talk to them?<\/li>\n<li>Do they offer a free trial with resource before you confirm?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_%E2%80%98Flexible_they_are\"><\/span>How &#8216;Flexible&#8217; they are?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>In which timezone they can work? Can they operate in your timezone?<\/li>\n<li>How flexible is their business model? Are they flexible to work according to your business model?<\/li>\n<li>Can they offer 24&#215;7 support? Or they can offer you extended support?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_kind_of_%E2%80%98Expertise_Skills_they_offer\"><\/span>What kind of &#8216;Expertise &amp; Skills&#8217; they offer?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Number of Salesforce.com Consultants, Administrators or Developers they have (Look for the type of resources you want). Evaluate if they have enough resources in their team.<\/li>\n<li>How many of their consultants are certified? Are they offering a certified resource for your project? Or they are committing that resource will get certification within two months (some of these companies certify based on client needs).<\/li>\n<li>How active the resources are on Salesforce.com community, or online community like Stackexchange? What is the quality of their responses?<\/li>\n<li>Speak to the team and evaluate their expertise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_their_%E2%80%98Experience_on_Salesforcecom\"><\/span>What is their &#8216;Experience&#8217; on Salesforce.com<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>How long they have been Salesforce.com partner?<\/li>\n<li>How many projects they have done? What is the feedback rating of their projects on Appexchange?<\/li>\n<li>What kind of reviews their clients have written about them on Appexchange.<\/li>\n<li>Ask them to share some similar case studies and evaluate the type of experience they have.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_kind_of_%E2%80%98Business_Proposal_they_are_offering\"><\/span>What kind of &#8216;Business Proposal&#8217; they are offering?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Do they have a single rate or rates based on consultant?<\/li>\n<li>Are they ready to offer a fixed price<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_%E2%80%98Service_Level_Agreements_or_SLAs_they_offer\"><\/span>What &#8216;Service Level Agreements&#8217; or SLAs they offer?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>What kind of Service Levels they offer?<\/li>\n<li>What is their turnaround and response time?<\/li>\n<li>Are they ready to agree to SLAs?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Above list may not be exhaustive &#8211; however this can be a good starting point to evaluate your offshore partner. It may be possible that you will come across some consultants who have tried offshore partners and were not successful. To ensure success in establishing the relationship with an offshore partner on an ongoing basis you must look for above qualifications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you have a Salesforce.com consulting business &#8211; you may be interested in working with an offshore partner. The reasons could be taking the advantage of low costs in offshore markets or having an expert team to quickly work on your projects or it could be that you want a partner to take care of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[136],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-salesforce-com-crm","tag-offshore-salesforce-consultant","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dhruvsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}