The Ultimate Guide to a Career as a Salesforce Product Manager
Salesforce is a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) platform that has revolutionised the way businesses manage their customer data and interactions. With its wide range of functionalities and endless possibilities, the demand for Salesforce talent is huge.
Depending on your experience and skill set, there is a suitable role for you with Salesforce and we are here to help you find it. In this blog, we’ll cover what a Salesforce Product Manager is, roles and responsibilities of a Product Manager and skills and qualifications employers look for.
What is a Salesforce Product Manager?
Companies that use Salesforce are always looking for new ways to improve their customer relationships and a Salesforce Product Manager is key to making that happen. With the rise of technology, it has become easier for companies to sell their products and services, and as a result there is an increasingly high demand for Salesforce Product Managers. Salesforce products are CRM software products that help businesses manage their customer relationships. They include Salesforce Sales Cloud, Salesforce Apps Cloud, Salesforce Service Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
A Salesforce Product Manager is responsible for all aspects of the Salesforce platform, including strategic development, project delivery and day-to-day management of the system. They work with the development team to create new features and enhancements to improve the product. From creating a technical strategy to meeting all product goals, a Salesforce Product Manager must be able to oversee multiple Salesforce products and keep up with the ever-changing Salesforce landscape.
What does a Salesforce Product Manager do?
Salesforce product management is quite a challenging responsibility, and the Salesforce Product Manager’s role is to oversee the development and enhancement of a product line. Their primary role is to make sure that the company does everything to its full potential to make the product successful and direct the team members with descriptive requirements to drive growth for the product.
Typically, the Salesforce Product Manager’s job requires collecting and analysing business data from customer surveys, interviews, focus groups and website analytics to understand user requirements. After understanding the user’s needs, they develop a strategy that aligns with the company’s business goals and once it has been approved, they oversee the development process.
They must monitor the performance of the company’s products and make necessary changes continuously while managing the expectations of stakeholders. The best product managers are always thinking about ways to improve the product and make it more successful. Lastly, Salesforce Product Managers collaborate with other teams, overlook the competition and manage risk.
What experience do I need to become a Salesforce Product Manager?
A candidate must have demonstrated experience of delivering projects to time, within budget and that meets user requirements and have a minimum of five years’ experience in product management. It is also necessary to be highly knowledgeable and proficient with the Salesforce platform including best practices, integration and application development, deployment, testing and iterative refinement therefore having three to five years of experience working with Salesforce would be beneficial.
How do I get a role as a Salesforce Product Manager?
As the Salesforce Product Manager is not an entry level Salesforce position, gaining hands-on experience with the Salesforce platform is essential. The best way you can start your career as a Salesforce Product Manager is by working on smaller projects or taking on an internship under senior product managers to gain real-life exposure.
Employers also like to see relevant Salesforce certifications (such as Salesforce Administrator, Salesforce Developer and Salesforce Architect certifications). Not only does this demonstrate your knowledge of key Salesforce concepts and best practices but it also shows your dedication to continuous learning and career progression, helping you stand out in a very competitive industry.
Key qualities a Salesforce Product Manager must have include strong analytical skills and an ability to use data to drive product decisions, excellent communication skills, a strong understanding of the Salesforce CRM design and administration as well as experience with high-profile product launches. Hiring teams want to hear about real-life situations and may ask questions which require you to demonstrate how your skills and experiences tie back to the qualifications for the role.
What progression opportunities are there for a Salesforce Product Manager?
If you have developed some technical skills whilst working as a Salesforce Product Manager, there are plenty of roles you could move into. More senior technical roles include Product Director and Customer Success Manager, which build on the responsibilities of the Salesforce Product Manager, so this is the most obvious route forward. While it’s not common for Salesforce professionals to move from technical roles into sales roles, it can be a great move. If you understand the benefits of the product well, it can be very easy to sell this value to customers.
What salary can I expect as a Salesforce Product Manager?
The salary of a Salesforce Product Manager can vary depending on experience, Salesforce certifications, whether the role is with a Salesforce customer or partner and location and size of the Salesforce company. The average base salary of a Salesforce Product Manager is £40k to £50k, though a highly experienced candidate applying for a more senior position is likely to attain a much higher salary.
