I decided to create this blog post as part of the #mysalesforcegoals challenge, Here’s a look at the year ahead. (Update: I ended up being a winner!)

Just five more days until 2023. Let the countdown begin!

The top certification I want to obtain in 2023 is Salesforce Administrator, with Salesforce Business Analyst being my stretch goal. I typically select ones relevant to my role, which has ended up being one certification per year over the past few years. I became motivated to study for the Administrator exam after obtaining the Associate certification this past September. It seemed like the natural next step. It is also a prerequisite for the Business Analyst certification—which I would love to get now that I am in the business analysis space.

There is an abundance of things to learn when it comes to Salesforce. I often find this overwhelming. Not only are there too many topics I am interested in, but it is hard to find the time and energy. When I am not working, I am busy chasing my high-energy two-year-old around the house or tending to my five-month-old. To work around the chaos, my plan is to schedule 30-60 minutes at least twice a week to focus on learning objectives. If it is not on my calendar, it will never get done! Areas where I want to further my knowledge: Sales Cloud, Datorama, and Marketing Cloud Customer Data Platform (formerly Salesforce CDP). 

I have had a couple of mentors in the last few years and found value in the relationships I formed. I have wanted to pay it forward by becoming a mentor one day, but I was always waiting to gain more experience or be in a more senior role. For a long time, I doubted the value I could bring to a mentee. Imposter syndrome sometimes also got the best of me. However, that perspective changed after my recent experience teaching a new consultant Marketing Cloud and Personalization, and coaching her on how to work with clients. I realized that I should not discount where I am in my career and how I got there. From learning new skills to navigating the interview process, there is a lot that I can offer. My title does not define it all. I want to start my mentoring journey in the Salesforce Mentorship Program because I recently participated in this as a mentee.

Update: Results are in!

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As the countdown to Dreamforce 2021 continues, I decided to revisit the fantastic week I spent in San Francisco during DF19. Little did I know that it would be the last Dreamforce before the COVID-19 pandemic.

I had always heard about how spectacular Dreamforce was, but I didn’t get to see it for myself until 2019. At that time, I was the Salesforce Marketing Cloud lead at MARIS, an organization that provides real estate tech services to over 14,000 Realtors. My main objectives were to see what new knowledge I could gain about Marketing Cloud and Sales Cloud, learn about other Salesforce products for our tech stack, and pass my first Salesforce certification exam.

Combing through the available sessions was a time-consuming process. There were too many that I wanted to attend, so it was difficult to narrow them down. Even though I couldn’t reserve my spot for everything I wanted, my schedule was still jam-packed. After the first couple of days, my director and I got to know the area well as we had to zip around downtown San Francisco from one conference site to the next. We definitely put a lot of steps in that week!

The streets and venues were flooded with a sea of attendees. Members of the Salesforce “Ohana” were easily identifiable by their Salesforce-provided backpacks—which was an ingenious idea. On my flight to San Francisco, I had no insight about the other passengers; on my flight home, I was able to identify who was among the 170,000+ trailblazers and attendees at DF19. I had never been to a conference of that magnitude, and I was quite impressed by how well-orchestrated it was. There was always a Ranger not too far away to guide attendees and answer questions.

During the conference, I embarked on my journey to become Salesforce certified. Waiting in the long bag-check and check-in lines for the exam was the least enjoyable part of my week; however, seeing my passing test results made it all worth it. It was great to start Day 1 by earning my Marketing Cloud Email Specialist certification. It set the path for me to pursue more certifications.

Below are photos from my week in San Francisco as I attended sessions, workshops, explored the city, and rocked out at Dreamfest to performances from Beck and Fleetwood Mac.

*Infographic from: https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/dreamforce-2019-in-review-key-facts-and-figures

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A Salesforce certification not only demonstrates your knowledge, but it also helps you stand out in a competitive job market.

Salesforce has become a prominent name in the workplace; its economy is expected to create 9.2 million new jobs by 2026. To stand out in a competitive market, a Salesforce certification can be a valuable asset. They are highly regarded because they require a level of knowledge and competency to pass. According to a 2020/2021 Mason Frank survey of Salesforce professionals:

77% of respondents hold at least one Salesforce certification

Another 10% are working towards a certification

43% of those certified experienced an increase in their salary after earning a certification

Why Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC)? I was introduced to SFMC in 2016 when I took on my first email marketing role. It was my first exposure to Salesforce. I was onboarded right before Christmas and was sending emails to our customers after a week of training. I worked with another email marketing specialist in the beginning, and she did a phenomenal job training me.

I had used other ESPs before, but SFMC was the most advanced and comprehensive platform I had used at the time. I was fortunate enough to have access to features like Journey Builder, Predictive Intelligence (Einstein), and Audience Builder early on, which helped build the foundation of my SFMC knowledge. That experience became the launchpad for other SFMC opportunities. Over the years, I’ve continued to grow my skills through the everyday use of the product, accelerators, and self-help resources. I’ve also realized that my favorite way to learn is through troubleshooting and finding creative solutions to problems within SFMC. Learn more about my Salesforce journey.

My Salesforce Certifications 

In 2019 when I learned that my company was sending me to Dreamforce, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to get my SFMC Email Specialist certification on site. Even though I was comfortable with my SFMC knowledge, I didn’t know what to expect. So, I spent the month leading up to it preparing for the exam. I have to admit it was more stressful than any college exam I could remember, but fortunately, I passed. Since then, I’ve had a steady track record of one certification a year, which includes the SFMC Administrator and Consultant certifications.

People have asked how I prepared for the exams, I’ve put together this article to share my tips.

*Admin exam referenced in this article is for SFMC — not to be mistaken for the Salesforce/Sales Cloud Admin exam.

Tips to Prepare for the Exam

Become familiar with the study guide. The study guide has a breakdown of the make-up of each exam and how each topic is weighted. I studied all topics but prioritized ones that made up more of the exam questions. Below is a glimpse of the current information available for each exam, but please visit the “Learn More” link in each section to see the most up-to-date details. 

You can search for all Marketing Cloud related items, but below are some to get you started.

Prepare for your Marketing Cloud Email Specialist Credential  – This trailmix worked well with my working knowledge of SFMC, but you may want to explore additional topics if you do not have experience working in the platform.
Get to Know Marketing Cloud
Marketing Cloud Setup
Use Marketing Cloud Connect to Integrate with Salesforce CRM
Study for the Marketing Cloud Administrator Exam
Administer Marketing Cloud
Journey Builder Basics
Develop for Marketing Cloud Trail
Marketing Cloud Developer Basics

If possible, try to review the additional resources at the end of each module. They will be helpful for the Admin and the Consultant exam.

Hint: Whenever I am unsure of answers on an exam, I always default to anything I recognized from Trailhead or a Salesforce support article.

Sign up for a Salesforce Certification Day. Certification Day is a free, half-day Salesforce webinar to help you prepare for a certification. The webinar offers an overview of the study guide, a refresher on the product and general tips to prepare for the exam. Once you complete the webinar, you will get a unique coupon code for $40 off the $200 certification fee. (This is the current discount, but this amount has changed since my Certification Day attendance.)

There are webinars for different tracks: Admin (Sales Cloud), Marketing (Marketing Cloud), Dev, and Consultant (Sales & Service Cloud). You’ll want to attend the Marketing webinar. I have only seen these session available for the Email Marketing Specialist exam, but I think it doesn’t hurt to get a refresher for the other exams too. The session I attended didn’t offer audience participation, but the instructor may provide ways to submit questions later (I connected with mine on LinkedIn).

Join a Salesforce community. Extend your network to others who share a common interest. You may even find an opportunity to join a study group. I’ve seen people speak highly of their experience joining a virtual Salesforce study group. It can be helpful–even if it’s to stay motivated.

As I previously mentioned, Trailhead is a great resource to connect with others and ask questions. There are also subcommunities in Trailhead. I have made new connections by joining the various groups from all over the world. While it would be great to meet locals over coffee and geek out about SFMC, Zoom meetings are super convenient. I am also part of the Women of Email Facebook group and have been pleasantly surprised by everyone’s knowledge and eagerness to help. After joining the group, I quickly realized that there is so much more for me to still learn.

Review Bootcamps Videos. Earlier this year, the Phoenix Marketing Cloud Community Group hosted a bootcamp for the Admin and Consultant certification with top-notch educators and speakers in the SFMC world. Check out their playlist. These videos are definitely worth reviewing. The bootcamps alone aren’t going to secure you a passing grade, but they do provide an overview of each area of the exam. I recommend that the videos be paired with more in-depth learning and hands-on experience if you have access to a Marketing Cloud instance.

Take the Email Specialist practice exam. Kryterion Webassessor handles all the Salesforce certifications (it’s where you go to register and take the exam). There is also an option to take a practice exam for $20. This practice exam mimics the real one; it is a great way for you to become familiar with the exam’s format, learn how questions are structured, how the platform works, and how long you might take. You may even see the same questions on the real exam. One important thing to note: the Email Specialist practice exam is the only one available for SFMC.

If you’re taking the exam online: I chose to take my Admin and Consultant exams at home because of the pandemic and it was simply more convenient. Be sure to secure a quiet space where you can take the exam without any distractions. There are a few things Kryterion will require you to do to get your device ready for the exam: Online Proctoring—Complete Your Exam Remotely. Since the pandemic, they have eased up on the requirement of an external webcam. As of the my last exam in June, all webcams (including internal camera) were acceptable. I ran into an issue installing the required software and found the Kryterion chat extremely helpful.

Hint: From what I recall, there were all more available times for online proctored exams.

(Salesforce Partners Only) Take advantage of Partner Resources: Be sure to review the modules available in the Partner Learning Camp. For anyone taking the Consultant exam, there is a great curriculum available called the Marketing Cloud Consultant Fast Path. I found this helpful in preparing for that exam. It’s comprised of Trailhead material (most likely you’ve completed these at some point, but it’s great to know what to review in one place) and additional resources that I have not found outside of the PLC.

Other resources: Below are other resources that might be helpful during your study. Please let me know if there are any others you think I should add!

https://www.salesforceben.com
https://mc.chat
https://gortonington.com

Tips for Exam Day

Block off time before the exam. I recommend setting aside at least an hour to get yourself mentally ready for the exam. Get your exam space in order if you’re taking it remotely. This seems like a no-brainer, but most people are constantly trying to juggle many things at one time. If you don’t purposefully block off time in your calendar in advance, you can easily get caught up in meetings, errands and other distractions.

Mark questions you don’t know or are unsure about for “review.” I answer all the questions during the first pass, and I don’t linger on the ones I don’t know. Instead, I mark them for review at the end. On both exams I took, there were a few questions that I was able to go back and answer after seeing another question that reminded me of something helpful. During the second pass, I remove any questions from “review” status if I feel confident about the answers. That’s not necessary, but I like that it gives me an idea of whether I have enough correct answers to pass. (For example, there are 60 questions in the Email Specialist exam, and you need 39 correct to pass.)

Don’t worry running out of time. I don’t want to speak for everyone, but I thought there was plenty of time to complete the questions. For all my certifications, I had time to thoroughly go through my answers 2-3 times. The pressure of a timed exam can be stressful, so I just want let you know it doesn’t need to be!

Make a mental note of questions you didn’t know. Before hitting submit, I scanned all the questions one final time to make a mental note of what I needed to review if I didn’t pass. I was happy to pass my Email Specialist and Admin exams on the first attempt, but I had to exercise this strategy for the Consultant exam. No one likes to fail, but don’t let that get you down. Instead, jot down anything that you can remember from the exam so you have a better idea of how to study for the next.

Once you get your certification, you’ll get a shiny new badge you can display on your online profiles. You’ll also need to maintain your certification annually by completing a quick module to learn about the latest platform enhancements. Salesforce will send you notifications when they are available, so you don’t have to worry about missing them.

Hopefully, you’ve found this helpful. While the process may seem intimidating, I encourage everyone interested to give it a try. And, another try if the first time didn’t work out (retakes are $100). The hard work will pay off, and adding “Salesforce Certified anything” on your LinkedIn or resume will definitely help you get noticed. Good luck!

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