Salesforce Admins (like myself) deal with all kinds of requests, questions, and troubleshooting each day that can make a normal eight-hour day seem like a decade. Some salespeople, though, have this crazy ability to turn our day around in a split second with certain awesome actions and user insights. Becoming “besties” with your SFDC Admin not only helps gain good rapport with the support team, but also may provide you with better future assistance and quicker response times when you’re most in need. Here are 6 reasons why we Admins love salespeople (and how we pick our favorites):
- You think before you ask. No one likes a lazy salesperson. Try to figure out the solution to your problem before asking your Admin for help. It’s okay if you can’t figure it out; we are here to help you. There is a difference, though, between being lazy and simply having a task fall outside your skill set.
- You socialize with us. The salespeople who get to the top of my list are the ones who sincerely ask me how my day is going with a smile. It doesn’t have to be a full conversation, just something pleasant. Patronizing our skills by “super-awesome compliments” is not the same as socializing (we can smell BS a mile away).
- You provide USABILITY feedback. Bad = “I hate Salesforce because it’s hard to use.” Good = “I hate Salesforce because I have to scroll up and down the Account page searching for the only 5 required fields on the page before I can click save.” Do you see why Admins love the second comment? Because you provided usability feedback to make Salesforce better rather than simply complaining. Admins do not use Salesforce everyday the same way salespeople do. We prefer – and even enjoy – feedback that makes a Salesforce more efficient. In this case, I’d move all the required fields to one section (or the top of the Account page) for easier and quicker data-entry for salespeople.
- You offer to test something. Salespeople ask for help, support, and feature activations in Salesforce every day and yet most don’t want to get dirty piloting these new functionalities when Admins get around to launching them. BE THE GUINEA PIG and you will be our favorite! An extra 5 minutes spent with a Salesforce Admin testing a new functionality in Salesforce goes a long way and will gain you major brownie points for redemption when you need assistance during crunch time.
- You follow procedure (most of the time). As a very generic statement, Salesforce Admins are typically more technical, structured, and analytical. We find value in process and associate respectfulness with following protocol. We love salespeople because of their adaptability, agility, and free-spirit-like character; however, we love you most when you’re able to follow the rules.
- You close deals (and recognize help). Everyone wants to work with and for a winner! We love helping successful, promising salespeople become more successful and promising. Close more deals, get more love. I’ve seen managers ask the top salesperson, “John, what did you do this year to knock it out of the park?” Amongst a lengthy response, if one of John’s statements is “My Salesforce Admin automated my email blasts” or any sentence that begins with “My Salesforce Admin…” we will be your dedicated Admin forever.
Salesforce Admin love isn’t hard to come by, it just takes a little extra effort. That extra 5-10 minutes every other day will go a long way for your Salesforce support and success! Stick to these 6 tips and your Salesforce Admin will stay right by your side.
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