A client of mine was recently at a crossroads.
As their Salesforce provider, our team recommended they start with a simple MVP. The first release would be a couple of small wins, and be for their employees.
Some of the staff of the client wanted to replace five of their existing web portals.… Read the rest
Yesterday, during a discovery session, my client demoed their existing five web portals.
The goal of the meeting was to understand the client’s current state. In the near future, I will estimate the amount of work needed to replicate the portal’s data model, functionality, and security in Salesforce.… Read the rest
As a Salesforce consultant, one of your roles when interacting with clients is to exude confidence. They need to feel you’re in control of the technical parts of the project, and to deliver a successful project.
It’s always better to build this type of authority in the early stages of client interaction, as first impressions really count.… Read the rest
A Salesforce client of yours has a problem, so they reached out to you for help.
They’ve explained the issue, you’ve repeated it back to them to confirm your understanding, and now it’s time to make a decision. Also let’s remove urgency from this scenario, as that would clearly encourage you in one direction.… Read the rest
It’s been a while since I spoke about being a digital nomad. I used to share this passion almost every Friday, so it’s time for one now.
For the last 4 years, I spent summers in Montreal, Canada and winters in Malaga, Spain.… Read the rest
The repeater component is a relatively new feature in screen flows.
A simple way to show its usefulness is through an example. Let’s imagine there’s a Payment object, which is related to the Opportunity. Rather than have your users click “Add” on the Payment related list, enter some data, and then click “Save & New”, you can offer an optimized screen flow with a repeater.… Read the rest
Here are three other mechanisms to avoid race conditions in flows.
1. Add a wait element
Place a wait element after an update, create or delete element. The wait time can be as short as 1 minute, but this ends the current transaction and commits (saves) the operations to the database.… Read the rest
There are a few articles about how to create platform events in Salesforce, but most of them have lots of fluff and unnecessary details. So here’s a concise version.
We’ll use the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) example, in which a household account is created when a contact is created.… Read the rest
In response to Friday’s email regarding race conditions, a fellow reader suggested using platform events.
This is another great option, if you know how to use them.
If you don’t, here’s a quick synopsis:
When things happen in Salesforce, you may or may not be aware of it.… Read the rest
A race condition is when multiple transactions are happening at more or less the same time, and they conflict.
Let’s say both transaction A and B look to see if a record exists. If it doesn’t, they create it. Now if A and B happen virtually simultaneously, they both create records and therefore cause duplicates.… Read the rest
In a flow, it’s usually a good idea to keep the labels of elements short and sweet. For example, you don’t need to specify which field(s) you’re actually updating in an update element.
I’ve seen consultants use “Update Billing Address on Account” for such an element.… Read the rest
It is with great pleasure to announce that I’ll be attending the True North Dreamin’ (TND) conference this year.
TND was absent during the pandemic, so this is first reappearance in many years. There aren’t a ton of community-led Salesforce conferences in Canada, so each one counts.… Read the rest
There’s an important distinction between navigating and searching.
Navigating a site is usually a user’s first action. They visit your Experience Cloud, scan the content and perhaps click on a few menus. They usually have a reason to come to the site, and are looking for something in particular.… Read the rest
A fellow Salesforce consultant recently published a tool that allows you to generate a banner image with all your Salesforce credentials.
This includes the
Here’s an example of the output.… Read the rest
As users become more familiar with your Salesforce implementation, you may want to consider allowing them to speed things up.
Let’s say you’ve created a 5 step process that guides users through a complex flow. First time users will need as much help as possible, as it’ll be completely new to them.… Read the rest
A reader enjoyed yesterday’s email about the differences between novice and advanced users, but they asked for an example.
Here’s the first one that came to mind.
I built a Salesforce app that allows Canadian and American nonprofits to generate tax receipts for their donors.… Read the rest
You probably work with Salesforce on a daily basis. At least on a weekly basis. So you are very familiar with the navigation, where to go to find things, and even how to update things.
Users are not you. They might login daily, but it might only be yearly.… Read the rest
Error detection is defined as the ability to find and report errors. Validation rules, flows, and apex classes can all report errors. In all cases, remember that a good user experience means you don’t just report the error. You also need to provide guidance on how to avoid or correct the error.… Read the rest
The nominations for the Salesforce MVP class of 2025 is now open.
Salesforce MVPs are individuals who contribute to the community and the ecosystem by following the principles of
Currently, there are more than 300 Salesforce MVPs across 31 countries worldwide, although it’s not clear if there is a limit of new MVPs each year.… Read the rest
Offering three options in your Salesforce proposal provides you with a greater chance of closing the project.
Each option can build on the previous one, and priced accordingly. So the client chooses the small, medium, or large t-shirt.
Across all options, there are often some common elements.… Read the rest
Let’s imagine you’re drafting a proposal to a potential client. You’ve discovered their needs and their budget and are now writing the three options.
Since option 1 or 2 should include everything the client needs, what should option 3 include?
In short, this is the place for you to add extra value.… Read the rest
When pricing projects, it’s in everyone’s advantage for the potential client to share their budget. Once they do, at least one option in your proposal should be above this budget.
Taking a step back for a moment, it’s a great ideal to offer three options in a proposal.… Read the rest
Let’s imagine you’re talking to a potential client. They passed the dinner date test and you’re in the middle of asking them all types of questions to understand their current situation and desired outcome.
Do you ever ask them how much their budget is?… Read the rest
Psst, did anyone ever tell you? There are more than one Salesforce freelancers. And there are more than one Salesforce agency. Shocking, isn’t it?!
So when a client is considering hiring you or your team, what sets you apart from all the others?… Read the rest
I’m currently working with a client that has some technical knowledge, but without any Salesforce experience.
In today’s working session, my colleague updated a field mapping document with the client. The document describes the mapping from the legacy table and field to the upcoming Salesforce object and field.… Read the rest
I had a call with a new coaching student today. He brought up multiple topics, but the one that really caught my attention was about career direction.
For context, he’s currently a partner at a boutique Salesforce agency. He manages a few subcontractors, works very long hours, and is relatively unhappy about his effective hourly rate.… Read the rest
When you started your Salesforce career, you were probably overwhelmed at first. There’s a megaton of information to absorb, and sometimes it can feel like too much.
But bit by bit, you eventually found your way. And adopting a curious mindset can really accelerate your learning.… Read the rest
A few readers were interested in knowing the “why” of the previous email. Why were these apps chosen, and why did they merit paying for them?
CRM
Q: Why not Salesforce?
A: I’ve always felt Salesforce was designed for larger organizations.… Read the rest
There was a recent conversation in a Salesforce Slack community about which tools and applications independent consultants use.
When you’re not billing by the hour, being efficient is important. Various tools and apps can make a significant difference.
If you’re billing by the hour, why even buy a faster computer?… Read the rest
I’ve seen this situation far too many times. Regardless of how well you plan, regardless of how much time you allocate for UAT, it still happens.
That’s right. The client promises to test your Salesforce project when called upon. They positively respond to all your communications about it, what is expected of them, and how you’ll tirage their feedback.… Read the rest