If you want to become a Marketing Cloud Consultant.
This post is for you.
Most people don’t know what it’s like to be a Marketing Cloud Consultant.
They struggle to figure out how to land a job.
And what’s worse…
They don’t know what to do when they get a Marketing Cloud Consulting job.
So today, I’ll share a couple of things with you:
3 Skills Every Marketing Cloud Consultant Needs
Marketing Cloud Consultant (Day in the Life) Learning Lessons
Let’s get started!
Skill # 1
Know How Marketing Cloud Works
This one is a given.
So it’s definitely worth repeating.
If you know how to use Marketing Cloud, you put yourself at a major advantage.
The prerequisite to consulting is becoming proficient with the tool you’ll be consulting on.
To get your hands dirty in Marketing Cloud, you need access to it.
And that’s where most people struggle.
Currently, the only ways to get your hand on a Marketing Cloud test playground are:
Trailhead Academy Classes
Training Bootcamps
Working at a company that uses Marketing Cloud
Being a Salesforce Partner
Purchasing Marketing Cloud
If you don’t have access to Marketing Cloud, it’s going to be difficult to consult on it.
You need to know how the system works inside and out.
One more thing…
As a Marketing Cloud Consultant, you will run into lots of code.
Make sure you know AMPscript and SQL.
Because you’ll be using it… A LOT
So, all around, you need to be proficient in Marketing Cloud if you want to become a consultant.
Skill # 2
Love to Solve Problems
You need a system for:
Learning new things
Solving problems
As a consultant, you’re always learning something new.
It could be an Email Deliverability Sender Authentication Package one day.
And AMPscript the next day.
You need a process for HOW you learn new things.
And you need to use that information for projects actively.
If you’re learning for no apparent reason, you’ll forget what you learned.
Applied knowledge is the only requirement as a Marketing Cloud consultant.
Applied Knowledge matters more than book smarts.
You have to be an active learner.
Someone who is able to see a problem and start devising solutions on the fly.
Time moves very fast, so you need to be able to get into deep work very quickly.
When you’re in deep work, you will be learning and coming up with solutions all at one time.
The key is to take notes and set a timer.
When the timer is finished, go on a walk and let the ideas marinate in your mind.
After a day or two, the ideas will start to kick in.
A hack for faster learning:
Cut out all distractions.
Don’t watch or listen to anything unrelated to your mission.
Only read books and articles related to your task.
Let all that pattern recognition kick in.
Then, your brain will come up with the solution much faster.
Skill # 3
Must Love Taking Massive Action
As an MC Consultant, I’m rarely Idle.
This week alone, I’ve done the following:
Learned how Private Domain Registration Works
Started creating a new AMPscript code block to populate an email based on specific criteria dynamically.
Created User Stories in the team’s project management tool.
Learned how the business works.
And more
You need to be okay with doing work at a fast pace.
You can still set your Pomodoro timer and work with focus.
But you also need to make sure you’re staying on track of projects.
It’s a delicate balance of learning and building.
And it’s also a delicate balance of making sure you’re meeting project timelines.
You’ll be working more than ever as a Marketing Cloud Consultant.
You get used to it, but the beginning stages are a constant learning curve.
These 3 skills help you find the answer to challenges - Which is valuable.
If you practice those 3 skills, you’ll learn a few things about yourself (and life).
With that said, here are my learning lessons for week 2 of my Marketing Cloud Consulting Job.
Marketing Cloud Consultant (Day In The Life) Learning Lessons:
Learn the business
Embrace INSANE Learning
Become a Data Master
Let’s dive into each learning lesson.
Marketing Cloud Consultant Lesson #1
(Learn the Business)
You need to know how the business works.
If you don’t know WHY you’re building a project, you won’t know WHAT you’re supposed to do.
Your ability to stay informed about the company’s activities will dictate your performance as a Marketing Cloud Consultant.
2 reasons Your Business Knowledge = Your Success as an MC Consultant
Your Business Knowledge helps you build the correct solution.
And helps you finish projects within the timeframe.
Let's break down each reason.
1st - To Build The Correct Solution
If you don't build the right thing, the client won't hire you again.
They want you to build what they ask for.
And the only way to build what your client wants is to understand how their business works.
The only way you can do that is in Requirements Gathering meetings.
Those are usually an hour long at a time.
Depending on how big the project is, these sessions can be multiple hours per day for a week or two.
Gathering requirements takes a while because it takes time to understand what the business wants.
There's back and forth between end users and the Marketing Cloud Consultant.
Hopefully, you have a project manager who knows Marketing Cloud.
They will make your life much better as a consultant.
If you can focus on:
Implementation.
The project manager can focus on:
Managing the project
and running the requirements gathering meetings
It's a beautiful sight to see.
2nd - To Finish Projects Within The Timeframe
This goes to the point above.
If you know:
What process is being automated
and HOW it’s going to help the business
Then, you will be able to build exactly what your client is looking for.
But that only comes when you know EXACTLY what you’re supposed to build.
And that comes from truly knowing how the business processes work.
Just remember this:
You are building on a Marketing automation tool.
Your job is to automate.
Ask yourself…
“What business process am I automating?”
Then, write it down in your User Story Requirement.
For example:
A client wants a series of emails to send to a person based on their membership status.
Ask yourself…
“What business process am I automating?”
An email series that sends to a customer when they have a specific status.
Here’s what a high-level user story could look like:
Ability to trigger an Email Series based on membership status.Email Series includes:5 “Not Satisfied” Email Templates
Membership status = Not Satisfied
If you know exactly what you’re building, you can stay within the timeframe you’ve been allotted to build the project.
Marketing Cloud Consultant Lesson #2
(Embrace INSANE Learning)
From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, you’ll be learning.
There will come a point when you’ll know what to do in each scenario.
That day just isn’t today.
So embrace the learning journey.
That’s what will separate you from everyone else.
For example, this week, I learned about:
Private Domain Registration (Self Hosting vs. Delegated Hosting).
AMPscript Code Blocks to dynamically generate Email content.
Creating HTML Content in Service Cloud & Dynamically pulling to Marketing Cloud.
How to use a new Project Management Tool.
The learning literally never stops.
You have to enjoy pushing your mind to the next level.
Marketing Cloud Consultant Lesson #3
(Become a Data Master)
You need to understand database management basics.
If you don’t know how data flows from Marketing Cloud to Salesforce CRM, you won’t know what’s going on.
You won’t be able to do much related to:
Dynamic Content
Automation Studio
Journey Builder
Most companies want people who can do those three areas of Marketing Cloud.
It’s good to know how data works in Marketing Cloud (and Sales Cloud).
It opens you up to more opportunities.
Everything I do as an MC Consultant includes data at some point.
If I didn’t understand table relationships, I’d be toast.
But thankfully, I understand how database tables work (and the processes behind them).
It helps me every single day as a Marketing Cloud Consultant.
Conclusion:
What we covered:
The 3 Skills Every Marketing Cloud Consultant Needs.
Marketing Cloud Consultant (Day in the Life) Learning Lessons.
If you want to become a Marketing Cloud Consultant, this post was written for you.
Enjoy.
Kaelan Moss - MinuteAdmin Out ✌🏽
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