Salesforce releases hundreds of innovative features three times a year during seasonal releases, such as their Spring Releases and Summer Releases. As a Salesforce professional, it’s crucial to stay up to date with these latest releases and adopt the new innovations that will improve your day-to-day work in Salesforce.
However, it’s a lot to take in and it’s not always easy. So how can you stay up to date with the latest Salesforce innovations? Salesforce Certified Professional and MVP, Om Prakash, is here with 9 ways to get started.
1. Skill up with Trailhead:
Skilling up is a key priority for anyone who works in Salesforce. According to a recent study, 94% of employees say that they would stay at their company longer if the company invested in learning.
So clearly, this is a key priority for Salesforce professionals. As someone who works with Salesforce, you should prioritize learning as much as you can, as this will ultimately help you to become better and improve your workload, as you’ll be able to work more efficiently. It’s a win-win, really.
With Trailhead, keeping your skills sharp is made easy, as there are dedicated pathways and trails on how to leverage new features in Salesforce across your organization.
If you’re new to Salesforce, I’d highly recommend you sign up to Trailhead straightaway, so you can start learning skills on-demand, at your own pace.
2. Watch Trailhead Live
If you’re preparing for a certification exam and needs tips, or are looking for the tips and techniques to be more productive at work, Trailhead Live is a great place to start. You can watch live or on-demand videos from experts across a variety of skills and topics.
3. Use the Trailblazer Community
The Trailblazer Community is an incredible part of the Salesforce community. It’s a great place to learn from people who have likely “done it all before”, with regard to your own workload. Anyone can ask questions, engage with existing queries, explore resolved questions, or share their own tips.
Plus, with the Trailblazer Community you have a fantastic avenue through which to give back to the ecosystem. You can answer questions for fellow Trailblazers and earn a reputation as a great source of knowledge, which will raise your profile within the ecosystem.
You can also get involved in discussions through the various Q&As on Salesforce Stack Exchange, or through the Salesforce Developer Discussion Forums.
4. Don’t forget the MuleSoft Community and Tableau
The MuleSoft Community is a free ticket to becoming an integration pro. Through it, you can learn, network, and share knowledge with the ecosystem at large. The same can be said for Tableau, which is a great place to get answers, get inspired, or connect with the community at large.
5. Use online collaboration groups
There’s a wealth of collaboration groups out there where users and teams can ask questions relating to Salesforce, share work, or collaborate with other Trailblazers in the ecosystem.
Through them, you can discuss upcoming workshops and training sessions with your peers, connect with Trailblazers from the same interest, or even find a great mentor. It’s an inspiring, insightful community that is almost guaranteed to help you stay ahead in Salesforce. Here’s a handy list of potential groups to join and connect with.
6. And of course, Trailblazer Community Groups
I fully recommend that anyone leading a Salesforce team find their nearest Trailblazer Community Group. They’re incredibly motivating and a fantastic way keep your skills sharp alongside your peers. As well as a great way to share your knowledge with the community at large.
Check out some Trailblazer Community Groups here.
7. Events can bring Salesforce to life, so attend them
Salesforce almost always has an event of some sort or another, wherever you are in the world. These range from Dreamforce to World Tours. Check out some upcoming Salesforce events here.
There’s also Salesforce Live, which is a fantastic online event in itself, but also has a great range of past events hosted as videos, packed with inspiring stories across different businesses and insightful tips for Salesforce users.
8. Community Conferences
Community Conferences are organized by the Salesforce community themselves, they’re a really authentic way to connect with other people from the ecosystem, while learning more about Salesforce in general.
These conferences can help you network with peers, through a series of sessions that range from beginner, all the way through to advanced levels.
You can find the best community conferences here.
9. Keep up to date with the Salesforce Champion program…or become one!
The Salesforce Champion program was created to inspire and empower people within the ecosystem to greatness. And it most certainly does! Get involved in the program and, who knows, you might just become one.
The Champion program exists to elevate the fantastic work people like you do the in the community. If you become a champion you’ll be deeply “in the know” on all things Salesforce, with access to the coveted Champion Community.
Ultimately, while there’s a lot to keep your skills sharp you stand to make your workload easier and to increase your reputation within an incredible ecosystem.
