Last month, I wrote an amusing email about not making assumptions. The topic was personal, so here is a short story about one that’s professional.
My tax receipt application for Canadian nonprofits requires the managed package called Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP).… Read the rest
While working with a new subcontractor, it quickly became obvious we have different approaches to project implementations.
They have very strict labels and rules. If they consider themselves as a subcontracted employee, they behave in this manner. If they are considered partners, they behave in another way.… Read the rest
Today I’m excited to announce an expanded mentorship program!
My 1 hour coaching call is now called a 1 hour mentoring call. The service stays the same, but the price will increase from $250 USD to $500 USD on April 1st.… Read the rest
I’m currently working on a project to migrate a client from Raiser’s Edge to Salesforce. Since I don’t know much about Raiser’s Edge, I asked a boutique agency to assist.
The agency gave me a fixed price for the project, which was my preference.… Read the rest
One of my students is a Salesforce consultant. He’s recently made the transition from full-time to independent and engaged my services to help him close a relatively large project.
He started by asking me how he should present himself. Should he start with all his credentials, his years of experience, the work he’s done on similar projects?… Read the rest
When you’re a more experienced Salesforce consultant, one of your usual tasks is to help write user stories. Typically, the consultant writes the functional part of the story, while the business analyst fills in the rest.
The question then becomes, how much detail should you add to the user story?… Read the rest
This question was recently discussed in an online forum recently. To answer it, let’s look a little closer at what it means to be a Salesforce professional.
As the recent series on Salesforce roles explored, titles are given to people doing a certain type of work.… Read the rest
The last two roles are pretty straight forward, so we’ll combine them into a single email.
These days, the Administrator (Admin) is more than someone that configures users, resets their password, and adds some fields. In some cases, they are a one person army.… Read the rest
Most of the roles described so far lean towards the technical side. Most of them require good communication skills, but as a Business Analyst (BA), those skills are core.
BAs are like the glue of the project. They keep everything connected, and know a little bit of everything.… Read the rest
The single person responsible for the development of Salesforce projects is the Development Lead (DL).
In this context, development doesn’t just mean apex classes and triggers. It includes Visualforce pages, Lightning Web Components, flows, managed packages, connected apps, and even configuration.… Read the rest
There are too many Salesforce clouds to be a master of all of them. When someone specializes in a single cloud or platform, and knows it in incredible detail, they are called a Subject Matter Expert (SME).
SMEs are important to have in a project when a very granular level of detail is needed.… Read the rest
As an independent Salesforce consultant, also known as a soloist, you need to have certain document templates.
When I start an engagement with a client, it typically starts with a sales call. If everything is aligned, I submit a 4 or 5 page proposal.… Read the rest
On smaller Salesforce projects, the Lead Consultant (LC) is usually the same person as the Solution Architect (SA). On larger projects though, it makes sense to divide this role into two.
When both roles are involved, the SA focuses on researching solutions, doing proof of concepts, and supporting the LC, and the LC is the single person responsible for the overall solution.… Read the rest
Whenever data is involved in a Salesforce project, you’ll typically find a Data Architect (DA).
DAs are masters of data. They analyze it, process it, protect it, and make recommendations based on data requirements.
Additional responsibilities include
If you’re technical and talking to clients just isn’t your thing, consider the Technical Architect (TA) position.
TAs are responsible for the technical elements of the Salesforce platform. This requires strong technical knowledge, understanding concepts such as event-driven and data-driven architecture, and platform events.… Read the rest
If the Program Architect represents the football coach, then the Solution Architect (SA) represents the quarterback.
The SA is often found in the field, beside the other players, and calling the shots. They decide and are responsible for the solution, from a functional perspective.… Read the rest
I had a great conversation with a student of mine today. We spoke about how junior Salesforce consultants believe senior consultants know everything.
They perceive senior consultants as a large book of knowledge, who can immediately find the right page with a moment’s notice.… Read the rest
One step down, from the Enterprise Architect, in terms of visibility, is the Program Architect (PA).
The main responsibility of the PA is the strategy of the entire program within Salesforce. A program is usually composed of one or more projects.… Read the rest
In the Salesforce ecosystem, the Enterprise Architect (EA) has the widest technical view. They see the complete end-to-end architecture, and are not limited to just the CRM.
This means they understand and are responsible for
They are very technical, are able to discuss approaches with fellow architects, and ensure fellow architects are aligned.… Read the rest
In the realm of Salesforce, there are plenty of hats you can wear.
The responsibilities for some of these hats (or roles) are straightforward. Other roles have multiple names and meanings, and other-others overlap multiple roles (also considered to be a *really* big hat!).… Read the rest
Being an employee at a Salesforce agency, it can be challenging to set your own path. But it is possible!
When you’re just beginning your Salesforce career, it makes sense to accept all kinds of work. The more exposure you have to a wide range of clients and clouds will only make you better.… Read the rest
A handful of years ago, I just returned from a two year round-the-world backpacking trip. The bank account was empty and there weren’t many options, so I was open to work that didn’t involve Salesforce.
I ended up at an insurance company.… Read the rest
Being a Salesforce consultant is much more than just having Salesforce knowledge. It’s also a mindset.
There are several aspects of this mindset, so let’s discuss three big ones.
1. Being positive
One mantra that really speaks to me is, “Success is not an absence of problems.… Read the rest
Today’s email is a little off topic, but it’s a huge accomplishment that I’m proud to share with you. The 100th episode of my podcast was released yesterday!
If you’re unaware, I host a weekly podcast in which I interview everyday superheroes in the nonprofit space.… Read the rest
As an independent Salesforce architect, here are the apps I use on a daily basis.
1. Scheduling Tool
By now, most of you know of Calendly. It’s great, but I’m still waiting for the feature where you can limit the number of meetings per week.… Read the rest
One important element of a fixed price proposal is managing change orders. And when I say, change orders, I mean not having any.
The whole purpose of being fixed price is being fixed. What would be the point if the price kept changing via change orders?… Read the rest
You’ve just submitted a 5 page fixed-price proposal for a Salesforce project. The client is shocked your prices are so high and attempts to negotiate. What do you do?
To start, there are two things to consider:
1. Perhaps you didn’t assess the situation correctly
If your prices are actually too high, it’s possible you misread the situation.… Read the rest
When submitting a proposal for a Salesforce project, there are a number of important sections to include.
1. A situational appraisal
This section, usually the first in the proposal, explains the situation back to the client. It shows you’ve paid attention to their needs and the circumstances.… Read the rest
In yesterday’s example of a mid-project change, some readers commented it was a fairly minor change (switching from Zapier to Make). Some asked what can be done if it’s a larger change during a fixed-priced project. In essence, this is a question about scope creep.… Read the rest
One of my current projects is a Shopify to Salesforce integration. The client had purchased Zapier, and I was OK with it, so it was the chosen connector.
Products and orders needed to be synchronized with Salesforce, one way only.
With Zapier, the order lines were concatenated on a single line.… Read the rest