Every time a new Salesforce certification launches, there is a lot of excitement about the future! Salesforce has been committed to offering professionals new ways to test their knowledge – now it’s time for sales professionals!
After reading this post, you’ll be well on your way to knowing all there is to know about the brand-new Sales Representative certification, ready to empower stakeholders to test their knowledge of sales, forecasting, and customer engagement best practices.
Who Is the Sales Representative Certification For?
The certification aims to welcome anyone in the sales field to what is probably the best LMS on the planet: Trailhead. This is an amazing opportunity to learn more about potential career paths, as well as the platform itself. As with the Associate certification, you don’t need any direct experience with Salesforce to take the exam. However, keep in mind that Salesforce recommends you have between six months and three years of experience as a sales representative.
Salesforce previously released the Business Analyst and Strategy Designer credentials which, even though they require 1-2 years of Salesforce platform experience, opened up even more career possibilities for Salesforce experts. The Sales Representative certification is the first certification that isn’t catered to the consulting/hands-on Salesforce space, and branches into a brand-new career path.
Is There Value for Salesforce Professionals?
Even if you are not working in a sales role, there is incredible content for Salesforce professionals who may be interacting daily with business stakeholders. If you are an administrator, architect, consultant, or anyone who is involved in building, mapping, or enhancing sales processes, there is still value to be taken from this curriculum.
Sales Cloud is one of the most widely used Salesforce products; almost every Salesforce professional has at one point or another implemented or customized it. With the knowledge gained by preparing and passing the exam, you can confidently design and implement solutions using sales best practices.
As a business analyst, I am frequently in situations where I need to ‘sell’ something – for example, when recommending a solution or negotiating a timeline. We all face scope creep, unattainable timelines, unrealistic expectations, and other day-to-day issues, which is why soft skills are essential.
Why Should You Consider This Certification?
While the reasons for taking a particular certification may vary from person to person, the Sales Representative certification is a major milestone in the Salesforce ecosystem. Alongside the Salesblazer community, it provides best practices and resources, as well as the chance for end users to showcase their expertise.
In terms of employment and opportunities, Salesforce has provided some enticing data points. According to Salesforce, the ecosystem saw 115,800 sales jobs posted during 2022, and Salesforce professionals earned a $75,000 median base salary with a 40% average sales commission and bonus.
What Are the Certification’s Key Topics?
The Sales Representative certification covers plenty of subjects, including relationship building, closing deals, forecasting, and pipeline creation – all using a customer-centric methodology.
Here are the six Sales Representative cert exam sections, which you can also find outlined in the dedicated Trailmix – these will help you to prepare for the exam:
- Planning: 21%
- Customer Engagement: 15%
- Deal Management: 37%
- Pipeline Management: 12%
- Forecasting: 6%
- Customer Success: 9%
Almost all of these topics can be applied in one way or another to resolving some of the ever-changing challenges of being part of the Salesforce ecosystem – regardless of what role you have in the sales process. All of these topics can help your team to build a truly customer-centric experience. Your client, your manager, your team – there is something for everyone.
Stay tuned for our upcoming Certification Guide & Tips post for a full breakdown of the certification topics listed above.
How Do I Get Started?
First thing’s first, log in or create a Trailhead account and begin the Prepare for your Salesforce Certified Sales Representative Credential Trailmix.
Once you are ready, you will need a Webassessor account to purchase, schedule, and take the certification. The exam can be found in its very own section, it costs $200 USD (plus tax), there are no prerequisites, and it can be taken at a test center or online – whichever suits you best!
If you are interested in learning more about a particular core sales role, check out the four new Trailmixes below!
Ready to take it to the next level and learn more about Sales Cloud? Check out this Trailmix to get started and join these two trailhead groups to get support from the community.
Salesblazer Community
Salesforce is demonstrating its commitment with the launch of the Salesblazer Community for aspiring and tenured professionals to learn, connect, and grow. Trailhead content and resources have been created in tandem with Dale Carnegie – a leading training and professional development organization.
Join the Salesblazer Community Group in Trailhead and check out Think Outside the Quota on Salesforce+ if you are hungry for more!
Meet Zig the Zebra!
As is tradition for cornerstones of the Salesforce ecosystem and platform, Salesforce has unveiled a brand-new mascot.
We can’t wait to meet Zig at Dreamforce and other Salesforce events (and hopefully get our hands on a plushie!) – learn more here!
What’s Next?
Hopefully, this article has helped to answer the question: Why should you take the Sales Rep cert? While it’s a no-brainer for sales reps, this credential offers plenty of benefits for a variety of Salesforce roles.
We saw Business Analyst and Strategy Designer as the breakaway certifications. Now with this Sales certification, I think there is a clear commitment from Salesforce as they expand their educational offerings. With the scale of the Salesforce Customer 360 platform, it only makes sense for new certs to be developed for their existing solutions.
New Salesforce Certification Predictions!
Most likely to happen: Marketing (in my opinion)
Marketing Cloud already has several dedicated certifications. Complementing their offerings with one that’s geared toward end users would be in line with the new Salesforce Sales Representative certification. Also, I am not aware of any ubiquitous marketing certifications – you usually demonstrate your expertise through a college degree or hands-on experience.
What I would love to see next: Project Management (In my opinion)
Most Salesforce jobs require knowledge of project management frameworks and methodologies. In direct contrast to marketing, there are several institutions that are known and trusted worldwide, which is why I think an associate-level certification would be a perfect fit.
What are your predictions? Let us know in the comments!
