Weekend Picklist: An Introduction on Tableau, Salesforce Facts You May Not Know, and More!

Every weekend, we’ll be delivering our top headlines – highlights from the previous week for you to enjoy with a cup of coffee!

1. Top Trailhead Badges to Earn in 2023?

CPQs, CDPs, APIs, oh my!?Unless you’re brand spanking new to the world of Salesforce, it’s safe to say you’ve spent an hour or two in Trailhead. From badges to trails to Superbadges, there’s a lot of different ways you can become an expert at Salesforce. But with such a wide range of offers, it can become daunting deciding where to begin.?

Due to the recent economic whirlwind, now more than ever it’s important to learn new skills to help you stand out amongst the crowd. And with Salesforce badges, there is a safe and visible way to brag about yourself by displaying these on your LinkedIn profile or CV. But which should you dedicate your time to in 2023?

• Admins: Business Analyst, CPQ, Data Privacy, Flow Orchestrator, Tableau.
• Developers: Lightning Web Components, Platform APIs, OmniStudio, Scalability.
• Bonus: CDP, Career Development, Maintenance.?

All right, there you have it – our top badges for the year. There’s something for everyone to explore…?[Read More]

2. Lightning Web Component Communication Using Events

In 2019, Salesforce announced Aura Components were getting an upgrade and becoming Lightning Web Components.?

As a reminder, LWC makes up a user interface framework that Salesforce Developers use to create customized pages and functions on the platform using a standardized JavaScript framework, HTML, and CSS.?

Events in LWC are built on DOM Events (allow JavaScript to register different event handlers on elements in an HTML document) and dispatch standard DOM Events. These are used to communicate up the component containment hierarchy.

EventTarget Interface is implemented in LWC to dispatch, listen to, and handle events.

There are three different ways to communicate between LWC using Events:?

1. Parent-to-Child Communication: Using public methods or public properties, an API Decorator should be used to expose the child component properties/methods available to the parent component.
2. Child-to-Parent Communication:?CustomEvent() constructor can be used to create a custom event. Custom Event Name and properties should be passed into the constructor.
3. Communication between Unrelated Components: One component subscribes to an event, whereas another component publishes the event and handles it in the same scope.?[Read More]

3. Salesforce Facts You Never Knew

?Do you call yourself a Salesforce expert??While the topic of Salesforce tends to be covered in the news quite often, here are a few facts you may not know:?

1. In an interview, Marc Benioff admitted he trademarked the term App Store before gifting it to Steve Jobs of Apple and settling on AppExchange for his own virtual store.?
2. While Bret Taylor is no longer with the company, he’s definitely an individual who has left his mark and we have a special place in our hearts for him. Did you know he’s the brains behind the beloved ‘like’ button on Facebook?
3. As of 2021, Salesforce has reached net zero emissions across its full value chain.?
4. Marc Benioff came up with Pledge 1% for Salesforce. The philanthropic model is centered around companies around the world pledging to contribute 1% of equity, 1% of product, and 1% of employee hours to the community.?
5. You’ve surely heard those crazy stories so many well-known CEOs have told of going on a sabbatical where they have come up with their billion-dollar ideas (looking at you, Phil Knight). Marc Benioff partook in this unofficial tradition and embarked on a 6-month sabbatical, traveling to India and Hawaii. It was during that trip that the concept of Salesforce was born.?
6. The Salesforce Tower is the tallest building in San Francisco, reaching a whopping 1,070 feet. That’s higher than the London Shard and the Eiffel Tower!?[Read More]

4. [LinkedIn Live] Salesforce Golden Hoodies: Giving Back & Getting Involved in 2023

?You've heard their names, and you've seen them wrapped up in those shiny Golden Hoodies, but do you know their stories?

?Join Sima Samara (co-founder of Trailkeeper), Michelle Hansen (Principal, Slalom), Zac Otero (Revenue Insights Manager, Cardlytics), Tony Nguyen (Salesforce Consultant, Slalom), Jonathon Fox (Salesforce Technical Architect, Cirrico), and Christine Marshall (Courses and Community Director, Salesforce Ben), to find out:

• 1. The importance of the Salesforce Community.
• 2. How to overcome obstacles and give back.
• 3. How to gain momentum and what their goals are for 2023.
• 4. What being a Golden Hoodie recipient really means.

[Register now] for this highly-anticipated interactive session that is guaranteed to inspire.

5. Build or Buy? 8 Things to Consider When Investing in Software

?We all know we’re knee-deep in economic turmoil right now.?Companies are tightening their hypothetical belts and looking at their investments more closely when evaluating their purchases. The technology brands invest in can show high rewards but also high risks. So the question is, should brands build new solutions in-house, or does it make more sense for them to invest in pre-built solutions?

?While there is no right answer to this question, there are eight factors to consider:?

1. Time to Market: Are you in a rush to get your product to market? Purchasing pre-built solutions can save you months of work and get you started asap. However, if you require additional features and functionality, you might need to take a deep breath and accept that the process takes time.
2. Talent & skills gap: Do you have the right people, and do those people have the tools they need to build a winning solution?
3. Costs: Determine the full cost of both options and make the right decision for your company and your team. Don’t be stingy!
4. Customization opportunities: Do you require additional customizations? How much do they cost? What is the process?
5. Possible integrations: It’s important to ensure any new solution you build or buy ‘plays well’ with your existing technologies.
6. Risk & customer success: Always, always, always do your research. If you make the wrong choice, your customers’ loyalty could take a hit.
7. Maintenance & support: A brand new product is shiny and exciting. But before you jump the gun, ask yourself how much maintenance will it require in the future?
8. Continuous innovation: Take into consideration your consumers’ behavior. Will it be the same six months down the road? How do you plan on keeping up??[Read More]?

6. What is Tableau? An Introduction

?The ever-elusive Tableau – what is it? What does it do? Is it worth it??

?In short, the visualization tool provides management and business insights to make the complexities of data analytics tools easier. It’s used by businesses across all sorts of industries – their data analysts get a visual of the structured complex data. Then, business leaders and management teams use this information to make informed decisions.

?Tableau Desktop is the paid version of the software – with it, you can connect to numerous data source types like Salesforce, Microsoft SQL, etc. And for all Slack users out there, rejoice as the Tableau + Slack integration has just become available, making alerts arrive faster and more smoothly. However, if you’re not quite ready to give the premium version a go just yet, Tableau Public gives free access and is only offered online.?

?With Tableau Cloud your analytics can be accessed from anywhere – via your phone, tablet, or computer. If you’re considering another add-on, why not check out Prep Builder? It allows creators to sort, prepare, and aggregate data using built-in data cleaning tools.?

And last but definitely not least, CRM Analytics is a Tableau feature that allows you to connect directly to Salesforce and integrate it with external data.?[Read More]