Salesforce is the world’s leading cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Big and small companies use this CRM platform to connect with customers, build lasting relationships, and streamline business processes. Salesforce is used by over 150,000 companies worldwide. Research firms predict there will be approximately 9.3 million new Salesforce jobs by 2026.
Almost every company that uses Salesforce employs Salesforce Administrators. These individuals help companies configure the Salesforce software and then generate reports and dashboards that the company uses to track sales and other parts of the business. Salesforce Administrators can apply the Salesforce platform to any business, non-profit, or organization to improve functionality and efficiency. At their core, they maintain and make the platform more user-friendly.
Top Salesforce Administrator skills you need on your resume
To help you transition to a Salesforce Administrator (Admin) career, we list the top Salesforce Administrator skills you need in 2022.
Hard skills to learn as a Salesforce Admin
- User Management – Managing the various types of users that interact with a company’s Salesforce setup is one of the key tasks of an administrator. Administrators assign user profiles, set up accounts, give new users their roles in Salesforce, and set up rules that govern user access. To design a great user experience, administrators need to know how their organization divides teams, how teams use Salesforce to do their jobs, which integrations teams need to complete their tasks, and what access each team needs to the platform.
- Data Management – Data is essential to Salesforce, and you need to ensure accurate data is captured and stored. An administrator does this by putting together best practices such as validation rules, rules to prevent data duplication and ensure that data provides insights to help executives make business decisions.
- Security – Administrators perform health checks regularly to see how safe the organization’s security settings are. They coordinate with IT departments to implement security measures that protect their organization’s data.
- Actionable Data Reporting – Salesforce Administrators must be capable of creating reports and dashboards that show performance. For example, they should build reports that confirm which products are top sellers, the highest value prospects, and which marketing campaigns have been successful.
Business analysis skills
- Problem-solving – Salesforce administrators know their company’s business processes and goals. They foresee potential issues with applications or identify gaps in business processes. As excellent problem solvers, they find solutions to problems or know the following steps to integrate an app better. They don’t wait to extinguish fires.
- Understanding the Sales Process – As an administrator, you will not be required to sell but should understand how the sales process works. You work closely with the Sales team and build solutions that support them.
- Understanding the Business Process – You cannot improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations without identifying the business needs. Business-savvy admins take the time to research and develop a firm understanding of their business and industry. Why? These factors influence how your business operates and how you would use and administer Salesforce company-wide.
Technical skills
Coding experience isn’t needed, but knowledge of technical skills will enable you to navigate a complex task or project better. Learning to write logic and use validation rules or process builder tools would be best. Becoming an expert in database management, security, and compliance will boost your confidence when you speak to users and executives, build dashboards for your stakeholders or troubleshoot issues.
Project management
Salesforce administrators need project management skills to help them perform day-to-day tasks. For example, as a Salesforce admin, you apply your platform knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet business goals. To do this, you need to be able to:
- Lead
- Manage Tasks
- Schedule
- Quality management
- Planning
- Execution
Leadership skills
You will develop strong leadership skills as you grow in your Salesforce career. Your role intersects business and technical skills, enabling you to be innovative. You will want to invest time in developing leadership skills by working on business cases, training material, building workshops, or demoing new features you install to users. Don’t be afraid to become a leader. Your knowledge can help your organization thrive and accelerate your career.
Active listening
Skilled admins know their business well and regularly schedule meetings with different departments using the platform to gather feedback. These meetings will give Salesforce admins insight into how various departments use Salesforce, be a forum for new ideas, or tell you what other teams want to achieve with the platform. It’s up to you to carefully listen to translate their goals into a functional end product using the process builder tool to create customized workflows and processes.
Strong communication skills
Salesforce admins don’t wait for things to go wrong or be told that a new application is needed. They constantly communicate with their team, executives, and other stakeholders. A good admin will explain processes to everyone and confidently communicate updates to all associates and leaders. In this role, your customers are your internal users, and you will regularly update them and teach them how to use the platform.
Resourceful & proactive
As an Administrator, you will connect your sales team, the executive team, and your customers. You are the user’s voice and are in charge of ensuring that the team is successful. This role is best for a highly motivated person who takes the initiative constantly improves the user experience, and builds best practices. This is especially important because new software versions are released continuously, and you will be the go-to person for Salesforce-related questions. You should always know what tools are available, vet new apps, and stay updated on Salesforce. You may not have the answer right away or the solution to a problem, but you will know where to look, research, and stay on top of following up.
How to develop your Salesforce Administrator skills?
Now that you know what Salesforce Administrator skills you need for a successful career, there are many ways to develop these skills. Let’s discuss the key to a successful career: education. Suppose you want to transition to a Salesforce admin career or are seeking a promotion. In that case, there are many ways to start. If you are new to Salesforce, we recommend you research the industry. It would help to familiarize yourself with the terminology and explore various career paths in the ecosystem. We encourage you to seek out professional connections already employed as Salesforce Admins, Sales Operations specialists, or CRM specialists within your professional network. You can learn more about the role through informational interviews and better understand the job requirements.
Once you have done your research, you will need to master the Salesforce Administrator skills to build your career. The Salesforce Career Administrator Certificate Program is designed to build a solid theoretical foundation and prepare our students with hands-on projects to apply their new Salesforce Administrator skills. This online program gives you the knowledge and hands-on support you need to prepare for the Salesforce Administrator Certification exam and launch your career as a Salesforce Administrator. It yields faster, cheaper, and less time than going back to college or starting a boot camp. We also provide career guidance to help graduates get jobs in this highly competitive field.
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