Meet Peggy – WeLearnSalesforce

From Failure To Salesforce Passion – My Personal Story

I’ve always wanted to do something different but didn’t quite know what it was. I knew I loved working with people, I knew I didn’t like sitting at my desk all the time. But what does that mean? How does that help me find out which career I should be pursuing instead?

Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce

Have you been thinking about changing your career, doing something else that you enjoy more? Maybe turning a hobby into a career? But you don’t know how to do it or whether it’s worth it?

Very good questions! You won’t know until you try it out. It’s a risk but without taking any risk you won’t be able to move forward in life and truly discover who you are and what you want to do.

I’ve been asking myself the exact same questions and it took me a long time to find the answer. I’ve written about my own journey before but I wanted to look at it from another angle.

There is no one-fits-all answer. But…if you don’t even start looking around, you will never find the answer.

TAKING THE LEAP OF FAITH TO BECOMING A SALESFORCE INSTRUCTOR

In my case, what happened was, that my partner suggested I try out a career as a Salesforce Trainer. I could work with people and could walk around a classroom all day. So far this sounded like the perfect fit. But, I would also have to present in front of a lot of people. I had never really done any presenting before, maybe back in school, which I remember vaguely I quite enjoyed. But that’s been a very long time ago. So I really had no clue if that’s something I would be able to make a profession of.

I played it through my head, imagined standing up in front of a large classroom, talking to students, showing them something on the computer. It was all there in my head and looked pretty. However, it’s very different to actually doing it in real life.

It took me about half a year to finally take the leap of faith and just go for it. I guess I was desperate enough to get out of my old job that pushed me ahead. I really had no clue if it would work out or not.

I boldly applied for a job as a Salesforce Trainer with a small boutique training provider and did get a job offer. What? Without much prior experience in this area, it must have been something else that was convincing enough to hire me. What I’m saying is, that it’s not always about having years of experience in a certain field, it’s a lot about soft skills, character and attitude.

THE FIRST STEP INTO THE WORLD OF SALESFORCE WAS THE HARDEST

The first step was done. The next step was to get certified by the Salesforce University which is now the Trailhead Academy. This was a requirement in order to be eligible to teach Salesforce’s official courses. The certifications included the technical certification like the Salesforce Administrator as well as the Salesforce Instructor Certification to teach the Salesforce Administration Essentials class.

The technical part wasn’t too hard, but getting the Salesforce Instructor Certification almost turned into me quitting the whole thing. 🤯

So what happened? A real new challenge came my way. Something that forced me to jump into ice-cold water and really stepping far outside my comfort zone. It’s not something I do every day, so I wasn’t quite prepared how to get ready for this Instructor Certification. I had so many questions, like: “How do I become an Instructor?” and “What does it need to be a good instructor?” or “How do you manage a class full of students?”

Do you know what I did? I studied all the course materials and exercises and felt well prepared to take the instructor certification exam. Guess what happened? I FAILED MISERABLY. I wasn’t prepared at all. The Salesforce Master Instructor who led my certification exam session became one of the best mentors I’ve ever met before. He wasn’t shy about telling me what I did wrong. That included telling me straight up that I had no hands-on practice, I didn’t know how to deal with difficult questions asked by students and so on and so forth. I cried! And I never cry, NEVER. But this made me cry, I felt humiliated and I wanted to hide in a dark cave where no one could find me.

Of course, that was not an option. The Master Instructor was very kind and explained exactly which steps I needed to take to prepare and practice and get ready to truly become a great Salesforce Instructor. I did follow his advice and completed every single step he asked me to do. I read tons of Salesforce documentation, practiced the hell out of the system, did some role-plays and practiced even more until I felt like I had turned every stone. I registered for another instructor certification exam session and PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS.

IT’S ALL ABOUT PREPARATION

There we go. It’s all about preparation, well, the right type of preparation of course. I had a few more instructor certifications to complete for different types of classes, and I never failed a single one again. Because I learned so much the first time around, it taught me a lesson for life.

Every single time I’m learning a new skill, not just something Salesforce related, but also things like becoming a Yoga Teacher or learning how to sew my own clothes, I vividly remembered what it takes to learn something properly in order to achieve the results I want to get.

I’ve been taking this approach into my Salesforce Classes to transfer my Salesforce knowledge to my students in a way that makes sense and shares the skills it needs to put the knowledge into perspective. I’ve been teaching for many years successfully, so I guess this learning concept is working. In order to reach even more students, I’ve decided to create my own Salesforce Learning Platform www.welearnsalesforce.com which contains a range of Salesforce Courses for beginners and beyond.

TRUST THE PROCESS!

So what can YOU take away from this? If you want to do something different, be courageous and take the first step. Trust the process of putting in the work and you will achieve your goals.

And if you are interested in learning Salesforce with me, I will give you all my experience and expertise to help you become a successful Salesforce Professional, no matter which Salesforce career path you choose to take.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my personal story and maybe found some inspiration. Let me know in the comments which career path you are currently considering (even if it’s not Salesforce 🤓).

WHAT ELSE…

We make learning simple with our range of well-structured Salesforce Video Tutorials, downloadable Study Workbooks and realistic Practice Exams. Available for Salesforce Administrator, Advanced Administrator, Platform App Builder and more.

All materials are in line with the official Salesforce Certification Exam Outline including regular release updates.

8 HOT TIPS TO PREPARE FOR YOUR SALESFORCE CERTIFICATION EXAM

Getting a Salesforce Certification will unlock career opportunities you didn’t know were out there. But first, you need to get it, before you can add it to your CV and LinkedIn Profile. Let me share my 8 hot tips with you how you can pass the exam at 1st attempt so you don’t loose any time to find your Salesforce Dream Job.

Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce

Getting a Salesforce Certification will unlock career opportunities you didn’t know were out there. But first, you need to get it, before you can add it to your CV and LinkedIn Profile. Let me share my 8 hot tips with you on how you can pass the exam on 1st attempt so you don’t loose any time to find your Salesforce Dream Job.

Of course, I can’t promise you will pass the exam, but I can promise that your chances to pass will increase significantly.

🌶 HOT TIP #1 – Study the official Salesforce Certification Exam Guide.

It’s been created for a purpose. 😉 It contains all the information you need to know about the certification and the exam, such as timing, cost and most importantly the exam objectives and their weighting. The greater the weighting, the more complex the topic, the more you need to deepen your skills.

🌶 HOT TIP #2 – Study the right Salesforce exam relevant topics.

You’ve got the exam objectives right there. BUT… they can be hard to interpret. Each exam topic contains a number of sub-topics. To help you understand better what the exact topics actually involve and what they mean, I’ve created a Study Checklist for you. Each exam objective, which is represented as a section, is broken down into individual topics in chronological order. It includes the obvious topics plus topics beyond what the exam outline tells you. Because I don’t want to leave you guessing. 🤓

This comprehensive Study Checklist will help you focus on all Salesforce exam-relevant topics and learn in a structured way. You want to be able to connect the dots otherwise you will get lost in the maze of Salesforce features and functionalities. As amazing as they are, you can’t possibly learn them all at once.

The Study Checklist is also a great way to tick off each topic as you progress and add notes to help you learn and review.

Of course, just knowing the topics won’t help you understand how they work. So…keep reading….

🌶 HOT TIP #3 – Study and practice with Trailhead, that’s what it’s there for.

Hands-on practice is the best way to memorize all that knowledge you are learning about. Use our WeLearnSalesforce Trailmix. It is based on the official Trailmix that you will find in the exam guide. However, I’ve optimized it into a more logical structure and added some modules and projects to fill some gaps giving you a well-rounded learning experience.

🌶 HOT TIP #4 – Don’t freak out!

It can feel overwhelming and you may find yourself lost with all that content on Trailhead. Trailhead is mainly text-based which can be cumbersome to work through. Plus, not all topics are actually covered on Trailhead yet.

That’s why… I have created Study Workbooks for you to keep you calm and focused. The Study Workbook covers all topics you will find on your Study Checklist and explains each topic with diagrams, flowcharts, checklists and best practices along with detailed descriptions. Each learning unit also contains additional learning resources like links to the corresponding Trailmix modules or projects and links to other supporting Salesforce Documentation.

And for those of you that love watching videos and prefer learning in a more guided way, I have created a comprehensive Salesforce Video Tutorial for you that gives you the complete learning experience. It almost feels like you are sitting in a classroom with the instructor upfront teaching you all about each topic, showing you around in Salesforce to see how things come to life. And we’ll do plenty of hands-on exercises together.

🌶 HOT TIP #5 – Check out Salesforce customer stories.

Why? Wouldn’t it be nice to see how Salesforce works in the real world? Indeed it would! While I’m including real-life business cases in our study materials, reading about Salesforce customer stories is a great addition. Salesforce has an awesome collection of customer stories showcasing how and why they are using Salesforce. These stories give you an idea of which Salesforce Products and features they are using. This helps you build the bridge between business and system requirements.

You can even use these scenarios to design your own version of a solution in your own Trailhead Playground or Developer Org. You get more hands-on practice plus you are building your own system experience which you can showcase with recruiters and potential future employers.

Source: salesforce.com/customers-success-stories

🌶 HOT TIP #6 – Check your exam readiness.

Once you have learned everything and gotten familiar with business use cases, you have probably forgotten half of what you have been studying. That’s perfectly normal.

That’s where Practice Exams come in handy. Practice Exams are the perfect way to test your knowledge and identify your strength and weaknesses. And, they give you a chance to get familiar with the exam format and complexity of exam questions and answers.

I have created a bundle of realistic Practice Exams for you so you can check your exam readiness. The results include detailed explanations and plenty of resources to help you deepen your learnings.

🌶 HOT TIP #7 – Register for the exam when you feel confident and you are ready to take it.

You will need to register through a Webassessor account. If you don’t have one yet, you can easily create a new one.

Some say that you should register for the exam ahead of time, like three months into the future. This gives you a deadline you can work towards. However the exam is easy to reschedule and you may find yourself postponing it, or, taking it, just for the sake of it because it’s booked, but then you may fail. You may not. But if you do you’re not only losing time but also money. The certification exam is US$200 and the retake is US$100.

What I recommend instead, is, yes, absolutely plan for it. Put a date in the calendar by when you’d like to be ready. When you get closer to that date, check in on your learning progress, for example with Practice Exams. If you reach at least 80-90%, you have a pretty good chance to pass the real exam, meaning you can go register. Of course, I can’t promise you will pass but the more you practice the more likely you will.

Upon registration, you will have to choose your test taker style. You can take the exam onsite at a Kryterion test center or online from home or work or anywhere you choose, as long as you have a computer, internet and a webcam. Both options are of course proctored.

The online option will require you to install some software to access the exam. Exams taken at a Kryterion test center only require some form of ID and a happy smile. You are even given scratch paper too, which you won’t be allowed to use in an online exam.

Get familiar with the requirements for each test taker style and choose the one you prefer. Many locations offer plenty of time slots throughout the week, so you should be able to book something not too far in the future.

🌶 HOT TIP #8 – Keep practicing! Practice practice practice.

Get your hands on the system. Trust me. That’s the best way to memorize what you are learning. You still have time, go back to the Practice Exams, do them again, practice weaker areas even more. This will give you so much more confidence.

I’ve put all these steps into a comprehensive Salesforce Certification Guide. It contains even more useful tips and tricks. No go ahead, and download it right away. It’s free, with no strings attached.

I hope you’ve been finding these hot tips helpful. Is there anything else you’d like to know? Please leave me a comment. I’m here to help! 🙂

Is An Online Salesforce Video Training Worth It?

Have you been thinking about a career change into a Salesforce job? But you don’t have the time amongst all other obligations you already have on your plate? Finding your way through the maze of information and learning resources, make you feel overwhelmed? Let’s take a deep breath together and consider your options.

Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.” Zig Ziglar

In this article, you will find:

Benefits of an online on-demand video-based Salesforce Training
Downsides of an online on-demand video-based Salesforce Training

WeLearnSalesforce Blog - Benefits of an online on-demand video-based Salesforce Training

Can an Online Salesforce Training which is video-based and on-demand be as effective as in-person training?

THE BENEFITS

Free resources are plenty, time is short, money is tight. Sounds familiar? Then maybe an online on-demand Salesforce Training would just be perfect for you … or would it?

Let’s look at the benefits one-by-one:

1. Save time and money

First up, online on-demand Salesforce Training is usually much more affordable than in-person training. How is this possible? Well, it’s simple, the teacher’s expenses are lower and the reach of students is much greater. This means the savings can be shared, leaving a much smaller amount with you, the individual Salesforce Learner.

Plus, you save on other costs like travel and accommodation. Neither do you have to get away from your job and potentially loose income or leave time.

And time is the next key factor. In-person training requires travel time and full-day’s attendance. Online training doesn’t require any travel time, and learning units can be attended to whenever they fit in during the day, after work or on weekends. This type of flexibility is unbeatable.

2. Practice in your own time and space

You have full control over your learning schedule. An online on-demand Salesforce video training can be accessed at any time that works best for you. Whether that’s before the kids get up, on your commute to work, during lunch, after dinner, after your sleep-in on Sunday, you choose.

A Salesforce video training can also be adjusted to your very personal pace. If the speed is too slow, you simply turn it up, and if it’s too fast, you can turn it down or pause to practice on your own. You can make it work to your personal preferences.

WeLearnSalesforce Blog - Online Video Salesforce Training - Practice in Your Own Time

3. Learn from anywhere on any device

Because online Salesforce Training is run through an internet browser, you can access your learning videos from any device that has an internet connection and a browser. Simply choose your preferred laptop, tablet or other mobile device and get started. And the best part is that you can take your device anywhere, as long as the battery lasts. Whether that’s your desk, couch, beach, pick your favorite.

WeLearnSalesforce Blog - Online Video Salesforce Training - Learn Anywhere on Any Device

4. Learn with Salesforce Experts

Choosing an online Salesforce Training also enables you to practice with Salesforce Instructors who would otherwise not be available because they may live on the other side of the planet. With online training, you have the chance to learn with experienced trainers like Peggy Schael, no matter where you live.

WeLearnSalesforce Blog - Online Video Salesforce Training - Meet Your Salesforce Trainer Peggy

5. Access to learning contents for review

Online on-demand Salesforce Training usually offers lifetime access to video content. This gives you the ability to re-watch videos as often as you like, whether you didn’t understand something or you want to refresh your memory. And in case you have attended an in-person Salesforce Training, you can use the video contents to review certain learning topics.

Our WeLearnSalesforce Courses even contain a Study Workbook you can print and use for notetaking as well as a Study Guide to tick off the learning topics you feel confident about. So you don’t forget anything that is required for your Certification Exam.

WeLearnSalesforce Blog - Online Video Salesforce Training - PDF Workbook and Study Guide

6. Connect with Salesforce Learners from all over the world

Learning online doesn’t mean you can’t ask questions or share your own learning experiences, failures and successes. There are so many amazing Salesforce Community Groups with wider audiences or very specific audiences tailored to a certain topic.

Like our dedicated WeLearnSalesforce Facebook and LinkedIn Community Groups. Not only will you reach other Salesforce Learners with your specific questions, but your WeLearnSalesforce instructor is also there for you too.

THE DOWNSIDES

While all of the above sounds great, let’s look at the potential downsides:

1. No face-to-face interaction

In-person training gives you face-to-face interaction with the Salesforce Trainer as well as fellow Salesforce Learners. Some people prefer real-life environments that make it easier for them to connect to other people. It’s a different kind of engagement using an online forum versus a real-life conversation.

Weigh in on your preferences of in-person interactions against a global community that you can contact at any time from anywhere, e.g. our WeLearnSalesforce Facebook and LinkedIn Community Groups.

WeLearnSalesforce Blog - Online Video Salesforce Training - Face-to-Face Interaction

2. Commitment and Motivation

If you are someone who works best under pressure of deadlines, continuous check-ins and due dates to stay on track, an in-person training may be better suited. Most online trainings do provide a recommended timeline as well as a structured agenda to follow, but it may be difficult to find the commitment without being surrounded by motivated fellow students.

There are however many online study groups (e.g. our WeLearnSalesforce Facebook and LinkedIn Community Groups) you could join that may achieve something similar for you.

3. Guidance and Knowledge Checks

In an in-person classroom, the Salesforce Trainer would usually come around and check-in with you personally. You can show directly on screen what you are working on and where you might be stuck. Some people struggle with finding a solution to their problems by themselves.

In a classroom, the Salesforce Trainer can give you on-the-spot help and guidance to find the solution. While this is a great benefit of in-person training, you can use our WeLearnSalesforce Practice Exams to check in on your knowledge and to get explanations and additional learning resources.

WeLearnSalesforce Blog - Online Video Salesforce Training - Knowledge Checks with Practice Exams

Now, is an Online Salesforce Video Training worth it?

This question can hardly be answered with a straight “Yes” or “No”. The answer entirely depends on your personal needs. Everyone has a different learning style, time and budget allowance, so only you know the answer.

We have put together a comprehensive comparison table of Salesforce Training Resources, so you can make an informed decision about the learning methods you would like to use.

We are comparing the official Trailhead Platform and Trailhead Academy Courses with our independent WeLearnSalesforce Video Courses. Each of them has its own advantages:

WeLearnSalesforce Blog - Online Video Salesforce Training - Comparison Salesforce Training Resources

If you are still unsure whether an online on-demand Salesforce Training is right for you, try out our Free Salesforce Administrator Introduction Course and see for yourself. No strings attached.

WeLearnSalesforce - Salesforce Administrator Certification - FREE Introduction — Try out our Free Salesforce Administrator Introduction Course

We would love to hear your feedback. Please leave us a comment and let us know how you prefer to learn.

Happy Learning!

Gone Fishing – For A Yummy Salesforce Training

Finding a Salesforce Training Course that suits your learning style, is like going fishing and having the right bait. Let us help you on your fishing expedition.

Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce

Finding a Salesforce Training Course that suits your learning style, is like going fishing and having the right bait.

Let us help you on your fishing expedition. Are you a System Administrator, Developer, Consultant, Business User or Job Seeker who wants to learn about the core principles and features of the Salesforce platform? Then you have made your catch.

Welcome to the WeLearnSalesforce Video Learning Platform. It’s the perfect place to learn Salesforce at your convenience in your own time. Everyone has a different learning style and we believe that our courses hold something for everyone. We want to make learning Salesforce easier and more accessible.

I had to go “fishing” for a Salesforce Class myself back when I started learning Salesforce. After self-teaching myself for a while I realized I’m missing the big picture and what else Salesforce is capable of. However, finding a reputable training provider wasn’t as easy as I thought. I was lucky that the company I was working for sent me to a class offered by the Salesforce University (now Trailhead Academy). I even became a Certified Salesforce Instructor myself. Read about what it means jumping into ice-cold water to explore new career opportunities in my previous article (while we are on the topic of fishing and water).

Not everyone has a chance to attend classroom-based training. Most of you will therefore get started on Trailhead, Salesforce’s free learning platform. However, it’s mostly text-based and it contains so much information that you can easily get lost like a fish in a big pond.

Therefore, our WeLearnSalesforce Video Courses are an extension of a classroom-based learning experience. Being fully online and on-demand. You can access our video courses at any time from any device you have at home or at work or elsewhere, as long as it has an internet connection and an internet browser.

And what makes our Salesforce Video Courses so yummy, you may ask? Well, the juice of our courses lies in the methods we know make Salesforce learning successful. These methods consist of the main pillars of Learning Concepts combined with related Business Use Cases plus and most importantly Hands-on Practice. And all of this in one place.

WeLearnSalesforce - Salesforce Administrator Certification - Video Training Course — WeLearnSalesforce – Salesforce Administrator Certification – Video Training Course

Check out our FREE Salesforce Administrator Certification Introduction Course to see me and our WeLearnSalesforce Course Player in action.

From my own learning experience plus teaching thousands of students, I know how important a logical structure and guidance along the way is. Each of our Salesforce courses follows an end-to-end approach, meaning each learning unit builds up knowledge towards the next unit. So you are learning step-by-step in bite-size junks.

Each unit starts with the learning concepts which contain diagrams, flow charts, checklists and best practices. The theory is nice but useless if you don’t know how this fits in with requests or problems a company is trying to solve with the help of Salesforce. It’s like going fishing without using any bait.

So, we’re adding loads of business use cases to put the technical functionality of Salesforce into a business-specific context. This will help you make the connection between business needs and how to leverage the potential of the Salesforce Platform.

The learning concepts have been collated into PDF Workbooks for you to download and use to make notes. You can even take them to work and use the pages as cheat-sheets. You can’t possibly remember everything right? Neither can I, so it’s important to have some checklists or guides at hand, that I want to share with you.

WeLearnSalesforce - Salesforce Administrator Certification - PDF Workbook — WeLearnSalesforce – Salesforce Administrator Certification – PDF Workbook

And you know what makes all this learning even more successful? Any guesses? Right, hands-on practice. Your expertise is only as good as your practice. You will hear me say this a lot. Get your hands on the system!

This means the things we discuss throughout the learning concept, I will then demo for you in Salesforce. And while I demo, you can already follow along in your own Salesforce login, so you can get started with your hands-on practice right away. And after the demo, you will have plenty of opportunities to practice on your own.

And you know what is really exciting? The hands-on exercises are done on the popular Trailhead platform. Trailhead is Salesforce’s own learning platform with text-based learning units which contain thousands of awesome exercises so you can practice as much as you like. And while you exercise, you collect points and badges which are collated on your so-called Trailblazer Profile. The Trailblazer Profile will even hold your Salesforce Certifications once you passed the exams. You can then easily add a link to your Trailblazer Profile to your CV or share on LinkedIn or elsewhere.

Let me show you how to get started with Trailhead in our Free Salesforce Introduction Course.

Learning is a journey. Trust the process. Do your own research and just get started.

Do you struggle to find out how to best prepare for a Salesforce Certificate? We created an 8-STEP Guide with everything you need to get ready with confidence for your exam day. Plus we’re throwing in some hot tips and secret recipes.

Download our FREE Salesforce Certification Guide

Stepping into icy waters as a Salesforce Trainer

From getting a job as a Salesforce Project Manager without any clue about Salesforce to becoming a full-time Salesforce Trainer that I never wanted to be. Salesforce literally turned my career upside down and I’m loving it.

From getting a job as a Salesforce Project Manager without any clue about the Salesforce platform to becoming a full-time Salesforce Trainer that I never wanted to be. Salesforce literally turned my career upside down and I’m loving it. Read more about my career change in the previous article.

As part of my new career as a full-time Salesforce Trainer and Training Consultant, I had to get certified by the one and only Salesforce University (now Trailhead Academy). This was the requirement to be eligible to deliver their official Salesforce courses.

What a ride. Before even daring to sign up for the instructor program, I had to get the Salesforce Administrator Certification first. I re-discovered the materials from the Salesforce Administration Essentials Course (ADM201/ADX201) I had attended about six months back and studied everything pretty much from scratch again. The Trailhead e-learning platform didn’t even exist back then.

I signed up for my very first Salesforce Developer Org so I could practice what I was learning. When I eventually took the exam, the learning materials and hands-on practice totally paid off. I passed at the first attempt. As I know now, most students fail their first attempt. Was I lucky? No. I studied real hard and practiced a lot.

I was proud and ready to sign up for the Salesforce Instructor Program. What did that mean? It’s one thing to know the technical side of the Salesforce platform but it’s another thing to being able to teach others. It was a steep and tough learning curve, however I came out an official Salesforce Certified Instructor. I was now eligible to deliver the official ‘Salesforce Administration Essentials for New Admins’ (ADM201/ADX201) course.

The first class I taught as a Salesforce Certified Instructor was super tough. I had to take everything I practiced from the safety of my co-instructor team into a real-life classroom. So tough so, I considered quitting my job. Right there. Of course, I’m no quitter. As I walked into my second classroom the week after, I felt much more prepared because of what I learned from that first week of teaching and couldn’t actually wait to get started.

Five years fast-forward, I got also certified for the ‘Administration Essentials for Experienced Admins’ (ADM211/ADX211) and the ‘Implementing a Reporting Strategy’ (STR301) courses. These essential instructor certifications allowed me to teach a total of over 50 Salesforce classes. Watch the introductory video on my profile page.

Salesforce Courses serve different purposes for different people. Everyone brings a different skill set, from a different job role and a different learning goal. You might just want to fill some knowledge and skill gaps, like I did in my early Salesforce days, or maybe even prepare for the Salesforce Administrator Certification exam.

Whichever it is for you, it’s all about gaining the right skill set for the career you are looking to build. There are Salesforce courses for everyone. So go get it.

In the next article, I will tell you all about how I am extending access to my Salesforce knowledge with our WeLearnSalesforce Online Video Courses. Making learning Salesforce easier and more accessible.

Download our FREE Salesforce Certification Guide

How Salesforce turned my career upside down (for the better)

I seriously had no clue what I was getting myself into. I was super nervous. But if you don’t try, you will never find out, right. So much about “I never wanted to become a trainer”. All the hesitations, doubts, excuses eventually led to the best career change of my life.

Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce

I had a great job as a Salesforce Project Manager that included Salesforce in-house trainings with the sales teams. Read about how I actually never wanted to become a Salesforce Trainer in my previous article.

A few months after I had attended my first ever Salesforce Administration Essentials training and provided in-house trainings, I realized that I’m enjoying it so much that I could see myself doing Salesforce trainings full-time. And it wasn’t just about the joy of teaching, it was also the fact that there was never enough time to run more substantial Salesforce training sessions.

One day, my partner asked me, whether I could see myself becoming a full-time Salesforce Trainer since I had been enjoying that part of my job quite a lot. You should have seen my face. ‘Of course not!’ was my answer.

Appears, I like turning down ideas that I eventually actually like.

And so, the seed had been planted and I did start thinking about a possible career change. I looked back at the week of the Salesforce Administration Essentials training I had attended as a student. I tried to put myself into the shoes of that Salesforce Trainer.

I decided to reach out to that instructor and asked for a catch-up so I can understand better, what a job as a Salesforce trainer entails. He agreed to meet and very patiently answered my thousand or more questions over a period of two hours. Poor guy! That was his after-class time, after he’d already been talking all day. Well, it was all worth the time, at least for me. It took another few months when he contacted me about a job opening.

Phew, I decided to apply and got a job interview. I did indeed get an offering and guess what, I took the job. I said ‘Yes’, for the biggest change in my career.

Read on in my next article what my life as a Training Consultant and Trailhead Academy Certified Salesforce Instructor looked like.

In the meantime, try out something new. You never know where it will lead you to.

Download our FREE Salesforce Certification Guide

I never wanted to be a Salesforce Trainer

Not in my wildest dreams did I see myself as a Salesforce Trainer. And now, there I am, five years later, being a full-time Salesforce Trainer. And let me tell you that it’s been the best career change of my life.

Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce

It all started with a job as a Salesforce Project Manager I had taken on a little while back. Read about how I stumbled upon Salesforce in my previous article.

Based on the very limited knowledge of the Salesforce platform that I had at the time, I more or less guesstimated what this CRM platform was capable of and what it was not capable of. Yes, we did have a great consulting partner and in-house IT support, but when you don’t understand the basics properly, they can tell you anything, right?

Not long into my job, my manager asked me whether I wanted to attend a Salesforce Administrator Training. Guess what, I rejected. I knew secretly if I did that I will have to do administrative jobs too, not just manage the projects. I was busy enough!

Well, my manager kept asking me over and over, months went by, and eventually, I gave in. I signed up and there I was sitting in my first ever Salesforce Administration Essentials Training as a student (coded ADM201 back then).

Wow, I cannot tell you enough how enlightening that was. All these features and functionalities that Salesforce can do, that I had no idea about. I didn’t even know these features existed, and they were right there in front of my eyes.

I had to (of course secretly to myself) admit, that I really enjoyed that week of training. I learned all the essential elements the Salesforce platform had on offer. Back at work, of course as expected, I had to take on a few administrative tasks. But let me tell you that I was getting into the groove and really enjoyed working with the setup of the system and seeing successful changes come to life firsthand.

Plus, the knowledge I gained helped me a lot in my role as a Project Manager. The discussions with the consulting partner and IT department became of a very different quality. And, the internal stakeholders, such as executives and sales teams, started trusting my recommendations and the ability of the system more and more. Win-win.

It came a time when my manager asked me to run a few internal Salesforce training sessions with our sales teams. I thought to myself “Are you kidding me?” I told my manager: ” I do not want to become a Salesforce trainer, I am the project manager.” So, I tried to find excuses and managed to postpone these training sessions. But well, someone had to do it eventually. And of course, that someone had to be me, since I’m all trained up and the sales team trusts me.

I set up the required training sessions. At first, they were a bit clumsy and awkward. After a few of these sessions, I actually started enjoying them. My training materials became more professional and my teaching skills improved a lot over the first few weeks.

And this is how I had gotten myself into the role of a Salesforce Trainer, not full-time. Yet. But it became an essential part of my job description.

How this turned into a complete career change, I will tell you in the next article.

Until then, think about something you have always wanted to try out. Go for it.

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How I stumbled upon Salesforce

Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce

Let’s go back in history where it all started. In 2013 me and my partner had moved back to our beloved Sydney in Australia, starting a new phase of our lives. We found a very nice apartment near the famous Bondi Beach. So far so good.

Now it was about finding a new job. We all know when you move to a new city or even a new country, it can be quite tough to get a foot into the door.

Well, I guess I was lucky that I had lived and worked in Australia before, plus I had already built up a few years of work experience.

After a few job applications, I got invited to a job interview which looked very promising. It was about a role as a Salesforce Project Manager. Wait! Salesforce what? I had never heard of Salesforce before. So I gathered as much information about Salesforce as I could pretty much in the one day before I headed into that job interview.

The interviewers noticed that I didn’t know much about Salesforce but they were looking at the overall skill set. It wasn’t just about knowing a particular topic, or in this case a cloud-based CRM platform called Salesforce. It was about being able to learn new things, connecting the dots and proving the right work attitude. I got the job and that was the start of my Salesforce career journey.

My manager at the time introduced me to the Salesforce Cloud Platform and showed me the ropes and business use cases of what it was used for at the company I just started working for. I thought Salesforce was very intuitive and easy to understand. Great! From then it was learning on the job and self-teaching. Of course, that wasn’t sufficient to fully understand what the Salesforce platform was capable of. As I realized later. But let me tell you more about that in my following blog posts.

For now, just get started. With Salesforce, with anything.