Benchmark International increased buyer engagement by 60% and generated approximately 40% more offers after modernizing its Salesforce environment and implementing a custom Buyer Portal built on Salesforce Experience Cloud.
The project demonstrates an important lesson for growing organizations: you don’t always need to replace your CRM. Sometimes, the biggest opportunity comes from optimizing the platform you already have.
Quick Summary
Company: Benchmark International
Industry: Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
Challenge: An aging Salesforce environment and the need for a more engaging, scalable buyer experience.
Solution: Salesforce optimization, technical debt reduction, and a custom Buyer Portal built on Salesforce Experience Cloud.
Results:
- 60% increase in Confidential Information Memorandums (CIMs) issued to buyers
- Approximately 40% increase in offers submitted
- Increased buyer engagement and repeat usage
- Improved platform scalability and maintainability
- Greater confidence in Salesforce as a long-term business platform
What Is Salesforce Experience Cloud?
Salesforce Experience Cloud is a platform that enables organizations to build customer portals, partner portals, communities, and digital experiences that connect directly to Salesforce data and processes.
Companies use Experience Cloud to create secure, personalized experiences that improve engagement and make information more accessible to customers, partners, and stakeholders.
For Benchmark International, it became the foundation for a completely new buyer experience.
About Benchmark International
Benchmark International is a global mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that helps business owners buy, sell, and grow companies.
The firm connects buyers and sellers around the world while managing highly sensitive information and complex deal processes.
As the organization continued to grow, leadership saw an opportunity to improve how buyers discovered opportunities and interacted with the business.
Rather than introducing another standalone application, Benchmark chose to maximize the value of Salesforce.
The Challenge: Growing Beyond an Aging Salesforce Environment
Like many successful organizations, Benchmark International had reached a point where its technology foundation needed to evolve.
Years of growth had introduced complexity into the Salesforce environment. Processes had changed, automations had aged, and technical debt had accumulated. The platform wasn’t broken, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and harder to scale.
The business also wanted to create a better digital experience for buyers and improve engagement throughout the acquisition process.
The challenge wasn’t replacing Salesforce; it was enabling Salesforce to support the next stage of growth.
The Solution: Salesforce Optimization and a Buyer Portal Built on Experience Cloud
The first step was strengthening the Salesforce foundation.
The team focused on:
- Modernizing automations
- Reducing technical debt
- Updating aging components
- Improving governance and maintainability
- Creating a more scalable architecture for future initiatives
With a stable foundation in place, attention shifted toward transforming the buyer experience.
Benchmark International implemented a custom Buyer Portal built on Salesforce Experience Cloud that allowed buyers to:
- Search available opportunities
- Discover businesses that matched their interests
- Access information securely
- Return to the platform regularly
- Engage with more opportunities throughout the buying process
The portal became more than a new piece of technology; it became a strategic business asset that fundamentally changed how buyers interacted with Benchmark.
The Results
The impact was immediate and measurable.
60% Increase in Buyer Engagement
Benchmark International experienced a 60% increase in Confidential Information Memorandums (CIMs) issued to buyers after launching the new Buyer Portal.
This increase demonstrated significantly higher buyer activity and stronger engagement with opportunities on the platform.
Approximately 40% More Offers Submitted
Greater buyer engagement translated directly into business outcomes.
Benchmark saw approximately 40% more offers submitted on behalf of clients, creating additional opportunities and improving the overall deal process.
Increased Platform Confidence
The company also gained something equally important: confidence in its technology foundation.
With reduced technical debt and a more scalable architecture, Salesforce became a platform capable of supporting future innovation and continued growth.
Key Takeaways
- You don’t always need to replace Salesforce to achieve significant business outcomes.
- Technical debt can limit growth more than software capabilities.
- Salesforce Experience Cloud can dramatically improve customer and partner engagement.
- A well-designed digital experience can directly influence business performance.
- Investing in a strong foundation makes future innovation significantly easier.
Why Did Benchmark International Choose Salesforce Experience Cloud?
Benchmark International needed a secure and scalable way to improve buyer engagement while keeping sensitive information protected.
Salesforce Experience Cloud allowed the company to create a custom Buyer Portal directly connected to its Salesforce data and processes, eliminating disconnected systems and creating a better user experience.
How Did Salesforce Improve Buyer Engagement?
The new portal made it easier for buyers to discover opportunities, access information, and return to the platform regularly.
By reducing friction and creating a more engaging experience, Benchmark increased buyer activity, resulting in more CIMs issued and more offers submitted.
What Business Problems Can Salesforce Experience Cloud Solve?
Salesforce Experience Cloud can help organizations:
- Build customer portals
- Create partner communities
- Develop self-service experiences
- Improve collaboration
- Share information securely
- Increase engagement and adoption
- Extend Salesforce beyond internal users
Five Signs Your Salesforce Environment Needs Optimization
Many organizations experience challenges similar to Benchmark International’s.
Here are five indicators that your Salesforce environment may need attention:
1. Your teams rely on spreadsheets and manual workarounds.
2. Deployments have become slow or risky.
3. Automation frequently breaks when processes change.
4. Users no longer trust the data.
5. Leadership is considering replacing Salesforce altogether.
If these issues sound familiar, the answer may not be a new platform.
It may be a better strategy for the one you already have.
The Bigger Lesson
Benchmark International’s story is a reminder that digital transformation doesn’t always require starting over.
Sometimes the greatest opportunity comes from strengthening your foundation, eliminating technical debt, and building new experiences on top of the systems you already own.
That’s exactly what Benchmark International did.
And the results speak for themselves.
Ready to Get More From Salesforce?
If your organization is struggling with technical debt, low adoption, or an aging Salesforce environment, it may be time to rethink what’s possible.
The next stage of growth may not require a new CRM.
It may simply require unlocking the full potential of the one you already have.