IT Pros, Business Gurus, etc.: How Salesforce Admins Bring Them All Together
In companies using Salesforce, business people are focused on the bottom line while IT professionals want to develop and enhance technology solutions. The two groups are working side-by-side toward the same end goal, but they are also at odds with each other, rarely operating in concert. They don’t speak the same “language;” decision-makers speak in terms of finances, IT pros communicate in tech-speak. It takes a “multi-lingual” Salesforce admin to help all parties in a company communicate effectively.
If you are headed to Midwest Dreamin’ 2016 in Chicago July 22, we invite you to a crash course full of tips and tricks for communicating with all the members of your org. Be sure to make time to hear Internet Creations’ 4x Certified Admin and Business Analyst Rebecca Lammers present “Symphony of Salesforce: What it Means to be a Business Analyst/Admin.” Her co-presenter is Courtney Swayze, a Senior Salesforce Developer at GM Financial in Dallas.
A Salesforce admin must understand the workings of everyone involved in a project. More than understanding the business pain points and possible solutions, the admin must be able to bring the various members of a team together to overcome challenges and see a project through to completion – on time, on budget and to the company’s satisfaction.
Lammers explains: “Sometimes it feels like the IT department is being a roadblock to business practices. The business person just wants to make money, but IT people aren’t motivated by the bottom line. IT people want to understand every aspect of every part of how the project is going to come together, but business people aren’t interested in the minutiae.
“As an admin, you are business-facing AND you have to manage the IT side if there is custom development. You are a gatekeeper trying to make everyone happy.”
In many cases, the admin must serve as both a business analyst (balancing the needs of both sides) and the conduit for communication between all parties, most notably business and IT. The job of an admin can be likened to that of both an orchestra conductor and a composer, says Lammers.
Meet the Members of Every Salesforce Orchestra:
- Executives are the percussion section; they dictate pace, rhythm and direction.
- IT/Developers are the brass section; they create special effects to provide a performance for the audience (or platform for the customers/end users) that will keep them smiling.
- End-Users are the string section. They play the melody — the usable data that drives the company forward.
- Super Users are the woodwind section, providing the harmony that enhances the melody.
Leading the performance is the business analyst/admin who must act as both the composer and conductor. The BA/admin must create the plan and administer the plan of action while simultaneously keeping all the various sections of the performance humming along!
To properly liaise between all members of an organization, and create beautiful music within your Salesforce org, it’s critical for an admin to recognize the following:
- Composing is collaboration, design, and requirements gathering
- Conducting is driving implementation, adoption, training and more
- Talking to each department, every instrument, is different; there is no one-size-fits all language
To reach the ultimate goal, optimal customer service, an admin must find ways to cull the opinions of all involved, overcome the objections and meet the goals of everyone on the team to best exceed customer expectations and create a Salesforce Symphony that is in tune and harmonious!
Remember, you can learn more about the Symphony of Salesforce on July 22 at 3 p.m. in Session Hall Room 324 on Day 2 of Midwest Dreamin’ 2016. Also, stop by Booth 4 in the Expo Hall to say “hello” to the Internet Creations team and enter for your chance to win a Mophie charger! If you would like to reserve some 1-on-1 time in Chicago with a member of our team to find out how we can help you take your org to the next level of efficiency, click here. Not going to Midwest Dreamin? No problem!
Contact us here and we will schedule a private consultation with you at your earliest convenience.
- Welcome to Dreamforce: You Have Arrived - October 1, 2016
- Now That’s Something to Brag About… - September 21, 2016
- IT Pros, Business Gurus, etc.: How Salesforce Admins Bring Them All Together - July 20, 2016
