Salesforce CRM: The Definitive Admin Handbook

Some people have complained this book is too technical, maybe it is, I did not find that to be the case. My purpose of purchasing the book was to help pass the DEV401 and ADM201 tests within a relatively short time. Since a lot of the material on the DEV401 is in the ADM201 exam, this book made an excellent edition to my personal library. I recently passed my DEV401 exam and will be taking the ADM201 in three weeks. Was I able to do that just because I bought this book? Of course not; I had to study my rear off and read, study flash cards, take mock exams, study Salesforce material, watch on-line training videos, fail the exam once, and then take the exam one more time to pass it on the second try.

To address the technical issues specifically, this is what is required if you are going to be taking the exam. This book coupled with the material available from Salesforce actually goes hand-in-hand. Are there a few areas that are not 100% in sync with the current version of Salesforce (Spring 2012 as of this writing)? Yes. But keep in mind Salesforce release three versions every year, naturally there are going to be differences. With that said though, the question you should be asking, does the core foundations of what an admin actually does in the CRM solution change that radically from one version to the next? Of course not. This book deals with those core features very well. If you need the updated material for the changes on the version you are using, visit the Salesforce Community sites and view the avalanche of material offered by Salesforce every time they release a new version.

I give this book two thumbs up.

Dave Galligher
Salesforce.com Certified Force.com Developer