Are you thinking about becoming a Salesforce Administrator?

If yes, you may be on your way to a lucrative career. However, you must undergo Salesforce admin training to get the most out of it.

At Pathstream, we’re committed to equipping students and employees with the digital skills necessary to succeed in the modern business landscape. So, if you want to take Salesforce admin training, you’re in the right place.

But first, here’s a guide designed to answer all your queries about becoming a Salesforce administrator.

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a cloud-based software company that offers businesses CRM solutions. It supports numerous business functions, including sales and marketing, tracking customer activity, market, etc.

As a Salesforce administrator, you will be responsible for helping users, teams, and the organization get the most out of the solution. This involves defining system requirements and making the necessary customizations to suit your needs. Of course, determining necessary changes is done in conjunction with stakeholders.

Therefore, you need to know the Salesforce platform inside and out. And this should be accompanied by a deep understanding of your company’s needs. If so, you can develop the necessary automation to enhance efficiency and productivity.

The solutions you may be tasked to develop include:

• Intelligent workflows
• Develop apps for projects
• Easy-to-use dashboards

In addition, you’ll be required to train and educate Salesforce users regularly to ensure they can use the solution.

Why should you take Salesforce Administration training

CRM solutions have become an integral part of businesses today. They offer numerous benefits, including deeper knowledge of customers, enhanced communication, and increased customer retention. However, there are numerous CRM solutions available in the market.

So, why should you put your focus on Salesforce?

Well, it’s simple. Salesforce is the world’s leading CRM solution serving over 150,000 businesses. This translates to a market share of 19.8%, which is more than its four leading competitors combined. Since its inception nearly two decades ago, the company has grown over 200 times.

Salesforce’s growth is not just down to it being the market leader. It’s because Salesforce offers unique features and continues to improve. As a result, companies that want to enhance efficiency and productivity and accelerate growth turn to the solution. In turn, the demand for Salesforce administrators is high.

How to become a Salesforce admin

With most digital courses, a technical background is essential. But that’s not the case with Salesforce. So long as you have a computer and internet access, you begin your journey to becoming a Salesforce administrator.

The Salesforce team has developed Trailhead, a free online learning platform where you can start. From there, you can proceed to study for the Salesforce Certified Administrator exam. Generally, it takes 115-125 hours of study and preparation to pass the exam.

You’ll want a more comprehensive regimen once you’re done with Salesforce’s free training program. With Pathstream, you can learn more about Salesforce and become ready for advanced certification in only 18 weeks.

Steps for Becoming a Salesforce Admin

There are different routes for becoming a Salesforce admin. Even still, the process is more or less the same. It involves:

1. Choosing a training system

Numerous providers offer Salesforce training services. With some, training last two days to a week, and sessions can be structured to suit your schedule.

While short training periods seem like an easy way to become a Salesforce administrator, they often leave many gaps in your skillset. This is why Pathstream’s Salesforce certificate program lasts 18 weeks. By the time you become certified, you’ll be ready to support all your company’s growth needs.

2. Learning and practicing

After choosing a training system, the only thing left will be to learn and practice. With Salesforce, there is no shortcut. The amount of time you spend studying and practicing is what will determine your proficiency with the tool.

So, beyond the materials your course offers, do your own research. There are numerous free resources online that you can use to enhance your knowledge. From books to videos on YouTube, use all the resources available.

3. Take the exam

Depending on your current schedule and how much time you can commit to studying and training, it may take 6-12 months before you can take the Certified Salesforce Administrator exam. However, the most important thing is that you’re ready when taking the exam.

Salesforce Administrator skills

Salesforce administrators can significantly influence the success of a company. As such, for you to be good at your job, you’ll require a large skill set.

Some of the technical skills you’ll need include:

• Automation- Create solutions and processes to perform repetitive tasks

• Data management- Involves directing how data is collected, stored, reviewed, and used

• User management- Create and assign users, delegate users, work with permissions

• Reporting- Create and manage how users can access the visual representations of data

• Troubleshooting- Investigate and resolve issues at the user and organization level
• Security- Ensure business data is secure by implementing necessary protocols and training users on the same
• Change management- Encourage adoption of new features by training and guiding users on how to implement and adapt to changes

Beyond the technical skills, you’ll also need skills such as:

• Leadership
• Business knowledge
• Innovativeness and open-mindedness
• Problem-solving
• Project management
• Business analysis
• Communication

Key functions of a Salesforce Administrator

Salesforce administrators rarely ever get free time while at work. So if you’re not trying to address issues presented by users, you’ll be trying to figure out other ways to enhance efficiency.

Some of the primary activities you’ll be doing include:

• Research- As you work towards enhancing efficiency and productivity, you’ll need to do a lot of research to determine the best tools and features for your company’s success

• Business needs analysis- In conjunction with stakeholders, you’ll need to analyze processes and determine appropriate improvements to enhance user experience

• Case management- Part of your role is addressing cases presented by users, which may involve permission set assignments, password reset requests, new automation requests, etc.

• Implementation- After you develop solutions for users, you still have to ensure that it’s properly adopted and implemented

• Training- Once solutions are implemented, Salesforce admins have to develop training programs to facilitate adoption

• Salesforce platform management- As business needs evolve, you’ll need to adjust how you use and manage the platform accordingly.

Salesforce Administrator certifications

At this stage, you should feel confident and excited about the prospects and salary that come with a career as a Salesforce admin. However, there’s only one thing left to do, choose a career path. There are five different options to consider in the journey to becoming a Salesforce Admin.

They are:

• Administrator- Suitable for individuals with some experience with Salesforce and who have the desire to continue learning and developing new ways to support business goals

• Advanced Administrator- Designed for seasoned Salesforce Administrators who seek to gain mastery of all Salesforce features and functionality

• Platform App Builder- For individuals interested in designing, building, and deploying custom application

• Marketing cloud administrator- Involves configuring and troubleshooting configuration and user requests such as Setup navigation and subscriber data management via Marketing Cloud

• CPQ Specialist- Enables learners to use Salesforce Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) to design, build, and implement quoting flows

Career Prospects for Salesforce Admins

As you prepare to take Salesforce admin training, it’s understandable if you want to know your career prospects beforehand. In this regard, Salesforce has done some research for you.

As per their data, the US’s annual growth rate for Salesforce admins stands at 400%. This represents an increase of 4x each year, giving making it highly likely for you to secure a Salesforce admin position. Some of the industries where Salesforce administrators are in high demand include:

• Financial services
• Retail
• Software companies
• Healthcare
• Nonprofits

Along with the high job prospects, a career as a Salesforce admin will see you earn a decent salary. Salesforce reports that you can expect a starting salary of $79,000. However, as you gain more experience and help your company achieve greater efficiency and productivity, you can expect this figure to rise significantly.

Is Salesforce Admin Certification difficult? 

As with all other exams, the difficulty of Salesforce certification exams is subjective. It depends on your natural learning ability and commitment to studying and practicing.

You’ll have to tackle 65 questions during the exam before you become certified. Each year, Salesforce releases newly certified admins thrice. This is during spring, summer, and fall. With each release, the questions are updated.

Certified Admin’s salary vs. uncertified Admin’s salary

While it’s possible to become a Salesforce Administrator without certification, you may want to pursue certification later on. For example, there was a notable discrepancy based on a recent survey on how much Salesforce Admins make in Denver.

While certified admins take $86,850 annually, their uncertified counterparts earn $69,600 yearly. This represents a difference of $17250 yearly, which is significant. So, even if you’re lucky enough to get started without certification, you’ll be better off pursuing it.

Salesforce Admin training 

Several things influence how successful you’ll become as a Salesforce administrator. Key among them is the training you get.

At Pathstream, we offer comprehensive training to help you master all the concepts of Salesforce. More importantly, the training can be tailored to fit into your schedule. So get in touch with us today to begin Salesforce Admin training.