It’s only appropriate that I kick off this dream of mine (Cloud Mastery) discussing the subject I feel most passionate about especially considering it’s the primary inspiration for both this blog and my budding career as a Salesforce Consultant. I’ve spent most of my career chasing the promises of technology for my clients so it’s fair to say I’m a true believer in it’s value to the business world. However, it’s only in the last few years that I have found what I consider the holy grail of business technology.
The Holy Grail
The team over at Salesforce have really built something special. When most of my clients buy into Salesforce they do it for their sales teams, and to address their CRM needs, but they soon find out they’ve invested in something much more. You see while Salesforce is a marketing, sales, and customer relationship management software it’s also a platform.
Salesforce is a flexible platform that allows companies to configure every aspect of the software to meet their needs, and to accommodate the way their businesses operate. Most importantly though the platform is extensible; adding new functionality such as accounting (FinancialForce), or project management (TaskRay) is as simple as installing an app from the Salesforce AppExchange just as you would from the app store on that fancy iPhone of yours. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for on the app exchange, no worries, you can build it yourself if you’ve got the internal resources, or if not you can have an outside consulting firm build it for you.
I’ve worked with many companies that start off using Salesforce strictly for sales who, before long, begin using it to run their entire organization; all from a single platform. It’s this ability to use the Salesforce platform in every area of your company that truly makes it the holy grail of business software.
Who is Cloud Mastery
If you’ve read this far I truly appreciate it, but you’re probably starting to wonder who the heck is this guy; I’m glad you’ve asked.
My name is Charles Naccio, and I’m a Salesforce Consultant from Dallas, Texas who you’re welcomed to connect with on LinkedIn. I’ve actually been a technology consultant my entire career starting out in general IT working on computers, servers, and networks which eventually led to me starting my first company, TheHelpdesk.com, a consulting firm providing IT services to other businesses. It was there that I first starting working with Salesforce, and soon fell in love with the crazy amount of value I could deliver to my clients by leveraging the platform.
Before long I found that I was only involved in Salesforce related projects, and so I decided to sell out to my partners so I could pursue a career focused in the Salesforce/CRM space. After working on a few big Salesforce projects independently I landed at a Salesforce consulting firm based out of Austin, Texas where I learned the particulars of running a consulting practice.
That pretty much brings us to the present where I’ve since launched Cloud Mastery; a boutique Salesforce consulting firm based here in Dallas, Texas. It’s through this company that I marry my love for technology and business to help our clients achieve their goals and dreams by leveraging the holy grail of technology that is Salesforce.
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Why I’m Blogging
Well, I like to think I’m REALLY awesome at this technology and business stuff; especially when it comes to Salesforce. I’m also particularly passionate with the prospect of helping businesses run their entire company on Salesforce in order to capture the synergies that come with operating on a single platform. So I want to talk to about it. My primary goal is that this blog will be a resource for companies evaluating Salesforce, and for those already using Salesforce who are trying to make the most of their investment. Meanwhile, I’m also building a consulting practice so I plan to document that journey in hopes that it’ll help other consultants out there start, and grow their own practices.
While I do genuinely enjoy helping others I’m not completely selfless in this endeavor, and so I must admit that I do have other motives in writing this blog. Essentially my plan is to provide a ton of value to both companies evaluating Salesforce, and those already using Salesforce in hopes that they’ll keep me in mind should they have a need for consulting services. And for the many smaller companies that can’t yet afford my services; my hope is that they’ll use my free content to grow their companies and potentially become clients in the future. Lastly with regards to helping other consultants my goal is to build a network of amazing professionals that I can collaborate with on bigger projects that I’m involved with.
What I’ll be Blogging About
Although by now you can probably guess what I’ll be talking about in this blog let me explain a little further. The primary theme of the blog will cover various topics aimed at helping companies leverage the Salesforce platform to meet their needs, overcome business challenges, and ultimately grow their businesses. Such topics would include:
- Marketing with Salesforce
- Selling with Salesforce
- Streamlining operations with Salesforce
- Collaboration with Salesforce
- Powering your back office with Salesforce
- Purchasing, implementing, and configuring Salesforce
- Much more...
The secondary theme of the blog will target other consulting firms, and focus on the particulars of starting, operating, and growing a consulting practice in a profitable, and sustainable manner. I plan to write on topics such as:
- Starting a consulting practice
- Marketing consulting services
- Pricing and billing consulting services
- Hiring within a consulting firm
- Managing projects
- Keeping clients happy
- Much more...
Getting Involved
Just as much as I plan to teach I hope to learn from you as well. I will be reading and responding to your comments as I openly encourage and take seriously any feedback on the content I publish. That said It’s important to note that a large portion of the value you’ll receive from this site will come from other readers via their comments and feedback. The comments section can be a great place to ask questions, and get free help and advice.
Outside of comments and feedback, you’re always welcomed to use the contact form on this site to reach out, or if you prefer you can contact me directly. You can text or call my cell at 214-305-8684, or email me at charles@cloudmastery.com just please don’t be a jerk and spam me.
Until Next Time
I hope this article serves as a great introduction to the blog, Cloud Mastery, and myself as well as what you can expect from me going forward. I look forward to sharing the experience, knowledge, and wisdom I’ve gained over the last 10 years along with all that I’m learning on a daily basis in this crazy world of business technology. Until next time keep pushing forward!
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