Salesforce Essentials

I attended Salesforce Essentials last week and have been thinking critically about the quality of our connections within the SF Community. I had a great opportunity to meet up with the CLT Women in Tech group for lunch before the event. One new member drove all the way from Wilmington (~4hrs) to attend! We were talking about how great the lunch idea was and that we had a chance to meet up and head over to the session together. I realized that the strength of our community isn't only defined by the knowledge that you can share, it's also by the fellowship with your members. When community members go from acquaintances to friends. My strength in the SF ecosystem is much more than my ability to create a new record in Process Builder, it's in the opportunity to connect individuals.

There was a really nice moment for me during the session. About two months ago, I had an old colleague reach out to me expressing interest in re-engaging with Salesforce. We discussed Trailhead and the Salesforce YouTube channel, as well as my User Group meetings. The next week I was talking to another group member that was experiencing explosive growth within her company and was looking for an additional hire. I was able to match up the two and they hit it off. I heard yesterday that things were going well with the new role and I realized how emotionally invested I was that it work out. My first round of professional matchmaking and I felt so elated that everything had worked out so smoothly. I didn't do anything other than make an introduction, but it felt extremely satisfying to feel like I had made a difference for both women.

Following the presentation, I was struck by how many familiar faces there were in attendance. One women I recognized from a Trailhead event I hosted last summer, another individual I remembered from the last SF Essentials presentation where he had described how his Org was utilizing the platform. It begs the question, 'Is our Charlotte ecosystem getting smaller or is our reach stretching farther?'

Salesforce presenters were kind enough to share with attendees that there is a User Group in Charlotte, as well as a Women in Tech Group. For new users not familiar with Success Community, it is a tremendous help to have SF AEs let their customers know about these groups. This morning there was an influx of new requests to join the Charlotte User Group, which is likely from those that attended the session. It underlines how important it is for our network to get together and help coach those that are just implementing Salesforce as a solution.

Partnerships and support of the group has continued through MapAnything and Torrent Consulting. Both have been great champions of the User Group and done so in the right way by demonstrating value through training and knowledge sharing vs a sales pitch.

I was able to connect with some new members and partners that are interested in offering additional perks to group members. More to come on this as it develops. Very excited to meet so many others in the local area that are passionate about the work being done within Salesforce.