In October I passed the Salesforce AI Specialist Exam, my 12th Salesforce Certification in just over two years. Here are my tips to give you the best chance of passing your next Salesforce Certification. 

1.) Study the Certification Guide

Certification Guides are available for the various Salesforce Certifications here. They tell you exactly what you need to know to pass the exam. 

Understand this, and read the headlines and the bullet points. You can also use it to understand what sections of the exam are weighted the highest on the exam. 

Once you have decided on the next certification you want to study for, if you can, book the exam. I find having a deadline helps me to stay on track. There are often discount codes available for Salesforce certifications, so if you don’t have an employer who is footing the bill then at least try to not pay the full rack rate. 

2.) Do the Trailhead course

Salesforce Trailhead is a fantastic resource where you can gain hands-on experience working with or setting up various salesforce components.



This is very helpful for many of the exams, and also comes in handy when you are…you know…doing your job as a Salesforce professional. Yes, you could probably pass the Certification without doing every single badge, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice. 

You can find the Trail mix for the various certifications on offer in the exam guide.

I find that doing all of the badges gives me:

• A good understanding of the various features that are covered by a product
• Hands-on experience setting up and configuring those products (except SFMC and Pardot). 
• An understanding of any important limitations of the platform

Which brings me to point #3.

3.) Understand the limitations of the product

Pay close attention whenever a trailhead badge mentions: 

• A permission set or licence required
• A feature from the App Store
• A maximum number of records
• A minimum amount of time

Chances are that this will be on the exam. If something is in a callout box, read the help article associated with it, as this information is also often in the exam. 

4.) Scan the help documentation

If you are studying for a particular product certification (e.g. Marketing Cloud Engagement or Account Engagement) read through the help documentation. Try to familiarise yourself with any relevant terms (there is often a glossary) or limitations that you can find. 

At the very least, read the help documentation linked to each trailhead badge. 

5.) Find and read the implementation guide

This is particularly relevant for any of the product-centric certifications. The implementation guide will walk you through how to set things up and the limitations or considerations you need to know. 

By this stage you should be fairly well prepared for the certification, but I’ll usually take it a step or two further. 

6.) Sit a mock exam **Optional**

These will often be available for free. There are also paid ones available through Udemy, Focus on Force and other providers. If you are paying for the certification out of your own pocket, then a $20 Udemy course could be worth the investment as it'll potentially stop you from having to pay the fee to resit the exam. 

Another option is to find other people's flashcards or have an AI to write you a mock exam.

7.) Watch a video training session **Optional**

Salesforce and various Salesforce community groups will often record Cert Preparation webinars, these are a great source for some last-minute preparation and help to round out your knowledge of every topic that’s on the exam. 

Once you’ve done this, you should be more than prepared to sit the exam, which is what my next article will talk about.