Salesforce Admin: Mary Tagler

Why did you become an Admin?

I was told “No.” When we implemented Salesforce at my company, and I had to keep the lights on for our org. I started spending more time on administering it, and I got excited about all the things I could do with the platform. Then my boss told me to stop, that it wasn’t part of my job. That fired me up, and I was determined to prove that I could take on the challenge of being our Salesforce Admin. I got invested in learning the platform and showed that I could do what we were paying outside consultants to do for us.

What is the most important skill for an Admin?

Curiosity is the most important quality of an Admin. You need to always ask why to understand your business, your users, and the Salesforce ecosystem. The more you understand how Salesforce works and what your users think, the more empowered you are to improve your users’ experience.

Admins also have to stay current. There is always so much to learn, so take the opportunity to go outside your comfort zone and learn new skills. One of my goals is to push myself to learn how to use features that our company doesn’t even use so that I can be a more well-rounded Admin. As you learn, give back to the Salesforce community by sharing what you know to help someone else.

What’s your favorite thing about being an Admin?

I love building things. I’ve always been someone who likes to get my hands dirty, so getting to build something that people use gives me a sense of accomplishment. Seeing people use my work is very satisfying.