How and Why You Should Choose a Certified Consultant

Why do Certifications Matter? 

When it comes to choosing a consultant for hire, it can feel overwhelming. Who do you choose and who do you trust? How do you make the right decision? 

While you may not need a certification to become a consultant, many consultants get certifications to show qualifications for a certain platform or skill set. Just like college degrees have diplomas, skills and SaaS platforms have training and academy programs with certifications/licenses as the result of successfully demonstrating a specific level of knowledge. 

As you search for a consultant to help with your Salesforce or BMC Remedyforce platforms (since that’s what we know best), it might be tempting to go with a specialist or consultant that isn’t Salesforce of BMC certified. Maybe it’s someone you were referred to or that offers a lower rate. As Salesforce and BMC Certified consultants ourselves, we wanted to share why YOU benefit from working with certified consultants, both across the board and specifically with Salesforce and BMC certifications. 

The Benefits of Certified Consultants 

Demonstrates intensive knowledge about that product:  

Technically, anyone can say that they are proficient and able to act as consult for just about anything. Case in point, according to a survey by Ladders, nearly 30% of responders said they either bent the truth or outright lied on their resume. Certifications act as the proof behind the claims that fill up someone’s resume.  

Equally important, if you’re bringing on a consultant or a contractor to help you optimize and improve your Salesforce system, don’t you want to be certain that person actually knows how to use Salesforce at and beyond an administrator level? Seeing that a consultant is Salesforce certified backs up the consultant’s claims. 

Demonstrates real-life application of on-the-job knowledge

Knowledge may be power, but wisdom only comes from actual experiences. Salesforce and BMC certifications rely heavily on actual product usage and experiences to succeed. Someone who has read through the BMC blogs or the Salesforce how-to guides may know the theory behind the exam’s questions, but not the all-important practical applications of providing excellent service and implementations. 

Again, when it comes to your business, it’s important to entrust your Salesforce and BMC platforms to people who not only understand how they work, but how to work effectively within the systems themselves. 

Salesforce certified consultants get early access to the latest and greatest

In a more specific example, people who are Salesforce certified get some extra perks that you, as the client, get to benefit from. These features include things like beta tests, developer sandboxes, and updates, which means that you reap the benefits of gaining early access. 

When there is a new feature or product that can be of benefit to you and your company, a certified consultant will put your interests first, and may be able to work with early trials and beta testing on those features. You never know if that could be a major benefit to your business! 

BMC Certified Associates have demonstrated knowledge of the highest practice standards

On the BMC side of things, their BMC certified associates have to showcase an elevated level of knowledge and skill regarding best practices. This means that you can be confident in the work done by specialists, contractors, and consultants who have this certification. These best practices demonstrate technical knowledge and skills on how to ensure solutions are effectively implemented. 

Even if an individual is familiar with the BMC platform, it’s still recommended that they study and prepare for six weeks prior to taking the exam. This isn’t a one and done certification course and test that takes an hour to complete one afternoon. Just like with the Salesforce certifications (there are currently over 25!), these certifications require demonstrable grasp of the necessary skills in order to succeed. And that means peace of mind for you and your business. 

How to Choose a Certified Consultant 

Naturally, we’ll point to ourselves first when it comes to Salesforce and BMC certified consultants. We work with a wide range of businesses in providing and implementing solutions and support for your platforms, when and where you need them. 

If you aren’t sold on the Oceanforce Solutions experience just yet, here are a few questions to ask when reviewing candidates: 

1. Previous Consultancy Experiences: Who and where have they been a consultant or contractor for in the past?
2. Current Certifications: What certifications do they have now? Are they all up-to-date or have they expired?
3. Previous Job Experiences: Where did they work and what did they do before they became a consultant?
4. Case Studies: What examples can they provide of implementations and solutions they’ve done in the past?
5. The Services They Provide: What solutions are they selling to you now? Are you looking for someone who can do it all, or come in and fix things as needed? 

These questions will provide some of the necessary insight you need to choose the right consultant for the task you have at hand. 

About Oceanforce Solutions 

Oceanforce Solutions is a certified Salesforce.com consulting, implementation and support firm. Our approach to Salesforce.com delivers solutions that support the way you do business, integrates seamlessly with your other IT investments, and gets adopted by your end users. A successful Salesforce.com implementation is about more than just loading up the system and turning it on. We understand your complex business models and design solutions tailored specifically to your environment. 

BMC Remedyforce helps speed response time and improves productivity by incorporating IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices. Oceanforce brings years of experience designing, building and supporting BMC Remedyforce installations globally. Oceanforce provides guidance and expertise for CIOs and IT leaders. Our solutions cover “Health Checks”, custom design & installation, release upgrades & support and end-user training.