Amazon, a global leader in innovation, sought to maximize the return on their investment in Salesforce. Their challenge? A growing team of Salesforce Admins and Developers, many of whom were new to the platform.
The solution came in the form of Trailhead, Salesforce’s free, online, and gamified learning platform. Brittany Argall, Head of Business Strategy and CRM Operations for AWS, had firsthand experience with Trailhead’s effectiveness in her previous EdTech role and recognized its potential to rapidly upskill her Amazon colleagues.
Anyone can learn AI, Data, and Salesforce Skills for free on Trailhead.
Trailhead empowers anyone to learn skills across Salesforce technology, AI & Agentforce, and general business skills like leadership. Its gamified approach—with points, badges, ranks, and streaks—keeps learners motivated and engaged. A key feature is the ability to learn by doing via Hands-on Challenges, which allow anyone to practice real-world skills—developing apps, customizing objects, and creating agents—in their own Salesforce playground. This practical learning is highly effective: a 2025 Valoir survey of 1,000+ Trailhead learners found that 76% reported the skills earned on the platform helped increase their Salesforce ROI.
Amazon had clear Salesforce objectives:
- Drive Adoption and ROI across existing clouds (Agentforce Sales, Agentforce Service, Agentforce Marketing, Tableau, etc.).
- Successfully Implement new solutions, specifically Data360, Revenue Cloud, and Agentforce.
To meet these goals, Brittany partnered with her Salesforce Account Team to launch a personalized Trailblazer Challenge. She created custom learning journeys on Trailhead, focusing on the target products with specific badges, superbadges, and trails. The team was challenged to earn as many badges as possible over a three-month time period.
Gamification and Recognition Drives Success
Success was ensured through a recognition and rewards program, celebrating milestones such as earning a superbadge or becoming a Trailhead Ranger (100 badges/50K+ points). Brittany maintained momentum through regular, motivational status updates, leading by example, and securing engagement from Executive Sponsors.
The challenge was a resounding success, resulting in over 10,000 Trailhead badges earned by more than 500 Amazon employees and a 168% increase in employees earning Salesforce Certifications. This boost in confidence and technical expertise empowered the team to successfully roll out Data360, Revenue Cloud, and Agentforce, which has led to increased productivity and business impact. Of the participants in the Trailblazer Challenge, 94% reported that their new expertise gave them greater confidence in their Salesforce skills.
Amazon is inspiring their employees to become Agentblazers – AI Visionaries who are creating the future
Agentblazers have the skills and the vision to transform how work gets done in the agentic AI era. Up to 94% of Trailhead learners who have earned Agentblazer Status reported that Trailhead helped them identify and implement Agentforce use cases.
To further encourage development in AI and Agentforce, Amazon is launching an Agentblazer Challenge. The goal is for every employee to earn Agentblazer Status, recognition of AI expertise and hands-on experience building agents.
Agentblazer Champions have learned AI and Agentforce fundamentals and can build an agent.
Agentblazer Innovators understand AI strategy, agent project planning and can set upSales and Service agents.
Agentblazer Legends have taken their skills to the next level with full agent lifecycle management, advanced agent customization, Slack integration, grounding agents in data, and earning the Agentforce Specialist Certification.
Top Strategies for Success in Driving Trailhead Engagement
Here are Brittany Argall’s, Head of Business Strategy and CRM Operations for AWS, keys to success:
- Personalize the learning: Create custom learning journeys specific to the skills and products your team needs.
- Gamify it: Set a clear deadline for the challenge, ideally within a 6-week to 3-month timeframe.
- Lead by Example: Team leaders should participate, and Executive Sponsors should provide encouragement.
- Motivate: Use regular status updates, recognition, and fun prizes, such as items from the Trailhead Store.
- Partner: Work closely with your Salesforce Account Team for dedicated support.
- Measure Results: If reporting isn’t available, set up a self-reporting workflow (e.g., a form) to track achievements like total badges, superbadges, Trailblazer Ranks, Agentblazer Status, and streaks.
By creating a culture of learning, organizations can drive deep Salesforce expertise. An Agentblazer Challenge is an excellent way to invest in employees’ AI and Agentforce skills, directly optimizing your organization’s productivity and efficiency. For more tips on driving adoption, check out the Trailhead for Companies badge.
