It’s been one week since I flew back home from San Fransisco to attend Dreamforce 2023. I’m still recovering but in a good way! This was my first Dreamforce and the experience from start to finish was breathtaking. Salesforce reported that over 40,000 people attended in person spread over 2 conference center buildings and multiple floors. There were live sessions discussing major upcoming releases, hands-on demos and workshops to learn about the many products Salesforce has to offer, onsite consultations with experts to help your business, partner stations to explore real-life use cases, and vendor booths to learn about what’s being offered in the Salesforce Ecosystem.
The last one is why I was there. AutoRabit sent me as an SDR to work their 2 booths and book meetings with our ICPs (Ideal Customer Profile) who were swarming around us. But before we dive into how the conference went and my personal experience, let me set the stage.
My Salesforce Journey So Far
I first encountered Salesforce when I started Tech Sales in 2021. My previous job as a Civil Engineer exposed me basically to drafting tools and accessories to that which is all I needed. But when I entered the Tech world specifically the Tech Sales world I started using multiple tools for different reasons like communications (Slack and Teams), Prospecting (Sales Navigator), Lead Capture and Enrichment (LeadIQ, Seamless, ZoomInfo), CRM (Salesforce, Hubspot), Email Outreach (Outreach, Salesloft), Meeting booking (Chilipiper), Marketing (Hubspot, Salesforce), and more!
I have always been more interested in the tools and processes that run an org than the work that I was assigned to and it was only when I entered the tech sales industry did I learn about the world of RevOps. A team dedicated to bringing together the Revenue departments (Sales, Marketing, Customer Success) and having tools and processes standardized across them and integrated so data flowed through and was enriched properly.
Since then I have worked to learn more about these tools and start developing my skills in them. As someone who switched careers 5 years out of college, I know I always have to be learning and working on developing my skillset for the new industry I am in. The more I did this with Revenue tooling the more I grew interested and excited about it. I really felt that I found where I wanted to be in terms of work.
So about a year ago I was at Loft Labs and was given the opportunity to be in charge of the Sales tech stack. I accepted and instantly started googling and learning as much as I could. This is when I started my trailhead journey and worked my way to Admin Certification. I completed the Admin Trailmix and took the Admin Cert test in January 2023 but didn’t pass. I knew the exam was hard and many don’t pass it on the first try but it was disheartening still and I took a break. That was until I started at AutoRabit in May where they had Trailhead as part of the onboarding and enablement. I resumed my studying, used Focus On Force to really drill down on what I needed to learn. I knew I had a free exam with my DF ticket but wanted to try once more before just in case. So I took the exam again the Friday before Dreamforce and I passed! I am officially Salesforce Admin Certified!
DreamForce 2023
I have been to many conferences in my life. Small ones of a couple of hundred people to what I thought were big ones of 10k-20k. Dreamforce 2023 had over 40,000 people and it was mind-boggling. Even aside from all the people, Salesforce transforms the convention centers to the extent that you could have told me this was a full-time Salesforce center and I would have believed you. The level of detail was amazing. I also have to give props to Salesforce for sticking with a consistent theme for so long and leaning into it. Everything is about the trail and outdoors. From Trailhead to picnic spots to the animal mascots to employees in trail guide outfits.
AutoRabit had 2 booths at the conference. A CodeScan Booth in the Campground which was the biggest hall that had entire areas to explore Salesforce ecosystem as well as vendors and an AutoRabit booth in Trailblazer Forest (see what I mean about the theme?) which was more geared towards Admins, Architects, and Developers, etc. Those dealing with the inner workings of Salesforce. I spent time at both and it was amazing to hear from prospective and current customers and be able to showcase the product. I am going to brag a little and let y’all know that I booked a record 70 meetings and it felt really good to be selling in person.
Trailblazer Fun
Now I was primarily at the booths during the conference and didn’t have much time to explore the floors and sessions going on. Unlike other conferences I have been to where it was Sessions and Vendors, this had both of those plus entire areas to explore Salesforce and learn more. I was able to do some of this but really you need the 3 days of the conference to get through everything without being at a booth.
I did spend a good amount of time in the Trailblazer Forest at the AutoRabit booth and in the breaks I did have I was able to go around and complete challenges, attend sessions, and do some hands-on trails and activities that let me earn plushies (pictured below) and a hoodie (pictured above). Salesforce is famous for its conference plushies and people even buy and sell them. They are based on their extensive lineup of mascots and require different items to be completed. I found this to be a fun and creative way to learn more about the ecosystem and get some fun swag that my son will play with. Plus the hoodie is really nice and represents what I am focused on right now, trailblazing and earning more certs!
Farewell SF (SanFran and SalesForce)
Overall Dreamforce 2023 was a blast of a week. My wife and son joined me in San Fransisco and we loved checking out the GG Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, and more. We had some great Chinese food, delicious coffee with pastries, and got to walk on some hilly roads. As well, it has been 2 years since I made my career switch and I have finally started to get a clearer picture of what I want to do moving forward and how to get there. I am excited for the future and can’t wait to attend more Dreamforces and regional SF conferences!