Salesforce CRM: The Definitive Admin Handbook

I'm old enough to remember when buying a new widget or a piece of software meant receiving an instruction manual. Now, if you're fortunate, there might be a single page quick start guide.  Even with the proliferation of on line documentation, forums, and the ever present Google search, there is nothing like a well written, consistent, authoritative book to take a new Salesforce.com administrator by the hand and lead her in the paths of good practice.

Paul Goodey's "Salesforce CRM: The Definitive Admin Handbook" is just such a guide. Weighing in at 340+ pages, chocked full of screen shots, and useful diagrams, this tome is the antitheses of the Dummies or Idiot's books.  In here, you find no cartoons, jokes, or light hearted banter.  Instead, every page is packed with solid, useful, information.  This is the book that Salesforce should give to every new customer, if only to cut down on calls to their support lines.

Goodey sets out the chapters in a logical order, starting with "Getting Started with the Salesforce CRM Application:  Organization Administration".  He moves the reader through the process of user logins, company profile, and interface.  Each chapter builds on the previous in roughly the order an administrator would create and roll out a new org.  Unlike others, he gets down to the fine details that often confuse new users.  For example, a detailed discussion of Standard versus Custom Fiscal Years is included. 

If all this book did was help a new admin get her org off the ground, it would be worth the price, but it goes much further.  Chapter five is devoted to data analytics.  In here, the author dives deeply into the world of reports, formulas, dashboards, and filters.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  These are the parts that are visible to the end user and will to a large extent, determine how successful the deployment will be perceived.  

Chapter six walks the new(er) admin down the path of business processes, including workflows, approvals, and alerts.  This is a treacherous zone where Salesforce shows both its power and its peril.  A well built process and rule set can make life easier for the users and accelerate sales and support cycles.  A poorly implemented workflow on the other hand, is like a clumsy knife juggler performing on a life raft--always one instant away from disaster.  Goodey does an admirable job of not only getting the technical details correct on a complex topic, but in laying down basic principles for gathering the data needed to build the steps.

The next chapter, seven, dips a toe into campaign, lead, account, contact, and case management.  This is perhaps the least satisfactory chapter, not for any defect in writing, but because each of the sub-topics warrants a book on its own.  Still, the introduction is sufficient for the nature of this work and the author is accurate in his comments.  Hard to ask for more in a general manual.

Eight is an interesting section.  He introduces the reader to mashups, Visualforce, Apex code, and triggers.  Even more than the proceeding chapter, these items are wickedly nuanced and need many more pages to fully immerse an admin in their care and feeding.  The chapter does well giving an overview and builds a solid enough footing for the reader to go out and learn more on her own.

The only criticisms I have are minor.  First, being a printed book, it is outdated as soon as the ink dries.  For example, on page 73, the method of granting administrative access is no longer fully accurate.  A minor point, but the reader should use some caution to verify with current documentation, before depending on printed matter.  Second, I think it could have benefited by an appendix directing us to the huge amount of on line resources available.

Who is this book for?  Let's start with who it is not suited for:

1.  If you like funny cartoons and amusing examples

2.  If you need someone to explain to you what the "internet" is

3.  If you are a normal, non-admin, user of Salesforce.com

Who is it suited for:

1.  If you are an new(er) admin or a very advanced power user of Salesforce.com

2.  You are considering switching to Salesforce.com from another CRM system and want an overview of the technical aspects

3.  If you are an experienced admin and you want a quick refresher or a good reference book

Overall, I give "Salesforce CRM: The Definitive Admin Handbook" by Paul Goodey, 5 of 5 stars.