The Ultimate Guide to a Career as a Salesforce Manager
The Salesforce ecosystem is one of the most dynamic and innovative areas in the tech industry, dominating over 20% of the CRM (customer relationship management) market.
As the Salesforce ecosystem expands its product suite to enable companies to connect with their customers, the landscape of Salesforce roles and responsibilities is continually changing, providing a diverse range of career opportunities. With competitive salaries, excellent career progression and the ability to work entirely remotely, there has never been a better time to work in Salesforce.
As Europe’s first Salesforce recruitment company, we at Resource On Demand are frequently asked by our clients for advice around the many Salesforce jobs titles, what they mean and what key skills employers are looking for. Each job is suited to a different skillset which is why it’s important to know the difference if you’re considering a Salesforce career path.
In this post, we’ll provide an overview of the Salesforce Manager position to help connect you with your dream Salesforce career.
What is a Salesforce Manager?
A Salesforce Manager plays a crucial role in driving success and maximising the benefits of the Salesforce platform within an organisation. Utilising their knowledge of Salesforce best practices and development principles, they provide support and assistance to teams, ensuring they effectively use Salesforce tools to track leads, manage customer relationships and drive performance.
What does a Salesforce Manager do?
Let’s take a closer look at the roles and responsibilities of a Salesforce Manager.
The main objective of a Salesforce Manager is to lead the development and execution of CRM strategies that address business needs to support internal and external stakeholders. Typical responsibilities include engaging with key business stakeholders and Salesforce technology partners, collaborating with product managers from other teams to develop and execute effective CRM solutions and driving technical and operational excellence in all projects.
A Salesforce Manager must guide their team, make the best possible decisions and stay open and flexible. They need to balance the needs of the individuals in their team, external clients and the greater company-wide objectives. Beyond managing teams and projects, managers need to have excellent sociological skills to help foster a positive work environment. These skills are crucial for building strong relationships, enhancing collaboration and driving performance.
Why is a Salesforce Manager role so interesting?
Anyone who loves interacting with others, building relationships and helping people develop new skills will find the Salesforce Manager role fulfilling.
A Salesforce Manager is the golden ticket to a team’s success. They get to influence the direction of their teams, make important decisions and see the direct impact of their leadership on team performance and morale. This environment can be very engaging as no two days are the same and Salesforce Managers often face new challenges that require creative problem solving. If you’re passionate about working with people and driving team success, this job in Salesforce could be the perfect match for you.
How do I get a role as a Salesforce Manager?
You’re still here – great! That means you want to learn how to ace your interview and land a job as a Salesforce Manager. We can help with that too.
The Salesforce Manager role is by no means an entry level Salesforce job, so you need to have a deep understanding of the Salesforce platform and Salesforce best practices. This type of knowledge is gained through experience, and during the interview process you should be able to draw on real-life experiences to demonstrate how these tie back to the qualifications for the role.
As well as technical skills, a Salesforce Manager needs a variety of soft skills to be effective in their role. Some key skills include exceptional communication and negotiation skills, excellent problem solving and analytical skills and outstanding organisation and presentation skills. Collectively, these skills complement your technical knowledge and enable you to lead your team more effectively.
There are also various Salesforce certifications that demonstrate knowledge and skills that will help you secure a job as a Salesforce Manager. These certifications include Salesforce Certified Administrator, Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant and Salesforce Certified Service Cloud Consultant. Remember, while Salesforce certifications are important, your experience matters most.
Salesforce also has the Great Leader Pathways programme, which supports all managers or aspiring managers who want to enrol in the program in their career development. It focuses on the skills, mindsets, and competencies needed to succeed at each of the stages of leadership, and that meet the needs of today’s unique challenges.
What progression opportunities are there for a Salesforce Manager?
As you gain experience as a Salesforce Manager, you’ll increase your value to potential employers and many new opportunities for professional development will open up to you. A Salesforce Manager with several years of experience may chose to follow the linear route of becoming a senior Salesforce Manager, which would typically involve taking on larger and more complex projects.
Alternatively, a Salesforce Manager may transition well into a more specialised role such as Salesforce Product Manager, Salesforce Project Manager or Salesforce Customer Success Manager. For each of these Salesforce careers, it is essential for the individual to continue to develop their skills, stay updated on industry trends and gain relevant Salesforce certifications.
What salary can I expect as a Salesforce Manager?
In the UK, a Salesforce Manager can earn a salary between £50,000 and £90,000 given that they have undergone Salesforce training, have 2 to 3 Salesforce certifications and several years of experience with the Salesforce platform. However, this can vary depending on a number of influential factors including the experience level of the individual, location and company size. For example, more senior Salesforce Managers can command a higher salary due to their greater experience level and specialist skills.
