Why Every Salesforce Admin Should Learn SOQL
- Joshua Dehkordi
- Sep 2
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 2
When I first saw SOQL on Trailhead, I brushed it off. It looked like writing code — something I thought was strictly for developers. At the time, I didn’t see myself as “technical” enough. I figured I’d stick to reports, dashboards, and point-and-click tools. SOQL felt intimidating — like stepping into a world that wasn’t meant for admins.
But once I got into the day-to-day of my first admin role, I realized I couldn’t ignore it. SOQL wasn’t just “developer stuff” — it was the key to understanding how Salesforce really works. And the truth is: you don’t need to be a coder to use it. You just need to learn a few basics.
Why SOQL Matters Beyond the Admin Cert
Trailhead and the Admin cert focus heavily on declarative tools: reports, dashboards, and list views. Those are important — but they’re not always enough.
Real-world Salesforce admins constantly need to answer questions like:
“Which Accounts are owned by inactive Users?”
“How many Flows were triggered by changes to a specific field last week?”
“What Leads were created through API integrations last week?”
These aren’t edge cases — they’re the kinds of questions that land on an admin’s desk all the time. And while you couldhack together workarounds in reports or exports, SOQL gets you the answer faster, cleaner, and more reliably.
SOQL Helps You Understand the Data Model
When I first learned Salesforce, I thought of objects as just screens with fields. I’d click into an Account, then a Contact, then maybe an Opportunity, and it all felt disconnected — like flipping through folders without ever seeing how the cabinet was organized. Reports gave me snapshots, but never the bigger picture.
That changed the first time I ran a SOQL query. Suddenly, I wasn’t just looking at screens — I was looking under the hood. I could see how objects were connected and how fields behaved behind the scenes. It was like popping the hood of a car for the first time and finally understanding how the engine runs.
Here’s the query that opened my eyes:
SELECT Id, Name, (SELECT LastName FROM Contacts)
FROM Account
WHERE Owner.IsActive = falseWith one query, I could:
Find Accounts still owned by inactive users — a real data quality issue.
See how Contacts roll up under those Accounts.
Get the big picture (Accounts) and the details (Contacts) all at once.
That was my lightbulb moment. SOQL wasn’t just “code” — it was seeing Salesforce the way the platform sees itself. Once I made that shift, Flows, security, and automation all started to click.
How to Start Learning SOQL (Without Getting Overwhelmed)
Step 1: Download Salesforce Inspector Reloaded
The fastest way to learn SOQL is with Salesforce Inspector Reloaded (a free Chrome extension). It’s great because:
You can see every field, even the hidden ones.
It shows connected objects so you don’t have to memorize API names.
It lets you run queries right in Salesforce and click straight into the results.
What makes Inspector so powerful is how it removes the guesswork. Instead of digging through Object Manager to find field names or relationships, you can explore and test queries in real time.
Step 2: Learn the Three Building Blocks
Once you’ve got Inspector installed, the next step is understanding the basic structure of a SOQL query. Nearly every query you’ll write starts with three commands:
SELECT → the fields you want to see
FROM → the object you’re pulling data from
WHERE → the filters to narrow things down
Think of it as: what data → from where → under what conditions.
Example:
SELECT Id, Name, Email
FROM Contact
WHERE Email != nullThis query grabs all Contacts with an email address. It’s simple, clear, and already more flexible than most reports.
The key is not to overcomplicate it. If you master these three building blocks, you can answer 80% of the questions that land on an admin’s desk. Everything else builds on this foundation.
Step 3: Add Filters to Get Precise
Once you’ve mastered SELECT–FROM–WHERE, the real power of SOQL comes from filters. Filters let you narrow your results down so you’re not drowning in data.
Here are the ones you’ll use the most:
= → equals
!= → not equal
<, <=, >, >= → less/greater than
LIKE → pattern matching (e.g., Name LIKE 'Acme%')
IN → match against a list of values
IS NULL / != null → find missing or filled values
Combine with AND / OR for more complex logic
The beauty of SOQL filters is that you can keep stacking them until you get exactly what you need. Start small, then build up.
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