Mission
Salesforce consultant is responsible to add value to the business so must be competent on the CRM platform and should be able to develop and provide an appropriate solution to the business problems quickly. Must be aware of all advanced features of the CRM and how they can be used to make the Salesforce implementation worth for the organization.
They need not know every minor feature of the platform but still must have good knowledge of the platform and the functionalities and latest updates provided by Salesforce. They must have the information of data and information flow within Salesforce and be aware of the functionalities offered by the platform and how is it distributed. Also, they must know that how the various available features can leverage the organization. There is a huge requirement of Salesforce consultant due to its increasing use by several companies.
Salesforce Consultant Salary
| Country | Experience | Permanent | Freelance |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | Junior | $106,900 | $80 per hour |
| USA | Mid | $118,000 | $105 per hour |
| USA | Senior | $148,000 | $130 per hour |
| UK | Junior | £45,000 | £500 per day |
| UK | Mid | £56,000 | £600 per day |
| UK | Senior | £75,000 | £700 per day |
Main responsibilities
Gather the business needs
As a Salesforce consultant, you will be asked to identify the needs of your employer/client, translate them into business processes and then into a technical solution in the platform.
Estimate and plan
Project management is one of the essential facets of a good consultant. He will have to plan and budget the project, according to the client’s specifications.
This phase of framing the project is essential to ensure alignment between business needs and technical solutions. This step also allows estimating the time that this project will take, and therefore the cost!
Control the quality of the data
The administrator is responsible for the quality of the data in Salesforce. Upstream, it helps users to enter data correctly (validation rules, mandatory fields…). Downstream, he uses tools that control the quality of the data.
Configure the solution
The core of the business is evidently the setting up and implementation of the Salesforce solution at the customer. This mainly represents a major part of the consultant’s activities.
Train the end users
The consultant is the one who has implemented the solution. He must, therefore, take part in the training of users. Generally, in the form of workshops, user training is a key step in the process of adopting the tool.
Manage the project in its entirety
At the beginning of his career, the consultant is often under the direction of a project manager. He is the one who sets up the solution which makes him the guarantor of the technical realization. The consultant is therefore involved in the costing of the project, its development, its launch, without forgetting the test phases. Finally, he will often have to run training workshops for his clients.
The Salesforce consultant needs to be versatile. The experience will allow him one day to take the lead of the project.
Qualities needed
- Ability to strike a rapport with the customer
- Relationship building and people skills
- Being a good listener
- Being truthful
- Projecting a winning image
- Building customer trust
- Projecting an image that matches the company’s image
- Business etiquette and social etiquette
- Developing a unique personal style
- Being knowledgeable
Certifications
The certifications below are recommended. They can be different from one profile to another, depending on the specializations that the consultant has chosen.
- Administrator
- Advanced Administrator
- Sales Cloud Consultant
- Service Cloud Consultant
- Marketing Cloud Consultant
- Community Cloud Consultant
- Platform App Builder
- Platform Developer I
- Platform Developer II
Essential tools
- Bluefactory.io a Salesforce backup and restore solution: Bluefactory allows Salesforce consultants to track configuration changes, code quality/audit and protect Salesforce from data loss.
- Salesforce Toolkit (Org Compare, Data Compare, Switch, Schema Lister, Field Creator, Package Builder) or Workbench that offers a set of tools for administrators and developers.
- Force.com IDE to create, modify, and deploy Force.com applications.
- GridBuddy Data Management to manage prospects, flows, forecasts…
Career Evolutions
- Technical/functional consultant
- CRM Manager
- Team Leader
- Project Manager
Stay informed!
- https://www.adminhero.com
- https://developer.salesforce.com/page/News
- https://www.salesforceben.com/
- https://twitter.com/SalesforceAmy
- https://twitter.com/pelicanlaurich
- https://www.salesforce.com/fr/blog/
- https://www.masonfrank.com/salesforce-blog/
- http://www.cloudgalacticos.co.uk/blog/
- http://www.simplysfdc.com/
- https://twitter.com/davidgiller
