Tag: Mason Frank

2020 has been a year of change. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on many, and its side-effects have re-shaped the way we live, communicate, learn and ultimately, the way we work. The Salesforce ecosystem hasn’t been an exception. It’s hard to imagine what the future will look like, but it’s worth having a look at the trends that have shaped the Salesforce universe during these past months if we want to be as prepared as possible. This is why it’s a good time to have a look at Mason Frank’s Salary Survey – the largest independent Salesforce market report worldwide. Mason Frank International is a global leader in Salesforce Recruitment, and their yearly study gives us independent insights into the latest market trends and salaries across the ecosystem. The report delves into topics such as how professionals feel about their jobs and employers, work perks, certifications and diversity, and also looks at salaries in different roles globally. Here are some key findings from the report.

Experience vs education

Let’s start off with something of an eternal dilemma – when it comes to employability, which is more valuable, experience or education? If you’re looking to increase your earning potential as a Salesforce professional, experience seems to be deemed essential, with 90% of survey respondents naming it as the most important factor. That, together with exposure to large projects and Salesforce certifications, seem to be the top-ranked aspects that increase your earning potential. 

In contrast, having a university degree is considered important by just half of the survey’s participants. Formal education can lay the groundwork for a range of skills—communication and problem-solving just to name a couple—but with Salesforce being such a broad, evolving industry, experience and product knowledge seem to be better indicators of whether or not a candidate is suited to a particular post. 

Which Salesforce certifications will increase your pay? 

We’ve mentioned certifications being an important factor for career progression, but the real question is: which certifications are most likely to help with development and earning potential? The Technical Architect certification tops the Mason Frank Salary Survey list, with Salesforce professionals considering it to be the certification most likely to boost your pay for the second year in a row. 

This qualification is still very much a rare one within the ecosystem, making it highly sought-after by employers across the globe. This certification shows the depth and breadth of a candidate’s Salesforce knowledge and demonstrates the ability to deliver optimized solutions across the entire platform. The qualification is intense, and requires some serious commitment and investment, but as with any challenge, it’ll yield rewards if you put the work in. 

Let’s talk perks

We usually think of salary as one of the most significant factors affecting a candidate’s decision at that all-important offer stage. However, employers and job seekers alike should not underestimate the value of employee benefits. 

Many of the benefits enjoyed by Salesforce professionals, according to Mason Frank, are either the ones supporting employees outside of the workplace, such as health and medical insurance, and retirement savings plans, or perks aimed at improving that coveted work-life balance, such as homeworking or flexible working. Other perks topping the lists are training and development opportunities, and naturally, bonuses. The value associated to each of these perks depends on many factors—but making sure your employer offers a robust benefits package as well as competitive salary will truly pay off. 

Working from home 

What was previously considered a more of a perk has become more or less the default following the coronavirus pandemic. Pre-pandemic, 21% of permanent professionals who took part in the Mason Frank Salary Survey worked from home on a full-time basis, while 62% worked from home at least once a week. These both increased during the pandemic, with 84% working remotely full-time, and 97% working from home at least one day a week. 

Remote working definitely comes with its own set of pros and cons, and anyone currently experiencing it may have their own thoughts and concerns. However, what the remote working boom has surely done is open up roles to new, more diverse hiring pools, which is good news for anyone looking for a job and great news for employers looking to hire Salesforce talent in such a competitive market. 

Salesforce Salaries

We’ve spoken about how to maximize your earning potential, but how much are Salesforce professionals actually earning? Compensation benchmarking is beneficial to job seekers as it helps them gauge whether or not their salary is on par with their qualifications, skills, and experience, allowing them to make an informed decision when looking for fresh opportunities. 

It’s also interesting to look at salary benchmarking when considering re-location. Evaluating job proposals abroad can be quite tricky when you’re not sure if the salary on offer matches up to the standard of living, or whether it really is competitive in that country. For instance, a junior functional permanent consultant’s salary starts at an average of €23,000 in Italy, while that same role starts off at €48,000 in Germany, €35,000 in France and €47,000 in Ireland. It’s also worth looking at salary benchmarking if you feel like you haven’t seen a salary increase over some years, or if you’re not sure that increase matches up with your years of experience, qualifications, and ultimately, the current standard of living. For instance, the same junior functional permanent consultant salary started at €20,000 last year – an increase of €3,000 in the Italian market over just one year.

The Mason Frank Salary Survey 2020/21 is an excellent resource to learn all about the salary and benefits Salesforce professionals expect and receive today. It’s also packed with useful tips on how to maximize your earning potential as a Trailblazer, bringing you that one step closer to your dream job. Download the full report and get the most current snapshot of the Salesforce Ecosystem. 

 
Given the rate at which Salesforce has grown over the last five years, sometimes it can be difficult for professionals to get a measure of where they fit into the ecosystem and what they are worth. What’s more, it’s important to be aware of what Salesforce’s vast user base is saying about the technology, so you can decide how to move forward in your career based on product adoption and patterns in the market.

The Mason Frank Salary Survey is the largest annual independent study of the Salesforce community. It is an invaluable resource for Salesforce professionals, partners, and customers looking to gather insights into the working culture of the technology ecosystem, and to benchmark salaries, benefits and market trends.

Here is a selection of findings from the 2018/19 survey report, with context on what this means for you as a Salesforce professional and how you can use the information to better your career standing.

An Italian in Salesforce

While commentary on Salesforce usually focuses on the USA and UK, the ecosystem extends all across Europe. Professionals working in Italy will be pleased to learn that their salaries are in line with the industry standard and, in some cases, are higher than one would expect in other major European countries.

For example, a junior-level technical/functional consultant in Italy can expect to earn around €34,000, which is the same as in the Netherlands, but €1,000 more than in Spain. However, it’s substantially lower than in Germany, where a junior technical/functional consultant can expect to earn around €62,000. If you’re willing to travel to find a new permanent contract, Germany would be a good place to look!

Specialist roles are very well paid in Italy. A junior-level Technical Architect can expect to earn around €40,000, which is €6,000 higher than in France. Solution architects are also clearly in high demand, as a junior-level profession of this specialism can earn up to €76,000. For perspective, a junior-level solution architect in the UK earns in the region of £60,000, which converts to around €68,000.

Which Salesforce product is the most in-demand?

One of the more exciting elements of working with Salesforce technology is the way the platform keeps evolving by developing new and innovative solutions for businesses around the world. The downside of this for Salesforce professionals is that if you don’t catch wind of industry trends, you can soon be left behind.

Salesforce is ultimately a sales-centric platform, so it may come as no surprise to learn that the most popular standalone Salesforce product is still Sales Cloud—82% of respondents to the Mason Frank Salary Survey reported proficiency in Sales Cloud, compared to Service Cloud (63%), Community Cloud (44%), and Marketing Cloud (31%).

The popularity of Sales Cloud shows no signs of dwindling, with 52% of respondents indicating that Sales Cloud was the most in-demand product over the last year. Despite being the least prominent of the major Salesforce products, Marketing Cloud was predicted to be the most in-demand product over the next 12 months. This could be attributed to Salesforce’s recent acquisition of Mulesoft, which will make it easier than ever to harness and utilize customer data across multiple Salesforce products.

Where do Salesforce professionals work?

With Salesforce being a cloud-based CRM, the ability to access data online makes it far easier to find remote permanent and contract roles. Despite this, 89% of respondents to Mason Frank’s salary survey were employed on a permanent, full-time basis. It’s an interesting finding given the value and accessibility of the contract market in Salesforce.

Salesforce is the world’s number one CRM for a reason, and there is a substantial number of businesses around the world now utilizing products from the Salesforce business suite. In fact, 50% of all respondents indicated they work for an end user/Salesforce customer, with 41% working for a partner.

What is the experience level of the average Salesforce professional?

Experienced Salesforce professionals are in high demand, with employers always on the hunt for skilled and experienced pros to lead projects and implementations. The majority of professionals working in the ecosystem have between zero and six years of experience; 37% reported 0–3 years’ experience, while another 37% reported 4–6 years of experience. Only 6% of respondents to the Mason Frank study have over 10 years of experience on the Salesforce platform. If you are one of these professionals, you are part of a very exclusive group!

Are you a Trailblazer? If so, what rank are you? Did you know that around 22% of Salesforce professionals hold more than 100 Trailhead badges? This demonstrates the success and growth of Trailhead, given that just 9% of respondents to Mason Frank’s salary survey last year reported holding over 100 badges.

As well as Trailhead, Salesforce professionals have also embraced the technology’s certification structure, with 77% of respondents to the survey now holding at least one certification. As you would expect, the most popular certification is the entry-level Salesforce Certified Administrator credential, while just 6% were a Marketing Cloud Certified Email Specialist.

If you are not yet certified, you may be interested in learning that 39% of respondents reported an increase in salary after gaining certification. This could be a fantastic way to increase your earning potential, particularly as 75% of certified respondents reported that their employer contributed to the cost of certification—it’s an even better investment if you’re not paying for it!

What to take from this information

We can take several things from these findings. Firstly, becoming a Sales Cloud expert is a safe bet—it’s the most popular standalone Salesforce product by far, and given its dominance in the CRM market, it’s never going to go away.

By contrast, Marketing Cloud is predicted to be the most in-demand product over the next 12 months, and given that only 6% of respondents were a Marketing Cloud Certified Email Specialist, this could well be a niche worth exploring if you haven’t yet settled on a specialism.

If you are already deep into your Salesforce career, always be mindful of how much your experience is worth. Download Mason Frank’s 2018/19 Salesforce salary survey in full for a detailed exploration of salaries, sorted by location, role, technology, and level of experience.