Recommended job for you

At their core, they maintain and make the platform more user-friendly. They must stay up to date on any new tools, updates, or capabilities of the platform. Salesforce Administrators are able to apply the Salesforce platform to any business, non-profit, or organization to improve functionality and efficiency.

Salary potential

In the United States, a Salesforce Admin earns $84,000 on average.

With 5 years of experience, you can earn $87,000.

About Salesforce

Salesforce is one of the world’s leading cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. Companies, both big and small, use this CRM platform to connect with customers, build lasting relationships, and streamline business processes. In fact, Salesforce is used by over 150,000 companies worldwide. Research firms predict there will be approximately 9.3 million new Salesforce jobs by 2026.

Skills you already have that are relevant to a career in Salesforce Administration

Suggested career path

We see that people with your background can often earn a Salesforce Certificate and then get a Sales Development Rep role at top companies within three (3) months of program completion. You can then typically get a Sales Ops role within one (1) year of earning a Salesforce certificate. From there, you can typically get a Salesforce Administrator role within two (2) years.

Other common pathways into Salesforce career

A diversity of other ‘past careers’ end up being successful as a Salesforce admin, as long as you have the right general skills, you can learn the hard skills to be successful. Former customer service representatives, executive assistants, real estate agents, restaurant managers and stay-at-home parents have all transitioned to into Salesforce Administrator roles. Successful Salesforce Administrators possess a blend of customer service experience, some business knowledge, and sales expertise.

This job will be the right fit for you if you:

• are a creative problem solver
• are a champion of productivity
• have strong communication skills or
• have deep attention to detail

Top 20 companies hiring Salesforce Admin in 2022

What do you actually do as a Salesforce Admin?

A Salesforce admin typically supports the sales management and/or executive team(s) by:

Building Dashboards and Reports

Builds and customizes dashboardsG

You create a comprehensive dashboard of the Sales Pipeline for the Executive Vice President of Sales.

Generates custom, easy-to-read reportsG

A business development manager has a presentation, and you assist her in building a report to show how many leads converted to opportunities in quarter one.

Improve a company’s reporting capabilitiesG

The configuration of outside tools with Salesforce is essential. After meeting with the marketing department, you realize a new tool is needed. You opt to integrate Hubspot (a marketing tool) into the platform.

As an admin, research and vetting the best tools is critical to building out a Salesforce production org valuable to your organization and its business goals.

Improving Business Processes

Organizes/manages new leads and clientsG

The Sales Manager added a new deal to the pipeline. You review it and make sure the client data was uploaded accurately and that no information is missing.

Optimize Company’s Salesforce experienceG

You meet with a coworker and ask how they use Salesforce in their day-to-day. You use the feedback to customize their team’s dashboard, optimizing the use of Salesforce for them.

Better communication of client needsG

You hold meetings with several departments, review their business needs, and accordingly provide recommendations. Communication is key when it comes to being a successful Salesforce admin.

Optimizing Sales

Tracks sales pipelinesG

You regularly schedule bi-monthly check-ins with the Sales Director to go over the health of the pipeline and define goals.

Assists with improving user experienceG

Now that you integrated the Hubspot marketing tool with Salesforce, you need to add a section to the SOP to help your team understand the basic functionality of this application.

Maintains customer recordsG

You review records weekly and notice that some records are no longer accessible to all users. You reset the records fixing the issue.

Day-to-Day tasks as a Salesforce Administrator

A Salesforce admin typically supports the sales management and/or executive team(s) by:

Manage client data

Create custom objects and fields

Create reports and dashboards

Other tools used by a Salesforce Administrator

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Hubspot
• Monday.com
• Zoho
• Pipedrive
• Bitrix 24

Other jobs that use Salesforce skills

• Salesforce Business Analyst
• Grants Administrator
• Sales Development Reps

Projected demand for Salesforce Administrators

Source: Burning Glass | Labor Insights

Salesforce Administration is an in-demand digital skill

Digital Skills are “a range of abilities to use digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and manage information.” In essence, these skills help us recommunicate better, solve problems more effectively, create and share content or improve our productivity. These skills range from basic entry-level skills you need to be able to use devices (computers, mobile devices, etc) and online applications to more advanced skills that allow users to use new technologies to empower and transform. Advanced digital skills can allow companies to gain valuable insights which leads to building better products and services; transform internal processes, improve workflows, better communicate (internally and externally), or even forecast growth.

Some examples of basic digital skills include:

• Email and chat
• Using social media platforms
• Entering data
• Computer literacy
• Word processing
• Web-based research

More comprehensive skills that may require training, include:

• Digital marketing and content creation
• Customer relationship management 
(CRM) platform maintenance.
• Programming, web and app development
• Digital design and data visualization
• User experience design
• Data Management
• Digital project management
• Data science

Why are digital skills needed

Technology touches every aspect of our lives, especially the way we work. For decades technology advanced faster than the workforce skills creating the digital skills gap. The pandemic accelerated digital transformation at an unprecedented rate and further increased the demand for digital skills. Every industry incorporates technology, from doctors using telehealth apps to ordering food through delivery apps. Companies are seeking digitally literate employees to use the technologies they adopt to thrive and survive in the modern economy.

By 2030, 80 percent of jobs will require digital skills, and 40 percent of today’s jobs require them, making them critical to the future of business and the workforce. Learning how to work with technology in a more meaningful way, such as using a CRM software like Salesforce, is extremely valuable to a business looking to improve its customer management relationship and better understand clients’ needs.

While the task of learning a new advanced technology may seem daunting, it can open many doors and help future-proof your career. At Pathstream, we believe that “every individual should have access to the digital skills needed to succeed in the modern economy.” We partner with leading tech companies to build and deliver digital skills career programs for people of all backgrounds who want to advance their careers.

How to develop skills to get hired as a Salesforce Administrator

Success Stories