Welcome Amy Oplinger – Girly Geek of the Week!

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I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging with this wonderful woman at #SED16 (Southeast Dreamin)!  She is pure #Awesome!  She is a former Sales Rep turned Salesforce Consultant, the Cleveland WIT user group leader, #Trailhead All Star with 72 badges!!!!, AND inspired me to create a new cloud acronym – #SaaL #SalesforceAsALifestyle – yes you heard it here first!! lol

Me:  How & when did you start working with Salesforce?

Amy: I was a sales rep for several years, using many different CRMs. When I first saw Salesforce, I (unlike most sales reps) immediately loved it, and used it to manage my territory. I killed my quota because of using Salesforce. This helped my manager tell my team the benefits of using the CRM. I first got to see the “behind the scenes” portion of Salesforce when I was put on an implementation team. I already loved it, but seeing all the backend really scratched an itch in my brain. Because I was the only one on staff that had experience with the tool, I was deemed the Super User, and trained my peers.  Awesome!  I love that you were an actual Sales Rep!  I was too and I think this makes a huge difference when delivering solutions! 🙂

Me:  What is your current role working with Salesforce?

Amy: I am currently a consultant with Silo Connectors, LLC. We help businesses all over NE Ohio with their SF instances. I love it because I get exposed to a lot of different features of SF that I might not get if I was a solo admin.  So True ❤

Me:  What is your favorite thing to do in Salesforce and why?

Amy: I really love training people how to use the platform, especially sales reps. Being a former sales rep, I know they don’t want to “waste” their time entering data into a CRM. I love showing them how to use SF to their advantage, and increase their sales…and therefore increasing their commissions! Yesss!  Sales Reps need someone who understands their pain – which in turn becomes our pain!

Me:  Are you currently certified? And if so what certifications do you hold?

Amy: Yes, I earned my ADM201 certification in January 2016. Congrats!!

Me:  What are some of your aspirations and/or goals when it comes to Salesforce?

Amy: I really just love the platform, and want to learn everything I can about it. My goal this year was to earn my ADM201, which I did. I would like to earn my Platform App builder cert, as well as Sales Cloud Consultant Cert. In addition, I just want to connect with others who love the platform like I do. Salesforce has changed my life in so many ways, I really consider it a lifestyle, more than just a career choice. Its really all I think about all day…and I love that!  #SalesforceAsALifestyle -> SaaL  as of this moment, THAT is a real thing! LOL

Me:  Do you have any advice for women working with Salesforce?

Amy: I feel very empowered and supported working on this platform. If you are interested in a career in Salesforce, reach out to any of us in the Salesforce community! The women in this community are supportive like you would not believe. I have never experienced support and encouragement in any field like I do with my fellow women in Salesforce.  #TRUTH I could not agree with you more! ❤

SEDreamin

Me:  What kinds of things are you involved in, and/or do you like to do outside of the Salesforce world?

Amy: Is there life outside of Salesforce? Lol…I really cant explain how much I think about the platform…I spend my spare time earning Trailhead badges, or reading about features that I am unfamiliar with..my friends really don’t understand, and my Saleforce mentor moved out of state, so I am alone in my admiration right now. I live in Ohio, and I feel like I am really the only person obsessed with the platform, so I really look to my Success community and Twitter family to share my Salesforce excitement with. I have two children who are the reason for me pursuing my happiness in the Salesforce realm. If you want a fun fact about me: I can do the Michael Jackson Thriller dance in my sleep…lol. HAHA I immediately just thought of the movie 13 going on 30 😀

Me:  Are you part of a WIT Chapter?

Amy: I am the Cleveland WIT UG Leader. There was no group in my area, and when I went to DF15, I mentioned this to both Kristi Guzman and Toya Gatewood. They both gave me the same advice: START IT YOURSELF! So, I did! The group was formed 11/15, and we have 37 members now! YAY!!!! ❤

It was a pleasure getting to know you Amy and thank you very much for sharing!

You are definitely an inspiration!

For those of you that want to follow Amy, here are her links:
Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/aoplinger
Twitter handle:  @SalesforceAmy
Sfdc Community link: https://success.salesforce.com/profile?u=0053000000BKF1zAAH

Recently featured:  https://annieforce.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/salesforce-career-success-amy-campbell/