Based on reader’s responses and feedback from my post on LinkedIn, when it comes to RPFs, most people seem to fall into the “necessary evil”.
Fellow reader Nicole wrote a LinkedIn article about this topic, I recommend you check it out as it goes into much further depth than I did.… Read the rest
In Salesforce, it’s common to receive Requests for Proposal (RFPs).
Open RFPs are when a client allows anyone to submit their candidacy for a potential project. Closed RFPs are when the client has a shortlist of vendors and only approaches them.… Read the rest
While not usually a best practice, sometimes you need to rename standard objects.
Depending on whether the object is standard, custom, or part of a package, the exact renaming process takes a few shapes.
However once renamed, you may need to retrieve the new label to display in a screen flow.… Read the rest
I’m willing to bet that most Salesforce projects only use a single language. However there are times when more than language is needed.
When that case arises, the main tools used are Custom Labels and the Translation Workbench (TW).
Labels are easy enough to work with.… Read the rest
Whenever working with data, I always use MS Access. Excel is more commonly used, but Access is an actual relational database.
Importing .csv or Excel files takes a couple of clicks. Once there, you can sort, filter, and manipulate data with ease.… Read the rest
Depending on your data source and data import frequency, you have various options to load data into Salesforce. Taking a closer look at the one-in-a-while use case, here are some popular (and free) tools:
1. Salesforce Dataloader
The tried and true dataloader.… Read the rest
Imagine a client hands you a .csv file that needs to be loaded into Salesforce. So, what’s your process?
Here are the steps I usually follow:
To improve as a Salesforce consultant, it’s important to be self-aware.
There are a few reasons for this.
1. The “Expert Trap”
When I started to learn how to scuba dive, I learned an interesting lesson. Most accidents happen to expert divers.… Read the rest
Most people are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which starts with Physiological needs (food, shelter, sleep), then Safety (security, health), then Belonging (relationships, love) and so on.
There’s another framework called AQAL (“All Quadrants, All Levels”), developed by Ken Wilber.… Read the rest
When I started these emails, I made a promise to you and to myself to post 5 times a week. And for a long while, I upheld that promise. Breaks excluded, of course.
When I was sick the other week, I really tried to keep my promise.… Read the rest
An excellent way to keep your good clients connected is to invite them to your Slack workspace.
While email is great for formal communication, Slack is great for quick chats and questions. When you invite a client to Slack, they quickly understand they have significantly better access to you.… Read the rest
Maybe it’s just me, but I love playing the game, “How fast I can respond to a client email?”.
It’s like a seductive game of Whack a Mole. A client email appears in my inbox while I’m composing an email, and BAMN, I respond to it immediately.… Read the rest
Let’s say you have two tasks to do, one from a new client and one from an old. All things being equal, which one should you prioritize?
I’m going to say the quiet part out loud: Proritze the new client.
At first glance, this may sound awful.… Read the rest
When working with others, someone is bound to have different opinions. Sometimes people really believe they are right, that you are wrong, and they are ready to defend their position.
As a Salesforce consultant, sometimes you’re in the middle of these disagreements.… Read the rest
As a Salesforce consultant, you’re normally not responsible for managing others.
Buf if you work in a team, you may need to delegate tasks to others, you may need to resolve conflicts, and you may need to coach new recruits.
Given this, let’s take a look at each of them.… Read the rest
Just over a month ago, I made the prediction that Marc Benioff will rename Salesforce (the product) to Agentforce.
A few days ago, it was obvious he’s clearly thinking about it. But not just the product. He’s entertaining the idea of renaming the entire company.… Read the rest
Have you seen the viral priority test? (BTW, it wasn’t written by Sigmund Freud),
It’s a little psychology experiment in which you’re told the following is happening at the same time:
You’re asked to resolve these in sequence.… Read the rest
Here are the tools I use to Get Things Done (GTD).
Tasks are assigned to me through various channels:
There are several filters in my Gmail, so that only those that may have a task remain in the inbox.… Read the rest
Let’s say you have 13 tasks split across 5 clients, where do you start?
I follow (and recommend) a simplified version of David Allan’s Get Things Done (GTD) approach.
In the original version, there are 5 steps to this approach:
Step 1.… Read the rest
A fellow long-time reader recently asked (shared with permission):
… Read the restAs I interview for roles, including subcontracting, I’m asked about my ‘Project Management’ skills. By this, I don’t think they’re asking about PM skills as a PM – i.e. managing other peoples’ work.
For the 2025 “Good Enough” Consultant anniversary giveaway, there were 6 people that referred 9 new readers.
They were entered into a winner wheel (for each new reader) and the results are in the video below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sHswGcAgSfi3s9tPRJG9MvrnFLDnIIyL/view?usp=sharing
And this year, the winner is jtxxxx@ixxx.com!… Read the rest
In initial sales calls with potential clients, there are many threads to observe and ask questions about.
Most Salesforce consultants have a checklist of questions such as:
When you’re an independent Salesforce consultant, the best way to get leads is from referrals. Nothing else comes close.
These referrals can be from current or former colleagues, clients, and friends.
Having a connection in common is crazy effective, as it effectively eliminates uncertainty.… Read the rest
Your reputation as a Salesforce consultant is paramount. It takes years to build and can tumble within moments.
Given this critical importance, let’s take a closer look at it.
A good reputation includes (but is not limited to):
The takeaway
Do these activities today, and again tomorrow.… Read the rest
You may not have known this, but I’ve been a podcast host for almost 4 years.
It’s called Agents of Nonprofit and the 1st episode was published on Feb 28, 2022. It was a weekly show where I interviewed everyday “superheroes” in the nonprofit community.… Read the rest
Once you’ve identified your ideal client and their expensive problem, the next step is to market to them.
The main theme is to use their words. This means if your clients are
Once you’ve identified your ideal client (also known as ICP: Ideal Client Profile), the next step is to understand their problems.
There are two parts to this phase.
The first is for your client’s to acknowledge they have a problem that’s actually worth solving.… Read the rest
Let’s face facts: you cannot help everyone.
You cannot even help a fraction of all possible clients. This has nothing to do with your talent, this has to do with having limited time and resources.
So you need to decide which clients to help, and which ones to leave behind.… Read the rest
If you were driving down the road in your car, and saw a neon sign with the message, “We help people solve problems”, would you pull over?
I doubt it.
What if the sign read, “We help independent Salesforce consultants build a healthy pipeline so they can achieve their desired lifestyle”?… Read the rest
As an independent Salesforce consultant, clients are your lifeblood.
Notice the “s” in “clients”. While one client at a time may be sufficient for your lifestyle, usually a project only lasts for so long. And then you’ll need to find another client.… Read the rest