Salesforce Developer: 8 Critical Aspects

Amit Phaujdar • Last Modified: December 29th, 2022

Salesforce Developer

Salesforce is a robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, powered by Customer 360. It further offers a complementary suite of enterprise applications that focus on Marketing Automation, Data Analytics, Customer Service, and Application Development. Salesforce Developers develop CRM workflows and custom solutions for business needs along with analyzing company processes.

This blog talks about the different roles and responsibilities of a Salesforce Developer in great detail. It also talks in-depth about other aspects like the skills required, future prospects, prerequisites, and average income.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Salesforce

Salesforce Logo
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Salesforce serves as an integrated CRM platform that provides a single, shared view across all your departments including Sales, Service, Commerce, and Marketing. Salesforce can help you empower and develop your Sales teams with integrated Lead Management, Forecasting Tools, and the ability to Quote, Price, and Configure every deal. Salesforce provides a comprehensive Cloud platform (Sales Cloud) that gives you the Customer Management Solution that is the right fit for every growth phase of your company.

Sales Cloud is an all-in-one Sales tool that also doubles as CRM software. Sales Cloud is flexible enough to accommodate businesses of any industry or size and scalable for anything you might need from it. It allows you to access data on the go through its mobile app. It can also help maximize Sales with AppExchange integrations, thus boosting business growth.     

Here are a few salient Salesforce features:

  • It allows you to build mobile-friendly Salesforce apps for every employee. This helps boost productivity and build a more connected workforce. Apart from this, it also helps you streamline the employee helpdesk for faster self-service. 
  • Salesforce offers a boost on its core services with additional functionalities such as Application Integration and Artificial Intelligence. This includes building custom-branded mobile apps; easy integration of data from ERP, IoT, and databases; and addition of predictive capabilities for every service and Sales application.
  • You can make your apps more personalized and smart to meet your needs in real-time engagement, service, and purchase.
  • With Experience Cloud, you can evolve on a fast, flexible platform and maximize your return on experience. It allows you to build stronger relationships with a Single Source of Truth.
  • Salesforce provides a highly curated library of industry-specific expert help. This includes process flows, apps, templates, and components built to tackle every single issue faced by the user.    

Salesforce ensures a personalized experience with its Customer 360 Platform. Some of the key products offered by Salesforce as a part of their suite are as follows:

  • Salesforce Service Cloud: Salesforce Service Cloud offers all the tools you might need to strengthen Customer Engagement. It allows you to automate business processes with intelligent workflows, support customer interactions across each channel, get actionable insight into every customer interaction, and drive revenue with the power of Artificial Intelligence. 
  • Salesforce Analytics (Tableau CRM): Tableau allows you to leverage intuitive drag-and-drop analysis at every skill level. It also allows you to quickly spot visual patterns and share insights across teams to drive growth. 
  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud: The Salesforce Commerce Cloud allows you to convert more customers with personalized buying experiences. You can implement your strategies faster with easy-to-use tools. This allows you to stay agile and start generating a higher ROI (Return on Investment) sooner. 
  • Salesforce AppExchange: Salesforce AppExchange is an Enterprise Cloud marketplace. It allows you to find proven experts and apps to help you solve business challenges fast and extend your Salesforce Customer 360 from anywhere. This can be extended across any Department, Industry, and Product. It also offers app guides to help you zero in on the right apps to suit your unique business challenges. 

What is a Salesforce Developer?

A Salesforce Developer is defined as a programmer who is tasked with building Salesforce applications across various PaaS (Platform as a Service) platforms. They needn’t be employed directly by Salesforce.

What does a Salesforce Developer Do?

Salesforce Developer Specifications
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A Salesforce CRM Developer has a deep understanding of the working of Salesforce. They also have ample experience in the platform. The developer is employed by a client/customer to customize Salesforce to the specifications of the hiring organization. The developer could also be an in-house programmer who’s skilled at working with Salesforce. 

These developers leverage tools like Visualforce and Apex to develop apps. Frameworks like Lightning Component can also come in handy.  

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Key Roles and Responsibilities of a Salesforce Developer

Here are the roles and responsibilities of a Salesforce Developer:

  • Recommend new software upgrades for the customers’ existing programs, apps, and systems.
  • Analyze what are the needs of the users, then test, design, and develop software that is tailored to those needs.
  • Build effective project plans and design Salesforce solutions. Add value to the three stages of project work: Development, Definition, and Deployment.
  • Design every part of your desired application or a system, then plan out how those parts will gel together.
  • Act in advance of the changing technological and business landscapes of Java/.Net and Salesforce platforms, and adapt accordingly.
  • Create and implement programs to be used over the Internet and in-house users over the company Intranet.
  • Take the lead with other programmers by creating numerous diagrams (like flowcharts) and models that will instruct them how to write additional software code as needed.
  • Deal with possible inconsistencies in the quality of data and create processes that can overcome any potential system deficiencies.
  • Collaborate with other computer specialists for the purposes of creating optimal software.
  • Document every part of the company’s inventory of systems and applications for future reference, especially in the context of maintenance and upgrades.

It is imperative for an SFDC Developer to establish a rapport with the client and understand what the latter’s expectations are for Salesforce operation and implementation.    

Salesforce Developers’ Salary

A Salesforce Developer in the United States is estimated to earn around $87,000 a year, according to the information available on Glassdoor. There are also opportunities for extra bonuses, weighing in at about $8000 as an annual average.

You can find a position that pays a maximum annual salary of $117,000 or as low as $62,000 a year. There are factors like experience and location level that can influence the annual income. Irrespective of the actual exact figure, the position is deemed as a potentially lucrative career choice. 

How to Become a Salesforce Developer?

How to Become a Salesforce Developer
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Salesforce Developers like most software developers need to have a BS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or some related field with appropriate experience. Another prerequisite is good Computer Programming Skills. Having the skills and knowledge in the industry where those Salesforce skills will be put to best use. You should also have an understanding of Model-View-Controller Design pattern, Object-Oriented Programming principles, .NET Programming, or Java.

It is also useful to have an internship with a software business since this arrangement can give you useful connections, needed skills, and necessary experience. If you can’t get into development instantly, you can start off with a programmer position and work your way up to the level of developer.

You can also take an online Salesforce Developer Training Course that can teach you the necessary skills to get your certification.    

5 Skills Required to Become a Salesforce Developer

Skills Required to Become a Salesforce Developer
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Here are a few skills that any good Salesforce Developer should have. These include:

  • Computer Skills: Having computer skills is one of the most obvious skill requirements for a Salesforce Platform Developer. 
  • Analytical Skills: It helps to analyze your clients’ needs and create appropriate software.  
  • Communication Skills: Communication Skills are required to better get your points across. This will be helpful while giving team members and subordinates clear instructions on what to do and showing customers how the apps work.
  • Problem-Solving Skills: This is an integral skill since dealing with problems is the bread and butter of developers. As a developer, you will be looking over every stage of software development to ensure peak efficiency.
  • Interpersonal Skills: Interpersonal skills are required since every developer would have to be a good team player.

Is Working as a Salesforce Developer a Good Career? 

Based on this infographic, 1.9 million new jobs will be springing up in the Salesforce ecosystem in the next few years. There are encouraging figures that suggest increased Salesforce adoption by smaller companies, simplifying the app in order to appeal to a wider selection of users, and increased emphasis on field service and the Internet of Things.

Therefore, it is safe to assume that Salesforce will continue to grow in popularity and extend itself into more SMB markets. This means the demand for developers will continue to surge in the future. 

What’s your Future With Salesforce?

You can start off with certification training for Salesforce to get hands-on expertise in developing and managing apps. This will help you get a deeper understanding of the core administrative features of the Salesforce CRM.

You will also gain a deeper insight into customization and analytical skills that can help you tailor the system for your specific implementation.

Conclusion

This blog talks about the different aspects of a Salesforce Developer in great detail. This includes the skills required, roles, responsibilities, prerequisites, income among others.

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