What Is a Salesforce Administrator? And How to Become One

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a company that designs cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software to help businesses generate more leads, close more deals, drive sales, track and analyze data, and offer superior customer service. Salesforce offers a suite of products called Customer 360 that connects sales, service, marketing, IT, and commerce under one system so that everyone within an organization can access customer information and use it to perform duties. 

Did you know?

According to Statista, Salesforce generated over $26 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2022, increasing by over $21 billion since 2015. Statista predicts that CRM software will generate over $120 billion in revenue by 2027 [1, 2].

What is a Salesforce administrator? 

A Salesforce administrator is someone who has passed a certifying exam and is qualified to function as an advisor for getting the most out of the Salesforce CRM platform. Salesforce administrators typically work with company stakeholders to customize the platform, support users within the company, and forge a connection between business and technology. 

As a Salesforce administrator, you can be a valuable asset to an organization you work for, by serving as a trusted advisor for how the platform works and enabling teams to access data and complete business processes with ease.

What does a Salesforce administrator do?

A Salesforce administrator’s role is multifaceted. Below is a list of tasks you might be responsible for as a Salesforce admin: 

• Creating dashboards for individual users to help them visualize key data

• Staying current on new Salesforce tools, capabilities, and updates, so that companies can remain competitive in their niche markets

• Maintaining the platform, by updating user profiles, changing sharing privileges, and improving reporting settings

• Fixing bugs

• Training users

• Building reports

• Automating processes

• Setting up workflows  

• Integrating third-party apps 

Salesforce administrator jobs

The Salesforce platform has a wide range of uses and Salesforce administrators can work in a variety of industries, including health care, legal services, construction, insurance, human resources, non-profit organizations, and government. 

Glassdoor reports that the average Salesforce administrator salary in the US is $79,116, which includes a base salary and additional pay such as cash bonuses, commission, and profit sharing [3]. As of January 2023, Glassdoor lists more than 400 Salesforce admin job openings in the US [4]. 

Roles related to Salesforce administrator include: 

• Salesforce architect: partners with businesses to translate their needs into a technical solution and design data models for integrating Salesforce 

• Salesforce developer: writes software on the Salesforce platform and is responsible for building and modifying applications 

How to become a Salesforce administrator 

If you’re ready to explore Salesforce administrator career opportunities, follow the steps below to unlock more possibilities along your career path. 

1. Gain experience using Salesforce. 

Gaining experience with this platform can enhance your skills and demonstrate your job readiness to employers. Gain Salesforce experience by: 

• Taking Salesforce courses, such as the Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate

• Getting a Salesforce internship or entry-level job

• Joining an online Salesforce community, such as Trailhead, Salesforce’s learning platform, and connecting with other Salesforce professionals 

2. Pass the Salesforce Certified Administrator exam.

To be considered for most Salesforce administrator positions, you will need to pass the certification exam. This exam tests your skills in:

• Configuration and setup (20 percent)

• Using the object manager and lightning app builder (20 percent)

• Sales and marketing applications (12 percent)

• Service and support applications (11 percent)

• Productivity and collaboration (7 percent)

• Data and analytics management (14 percent)

• Workflow and process automation (16 percent)

3. Apply for Salesforce administrator jobs. 

As you gain experience and become a Salesforce certified administrator, the next step is to look for jobs and start applying. Start by identifying your career goals and the kind of lifestyle you want, to focus your efforts.

Then, scour job sites like Glassdoor and Indeed to discover job openings. Review each Salesforce administrator job description carefully to discover if the tasks, responsibilities, required qualifications, and salary align with your career goals.

Make sure your resume is up-to-date with your experience, certifications, and skills, and spend some time building interviewing skills, so that you can approach employers with confidence. 

Read more: How to List Certifications on Your Resume: Guide + Examples

Get started with Coursera

Taking online courses can be a great way to build skills related to Salesforce administration and discover career options. Explore the Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate and get to know the platform and its functionality. 

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