Top 10 Tips for Dreamforce

Today's post comes from Paul Young, a certified Salesforce.com administrator, and most importantly (and awesome-ly) an all around sales operation ninja...and check him out on LinkedIn. This post comes from the salesforce.com blog.

I’ve been attending Dreamforce in San Francisco for the past five years, and each year I’ve watched it grow and morph. It’s now jammed with more exhibitors, more tracks to follow, more information I need to know –  and just flat out more to do. There’s so much, in fact, that it can be daunting for new attendees to get the most out of their three days they spend in San Francisco.

Let me share with you my Top Ten list of things I wish someone had told me before my first Dreamforce. 

10. Pace yourself. It isn’t necessary to visit every booth in the first hour or even the first day. They are not going to run out of the fuzzy dice that  light up and play “It’s raining men.”

9. Set priorities. Make a list of the vendors you most want to see -- and the questions you want to ask them --  before you get to Dreamforce. Once the wall of noise and people hits you, your cognitive ability will fall off a cliff.

8. Look your best. Yes, wear comfortable shoes and bring a jacket for the meat locker temperatures in the sessions, but dress professionally. You never know when you might be speaking with your next employer, investor or rock star you want to recruit.

7. Mingle. Even if you’re an introvert and still live in your mother’s basement, force yourself to meet and greet. This is the premier networking event of the year. Use it.

6. Stock up. Bring three times as many business cards as you think you’ll need and hand them out like candy on Halloween. Don’t leave your hotel without a hefty stash.

5. Note who you’ve met. Every time you get someone’s business card, jot some lines on the back (out of view, if the other person is from Asia) to help you remember the conversation. At the end of the day, no matter how tired you are, send a brief e-mail thanking each person for the conversation. Send a LinkedIn request to the ones who respond.

4. Play exhibitor lotto. Enter every contest you can. The number of prizes is staggering. This is your chance to win some serious loot.

3. Go to the keynotes. That’s where they always announce amazing things and that’s part of the whole Dreamforce gestalt. Just remember to use the restroom first – it can take longer than you imagine to get through the mass of humanity after each keynote ends. Trust me on this one.

2. Have an open mind. Or, looked at another way: don’t be cynical.  Whether this is your first or your fifth Dreamforce, look at everything with the eyes of the newest, most dazzled administrator. 

And my number 1 tip?

1.  Be friendly and smile. It’s going to be LOUD and crowded and tiring -- but be nice to everyone. That includes VPs, security guards, vendors, other attendees and the people you see in restaurants and on the town. This is San Francisco. Enjoy yourself.

Have fun and stop me for a business card!

Check out the original post here.

Paul Young works as an operations manager for a midsize, publicly traded software company.  His primary duties are the administration of Salesforce “and serving as a bad example for new employees.” He regularly blogs about technology, marketing, social media, CRM and cloud computing. His wit and wisdom can be found at www.paulmyoung.net.