How to build your brand in the Salesforce Ecosystem
Building your Brand:
Building a personal brand within the Salesforce ecosystem is important for several reasons. It helps establish you as a thought leader and subject matter expert in your area of expertise. This can lead to more opportunities for professional growth and advancement. You tend to stand out in a crowded job market by highlighting your unique skills and qualifications. When you build a strong network of contacts within the Salesforce community, including other professionals, customers, and partners. You position yourself as a trusted and valuable advisor to potential employers and clients, which can lead to more opportunities.
Go out and increase your visibility of your skills service acumen. You want to make sure to get certified, Certified Salesforce Administrator, also known as the “Gatekeeper Exam”, can help you to get more job opportunities and increase your earning potential. But don’t stop there! Look at our continued learning plan tips in the next section. Building a strong personal brand can also help you to build a reputation for being a knowledgeable and reliable professional. Which can lead to more opportunities for mentoring, coaching, and other forms of thought leadership. Overall, building a personal brand within the Salesforce ecosystem can lead to more opportunities for professional growth and success. Growing is a lot easier when it’s accepted and expected, as the ecosystem is full of likeminded people who are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to pull someone else up!
Here are some key steps to building a personal brand within the Salesforce ecosystem:
- Develop a deep understanding of Salesforce and its various products and solutions, and become an expert in one or more specific areas.
- Share your knowledge and expertise through blog posts, social media, and speaking engagements at Salesforce events and user groups.
- Build a strong network of contacts within the Salesforce community, including other Salesforce professionals, customers, and partners.
- Get certified on Salesforce’s platform and showcase your certifications on your LinkedIn profile, resume and other professional platforms.
- Participate in the Salesforce community through the Salesforce Trailblazer Community, attend meetups and user groups, and contribute to open-source projects.
- Focus on delivering value to your clients, and building a reputation for being a trusted and knowledgeable advisor.
- Consider creating a personal website and/or blog to showcase your expertise and share your thoughts on industry trends and best practices.
By following these steps and consistently working to improve and promote your personal brand, you can establish yourself as a respected and influential member of the Salesforce ecosystem.
Have a continued learning plan:
While building your brand is important, growing your skills and abilities are equally important. Especially if you plan to be eligible for promotions and eventually grow your pay plan. The #Ohana makes Salesforce an easy to love ecosystem. As you grow in the ecosystem you may find different aspects that interest you. Note the areas where you would like to flex your subject matter expert muscle! A continued learning plan is important for continued growth. Early on, this shows your committed and invested in your profession. Interviewers love hearing someone speak with passion about their skills and speak to continued growth through there learning plan. Your potential employer will leave the discussion knowing that you have a plan to keep your skills and knowledge up to date and can help the team stay competitive in the market. Which could also help you advance in your career.
Staying relevant as technology and industry trends change can be challenging. A continued learning plan can help you stay current and relevant in your field. Having a dedication to personal growth and learning new things can help you grow both personally and professionally. Regular achievement and fulfillment go a long way. Continued learning can help you develop new interests and passions, leading to greater fulfillment in your personal and professional life. The discipline it takes to follow the plan speaks loudest! Creating the plan is one thing but consistently reaching goals is uplifting and it lets other professionals see your discipline, “Speak it, Plan it, Do it.”
Here are some steps you can take to create a continued learning plan:
- Assess your current skills and knowledge: Consider what you already know and what skills you currently have. This will help you identify areas where you need to focus your learning efforts.
- Set specific learning goals: Identify what you want to learn and what you hope to achieve by learning it. Be specific and set measurable goals.
- Choose learning methods: Decide on the best ways for you to learn, whether it be through online courses, attending workshops, reading books, or on-the-job training.
- Create a schedule: Plan out when and how you will allocate time to learning. Make sure to include the time in your schedule and stick to it.
- Make it sustainable: Make sure you have a plan that is sustainable, you don’t want to burn yourself out. Incorporate a variety of activities and learning methods to keep things interesting.
- Track progress: Keep track of your progress and assess how well you are achieving your learning goals. This will help you adjust your plan as needed.
- Hold yourself accountable: Hold yourself accountable for your learning progress and make sure you are following your plan.
- Seek opportunities: Look for opportunities to apply what you have learned on the job or in other areas of your life.
- Network and collaborate: Try to network and collaborate with other professionals in your field and share learning resources and experiences.
When a learning plan is created it doesn’t account for the changes in industry, adoption of new best practices and new pre-requisites on your path. In the new and improved agile workforce adaptability is a must have skill. A continued learning plan helps you to develop an adaptable mindset. A very valuable asset in today’s fast-paced and constantly changing work environment. Agile decision making can help you acquire new knowledge and skills. Meaning you likely make better decisions and have improved problem-solving abilities.
It’s never too early to offer help! Collaboration is KEY:
On the surface, improving our professional reputation and building skills are probably the most driving motivators, at first! Promoting personal growth and development come natural in an ecosystem where so many are skilling up and marking their achievements. Of course we want to see our goals met and there is an understanding that our field is one where being a lifelong learners is essential. However there is also a moral compass that points us to improve the lives of others and build stronger communities. The core of that is rooted in the Ohana! If you have not heard of this quite yet, I am excited to share with you the meaning. The amazingly strong, deeply rooted culture behind salesforce!
Ohana is a Hawaiian word that means “family” and it is a term used by Salesforce to refer to its community of employees, customers, partners, and developers. The Salesforce Ohana is a network of individuals and organizations who use Salesforce products and services to connect with their customers and drive business growth. The Ohana is committed to using technology to make a positive impact on the world and uses the power of its community to drive change and innovation.
The Salesforce Ohana culture is deeply rooted in its core values which include: trust, customer success, innovation, and equality. The company encourages its employees, customers, and partners to give back to their communities through volunteer and philanthropic efforts. Salesforce also hosts the annual “Ohana Day” event, which is an opportunity for its employees to give back to the community and make a positive impact.
The Ohana work in their communities to create positive change. This lovely group of likeminded individuals foster a culture of civic engagement and responsibility, encouraging more individual and organizations to get involved and make a positive impact. Creating positive change is an effective way to address issues at a global and local level. In the spirit of personal growth we give back to our communities, other learners, children, the misfortunate, and the underserved. We increase engagement and responsibility in such a positive way, it proliferates.
There are several ways to offer help and give back in the Salesforce ecosystem, regardless of your level of knowledge:
- Participate in Salesforce User Groups: Salesforce User Groups are local communities where Salesforce professionals can come together to share knowledge, best practices, and network. You can attend meetings and participate in discussions, even if you’re a beginner.
- Share your knowledge on Salesforce Community: Salesforce Community is a platform where Salesforce users can ask questions, share knowledge, and collaborate. You can help by answering questions or providing tips and advice, even if you’re new to Salesforce.
- Give back to the community through volunteering: Salesforce encourages its employees and customers to give back to the community through volunteer work. You can get involved in local volunteer efforts or participate in Salesforce’s annual “Ohana Day” event.
- Contribute to open-source projects: Salesforce has a number of open-source projects that you can contribute to, regardless of your level of knowledge. You can contribute by reporting bugs, providing feedback, or submitting pull requests.
- Attend Salesforce events and conferences: Salesforce hosts a number of events and conferences throughout the year where you can learn more about the platform, network with other professionals, and get involved in the community.
- Get certified: Getting certified on Salesforce can give you more confidence and skills to help others and give back to the community.
- Share your success story: Share your success story and how Salesforce helped you and your company, this can inspire and help others to get on board and use Salesforce in the most effective way.
- Participate in Trailhead: Trailhead is Salesforce’s free, online learning platform that offers interactive tutorials and hands-on challenges. Participating in Trailhead can help you learn more about Salesforce and give back by creating and sharing your own challenges and tutorials.