For Salesforce Senior Consultant Burak Sezgin, no two days are the same—and that’s a good thing in his book. In our latest installment of our Salesforce Studio Spotlight series, we sit down with Burak to talk about his diverse client work, the dynamic nature of his engagements, and his role as a leader within the Salesforce community.
- Tell me about your role at Globant
I’m a senior consultant within Globant’s Salesforce Studio. I’m part of the delivery team, which means I work with clients on their Salesforce projects across the core product suite and Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, previously known as Pardot.
My role varies depending on the client’s needs. If it’s a large project, I often lead the design and discovery workshops, manage the solution design, write user stories, and manage the different project management tools. For a smaller project, I am often both the functional lead and the project lead, working alongside either a project manager or junior consultant.
Of course, I sometimes take on different work as needed. For instance, I have a passion for and extensive experience in Salesforce Data Loader, so I’ll often support Data loads when required. Additionally, I’m a fluent Turkish speaker, so I’ve been tapped to help some teams when they need local language support.
- What do your engagements look like?
The work varies. Some engagements are greenfield, meaning they’re a brand-new implementation. With those clients, you listen to their needs and recommend how to design and implement the solution based on experience and Salesforce best practices.
On the other side of the fence is brownfield, when you update an existing implementation to make it work better. Usually, another firm has built the solution, so our job is to examine the system closely and then refine it, leveraging Salesforce tools.
I sometimes also do Health Checks, when a company wants someone to come in, review the system, and evaluate if any areas need a tune-up.
- What do you enjoy about your job?
I like the variety. I’ve been with Globant for over two years, and no two days or projects are alike. Even if I work on a core Salesforce implementation project, the job won’t be the same day-to-day or from company to company.
I also really enjoy working with my team. We all chase the same goal: To do high-quality work and succeed. We collaborate effectively and enjoy spending time together outside the office. Teamwork helps people come together and get projects done.
- What do you look for in a teammate – or what qualities do you think will make someone a successful team member?
Strong communication skills are a must because, as a consultant, interacting with clients, asking the right questions, and diplomatically challenging them on their thinking and processes is one of the most essential parts of the job.
A sense of humor can also be helpful because even though we have a great team, our work can still be challenging. If you can lighten the mood, it helps the whole team approach their work better.
Finally, I think it’s vital to be open to new ideas because that’s what Salesforce is all about—bringing new ideas. You can’t rely on this idea of “that’s how we’ve always done it” because the landscape continuously evolves. You must be willing to adopt and learn how to use new technologies. That’s hugely important for any consultant.
- How do you stay on top of new technologies or features in Salesforce?
We have a process for sharing skills within the Globant team. We have a Slack channel where we post articles about a new tool or if we’ve used a new technology in a project. Globant is also really good about encouraging us to pursue certifications. We can take time off to study, for example. Globant also offers courses internally via Globant University, which gives you access to hundreds of Udemy Courses, which is another excellent way to build skills and stay up to date.
More broadly speaking, I think it’s essential to tap into the knowledge and experience of the wider Salesforce community. That’s one of the things I enjoy about working with Salesforce—the community. It’s very supportive.
I’m a user group leader for London’s Salesforce account engagement group. We hold monthly meetups where we bring in consultants from all over so that we can connect and get to know each other and see how they’ve created a path to success. I’ve been involved in this group for about seven years, and it’s fantastic to see people who came to an event years ago as brand-new users and are now very senior in their careers. They used Salesforce’s training program, Salesforce Trailhead, and built their skills day by day.
That’s the great thing about Salesforce—there’s no barrier to entry. You can sign up for a free Trailhead account and get started. If you work hard, the sky’s the limit regarding a career in this field.
Ready to join Burak on his next Salesforce delivery project? Check out our open job positions today.
The Salesforce Studio Spotlight is a new Q&A series that showcases the tremendous talent of the Salesforce Studio team and the value they bring to our clients and the Salesforce partnership. This series features a diverse group of Globers, across all geographies, levels, and positions and highlights their unique contributions and achievements, as well as their current projects and goals.
