It was time to look forward and plan for the next goal this year. What do you want to achieve in 2017? If getting Salesforce certified is not on your list, perhaps it should be. With the constant evolution of cloud computing, Salesforce experts are in higher demand than ever. Being a skilled user is no longer competitive enough; only those who hold Salesforce credentials can truly prove their expertise.

A Salesforce admin’s journey

My journey with Salesforce started a few years ago while being IT Manager at Meli Group in Greece and looking for a CRM solution bringing the company’s customer relationship and service desk quality forward. I admit that when researching the CRM application market back then and testing out applications I came a across many solutions competing for my attention. However when I initiated my trial with Salesforce, I admit I had never used such a valuable tool before – it seemed like a magical app to me! My previous experiences with CRM was that although they were better than using spreadsheets for example, they were so difficult to administer and customize and so expensive to bring them into the business.

It was fortunate that business decided to go with Salesforce and give it a try. Key components we used with Salesforce where, except tracking leads and cases,  managing business customer accounts, utilizing campaigns, delivering content with a few mouse clicks and reporting on success KPIs with dashboard components. My mission was to identify the tools that would help business process optimization. I dived deep and started creating apps and custom objects directly on the platform, taking full advantage of Salesforce’s amazing customization features. In this aspect, contracting, invoicing and budget business process optimization as well as enterprise mobility roll out where a first at this company. Salesforce help section and community where a great resource while developing, but learning while doing contributed a big part to the success as well.

Why getting Salesforce Certified?

Getting Salesforce certified can also help you become more productive than you ever thought possible. The certification process gives you a thorough understanding of Salesforce and its latest updates. This means it’s about more than just proving what you know, but taking that knowledge and applying it to your business to make you truly indispensable. What’s more, you’ll have the understanding to evangelize Salesforce benefits, values, and best practices to users across your business. The net result is a more educated and empowered workforce, inspired by you.

The whole Salesforce universe is much greater than I thought. There is a huge community of Salesforce Certified Administrators, Developers, Platform Builders, Architects, Solution Managers.. you name it! Being part of this community is not only a privilege but also a joy to participate, engage, contribute and learn within the community.

Where should I start? 

If you haven’t heard of or never had your hands on Salesforce, don’t worry. There are numerous ways to get there. Although having a real Salesforce platform in your org or a developer sandbox is highly beneficial, for others who don’t I suggest to:

• Get a free developer org here:
• Hit the trails 
• Enroll to an official course
• Certify your knowledge
• Thrive as a Salesforce admin in your business
• Keep learning