We partnered with the AppExchange Marketing Team, plus Sean Hogan, Director of Strategic Alliances of Nintex and Trevor Niblock, Director of Partner Marketing of DocuSign for the weekly Partner Power Hour webinar this past week to explore how to make the most of Dreamforce ‘18. Laying out the right strategy to get your money’s worth for DF18 is extremely important, so here are some pro tips from veterans that have been attending for years.
Marketing and Sponsorship
There is so much opportunity for what you can do in terms of marketing and sponsorship at Dreamforce that it can be overwhelming at times. From marketing your own events to co-sponsoring others, the chances to get your company’s name out there and build out your network are endless, so being able to focus in on what opportunities will be the most beneficial is extremely important.
Preparing for DF18 should have started immediately after DF17 came to a close — keep this in mind for next year! Best-practices that other organizations used to market their attendance and events should be drawn from and crafted specifically for your company, along with brainstorming to come up with new, innovative ideas to create buzz — though this is much easier said than done.
When evaluating co-sponsorship opportunities, be sure to determine the outcome you want from it first and foremost. Whether it be lead generation, building your brand recognition, closing deals, etc., you want to go into the partnership with an understanding of what it is you’re paying for.
Having the right mixture of effective marketing and sponsorship can make your company a standout name at Dreamforce, potentially resulting in more meetings and business opportunities.
Events
There are entire websites devoted to listing events that are happening at Dreamforce, so it is almost impossible to attend every one. This is where strategy comes into play. If a team from your company is going, be sure to assess everyone that is attending and lay out a plan. Decide which people are going to what events, what their objectives are at those events, and ensure that your team is in total alignment for all events. Sync-up after Dreamforce to share notes and insights.
When building out what events each person goes to, take into account the relationships that everyone has. Go to events to meet up with partners and customers that people may work with but haven’t been able to put a face to a name yet. Bringing a partner or customer to an event that you were invited to is also a great way to get some face time. Relationships will become stronger and be even more beneficial down the road.
If your company is hosting an event, keep in mind what your objectives are, just like co-sponsoring an event. It can be a smaller, more intimate event for customer appreciation, or a larger, open event to facilitate networking and get your company name out there.
Events are a great opportunity to have fun and talk to experts throughout the industry, building out a network that can be utilized for years to come. CodeScience has become known in the Dreamforce community for hosting one of the signature AppExchange Partner events of the week — you can request an invite to the party here.
Personal Tips for Surviving the Week
The week at Dreamforce can take a toll on beginners and veterans alike, so the experts on this webinar shared some personal tips they’ve learned from years of attending the event that will help you make the most of it:
- Familiarize yourself with your surroundings — the city and Expo hall are huge, it’s easy to get lost and miss important events. Not every session is in the same location, so prepare for walking times between sessions and heavy foot traffic in all areas surrounding Dreamforce
- Wear comfortable shoes — you’ll be doing a lot of walking and dancing
- While the events are meant to be fun, don’t treat them like a frat party — this is still business and you never know who you may run into
- Be prepared to be overwhelmed — Dreamforce is a massive event and is growing every year. Write down your calendar for each day
- Be flexible — even with a calendar mapping out your days, have contingencies in place and be prepared to jump on an opportunity if one presents itself
- Block out time to see what others are doing — go out and see what other companies are doing to get ideas for next year
- Take lots of pictures and notes — these will be like gold when you are thinking back a month after and trying to remember that great point a speaker made
- Create a shared document for your team — have a centralized place for your team to put in notes, pictures, and any other relevant information that can be drawn from after Dreamforce
- If you are working at your booth, bring your own coffee — it’s hard to leave your booth to go get coffee and the lines tend to be very long
Dreamforce is an amazing event to learn, network, and have fun. If you want to prepare even more for Dreamforce, Salesforce is hosting a weekly show called “The Road to Dreamforce” every Tuesday at 11 am PT where they’ll share reminders, highlights, and behind-the-scenes Dreamforce info. You can subscribe to it here.
Let’s meet at Dreamforce! We transform your toughest challenges into your best and brightest revenue opportunities — schedule a meeting with us.
