In an increasingly competitive world, every skill that you have offers you an advantage over those who are stagnant or limited. We all know the saying, ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’, but not many people know that the full quote includes the following: ‘but oftentimes better than a master of one’. What this means is that being a master in one trade can be a handicap, especially if the trade you specialize in is a niche industry or a non-essential skill.

When it comes to the corporate world, employers are looking for competency in their candidates and they determine this by the amount of experience and skills that they have.

A degree-holder with a Salesforce Administrator 201 certification is undeniably much more attractive than someone who only has a degree. Unfortunately, tertiary education is slowly being considered as the most basic requirement that any professional should have. As the world continues to evolve and more skills are needed to navigate our tech-dominated culture, having additional skills in your resume will help you stand out from the masses of talent.

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a cloud-based Customer Relationship Management platform that manages everything from your sales down to your service and also helps companies maintain external and internal relationships. From being able to store information regarding a client or customer, Salesforce is a flexible program which can help track all the necessary data you require in order to maintain a positive customer experience. The same can be done for staff, whereby big companies with a huge workforce will be able to effectively manage and update an employee database. All in all, it is a program designed specifically for improved productivity, performance, and a more cohesive workflow, which increases the chances of closing deals and collaborating on a higher standard.

With so many CRMs on the market, what makes Salesforce stand out?

Salesforce has been described as an independent ecosystem which can be seamlessly integrated onto external programs such as social media. This usability across platforms ensures the highest level of user experience.

Given how mobile-dominated the current landscape of our world is, Salesforce is a CRM that can be accessed directly on your smartphone.

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How to become a pro at Salesforce

While CRMs generally do not require any technical knowledge such as coding, you will need to become accustomed to how the program works and how to best use its offerings. There are a few things that you can do in order to help you achieve a flawless comprehension of the software and how to ace that Salesforce administration test in order to be awarded the Salesforce Administrator 201 certification.

Become a trailblazer with Trailhead

Their official website offers a straight-forward pathway for those interested in learning about their software in easy-to-understand lessons. Best of all, it’s free! And why shouldn’t it be?

Salesforce definitely wants more people using their software and it’s going to monopolize an overly saturated market if you don’t offer great support, especially when the software you are selling is touted to give the best support to your clients.

Trailhead is a mobile application and a community for individuals like yourself who are eager to learn more about Salesforce, connect with Salesforce users, and apply your new skills. However, if you want to become certified by Salesforce, you will need to shell out a pretty penny for their more ambitious and professional courses, sometimes running up to as high as $4500 USD, which is probably why you might be on the lookout for something a little more affordable.

Learn from experienced professionals in the industry

There are courses on Udemy for as low at $13.99 for a crash course on Salesforce. To be honest, Salesforce may be quite intimidating for the uninitiated or those who are just starting out and aren’t familiar with CRMs and the behemoth that Salesforce is. There are so many facets to the software that can be overwhelming. If you want a gentler approach, you can go for online courses so that you have someone experienced guiding you and answering any questions that you may have. Answers which might take you months to discover on your own.

If you’re not ready to take the leap and pay to learn, you can also go to YouTube and search for layman videos on helping build a stronger foundation for you so that when you take the plunge, you don’t go in blind.

Hands-on experience can offer insight you won’t learn from a book

With that said, sometimes there really isn’t anything better than having some good old-fashioned experience. Given the chance, you should definitely take up a position where you can experience using the CRM first-hand so you can become acquainted with its processes and patterns. Since the user interface is straightforward and intuitive, it should not be a problem for those who are already familiar with technology.

Join a community

As with anything, it’s always better if you surround yourself with likeminded people because you can help one another. If you come across any roadblocks, you can dissect it with those in the community and you might also gain some insight that you won’t normally come across in tutorials. Joining a community allows you to learn from the power of the crowd, which is something that can help speed up the process of comprehending this powerful and intricate software.

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Cut yourself some slack and give it time

If you’re expecting to master Salesforce in 20 minutes, you will need to recalibrate how you view the platform. There are so many possibilities and intricate designs to Salesforce that it should take you approximately three to six months in order to truly master the platform. Therefore, you should commit a few hours of your time to learning about their cloud services instead of trying to cram hours on end, hoping to master Salesforce within a day.

Take your time and opt for professional help, especially if you want to become Salesforce certified, because according to popular belief, the test is quite challenging to pass on the first try.

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