You are likely aware Dreamforce 2021 is streaming live on Salesforce+ September 21-23 if your job has anything to do with Salesforce or Pardot. That’s because the good marketers at Salesforce know how to find you and make sure you come to whatever thing they’re promoting.
Well, it’s all with good intentions. That’s because there’s lots of information Salesforce needs to relay to customers, users, consultants and partners as the platform evolves.
Dreamforce serves as the annual culmination of that information relay. It’s the place to go to learn more about the direction Salesforce is taking with the platform so you can adjust your own technology strategy. But, like most things in 2021, you’re gonna have to watch it virtually unless you have a golden ticket to this invite-only event.
Here’s a guide to Dreamforce 2021 for B2B marketers who have other stuff to do.
Major Dreamforce 2021 Announcements
Salesforce always saves their flagship Dreamforce event for sharing major announcements. In 2020, it was the Slack acquisition and Salesforce pandemic response.
Two big themes dominate Dreamforce 2021:
- Slack Technologies is officially a Salesforce company.
- Salesforce is launching the Salesforce+ video streaming service.
We’re all getting used to this digital-first world. Salesforce is creating more educational and inspirational content every day while enabling people to work and learn from anywhere. So making some big Slack announcements and moving all that video content to one hub makes perfect sense.
How to Hack Dreamforce 2021: A B2B Marketer’s Guide
In years of Dreamforce past, B2B marketers could choose from many Pardot-focused sessions to learn about a wide range of Salesforce and business strategy topics. But the reimagined hybrid in-person/virtual event has to pack more punch into fewer content hours.
So what are B2B marketers supposed to do with fewer Pardot-specific sessions to attend?
Well, there’s plenty of helpful B2B marketing content at Dreamforce 2021 if you know where to find it. And most of these sessions already have a companion article, how-to guide, or even Trailhead module to accompany them.
So we’ve collected all the Dreamforce 2021 sessions and companion content for you so you can relax and soak it all in.
Salesforce+ is going to house all live broadcasts, recorded sessions and video content. That means most of that video content will be available to everyone after the conference is over.
Day 1: Tuesday, September 21
Dreamforce Main Show: Welcome to the Trusted Enterprise with Marc Benioff and special guests
The main show is top-secret new content, so you’ll have to tune into that one. But we think they’re going to mention this announcement from Salesforce:
“A new study from IDC that finds Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners will create 9.3 million new jobs and $1.6 trillion in new business revenues worldwide by 2026.”
The Salesforce Economic Impact Study has been the focus of the Dreamforce keynote before. That means we’ll see it again.
Session Description
Today, every business has to transform to become a Trusted Enterprise. Join Marc Benioff and special guests to learn how the Slack-First Customer 360 helps businesses of all sizes succeed anywhere.
9:45 a.m. PT / 12:45 p.m. ET
From Idea to Exit: Build a Thriving Business on AppExchange
Here’s an AppExchange-focused Dreamforce preview from Holly Rushton with the lowdown for Salesforce product people. These AppExchange-focused sessions are especially beneficial for B2B SAAS and product marketers.
Session Description
Trailblazing entrepreneurs share how they landed on a profitable business idea, secrets to scaling, wisdom from the journey, and why they love being part of our partner ecosystem.
12:00 p.m. PT / 3:00 p.m. ET
Welcome to Your Digital HQ
This session addresses the Salesforce acquisition of Slack that was finalized in July 2021 and builds upon Slack-First Salesforce Customer 360 and Digital HQ concepts.
You can read more about the Slack Digital HQ concept in this press release from Slack.
Session Description
Redefining what’s possible in a digital-first world.
12:00 p.m. PT / 3:00 p.m. ET
Grow Moments into Relationships with Slack-First Marketing
Salesforce is introducing the concept of using Slack to manage marketing campaigns and projects. Using integrations, workflows, and channels, marketers can use Slack to feel more connected with the company as a whole and create a more collaborative experience.
You can earn a Slack-First Marketing Trailhead badge to understand this concept.
Session Description
In relationships, every moment counts. Marketers must be data-focused, AI-savvy, and agile. Learn how Trailblazers have done this, plus get a peek at new Marketing Cloud and Slack innovations.
1:00 p.m. PT / 4:00 p.m. ET
Data and Privacy in a Cookieless Future
This is a big one for marketing operations professionals. MOPs everywhere are rethinking their strategies in response to impending deadlines as most major web browsers drop support for third-party web tracking cookies.
Martin Kihn, Salesforce SVP, Market Strategy, Marketing Cloud, presented a webinar in June 2021 with the same name as this Dreamforce session. Here’s a blog Kihn wrote that explains the concepts and links to the webinar.
Session Description
How will changes in cookies, the rise of real-time unified profiles, AI-driven measurement methods, and the privacy imperative impact marketers? Learn how to thrive in the cookieless future.
1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET
How to Do Sales Prospecting the Right Way
Sales and marketing goes hand-in-hand, which means the best B2B marketers understand the sales process inside and out. Lucky for you, Salesforce has already released a guide on this very topic that you can peruse at your leisure. Here’s the Salesforce Complete Guide to Sales Prospecting.
Session Description
Prospects are the fuel for the sales pipeline. Whether you’re just starting out or an expert hoping to level up, learn how you can turn prospecting into a science.
3:00 p.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. ET
What is RevOps and Why is it Critical to Your Success?
RevOps is one of those buzzwords that’s puzzling marketers who are new to the concept. But it’s one of those areas that brings every division together at a company because they are working toward a shared goal. Diligent B2B marketers should understand this concept so they can contribute in meaningful ways through their marketing efforts. Here is the Salesforce guide to understanding revenue operations.
Session Description
86% percent of executives say revenue operations is important to meet their goals, but just 41% are very confident they understand RevOps. Learn why RevOps is important and how to get started.
5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET
Day 2: September 22
Explore Slack & Salesforce’s Successful Path to Integration
This particular session is going to be interesting because it explains how Slack and Salesforce teamed up to integrate the two platforms. So, you may want to tune in for this one.
This session will also serve as a great companion to the concept of Slack-first marketing. Here’s a guide that includes instructions on how to build your Slack-Salesforce integrations to make it all work like magic.
Session Description
Learn how Slack’s business technology developers, in partnership with Salesforce, exponentially sped up the integration of both companies by building innovative solutions on the Slack platform.
9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET
Getting Back to Growth: B2B Sales Reimagined
We’re all rethinking everything we thought we knew about sales and marketing. Companies on Pardot are already ahead of the curve, but rethinking their sales strategies to meet changing priorities takes some work. Check out this Salesforce guide to reimaging sales strategies and fuel economic growth.
Session Description
In a post-pandemic world, most sales leaders are focused on filling the funnel and getting back to growth. Learn how to reimagine sales strategies in the complex and dynamic world of B2B sales.
9:30 a.m. PT / 12:30 p.m. ET
Time to digest all that Dreamforce content
Hopefully this Dreamforce 2021 guide for B2B marketers proves to be helpful as we all navigate this new way of approaching Salesforce events.
We’ll have to accept these virtual conferences as the norm until the day comes that gathering in large groups is safe again. And maybe we’ll continue to see these hybrid in-person/virtual conferences so everyone can attend regardless of their location (or comfort level in large crowds).
Let us know how you feel about Dreamforce 2021 in the comments below.
Wishing B2B marketers got more love at Dreamforce 2021? Well there’s a whole three-day virtual conference coming October 27-29 to fill those gaps.
Register for ParDreamin’ 2021 so you can fill your head with all the Pardot and B2B marketing knowledge you need to accomplish your professional goals. We promise you’ll meet people like you who do awesome things with marketing automation.
