Becoming Salesforce certified is one of the secrets to a successful Salesforce career — certified employees typically earn up to 20% more than their non-certified counterparts, while also becoming 90% more productive and 5.5x more influential in their role, an IDC InfoBrief reveals. So, you know you want to learn Salesforce, advance your career, and prepare for Salesforce certifications, the problem is where do you begin?

The Salesforce ecosystem is vast — with various roles, products, and features — and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available. Without a clear strategy, you won’t be efficient in the way you learn Salesforce and you may struggle to build a foundational understanding of the Salesforce platform. Yet, the longer you allow your uncertainty to prevent you from taking action, the more your career growth and opportunities stagnate.

Fortunately, help is at hand. In addition to well-known places such as Trailhead, there are alternative resources to learn Salesforce— including online courses, career accelerator programs, mentorship programs, Salesforce events, Salesforce blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, influencer insights, and more. They all allow you to enhance your certification journey and professional growth while customizing your Salesforce learning journey via flexible formats that cater to your preferences and needs.

Let’s explore these options below.

Learn Salesforce with Trailhead

Salesforce Trailhead is the most well-known and traditional route to learn Salesforce. Offering a gamified and interactive approach, Salesforce awards badges and points for the completion of modules and projects, therefore making your learning experience more engaging and rewarding. Most of the modules don’t take much time to complete and you can even take them on the go with the Trailhead GO mobile app.

Learn Salesforce With Online Courses

When it comes to alternate routes to learn Salesforce aside from Trailhead, there is a wide range of online courses suitable for beginners through to experienced professionals. Created by Salesforce experts, they are relevant, industry-focused, and filled with practical tasks to help you master Salesforce concepts and applications.

Some of the most highly-rated Salesforce online courses include:

• Focus on Force
• Udemy (courses from Francis Pindar, Mike Wheeler, Steven Trumble, and more)
• Get Force Certified
• WeLearnSalesforce (use our special 40% discount code INTROSPCL for any Study Workbook, Practice Exam Bundle, or Lifetime Course Enrollment)
• SalesforceBen
• Coding With The Force
• LinkedIn Learning
• and more!

Learn Salesforce with Career Accelerator Programs

There are some great Career Accelerator Programs such as the one by Talent Stacker. Their completely Free Salesforce Career Accelerator Toolkit offers videos, guides, and downloadable templates for developing a Brand Strategy, your Career Plan, Negotiation Templates, Utilizing AI in your career, and much more.

If you like their approach, you can sign up for their paid career accelerator program. Or if you are still wondering if you should learn Salesforce, you can start with their Free 5-Day Salesforce Challenge. Their members report earning $60,000 – to $80,000 in their first year within just 6 months of signing up, while many students are on their way to making over $100,000/year.

Sign Up for a Salesforce Mentorship Program

Trailhead’s mentorship program — Trailblazer Mentorship — is designed to help you learn Salesforce through personalized guidance from experts, so you can strengthen your Salesforce skills and discover new career paths. Notably, Trailblazer offers two mentorship options to suit your needs and preferences: one-on-one mentorship and mentor circles.

During one-on-one mentorship, you’ll work one-on-one with a Trailblazer mentor. Together, you’ll devise your professional development plan — tailored to your individual goals, strengths, and aspirations — perfect your resume, prepare for job interviews, and get feedback during mock interview sessions. In addition to boosting self-esteem and confidence, mentorship has been proven to up your chances of success. Forbes.com mentions that 80% percent of CEOs in the US had some form of mentoring during their rise up the ranks. The same research shows that mentees get promoted five times more than folks without mentors.

The mentorship program employs a curated matching process that pairs participants with suitable mentors based on their skill sets, interests, and goals. So, you’ll be aligned with a mentor with relevant expertise and experience, to facilitate a fulfilling and productive mentorship relationship. As such, you can benefit from a seamless, personalized pairing without having to go through the hassle of finding a mentor yourself.

Alternatively, in a mentor circle, you’ll receive guidance from a mentor, as well as connect with a small group of peers who support you in your career goals. In addition to learning new Salesforce skills and exploring new career opportunities, you’ll also grow your professional network. So, for instance, you’ll be able to join study groups, ask questions, and chat with peers, benefitting from invaluable community support and collaborative learning.

Learn Salesforce through Blogs

Immersing yourself in Salesforce content and resources beyond courses can provide you with a more holistic view of the platform. Reading blogs can be a great way to learn Salesforce and improve your skills. You can find plenty of useful Salesforce content on Salesforce Ben, Inspire Planner blog, Automation Champion, Jitendra Zaa’s blog, Enrico Murru’s blog, and more. For your convenience, at Inspire Planner we have gathered in one place a list of 25+ best Salesforce blogs you can follow.

Attend Salesforce Events

Salesforce events are a fun way to learn more about the Salesforce ecosystem, products, and features, as well as network with fellow Salesforce trailblazers and experts. Ultimately, the best Salesforce event to go to depends on your learning goals, current level of expertise, and preferred learning style. So, for instance, if a comprehensive and immersive experience is something you’re after, consider a large event like Dreamforce, whereas if you prefer more localized, community-led events, you may want to check out something like Dreamin’ Events.

At Salesforce events, you get to learn about the latest product releases, participate in demos, and gain insights from industry experts. There’s also no shortage of networking opportunities: through social events, roundtable discussions, and interactive sessions, you can establish meaningful and long-lasting connections with fellow Trailblazers, industry leaders, and professionals.

You can learn more about different event types and their schedule in our curated list of the best Salesforce events.

When it comes to making the most of your Salesforce event, it’s helpful to go in knowing exactly what you hope to get out of it. Do you want to learn more about a specific Salesforce product? Connect with industry thought leaders? Or, simply meet new people?

Whatever your goal for the event is, you should plan how to achieve it. So, be sure to map out an event itinerary that best serves your objectives — whether that’s chatting with experts, attending product demos, or participating in networking events. A carefully planned schedule strategically aligned with your professional and learning goals will ensure your time at your event is both enjoyable and worthwhile.

Learn Salesforce through YouTube channels and Podcasts

YouTube channels and podcasts can provide you with diverse perspectives, emerging trends, and real-world insights that might not be covered in formal training. Some of the channels you can explore include:

• Salesforce Apex Hours
• Salesforce Admins
• Salesforce Support
• Salesforce Developers
• Salesforce Architects
• Salesforce Emily
• Automation Champion
• Salesforce Mentor – Walters954
• Terry’s Tidbits
• David Massey
• and more

If you want to learn through the convenience of listening, there’s no shortage of informative and engaging Salesforce podcasts to choose from. The Salesforce Developer podcast, for example, is dedicated to providing “short and insightful stories from developers, for developers”. They interview diverse people from the Salesforce ecosystem, with the shows being bitesize — around 15-30 minutes — and covering topics like the cutting-edge applications of AI in software development, JavaScript career development, and test automation using MaxTAF, to name a few. Alternatively, the Salesforce Admins podcast features real-life Salesforce Admins, product managers, and community leaders who transform businesses, careers, and communities with Salesforce.

Follow Salesforce Influencers on LinkedIn

Another way to learn Salesforce is by following Salesforce experts on LinkedIn, and benefiting from a continuous stream of industry insights, developments, and best practices while building your professional network at the same time.

When it comes to finding influencers to follow, you can start by checking out the following experts:

• Adam Olshansky
• Ben McCarthy
• Christine Marshall
• David Massey
• David Scott Nava
• Emily Call
• Mark Good
• Vanessa Grant
• Pablo Gonzalez
• Steven Trumble
• Bradley Rice
• and more!

Learn Salesforce through Hands-on Projects

Once you’ve got the foundations of the Salesforce ecosystem down, you’ll be ready to move from novice to next-level, progressing you further on your Salesforce learning and certification journey. Working on your own hands-on Salesforce projects, for example, is a great way to apply and solidify your knowledge, gain practical experience, and showcase your skills to employers or clients. So, you may want to try customizing page layouts, building custom objects, reports and dashboards, or creating validation rules — key tasks that help streamline processes and tailor Salesforce to the unique workflow of a business.

Once you’re ready to move on to something a little more complex, you can start exploring and creating formulas and Salesforce Flows to automate processes and customize the platform to your needs without the need for programming. Practicing in dev org also gives you a safe and isolated space for testing, experimenting, and honing your skills. So, any mistakes or changes you make won’t be impacting a live Salesforce environment.

Ultimately, whether you decide to follow a more traditional route or blaze your high-paced educational trail toward Salesforce certification, the payoff is substantial in terms of increased opportunities. Once you achieve mastery status within this learning platform, connecting with mentorships or professionals actively leveraging Salesforce technology becomes a valuable resource. Understanding what works best for each individual will help maximize potential successes down the line, regardless of the method chosen on their unique quest for professional certification and utilizing all that Salesforce has to offer.