Hiring Freelance Salesforce Consultants, Developers and Admins in 2021

Hunting for candidates has definitely changed over the last few decades, which seems to be a good thing. While this is true, it has also become more complex. The diversity can be overwhelming: there are freelancers, agencies, in-house specialists, and your choice on whom to hire leads to different approaches in regard to the working process.

With Salesforce, in particular, freelancers can do a lot of good. Finding them, though, is a different story. Some of you might have already tried finding decent freelancers online and failed. That’s because you need some related knowledge to make progress when looking for freelance consultants, developers and admins. Where to look is one more question to ask before starting to hire truly professional Salesforce freelance workers since there are so many crowdsourcing websites that you’ll probably have a hard time figuring out which one is better to use.

So let's consider some of the main areas to think of before diving into the Salesforce freelance talent pool. These include the major advantages and disadvantages of working with freelancers, the best websites where you can find Salesforce developers, and how to distinguish good candidates from, say, not-so-good ones. In addition, there are some common questions you would want to ask your candidates to figure out whether they are qualified for the job or not. 

Follow simple steps to succeed in hiring Salesforce developers, consultants or administrators

1. Try to figure out why you need one in the first place

Or, why you need a freelancer as opposed to any other type of employee. 

Here are some of the most persuasive benefits of hiring Salesforce freelancers:

• Cost-efficiency. Hiring freelancers is much cheaper than hiring in-house staff, so it is the main reason why people hire freelancers overseas. You’ll probably never find a more affordable option than freelance Salesforce admins, consultants, or developers because they charge less than when you hire a Salesforce developer. And since you have access to all freelancing talents globally, you can consider the alternatives and select candidates that fit your budget.
• Quality. The price may be appealing, but the doubts regarding the quality of freelancers' work tend to occur. These are rarely reasonable; in fact, freelancers’ performance can be as good as that of your domestic developers regardless of the timeframe for your project. It is, rather, the individual candidates that you consider which matter as opposed to the fact that they work in freelance Salesforce.
• Efficiency. Another benefit of freelancers is that they are perfect for small-scale projects. If the project you are currently working on does not require complex skills to complete, freelancers are your best option. They focus on the task until it is done, which gives them the opportunity to put all their effort into contributing to your project.
  

As you can see, some aspects of looking for an employee in the freelance Salesforce sector are quite crucial to reaching your desired business outcomes.

The Disadvantages of Hiring Freelancers

While there are some meaningful advantages, you need to be aware of the drawbacks of hiring a freelancer. Here are the most important ones to take into account:

• Reliability. First of all, you don’t know these people, you might not even know their real names, so the main problem here is trust. You have to take the risk of relying on a stranger to complete a part of your project, which involves you sharing confidential information about what you are working on, usually without any papers being signed.
  
• Lack of loyalty. Good freelancers always have tons of clients they work with at the same time. This means several projects that have set deadlines, and sometimes pretty short ones. Therefore, they might fail to cope with the workload and not provide you with a completed task when you need it done.
  
• Technical issues. Since you are most likely to hire freelancers overseas, communication is key to gaining your desired outcome. Different time zones, Internet connection failures or any other issue leading to the lack of proper, mutual communication can end up causing a delay in your project.
  

With these in mind, you're always at stake when you work with Salesforce freelancers, even though it prevails over the opportunity to find a Salesforce developer in some cases.

2. List the platforms to perform the search

After you have weighed both the pros and cons of hiring a freelancer and decided that you need one, the next step is actually looking for one. Luckily, the Internet is full of people seeking ways to make a living, and some of them are fantastic at what they do. If you are hunting to find Salesforce developers, you will be surprised by how many places you can go to with the intention to get some candidates.

Here is a list of some websites that can help you find decent freelancers for your project:

• Toptal is an online network supplying businesses with software engineers, programmers and consultants.
• AppExchange is a Developer Marketplace for Salesforce applications, components and consulting services.
• Freelancer, as you can guess from the domain, is the platform for freelancers. This is exactly where most of these guys post their profiles and wait for potential employers to find them. Don't hesitate to visit the website and try to find yourself a good candidate.
• Upwork is a website for freelancers of all sorts as well. Either look for some on your own or just post your offer and wait for the good candidates to apply.
  
• Guru is yet another huge platform for employers to look for freelancers based on their profiles.
• Fiverr is considered to be a marketplace for freelancers around the world, which was originally created in Israel. 
• StackOverflow is a kind of forum for developers where they interact and learn. Although it's not directly intended for candidate hunting, you can reach out to users who have the knowledge and skills you're looking for.
  
• PeoplePerHour, again, is a UK platform where employers can find some freelance workers to hire.

As you can see, there are plenty of places online where you can find Salesforce freelance workers.

3. Don’t forget about the power of word of mouth

Another way of finding a freelance Salesforce employee is by asking around. Maybe some of your colleagues, partners or even friends have already worked with a suitable specialist. Also, companies usually have databases that contain information about the freelancers they previously worked with, so some acquaintances among business owners are a useful source of information. By coming across freelancers who have already proved themselves to the people you know, you can really shorten the time you will be hunting for a candidate.

4. Follow the checklist for choosing the one you need 

So, here’s the tricky part. Assuming you have already found several candidates for the job, you also need to determine which one is your perfect fit. Here are the aspects to keep in mind:

• Check the profiles. First of all, you need to check the profile. Each website for freelancers requires them to provide information about themselves, including their area of expertise, examples of projects they have worked on and some proof of their reliability.
• Verify skills. To get a true verification of your candidate's skills, remember that the Salesforce website shows who has passed the tests. The verification page on the website displays credentials to which you can refer. Basically, you just go to the website and follow the guidelines on the verification page. This tool is extremely helpful.
• Use several sources of information and feedback. Still, keep in mind that some of the candidates might not be entirely honest with potential employers. They might not be as good as they want you to think, so try to get some proof if possible. When contacting each person among the Salesforce freelance candidates, ask them a set of specific questions that will help you figure out which of them is knowledgeable in the field and even provide them with a test to evaluate their skills. If you need to, ask for a portfolio.
• Ask about the milestones they have overcome. One more interesting approach to take at this point is to ask about the candidates' experiences in their careers as opposed to solely focusing on the number of projects they have completed or the companies they have worked with. For instance, ask which project was the most challenging for them and how they completed it. Ask about their ability to adapt to changes in the workload or the timeline of the project, along with some examples of when they managed to cope with multitasking, stress and pressure.
• Observe their reaction as you speak. Observe their reaction as they answer your questions. If they seem to have trouble giving you a clear answer, they probably lack experience and may not be the best fit for your project.
• Don’t aim for perfection from the very beginning. In all cases, remember that people who look too perfect might be the worst choice you can make. If your candidate talks about how perfectly well he or she handles all the situations and how flawless their performance is, they are most likely lying. People make mistakes, and it is normal; ignoring this fact when applying for a job is not.

Salesforce Freelance Rates

In case you have to cut the cost of development, administration or customization of the Salesforce solution, the best option is to hire a Salesforce freelance developer or a freelance Salesforce consultant. As we've already mentioned, you have to follow a checklist and verify the skills of freelance salesforce.com experts for hire with their Salesforce certifications. Also, a lot of remote professionals offer a Salesforce developer portfolio or Salesforce admin portfolio, depending on the project and type of online platform, where you perform the search.

It's worth emphasizing, that due to Mason Frank Salesforce salary survey research, hiring a Salesforce consultant on freelance/contract focus may pay off your expenses and expectations as well.

Due to the survey results, each contractor on average works for 11 months for a current project. Also, an interesting fact for all the Salesforce personas – Salesforce consultants (freelance), Salesforce freelance trainers, etc., is that you may work on 3 projects on average and with 4 different clients. Being a contractor may widen the variety of possible projects to work for, which is obviously interesting for professional growth:

Additionally, the survey tells that almost 30% of full-time professionals are likely to switch to contract work, as it offers more flexibility, higher earning potential, chance to choose a project, exposure to the latest technologies, and higher individual responsibility. Consequently, it makes 30% better chance to find the best freelance salesforce.com experts for hire:

Wrap-Up 

Searching for candidates requires doing some serious research, and the case does not differ with looking for freelancers to join you on a project. Since there are both advantages and drawbacks to hiring Salesforce freelance developers, admins and consultants, you need to consider both. Most likely, you will bump your head once or twice before you learn how to find some good freelancers, but sticking to the listed guidelines should make it easier for you to start gaining experience. So, keep this information in the back of your mind each time you have to hunt for freelance Salesforce candidates.