Salesforce Developer vs. Salesforce Analyst: What Executives Need to Know Before Hiring

The Executive Dilemma: Developer or Analyst?

When your organization is scaling or customizing Salesforce, knowing who to hire is crucial—but often misunderstood. Should you bring in a Salesforce Developer or a Salesforce Analyst

While both roles work within the Salesforce ecosystem, their skills, goals, and responsibilities are very different.

Making the wrong hire can slow down your project, waste budget, and leave critical gaps in your CRM strategy.

This guide will help you, the executive, make the right strategic decision—so your Salesforce investments actually deliver ROI.

What Does a Salesforce Developer Do?

A Salesforce Developer is a technical builder. They write code, build automations, and create custom applications on top of the Salesforce platform. If your Salesforce setup requires custom development, API integrations, or advanced workflows, you need a developer.

🔧 Key Responsibilities:

• Writing Apex code and Visualforce pages
  
  
• Developing Lightning Web Components (LWC)
  
  
• Creating custom apps, triggers, and batch jobs
  
  
• Integrating Salesforce with external systems via API
  
  
• Building advanced automations beyond what Salesforce Flow or Process Builder can handle
  
  

✅ Hire a Developer When:

• You’re building custom apps or products on Salesforce
  
  
• You need complex automations that go beyond no-code tools
  
  
• You’re integrating Salesforce with ERPs, websites, or external databases
  
  
• You’re running into limitations with out-of-the-box functionality
  
  

What Does a Salesforce Analyst Do?

A Salesforce Analyst is your data translator and process optimizer. They work with business teams to understand goals, gather requirements, and ensure that Salesforce aligns with how your company operates.

They often create reports, dashboards, and improve user experience—not by coding, but by configuring Salesforce tools the right way.

📊 Key Responsibilities:

• Gathering business requirements and translating them into Salesforce processes
  
  
• Creating reports and dashboards for decision-makers
  
  
• Improving workflows using standard Salesforce tools
  
  
• Ensuring users adopt Salesforce correctly
  
  
• Training teams and supporting CRM adoption
  
  

✅ Hire an Analyst When:

• You need better Salesforce reporting and visibility into KPIs
  
  
• You’re struggling with user adoption or inconsistent data
  
  
• You want to improve existing workflows using out-of-the-box features
  
  
• You need someone to bridge the gap between business and IT
  
  

Developer vs. Analyst: A Quick Comparison

Role

Focus Area

Skill Set

Tools Used

Salesforce Developer

Customization & Coding

Apex, LWC, API, Visualforce

VS Code, GitHub, Developer Console

Salesforce Analyst

Strategy & Optimization

Process mapping, reporting, user support

Reports, Dashboards, Flows, Admin tools

Still Not Sure? Ask This First.

What’s the goal of your project?
If you need technical customization or integration, go with a developer.
If you need better insights, smoother processes, and improved user engagement, hire an analyst.

In many organizations, both roles work together—but the order matters. Often, the Analyst should be your first hire to define business needs. Then a Developer can build solutions aligned to those needs.

How BKONECT Helps You Hire Right

At BKONECT, we understand the difference because we work with both. We guide executives in defining their goals, evaluating team gaps, and helping source the right Salesforce talent—whether it's a developer, analyst, or an entire hybrid team.

Don’t waste the budget on the wrong hire. Talk to us before you build.

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