A Salesforce administrator is responsible for resolving business problems, and customizing the platform according to client requirements. He has to work with the stakeholders and ensure that users from non-technical backgrounds can navigate the platform.
Salesforce administrator is one of the in-demand job positions at the moment. You can apply for this profile by completing the Salesforce admin training and preparing for interviews. Today, we will discuss the top 30 interview questions for this profile. We have divided the questions into 5 separate sections for your better understanding.
CRM Basics & Cloud Computing
This is an important topic in Salesforce admin training and holds a lot of weightage in an interview.
Explain CRM
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a platform that is responsible for automating business operations. By using this platform, a business can acquire and retain customers, and offer value to them. It can provide a comprehensive view of team performance, revenues, and profits.
What is the difference between Salesforce.com and Force.com?
Salesforce.com and Force.com differ when it comes to functionality, Salesforce mainly works on CRM functionality, while Force.com can be used for data model customization.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the process of storing and running data and applications on the cloud, instead of relying on hard drives and servers.
What is PaaS?
In PaaS, otherwise known as Platform as a Service, the service provider will rent out features like Operating Systems, hardware, storage, and network on a subscription-based plan.
What is SaaS?
In SaaS (Software as a Service), the cloud service provider will provide the software to develop a business-specific application.
Explain Salesforce editions
Starter: The Starter edition offers sales, service, and marketing functionalities in one package.
Professional: This is the best option for businesses that require complete CRM functionality.
Enterprise: The best option for large and complex businesses, as it comes with advanced customization and administration tools.
Unlimited: Allows businesses to maximize the benefits of the Salesforce Lightning Platform.
Developer: Can provide access to the Lightning Platform and APIs
Salesforce Admin Basics
In this section, we will have a glimpse into the fundamental questions regarding the Salesforce admin profile.
What is a tab in Salesforce?
Tabs in Salesforce allow users to see all the information in one place to have a quick glance. There are four types of tabs, namely:
- Standard object tabs
- Custom tabs
- Web tabs
- Visualforce tabs
What is the difference between a role and a profile in Salesforce?
| Profile | Role |
| Profiles can control what a user can do with Salesforce objects | A role, on the other hand, can specify how a user can access a record and the level of access |
| Allows users to perform CRED (Create, Read, Edit, and Delete) functions | A role will control the hierarchy of record access of a user. |
What is an object? What are the different types of objects in Salesforce.com?
An object acts like a database table which can be used to store organization data. There are two types of objects in Salesforce, standard objects, and custom objects. Standard objects are system-built, and custom objects are usually created by the user.
What are fields in Salesforce?
Fields represent the columns in a relational database, and they store values for a particular object in a record. There are two types of fields in Salesforce, standard fields, and custom fields.
Name some field data types in Salesforce
Auto number: The field section will accept a unique number for a record.
Checkbox: Allows people to click on a checkbox, and it indicates either a true or false attribute.
Currency: It will only accept currency amounts.
Date/ Time: Enables users to submit a date or time in the field
Email: Allows people to submit email addresses (80 characters)
Relationships
Relationships are integral to Salesforce and can be tricky to understand. Here are some of the questions you may need to prepare before going through an interview.
What are the different types of relationships in Salesforce?
Salesforce relationships are fundamental concepts you have to learn as a Salesforce Admin. There are 6 types of relationships in Salesforce, these are:
- Self Relationship
- Lookup Relationship
- Master-detail Relationship
- Many-to-many Relationship
- Hierarchical Relationship
- External Relationship
What is a “Master-Detail” Relationship in Salesforce?
The Master-Detail is a type of parent-child relationship where the child object is dependent on the parent object. This means if the master object is deleted, then the child object is also deleted. In this relationship, roll-up summary fields can be created.
What is a Lookup Relationship?
A lookup relationship in Salesforce where the parent and child are loosely coupled, and the child can reference (or lookup) records in the parent object.
What is a Junction Object?
A junction object is a type of custom object that can be used to create many-many relationships and link an instance to many child records, and each child to multiple parents.
What is a Roll-up summary field?
A roll-up summary field will calculate the values from related fields of a child object using functions like COUNT, SUM, MIN, and MAX, and displays them in the parent object.
What is a self-relationship?
Self-relationship is a lookup relationship where the object is in relation to itself.
Reports & Dashboards
As a Salesforce admin, you have to work on reports and dashboards. Here are some of the questions you may face during an interview:
What are the different types of reports in Salesforce?
These are the type of Salesforce reports you would work with:
- Tabular report: Shows data in the form of a list
- Summary report: Data is presented in a summary format
- Matrix report: Data is shown in a matrix format
- Joined report: Allows users to create multiple reports
- Trend report: Shows historical data
What is a dashboard?
A dashboard is an area where a user can view reports and graphs in Salesforce.
What are the different dashboard components in Salesforce?
A dashboard will have components that can be used to create visual charts, such as graphs, metrics, Visualforce pages, and tables.
What is a dynamic dashboard?
Dynamic dashboards are used to show a particular set of metrics all across the organization. There are two setting options that you can use, “Run as specified user” and “Run as Logged-in user”. You can create 5 dynamic dashboards in the Enterprise edition, and the Unlimited edition allows using 10 dashboards.
What is a bucket field?
You can categorize report records using bucket fields even without creating formulas and custom fields.
What type of reports can be used to show dashboard components?
You can use summary reports and matrix reports to display dashboard components.
Data loaders
Lastly, we will discuss the questions you might get about data loaders.
What is a data loader?
A data loader is an application that is specifically designed to import and export data in bulk quantities and perform functions such as insert, update, remove, and export records.
When is the best time to use a data loader?
We can use a data loader in the following situations:
- If you need to work with a large volume of data (more than 50,000 records)
- If you need to export data from Salesforce either for migration or backup purposes
Can you insert, delete or update a record using a Data loader?
Yes, we can insert, delete or update a record using data loaders.
Difference between Salesforce Data Import & Data Loader
Salesforce Data Import and Data Loader are both tools provided by Salesforce for importing and exporting data into and out of Salesforce. While they serve similar purposes, they have some differences too:
Salesforce Data Import Wizard provides a web-based user interface that allows users to import data using a step-by-step process. On the other hand, Salesforce Data Loader is a desktop application with a more advanced interface that caters to users comfortable with command-line or batch operations.
Salesforce Data Import Wizard is suitable for importing smaller volumes of data. In contrast, Data Loader is built to handle larger data volumes and can process millions of records efficiently.
Salesforce Data Import Wizard supports basic data transformations and mapping during the import process. Data Loader, on the other hand, offers more advanced data transformation capabilities. It allows complex mappings, data transformations using external files, and the ability to use custom scripts for data manipulation.
What is UPSERT?
UPSERT is the process of updating and inserting a record, and it can be performed using a data loader.
Name data management tool in Salesforce
There are two data management tools in Salesforce, namely, Data Import Wizard and Data Loader.
Conclusion
We have gone through some of the top interview questions, but there is still a lot to cover. While preparing for the interview, you should go through your study materials and online resources to have the best outcome. We will cover all these topics in our Salesforce Admin training, and help you master them as well.