Navigating the Salesforce Interface

Now that we've covered the basics of Salesforce and CRM systems, let's dive into the platform itself. I'll walk you through the key elements of Salesforce's interface, but keep in mind that your screen might look slightly different from mine. Here’s why:

Salesforce Versions

There's a very real possibility that your salesforce does not look like mine! This is because in 2024, Salesforce started depreciating older versions. Now, if you go to download salesforce, the old versions are entirely inaccessible.

So I'll be using Salesforce Lightning 2.0, is the most recent update as of 2024. This is the only layout you have access to if you create a new accounts and it will likely be around for a while. Even if we're both using Lightning 2.0, your Salesforce might still look different! Salesforce is highly configurable, meaning your employer or client might have customized the platform to suit their business needs. Features may be rearranged, hidden, or added, but the fundamentals remain the same.

The Home Screen

On the Home screen, you'll typically see a snapshot of your daily activities, key performance indicators (KPIs), calendar events, and relevant dashboards. This layout is customizable, allowing you to prioritize the information you find most important.

Contacts

The Contacts tab is where individual customer details live. You can sort and filter contact lists in various ways, allowing easy access to your needed data. While this tab may look sparse now, we'll populate it as we go.

Accounts

The Accounts tab is geared towards managing business or organization information, making it especially valuable for business-to-business (B2B) activities. Just like in the Contacts tab, you can sort and filter account details.

Sales Tab

Salesforce users spend a lot of time in the Sales tab, which organizes customer data and provides various interaction points for managing sales activities. We'll work with this feature extensively as we proceed.

Service Tab

The Service tab houses tools for customer support and issue resolution. It includes features like Quick Texts, which are pre-written email templates to streamline responses. You'll also find the Knowledge Base here, which is a self-help resource for customers. There's far more here which we'll examine later.

Marketing

In the Marketing section, you can create campaigns, segment customers based on demographics, and build workflows. You'll also find consent management tools here, allowing you to track opt-in and opt-out status for mailing lists—an essential feature for legal compliance.

Commerce

The Commerce tab lets you manage products, accept payments, and handle various aspects of e-commerce directly within Salesforce.

Your Account

At the bottom of the interface, you'll find the Account section, where you can manage your Salesforce plan, licenses, and billing information.

Quick Settings and Setup

One more essential tool: the Quick Settings (or Setup) cog in the top corner. Formerly called Setup, this is your gateway to advanced settings and customization options. Within Setup, you can configure and personalize Salesforce to match business needs. This feature provides a powerful Quick Find search bar, making it easy to locate specific settings or features, such as email configurations.

In the next chapter, we'll examine the specific challenges EcoMarket Deliveries faces and see how Salesforce can help address them. See you there!