CodeScience has partnered with the AppExchange Marketing Team, Nintex, and DocuSign for the weekly Partner Power Hour webinar on August 22nd, noon EDT to explore how to make the most of Dreamforce ‘18. Register here.
With Dreamforce right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how to maximize your time there and get the most out of this massive event. One piece of that is perfecting your pitch so you can win over Salesforce’s unsung heroes — the account executives (AEs). AEs can have a huge impact on the number of customers you receive, and everyone at Dreamforce knows it — so it’s important to have a solid pitch and approach to increase your chances of getting them to follow up.
Tip 1: Know your audience
When pitching your product and setting meetings, as Erin Murray, our Global Alliances Manager likes to say, “don’t boil the ocean.” Meaning, be specific with who and what teams you want to meet with rather than speaking with everyone that will listen. While it is always great to build out your network, you have a limited amount of time to establish relationships with key players. If there is a specific group you are targeting, find and make appointments with those people.
Tip 2: Understand that the AE’s time is valuable
A Salesforce AE’s primary goal at Dreamforce is to close business with accounts they’ve been working for the past couple of months. While they’re always happy to meet new potential prospects, their primary goal is not to meet you (although we would love to meet you and help with introductions — request a meeting with us at DF here).
When speaking with them, think of tip 1, be specific and succinct with your request. Offering an incentive will also help you stand out. For example, asking, “Can I take you away from the madness for 15 minutes for either a bite to eat or a coffee?” is much more appealing to AEs than being pitched to right on the Expo floor.
Tip 3: Have your story prepared
As mentioned above, an AE’s time is valuable, so having your story prepared and organized in a way the AE can quickly understand and remember is vital.
- Lay out real-world stories about the type of customer(s) you’ve had success with
- Outline how your company fits with types of customer the AE works with
- Explain how your company can integrate with Salesforce for an efficient process with AE
If your product fills a white space, a space that Salesforce doesn’t operate in, be sure to hone in on that within the first few sentences of your pitch. Also, if applicable, say how you’ve expanded into different clouds, along with where and why you’ve had success.
Tip 4: THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP
While it may seem obvious, the most important part of being prepared for Dreamforce is to actually attend it.
With over 170,000 registered attendees at last year (and that number climbing every year), the networking opportunities and presentations are endless. While pitching your product is important, the main reason you should attend DF18 is to learn. All of these experts in one place does not happen very often — attend every presentation and session you can and soak up the knowledge. When you are in these sessions, let your networking happen organically and be open to the conversations that arise.
Be sure to check the Dreamforce schedule and plan out your schedule for all four days. The free time that you do have can be used for pitching your product.
Dreamforce is always our favorite event of the year. It presents an unrivaled opportunity to network, gain new business, and — most importantly — have fun and learn.
If you want even more tips on how to be prepared for DF18, register for the upcoming Partner Power Hour webinar (Aug 22, 12 PM EDT) on how to get the most of DF18 with the AppExchange Marketing Team, Nintex, DocuSign, and CodeScience. And while you’re at DF, set up to time to talk with us about how we can help you thrive on the AppExchange — we’d love to chat!
