How to become a Salesforce Consultant in 2024

Achieving a competitive edge and operational success relies heavily on optimizing both business processes and relationships. Together with Salesforce, enterprises could purposefully meet these objectives. Among other factors, enhanced business performance also depends on an expert consulting party that assists in the effective and fast implementation of Salesforce CRM (customer relationship management).  

The extremely fast-growing Salesforce ecosystem will expand job market opportunities as well as the need for certified specialists. Salesforce-related job opportunities are expected to scale up to 9,3 million worldwide by 2026, with 2,5 million of them expected to be in Europe. Furthermore, Salesforce consultants are the world’s 3rd most in-demand specialists, and the need is anticipated to increase.  

In this article, we will walk you through the prerequisites for becoming a Salesforce consultant as well as factors affecting your salary and career path. Additionally, the significance of networking and brand building will be emphasized in LinkedIn as a tool for opportunities in the Salesforce job market.  

Preparation

Seeking inspiration from Salesforce experts is essential if you’re just getting started with Salesforce CRM. It will help you assess whether this niche tech market aligns with your professional goals. Gaining valuable insights from experts through their personal YouTube channels, interviews, storytelling articles, and LinkedIn profiles will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the Salesforce ecosystem and work environment. These insights will guide your initial steps and future endeavours within it. 

The Salesforce educational portal, Trailhead, offers study and preparation modules for  associate certification, specifically designed for beginners with up to 6 months of experience in Salesforce CRM. The learning resources are free, allowing you to delve into the basics of Salesforce and its products, as well as explore various business cases within the platform. However, if you already have a solid foundational level, it pays to dive deeper into Salesforce administration, including process automation, data analysis, and reporting.  

Grow into a Salesforce consultant   

Are you considering a career in Salesforce consultancy?  If so, this guide is designed to get you on board. 

Who is a Salesforce consultant?

• Skills 
• Salesforce consultant salary
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Asia Pacific
• Salesforce consultants workflow
• Working perspectives 

 Salesforce consulting expertise 

• Certifications 
• Industry & product consulting

LinkedIn: job search & community

• Personal brand
• Salesforce networking
• Job search 
• Trends and opportunities 

Who is a Salesforce consultant 

If you have a strong desire to address organizational challenges with Salesforce CRM and aspire to become an expert in a specific business operation, then Salesforce consultant can be the right career for you. While there is no set of standard skills and qualities required for a Salesforce consultant role, different companies have varying needs and perspectives. The Salesforce ecosystem offers certified learning paths that give you the necessary prerequisites and help you acquire essential skills—exactly what most customers are seeking in a consultant candidate. 

A Salesforce consultant’s expertise covers project management as well as data analysis and reporting. An in-depth understanding of Salesforce CRM and its various customization capabilities allows consultants to enhance business operations. Furthermore, soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and public speaking make Salesforce consultants valuable players in Salesforce-integrated enterprises. 

Skills 

As a Salesforce consultant, you transform and enhance business teams’ operations as well as customer service. For these purposes, Salesforce consulting requires a combination of technical and non-technical skills.  

Salesforce consultants focus on achieving customer success with their capacity to integrate technology with the aid of soft and business skills.  

Agility and curiosity are necessary traits. The capability to build strong relationships and be accountable for decisions made are important in this role. Finally, to be successful, the consultant must listen to clients, define challenges and address them.  

The Salesforce’s interactive free learning platform Trailhead shared an overview of necessary skills for Salesforce consultants. Here are some of them:  

Technical skills: 

• AppExchange 
• Databases 
• Salesforce CRM 
• Salesforce Platform basics 
• Technical project management 
• User experience (UX) research basics  

Non-technical skills: 

• Communication 
• Leadership 
• Listening 
• Project management 
• Public speaking 

Salesforce consultant salary  

There is an average Salesforce consultant salary divided by country and experience level, as well as contract per-hour payments. The data is collected and analyzed in the Mason Frank Careers & Hiring Guide, where Salesforce professionals reported their incomes.  

North America 

Europe  

Asia-Pacific 

When you’re thinking about a new job or considering a career change, it’s important to take into account the industry-standard pay for the role. Understanding the fair earning potential not only helps you determine fair employment but also guides you through salary negotiations. 

The Salesforce consultant workflow

Through interviews with various Salesforce consultants, it has become clear that these professionals come from a wide range of backgrounds and possess diverse skill sets. They assist customers in navigating through various levels of business case complexity and showcase extensive knowledge of the Salesforce CRM. However, regardless of experience level, the common work cycle involves the following stages: 

Design  

As a Salesforce consultant, your role involves identifying the client’s business process requirements and how to integrate new technologies into it. The objective is to customize Salesforce CRM and recommend new features to enhance overall performance and business relationships. 

Once you have aligned all stakeholder’s interests and needs, you identify the level of implementation and customization of Salesforce CRM. The consultant role also includes providing clear recommendations and guiding clients through the project using different plans and maps for better understanding. 

Take CRM customization, for instance—figuring out which Salesforce or partner application to install for a specific case. To delve into your solution choices, check out customer testimonials from Salesforce’s official website, Salesforce consulting agencies, or independent software vendor pages. This way, you can pinpoint industry-specific, cloud-specific, or other category challenges and decide which solution suits a particular problem. Start by diving into our customer success stories, where you’ll discover how Salesforce-integrated businesses tackled their challenges and found resolutions with Documill. 

Integrate  

After the visual illustration, mapping and risk evaluations, as well as the alternative routes, your project should be approved. When the project implementation starts, you need to outline the steps to take for the project team, so you can guide them towards a shared goal.  

Working with the technical team is also one of the parts of the consultant’s work to drive adaptation and optimization. Development of the process flows, application development, as well as the testing and deployment. It involves the technical implementation of the customer projects. 

Maintain 

As a Salesforce consultant, you will need to maintain the Salesforce platform and connect to its technologies. After the completion of the project, it needs to be analysed and reported. Salesforce consultants are required to be data administrative with the best practices of the Salesforce admin. Coaching and integrating the business workers towards the platform usage as well as providing documentation if it is needed. 

Working perspectives in Salesforce consulting  

 People have different talents and skill sets and Salesforce consulting provides different perspectives to work depending on your abilities: 

• Business analyst  
• Functional consultant  
• Technical consultant  
• Consulting partner 

Business analyst: In your capacity as a specialized business analyst, you assume a core position in facilitating communication between technology and business stakeholders. You are recognized as a proficient and adept mediator, seamlessly bridging these two areas. The expertise lies in addressing business challenges through the implementation of data-driven solutions. Additionally, Salesforce’s learning solutions provide the means to obtain the necessary skills as well as the possibility to explore the requirements in the Salesforce job market. 

Functional consultant: During the Salesforce implementation process, a functional consultant takes the lead in guiding clients from their initial idea to the actual implementation. Their primary responsibility lies in identifying solutions that enhance the efficiency and performance of the organization. Additionally, these specialists are accountable for staying updated on new functions and trends within Salesforce, as well as overseeing the progress of the project. 

Technical consultant: If you possess experience in cloud solutions and can make backend modifications to Salesforce setups, this career path may interest you. Engaging in this journey entails uncovering novel functionalities and tailoring organizational requirements, which will accompany you throughout your professional advancement. 

Consulting partner: One of the ways to focus on building your skills and development is to establish your own consulting company.  You need the ability to form consulting teams and provide your clients with expert advice that addresses their strategic issues head-on. With exceptional skills and experience, you can make your clients trust that they are in the best hands possible. 

Salesforce consulting expertise 

Companies are looking for exceptional expertise and support, and the process of recruiting the right consultant is lengthy for a reason. Hiring managers are searching for highly skilled specialists who possess relevant certifications and solid experience in the specific field the company operates. Therefore, various certifications are available for Salesforce consultants. 

Certifications 

A strong background in business operations and industry-specific experience are vital to the success of a consulting project. Let us now focus on the relevant qualifications. As mentioned earlier, 67% of certified consultants have reported gaining a salary increase. In this section, we will introduce several certifications that can enhance your resume and increase your earning potential.  

Education Cloud Consultant  

Education Cloud solutions move an organization’s operations to a new efficiency level, providing a high level of automation and customization to create an unbeatable application and learning experience. If you wish to work in education industry business operations, then this certificate is for you.   

Learn & prepare: Trailmix Prepare for Your Salesforce Education Cloud Consultant Credentials  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Salesforce Administrator Credentials  

Experience Cloud Consultant  

Experience Cloud provides customer-centric solutions for businesses to create seamless experiences for prospects, customers, employees, and partners. Services that enable communication, such as help centres, partner portals and more, will allow us to personalize each digital journey. If you are into digital marketing, and customer success and are interested in improving your skills in making external applications and portals, then this Salesforce solution is the right place to start.  

Learn & prepare: Prepare for Your Salesforce Experience Cloud Consultant Credentials  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Salesforce Administrator Credentials   

Field Service Cloud Consultant   

Field Service Cloud focuses on orders and service appointments. Personas involved in these processes are service managers, agents, field technicians and dispatches. If you have a background in manufacturing or healthcare and you’re eager to explore innovative ways to enhance the operations and business processes of these enterprises, then the Field Service Cloud Consultant certification is the perfect fit for you. 

Learn & prepare: Prepare for Your Salesforce Field Service Consultant Credentials  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Salesforce Administrator and Service Cloud Consultant Credentials.   

Service Cloud Consultant  

If you are more interested in the customer’s communication solutions, and you have worked as a service agent, then the Salesforce Service Cloud certification is for you. This cloud provides companies with a call centre-like view that enables enterprises to create and track cases coming in, and automatically route and escalate what is important. Salesforce’s CRM-powered customer portal provides customers with the ability to track their cases. It includes a social networking plug-in that enables the user to join the conversation about their company on social networking websites. it also provides analytical and other tools.  

Learn & prepare: Prepare for Your Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Credentials  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Salesforce Administrator Credentials   

Pardot consultant 

If you have experience or aspirations to develop yourself in complex B2B marketing and sales processes, you could start exploring Salesforce’s Pardot marketing automation community. Pardot is a marketing automation software for creating interactive email campaigns as well as interacting with Salesforce and customize landing pages. Empowering your marketing and sales success team by improving alignment between teams and driving and nurturing new leads, purchases, as well as alternative buyer journeys.  You will focus on email nurturing campaigns, content marketing, webinar marketing, and account-based marketing.   

Learn & prepare: Prepare for Your Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Credentials  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Salesforce Pardot Specialist Credentials  

Nonprofit Cloud Consultant  

Nonprofit cloud brings teams together to deliver the right message to each audience. One of the products of the Nonprofit cloud is Volunteers for Salesforce. Fundraising is also supported in this solution. All in all, you can start or enrich your nonprofit business skills by working with this solution.  

Learn & prepare: Prepare for Your Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Consultant Credentials  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Salesforce Administrator Credentials   

OmniStudio Consultant   

OmniStudio is a suite of digital engagement tools in Salesforce that simplify the creation of complex, industry-specific experiences. if you fancy working with a suite of configuration tools and resources that provide guided user experiences for all Salesforce customers, the OmniStudio Consultant is the right certificate for you. The OmniStudio is part of Einstein Automate. With its drag-and-drop configuration capabilities, customers create guided brand experiences specific to their industry with clicks rather than custom code. They can effortlessly meet the demands of omnichannel service by deploying and updating these interactions across multiple devices and channels. This solution boosts user productivity and enables greater self-sufficiency for employees, consumers and partners.  

Learn & prepare: Prepare for Your Salesforce OmniStudio Consultant Credentials  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Not required  

Sales Cloud Consultant   

Sales Cloud allows sales teams to focus more on productive work and get rid of repetitive routines. The product boosts the lead generation process and sales forecasting. It also makes creating and sharing reports easy. If you want to explore new ways to increase productivity, team communication and automate sales processes to shorten negotiation cycle and increase deal sizes, then this certification is for you.  

Learn & prepare: Prepare for Your Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant Credentials  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Salesforce Administrator Credentials    

Tableau CRM & Einstein Discovery Consultant   

Tableau CRM is an intelligent tool that focuses on speeding up decision-making. It has a powerful AI tool, Einstein discovery, that will assist in making analyses, recommendations and predictions based on the Salesforce data. If you aspire to increase your experience in business intelligence and data management, this consulting path provides relevant learning materials and practical cases.   

Learn & prepare: Learn Einstein Analytics Plus  

Certificate price: 200 USD  

Prerequisites: Not required  

Industry & product consulting 

Within the Salesforce ecosystem, experience in data solutions, analysis, visualization and project management holds significant value. Possessing these skills provides a competitive edge.  

There are two distinct types of consultant paths within the Salesforce ecosystem. The first type revolves around specific Salesforce products, while the second one is industry-focused. In either case, you will first need to get acquainted with the Salesforce ecosystem.  

The Salesforce ecosystem caters to a wide range of industries, including agriculture & mining, automotive, communications, consumer goods, energy & utilities, engineering, construction, real estate, financial services, healthcare & life sciences, high tech, manufacturing, media & entertainment, professional services, public sector, retail, travel, transportation and hospitality. Knowledge of the industry-specific processes and common cases is required of organizations operating in these fields. A Salesforce consultant should be prepared to be expected to have hands-on experience.    

Once you have identified your industry of focus and have assessed your background as a business analyst and project manager, it is time to select the specific Salesforce product that aligns with your consultancy path.   

LinkedIn: job search & community 

Building yourself as a personal brand can help you advance your Salesforce career. Even if you find it challenging to stand out, your brand and activity in Salesforce communities could advance your career in the CRM environment.    

One of the useful sources to find job opportunities is LinkedIn. Besides sharing your own story in this social media, by networking actively you can find valuable contacts, including potential stakeholders, colleagues, and partners.  

Personal brand 

Your own brand is shaped by who you are, your distinctive skill sets and your values. Cultivating your personal brand opens a wide range of career opportunities. In the Salesforce consulting job market, it is essential to focus on reasons why recruiters should hire you and emphasize your unique value. With the extensive availability of free learning courses, the Salesforce community has become more competitive. To stand out, you must differentiate yourself and consistently deliver outstanding results that leave a long-lasting impact.    

Ensure that your profile is regularly updated. Additionally, instead of solely focusing on your current achievements in the page heading, emphasize where you aspire to be. Potential employers may well pay attention to your engagements they find relevant as well as your content, such as podcasts and magazine features. Lastly, your “Groups” section should include a number of relevant Salesforce ecosystem groups. This helps you enhance your credibility and increase the likelihood of receiving direct job opportunities from recruiters.  

To sum up, let us highlight the key aspects of personal branding:  

• Demonstrate your values, skills and interests aligned with your career goals.  

• Highlight industry and product-specific knowledge through various activities.  

• Target your communication and engagement towards specific audiences and areas of interest. 

Salesforce networking

Networking is another crucial aspect of personal branding. Engaging with Trailblazer communities can contribute to your personal brand growth and open doors to new opportunities.  

Find your first community here! 

Job search 

There are several ways how you can do your Salesforce consultant job search. You can initiate your job search by exploring popular job boards such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and Dice or freelance platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru also provide opportunities. Another option is to directly search for job openings on the official websites. The Salesforce Careers page offers up-to-date career opportunities. Additionally, a practical approach is to check consulting companies’ websites for available positions. For instance, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has openings listed on its website, and Tata Consulting Services (TCS) also posts opportunities on its careers page. 

When choosing a consulting agency, there are various criteria to consider. The experience, the number of business cases, and customer testimonials are good indicators of a consulting company’s expertise. You can find this information on their official websites, social media, and on an App Exchange Consultants page, where you can also read authentic customer reviews. 

This will help you assess your potential working environment and the scope of tasks you’ll encounter. Websites like Glassdoor, Indeed, and CareerBliss feature current and former employees sharing their experiences through real reviews. This allows you to identify potential opportunities and challenges, helping you decide whether to proceed with your application process or job negotiation. 

Trends & opportunities  

Consultancy in Salesforce can take many forms, from freelancing to positions within consulting companies of all sizes. The most common practice in agreeing on consultant assignments is the project-based contract. Salesforce partner consulting agencies are the primary companies interested in hiring consultants. However, experienced consultants often have an eye on the prioritisation of the requirements of a position rather than focusing solely on the consultant’s actual job title. For example, if they possess skills as business analysts or administrators that align with the criteria, they may start their career path in those roles.  

Based on an independent marketing study that analyzed job offers on LinkedIn related to Salesforce, the following observations were made for the European market:  

• The most in-demand technical skills include experience in cloud solutions, specifically sales and marketing.  

• Experience in SaaS and PaaS services is required.  

• Regarding personal skills, HR departments seek individuals who are fluent in English, customer-centric, communicative, enthusiastic, and creative. 

There is a higher demand for technical consultants compared to functional consultants. It is also evident that functional consultants require knowledge and background in technical consulting, while technical consultants benefit from understanding the business environment. In summary, there is no strict division between technical and functional consultants in the job market, as the hiring companies prioritize the combination of both skill sets in one role.   

All in all, to achieve your career goal of becoming a Salesforce consultant you need to research beyond the Salesforce ecosystem and expand your network. Only then will you feel confident among the competition in the job market and can open up new opportunities.   

With Documill you can:  

• Expand your knowledge and experience in the Salesforce ecosystem by visiting the most useful certifications for Salesforce admins career path’ article.  

• Fall in with real business solutions for Salesforce document automation to expand your consulting proficiency.