Who is the Enterprise Architect?

2024-02-21

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

  • The purpose and high-level features of each system connected to Salesforce
  • The types of integrations between systems
  • Choosing tools and app used across systems

They are very technical, are able to discuss approaches with fellow architects, and ensure fellow architects are aligned.… Read the rest

Demystifying Salesforce technical roles

2024-02-20

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

Specializing as a employee of a Salesforce agency

2024-02-19

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

Building your own lifestyle with Salesforce

2024-02-16

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

Life beyond the screen

2024-02-15

There’s so much more to being a “good enough” Salesforce consultant than sitting in front of your computer. How you spend your time away from the screen, and with whom you spend it with, really counts.

Case in point. I’ve noticed you can group friends into 3 categories:

  1. Friends that give you energy
  2. Friends that don’t impact your energy
  3. Friends that take your energy

For example, I have one close friend that is highly unreliable.… Read the rest

The mindset of a Salesforce consultant

2024-02-14

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

Little by little, day by day, and then you feast!

2024-02-13

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

Don’t make assumptions

2024-02-09

Most people know the expression, “assumptions make an ass of you and me”. This definitely holds true as a Salesforce consultant and in general life.

As a digital nomad, I live 6 months in Canada and 6 months in Spain. I love Spain so much I recently bought an apartment.… Read the rest

How to politely refuse client work

2024-02-08

As a “good enough” Salesforce consultant, you’re going to be in demand. It’s natural you will receive offers from many potential clients. And it’s also natural you won’t want to work with all of them.

Politely saying “no” to a client takes practice.… Read the rest

Just say “no” to change orders

2024-02-07

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

Negotiating a Salesforce proposal

2024-02-06

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

What to include in a project proposal

2024-02-05

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

Take a moment for yourself

2024-02-02

Long-term readers of these emails know I’m usually very scheduled with them. 99% of the time, you’ll find an email in your inbox, every weekday at 7am EST.

I lapsed a little in early Dec, and took a longer break than normal over the holidays.… Read the rest

Does your client pass the dinner date test?

2024-02-01

Many issues with your Salesforce project can be avoided by applying a simple test, before commiting to the project.

This test is performed during the sales call, while your potential client is introducing themselves and the project. About halfway through the conversation, ask yourself, “Can I see myself having a meal with this person, in a non-business setting?”… Read the rest

Managing scope creep in a fixed-price project

2024-01-31

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

Handling technical changes mid-project

2024-01-30

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

Results from the questionnaire

2024-01-29

A while back, I asked you to complete the “Good Enough” questionnaire.

The short survey allows me to see who exactly is my audience. By knowing this, I can tailor my emails so they are more relevant to you, dear reader.… Read the rest

Price and scope in a fixed price project: a flowcart

2024-01-26

Let’s consolidate the previous two posts about scope and price in a Salesforce project.

The flowchart below allows you to see the steps and process involved in determining scope and pricing method.

This is the exact process I’ve been using for the past two years, so I hope you find it helpful.… Read the rest

How do you price a fixed price project?

2024-01-25

Once you’ve an idea of what your client wants and the value of the Salesforce project, it’s time to sit down and determine options for price and scope.

Remember, scope is last, so the next step is deciding your prices.

Here are two popular pricing methods:

1.… Read the rest

How do you scope a fixed price project?

2024-01-24

One of the most popular questions I’m asked is, when doing fixed pricing, how do you accurately scope a Salesforce project? Don’t you need to add tons of conditions to protect yourself?

Note: This question doesn’t apply when you’re selling a product or a productized service, as the price and scope are already established.… Read the rest

Switching from hourly pricing to fixed pricing

2024-01-23

Let’s assume you’re a freelance Salesforce consultant, and are currently billing by the hour.

You’ve heard me speak about fixed pricing before, and the topic interests you. You just don’t know how to switch.

Here are three considerations to help you with this transition:

1.… Read the rest

Whatever you do, launch a MVP first

2024-01-21

An earlier project with a challenging client quickly became a vast source of knowledge. Knowledge of what NOT to do. Here’s one example.

This client was challenging to work with, because they wanted everything. They didn’t believe in a MVP, so in their first release of Salesforce, they wanted

  • A replacement of their existing 10 year old custom CRM (which I previously built years before using PHP)
  • New functionality and processes to manage their daily operations
  • An integration with an upcoming web portal, which wasn’t fully designed yet.
… Read the rest

Reason #12 for being a digital nomad

2024-01-19

There are many reasons why I choose to be a digital nomad. Here is reason #12.

My primary residence is in Montreal, Canada. During the winter, it’s cold. And I mean damn cold. For example, today is -16C (4F) and with the wind chill it feels like -22C (-8F).… Read the rest

Determining your ideal number of projects

2024-01-18

How many Salesforce projects should you be working on at the same time?

As a consultant, and especially when you’re good enough, you’ll be in demand. Whether you work in an agency or are a freelancer, the option to work on simultaneous projects is available.… Read the rest

Working with strings in flows

2024-01-17

When working with Salesforce flows, you often need to refer to static strings.

For example, let’s say you have a custom text field called `Entity` on the account, which you want to set to “Organization” in a flow.

Option 1: When setting the Account record variable, just set `Entity` = “Organization”
This is definitely the quickest and easiest method, but it’s the hardest to maintain.… Read the rest

Creating records in a flow

2024-01-15

When updating or creating records in screen flows or autolaunched flows, you have two main choices for determining how the record is set:

  1. Use all values from a record
  2. Use separate resources, and literal values

Admittedly, option 1 takes slightly longer to set up.… Read the rest

Variable names for collections in flow

2024-01-14

In Salesforce flows, having a proper and consistent naming convention is important. It helps with readability, understanding, and logic processing.

When working with a single record, it makes sense for the variable to be singular. Similarly, when working with multiple records in a collection, it makes sense for the variable to be plural.… Read the rest

Extending your Salesforce network

2024-01-12

Yesterday’s email sparked some great feedback from readers, so let’s expand the topic of building your Salesforce network.

LinkedIn was mentioned, but it doesn’t really matter which social media platform you participate in. For example, Twitter/X has a vibrant Salesforce community.… Read the rest

Ways to build your professional network

2024-01-11

Having a strong professional network helps attract clients and projects. Once you are known, you can refer business to others, and they can refer business to you.

So how do you become known?

There are three main ways to build your professional network.… Read the rest