Salesforce Consultant Rates. Hire Freelancer or Certified Partner?

Salesforce Consultant Rates is a highly debated topic, and people often ask themselves. Is there a point in hiring a company If we can find a cheaper option on the market? In this article, I’ll reveal Freelancer and Certified Partner rates and costs.

There are multiple resources where you can find a relatively cheap freelancer who will be happy to help you with your Salesforce setup. They are not only reasonably priced but often are capable of providing a more personalized approach. Freelancers are more interested in the job than you are. It is a very tempting alternative to hiring a company.

On the other hand, hiring a certified consultant is a more sustainable option. Because certified consultants are organizations, they tend to have the ability to change specialists if he leaves the company or is not performing well. When you hire a company, you can expect a more predictable success rate. But predictability comes at a cost, so you will have to pay extra. Is it worth it?

Another note, before we jump into the topic. When I say Certified Partner, I mean a company with multiple certified partners, not a freelancer with certification. There are many certified freelancers on the market, so keep that in mind when reading this text.

Types of Salesforce consultants

There are several types of Salesforce consultants, and the SFDC certification program alone offers more than 20 different certification types. For simplification, I have outlined three types of expertise a company just starting a CRM journey would most likely require. Depending on the kind of specialist, different salesforce consultant rates apply.

Business analyst

A business analyst is a specialist who is capable of translating common business language to technical requirements. For example, you would say: “We would like to track email.” The business analyst will ask you questions like which email service you use, how many emails you send, and what you mean by the word “tracking.” Afterward, he will translate this into something like this “Integration with Microsoft Outlook should be produced. Emails should be stored in Salesforce custom object. Team should create a custom report for emails sent and received by user”. This is just an example, but hopefully, you get an idea.

Functional consultant

Functional consultants are specialists who use commonly available tools to customize the system. They set up fields, objects and use any other means available within Salesforce. What they do not do is programming. Functional consultants are not capable of producing custom code (in Salesforce, it’s called Apex). 

Technical consultant

Technical consultants are more senior specialists than functional consultants. They have all the skills functional consultants have, plus programming skills. Technical consultants are probably the most challenging to categorize specialists. While “producing a code” sounds like a precise skill, the level of expertise in producing a code could be very different. I have seen guys who call themselves technical consultants, and they even had certifications. Still, reality checks proved them to be less senior than functional consultants. For the sake of the Salesforce Consultant Rates list, I assumed all technical consultants are equal.

Salesforce Consultant Rates for Freelancers

I have been on both sides of the industry. I’ve been working as a Salesforce Consultant, and I had experience as a customer. In the past, I have hired consultants and did my research on salesforce consultant rates before making any decision. Below I’ve outlined a table with typical rates for Salesforce freelancers. Rates strongly depend on the country where you hire a consultant. I decided to combine prices by area. These areas are Europe, the United States, and Asia.

Salesforce Consultant Rates for Certified Partners

Below I’ve outlined average certified consultant rates. Just like I mentioned before, these rates depend on geography. Also, don’t forget that no two consultants are equal, so you should make a price comparison in junction with the value brought by the consultant.

Further reading: Salesforce Implementation Cost Revealed. Should you rob a bank?

I hope this article helped. Have a great day/night, whatever it is now when you are reading this.

Jeff.