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Dreamforce 2023: The Ultimate Marketer Guidebook

Guess what time it is! Dreamforce season! As the weather begins to cool (please no more heatwave!) and the kids go back to school, we begin our journeys to San Francisco, CA September 12-14 to learn, network, eat, and play. And we are back with our go-to marketer guidebook to Dreamforce 2023! As always, we have been promised this will be even bigger and better than Dreamforce 2022, focusing on how AI + Data + CRM is “powering the future.”

If this is your first time attending Dreamforce or you are a seasoned Trailblazer, Dreamforce 2023 is going to be packed full of 1500+ amazing sessions and countless community events and we don’t want you to miss a thing. 

Consider this your ultimate marketer guidebook to Dreamforce 2023!

Not going to be able to attend in person this year? No worries! Dreamforce is streaming on Salesforce+ with “live sessions and keynotes, on-demand episodes, exclusive digital content, and much more.” Remember to register for free here. 

Dreamforce 2023 has everything – from small breakout sessions to inspirational keynotes from world leaders and celebrities. Just check out the number of different roles, industries, and topics Trail Maps Salesforce provides! Here is the Marketers Trail Map to keep you focused.

Hoping to just hang out with your favorite marketing consulting agency? Well, make sure to look for the Sercante team at these Dreamforce ‘23 sessions and events. 

Here are our top marketing-focused sessions, meetups, parties, and events to consider both virtually and in-person as you build your dream Dreamforce schedule. 

Let’s get planning for Dreamforce 2023! 

Day 1: Tuesday, September 12th

Dreamforce Main Keynote

Join Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff along with special guests for our newest innovations at the Dreamforce main keynote.

Sanjna Parulekar, VP, Product Marketing, Salesforce
Clara Shih, CEO, Salesforce AI, Salesforce

TUESDAY, SEP 12 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT | MOSCONE NORTH, HALL F
Save to your agenda

Marketing Cloud Release Highlights

Salesforce announced Marketing GPT earlier this year at Connections. Attend this session to understand how the latest features can help you and your team save time with AI, understand your data, and leverage it in your customer journeys.

Heather Rinke, Salesforce Product Director, Sercante
Whitni Freeman, Lead Solution Engineer, Salesforce
Ruth Bolster, Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce

TUESDAY, SEP 12 | 1:00 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
Save to your agenda

Data Cloud + Einstein: Plan Your Marketing Data Strategy

The promise of CDP and AI-driven marketing is enticing—personalization at scale. Bad data gets in the way of this outcome. Learn to overcome this obstacle with a marketing data strategy.

Timo Kovala, Managing Delivery Architect, Capgemini

TUESDAY, SEP 12 | 3:00 PM – 3:20 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
Save to your agenda

Enhance Marketing Automation with Account Engagement and AI

Dive deep into how artificial intelligence can boost marketing automation capabilities, optimize campaigns, and create more meaningful relationships with customers in the digital cloud landscape.

Stephen Stouffer, VP, Digital Transformation & Innovation, SaaScend

TUESDAY, SEP 12 | 4:00 PM – 4:20 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, L1
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5 Ways Busy B2B Marketers Can Do More with Less

Explore how marketing automation can save you time — from using AI to building reusable assets. These best practices will allow all teams, both large and lean, to work more efficiently.

Natalie Mathes, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce

TUESDAY, SEP 12 | 4:00 PM – 4:20 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
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How Marketers Can Create Their Own Tribe at Dreamforce (And Beyond!)

This is a session for ALL marketers! Attendees will get to share insights with their fellow marketing trailblazers, exchange war stories, and build deeper connections within the community that will lead to success!
Marcos Duran, Marketing Manager, Sercante

TUESDAY, SEP 12 | 4:30 PM PDT | COMMUNITY NETWORKING AREA
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Day 2: Wednesday, September 13th

Marketing Cloud Release Highlights

Salesforce announced Marketing GPT earlier this year at Connections. Attend this session to understand how the latest features can help you and your team save time with AI, understand your data, and leverage it in your customer journeys.

THURSDAY, SEP 14 | 9:00 AM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2

The (Email) Future is Now: Prepare for 2024 with Data Cloud

What awaits email marketers in 2024? Discover how Data Cloud harnesses the power of streamlined workflows, enhances CX, and provides actionable insights to wow your customers and meet business goals.

Yeva Roberts, VP of Strategic Alliances, North America, AllCloud
Chris Zullo, Practice Director, Marketing, AllCloud

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 9:00 AM – 9:20 AM PDT | MOSCONE SOUTH, CAMPGROUND
Save to your agenda

What’s the “Big Idea”? Key Trends in Marketing

Losing sight of the big picture amid the daily marketing grind? Learn how hot trends like AI can impact your business, and which other trends may stay or fade.

Martin Kihn, SVP, Market Strategy, Marketing Cloud, Salesforce
Erika McGrath, VP Salesforce Data Cloud & MarTech, Astound Commerce

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 9:00 AM – 9:40 AM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
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Data Cloud + Einstein: Plan Your Marketing Data Strategy

The promise of CDP and AI-driven marketing is enticing—personalization at scale. Bad data gets in the way of this outcome. Learn to overcome this obstacle with a marketing data strategy.

Timo Kovala, Managing Delivery Architect, Capgemini

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 11:00 AM – 11:20 AM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
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Scale Your Marketing Insights with Automation and AI

Data is growing rapidly and marketers need a way to keep up. Learn how Marketing Cloud Intelligence helps teams automate their data practice to speed time to insight.

Jaime Romero, Vice President Corporate Marketing, Fortinet
Dillon Baker, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 12:00 PM – 12:40 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
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Personalize Mobile Experiences with Einstein

Help your users supercharge Salesforce on mobile with the help of Einstein. Learn how admins can configure Prompt Studio and Dynamic Forms to deliver a next-gen experience for mobile users.

Keith Samuel Jr., Associate Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce
Andrew Mangano, Director, Product Management, Salesforce

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 12:00 PM – 12:40 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 3
THURSDAY, SEP 14 | 1:30 PM – 2:10 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 3
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Learn Essential Habits for Salesforce Admins

Build good habits around the four core responsibilities needed for admin success and learn about growing your skills with the Salesforce Admin Skills Kit.

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 12:30 PM – 12:50 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, TRAILBLAZER FOREST
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Marketing Keynote: Marketing in Generation AI

Generative AI is disrupting marketing everywhere. To drive growth, marketers must innovate across the campaign lifecycle. Learn how Trailblazers are transforming their business with AI + Data + CRM.

Kelly Eliyahu, Product Marketing Senior Director, Salesforce
Ruth Hartmann, SVP, Product Management, Salesforce
Prasanna Vijayakumar, VP, Product Management, Marketing Cloud, Salesforce
Steve Hammond, EVP & GM, Marketing Cloud, Salesforce

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 12:45 PM – 1:35 PM PDT | MOSCONE NORTH, HALL F
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AI-Powered Strategies for Next-Level Marketing Operations

Learn how to leverage generative AI to revolutionize customer segmentation, personalize messaging, and optimize your campaigns. Experience how AI can propel your marketing ops into the future.

Adele Kurki, MarTech Lead, Aiven
Jamie López, Sr. Director, Marketing Operations, Aiven

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 2:30 PM – 2:50 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
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Data Done Right: Admin Playbook for Ensuring Data Quality

Unlock the true value of your data with innovative strategies. Learn how to improve data with flows, lightning components, duplicate management rules, exception reports, and dashboards.

Monica Sandberg, Architect/Admin, EKIA/ PCFoy

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13, THURSDAY, SEP 14 |  2:30 PM – 2:50 PM PDT | MWEST, TRAILBLAZER FOREST
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AI-Driven Campaign Analysis with Einstein Attribution

Explore measuring campaign impact in Sales Cloud effectively. Gain insight on measuring Campaign ROI and attribution in Salesforce, incorporating AI analysis via Einstein Attribution.

Tasha Rucker, Founder, Principal Consultant, ReadyCRM
Brandon Walton, Founder & Principal Consultant, Cypress Learning Solutions

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 3:30 PM – 3:50 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
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Day 3: Thursday, September 14th

Marketing Cloud Release Highlights

Salesforce announced Marketing GPT earlier this year at Connections. Attend this session to understand how the latest features can help you and your team save time with AI, understand your data, and leverage it in your customer journeys.

Heather Rinke, Salesforce Product Director, Sercante
Whitni Freeman, Lead Solution Engineer, Salesforce
Ruth Bolster, Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce

Thursday, Sep 14 | 9:00 AM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
Save to your agenda

Supercharge Your B2B Marketing with AI and Data

AI and data are fundamental to helping B2B marketers make smart decisions and do more with less. Learn how you can use Account Engagement and AI to align teams and supercharge your B2B strategy.

Victoria Calkins, Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce
Kelli Meador, Senior Manager, Marketing Operations, Grammarly
Danielle Grau, Director, Product Management, Salesforce

THURSDAY, SEP 14 | 9:30 AM – 10:10 AM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
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How AI Turns Your Website into a Pipeline Generation Machine

Join this session to learn how AI can power the corporate website, deliver a completely bespoke visitor experience, and generate more pipeline.

Sarah McConnell, VP, Demand Generation, Qualified
Joanne Lee, Solutions Engineering Team Lead, Qualified
Tooba Durraze, Vice President, Product (AI and Data), Qualified

THURSDAY, SEP 14 | 10:00 AM – 10:20 AM PDT | MOSCONE SOUTH, LODGE VILLAGE
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Elevate Your B2B Marketing with These Key Features

Your B2B customers’ needs are evolving, and we’re innovating to empower marketers to keep pace. Discover key features in Account Engagement that’ll maximize your B2B marketing.

Becka Miller, Senior Consultant, Rosetree Solutions
Blake Miller, Senior Director, Product Marketing, Salesforce
Shonica Mitchell, Global Marketing Automation Manager & Community Manager, BrightDrop (GM)
Stephen Stouffer, VP, Digital Transformation & Innovation, SaaScend
Nathan Maphet, VP, Product Management, Salesforce

THURSDAY, SEP 14 | 11:30 AM – 12:10 PM PDT | MOSCONE WEST, LEVEL 2
Save to your agenda

Measure Impact with Engagement and Google Analytics 4

Make the most of your data for your journeys with Google. In this session, we will dive into how you can utilize this partnership for more effective marketing.

Sara Fefferman, Marketing Cloud PMM, Salesforce
Kyle Robbins, Senior Product Manager, Salesforce

THURSDAY, SEP 14 | 12:00 PM – 12:20 PM PDT | MOSCONE SOUTH, CAMPGROUND
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Develop, Measure, and Optimize Your ABM Programs

80% of marketing teams lead customer experience initiatives across the business. Join us for a hands-on workshop to sharpen your ABM strategy, learn best practices, and gain insights from your peers.

Jared Roy, Senior Managing Director, Salesforce
Daniel Newman, Executive Strategist, Media & Communications, Salesforce
Jeffrey Stollenwerk, Principal Solution Engineer, Salesforce

THURSDAY, SEP 14 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM PDT, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM PDT | SOUTH, LODGE VILLAGE
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Our Favorite Dreamforce Meetups, Events, Parties, & Places

The Home For Marketers

This is where marketers meet at Dreamforce! The Home For Marketers (HFM) @ The Pink Elephant Alibi is where marketers on the Salesforce platform can go to find their people. It’s the perfect spot to take a break, network, and get resources to level up your marketing operations.

MONDAY, SEP 11 – THURSDAY, SEP 14 | THE PINK ELEPHANT ALIBI
Bookmark this

The Lodge for Marketing Trailblazers

The Marketing Lodge is a home away from home for marketers at Dreamforce, with networking, meals, and more.
Learn more

Connect and Learn in the Admin Meadow

Theater sessions, four demos, a quiz-based activation and 1:1 Consultations: all for admins, by admins!
Learn more

Marketers Welcome Bash

Come find a friend (or two) to experience everything that Dreamforce has to offer. We will have plenty of food, drinks, and goodies to give away throughout the night.

MONDAY, SEP 11 | 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM PDT | THE PINK ELEPHANT ALIBI
Register here

Dreamforce Party: An Intergalactic Night

Get ready for an out-of-this-world party! From delicious appetizers to signature drinks, you’ll find all your friends at this incredible party.

TUESDAY, SEP 12 | 7:00 PM – 12:00 AM PDT | CITY NIGHTS CLUB
Register here

Dreamfest Pump Up Party

Ignite your festivities with upbeat tunes from a live DJ and your favorite cocktail to get amped up before the concert trailblazers will talk about for decades!

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM PDT | THE PINK ELEPHANT ALIBI
Register here

Dreamfest 

The biggest Dreamforce party is back! Dreamfest 2023 is once again supporting UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals Foundation and this year’s main live act is Foo Fighters.

WEDNESDAY, SEP 13 | 6:00 PM – 9:30 PM PDT | CHASE CENTER, WARRIORS WAY
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OpsStars 2023

Join 2500+ sales, marketing, and CX operations professionals and explore how to reduce friction in every aspect of your go-to-market strategy to fuel business growth, gain a competitive edge, and get deals done faster.
Learn more

B2B Marketer’s Lounge

Step away from the madness at Moscone and refuel at our B2B Marketer’s Lounge featuring live content and delicious snacks throughout the day.
Learn more

Pipeline Summit at Dreamforce

Join us for an evening of networking, thought leadership, and fun with leaders from some of the biggest names in B2B.
Learn more

Marketing Career Growth Meetup 

Moving to the next level in your marketing career is so much easier when you have people in your corner. So, get into the Marketing Career Growth Meetup and form the connections to make that happen. This is also your opportunity to connect with marketers like you who are plugged into the Salesforce platform. You’ll expand your network, see things from another perspective, and share laughs over drinks.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 | 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM PDT | THE PINK ELEPHANT ALIBI
Register here

Marketer’s Afterglow Party

Join us for a quick drink before heading out at our wrap-up happy hour on the last day of Dreamforce. Come say goodbye to all your newfound friends

THURSDAY, SEP 14 | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT | THE PINK ELEPHANT ALIBI
Register here

Dreamforce Virtual Event

Marketer’s (Virtual) Networking Event

Not heading to Dreamforce this year? We’ve got you covered.

Join us on September 14th from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET for the Marketer’s (Virtual) Networking Event to exchange ideas and share takeaways from buzzing topics, keynote sessions, and network with your fellow trailblazers from across the globe.

We discuss the magic of AI + Data + CRM as a group and then engaging in breakout sessions to dive even deeper.

Salesforce+ will be streaming select Dreamforce sessions and main keynotes. Don’t forget to tune in and bring your insights to the virtual networking event.
Register here

Let’s Be Friends Forever!

Pardashians

Join all the cool new Slack groups you learned about including our favorite, The Pardashians.
Apply To Join

MarDreamin’

Register for MarDreamin’ for free – a 3-day virtual conference focused on all things marketing on the Salesforce platform.
Sign Up For Mardreamin’

See You Soon!

Remember, this is just your ultimate marketer guidebook to Dreamforce 2023. Definitely leave wiggle room for changes in the schedule, crazy weather, extra snack and nap breaks, and great networking.

Feeling more of a party vibe this year? Check our SalesforceBen’s Ultimate Dreamforce Parties & Events 2023.

Want a quick refresher on last year’s marketing moment and events? Check these out:

And remember, you are not alone. This is an inclusive community of like-minded individuals who will be just as lost as you, even if they are seasoned Dreamforce professionals. Stop by and say hi!

Original article: Dreamforce 2023: The Ultimate Marketer Guidebook

©2023 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post Dreamforce 2023: The Ultimate Marketer Guidebook appeared first on The Spot.

By |2023-08-29T17:13:09+00:00August 29th, 2023|Categories: Career Development, Community, Events|
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Introducing the 2023 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Dragon Edition

Congratulations to the 2023 class of Salesforce Marketing Champions! We are honored that some of our own Sercante dragons were selected as part of this prestigious group this year.

Let’s get to know them.

The Program: Salesforce Marketing Champions

First! What even is a Salesforce Marketing Champion?

Salesforce knows a career as a marketer can be a hectic, fire-emergency-filled job. You are communicating across departments, across the globe, and in large amounts of acronyms.

We truly enjoy our work, but sometimes it can be thankless. Salesforce provides this program as a way to recognize champions in the Salesforce marketing space and help amplify the marketing voice, both in and outside the Trailblazer Community. 

Champions are nominated through the community and have a wealth of knowledge in marketing and the Salesforce platform. Each champion is a #MomentMarketer, Googling their way to success, always learning and improving their skills through certifications, and truly demonstrating their strategic love through training sessions, speaking events, and content creation. 

We want to send another big congratulations to the entire Salesforce Marketing Champion class of 2023! See the complete list here. 

Don’t forget to check out the 2023 Salesforce MVPs, too — Congrats to The Salesforce MVP Class of 2023!

MVPs are similar to the marketing champions. According to the Salesforce MVP Code of Conduct, MVPs are “lifelong learners who go above and beyond to share their expertise and help the entire community succeed… [and] leaders in the Trailblazer Community who encourage each other, celebrate others’ successes, work collaboratively to make our community and the world a better place, and have a lot of fun along the way!”

The People: Meet The New Sercante Marketing Champions

Let’s meet the Sercante dragons who worked hard in their communities and made it into the Salesforce Marketing Champions class of 2023.

New Marketing Champion #1. Cara Weese

Thoughts about joining the program

“It is an honor to be named among such an esteemed group of professionals. I have been working in the Salesforce community for 10 years now, and I am excited to combine my passions for Salesforce and Marketing to help drive growth for organizations and fellow community members who are learning the Marketing Cloud platforms or looking to up their marketing game to the next level by providing advice, best practices, and through networking events.”

Fav tool!

“I don’t know that I can choose just one. I guess I would have to go with Salesforce Analytics and bucket all of the reports, dashboards, Intelligence, and B2BMA in one umbrella. I have a great passion for analytics!”

Something fun!

“I love books! Whenever I have downtime, whether that be traveling, sitting outside, or even working at my desk, I have to be listening to an audiobook. I also pick up books from time to time, but as a busy working mom, it’s often easier to listen. I love Fantasy, Mystery, YA Fiction, and Historical Fiction, but honestly, I could read just about anything.”

New Marketing Champion #2. Cate Godley

Thoughts about joining the program

“I’m excited to join the Marketing Champions program and connect with other marketers in the Salesforce community. I’m passionate about education and can’t wait to help more people learn how to effectively use and manage Account Engagement.”

Fav tool!

“Salesforce Reports/Dashboards. I love data and getting to create my own reports and dashboards to display that data is one of my favorite things.”

Something fun!

“I love going to concerts, house plants, dogs, and playing board games. If I’m not doing something related to Salesforce I’m most likely doing something related to one of those things.” 

New Marketing Champion #3. Jacob Catalano

Thoughts about joining the program

“I’m extremely excited to be a part of the 2023 class of Marketing Champions with so many of my colleagues in the Salesforce community. Being included in such a brilliant group of marketers is a dream come true and I can not wait to learn and grow alongside some of the brightest minds in the Salesforce community.”

Fav tool!

“Flows is one of the most powerful automation tools out there and I love when I can just take an hour or two and find new ways to use Flow.”

Something fun!

“I spend most of my time performing in musicals locally and playing golf. These two things are totally different but give me the most joy and let me step away from things going on and relax.”

New Marketing Champion #4. Julian Janssen

Thoughts about joining the program

“I’m really excited to be named to the 2023 class of #MarketingChampions alongside some of my amazing colleagues at Sercante, and be more involved in the community around Salesforce’s amazing marketing automation tools! This ecosystem has provided me amazing opportunities in my own career, so I am excited to give back and guide others in this space.”

Fav tool!

“Campaign Influence: I love the Campaign Influence reporting models available in Salesforce. It’s an amazing tool to help marketing departments recognize and validate the value of how their campaigns help affect pipeline and realize revenue — a massive impact on most businesses that often goes overlooked.”

Something fun!

“I spend most of my time not working being a music nerd — going to concerts, browsing through records, playing guitar, or running to carefully curated playlists I have put together.”

New Marketing Champion #5. Kelly Ryan

Thoughts about joining the program

“I am so excited to be here! I have relied on this marketing community since day one in my digital marketing role, trying to connect all the backend dots across channels and platforms. I am honored to be a part of the Marketing Champions and share my knowledge with the next round of accidental admins and one-person teams!”

Fav tool!

“Creuz Your Data! Long lists of data are the daily pain of Pardot and Salesforce admins. So why not make your life easier? Just copy paste the data, select if you need a comma or semicolon, and you are good to go!”

Favorite meme

Something fun!

“I really enjoy reading, especially historical fiction because I also love facts. I love getting literally lost in all the little local bookshops when I travel, too. I’ve been known to just sit on the floor and sift through huge stacks of old books until I found the ones with the most ridiculous titles.”

New Marketing Champion #6. Mike Morris

Thoughts about joining the program

“Since joining the Salesforce ecosystem, I’ve learned so much from members of the community, the team at Sercante, and the Marketing Champions. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share my knowledge and help inspire the next class of Marketing Champions.”

Fav tool!

“I’ve got to go with Kelly on this one. Creuz Your Data is an awesome little app and has saved me countless hours. If you are building dynamic lists in Account Engagement or reports in Salesforce, check it out! I’m also very partial to the Protected Campaign Member Statuses app as a way to manage campaign members’ statuses in Salesforce.”

Something fun!

“I spend a lot of time in my office, so when I’m not working, I prefer to be outside. I enjoy hiking, kayaking, and running. I’m not very good at relaxing and prefer to be active.”

New Marketing Champion #7. Rich Feist

Thoughts about joining the program

“I can’t wait to continue my learning about all things Salesforce. I’m really looking forward to attending more events!  I honestly still can’t believe I get to be a part of this amazing program!”

Fav tool!

“My favourite Salesforce tool is Flows, I love what you can do with them. My favourite other tool is Pomodoro Marinara which is a great time-keeping app to keep you focused.”

Favourite meme 

Something fun!

“Favourite holiday location is a tie between Oaxaca and Sicily, the food and drink is insane!”

New Marketing Champion #8. Kirsten Schlau

New Marketing Champion #9. Laura Curtis

Repeating Sercante Marketing Champions

We’re super proud of our new Salesforce Marketing Champions. But let’s all take a moment to recognize members of the Sercante team who were named Marketing Champions in the past (once you’re in, you’re in for good) and are already seasoned pros when it comes to championing marketing for Salesforce.

Connect with the Marketing Champion Community

So what should you do with all this information? Definitely connect with this group so they can help you out! 

Salesforce Marketing Champions put themselves out there so they can be helpful to people in the community like you. They all write blogs, present sessions at Salesforce events, lead user groups, or answer questions online. 

Consider this your invitation to hit them up!

Do you need help from a marketing champion? Are you the next champion?

Ready to become the next Salesforce Marketing Champion? Keep an eye out for the call for nominations and applications here.
And as always, leave us a comment with your favorite tools and apps! Or let us know when you need help with something only a marketing champion can solve.

Original article: Introducing the 2023 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Dragon Edition

©2023 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post Introducing the 2023 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Dragon Edition appeared first on The Spot.

By |2023-06-10T12:50:18+00:00June 10th, 2023|Categories: Career Development, Community, Community Spotlight, revive|
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Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam Tips & Tricks

So, you’ve decided to take the next steps in your career and earn your Salesforce Administrator Certification. Yay!

This might be your first journey into the Salesforce platform or maybe you’ve been an Accidental Admin for years and are finally going to make it official. Either way, we hope this guide provides the extra boost you need to get started and pass! We asked our fellow #AwesomeAdmins and Sercante Dragons for their feedback on the exam, what they wish they had done differently, and what study strategies worked best for them.

Here are our favorite tips and tricks to passing the Salesforce Administrator Certification exam. Grab your go-to brain boosting beverage and let’s get started!

Step 1. Review the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam Guide

You probably have already looked at the exam guide a couple times, but do it just once more. Salesforce occasionally updates the exam guide and the test itself so it is always a good idea to review the most recent version (the last test update was June 2021).

Plus, Salesforce recently released a new certification for those looking to break into the Salesforce ecosystem and aren’t quite experienced enough for the Administrator exam. The Salesforce Associate certification is a great place to begin and you can get started here with our blog ‘A Pocket Guide to Earning the Salesforce Associate Certification’.

salesforce administrator certification exam

Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam Outline

  • Configuration and Setup: 20%
  • Object Manager and Lightning App Builder: 20%
  • Sales and Marketing Applications: 12%
  • Service and Support Applications: 11%
  • Productivity and Collaboration: 7%
  • Data and Analytics Management: 14%
  • Workflow/Process Automation: 16%

Here is a quick link to bookmark the Salesforce Certified Administrator Exam Guide, which includes the exam overview, resources they recommend (free and paid), and a detailed breakdown of the topics you will see.

Bookmark these too! Both of these resources are the best  go-to study guides as they are Salesforce created and kept up to date. If you are overwhelmed by the amount of resources out there, just focus on studying and working through these. 

Step 2. Schedule Your Salesforce Admin Cert Exam

Nothing makes studying more productive (aka panic-studying-becasue-it-is-actually-happening-and-you-can’t-ignore-it) when you have a real date to prepare for. Yes, it will be scary to hit that schedule button. But it would be even worse to do all this work and never actually take the test. 

I promise that you are smart and capable, even if you are super worried! Once you get this out of the way, you can truly focus on the content without that hanging out in the back of your mind.

Choose your testing location 

One thing to consider is what type of test taker you are. Salesforce gives us the option of taking a test in person at a local testing center or remotely from the comfort of your or someone else’s home. 

Think about what makes you your best test-taking you. I prefer taking the certifications remotely online because I like being at my desk with my favorite chair in my comfy clothes and I don’t have to worry about traffic or a strange new place. Other team members prefer the testing center because it gets them out of their loud house of children and pets and helps their brain activate test mode.

Ready to schedule your Salesforce Admin certification date? Good! Do that here. Step two = complete!

Step 3. Organize Your Resources

The Sercante team are certification masters, and we all agreed that organizing your resources, study guides, prep decks, practice tests, etc., beforehand saves a lot of time later down your study road. Plus, they can act as a sort of to-do checklist of study tasks.

Here are some of our favorite resources that we’ve relied on.

Free Study Day

This is my favorite resource for all Salesforce certifications. You can sign up multiple times as well so I would recommend once at the beginning of your study schedule and then again close to your exam date. 

  • Salesforce Certification Days
    • Free, half-day webinars to help you prepare for your certification
    • About 1x every two months
    • Not recorded, no taking screenshots
    • Get a $40 test voucher code, can be used for retakes

Videos

Blogs

Trailheads & Trailmixes

Superbadges

Topic Problem Area Resources

Step 4. Take a Practice Test & Understand Where You’re At

You are smart! You know things! How else would you convince yourself to take the Salesforce Administrator Certification? 

So, this also means you probably know a good portion of the topics the exam will cover. Instead of deep diving into EVERYTHING, let’s focus on the medium confidence and low to no confidence topic areas. Remember to refer to the exam outline above to understand what will be on the test.

You can use this simple Google Sheet calculator for a quick confidence check: 

When you are ready, just jump in and take a practice test. Try to remember which one so this can be your truth beacon as your work through your study materials. By having this baseline score, you will be able to identify confident and if-y topic areas, plus get into the test-taking, Salesforce-speak brain space. 

Practice Tests

Be careful with relying too heavily on the questions and answers from these paid and free practice test resources outside of Salesforce. As the test and Salesforce ecosystem continue to evolve, some of these tests don’t update with it. Trust your gut and Google if you think something isn’t quite right. You can always ask the Salesforce Trailhead community to double-check, as well. 

Step 5. The Actual Study Step

Ok! Time to study!

Pace yourself and try to avoid last-minute week of the test full studying sessions. Yes, reviewing some key topics right before your certification might be helpful, but working through the Trailheads the month or two leading up to the test is probably easier on your brain and work/life schedule. 

I like to study one or two hours a day before and after my work day so it tends to take me more time to prep compared to teammates who schedule a couple of full study days the month of their exam. Try out different study schedules and find what works best for you! 

Keep in mind that you could prefer video courses to the text-based Trailheads or maybe you like creating your own flash cards with a study friend. The knowledge is out there, you just need to figure out the best way for you to unlock it.

Step 6. Rinse & Repeat

Once you feel like you have absorbed some more information or completed a couple of topic-specific Trailheads, give the practice test a shot again. This will confirm if you are focusing on the right or not quite right topic areas.

Remember, Salesforce certifications are difficult and are worded in Salesforce ways. Taking these practice tests and working through the Trailhead courses will help you understand how they phase scenarios, what they consider best practices for a standard organization, how they refer to their ecosystem, and hopefully, see which answers you can eliminate to reduce your answer options. 

Some Study & Test Taking Tips

  • Find keywords in questions that indicate the answer or what you can eliminate as an answer.
  • Keep in mind the names of Salesforce products, features, and functionality as they will try to trick you with similar-sounding answers.
  • Answers can put the Salesforce platform in a good light meaning the answer wouldn’t be something they don’t support or is outside of the standard packages (in most cases).
    • Example: How many records are saved in the recycle bin? The highest option was the answer.
  • Always refer back to the full question when you are starting to second guess yourself, there might be something key you missed when you first read it. 

Step 7. Go Eat A Snack & Take A Nap

There is only so much studying and memorization a human brain can handle. Especially with these Salesforce-style wordy technical questions and answers. We fully recommend taking breaks throughout your study journey and at least a couple of days leading up to your Salesforce Admin exam date. 

Remember to relax and breathe! You being overly stressed out is not going to help you pass the test.

Step 8. Pass The Salesforce Administration Certification Exam!

Trust us, you’ve got this!

The Day of Your Exam Tips

  • Make sure you read the requirements for your in-person exam or the online proctored exam.
    • For in-person tests, remember to arrive 15 minutes early with your ID, another form of identification, and your authorization code.
    • For online tests, double-check that your camera and microphone are working, that you have downloaded the correct software, and that your desk area and background are clean and without distractions.
  • Consider the amount of time you have as you go through the test.
    • Answering every question is more important than not finishing.
  • Mark questions you are hesitant about for review.
    • Salesforce has a built-in checkbox for this within the test – take advantage of it.
    • As you have time at the end, go through your marked questions.
    • If you start noticing that you are changing more than a handful of answers, you are probably in your head too much and overthinking things. It is best to go with your gut and your first answer unless you know for sure that it is incorrect.
  • Don’t be afraid to fail! You can always retake the Salesforce admin certification exam – trust me, I did. We recommend scheduling your retake within two months of your previous exam date so the information is fresh and you are still in testing mode.

Good luck taking your Salesforce admin certification exam!

Don’t forget to come back here and brag about your accomplishment and share any other Salesforce Administrator Certification exam tips and tricks for the next round of admins!

Original article: Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam Tips & Tricks

©2023 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam Tips & Tricks appeared first on The Spot.

By |2023-05-10T17:45:38+00:00May 10th, 2023|Categories: Career Development, Community, Real Talk, revive|
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How Digital Marketers Track Offline Events and In-Person Interactions

In our wonderful digital world, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to track offline events and interactions with marketing and sales efforts. People still love sending gifts in the mail to foster relationships and interacting face to face at networking events to generate sales. But how do we prove it to our marketing and sales bosses? 

Luckily, an easy-to-create visual barcode had a huge comeback over the last couple years, and we can use that to our advantage to help track events and offline campaigns. 

Enter — The humble QR code.

Let’s Check Out Some QR Code Use Cases for Tracking Offline Events!

Here are use case examples for times when you’ll want traditional marketing tactics to lead your prospects to your digital marketing assets:

  • Tabletop cards at your event that lead to a landing page with an interest form
  • Postcards included with mailed swag gifts customers get when they set up their next quarterly planning call
    • Plus, we can track the mailed package without worrying about implementing a third-party tool by reviewing the custom redirect access. 
  • Flyers distributed to prospective clients with product specific landing pages
    • Plus, we can measure that the effectiveness of the flyer copy through the custom redirect accesses and page views.
  • Company business cards or badges with your email address or LinkedIn URL
    • Trust us, this works! We create custom badges for our teams at events like Connections and Dreamforce so they don’t have to carry around a bunch of business cards. Instead, they have the printed badge with the QR code and a digital image of the badge in their phone photos for quick scanning.
tracking offline events with QR codes

Let’s Get Building!

But first, here is some background on how the process works and the Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) tool we are going to use.

Custom Redirects

This is how we connect the QR code scan to our Salesforce campaigns. Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) custom redirects are a base functionality to help track link clicks.

  • They allow you to track any link on your website or a third-party site
  • Clicks show up as an Activity on the Prospect record
  • Google Analytics can be integrated easily
  • Completion Actions can be added to link clicks
    • Note: Completion Actions will only fire for known prospects

Additional Resources on Custom Redirects

Choosing the Right Automation Tool in Pardot

And of Course, QR Generators

The main consideration for your QR code generator is if you want built-in historical tracking of which codes were created, for what, and when or if you want to stay organized on your own. In most cases, the free generators will meet your needs —  just make sure you write down what you’ve activated for your campaigns or save the QR code image to your campaign asset folder.

Steps to Track QR Codes in Account Engagement (Pardot)

  1. Create a Salesforce campaign for each tactic/event you want to track.
    • Keep a parent/child hierarchy for reporting.
  1. Set up applicable member statuses.
    • Examples – clicked, attended, scanned, form fill, booth visit, ad view, etc.
    • Try to stay in the same tense and across your campaigns for reporting.
  1. Create a Pardot/Account Engagement custom redirect for each of the pages.
    • Lightning: Content > Custom Redirects
    • Classic: Marketing > Content > Custom Redirects
  1. Add the UTM values to the Google Analytics Parameters at the bottom of the custom redirects page.
    • Be consistent with this setup for reporting. 
    • See more about UTM parameters and how you can use them in your marketing efforts in the section below.
  1. Add completion actions at the bottom of the custom redirects page.

OR

Create an automation rule to run based on custom redirect and/or campaign/form fill criteria.

  • Keep in mind – if the device scanning the QR code isn’t cookied as a known Pardot/Account Engagement prospect, your custom redirect completion actions will not fire. Using an automation rule will solve this problem, as it will run once the criteria is met as soon as the cookied device becomes a ‘known’ prospect.
  1. Add to list
  2. Add to campaign with member status
  3. Increase score/grade
  4. Notify marketing/sales
  5. Send autoresponder email

  1. Create a vanity URL for your custom redirect to use near the QR code in print/digital.
    • Keep it short or memorable so people can type it easily.
  2. Use the new custom redirect URL in the QR code generator
    • Depending on the generator you use, you can pre-fill form information/variables from the scan
  3. Add the QR code image the print/digital flyer
  4. Test, test, and more testing before you go live
  • Note: You can make adjustments to the custom redirect destination URL post creation without impacting the live custom redirect vanity, long URL, or QR code.

Let’s Take Offline Event Tracking To The Next Level!

Salesforce Flows & Pardot

With Flow Actions for Pardot! A free app on the Salesforce AppExchange.

Instead of creating your custom redirects one at a time for each channel and event, you can speed up that process considerably by using this tool plus the Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) API. Flow Actions for Pardot brings the power of Pardot custom redirects into a screenflow on the campaign object in Salesforce. This enables you to create them all at once per campaign, making for a more streamlined and efficient process that follows the same structure across the marketing and sales teams.

Watch this video to learn more about how Flow Actions for Pardot works:

Consider UTM Parameters

If you already have a UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameter strategy in place, custom redirects can be a great complement to your campaign tracking abilities. 

The Google Analytics Parameter section of the custom redirect acts as an built-in UTM builder. Instead of supplementing the end of your URL with the UTM parameters manually, the custom redirect tracked URL will have it already built in if filled out. 

We recommend using Pardot custom redirects and UTM parameters together if you are trying to track engagement, while automating the triggered responses and flows.

Using traditional UTMs on their own will capture useful data in Google Analytics, but it can be difficult to sync that valuable data back to Salesforce and Pardot. For those who are more advanced when it comes to Salesforce flows, you can automate the capture of UTM data to custom fields or an object and the completion action sections of the process. Otherwise, it is probably easiest to automate within Pardot using customer redirects and automation rules.

Additional Resources on UTMs

Ready to Start QR Code-ing to Track Offline Events?

QR codes have been around for quite some time and we’re seeing a big resurgence of them recently. That’s because it’s a great way for anyone with a mobile device to interact with your company’s digital marketing. And you can take it a step further by tracking all of your efforts through custom redirects in Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) and campaigns in Salesforce. 

How do you use custom redirects or QR codes in your business? And what other methods are you using to track offline events? Let us know in the comments or reach out to team Sercante for help with your marketing attribution strategy.

Original article: How Digital Marketers Track Offline Events and In-Person Interactions

©2023 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post How Digital Marketers Track Offline Events and In-Person Interactions appeared first on The Spot.

By |2023-04-14T15:27:54+00:00April 14th, 2023|Categories: Analytics & Reporting, Pardot, Pro Tips, revive, Strategy|
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A Marketer’s Guide to Dreamforce 2022

We’re getting ready for a special edition of Dreamforce. That’s because it’s the 20th year for the largest software conference in the world. Dreamforce ‘22 is jam-packed with all the Salesforce things you can imagine and more parties and activities than any human can possibly wrap their heads around. 

But we don’t mean to freak you out about it. We have the knowledge and experience and we’re going to do our best to help you reel it in and build your ultimate Dreamforce 2022 schedule as a badass marketer.

Step 1

Turn on our Spotify Playlist to start channeling your inner Flea: Dreamforce Bands of the Past

Step 2 

Remind yourself that you’re human and this is just a guide. Make sure you leave room in your schedule for last-minute session changes, new friends and networking, vendor hall and swag, snacks and naps.

Step 3

Take a deep breath and get excited for Dreamforce 2022!

Dreamforce 2022 has everything — from small breakout sessions to inspirational keynotes from world leaders and celebrities. Just check out the number of different roles, industries, and topics Trail Maps Salesforce provided! 

The main aspects of the conference are streaming on Salesforce+ so virtual attendees can take part in the action. (Don’t forget to join the conversations and fun on Twitter #DF22.)

Here are our top marketing sessions, meetups, parties, and events to consider as you build your ultimate Dreamforce schedule. 

Day 0: Monday, September 19th

Marketers Welcome Bash

Start your week on a good note at an epic bash designed to bring marketers together in style. Joins us at the Marketers Welcome Bash to meet marketers, make friends to enjoy the week with, and say ‘cheers’ to a fun-filled Dreamforce.

Monday, Sep 19 | 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM PDT

Register here

Day 1: Tuesday, September 20th

Dreamforce Main Keynote

Join Co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor along with special guests!

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT | Keynote Room, Moscone North

Bookmark this session

Tap the Full Potential of Your Martech Ecosystem

Marketers are using more applications than ever before. Learn how Account Engagement’s extensibility features help you keep all your webinar and survey data in one place, and use it in automations.

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 12:30 PM – 12:50 PM PDT | Marketing Theater, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Create Efficiency and Focus on ROI with Intelligence

Learn how to drive marketing efficiency and maximize ROI with a centralized view of performance, automated cross-channel data connections, and actionable insights to optimize campaigns and investments

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 1:00 PM – 1:40 PM PDT | Room 3014, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Build a Data-First Strategy for Personalization with CDP

Understanding every customer is essential to providing personalization. Learn how to build a data-first strategy to make every engagement contextual and personalized across every touchpoint.

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 1:30 PM – 2:10 PM PDT | Room 3014, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

The Art of Communications: Strategy to Execution

Discover how CreditAssociates & other businesses utilize Vonage & Salesforce to deploy intelligent contact centers, omni-channel strategies & deliver upgraded experiences for employees & customers.

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 1:30 PM – 2:10 PM PDT | Camp Three, Moscone South

Bookmark this session

Ethical Real-Time Personalization: The What and the How

In this session, learn how Salesforce’s marketing personalization tools are designed with ethics from the ground up and how to drive cost savings from personalization while realizing its full promise.

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 1:30 PM – 2:10 PM PDT | Commerce Theater, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Discover How CDP Unifies All Customer Data in One Place

Building a single-source-of-truth customer profile that unifies data wasn’t easy — until now. Learn how Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a game changer for marketers who use the Salesforce Platform.

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 2:30 PM – 2:50 PM PDT | Trailhead Theater, Trailblazer Forest

Bookmark this session

Automated Real-Time Personalization

94% of marketers say customers expect personalized experiences. See how Marketing Cloud Personalization uses its own technology to create 1:1 customer experiences that drive efficiency and conversions.

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 3:00 PM – 3:40 PM PDT | Room 3014, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Day 2: Wednesday, September 21st

Winter ’23 Release Readiness Live: Sales Cloud

Release Readiness Live is here at Dreamforce. Join our Sales Cloud product management team to learn what’s new in the Winter ’23 release for core sales, sales engagement, and rep productivity.

Wednesday, Sep 21 | 8:30 AM – 9:10 AM PDT |  Room 2018, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Turn Marketing into a Recession-Proof Competitive Advantage

Get five marketing strategies to work smarter and rise above your competitors — even during economic downturns. We’ll equip you to execute ABM, nail nurture campaigns, and prove your worth.

Wednesday, Sep 21 | 10:30 AM – 11:10 AM PDT | Moscone South, Level 3, Room 306

Bookmark this session

Blog About Salesforce 

Propel your career and build your network by learning six strategies non-writers can use to start blogging about Salesforce. Blaze a trail from zero to content rockstar.

Wednesday, Sep 21 | 12:30 PM – 12:50 PM PDT | Einstein Community Campfire, Trailblazer Forest

Bookmark this session

Marketing Keynote: Deliver Moments That Count

Cookieless future. Tighter budgets. Marketers, we got this — thanks to CDP and Marketing Cloud. See how real-time engagement makes every moment count, so you can build trusted relationships at scale.

Wednesday, Sep 21 | 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM PDT | Keynote Room, Moscone North

Bookmark this session

Fusion Teams Part I: Finally Uniting IT & Business Teams?

Companies are struggling to adopt new technologies across business and technical teams. Rising fusion teams present a fresh way to deliver value — learn their benefits and how they’re structured.

Wednesday, Sep 21 | 1:00 PM – 1:20 PM PDT | Platform Theater, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Day 3: Thursday, September 22nd

Salesforce for Admins Keynote: Deliver Success

Get an inside look at how Salesforce Admins build solutions and deliver success at their organizations. See technology in action with live demos, and learn about the skills admins need to succeed.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 9:00 AM – 9:40 AM PDT | Keynote Room, Moscone North

Bookmark this session

Tech & Media Keynote: The Future of Growth & Efficiency

Learn from visionary leaders and brands how products that enable personalization, automation, and the unlocking of data lead to increased CLTV, deeper audience engagement, and sustained revenue.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 9:00 AM – 9:40 AM PDT | Keynote Room, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Better Lead Attribution with UTM Capture Across Time & Space

Learn a native Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and Salesforce workflow combined with a simple website plug-in to capture first and last UTMs for visitors across site pages and landing pages.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 9:30 AM – 9:50 AM PDT | Magic Falls Theater East, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Innovation Keynote: Discover The New Customer Data Platform

Next-gen CDP will change how you do business. Unlock your data’s full value with integrated marketing, sales, service, and analytics. Personalize in real time and earn trust — no cookies needed.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 10:30 AM – 11:10 AM PDT | Keynote Room, Moscone North

Bookmark this session

How Adecco Turned Its Website into a Pipe Gen Machine

Learn how Adecco used Pipeline Cloud to engage qualified buyers in real time conversations, right on the website. The result: $37M in sourced pipeline in just two months.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 11:00 AM – 11:20 AM PDT | Theater Two, Moscone South

Bookmark this session

Drive Efficiency by Aligning Sales and Marketing

Disconnected tools make it impossible to align marketing and sales. Learn how Marketing Cloud Account Engagement can help you drive leads to sales, close deals, and showcase marketing impact.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 1:00 PM – 1:40 PM PDT | Room 2008, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

How to Increase Efficiency and Revenue with Automation Apps

Learn how customers are using apps to automate workflows, campaigns, and revenue intelligence. See how you can accelerate automation with AppExchange and increase productivity.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM PDT | AppExchange Campfire, Trailblazer Forest

Bookmark this session

Admin Preview: Winter ’23 Release Readiness Live

Release Readiness Live is here at Dreamforce. Learn the top features for admins from the Winter ’23 release. Watch live demos and ask your Flow, Permissions, and DevOps Center questions in a live Q&A.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM PDT | Keynote Room, Moscone West

Bookmark this session

Our Favorite Events, Meetups, Parties, & Places

Home for Marketers Lounge

The Home for Marketers is where marketers on the Salesforce platform can go to find their people. It’s the perfect spot to take a break, network, refuel with amazing food and drinks, and get resources to level-up their MOPs.

Register here

Dreamforce ’22 Admin Meadow

The Admin Meadow is a place you’ll definitely want to stop when you arrive. Full of resources, support, and information for our #AwesomeAdmins.

Learn more 

Home for Marketers Genius Bar

Troubleshoot your marketing woes with one of our experts. Sign up to secure a time slot or drop by at a time that works for you.

Save your spot

Night of Enchantment Party

Everyone’s going to be talking about this enchanted Dreamforce party, so register and get it in your calendar now.

The epic bash is taking place at Temple Nightclub. It includes a live DJ, mouth-watering hors d’oeuvres, memorable activities and prizes, and exclusive VIP experiences. 

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 7:00 PM PDT | Temple Nightclub

Register here

The Engagement Party

Idealist Consulting’s Engagement Party is Back! For over 15 years, their Engagement Party has been the go to event at Dreamforce. 

Wednesday, Sep 21 | 7:30 PM PDT | The Pawn Shop

Register here

Pardot Users / Pardashians Meetup

Join the largest gathering of Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) users at Dreamforce! This is a great networking opportunity to meet your fellow Pardashians and share your tips and tricks for the Account Engagement platform.

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 8:00 AM PDT | Pink Elephant Alibi

Learn more

HowToSFMC Meetup

MHowToSFMC is a helpful community for Salesforce Marketing Cloud users. This is a great networking opportunity to meet your fellow practitioners and talk tips and tricks for the SFMC platform. 

Tuesday, Sep 20 | 11:30 AM PDT | Pink Elephant Alibi

Learn more

Financial Services Marketers Meetup

Meet up with your fellow Financial Service Industry Marketers to network, connect and grab some fuel (coffee, refreshments & snacks) before walking on over to grab a front-row seat at Salesforce’s Financial Services Keynote at 11:30 a.m.

Wednesday, Sep 21 | 10:00 AM PDT | Pink Elephant Alibi

Learn more

Merivis Meetup

Merivis supports veterans preparing for their next mission through training, mentorship and job placement for Salesforce cloud technology careers. Join us to connect with military veterans and milspouses who are at all stages of their journeys into the Salesforce ecosystem. Learn from others and share your story so we can all grow together. 

Thursday, Sep 22 | 11:30 AM PDT | Pink Elephant Alibi

Learn more

Diverse Salesforce Business Founders & Allies Meet Up

Close out the week of Dreamforce by networking with fellow diverse partners and founders in the ecosystem. This happy hour is open to founders and CEOs of businesses that identify as Black, Latinx, AAPI, LGBTQ+, veteran-owned, persons with disabilities, or women owned / led / founded — along with the allies who support them.

Thursday, Sep 22 | 4:00 PM PDT | Pink Elephant Alibi

Learn more

Circle of Success: Various Topics

Join these small group discussions on various topics related to the Salesforce ecosystem to learn best practices, brainstorm, and network. 

Tuesday, Sep 20 & Thursday, Sep 22 | Multiple Times | Marriott Marquis

Learn more

Salesforce Ben’s Ultimate List of Dreamforce 2022 Parties & Events

Salesforce Ben has been putting together this list since 2016, and after a two-year hiatus, they’re proud to bring you the best parties and events Dreamforce has to offer.

See the list here

Stay in Touch!

Pardashians

Join all the cool new Slack groups you learned about including our favorite, The Pardashians.

APPLY TO JOIN

MarDreamin’

Register for MarDreamin’ for free – a 3-day virtual conference focused on all things marketing on the Salesforce platform.

SIGN UP FOR MARDREAMIN’

See You There!

Dreamforce 2022 is a massive event and you will feel overwhelmed at times. But remember, you are not alone. 

This is an inclusive community of like-minded individuals who will be just as lost as you, even if they are a seasoned Dreamforce professional. (Keep an eye on #SalesforceOhana to see what others are up to.)

Plus, Team Sercante will be there passing out pink dragons (trust us, you want one), sharing Pardot Marketing Cloud Account Engagement secrets, and absorbing as much knowledge as we can. 

Stop by and say hi!

Dreamforce Home for Marketers Lounge

Streaming keynotes, 1:1 meeting space, open all week.

Register here

Original article: A Marketer’s Guide to Dreamforce 2022

©2022 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post A Marketer’s Guide to Dreamforce 2022 appeared first on The Spot.

By |2022-09-14T21:01:00+00:00September 14th, 2022|Categories: Career Development, Community, Events|
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How to Create Complex Pardot Lead Routing Rules with LeanData

Lead routing with Salesforce Sales Cloud and Pardot can trip up even the most experienced sales and marketing teams. And choosing the right lead management strategy and tools to automate the process is even more challenging and important. 

Cultivating interest, inspiring action, and responding to people who raise their hands is why we’re here, right?

LeanData is a third-party tool with Salesforce-native functionality that enables you to create complex lead routing rules. These complex rules enable you to do things like pull cleaner data into your org, reroute already assigned leads, or customize how sales gets alerts.

Here’s what you should know about lead routing in Salesforce and Pardot with LeanData.

Lead routing in Salesforce

Here’s how Salesforce Sales Cloud handles lead routing.

Lead assignment rules

In Sales Cloud, you can set up lead assignment rules to automate the assignment of new leads to your sales team or queues based on the specified rule criteria. 

The rules will execute and evaluate in the numbered order as leads enter Sales Cloud. Each lead assignment rule consists of multiple rule entries that specify exactly how the leads or cases are assigned. When a lead matches the rule, it will be assigned to the correct person or queue. Only one lead assignment rule can be active at a time.

To get started, review this Salesforce help article: Set Up Assignment Rules

Round-robin lead assignment

The round-robin lead assignment rule in Sales Cloud helps you automate the assignment of new leads in an even way to your sales team or queues.

Here’s how the repeating round robin assignment looks if your sales team for lead assignment has 3 members:

  • Lead 1 is assigned to sales person 1
  • Lead 2 is assigned to sales person 2
  • Lead 3 is assigned to sales person 3
  • Lead 4 is assigned to sales person 1
  • Lead 5 is assigned to sales person 2
  • Lead 6 is assigned to sales person 3

To get started, review this Salesforce help article: Create a Round-Robin Lead Assignment Rule

Extra Resources

Lead routing in Pardot

There are multiple ways to assign new leads in Pardot ranging from manual assignments to complex and automated assignments based on lead criteria or activity.

Assign to User

Assigns a prospect to the specified user when the requirements of the rule are fulfilled.

Assign to Group

Assigns a prospect to a user in a specific group (round robin lead assignment) when the requirements of the rule are met.

Assign to Queue

Assigns a prospect to the Sales Cloud lead queue when the rule’s criteria are met. You can assign only leads to Sales Cloud lead queues.

Assign Prospect Via Salesforce Active Assignment Rule

Pushes a prospect to your Salesforce active assignment rule when the rule’s criteria are met (see more information on this process below). The prospect syncs to Salesforce without an owner. The assigned user is synced to Pardot when the active assignment rule determines who to assign it to.

To get started, review this Pardot help article: Assigning Prospects

Extra resources

Complex lead routing with third-party tools

Third-party tools enable you to create complex lead routing rules that go beyond out-of-the-box Salesforce and Pardot lead routing features. Different tools serve specific purposes that may be the right fit depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Here are the most common ones.

LeanData

LeanData is a native Salesforce lead matching and routing platform that is easy to use and customize with their visual drag-and-drop interface functionality and complex rule building.

RingLead

RingLead is a native Salesforce lead routing, data normalization, enrichment, and duplicate managing platform.

Validity

DemandTools from Validity is a data management platform to help with importing, assigning, standardizing, manipulating, and the deduplication of your Salesforce data quickly.

Integrating LeanData with Pardot & Salesforce for lead routing

After you’ve weighed your options, you may decide that LeanData is the best third-party tool to accomplish your goals.

Here’s how to make it happen.

Getting started

Find the LeanData listing on the Salesforce AppExchange, and contact LeanData via the Get It Now button. Then, install the LeanData managed app in Salesforce. 

You will need to partner with your Salesforce admin to configure the settings both in Salesforce and LeanData. Assuming you have Salesforce and Pardot connected, you won’t need to do anything extra in Pardot during this setup phase.

To ensure a seamless install and configuration, plan out the platform strategy with your marketing and sales operation managers, sales leadership, and your marketing campaign or demand generation managers. LeanData expands your assignment capabilities from just leads to leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities. By taking the time to allow these roles to understand the functionality and goals of the new tool, you will avoid complications and process restarts later in the year.

Keep your company’s open sales pipeline and quarterly goals in mind. For instance, you probably don’t want to change the lead assignment and data management process in the middle of the year or end of a quarter. Give sales time to learn and adopt the new tool and process as well.

Favorite LeanData lead routing features and challenges they solve

Matching

Matching helps identify orphaned leads or leads not linked to an account through lead to account matching and prevents duplicates from being created at the account, contact, and lead levels. This keeps the data clean and organized, providing marketing and sales a more complete view of an account.

The LeanData matching algorithm is based on their core, multipoint matching criteria to quickly identify exact matches, while helping determine and automate close matches by evaluating a set of criteria rules and tiebreakers. These rules can be added to, reordered, and customized as needed.

This feature is essential to your success with LeanData, Pardot, and Salesforce. Take the time to confirm which rules best match your data management needs and then start cleaning. There is no point in having a great lead assignment process if you’re working with bad data!

Lead Routing & Assignment

LeanData routing allows you to create complex lead assignment and reassignment processes with functionality that’s easy to test and update. Instead of being stuck with only one active assignment rule, you can create multiple rules within a process or separately to indicate the order in which leads and contacts should be evaluated and routed.

Want to know one of the best parts about this feature? You can route net new leads and contacts, plus reroute and reassign existing leads and contacts based on different criteria. Salesforce-native routing functionality only focuses on the new leads.

Common routing and assignment rules are:

  • Regional assignments
  • Territory queue round robin
  • Product and service queue round robin
  • Sales representative to customer success team selling
  • Net new lead assignment vs. nurture lead reassignment
  • Channel or campaign specific paths

This feature is also key for other things. You can map out the assignment considerations for net new leads in demand generation efforts and new leads or contacts at known accounts for your account-based marketing (ABM) target accounts. 

For each assignment process, you are able to list out who you do or don’t want to run through the program. So, you can assign net new leads to your regional sales team immediately, while the platform automatically converts new leads to contacts on your target account list through lead to account matching and assignment. And, by all means, you should. Draft out as many simple or complex assignment evaluation processes as your business needs. 

Real Time Notifications

Because of the integration of LeanData in Salesforce and Pardot, routing and assignment rules are run in real time, making sure sales is being alerted as the lead comes in. By reducing the time to assignment (and assigning to the right sales person or queue on the first try), the lead gets follow-up quickly and efficiently.

Plus, you can bring Salesforce fields into LeanData to trigger and evaluate matching, routing, and assignment. Create layers of logic to automate these processes and reduce missing leads and bad data.

You can also notify sales of their new leads wherever they prefer to work — in a Salesforce task, email, or Chatter post. And the new LeanData and Slack integration is something we’re excited about.

Get LeanData certified

Keep it going! Here are resources to get LeanData certified so you can master lead routing using the tool.

Ready to implement LeanData in your org? Or maybe you decided to go with another option to manage and automate your lead routing. Either way, tell us about it in the comments! And reach out to Sercante when you need Pardot consultant expertise for extra help and customization.

The post How to Create Complex Pardot Lead Routing Rules with LeanData appeared first on The Spot for Pardot.

By |2021-12-22T21:41:57+00:00December 22nd, 2021|Categories: Data Management, Marketing Automations, Pro Tips, revive, Strategy|
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