In a general sense, what does specialization mean to you?
You may think of a marketing consultant who works with investment companies or a marketing firm that specializes in small businesses.
Or you may think of a specialized doctor – someone who treats a specific illness or condition. Like an ophthalmologist that focuses their practice on the eyes or a cardiologist that knows everything about the heart.
While these professions may look similar, it’s important to note they are actually two kinds of specialization:
- Who you help
- How you help
In the Salesforce world, an example of the first is an industry, a geography, a psychographic, or other segmentation. For example, I specialize in nonprofits, so I help them while employing any of the Salesforce clouds.
An example of the second is a list of services you provide and clouds you work with, independent of the client. For example, you could specialize in Field Service, regardless of the client’s industry.
It’s also possible, albeit less common, to provide a double specialization: you implement Field Service for nonprofits.
All of these examples are types of specialization, and you can choose one that resonates most with who you are. Would you rather help a particular segment or focus your attention on a particular cloud?
The takeaway
The goal here is to recommend you figure out which type of specialization you prefer and then double-click on it.
And why bother specializing at all? Find out tomorrow.