Salesforce consulting services that start with your process, not the licence you already bought. Sthenos runs Salesforce implementation services, CRM consulting services and ERP implementation for enterprise and government teams, across Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, ServiceNow and Odoo. We are platform-independent and we do not resell licences, so the recommendation you get is the one that fits, not the one that pays us a margin.
From discovery to go-live for a mid-market CRM implementation.
Salesforce, Dynamics 365, ServiceNow and Odoo, with the same delivery method.
We take no vendor commission, so scope is sized to your need.
Admin training and documentation, so you are not tied to us to make changes.
Salesforce consulting and implementation services
Most CRM programmes fail on adoption, not configuration. Our Salesforce consulting engagements start by mapping the sales or service process people actually follow, then build to that. Salesforce implementation services cover the full path from a blank org to a system your team uses without being told to.
What we deliver on Salesforce
Every engagement includes documentation written for your admin, not for us.
CRM consulting services across four platforms
Salesforce is not always the answer. CRM consulting services should begin with a platform decision made on your requirements and budget, and that decision is much cheaper to change before implementation than after.
Salesforce
Depth and ecosystem
- Widest app ecosystem and integration coverage
- Strongest fit for complex sales processes and large teams
- Highest licence cost per seat
- Needs a dedicated admin to stay healthy
Dynamics 365
Microsoft-native
- Natural fit where Microsoft 365 is already the standard
- Shared identity, Teams and Power Platform out of the box
- Often better value when bundled with existing agreements
- Dynamics 365 consulting services and Power Platform build
We also deliver ServiceNow support and development for ITSM-led organisations, and Odoo development company work where an open-source, lower-cost stack fits better.
ERP implementation and integration
ERP implementation fails most often at the seam between finance and operations, not inside either one. Our ERP implementation services treat that seam as the first deliverable rather than the last, and every ERP system implementation starts with the data model both sides have to agree on.
- ERP system integration between finance, inventory, procurement and your CRM, with one agreed source of truth per field.
- CRM integration services so quote, order and invoice move without re-keying, which is where most manual error originates.
- CRM implementation services sequenced to go live by business unit rather than in one high-risk cutover.
- Oracle consulting and NetSuite work where those platforms are already in place and replacement is not on the table.
Custom CRM and ERP software development
Packaged platforms fit most organisations. They do not fit all of them. Where your process is genuinely your competitive advantage, forcing it into someone else’s object model costs more over five years than building for it. Custom CRM software development and custom erp software development are the right call in a narrow set of cases, and we will tell you plainly when yours is not one of them.
The honest test is whether you are paying for licences you do not use while still maintaining workarounds for the parts that do not fit. If both are true, a build is worth costing. Our custom crm software development services and custom erp software development services teams build on the same stack we use for any product work, so the result is maintainable by an ordinary engineering team rather than only by us.
- When a build wins: a workflow no vendor models, heavy per-seat cost against low per-seat usage, or data residency rules a SaaS platform cannot meet.
- When it loses: a standard sales pipeline, a small team, or a business that will change shape again within two years.
- The middle path: keep the platform for the standard objects, build only the one process that is genuinely yours, and integrate the two properly.
ServiceNow, Odoo and open-source alternatives
Not every organisation should be paying enterprise CRM licence rates. Two alternatives come up repeatedly, and both are legitimate answers rather than budget compromises.
ServiceNow
Where IT service management is already the centre of gravity, extending ServiceNow often beats bolting a second platform beside it. We provide servicenow support and servicenow development covering workflow build, portal work and integration into the wider estate.
Odoo
For mid-market organisations that need CRM, inventory and finance in one place without enterprise licensing, Odoo is frequently the better economics. As an odoo development company we handle implementation, module configuration and migration from spreadsheets or a legacy system, covering finance and inventory as well as CRM. Where an existing Odoo deployment has drifted, we also take on remediation work.
Choosing between the four platforms
The platform decision is worth a fortnight of care, because reversing it after go-live costs a multiple of getting it right. This is the comparison we walk clients through, and the honest summary is that the cheapest licence is rarely the cheapest programme.
| Platform | Best fit | Licence cost | Watch out for |
| Salesforce | Complex sales processes, large teams, deep app ecosystem needs | Highest per seat | Needs a dedicated admin; unmanaged orgs accumulate debt fast |
| Dynamics 365 | Organisations standardised on Microsoft 365 and Teams | Often bundled favourably | Power Platform governance is frequently an afterthought |
| ServiceNow | ITSM-led organisations extending into service delivery | High, but consolidates tools | Overkill as a pure sales CRM |
| Odoo | Mid-market needing CRM, inventory and finance together | Lowest | Smaller partner pool; customisation depth varies by module |
Why CRM programmes fail, and what we do about it
Across the programmes we are asked to rescue, the failure is almost never technical. Four causes account for nearly all of them, and each has a countermeasure that costs very little if it is applied at the start rather than after go-live.
Nobody owns the data model
When finance and sales disagree about what an account is, every integration inherits the argument. We insist on one named person who can settle field-level disputes, and we get that name in writing during discovery rather than discovering its absence at integration.
The system models the org chart, not the work
Systems built from an idealised process document get abandoned by the people doing the actual work. Discovery sits with the users, not only with their managers, and what we build reflects what we observed rather than what we were told.
Customisation outruns configuration
Every line of custom code raises the cost of the next change. We require a written justification for each custom object and each trigger, which sounds bureaucratic and reliably removes about a third of proposed customisation at no loss.
Training is treated as the last line item
Adoption is decided in the fortnight after go-live. Budgeting training as the item to cut when the project runs late is the most expensive saving available, because a system nobody uses returns nothing on the entire spend.
How much does Salesforce consulting cost?
Rates are driven by seniority and scope. Below is what the market charges and what we charge for the same work, so you can compare any quote you receive against a published benchmark.
What the market charges, and what we charge
Consulting rates
Project pricing
Market figures are published 2026 ranges compiled from MOR Software, Clientell and Valintry360. Sthenos figures are our own indicative ranges for the same scope. Your quote is fixed in writing before work begins.
Two things change the total more than the rate does: how much legacy data has to be migrated and cleaned, and whether you need custom development or only configuration. We quote those separately rather than folding them into a single number.
Our CRM and ERP delivery method
- Process discoveryTwo weeks with the people who use the system daily. We map what they actually do, which is rarely what the process document says.Weeks 1 to 2
- Platform and scope decisionA written recommendation with the fit, the licence cost and the honest trade-offs of each option, including doing nothing.Week 3
- Configure, then buildConfiguration first, custom code only where configuration provably cannot do it. Every custom object gets a written justification.Weeks 4 to 10
- Migrate and reconcileData moved with a reconciliation report showing counts in and out, so nothing is assumed to have landed.Weeks 9 to 12
- Enable and hand overAdmin training, documentation and a support window. You own the system at the end, not a dependency on us.Weeks 12 to 14
Go-live is staged by business unit wherever the organisation allows it, because a single cutover concentrates all the risk on one day.
What to ask any Salesforce consulting company
The gap between a good and a poor salesforce consulting firm or salesforce consulting company shows up eighteen months later, in an org nobody can change. These questions surface it early.
- Do you resell licences? If yes, ask how that affects the edition they recommend.
- Who administers this after go-live? A partner who cannot answer without quoting a retainer is designing for their own revenue.
- How much will be custom code? Heavy Apex on a standard sales process is a warning sign, not a sign of thoroughness.
- Show me the data reconciliation from your last migration. Serious firms have one. It is the only proof the migration worked.
- What happens when we want to change a field? The answer should be that your admin does it, not that you raise a ticket.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Salesforce implementation take?
Six to fourteen weeks for a mid-market rollout, depending on how much legacy data is migrated and how many integrations are in scope. A quick-start for a small team can go live in three to four weeks.
What is the difference between Salesforce consulting and Salesforce development services?
Consulting decides what the system should do and configures it to do that. Development writes Apex and Lightning Web Components for the cases configuration cannot cover. Good delivery uses as little of the second as possible, because custom code is what makes an org expensive to change later.
Can you fix an existing Salesforce org rather than rebuild it?
Usually yes. Most inherited orgs suffer from accumulated unused fields, overlapping automation and duplicate records rather than a fundamental design fault. We audit first and tell you plainly if a rebuild is genuinely cheaper.
Do you work with Dynamics 365 as well as Salesforce?
Yes. We deliver Dynamics 365 consulting services, ServiceNow support and development, and Odoo implementation. Because we do not resell any of them, the platform recommendation is made on fit rather than on our margin.
Do you support government agencies?
Yes. Roughly a third of our work is public sector, including Salesforce Government Cloud and Dynamics 365 deployments scoped against the control frameworks the contract names. The remaining two thirds is commercial, with the same delivery method.
Ready to scope a CRM or ERP programme? Tell us the platform you are on, the process that is not working, and the deadline you are working to, and we will come back with a fixed-price proposal and a named delivery lead. Talk to our CRM team or call +1 301-793-3980.