Austin Mills started his career with ApostleTech as an intern in early 2019 and after graduation, he was offered a full-time position with the team as a Salesforce Support Specialist. Austin is an alum of Grand Canyon University, where he earned his degree in marketing. While finishing his coursework his senior year, he simultaneously studied Salesforce and earned a certification as a Salesforce Platform Administrator, which helped him land his internship at ApostleTech. Austin quickly invested himself in the work, welcomed new challenges and proved himself a valuable part of the team. After only six months with the company, he was promoted to Salesforce Consultant and in spring 2020 he was promoted again. As a Client Services Manager, Austin is instrumental in helping clients with CRM implementations. We recently spoke with Austin to learn more about what he enjoys most about working at ApostleTech.

How would you describe a typical day as a Client Manager?

I am an early riser and typically start my day around 5:30 each morning to begin planning the day ahead. The first thing I do is check my inbox and sift through emails to review any new or remaining items on my to-do list. On most days, I connect with the development team to check on the status of items in the works and the various projects we have open for them to complete. Once I finish getting updates with the team, I document everything we went over and provide an update to our clients and to the developers working on specific projects. By that time, it’s usually time to meet with the ApostleTech team for our “daily scrum,” which are check-ins where we discuss items of importance. I love to start the discussion off with a fun or crazy fact to get everyone’s minds awake and alert for the upcoming day. After the daily scrum, I transition into my client meeting schedule, which usually runs from the late morning to early afternoon. I prepare each agenda before the call to ensure everything on the task list is addressed. During the call I compile several notes that are then cleaned up and sent back to the client following the meeting. When it is not meeting time, it’s configuration time. While conversing with customers and gathering specifications can be exciting at times, configuring Salesforce CRMs is the fun of the game. Implementing a new solution for a client in Salesforce and seeing it all come together is a phenomenal feeling. I also love when I demo a new solution that we just implemented for a client and hearing customers say, “Our users are going to love this!” At the end of my workday, I like to put pen to paper and make a list of any tasks I was unable to finish and create a game plan for the next day.

Can you tell us about any interesting projects you’ve worked on recently?

One of my favorite projects that I worked on recently is the Einstein Chat Bot. I love customizing a tool that helps our customers’ sales and marketing teams along with their potential customers – delivering a great user experience. Another reason I enjoy these types of projects is I love building automation. Flow automations are built into the Einstein Chat Bot, allowing new paths inside of the bot that bring everything together. Seeing it all come together is one of the best feelings for me; I find it very interesting and exciting.

In your experience, what are the top three things a company should do to help ensure a successful CRM implementation?

1. Have a team in place from the beginning. CRM is not a one-man job—it requires a full team effort through each phase of the implementation process.

2. Set client expectations early. A good project manager will under promise and over deliver. The key is to make sure the CRM runs smoothly for its users.

3. Keep clients informed and in the loop. Updating them of all action items and where they stand at any given time, helps motivate clients to get requirements sent back to our team, alerts them to what is getting done and helps keep the project moving forward. 

What prompted you to pursue a career in this industry?

Growing up, I was drawn to technology. In elementary school, I loved our tech lab days when we got to work on computers. I initially went to college at GCU to study marketing with the goal of becoming a Marketing Manager. When my uncle presented me with an opportunity to learn Salesforce, it reignited my passion in technology. Once I got started on this path, I hit the ground running and haven’t stopped since. I’m proud to be a big part of the ApostleTech team and I’m excited to learn more and grow as my career advances.

What do you like most about being a part of the ApostleTech team?

I don’t feel like I just have co-workers, I feel like I have a big group of friends that I get to work with. In the virtual world we’ve been working in it’s amazing how we have all connected with one another. I can’t stress enough how important it is to work with a team of people that feels like friends. Working with individuals you can rely on helps drive me to do my best for the person next to me and motivates us to help our clients take their business to the next level. Another reason I enjoy being a part of the ApostleTech team is the support for work-life balance. They go above and beyond giving employees the ability to spend time with family and those we cherish. Especially in the turmoil of the past year, ApostleTech provided the support I needed. 

When you are not helping clients, how do you like to spend your free time?

When I am not assisting clients with improving their Salesforce CRM, I love to spend my free time with my wife and our new puppies. It’s essential to spend time with family, and I’m fortunate to work for a company and have a career where I can do that. I am also an avid sports fan, and an especially big fan of the Arizona Coyotes. During hockey season, you can find me relaxing at home on the couch with the game – after wrapping up my day with clients, of course.  To learn more about Austin and how he and the ApostleTech team of experts can help your company implement the best CRM solution visit apostletech.com.