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 $34 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2024, increasing by over $29 billion since 2015 [1]. Statista predicts that CRM software will generate over $145 billion in revenue by 2029 [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 an asset to the organizations you work for, providing advice on how the platform works and enabling teams to access customer data and complete business processes with ease.

What does a Salesforce admin do?

A Salesforce administrator’s role is multifaceted. Below, find a list of tasks you may 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 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 salary and 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, nonprofit organizations, and government. 

Glassdoor reports that the average Salesforce administrator salary in the US is $100,663, with additional pay such as cash bonuses, commission, and profit sharing amounting to $14,590 [3]. As of December 2024, Glassdoor lists more than 130 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 qualify for most Salesforce administrator positions, you will need to pass the Salesforce 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 in order to focus your efforts.

Then you can 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 you can approach employers with confidence. 

Get started in Salesforce administration with Coursera

As a Salesforce administrator, you will manage the daily use of the Salesforce platform. 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. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)