For as long as I can remember, the Salesforce job market has been blowing up. There is a constant demand for Salesforce professionals and an even bigger demand for outstanding talent.
With the global pandemic further accelerating companies’ digital transformation needs, there has never been a better time to be a Salesforce professional. But, as with any fast-growing industry, it can be hard to stay on top of knowing what a fair market rate is for your services. Here are six tips to help you evaluate yourself and get the salary you deserve…
1. Understand Market Rates
First, you need to understand what the current market looks like. There are many different types of roles in the world of Salesforce, each with a vastly different salary which can differ for reasons such as location and seniority, as well as the type of company you are working for.
Luckily, this data is readily available through the Mason Frank Careers and Hiring Guide, the largest survey of Salesforce professionals. We’ve been partnering with Mason Frank for many years and have a number of different guides, depending on your role, to help work out your market rate:
This in-depth guide will also show you how an entry-level role differs from mid-level and senior-level roles, and what responsibilities you need to take on to advance to the next level.
2. Evaluate Yourself
Negotiating a salary, whether it’s for a new job or a raise, is all about the value you can add to the company. This requires you to do a deep evaluation of your skills, what you can offer, and where you may need improvement. This exercise is helpful for a few reasons:
- It will give you the confidence to ask for the salary you deserve. If you have been constantly exceeding targets, delivering successful projects, and taking on the responsibilities of someone more senior, you will be in a pretty strong position.
- At the same time, it can help to be realistic in your expectations if you realize that you have multiple areas with room for improvement, which would mean it might be a push to ask for a much higher salary.
- Lastly, this exercise gives you the ammo you need to ask for a raise. You will need to provide concrete examples of the value you have provided previously. This could be examples of successful projects, teams you have helped to build, or revenue-generating activities you have spearheaded.
3. Evaluate the Company
Once you understand why you believe you can ask for a salary raise (based on the value you add to the company), it’s a good idea to also evaluate the company.
Salesforce professionals can work for different types of companies, including end-users, consultancies, and ISVs (AppExchange companies), as well as Salesforce themselves. These types of companies will differ massively in size, profitability, industry, and their reliance on a certain type of Salesforce professional.
For example, if you are working for an end-user, salaries will be typically at the lower end of the scale than say, a consultancy. This will also vary based on the size of the end-user you are working for. You may be a mid-level solo admin working for an SMB organization, and feel you deserve a raise. However, if the company believes the role can be done by someone on a mid-level salary, then it might not be feasible to get a raise.
This kind of scenario will play out for a lot of Salesforce professionals, and if you want a bigger salary with more responsibility, it could be time to look for a new job.
4. What Do You Want?
Completing the groundwork and necessary research is an important part of understanding what you have to play with. It will give you a sense of your market rate, how valuable you are to the company, and the amount of money you might be able to ask for.
Once this has been completed, it’s time to decide exactly what you want out of your salary negotiations.
Anyone will tell you in “Negotiation 101” that you need to ask for more than you want, and then negotiate down to a number that both sides are comfortable with. So what this comes down to is understanding the salary you actually want.
To be in the best negotiation position possible, you also need to be prepared to walk away if this number is not met. If you aren’t, then you really have no leverage.
However, you might not just be after a salary raise. You might also like to throw in flexible or remote working convenience, more holiday, a bonus, or a salary raise once a certain milestone has been agreed. All of these perks can form the basis of what you want out of your salary negotiations.
5. Practice
By following the above steps, you will be armed with market information, and the value you provide to the company, as well as the minimum salary you are willing to walk away with.
With all this information, it’s a good idea to understand how you are going to use it. Practising some of your arguments as to why you deserve a better salary is a great way to ensure you deliver the information effectively.
Negotiations can be stressful, asking for more money can be a high-pressure situation, and people have a tendency to waffle when they are nervous. This is exactly what you shouldn’t do when you are negotiating. Deliver the reasons that entitle you to a raise, then sit back and wait for a response.
Practising your delivery with a friend or a family member is a great way to remember your key points, as well as your response to objections.
6. The Negotiation
Once all of the previous steps have been completed, it’s time to book a meeting with your manager and do the deed. This is your chance to get the salary you deserve, and it’s important to ensure you are armed with all the relevant information to make a good case for yourself.
Here are a few tips to ensure your negotiation is a success:
- After some small talk, start the negotiation with the reasons that entitle you to ask for a raise, as well as the number you are looking for. Always state a number higher than the minimum you are willing to settle for and always choose a fixed number as opposed to a range.
- When it comes to negotiations, less is more. Be clear and succinct in your reasons for requesting a raise, as well as your responses to any objections.
- Never compare yourself to other people or colleagues – raises should always be based on your own merit.
- The most successful negotiations are those where both parties walk away happy. Ensure that you are actively listening to the other person and address their objections or the points they raise.
Summary
As the Salesforce job market is red hot, going through the steps in this post to evaluate your market value is a good exercise, whether you end up asking for a raise or not.
However, it’s also important to always be fair. As the Salesforce job market is very active, this can mean companies are often struggling to find talent. Whilst it’s important that professionals are being paid fairly, it’s also important to ensure you are not taking advantage of a company, just because you can. Asking for ludicrous salaries when you are not qualified can often come back to bite you in the future.
Best of luck with your careers and happy negotiating!