Building (and proving) your CRM skills in Salesforce
Salesforce made a very interesting decision in Sep 2022. They took their “gold standard” certification, called the Salesforce Certified Administrator, and slightly cannibalized it by introducing a new, entry-level certification, called the Salesforce Certified Associate.
This post provides a variety of resources to prepare for and pass the exam to earn your Salesforce Certified Associate credential. The outline of the content is: certification landscape; Trailhead; videos; articles; and courses. Don’t miss the 1.5 hour Workshop recording embedded at the end of the post.
Certification landscape
First, let’s get a sense for what all of the Salesforce certifications are…
The exam itself is 70 minutes max to answer 40 multiple-choice questions, and 62% is the passing score. The cost is $75 and is free to retake.
The topics include the Salesforce Ecosystem, Navigating the Salesforce UI, the Saleforce Data Model, and Reports & Dashboards.
Focus on Force does a fantastic job to categorize the weighting. https://focusonforce.com/salesforce-associate-certification-guide/
Trailhead
If you are new to Trailhead, you can get familiar with the platform using these modules:
Once you are familiar with Trailhead, get started on the Prepare for Your Salesforce Certified Associate Credential trailmix.
Videos
Articles
Here are a number of great resources for your to
https://www.salesforceben.com/salesforce-associate-certification-guide-tips
Note that Salesforce Ben is offering free Salesforce Associate Practice Exams
Courses
And as always, there are some paid courses and platforms that may be worth considering:
— Trailblazer Virtual Bootcamp for Salesforce Associates [TVB101] from Salesforce Trailhead Academy ($75, currently discounted 50% to $37.50)
Week 1: Salesforce Ecosystem and Enablement
Describe Salesforce Resources
Identify Customer 360 Product Offerings
Describe How to Use Salesforce
Identify Job Roles and Careers
Week 2: Salesforce Platform Basics
Navigate the Salesforce Interface
Navigate Salesforce Setup
Get Started with Salesforce Architecture
Week 3: Salesforce Data Model & Visibility
Explain Object Relationships
Ensure Data Visibility and Data Quality
Week 4: Salesforce Analytics
Visualize Data with Reports and Dashboards
— Udemy (3.5 hours, 1 practice exam; $25, currently discounted 40% to $15)
Workshop
Click on the following image to view the 1.5 hour workshop recording.
Credits
Thanks to each of the authors of the aforementioned content. Further, a shoutout to the CU Salesforce Student Group, the first Salesforce student group in the world! I am the Faculty Advisor to the group.
