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When I first became a Salesforce Consultant, I was fortunate enough to join a team that had a lot of active projects and was growing quickly. This meant I was able to get started right away, but this also meant I had a lot to learn quickly. In my opinion, this is the easiest way to learn Salesforce technical skills. As helpful as trailheads and certifications are, working on real life Salesforce engagements is the easiest way to learn. Here are 3 main things I learned in my first year.
- Reference Salesforce Articles first
- Utilize your peers
- Ask lots of questions
Reference Salesforce Articles
In the consulting world, things move quickly. If I was given a task by my manager that I had never done before, it was up to me to get it done. I realized quickly, is if it’s a task that my manager trusted me to complete, it has been completed by another consultant before. This is how I learned to always reference Salesforce Articles as a first step. There is an abundance of Salesforce Admin knowledge across the Internet. I quickly found Trailheads, Salesforce Help, and Salesforce Answers. This got me through many of my Salesforce “firsts” like workflow rules, validation rules, formula fields, and process builders.
Utilize Your Peers
If searching through Salesforce documentation online wasn’t helping me crack the code on a new task, I then learned how important it was to reach out to my peers. A large part of Consulting is time management. We don’t want to spend up our time searching the Internet for the answer. If I realized I had done my due diligence on my own and still was unable to complete a task, I would reach out to coworkers, or even online Salesforce forums. The Salesforce community is very tight-knit, and fellow Consultants are always willing to help out. If the company you are working for doesn’t have the resources internally to help you learn, reach out to others online through Salesforce.
Ask Questions
Whether the questions are to your peers to learn, or your questions are to the client to clarify their request, asking questions is the most important part of being a Salesforce Consultant. Questions not only helped me learn how to complete tasks, but also helped me manage time. Determining how to complete the task, how long it will take you, and when the task needs to be completed by are among some of the most important questions to ask to your manager or peers. Additionally, as I mentioned before, questions to the client are just as important. When trying to gather requirements and solution, your goal should be to uncover all the necessary components to create the best solution. Without asking a lot of questions, often times, requirements can get missed.
When navigating through your first year as a Salesforce Consultant, these three learns can help you be successful. Using your resources is the most important in your first year as a Salesforce Consultant. Utilizing Salesforce Articles, your peers, and asking questions are amongst some of the many resources you can take advantage of.
WRITTEN BY KIRSTEN MCELWEE
