Why did droves of sales pros attend this year’s Dreamforce? To sell? Maybe, but that wasn’t everyone’s primary objective.

As an event blogger, I asked many attendees what brought them out. I was surprised (and delighted) by the consistent answers—from techies and marketers, as well as salespeople. They told me they came to learn. They wanted to hear what others were doing, to share information, and to take away best practices. They were conducting their own mini-research projects—in some cases to enhance their products, in other cases, to uptick their programs or applications.

And to that, I say bravo! Salespeople who stop learning eventually stop selling—especially in today’s rapidly-changing business environment.

Connect to Learn

One vendor told me his goal at Dreamforce was to communicate with others, to learn about different businesses and how they position what they do. He wanted to learn how people differ and how they're similar. Above all, he wanted to make connections. I loved hearing about all the things his company does to encourage sales reps to learn from one another, such as selecting books for everyone to read and discuss at quarterly business reviews. “It's not just what you sell,” he told me, “but what you learn.” And what better way to learn new things than to meet new people?

Keith Ferrazi echoed these sentiments during his presentation, when he talked about the power of relationships for learning. He called it "relational competency." As he explained, salespeople with better social capital are more likely to succeed in sales. And the better their relationship skills, the higher their social capital will be.

Building relationships is a learned behavior, which means it requires practice. Learn to accelerate your relationships with every interaction. Really care. Invite people into your world. Organizations don't do business with organizations. People do business with people.

 Show Up to Learn

Salespeople have great combined power and energy when they gather in person and share success secrets, ideas, information, and even referrals. At conferences, we learn as much through conversations with our peers in the hallways as in our sessions. But there’s no “hallway” on the web.

In an era when business leaders are canceling sales meetings because they believe webcasts and video conferences are just as effective, they actually need to do the opposite – schedule more. Firms that recognize the relationship between in-person communication and increased sales, and then act on that knowledge, will see a big impact on their bottom lines.

Show up, be present, and learn. Dreamforce gave us that opportunity.

To learn more about how relationships drive sales, check out my new book, Pick Up the Damn Phone!: How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal.

About the Author

Joanne Black is America’s leading authority on referral selling—the only business-development strategy proven to convert prospects into clients more than 50 percent of the time. As the founder of No More Cold Calling, Joanne helps salespeople, sales teams, and business owners build their referral networks, attract more business, decrease operating costs, and ace out the competition. A captivating speaker and innovative seminar leader, Joanne is the author of NO MORE COLD CALLING™: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust and Pick Up the Damn Phone!: How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal. To learn more, visit www.NoMoreColdCalling.com, email joanne@nomorecoldcalling.com, or call 415-461-8763.

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