6 Reasons to Attend a Salesforce1 World Tour

I get asked why bother going to a tour when you’ve just gone or will be going to Dreamforce? It’s a good question. I see the events as dramatically different. Dreamforce is a multi-day huge event in one city. The tour goes to different cities and each only lasts one day.

It gives me a chance to recap the previous Dreamforce, see foreshadows of what may be coming, and meet with people from the community. Most importantly, it gives me a chance to listen and talk to the experts on subjects I may have missed at Dreamforce.

Keynote

The Keynote in Chicago will be hosted by Lynn Vojvodich, Salesforce.com CMO. Some of the stories and videos will likely be very familiar if you attended Dreamforce 2013. The Tour Keynote isn’t a complete rehash. There’s often new stories and examples which can be great for firing up your imagination of what you can do with the platform.

Live Demos

Who doesn’t like a live demo? I’m particularly hopeful to see an example of Metadaddy’s Minecraft For Salesforce. Here’s a screenshot taken by Eanna Cunnane at an earlier tour. I’m also hoping to see demos of Exact Target, Apttus, and Docusign. There’s nothing quite like a demo. I like to treat them like Pokemon… gotta watch ’em all.

Sessions

Unlike Dreamforce, the tour only lasts one day. There are fewer sessions and fewer breakout times. There are 5 breakout times on the Chicago Agenda. That means I can only attend 5 sessions. Thankfully, I can review the sessions ahead of time on the website https://www.salesforce.com/events/details/sf1wt14-chi/

It tends to be a bit smaller crowd at the Tour sessions. The pressure of having to run to your next session isn’t as strong. It’s all located in a small centralized area so it’s very easy to get out and into your next session in the 20 minutes that separate everything. This means you have an excellent opportunity to talk with the presenters, ask questions, and network to build that valuable personal contact list.

Expo

Expo! Expo! Expo! I will admit the Expo at Dreamforce is typically last on my list of things to attend. It’s not that there’s a lack of value. On the contrary, there’s huge potential. It’s also a huge area with lots of vendors and many people crowding the area. It can be loud and difficult to make your way around. I love the tour expo because it’s a smaller venue. It is quieter and I have a much better chance of getting some one on one time with a vendor in person.

DevZone

I’m very interested in seeing what their DevZone is going to have. There’s promises of free Salesforce1 books which I may already have from Dreamforce. What else could there be? I’m not sure, but I’m very excited to find out! I’m very keen on expanding and strengthening my Developer skills. This could be a great please to talk with people far more experienced than I am and get pointed in the right direction.

Community

This is my favorite, hands down, part of the expo. The community is out in Force (pun intended) at Dreamforce. The challenge is there so many of us there. At the tour, there are far fewer people which means I have a much higher chance of talking with folks in a casual setting.

There will be an “Ask an Expert” booth at the Chicago tour so be on a look at and bring your questions! I’m planning on helping staff this booth along with other MVPs. Got a question you want to specifically ask me? I’m planning on being at the booth from Noon to 3:00 PM.

My favorite memory from a tour was last year. I had someone from the community come up to me and thank me for my post on ButtonClick Admin on WorkBench She was so excited to start using Workbench she had to share with me. That was fantastic! I love meeting community members. We have so much to give to each other.

That’s why I’m excited I’m attending. I’m planning on bringing the hat, so if you see that Pointy Wizard hat bobbing up and down around the crowd, feel free to come and say “hi!” I’ll love to hear what you’re working on with Salesforce and how you’re participating in our great community.

See you there.