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Salesforce MVPs aren’t salesforce.com employees, but they're an instrumental source of support for our community. MVPs are salesforce.com evangelists recognized for their leadership, knowledge, and ongoing contributions. These individuals represent the spirit of the community and what it's all about.
Salesforce MVPs have been attending Dreamforce for a number of years, and have handy tips for other attendees. Below are some valuable pieces of guidance that they have provided.
1. Understand the layout of the event. It’s a massive event drawing tens of thousands of people, and while there's always a friendly face to help you on your way, it helps to have a good general idea yourself, so take some time to wander.
2. Leave time between sessions to network. With over 350 cloud companies in the expo to talk to, you will certainly find yourself with plenty of new social media friends and followers.
3. Don’t plan too much. You need to give yourself time to soak up the atmosphere, reflect on your own next innovation, and enjoy the entertainment.
4. Make new connections. There are so many amazing people attending Dreamforce, you owe it to yourself to meet some! Visit the community lounge, roam the expo, introduce yourself to those sitting around your or say hello to the speaker and give your thoughts on their session. Without much effort at all you can easily make 20 or more connections. In this community, sharing is caring and at Dreamforce, sharing is the name of the game!
5. Visit at least one keynote. Whether it's product-specific or industry thought leadership, there is great value sitting in on a conversation between Jeffery Immelt and Colin Powell as they expose you to interesting insights that go beyond our daily tasks. These sessions are about the big picture and how successful cultures are built and maintained. It's about the impact of our technology on the world. It's about how we can learn from another.
6. Use the Dreamforce App. If you’re a first timer or attending solo from your company, the Dreamforce App is a great place to meet people before you get to San Francisco. Perhaps you’ll meet someone who works for a company with a product you’re considering.
Instead of waiting at a booth, you could make plans to discuss the product or service at a specific time. Use it to look into sessions you’re interested in. Talk to the presenters to get a feel for the session and/or their intention. The best presenters pay attention to the associated groups. Some even use their groups to get real examples and insight into which specifics those interested in the session want to see/hear about.
7. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Drink water. Bring a reusable water bottle and participate in being green.
8. Accept that you are not going to be able to do it all. Accept that there are times you will just need to step away, back to your hotel room to give your mind a break. There’s so much information and things to do and you’re in one of the best cities in the world, it can be overwhelming. That’s fine. If you do need to miss a session, your spot will gladly be taken by someone in the standby line and odds are good it will be available after the conference on Youtube so you can still get the information.
9. Leave the laptop at home, or if you must bring it, leave it secured in the safe at your hotel room. You will find that it quickly becomes very heavy to carry around with you all day. Opt for a tablet if you have one or even your smartphone if you are comfortable taking notes on it.
10. Make sure to be comfortable. Wear comfortable shoes. You will walk more than you think. After the first day at my first Dreamforce, I installed a pedometer app on my smartphone to see how much I was walking. I discovered that I was traveling an average of about 5 miles per day.
Wear layered clothing and bring a jacket. San Francisco has beautiful weather nearly all year, but varies greatly from morning to night.
11. Dreamforce isn’t just an 8am to 5pm event, nor is it just a week during the year.
Sure that’s when all the keynotes and breakout sessions occur, but there are also many opportunities for networking before and after those hours thanks to many partners sponsoring evening parties.
Thanks to the Dreamforce App it’s a perpetual event. Get active on the Chatter! Share your struggles and your successes. Get connected with people who you will meet BEFORE you get to Dreamforce and make friends that will last a lifetime!
Do you have more Dreamforce tips? Use hashtag #DreamforceTips on Twitter to share your knowledge.
Did you miss MVPs on Salesforce Live: The Road to Dreamforce yesterday? Learn about life as an MVP and how they can be part of your Dreamforce experience here:
To see the complete schedule and register for the event go to www.dreamforce.com or click the button below.
