Your Salesforce clients know their business. This is what they do every day and where their expertise lies. That’s their job.
They shouldn’t be expected to know Salesforce. This is what you do every day. That’s your job.
So in order to understand their needs, it’s your responsibility to speak to them in their language. You cannot expect them to speak in yours.
For example, while leading a visibility and security workshop this week, we discussed which users need access to which objects and related functionality.
One member on the client side said, “I don’t know Salesforce that well, but I think we need to use several profiles”.
My response?
“Well, let’s just talk about the persona, or the hats people have to wear, and what type of access they require to do their job properly. Don’t worry about the technical parts – just tell me what you would like it to do.”
The takeaway
When you remove the need for clients to speak in Salesforce, you allow them to relax and focus on the goals and their outcomes. How you achieve those goals is up to you, the Salesforce consultant.