As the fastest growing CRM in the world, it’s well known that a career in Salesforce offers a huge amount of potential for budding professionals. We recently caught up with Lucy Mazalon , Marketing Automation Consultant and Co-editor at Salesforce Ben and The DRIP, to discuss the career path Salesforce offers.
With so many different avenues available, what does this mean for someone looking to break into the ecosystem? What’s great about Salesforce is that anyone, regardless of previous experience, can use the countless training tools available to upskill themselves and become a Salesforce pro. So, what advice would an expert like Lucy give to someone starting out? Whether you're interested in Salesforce consultant jobs, marketing automation jobs, or you're interested in learning more about Salesforce careers, this is your chance to learn from someone who knows!
Invest in yourself
“I think one of the most important things to do is take ownership of your career. It’s important to push yourself - I did a lot of self-learning, as I felt I was able to empower my own career development.”
Lucy had a thirst for learning from the get-go, “When I was working in my first role, I wanted to get closer to how the product works, so I studied for my Salesforce Admin exam . I funded the exams myself and worked into the night to make sure my investment didn’t go to waste! This allowed me to improve my knowledge, ability, and overall value as a Salesforce professional.”
Embrace the Salesforce community
Salesforce is famous for having a strong community – there’s always something going on! Not only are there all sorts of events happening across the globe, there’s also a massive – and we mean massive - online community.
Lucy spoke about why this is so important, “Trailblazer community groups are incredibly valuable. By throwing yourself into the community, you can learn plenty from fellow Salesforce enthusiasts.” As a Salesforce expert with knowledge to share, Lucy is eager to use this resource as a medium to give back, “Once I became more specialised and became knowledgeable within Pardot, I saw it important to help others learn. I actually subscribe to notifications on the Pardot Trailblazer Community groups, so that if there’s a question I have the answer to, I can help jump on and help others.”
What are you waiting for? Join a user group!
Lucy is the user group leader of the Pardot London User Group (London, B2B Marketers), “I absolutely love this group – there’s a mix of consultants and users within the group so the level of knowledge is varied. I plan my travel and other commitments around these meetups so that I don’t miss out!”
“In our group, no question is a dumb question, which allows people to learn in a comfortable, inclusive environment. With Pardot especially, the product is constantly changing, so whether you’re an expert or a total novice, there’s always something new to learn that you may not have encountered yet. It’s crucial not to have an all-knowing mentality when you’re working with a tool that’s evolving.”
“Another thing with Pardot is that skillsets can be so varied, so there’s always an opportunity to learn from someone else - regardless of how much knowledge you already have. You might be an expert in building landing pages, but someone else could be an expert in developing reporting models – it’s important to rely on the variety of professionals - this attitude allows you to continuously improve and upskill.”
So, what are Lucy’s biggest pieces of advice for someone starting out?
“Above all else – invest in yourself! You have to take ownership of your own development. I’d also say to start as a generalist – there’s so many different avenues you can go down with marketing automation. This is a great way to get a feel for what you like, what you don’t like, and where you want to move onto next.”
“When I was starting out, I wrote a lot of content, which allowed me to firm up my knowledge. This was back in 2015 and since then I’ve contributed 220+ articles to Salesforce. And I’ve also edited more than 200 at The DRIP and Salesforce Ben. So yeah, I looked at a lot of Salesforce content!”
Coming up… exclusive marketing automation jobs insights
In our next conversation with Lucy, we get more details on marketing automation jobs. We’ll be asking her about some of the finer details on life as a marketing automation consultant – but before we delve deep into this area, she let us know the top three skills she believes are most valuable for an aspiring consultant. Looking for Salesforce consultant jobs? Take note of these tips!
- Adaptability - you could be working on multiple clients or use cases in a single day
- Stress tolerance – even when put under pressure, don’t be afraid to slow down and take the time to make an important decision - silly mistakes happen when people rush.
- Curiosity - ask lots of questions, and don’t take things at face value! Assumptions can be very dangerous…
At Computer Futures, we really care about making sure professionals are upskilling themselves and following a career path that’s right for them. That’s why we're passionate about providing with valuable insights - like our Q&A webinar with Stephanie Herrera - to help you land the best marketing automation jobs, Salesforce consultant jobs, and enhance Salesforce careers.
Want to find out more about the marketing automation jobs and Salesforce consultant jobs we have on offer? Or are you keen to learn about how we can help advance Salesforce careers? To find out how we can help you find your dream job, fill out the form below.
