Honestly, I have always preferred traditional programming, but I recently started learning about Salesforce, although it was not for the best reasons... What brought you to it?
I started taking a course after becoming interested in a job opportunity and, well, I am enjoying it.
Building an application is one thing. As developers, we understand why a company needs a particular solution, but we may not be sure how people will use it. That is why it is important to constantly think about how technology can improve an existing process.
Salesforce is exactly that.
As I explore the platform, I see connections with things I have worked with before: web development, APIs, automation, customer support, lead generation, and AI-assisted workflows.
Is Salesforce Just a CRM?
When I started researching Salesforce, I mainly saw it as a CRM.
Of course, CRM is an important part of it. But there is much more than that.
Customer data, sales processes, support, automation, permissions, analytics, and applications, all within the same ecosystem.
Leads, Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, and Cases were some of the first concepts I explored. Of course, you have to start with the basics.
What I find interesting is not just knowing what each object means. It is understanding how they represent a real business process.
If you are new to this, just like me, then let’s dive into the explanations:
A Lead can become an Opportunity. A customer may need support. Different people within a company may need different levels of access to the same information.
When we start seeing things this way, Salesforce stops being just about memorizing platform terminology and becomes a way to understand how a business works.
Sales Cloud and My Previous Experience
I will talk a little about my previous experience with lead generation and digital processes.
I have worked with lead generation, digital marketing, and communication through WhatsApp, including processes in which potential customers had to be routed to sales teams.
That made me think about what happens after a lead is generated.
Which steps can be automated?
Before, I mainly analyzed these questions from a digital and operational perspective. Salesforce gives me the opportunity to understand the same processes from a CRM and technology perspective.
Service Cloud
Another connection comes from customer support.
During my time at CLYRA, I also worked directly with customer support, helping users with questions and issues related to the platform.
That experience taught me something simple but important:
The customer experience does not end when a sale is completed. It is not just about paying and walking away.
There are questions, problems, requests, and follow-ups that need to be handled properly.
That is why the idea behind Service Cloud makes sense to me. A support request should not become just another message lost in a conversation. It can be part of a structured process that can be tracked, prioritized, and improved.
Learning Automation with Salesforce Flow
Automation is probably one of the areas where I said I would shine.
I have worked with n8n, so the idea of analyzing a process and asking, “What can be automated?” is exactly what I mentioned earlier. I love automating processes. Why not make things simpler? Of course, always with human oversight.
Salesforce Flow is a different technology, but at its core, the logic is the same. It is simply a matter of understanding the basics:
Understand the process → find repetitive steps → define conditions → automate → test the result.
For example, instead of asking someone to manually perform the same action whenever a certain condition is met, a flow can handle that process automatically. Simple.
Configuration or Development?
Coming from a software development background, it is easy to think that every problem requires code.
Sometimes, the platform already provides the functionality needed to solve a requirement. In other situations, custom development makes more sense.
For me, learning Salesforce also means learning how to make that distinction.
The goal is not to write as much code as possible.
It is to understand the requirement and choose an appropriate solution.
Where My Development Experience Fits In
My experience is in software development, digital marketing, and sales, so I naturally started looking for connections between Salesforce and the technologies and processes I already know.
I have worked with JavaScript, React.js, Node.js, APIs, and UI/UX, as well as automation and AI tools.
Lightning, components, data models, APIs, and business logic are not completely unfamiliar concepts to me.
There is still a lot to learn and explore. And I love that.
Apex
You need to have a developer mindset.
Apex is not simply “JavaScript with a different syntax.”
Salesforce has its own architecture, limits, and way of working, so learning Apex also means understanding how development fits into the platform itself.
Data, Dashboards, and Permissions
Well...
Data needs to be useful.
A company may want to know how many leads are being generated, how opportunities are progressing, how quickly customer Cases are being resolved, and where a process is getting stuck. I know this because I have worked with this kind of information before.
Reports and dashboards transform this data into something people can actually use for decision-making, in a more organized way.
And then we have security.
A CRM can contain a great deal of sensitive business and customer information, so deciding who can access, modify, or manage certain information is an important part of building a responsible solution. Trust me.
Salesforce and AI
AI...
I have been using AI tools in my development workflow, and I am particularly interested because AI is becoming increasingly autonomous instead of being treated as a separate feature.
“Is there a real problem that AI can help solve?”
Whether it is helping users work with information, assisting with repetitive tasks, or making customer data more useful, the business problem should come first.
Technology comes afterward.
So, Why Salesforce?
I think we already know.
Salesforce brings together several areas I have already had contact with:
- Software development
- APIs
- Automation
- Customer support
- Lead generation
- Digital processes
- Business requirements
- AI
And you may find these connections too.
What I am looking for now is the opportunity to connect these experiences and develop deeper expertise in CRM and enterprise technology.
I am particularly interested in the consulting side because it requires more than technical knowledge.
You need to understand what the client really needs, turn that into a solution, communicate the reasoning behind it, and continue learning along the way.
I do not want Salesforce to be just another technology listed on my résumé.
I want to understand how to use it correctly. And use it masterfully.
Learning Through Practice
I am currently taking a 52-hour Salesforce course to strengthen my foundations.
I have just reached the 10% mark, and I am setting myself a small challenge: finish the course in five days.
I will share my progress here as I move forward, if you comment and share your thoughts with me.
Let’s see how far I can get. 🐞
Top comments (1)
Automating lead capture and initial response is one of the highest-ROI automations for any business. The speed-to-lead factor alone can increase conversion rates significantly.