Category Archives: Consulting

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Tami Esling

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This is the fourteenth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Salesforce MVP Tami Esling.

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What’s your job title? Senior Salesforce Consultant, SaaS Consulting Group.

What does that mean you do? I perform a variety of tasks from directing clients and colleagues towards Salesforce education (Trailhead is a must!) to full Salesforce implementations.  I receive so much joy in watching others grow and learn or completing an implementation that makes my client’s life easier.  There is never an end to learning or helping others in the Salesforce world!. (EFD – Trailhead rocks! If you didn’t see my post introducing Chris Duarte, check it out. She’s the reason Trailhead is so awesome!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Five years. (EFD – That’s a decent amount of time…in Salesforce Years!)

Bacon or sausage?  Its bacon or nothing!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  I think it’s a bit of both.  Connections are so important, but I also think you have to have the knowledge (or a strong desire to learn) to best help others and meet your goals. (EFD – I love how you worded that: you have to have the knowledge…to best help other and meet your goals. Very interesting that you put helping others ahead of meeting your goals!)

How did our relationship start, and when? If you’re on the Salesforce Community, then you probably “know” Eric Dreshfield.  That is how it all began.  Then I had the privilege to meet you in person at the MVP Summit in 2015. (EFD –                         <- see that? You rendered me speechless. It was truly my honor and privilege to meet you…and our online relationship started when I joined the Certification study group you facilitated. I must admit, I wasn’t the best student. I didn’t keep up with the homework, and in the end, that’s probably part of why I’m still “un-certified” today.)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I have skydived and plan to take another jump in 2016. (EFD – I’ve jumped out of plenty of airplanes…but they were all sitting on the ground when I did it. I’m guessing you did it at somewhere near 10,000 feet!)

You can find Tami on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Ryan Headley

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This is the twelfth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Salesforce MVP, and musician, Ryan Headley.

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What’s your job title? Senior IT Consultant, Radial Web, Inc.

What does that mean you do? Radial Web does custom Salesforce development, implementations and integrations. My job is mainly all things development, but there are times when I do admin stuff as well. (EFD – So you start with customer requirements, do your magic and build a solution that meets their needs. Smoke & mirrors, that’s your secret, isn’t it?)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Just over 2 years. (EFD – Wow, dude! Only two years in the ecosystem and you’re already an MVP and you have been on stage at Dreamforce? What’s left to do? I know…plenty, right?)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both? Don’t make me decide!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Who. My old boss used to say: I don’t know, but I know YOU know. That’s all I need to know. (EFD – But what do you do if you don’t know anyone who knows what you need to know, you know? I know! Enter the Salesforce Success Community! There’s ALWAYS someone there in the know!)

How did our relationship start, and when? I think we first started following each other on Twitter sometime during early 2014. Then we met in person at the Community Keynote at Dreamforce 2014. (EFD – Ah yes, loved Erica Kuhl’s state of the community address.)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I travelled the country as a young child while my parents toured in a bluegrass gospel band called The Pathfinders (EFD – That’s cool! So your musical abilities came naturally!)

You can find Ryan on Twitter and be sure to check out his blog: Sudo Vi.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Amber Boaz

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This is the eleventh post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Salesforce MVP, Amber Boaz.

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What’s your job title? Project Manager, Code Science

What does that mean you do? I manage projects. I wrangle developers, designers, and clients. I keep projects on time and under budget while beating back scope creep. I schedule conference calls which I begin with “who just joined?” I nag about timecards and expense reports. I deliver value for my clients.  (EFD – “Who just joined?” – Three of the most often said words. “I deliver value” – Three words more people should say when describing what they do!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Since 2008. (EFD – That’s just a year longer than me.)

Bacon or sausage?  Eww…a pork product? No thank you!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Not sure that’s an “either/or” thing. It’s a combo. You have to know who to talk to, but then you’ve got to be competent in the conversation. (EFD – Ah…the combo! Is that kind of like the Progressive Insurance bundle?)

How did our relationship start, and when? I don’t remember, but I’m sure it was epic! (EFD – Hmmm…I don’t remember for sure either, which makes me wonder how epic it could have been. It could have been totally forgettable, or so awesomely EPIC that we have blocked it from our memory. Either way, I’m thrilled to know you!)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? Myers-Briggs says I’m an Introvert. (EFD – Wait, what? You just defined oxymoron! You know, things like Jumbo Shrimp, Honest Politician, Military Intelligence, Amber Introvert. And just in case any military people or politicians are reading this, settle down…its just a joke. I meant no harm!)

You can find Amber on Twitter. And when you tweet her, be sure to ask what the 9904 means. I’ve never gotten a straight answer, so please share yours with me!

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Taylor Grimes

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This is the tenth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Taylor Grimes.

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What’s your job title? Salesforce Consultant, Cheshire Impact

What does that mean you do?  I help clients engineer the lead to revenue lifecycle through Salesforce architecture and Marketing Automation enablement.  I help with marketing and sales processes during Salesforce implementations, managed services and custom projects tackling unique pain points. (EFD – I have some unique pain points, but that might just be from being old!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Five years. (EFD – So in ‘Salesforce years’ you are a relative rookie, but have seen some incredible improvements!)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both? Don’t make me decide!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Who you know, every leg up I’ve gotten throughout my career in Salesforce is because someone smarter than me took the time to explain an answer which then became knowledge I helped share too. It’s a grassroots community empowering everyone who has a desire to learn 🙂 (EFD – Ahhh…the community in action. That’s awesome!)

How did our relationship start, and when? I started following you when I read your blog on becoming an MVP.  (EFD – so that would have been in April, 2013. I found out that I became an MVP the day after my birthday. What a present, huh? Oh…and in case anyone missed that blog, here it is!

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I went to a college prep boarding school for athletes in Faribault, MN right outside the Twin Cities.  Shattuck St. Mary’s focused on building a competitive environment for nurturing student athletes.  Alumnus include the great Marlon Brando, Sydney Crosby from the Penguins, Johnny Toews of the Blackhawks, Derek Stephan of the NY Rangers, or the countless AMAZING women on Team USA and many more. (If the Shattuck St. Mary’s google alerts find this article, my apologies for those left out who are worthy of a shout out 😉 ).  I used to think the highlight of my life would be saying I went to high school with the best of the best as I humbly cheer on my friends while they made it to Olympic levels, until I found my Salesforce network.  Now I’m a part of a group so powerful and exciting that I don’t have to just look back fondly at my time in high school, I’m excited for my future and what I can do for Women in Technology paving my own trail.  It may not be as glorious as a Gold Medal or Stanley Cup, but for me the growth in my career with Salesforce is more than I could have ever hoped for as a girl from Nebraska with a dream to find my calling. (EFD – There are some people who will be more impressed at what this girl from Nebraska has done, compared to winning an Olympic Gold Medal or the Stanley Cup….I’m one of those people.)

You can find Taylor on Twitter.

CRM Market – This is Going to Shake Things Up!

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There’s a new platform in town and it’s about to shake up how Salesforce projects get done!

From the mind of Tal Frankfurt, CEO and founder of Cloud for Good, comes CRM Market, a new community marketplace designed to connect Salesforce consultants with Salesforce projects, with the goal of building and delivering quality at an affordable rate.  But wait…there’s more to this platform than just connecting projects and consultants.  WAY MORE!

CRM Market goes way beyond simply being a bulletin board for Salesforce projects. CRM Market automatically verifies Salesforce certifications of listed consultants so you don’t have to worry that your project will be done right. CRM Market is for any size project from a few hours of training, to a series of complex reports and dashboards, all the way up to a full blown implementation and conversion of data from a legacy system.

CRM Market is easy to register for, as a consultant and as a company needing help with a project. On the company side, CRM Market offers tips on how to write a great project description so there are no surprises later. Tips like be sure to define the nature of your project, what milestones need to be accomplished and what your expected timeline is. CRM Market even reviews your project definition and milestones to make help you write a clear and concise project. While on the consultant side, CRM Market gives visibility to Salesforce certifications automatically, allows the consultant to include a short biography and description of experience.  As CRM Market gains traction and use, consultants will be able to review companies, and companies will be able to review consultants, all out in the open so that those looking for their next job or consultant will have complete visibility to previous efforts.

Once a project has been submitted by a company, consultants can bid on the project. Here’s where it gets interesting. There’s a communications channel that the consultants can use to ask questions of the companies prior to placing a bid on a project. CRM Market monitors all communications to make sure that no one is trying to skirt the process and award a project outside the platform.  It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep everything within CRM Market. That’s really where the power of this marketplace comes from.

CRM Market aims to help collaboration between companies and consultants by facilitating the discovery of talent and needs. Every connection that is made in CRM Market, helps companies grow and succeed, while helping drive a consultant’s career forward by allowing everyone to focus on their mission and not technology.

CRM Market – Connect. Build. Deliver.

CRM Market – democratizing the way Salesforce projects get done.

For complete details, please visit http://crmmarket.com and follow CRM Market on Twitter.

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