Ten Reasons Not to Miss Dreamforce 2015 if You're an SMB
For three days this September, San Francisco will be taken over by all things Salesforce. Expect to see clouds and crowds – with hundreds of expert speakers and thousand more experts attending, all gathering to share ideas.
Dreamforce is much more than your average business conference. For one thing, there’s never a dull moment. The conference combines expert speakers in sales, marketing, customer service and business management, with thought leaders in mindfulness, as well as bands like the Foo Fighters.
So, why should every SMB go? Here are ten reasons.
- Learn from SMB keynotes
Alongside a program of content which is useful for businesses of all sizes, Dreamforce includes SMB-specific keynotes. This year, Tony Rodoni, SVP of Small Business, and Leyla Seka, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Desk.com at Salesforce will be explaining how small businesses use Salesforce to start, grow and scale their business.
- See Marc Benioff live
The man behind Salesforce is an inspirational speaker, and well worth seeing live. He’ll be speaking numerous times this year – from keynotes to Q&As, so make sure you catch him.
- Keynotes by a huge range of experts
Joining the CEO of Salesforce on stage will be a huge range of experts including; Dr Laura Esserman, MD, UCSF School of Medicine; Susan Wojcicki, CEO YouTube; Jessica Alba, founder of The Honest Company and Andrew McAffe, author of The Second Machine Age – plus many more.
You can see just from that small selection, the range, as well as the quality of expert speakers.
- Mindfulness Day
Alongside the more traditional program of business-related content, there’s also Mindfulness Day – the perfect antidote to stress at work. With Donna Karan, Urban Zen Initiative; Goldie Hawn, The Hawn Foundation; Jack Kornfield, Spirit Rock Center; Meng Tan, Google – plus more, this year’s event promises to be a hugely rewarding experience.
- Dreamfest
One of the main reasons why Dreamforce stands out is the way the program mixes educational content with what can only be described as a ‘music festival’. This year’s Dreamfest features Foo Fighters and Gary Clark Jr.
- Women's leadership keynote
Dreamforce also has a slot dedicated to women’s leadership in business – featuring inspiring keynotes from Susan Wojcicki, YouTube; Jessica Alba, The Honest Company and Gayle King, CBS This Morning.
- SMB training sessions
If you’re looking for hands-on advice for managing your small business, there are plenty of sessions aimed at SMBs. For instance, 5 Ways to Look Like a Big Fish with Small Business Service, explores the blowfish effect: the trick of using customer service to look like the big fish in the pond.
There’s also 4 SMB Customers Share Their Sales Success Secrets, where four SMB Salesforce customers will share their success stories on how Salesforce helped them to grow their business.
- Huge networking opportunity
With thousands of experts all in one place, Salesforce is the ideal networking opportunity. Plus, with cocktail parties, the community lounge and Dreamfest, there are plenty of ways to network in a more relaxed setting.
- Product demos
Dreamforce is a great opportunity for SMBs to explore a wide range of products, with hands-on demos, where you can see a solution in action.
- Dreamforce community 5K fun run
Lastly, here’s another fun reason why you should attend: the 5k run. On Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 at 6:30am at the Ferry Building on Embarcadero, the 3rd Annual Dreamforce Community 5k Fun Run will take place. You don’t need to be super-fit to take part, but it’s a great way to start the day and promotes health and well-being.
So, there you have it – ten good reasons to attend Dreamforce 2015, particularly if you’re an SMB. You can find out more about NewVoiceMedia at Dreamforce here, where you can book a one-to-one meeting and register for our party.
Read our Small Business Guide to Cloud Communications to find out more about how SMBs can benefit from moving their customer service and sales teams to the cloud.
Are you going to Dreamforce this year? What’s your must-see keynote? Share your thoughts below.
Pictured above: Mark Benioff at Dreamforce - Image by teezeh
