Salesforce Administration: Definition, Tips & Advice

What is Salesforce Administration? 

Salesforce Administration refers to the administration of the eponymous platform Salesforce. Administrative activities include in particular the configuration of Salesforce, the implementation of individual adjustments and ensuring functionality.

These and other activities within the system are carried out by the so-called Salesforce Administrator. In larger companies, entire teams of Salesforce administrators often come together.

The position of administrator comes with a high level of responsibility and has a decisive influence on the implementation of innovations, processes and automation in the company.

What does a Salesforce Administrator do? 

Salesforce administrators have a complex and demanding day-to-day work. Your main task is to adapt Salesforce to the specific company requirements. Their greatest challenge lies in translating the demands of the company owners, which are usually communicated in personal discussions, into technical terms. The smoother this succeeds, the more efficiently the platform can be used.

The diverse tasks of a Salesforce Administrator are of both company-wide and individual relevance. As the person responsible, he takes a bird's eye view of the internal company processes and creates a consistent and secure database.

It assigns permissions, manages users, creates workflows and automates processes. The constant optimization of the system is also part of everyday work. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for end users to use it.

Other typical activities of a Salesforce administrator are:

Employee admin or external Salesforce support?

Salesforce Administration is a long-term and essential success factor in the implementation of business innovations and processes. The position of admin should be filled accordingly. Basically, the choice must be made between an internal employee or external Salesforce support. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages.

While an employed admin is already familiar with the requirements and structures of the company structure, an external support first has to get to know them. This requires intensive cooperation, especially at the beginning.

External support will usually have a head start on specialist knowledge and expertise compared to employed employees. Salesforce agencies can usually look back on many years of practical experience. Furthermore, experience from a wide range of customer projects on topics related to Marketing Automation, CRM and Sales Automation can help to look at business processes from a new perspective.

If a certified admin is not yet employed in the company, one must first be trained or found on the job market. However, especially in IT, skilled workers are highly competitive and the search is often lengthy and very expensive. External Salesforce support, on the other hand, is immediately available.

What Salesforce certifications are there?

Salesforce currently offers six different training courses. Each direction covers a different thematic focus. Further, additional certifications are also possible within the paths.

The time required and the complexity of the exam also differ depending on the certification. Choosing certification is a long-term career decision and exams are expensive.

Officially, a minimum of 6-12 months of Salesforce experience is recommended before taking an exam. Accordingly, it should be clear in advance which certification is the right one for your own individual company requirements.

Particularly diligent learners can also acquire so-called Super-badges in order to prove additional learning focuses in topics such as Business Administration Specialist and Security Specialist.

How do you become a Salesforce Administrator?

 Training to become a Salesforce Administrator requires two things in particular: time and discipline. The complete time scope of the training amounts to several hundred learning hours. No prior technical knowledge or experience with Salesforce is required to get started. However, if both are present, all the better.

Absolute beginners first learn what the Salesforce platform is and what it does, and then continually build on that knowledge. A final exam is required to obtain certification. Consequently, it is important to prepare thoroughly and then take the certified Salesforce Administrator exam.

Essentially, the training to become an admin can be divided into three sections.

1. Selection of a training system

The first step is to choose a suitable training system. There are many different systems and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Of course, which system is suitable also depends on personal and professional requirements. Do you prefer to learn in a local training environment or online and at your own pace?

2. Learning phase

Training to become a Salesforce Administrator is certainly no walk in the park. As in school, however, the same applies here: those who study continuously and diligently will be rewarded with a successful exam at the end.

The learning phase usually lasts between 6-12 months and requires many hours of learning effort. The time actually required also depends on the personal and professional situation and should not be underestimated. However, it is better to learn a few hours more than too little.

3. Exam   

As soon as you feel professionally fit enough and have built up a sound knowledge of how to use Salesforce, you can take the certified admin exam.

This is usually done online, lasts 105 minutes and consists of 60 multiple-choice or multiple-select questions. Five non-assessed questions are also part of the exam. A total of 65% points are required to pass the exam.

Once you have achieved this, you can now call yourself a certified Salesforce Administrator and enjoy the associated professional advantages. Because Salesforce is constantly evolving and adapting to the increasingly complex needs of our time, the exam needs to be refreshed from time to time.

As a result, Salesforce administrators need to stay on the ball even after their training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.

Salesforce Administration summarized

The tasks of Salesforce administration are complex and come with a lot of responsibility. In addition to self-management, technical understanding, foresight and a constant willingness to learn are required.

The Salesforce Administrator position is a key role in the company and contributes significantly to business innovation and business progress. The lengthy training to become a certified administrator is correspondingly demanding.

It usually lasts between 6 and 12 months. In everyday work, the admins act as an interface between the company management and the employees. On the one hand, the requirements of the stakeholders must be met and, on the other hand, the user-friendliness of the system must be guaranteed.

If this balancing act succeeds, Salesforce administrators can make a decisive contribution to the long-term success of the company.