Presenting the business case to your boss is easy. Dreamforce is the world’s largest software conference, and it’s the perfect opportunity for discovering breakthrough solutions for your business. Not to mention hands-on learning and invaluable networking.
Here are three simple steps to help you communicate the value of the conference, and explain how your attendance will drive success and innovation in your company.
Step 1: Outline the benefits
One of the best things about Dreamforce is that it’s an opportunity to boost your personal career while also delivering real business value. If your boss can see how this event will impact you individually, great! But if they can also see how this event will benefit the company as a whole, even better.
To begin, outline the ways in which Dreamforce will help you and your company grow. Try answering these questions:
- How will this event positively affect a project or initiative you’re working on?
- How will this event positively affect an initiative that’s planned for the upcoming year?
Consider this information from previous Salesforce event attendees:
- 87% learned something that helped accelerate business growth.
- 89% saved time by learning something that created efficiencies in their business.
- 86% solved business challenges with something they learned at Dreamforce.
- 83% discovered a new tool or product that helped them or their business.
Step 2: Be prepared to offer details
Your boss is far more likely to sign-off and send you to Dreamforce if you present your reasoning with all the relevant details. The more details you can provide, the better. So we recommend sharing a breakdown of costs. For example:
- Airfare: $
- Transportation: $
- Hotel: $
- Meals: $
- Conference registration fee: $1,599
Note: If transportation cost is a concern, know that San Francisco has plenty of public transportation options to and from the airport. And once you’re in the city, all of Dreamforce is walkable!
After you’ve broken down the costs, it might help to provide more details on how you plan to send your time at Dreamforce. For example:
- A list of sessions you plan on attending, or what you expect to learn.
- A short list of companies or fellow Trailblazers you plan to network with.
Step 3: Present the information
Now that you’ve got the business value outlined, we recommend using this handy template to get all of the relevant info in one place so you can easily present it to your boss.
On behalf of the entire Developer Relations team, we hope to see you at Dreamforce ’22! Once you get the greenlight to attend, be sure to register, and don’t forget to tweet @SalesforceDevs or use the hashtag #SalesforceDevs to let us know you’re attending!