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How to pass each Salesforce certification: The SFDC99 Method

April 18, 2017

Preface: this post is part of the Study Guide: How to Earn 15 Salesforce Certifications series.

In this post, I’m going to share with you my secret technique for passing all Salesforce certifications.

This is the exact technique I personally used to pass 16+ certifications. In many of these areas, I had little to no experience before beginning my studies. I’m calling this The SFDC99 Method.

My method is simple, yet effective. Please do note, it requires you to change the way you think about things, even if it’s uncomfortable for you. It was uncomfortable for me. Approach with an open mind.

There are 5 phases to passing each certification:

Phase #1: Studying for a Certification

There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to studying for a certification.

School of Thought #1: Memorize, memorize, memorize!
School of Thought #2: Focus on understanding, not memorization

The SFDC99 Method focuses on understanding, not memorization. For phase 1, at least!

Why is it better to study understanding, instead of memorizing?

  • You don’t know what kind of questions you’ll get, and there is so much documentation!
  • There exists no up-to-date database of things to memorize to make life easy for you
  • Salesforce certification exams are constantly changing. Your information could be out of date
  • Understanding how Salesforce works will help in future certifications. The goal is to pass a ton of certifications, not just one!
  • It’s the right thing to do. You have to become good at Salesforce sometime!

The methodology behind studying for understanding is a big topic, so I’m going to devote the entire next post of this series to it. Let’s leave it at this for now.

Phase #2: Taking the Exam Online

How you take a multiple choice exam is just as important as how you study for it!

I’m talking about what kinds of strategies you use while you’re in the middle of the test.

Here’s one example strategy: You’re taking a 60 question multiple choice exam. There are 4 possible answers for each question. The passing score is 65%, which means you need 39 questions right.

Say you studied very hard for the exam, but, you only know the right answer to 1 out of 3 questions. That means you’re only sure about 20 out of 60 total questions. Stay with me here!

For each of the remaining 40 questions, you don’t know the right answer. However, you use a specific set of techniques to eliminate half of the possible answers. Now you have a 50% chance of getting each of these 40 questions right.

Do the math: (20 * 100%) + (40 * 50%) = 40 questions right = YOU PASS!

This is just an example of one technique you’ll use during the exam. There are a lot, and each one is aimed at slightly increasing your chances of getting a question right.

I’ll dedicate an entire post in this series to teaching you these techniques.

Wait – so why do you have to take it online? See phase 3…

Phase #3: Failing a Certification

Remember when I said you needed to prepare for failure? I’m taking it a step further. Expect failure.

Expect to see that horrible word: FAIL… because that’s your cue to start taking action.

That’s your cue to take out a piece of paper and write down every single part of the exam that you need to study more. You must do this right away, because, you’ll forget if you don’t.

That’s why you need to take the exam online. Immediately after you finish the exam, you need to note the areas you’re weak in. This is important and you can’t have any distractions.

Sure, Salesforce will give you a breakdown of how you did on each section. But that’s not enough specific information for you to know exactly where you need to focus your studies on.

Now, I’m not saying you must fail. It’d be great if you passed on your first try! I’m just saying to never assume you pass. I’m also saying you should take steps not to fail more than once.

Phase #4: Re-studying for a Certification


Re-studying for a certification is very different than studying for it on your first attempt!

Unlike phase 1, this time we shift our focus more on memorization. Why?

  • This time around, you know exactly what you need to memorize
  • Don’t know the answer to a question or topic that stumped you? Google it!

It’s still important to understand topics you were weak in. It’s just more efficient now to memorize!

Don’t wait a long time to re-take an exam. Aim to do it within 2 days, or, a week at most.

Phase #5: Passing a Certification

Pat yourself on the back, enjoy some ice cream, then get ready to start studying for the next cert!

It’s important that you start studying for the next certification immediately. Don’t take a break for more than two weeks. There’s just too much overlap between certifications to do so.

For example, all of these certifications cover similar topics:

  • Administrator
  • Advanced Administrator
  • Platform App Builder
  • Sales Cloud Consultant
  • Sharing and Visibility Designer

If you’re out of the game too long, you’ll end up spending precious time re-studying topics!


…And that’s my strategy in a nutshell!

Really, this post just scratches the surface. For the rest of the series, I’ll be going in depth on all of the points brought up in here and more. There’s lots of good stuff to come!

Special thanks to Michael Drzewiecki, the certification master who was kind enough to teach me his original strategy to amassing certifications. I adapted that strategy into this.

Next post: How to study understanding, not memorization!

46 Comments
Nik
October 2, 2021 @ 11:27 pm

Hello David, I did not understand how to study I have read many times The ultimate guide but I have one doubt If we take Admin cert for example and go through the exam guide we will find trailhead which contains numerous material to study and as you said in one of your videos that the problem with trailhead that “you spent hours hours and hours winning shiny batches but learning nothing” So how do I study as the trailheads alone takes out so much time like 20hrs a module.
I am confused what should I do if I follow exactly trailhead 3-4 hrs a day keeping my day job doing 60hr long trail it would take me 15 days and as we study new topics we may forget the earlier topics and we wont remember exactly what to study for the exam again and eventually I will fail also it will take to much time to earn number of certs
Please reply back I am so confused :(
and I really wanna earn certs

Reply
    David Liu
    October 5, 2021 @ 8:38 am

    Just do flashcards and skip Trailhead except for the stuff you’re really struggling in

    Reply
khondoker Rahman
August 21, 2020 @ 2:26 pm

Hello David good houghtening .hey i do like ur advice the way u
thought and say. like it .that is why i do need ur suggestions.
I just “FAILED” my adm 201 exam this my first step. could u reefer me some batch link which going to help me out to pass the administration certificate .please. have a good day

Reply
    khondoker Rahman
    August 21, 2020 @ 2:32 pm

    Sorry some how my type gets meshed up. I do wrote Good evening and want to say i do like your advice david. sorry for type mistake. thanks

    Reply
Sud
July 31, 2020 @ 1:30 am

Hi David,

I am a huge fan of you, SFDC99 and the Apex Academy. I finally cleared PD1 today after failing in it two times. You have been my inspiration throughout, I was able to grind through the difficult phases thanks to the inspiration in this community. I hope to be a Technical Architect one day and meet you in person.
Thank you again for everything.

Reply
David W
December 12, 2019 @ 8:26 am

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS METHOD!

You totally changed my experience with certifications. I went through your method so far on 4 exams. Failed 3 on the first time and always passed on the second time.

On my way to finishing the Dev 2, I already have job offers all the time and have found a wonderful place to work.

Again, thank you!

Reply
    David Liu
    December 12, 2019 @ 9:26 am

    Very happy to hear this David!!

    Reply
    Carlos B
    July 2, 2020 @ 8:15 pm

    Hello David! I’m going to take my second exam, and i would like to know, who was that second chance? Was similar? Same questions? A Complete diferent exam?

    Thnx

    Reply
      David Liu
      July 2, 2020 @ 9:30 pm

      Usually a lot of overlap but still new questions

      Reply
Steven Yee
July 24, 2018 @ 4:43 pm

Whats the advantage of taking the test online vs onsite?

Reply
    David Liu
    July 29, 2018 @ 10:50 pm

    You can take it in your PJs =)

    Reply
    Chanida Clarkston
    August 22, 2018 @ 8:03 pm

    You also have more time to cancel/reschedule if you need to. At least that is true where I am (Denver, CO)
    You could cancel/reschedule up to 72 hours before the test with the on site test while the online one you can do it up to 24 hours beforehand

    Reply
    Merv
    October 18, 2018 @ 11:03 pm

    you can schedule the online test the same day anywhere from 1hr to 15 mins before depending on the time of day. The onsite needs to be scheduled at least a day ahead.

    Reply
    David W
    December 12, 2019 @ 8:31 am

    Not only can you do it in your environment, you also can immediately following the exam write down as many of the questions you think you missed… or at least the idea of them. Just get have a paper and pencil handy and immediately start writing down the questions… or the idea of questions that you had issues with. This plus the results which give you a break down by area of what to further study. (ok, first maybe check to see if you passed, and in that case, crack open a beer, wine or sparkling water!)

    Reply
Dipti Kalaria
July 17, 2018 @ 2:50 am

Thank you for nice detail guidance

Reply
Neeraj
November 7, 2017 @ 2:35 pm

Hi David,

I have reviewed this article from top to bottom numerous times and though the tips are amazing, I am a bit confused as to where you actually study the material!?

I have gone through the certified administrator exam guide and went through all of the trailhead modules recommended. Upon further research and suggestions from others, this may not be enough to fully encapsulate the breadth of knowledge that I need to understand and acquire before I take my test.

Should I be using the Trailhead + Salesforce User Guide to ensure I am studying all the information required?

Reply
    David Liu
    November 9, 2017 @ 7:44 pm

    You gotta read the full guide =P

    https://www.sfdc99.com/ultimate-salesforce-certifications-guide/

    Trailhead too of course!

    Reply
Amit
November 2, 2017 @ 11:47 pm

Thanks for motivating us.

I have planned for SFDC App builder certification. My exam date is on 8th Dec 2017. Can you please share some tips/study materials as this is my first SFDC certification.

Thanks in Advance.

Reply
    David Liu
    November 4, 2017 @ 1:13 pm

    Definitely read every single word in the entire cert guide on this site!

    Reply
Rahul
October 26, 2017 @ 2:12 pm

Hi David, great info, but just checked and saw all the ebooks on inkling are gone, do you have backups you can share. I am specifically looking for TA prospective.

Thanks

Reply
    David Liu
    October 26, 2017 @ 8:55 pm

    Updated the links =)

    Reply
Dipendra Kushwah
July 4, 2017 @ 4:19 am

Thanks David this is really good inspiring stuff, my goal is Salesforce Administrator by July 30th 2017.

Reply
    David Liu
    July 4, 2017 @ 8:15 pm

    Cheers!

    Reply
    Karthik Kompalli
    July 10, 2017 @ 12:06 pm

    Hi Dipendra,

    My exam is on July 28th, 2017. Any links which you are going through for preparation. Pleas let me know.

    Reply
Srinivas
June 20, 2017 @ 7:56 pm

I have done 5 certifications in last 10 months …Planned 4 more this year

Reply
    David Liu
    June 20, 2017 @ 9:56 pm

    Congrats!!!!

    Reply
Karthik
June 1, 2017 @ 10:37 pm

Went to my first Salesforce User Group meetup yesterday (have met lots of supportive community members!); now have a fire to get four certs in the next 30 days and finally have a much more strategic plan of doing it! Thanks!

Reply
    David Liu
    June 1, 2017 @ 10:42 pm

    Great!!

    Reply
dbeaumont16
May 18, 2017 @ 11:41 am

All of this is encouraging to me. I have been doing Trailhead to help me with understanding Salesforce. I am hoping to take my first admin exam before the end of 2017.

Reply
Tina
May 16, 2017 @ 8:30 pm

Got my first cert today. My goal was 3 in may. 2 more to go

Reply
    David Liu
    May 16, 2017 @ 8:44 pm

    CONGRATS!!!

    Reply
Jay
May 1, 2017 @ 3:31 am

I will try my best David and Thanks for yours posts. :)
I will crack it in first attempt.!

Reply
juergen hoehne
April 26, 2017 @ 11:01 pm

thank you

Reply
Sharath
April 26, 2017 @ 3:52 am

Very valid content – Thanks for sharing.

Reply
    David Liu
    April 26, 2017 @ 8:42 pm

    You’re welcome!

    Reply
akacarioca
April 24, 2017 @ 5:08 am

I have the Admin and App Builder certifications. Now, I really need to learn Service Cloud, any tips?

Reply
    David Liu
    April 24, 2017 @ 7:22 am

    Read the rest of the certification series posts!

    Reply
PJ
April 23, 2017 @ 1:52 pm

David. There are 60 Questions for ADMIN 201? Quizlet has quite a lot of flashcards under ADMIN201. Any set in particular will work? Thanks for your support. I want to reach a point where I will also be a GIVER!!! Right now I am taking ideas and suggestions. My BIGGEST problem is CONCENTRATION!!!

Reply
    David Liu
    April 23, 2017 @ 2:12 pm

    Hahaha, there are many potential questions hence the large amount of resources. You should be able to do well in every set!

    Reply
Mamatha
April 19, 2017 @ 6:53 pm

You are awesome!!
Thanks for introducing the SFDC99 method….my goal is to get 5 certifications in next 6 months. :)

Reply
    David Liu
    April 19, 2017 @ 7:45 pm

    Thank you, you can do it Mamatha!

    Reply
Atul Trivedi
April 19, 2017 @ 7:52 am

I do not have more words to say about you. You are a Magician.

Reply
    David Liu
    April 19, 2017 @ 7:45 pm

    Thanks!

    Reply
Copper
April 19, 2017 @ 12:48 am

Challenge accepted :D

Reply
    David Liu
    April 19, 2017 @ 7:45 pm

    Good luck!!

    Reply
Anonymous
April 18, 2017 @ 11:08 pm

Rock star!

Reply

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