Greetings #ConfidentConsultant's how do you describe what you do as a Salesforce Consultant to your family and friends? Is there an analogy you use that doesn't leave them wishing they hadn't asked you?
I tell people that I am like a personal trainer (PT) or fitness instructor for businesses. Just as a PT needs to know your current level of fitness, and your fitness goals, a Salesofrce Consultant (SC) needs to understand where a business is and where that business wants to go. To determine your current level of fitness a PT would examine a number of key performance (fitness) indicators (KPI’s), such as, resting heart rate, weight, body mass index, age, flexibility, etc., similarly an SC needs to analyze the business KPI’s to determine its current level of health, i.e. profitability, year-over-year growth rates, cost of sales/goods, service response times, etc.
Knowing where you are and where you want to go (and how fast) a PT/SC will put together the most appropriate fitness/business plan that balances what you are capable of today and what you want to be capable of in the future. A PT/SC needs to be forthright with you on what is possible given your current fitness level, i.e., if you haven’t run in years and you tell your PT that you want to train for a marathon that is happening in thirty days, the PT would be doing you a favor by telling you that you need to choose a more realistic goal. Similarly, an SF will provide guidance on whether the business goals being discussed are achievable given the state of the business today, resource availability (time, people, dollars), to achieve the new level of business health.
The final analogy I use is to have them think about the Salesforce platform as a gym, which contains an array of highly specialized machines designed to improve one or more parts of their fitness/business. There are machines for cardio, strength, flexibility, and more, we call them clouds (Sales, Service, Marketing, etc). Depending on the business area(s) we are focusing on improving will determine which fitness machines (clouds) will be leveraged to achieve your business goals. Ideally, at some point, the entire value of the gym will be employed to achieve ever-higher levels of business health.
A great PT/SC ensures you have realistic expectations, the right equipment, and the best exercise plan (not too lite and not too aggressive) to achieve your goals. A great PT/SC is a guide, motivator, and accountability partner.
