Those of us who work in the customer relationship management (CRM) world know what Salesforce is. For those of you who don’t, just know Salesforce is a company that continues to dream and implement ways that help sales teams and marketers connect with their prospects and clients.
With that said, there’s way more that goes on when it comes to Salesforce than those two sentences above. But to understand all of the existing and new capabilities of Salesforce, there’s one place learners and innovators (aka Trailblazers) go—and that’s Dreamforce.
The Dreamforce conference is hosted in San Francisco, California each year (Salesforce’s homebase)—this year being their 20th anniversary. But this isn’t just any conference—try a conference with more than a thousand different sessions, mixed with performers like Red Hot Chili Peppers, sustainability at the front of mind (including Jane Goodall herself), and so much more. How do they do it? I have no idea—but here are reasons why it was the highlight of my year and the experiences I brought home with me.
They Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk
We all know company culture is more important than ever, but wow, does Salesforce truly follow through with this. When you think of a work conference, you think of a few meeting rooms with some interesting speakers and that’s about all. Salesforce said NOPE to the stereotypical event process. This event was hosted in 11 different buildings, across multiple blocks in the middle of downtown San Francisco with attendance of more than 40,000 Trailblazers.
There was ample greenspace to hang out in the sunshine between events (with coffee and snacks of course) and more than 50 different sessions on sustainability alone. Dreamforce also donated uneaten food to locals in need—hello building trust and sustainability in one clean swoop! There was greenery included in every meeting location to make you truly feel like you were in Dreamforce National Park. Their event team didn’t miss a beat when it came to cultivating an environment that felt exclusive, cheery, and dare I say, meditative as they played forest soundtracks through all event spaces.
With the help of the Great Resignation, company culture is at the forefront of every employee’s mind. Finding a workplace that shares the same values and morals are becoming more impactful than ever imagined. InfoTrust culture has been a positive shock to me since each employee is deeply cared for. What’s my favorite core value you may ask? Be respectful—don’t be an asshole.
Learning at a New Level
Sure, you’ve been to a work conference and you sit in a building all day taking notes and you normally would hurry back to your hotel to catch up on all the missed emails. Dreamforce was beyond engaging to the point where you (almost) forgot about those emails, so why not fully immerse yourself into your surroundings?
Even though I did not attend all 1,000 sessions (surprising, I know) each session I did attend had awesome speakers from around the world who shared what their organizations implemented and the positive results they gained. But not only were these sessions from real people who use the Salesforce suite of platforms, these were also people who talked about the world and real things happening around us each day.
My favorite by far was listening to Jane Goodall talk about our environment and her research over the many years she studied chimps. She spoke about how our trees and our oceans work together to combat CO2 emissions, but once a tree is cut down, that same CO2 is then re-released back into the air we breathe. It’s important as ever to care for our trees and oceans, to not only give ourselves cleaner air, but our future generations. I am not kidding when I say she had 50 percent of the room in tears with her moving words.
On a more technical note, Dreamforce had a “genius bar” set up for those who had questions—Salesforce reps ran around to meet all their clients between sessions, and if you poked around enough you’d find some pretty cool swag. If you had questions throughout the day, presenters would talk you through the journeys they’ve built and go into greater detail for your needs.
If you didn’t get the chance to attend the 2022 Dreamforce, you can watch a handful of super awesome sessions here.
InfoTrust’s Encouragement to Grow
With great experiences comes great costs … and travel, booking, planning, etc. But my manager at InfoTrust encouraged me to attend and continues to advocate for my education advancements through the entire year. This year alone I’ve become a Certified Pardot Specialist and am now certified in LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Fundamentals, as well as I was sent to Dreamforce!
Does your employer strengthen your skills? Do they encourage you to truly be an expert? Would you like to join a growing team who supports all aspects of your learning? If so, think about applying to an open position today! Regardless, I hope to see you next year at Dreamforce!
