Kyle Curry

I used to think Salesforce Admins just managed users and built reports. Then I watched one rebuild an entire lead routing system, align it with GTM strategy, and train 80 reps. All while chasing down broken integrations they didn’t own. That’s when it hit me: Salesforce Admins aren’t admins anymore. They’re product managers. They’re data strategists. They’re change agents. But most are still stuck using tools, and getting treated, like it’s 2013. AI, automation, and platform complexity have completely changed the job. The title just hasn’t caught up yet. If you're still underestimating your Admins, you're already behind.

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Pro tip: if you're using #salesforce Non-profit Success Pack (NPSP - *not* Nonprofit Cloud) at a #nonprofit, you may be getting notifications about how the new ICU locales update is failing - because the NPSP managed package has Apex that uses SF API versions lower than 45. If you're like me, you may have wondered how this would be resolved, as the free, open source NPSP is not getting the same kind of attention since Salesforce acquired Vlocity and rolled out their Nonprofit Cloud as an industry solution. Believe it or not, there *is* a solution coming. It's not often that it's legitimately hard to find something on the internet. Maybe it's just me! But for whatever reason this was very hard for me to find. Maybe it'll be helpful to you. Anyways: if you're in my position, there's a solution scheduled for later this year, and the guidance is to defer this update till Summer '25. https://lnkd.in/eYH3_qVj

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The best sales reps I know run their business like a mini-GM. Tight app rigor Clean pipeline Clear next steps Solid internal reporting Because when the basics are locked down, they free up time for what really moves the needle: strategy. They’re not chasing down next steps, scrambling to update Salesforce, or trying to explain away gaps in the forecast. They’re building deal strategy, shaping executive narratives, and influencing the customer’s buying process. Sales is chaotic enough — don’t add to it with sloppy process. Discipline buys you freedom. #SalesExcellence #EnterpriseSales #PipelineManagement #SalesLeadership #Forecasting

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I’ve seen a few data discovery vendors claim to protect your Salesforce data in the event of a third-party breach, yet the only feature they’re willing to show is discovery. 🤨 There are two red flags to look out for. First, claiming that discovery equals protection: “We can help you find sensitive data in Salesforce objects.” You found money in a bank. Nice, but is it at risk? Discovery often raises more questions than it answers: What data did the Drift integration have access to? Who granted it? Did the attacker read or modify them during the dwell time? From what IP? Can we report exactly what was touched and when? Did we get any alerts? Second red flag: if a vendor talks vaguely about a feature without showing a screenshot, the feature may not exist. “We can help you identify which integrations have access to sensitive Salesforce data.” Show the access map that clearly illustrates which secrets, PII, price lists, and deal data the Drift app could have stolen. Discovery vendors: ✅ Can tell you what kind of data is in Salesforce ❌ Can’t flag or fix OAuth app misconfigurations ❌ Can’t map the breach OAuth app's potential access ❌ Can’t help you right-size OAuth app access proactively ❌ Can’t detect when the OAuth app is being abused to steal data Varonis shows you which third-party apps are connected and whether they’re securely configured. DSPM is about posture, right? Let’s get specific: ✅ Flags OAuth apps without IP restrictions ✅ Flags OAuth apps without session timeouts ✅ Flags OAuth apps without secure refresh policies ✅ Flags OAuth apps without recent activity  ✅ Shows you which Salesforce data OAuth apps can read/write/modify ✅ Shows you who authorized the app ✅ Right-sizes OAuth app permissions based to only what’s needed (based on privileges in use) Let’s say you ignore those weak configs and roll the dice. A token is stolen. How do you detect that an attack is underway? Varonis detects and responds (24x7x365) the moment a compromised token is abused by alerting you to things like: ✅ Changes in Salesforce data access patterns by OAuth app ✅ Salesforce data access by OAuth app from new IP addresses Data discovery is not data security.

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Good, bad, and ugly questions to ask during an intake request for enablement: —— THE GOOD: “What do they need to accomplish and produce?” Why is it good? Performance is found in outcomes and outputs. If we don’t start here, it’ll be hard to end here. —— THE BAD: “What do they need to do?” Why is it bad? Don’t get me wrong, we definitely should be getting specific with what we want the audience to specifically do. But this is generally a bad question during an intake request. Save these specifics for the analysis. But keep the conversation focused on performance and improvement expectations during initial intake. —— THE UGLY: “What do they need to know?” Once again, it’s not that this is a terrible question, but it should not be discussed during intake. It’s too specific and distant from performance requirements if it’s the topic of discussion during intake. During analysis - after you’ve defined what they need to do (to accomplish/produce the outcome/output) - you can figure out these details. But if they are the topic of discussion during intake, the chances of a performance impact are very low. —— Hate saying this because it’s so cliche and overused, but during intake, begin with the end in mind!

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If you think Salesforce is just a CRM, you’re missing the bigger picture. I was in a meeting with a NGO that told me they only used Salesforce to track donors and grants. But Salesforce is so much more than a database for contacts. It’s the backbone of how your organization can fundraise, manage programs, and operate at scale. When we expanded their setup, here's what changed: #Automated grant tracking connected fundraising with program delivery in real time #Program staff gained a complete view of supporter history, including past donations and engagement. #Leadership finally trusted their reports because data flowed from a single source of truth. And the results? Faster response times, more #engaged supporters, and leadership teams making real-time decisions with confidence. In 2025, the non-profits that thrive aren't the ones with #Salesforce licenses. They’re the ones who know how to unlock its full potential. #Purposedrivesprogress

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🚀 Salesforce Announces Record-Breaking Q4 & FY25 Results 🚀 We just wrapped up an incredible quarter and fiscal year at Salesforce, delivering strong performance across all key metrics. 🥳 📈 Highlights: ✅ $63.4B Total Remaining Performance Obligation, up 11% Y/Y ✅ $13.1B Operating Cash Flow, up 28% Y/Y ✅ $900M Data Cloud & AI ARR, up 120% Y/Y ✅ 5,000 Agentforce deals closed since October, with 3,000+ paid ✅ Data Cloud surpassed 50T records—doubling Y/Y ✅ Nearly half of the Fortune 100 are both AI & Data Cloud customers ✅ FY25 Revenue: $37.9B, up 9% Y/Y

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I long heard the opinion that Salesforce can't work in an SMB setting. I have over 100 clients who would disagree. The bad reputation comes from setup. The mistakes I see most are: 1. Trying to customize everything 2. DIYing the setup 3. Attempting to solve every edge case If it feels overbuilt or clunky, your team will never buy in. We see issues of all kind: process issues, expectation setting issues, change management issues, go-live issues. But not one of these is unique to Salesforce.  I’ve seen companies write off technology for years after one bad rollout. That first impression can stick and it can sting.  If you’ve had a bad Salesforce experience as an SMB, I’d love to hear your story. What went wrong for you?

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The best sales orgs don't have lone wolves. They have wolf packs. Tim J. (ex-VP of Sales at Salesforce) explains why: "I really do not hire lone wolves… I want folks who are taking that ownership and when they win, they take it to the next guy on the team or gal on the team and help them to be just as successful." But here's what separates elite teams from everyone else: The best reps open up their successful clients and customers to other reps to help them leverage not only those stories, but those references. Tim called out the problem plaguing most sales orgs: "All too often we see this kind of ownership of, 'I don't want to get my person on the line, I don't want to this...' and it's like if we're doing things the way we should be, creating a sales approach that is customer centric and customer obsessed, we should be having wildly successful customers." Those wildly successful customers? They should be elevated. Not just helping them talk with other clients, but helping to elevate their careers. When your customers win so big they become your sales force (no pun intended!), you've built something special. When your reps share those wins to lift the entire team, you've built something unstoppable. Lone wolves eat alone. Wolf packs feast together. - Want to see the rest of our POWERFUL conversation? Watch here: https://lnkd.in/g4Yh5dzF Listen here: Spotify: https://lnkd.in/g283qNv7 Apple Podcast/Amazon Music: https://lnkd.in/guqhxQwc

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If you've listened to any of the interviews Marc Benioff has done recently, you'll have heard him talk about practicing "shoshin". Shoshin is a Japanese zen buddhist discipline that means "beginners mind". Whether you agree with Marc and what Salesforce are doing strategically or not, many of us seem to have lost our beginners mind. Yes, Agentforce is challenging to implement. And there's an argument to be made that it's because we've lost our beginners mind. True practice of a beginners mind is keeping that approach even when you have a wealth of experience in a particular field. Many of us feel like experts in Salesforce, or a particular realm of Salesforce, but there's a hard truth we're learning. Our orgs aren't equipped for Agentforce. We need to revisit and invest in reshaping our orgs to support Agents. We need to learn once more what it means to have a well architected org, with good data governance, and sound understanding of our business processes, to support agents. And yeah, that's going to be bloody hard. But, that's what shoshin is all about. Relishing the challenge and what you may learn. AI agents are the future. Not just in Salesforce, but beyond. I do believe that. We're at a point in the technology lifecycle akin to the iPhone, the internet, or even computers themselves. It's time to regain a beginners mind, question everything we think we know, and anticipate the new frontier we're to find ourselves in.

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