The Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant Certification is a credential developed for Salesforce professionals who have experience in Sales Cloud solutions on the Salesforce platform and are looking to verify their expertise. Working experience of the product is important for this certification in particular as it’s designed specifically for professionals who can architect a solution for a particular customer scenario.

In the Sales Cloud Consultant exam, there are 10 topics covered. Application of Product Knowledge is the area with the highest weighting at 18%. As it is weighted highest, this is an area that must be focused on to do well in the exam.

The following are the core topic areas of the Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant certification and what a consultant is expected to know:

• This topic includes the following objectives:

• • Given a scenario, assess the factors that influence sales metrics, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and business challenges.
• • Describe common sales and marketing processes and key implementation considerations.
• • Understand when to use Sales Cloud features and related products such as Sales Engagement, Salesforce Inbox, Salesforce Maps, and Sales Cloud Einstein.

There are various metrics, KPIs, and business challenges related to sales and factors that influence them. Sales metrics and KPIs can be used to gauge the performance of the sales department and make adjustments to an organization’s business objectives accordingly. It is important to monitor them in order to analyze and improve how successful the organization is in meeting its sales goals and forecasts. Common business challenges and factors that influence them are also important to consider because of their high impact on sales.

This category also describes common sales processes used for closing sales deals as well as some of the sales methodologies which can be utilized for effective selling. A sales process can consist of various stages for lead generation, lead qualification, lead conversion, and opportunity management. A sales methodology guides the overall selling principles and beliefs of a business concerning one or more sales processes.

Some of the most common marketing processes are used by companies to perform activities related to marketing, such as lead management, campaign management, reporting, etc. A company typically uses campaigns to generate leads through marketing channels such as email, web, advertisements, and trade shows. A strategic marketing process may be utilized to execute the marketing plan. An optimized lead flow plan helps marketers prioritize and follow up with leads.

In addition to processes and implementation practices, different Salesforce sales and marketing tools and features are covered here such as High Velocity Sales, Salesforce Inbox, Salesforce Maps, and Sales Cloud Einstein. Sales Cloud Einstein uses data science and machine learning to provide key predictions, intelligent recommendations, and timely automation in the sales process. It learns from the sales users’ activities and CRM data.

This topic includes the following objectives:

• Given a scenario, determine how to facilitate a successful consulting engagement (plan, gather requirements, design, build, test, deploy, and document).

• Given a scenario, determine appropriate sales deployment considerations.

• Given a scenario, analyze the success of an implementation project.

This category covers how a Sales Cloud consultant would prepare for an implementation. It describes the steps involved (i.e., plan, gather requirements, design, build, test, deploy, and document) and how they all fit together to make a project successful. It is also important to know how a successful project could be measured.

A sales deployment plan consists of many components which can be utilized for successful deployment. Deployment activities, such as migration, communication, training, and feedback, are essential facets of sales deployment.

There are some considerations for ensuring the success and adoption of a Sales Cloud implementation as well as measurement approaches pertaining to various business scenarios. It is necessary to take steps to ensure the success of a Sales Cloud implementation because an organization’s business goals and sales objectives may depend on it. Reports and dashboards are primarily used to measure various sales-related metrics which can also be used to measure implementation success.

This topic has the highest weighting and includes the following objectives:

• Given a set of requirements, design an end-to-end sales process from Lead to Opportunity to Quote to Close to Order.

• Given a scenario, differentiate when it is appropriate to include custom application development vs. third-party applications.

• Describe the appropriate use cases for Account and Opportunity Teams and the effect on sales roles, visibility, access, and reporting. 

• Discuss the capabilities, use cases, and design considerations for additional features such as territory management and forecasting. 

• Articulate the capabilities, use cases, and design considerations when implementing Opportunity Products, Products, Price Books, and Orders.

• Describe the implementation considerations of multi-currency and advanced currency management.

A sales process consists of steps such as lead generation, qualification and conversion, opportunity management, quote creation, and order placement. Sales reps typically make use of these steps in order to close sales deals and track related information in Salesforce. However, each company customizes its sales process depending upon its business requirements.

Requirements are typically derived by identifying gaps in business processes, prioritized, categorized, and defined in terms of scope. In addition, it is important to consider whether a declarative or programmatic solution would be appropriate to fulfill a particular requirement.

When creating a lead conversion process in Salesforce, various approaches can be used. Leads are typically converted to account, contact, and opportunity records once they have been qualified based on sales criteria defined by a company. Leads can be converted to both person and business accounts in Salesforce. Furthermore, lead data from standard and custom lead fields can be mapped to account, contact, and opportunity records.

There are considerations related to the use of automation tools and Salesforce features, such as validation rules, record types, page layouts and triggers, while designing a sales process. Record types and page layouts allow the creation of multiple sales processes while automation tools, such as workflow rules and Process Builder, can be used to perform automated actions based on predefined criteria. Other features, such as validation rules and triggers, can be utilized for data verification and execution of custom logic, respectively.

To meet business requirements, Salesforce provides various capabilities to develop custom applications declaratively or with the help of code. However, it is not always necessary to create a custom application if standard features do not suffice. Third-party applications provided by Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) may be installed by Salesforce customers from the AppExchange marketplace.

Account and opportunity teams support collaboration in the sales process. Account teams allow multiple users to work together on an account in Salesforce, while opportunity teams allow multiple people to work on an opportunity record. Default teams can be set up in both cases, and team members are able to get read/write or read-only access to the record. Team members can view other members' access levels. Other customizations can be done on the page layout and reporting.

Enterprise Territory Management can be used by organizations that are looking to organize their sales structures into different territories. Different territory models can be created to test different territory structures, and the one that suits the organization can be activated. Collaborative Forecasting can be used to allow users to forecast opportunity revenue by territory.

Opportunities have relationships with Salesforce objects and features, including line items, product schedules, price books, quotes, contracts, and campaign influence. Opportunities are closely related to the products sold by a company as well as other aspects, such as the prices of products set in price books and the asset records that represent the products which have been purchased. Opportunities are related to both quotes and contracts; quotes are used to track proposed prices of products and services while contracts are agreements used to define the terms of doing business. The campaign influence feature is used to indicate influential campaigns associated with opportunities.

Salesforce provides features for order implementation and management, such as order products and reduction orders. Sales reps can create orders and associate them with accounts and contracts depending on the requirement. Lead and Opportunity Scoring allows sales reps to prioritize leads and opportunities. Account and opportunity insights make it easier for reps to maintain relationships with customers and close sales deals. Tableau CRM provides deeper insights into sales data.

Multiple currencies are generally used in international organizations which have several global offices that need to use a country’s local currency for doing business. Salesforce supports utilizing a corporate currency to specify the currency of the company’s headquarters. Moreover, there are different considerations related to the use of multiple currencies and Advanced Currency Management in reporting. The multi-currency feature allows international organizations to make use of multiple active currencies for various offices throughout the world, which makes it easier for users to create records in their local currency. Advanced Currency Management allows using dated exchange rates for active currencies. In reporting, dated exchange rates are used only if the objects and fields support this feature. Enabling multiple currencies has several implications related to Salesforce records and other features, which are described in this section.

This topic includes the following objectives:

• Explain how Campaign capabilities support the sales process.

• Given a scenario, recommend appropriate methods for lead scoring and criteria for lead qualification.

• Discuss the best practices for managing lead data quality in Salesforce.

Salesforce provides different marketing capabilities which can support a sales process. A sales process refers to the different stages of reaching prospects, qualifying leads, and closing sales deals. Prospects or leads are primarily generated through marketing campaigns which can be managed in Salesforce. Leads are qualified and converted into customers based on predefined criteria; Salesforce supports converting leads into accounts, contacts, and opportunities. 

When it comes to lead scoring, it is important to understand that various types of lead scoring criteria can be used to calculate the lead score. The criteria can be selected based on business requirements. A high lead score indicates a good quality lead which can be qualified and converted into an opportunity in Salesforce.

Leads are used to track prospects in Salesforce. After qualifying the lead records, they can be converted into accounts, contacts, and/or opportunities. Various tools are available natively in Salesforce and in the AppExchange to assist with lead management to turn prospects into customers. Campaigns can be used to store marketing efforts that are used to obtain leads and store them in Salesforce. Events and tasks can be associated with leads.

Lead data quality is important to consider due to its direct impact on the creation of new opportunities. The probability of a lead’s conversion to an opportunity depends on the accuracy and completeness of lead information in Salesforce. Different measures may be utilized as part of a data management plan to assess, monitor and improve lead data quality.

There are several methods of data enrichment in Salesforce that can be utilized to update existing data or add new data. A third-party data service, such as a Lightning Data service, can be utilized to update accounts, contacts, or leads. It can also be used to add new accounts to Salesforce. A Lightning Data package includes a data integration rule that needs to be configured and activated to match and update records automatically. A data assessment can be run to test the setting specified in a data integration rule.

This topic has the second-highest weighting and includes the following objectives:

• Review how the ownership of Account and Contact records drives access to related records.

• Explain the various methods for establishing access to Accounts, Person Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities.

• Describe the impact of account hierarchy on visibility, maintainability, and reporting

Several factors drive the visibility of records associated with accounts. Account owners are able to access records of related objects such as Contact, Opportunity, and Activity, depending on the organization’s sharing settings. Record-level access can be provided through roles, sharing rules, territories, or manual sharing.

Different ways can be utilized to relate contacts to accounts and vice versa in Salesforce. Contacts are typically used to store information about persons who work for a particular company or organization. A single person may sometimes work for multiple companies, which makes it necessary to use features such as Contacts to Multiple Accounts and Account Contact Relationships.

The account hierarchy feature in Salesforce has an impact on various aspects such as person accounts and security. Salesforce allows the creation of account hierarchies to define the relationship between parent and children accounts. Many companies have one or more subsidiary companies. This feature can be used to provide a tree-view to users who would like to view how the accounts of those companies are related to one another.

Person accounts can be used to store information about individual customers. The default business accounts are used to store information about companies and other organizations in Salesforce. However, when it comes to individual consumers, business accounts are generally not applicable.

This topic includes the following objectives: 

• Given a set of requirements, determine how to support different sales process scenarios for an Opportunity.

• Summarize the relationships between sales stages, forecast, and Pipeline Inspection.

Various features can support a sales process in Salesforce, which can be used in different scenarios. A sales process consists of different opportunity stages, and an opportunity moves through these stages while a sales representative works on closing a sales deal. An org can have different types of sales processes based on business requirements.

It is important to understand the relationships between opportunity stages, forecast categories, and the opportunity pipeline in Salesforce because they have many use cases when it comes to Sales Cloud functionality. Opportunity stages are typically used to track and manage a sales process. A sales pipeline includes all open opportunities which can be tracked in Salesforce to recognize where they are in the sales process. In addition to influencing the sales pipeline, opportunity stages also have an impact on forecasting.

This category also discusses the main features of Collaborative Forecasts, how it can be set up and used, and its use cases based on different business requirements. Forecasts represent expected sales revenue and utilize the gross rollup of opportunities. Quotas can be used with forecasts to define sales goals, and adjustments allow sales reps and their managers to adjust the forecast amounts.

This topic includes the following objectives:

• Discuss use cases and considerations for using email productivity tools, such as Salesforce Inbox and Outlook/Gmail integration. • Illustrate the use cases and best practices for using collaboration tools, such as Slack, Quip, Chatter, and mobile solutions.

There are key features in Salesforce that help in the enablement and measurement of sales productivity and adoption. Many Salesforce features such as the Salesforce mobile app, Chatter, and email integration tools can be used to drive the productivity of sales reps in an organization. The adoption of Sales Cloud along with these features can be ensured through various measures such as training, data quality improvement, and automation. Sales productivity and adoption can be measured with the help of reports and dashboards based on metrics.

Sales representatives can make use of various tools, such as Outlook Integration, Gmail Integration, and Lightning Sync, to access Salesforce records from Microsoft Outlook or Gmail as well as sync contacts and events between these email applications and Salesforce. Einstein Activity Capture can be used to keep email and calendar applications in sync with Salesforce. Moreover, other Salesforce features, such as Email to Salesforce, Mass Email, List Email, Email Templates, and Mail Merge, can also be utilized to increase sales productivity.

The Salesforce mobile app can be used to improve the productivity of an organization’s sales department and to access Salesforce on the go. It not only allows access to Salesforce records on mobile devices but also provides several other tools that improve sales workflow and collaboration. It supports many Salesforce features, such as record search, Chatter, sales path, lead conversion, record approval, reports, and dashboards, making the sales process more efficient by helping sales reps to close deals more quickly.

Chatter is an application provided by Salesforce that makes it easier for users to collaborate through various features such as actions, posts, polls, questions, groups, mentioning, and private messaging. Such features allow users to work together by posting and sharing content as well as gathering opinions relevant to the topic of discussion. Using Chatter enables effective collaboration, which also increases sales productivity.

This topic includes the following objectives:

• Analyze and prioritize valid use cases from a client.

• Understand the consulting project lifecycle.

Aspiring sales consultants are expected to know different methodologies and consulting project lifecycle phases. There are different aspects to consider when it comes to requirement elicitation, analysis, and solution design. Gathering and analyzing requirements is the first step of building appropriate solutions that bring value to the business. This section details the stages of a project lifecycle as well as a few real-life business scenarios that require the implementation of Sales Cloud.

This topic includes the following objective:

• Determine the appropriate report, dashboard or reporting snapshot solution

Reports, dashboards, and reporting snapshots can be used to monitor sales metrics that are important for understanding how successfully a company is achieving its sales goals. Either standard reports and dashboards can be used or custom reports and dashboards can be created if the former do not meet business requirements. Sales dashboards can also be downloaded and installed from the AppExchange for various stakeholders of the company.

Various user permissions and access levels are available to allow users to access reports and dashboards as well as folders that contain them. Reports and dashboards help sales users view summarized data and understand metrics related to the sales process. There are various user permissions that enable sales users to access and/or create reports and dashboards.

This topic includes the following objectives:

• Explain the use cases and considerations for data migration in Sales Cloud.

• Given a scenario, analyze the implications of large data sets, transaction volumes, integrations, and moving data between Salesforce and other systems.

Various integration options and patterns can be utilized for integrating Salesforce with third-party systems or services. An integration pattern is a specific design and approach for integrating Salesforce with external systems. The underlying strategies can be used for particular scenarios rather than specific implementations. Both data and business processes can be integrated with external systems using these integration options and patterns.

There are different aspects to consider with regards to the data migration process, data loading, and data migration order. The data migration process starts by selecting the data that needs to be migrated from the source system and exporting it. The appropriate data import tool must be determined. It can be a native tool or a programmatic option such as Bulk API. A third-party tool such as dataloader.io may also be utilized. Several considerations related to data loading and object relationships should be taken into account before data migration.

When there is a large amount of data in Salesforce, there may be an impact on several Salesforce features, including reports and dashboards, data import, search, sharing rules, and list views. Performance optimization measures such as avoiding data skew, deferring sharing recalculations, storing data externally, using filters, and archiving data may be utilized in order to improve performance.

There are different ways of integrating data between Salesforce orgs and integration helps in exchanging or surfacing data. Data can be integrated using approaches: data virtualization and data management. Features such as Salesforce Connect can be used to surface data in another Salesforce organization without transferring it. Salesforce to Salesforce allows sharing records with another Salesforce organization. REST or SOAP API can be used to transfer data from one Salesforce organization to another. Apex, Visualforce, and/or Lightning components can be used to facilitate the data transfer. It is also possible to integrate a Salesforce org with another using an external service or platform event.