Many Salesforce support contracts are built around a simple promise: when something breaks, or when a team needs a change, an expert will handle it.
That model works, especially when time is tight. But an increasing number of customers are asking for something different: support that transfers knowledge.
Instead of “please fix this for us,” the request sounds more like:
“Can you show us how to do it?”
This shift creates an interesting dynamic for service providers. Teaching and mentoring can feel slower than simply implementing changes behind the scenes. But for customers, the long-term impact is significant: the Salesforce org becomes more resilient, decisions become more informed, and teams gain confidence to make day-to-day changes without waiting in a queue.
The “lightbulb” problem in Salesforce
A useful way to understand this is through an everyday analogy.
When you own a house, you don’t want to call an electrician every time you need to change a lightbulb. You want to be able to handle small tasks yourself, while still bringing in experts for bigger projects like renovations, rewiring, or structural work.
Salesforce is the same. Most teams don’t want to rely on a consultant for every:
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field update,
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report change,
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user permission adjustment,
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page layout tweak,
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or small process improvement.
Yet many teams feel stuck because the platform can be complex, and generic training only goes so far. Trailhead and online resources are valuable, but sooner or later, most organisations hit a stage where the question isn’t “what does this feature do?”, it’s:
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“What’s the best practice for our org?”
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“What’s the safest way to implement this without breaking something else?”
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“Why did this automation behave that way?”
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“How do we set this up so we don’t regret it in six months?”
That’s where mentored support fills the gap.
Why “mentored support” creates more value than tickets alone
Organisations that invest in knowledge transfer alongside delivery typically see benefits in five key areas:
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Speed over time
Teaching can add minutes today, but it reduces friction tomorrow. When teams learn how to handle the basics, small changes happen immediately, not after a handoff and waiting period. -
Better Salesforce decisions
When internal teams understand the reasoning behind a configuration choice, they make smarter trade-offs and avoid quick fixes that create a long-term mess. -
Stronger adoption and ownership
Users adopt what they understand. When teams are part of the “how” and “why,” Salesforce feels less like a black box and more like a tool they own. -
Reduced risk
Mentoring isn’t just “how to click the buttons.” It’s guardrails: security, data quality, automation, design, and governance. Customers learn what not to do, and why. -
Resilience when people change
Staff turnover happens. When admin knowledge lives only with one consultant (or one internal power user), the org becomes fragile. Skill-building distributes capability and reduces single points of failure.
How we deliver it: Ask Us Anything + Emerald Service
To meet this need, we built two complementary ways to support customers while helping them become more self-sufficient.
Ask Us Anything is an office-hours style offering designed for fast answers and real-time learning. Customers bring their live questions, anything from admin basics to configuration strategy, and get immediate guidance. It’s especially effective for teams that want momentum without booking a full project every time a question arises.
Emerald Service is our ongoing support model that combines delivery with mentoring. It’s designed for teams who want to improve Salesforce continuously while building internal capability. That includes:
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working sessions where we explain decisions and trade-offs,
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“do it together” configuration so teams learn by building,
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review and coaching so changes stay aligned with best practices,
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and support that strengthens governance and documentation over time.
Just as importantly, the model is flexible. Not every situation is a training moment. Sometimes the priority is speed and certainty, and we take the wheel. Other times, the priority is capability-building, and we slow down slightly to coach.
A simple framework keeps it practical:
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We do it for you when urgency is high
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We do it with you when learning will pay off
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You do it with a review when you’re ready to own it
The outcome: customers who need less help, but get more value
At first glance, it can seem counterintuitive for a support provider to teach customers how to do things themselves.
But the outcome isn’t “customers don’t need support anymore.” The outcome is better support conversations: higher-value improvements, clearer requirements, smarter prioritisation, and fewer repetitive requests.
Customers gain confidence handling the “lightbulb changes,” while still relying on experts for bigger builds, strategy, and complex troubleshooting.
In other words, the relationship becomes a partnership, not a dependency.
Interested in building internal Salesforce admin confidence while keeping expert support close by?
Book a meeting with me here!
