Get your FREE 30-day trial.
Please complete all fields.
You wanna get the most out of this monster they call Dreamforce? The key is to be deliberate.
Dreamforce is a monster. It’s a giant sales event with over 135,000 people registered. I’ve heard that the population of San Francisco will grow by 15% this week during Dreamforce. Now that’s an event.
Getting the most out of Dreamforce and not getting lost is a tall order and comes down to doing three things: Have an objective or goal, look to solve a problem, and create an opportunity.
This seems like a simple thing, but unfortunately too often we just rush in without really thinking about what it is we’re looking to accomplish. When it comes to Dreamforce, that’s a huge mistake. Make sure you have an objective for the event, preferably a sales objective. It could be to gain two new clients, or it could be to meet with five current prospects and close three existing pipeline deals. Regardless of what it is, make sure you have and overall objective of the event. Know how you would measure success and the time and money spent. Knowing why you’re going to Dreamforce in the first place is kinda important.
If Dreamforce is anything beyond big, it’s a frickin’ ocean of information. Sales gurus, educators, authors, trainers, and prognosticators show up touting their wisdom, ideologies, and findings. If you have a problem with your sales team, with pipeline management or closing, someone or some session at Dreamforce can help you solve it. Take inventory of your sales organization and ask yourself what pesky problem is keeping you from getting to the next level. Once you know what you’re trying to solve for, build your Dreamforce agenda around fixing the problem. Attend as many sessions as you can that will help solve the problem. Identifying a problem and being deliberate in getting it solved prevents you from wasting valuable time in sessions that may sound fun and be interesting, but won’t solve the issues you’re struggling with back at the office.
With so many people, sessions, and companies at Dreamforce, it’s ripe for creating an unexpected opportunity. I don’t mean a sales opportunity — although there will be plenty of those — but rather a new business opportunity, a partnership opportunity, a referral opportunity, a new product opportunity, etc. The goal is to keep your eyes open and to be deliberate, eyeing everything that’s going on and putting yourself in positions to meet new people, get connected to new ideas, to embrace new philosophies, and new companies. Opportunity is a powerful thing, but it isn’t always wearing bright flashing lights, blinking “opportunity, opportunity.” You have to be ready to see it when it presents itself. Dreamforce is jampacked with amazing opportunities to grow your network, to expand your understanding of the industry, to find new prospecting approaches, to leverage new tools, and to expand your influence. You just have to be prepared to see them when they show up.
If you’re not careful, Dreamforce can leave you feeling exhausted, with nothing to show for it. It’s a fire hose of information, people, ideas, and parties. (Don’t forget the parties.) So, to make sure you crush Dreamforce, instead of Dreamforce crushing you, be deliberate: set an objective, solve a problem and create an opportunity.
Then of course, party! It is Dreamforce, after all.
About the Author:
Jim Keenan is an international speaker, sales strategist, consultant, disrupter of the status quo, identifier of the elephant in the room and a sick “bump” skier. His consulting firm, A Sales Guy Consulting, is known for its ability to solve difficult, complex selling and leadership challenges locally and abroad. Keenan has been named one of the most influential sales and marketing people by multiple organizations including; Top Sales World Magazine. He's also been referenced in Forbes Magazine, Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, and many other publications for his straight, no frills, get it done approach to selling and making the number. Download as much Keenan magic as you want at A Sales Guy U.
