Category Archives: User Groups

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Kelly Bentubo

Posted on by

This is the fifteenth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Salesforce MVP & the 5X Salesforce Certified Leader of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Salesforce User Group, Kelly Bentubo.

KellyBentuboGeekingOutHeahshot

 

What’s your job title? Salesforce Administrator, BlackArch Partners.

What does that mean you do? Anything and everything you’d expect from an Admin and Declarative Developer! I handle data imports, optimize page layouts, marketing messaging, and increasing efficiency through formulas and process builder automation. I’m currently working through some Visualforce enhancements and testing some Apex triggers (thank you Trailhead!) (EFD – Another shoutout to Trailhead! If you didn’t see my post introducing Chris Duarte, check it out. She’s the reason Trailhead is so awesome!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? I’ve been a Salesforce Administrator since 2007. (EFD – That just about puts you at the “mid-life” crisis time period…in Salesforce Years.  Just kidding!  With the speed at which Salesforce evolves, there isn’t time for a mid-life crisis!)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both?  Don’t make me decide!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Although I think it’s important to build credibility with what you know, I think Salesforce is ever so quickly changing and it’s even more important to share who you know.  I think all of us struggle to keep up with the latest and greatest, often times struggling to fit in cert maintenance at the final hour!  It’s a great feeling to be able to connect resources in our community when someone asks a question on a product/service that you’ve never used before.  I’ve learned a lot through those connections and it’s led me to innovation that I may not have thought up without that initial connection trigger! (EFD – Connection trigger – love that expression. I wonder how many connection triggers will be written as a result of this post.)

How did our relationship start, and when? I first connected with Eric in Success Community years ago, did a DF13 session together on Community and then dropped some sic beats during the Awesome People Party and AppBash during DF14! (EFD – I think we first got connected as a result of us both leading user groups, and I’m thinking we first met in person at a User Group Leader function at DF11.  What’s the Awesome People Party?  Check out the full, hour-long, recording here.  If you are really only interested in the “sic beats” from the legendary group App X Chainz, that’s here.

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I love ALL types of crafting.  Drawing, painting, sculpture, scrapbooking, wood burning…you name it, I’ve probably tried it or am interested in trying it!  I’ve taken classes on cake decorating and Chinese calligraphy.  I just bought supplies to make resin jewelry and am hoping to take a glass blowing class next!. (EFD – I’m married to a “crafter” who makes, or has made Christmas ornaments; wire-wrapped jewelry, decorated sugar cookies, and I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting!  I’d love to see some blown glass once you’ve made some. )

You can find Kelly on Twitter, and be sure to take a look at Kelly’s blog: Geeking Out.

Midwest Dreamin’ 2016…Already??

Posted on by

Its still 2015, so why am I blogging about Midwest Dreamin’ 2016 already?

Two reasons:

1. If you are a Salesforce user, admin, or developer this is your chance to to see how others use the platform. It’s your chance to learn something that you can take back to your organization and implement to make a big impact!

2. If you are a Salesforce partner, this is your chance to get your name and product out in front of over 500 admins, developers and end users. It’s your chance to show the value that your product can bring to an organization in a very focused event with high quality attendees.

What’s Midwest Dreamin’, you ask? Think of it like this – take some of the best knowledge transfers you can find at Dreamforce, combine it with the community feeling of a user group meeting, throw in a keynote address by Peter Coffee, and mix it up with a Demo Jam from some of the Appexchange’s best partners in Chicago’s iconic Navy Pier…and that’s what you’ll get on July 21 & 22, 2016.

Be sure to follow Midwest Dreamin’ on Twitter to stay up-to-date on what’s happening, who is speaking, when you can register, how you can submit a session idea.

Get all the details about becoming a sponsor here.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Taylor Grimes

Posted on by

This is the tenth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Taylor Grimes.

image

What’s your job title? Salesforce Consultant, Cheshire Impact

What does that mean you do?  I help clients engineer the lead to revenue lifecycle through Salesforce architecture and Marketing Automation enablement.  I help with marketing and sales processes during Salesforce implementations, managed services and custom projects tackling unique pain points. (EFD – I have some unique pain points, but that might just be from being old!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Five years. (EFD – So in ‘Salesforce years’ you are a relative rookie, but have seen some incredible improvements!)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both? Don’t make me decide!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Who you know, every leg up I’ve gotten throughout my career in Salesforce is because someone smarter than me took the time to explain an answer which then became knowledge I helped share too. It’s a grassroots community empowering everyone who has a desire to learn 🙂 (EFD – Ahhh…the community in action. That’s awesome!)

How did our relationship start, and when? I started following you when I read your blog on becoming an MVP.  (EFD – so that would have been in April, 2013. I found out that I became an MVP the day after my birthday. What a present, huh? Oh…and in case anyone missed that blog, here it is!

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I went to a college prep boarding school for athletes in Faribault, MN right outside the Twin Cities.  Shattuck St. Mary’s focused on building a competitive environment for nurturing student athletes.  Alumnus include the great Marlon Brando, Sydney Crosby from the Penguins, Johnny Toews of the Blackhawks, Derek Stephan of the NY Rangers, or the countless AMAZING women on Team USA and many more. (If the Shattuck St. Mary’s google alerts find this article, my apologies for those left out who are worthy of a shout out 😉 ).  I used to think the highlight of my life would be saying I went to high school with the best of the best as I humbly cheer on my friends while they made it to Olympic levels, until I found my Salesforce network.  Now I’m a part of a group so powerful and exciting that I don’t have to just look back fondly at my time in high school, I’m excited for my future and what I can do for Women in Technology paving my own trail.  It may not be as glorious as a Gold Medal or Stanley Cup, but for me the growth in my career with Salesforce is more than I could have ever hoped for as a girl from Nebraska with a dream to find my calling. (EFD – There are some people who will be more impressed at what this girl from Nebraska has done, compared to winning an Olympic Gold Medal or the Stanley Cup….I’m one of those people.)

You can find Taylor on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Bonny Hinners

Posted on by

This is the seventh post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Bonny Hinners, the leader of the Bay Area Salesforce Nonprofit User Group.

image

What’s your job title? Independent Consultant.  (EFD – So how’s that relationship with your boss?)

What does that mean you do?  I work with nonprofits and for-profits to build out custom solutions in Salesforce that are unique to their business needs from clicks to code, primarily groups that want a local resource here in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I am fortunate to have worked on some terrific projects including a resource management application with a children’s museum and a clienteling solution with a for-profit service provider.   (EFD – All that, and you also lead the Bay Area Nonprofit User Group…kudos to you!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Since 2004, that’s when I got my very first developer org and started learning about the capabilities.  I have continued using it for creating and testing customized business solutions.  Everyone should have a free developer org to explore new features and to try out new customizations and code.  (EFD – 2004, that would have been the 2nd year for Dreamforce, if I’m not mistaken.)

Bacon or sausage? Can’t I have both? Don’t make me decide.

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Who you know–it’s all about the users and how well you know them. You have to understand users’ needs to provide them with the best solutions.  You also have to know the Salesforce community and how to turn to them for inspiration and feedback.  The community can really help you to learn new skills so you can provide better solutions for the end users.  (EFD – Users, users, users….why is it always all about the users? It’s NOT!  It’s all about the community!)

How did our relationship start, and when?  I had the pleasure of meeting you shortly after you became an MVP and was delighted to work with you on a Dreamforce 2013 session! That session was all about encouraging administrators to join their local user groups and showing them how to make good use of the Success Community and Power of Us Hub.  (EFD – So that would have been Spring, 2013, and my very first time presenting at Dreamforce was that session with you!)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I have a degree in Computer Science and I do trapeze! (EFD – Computer Science? That’s not too surprising, but trapeze? Do you mean swinging and flying high above the ground?)

You can find Bonny on Twitter, and please read her blog too!

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Marisa Hambleton

Posted on by

This is the fourth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now…I Introduce Marisa Hambleton, leader of the Phoenix User Group.

Marisa-headshot1

What’s your job title? I am the Managing Partner of MH2 LLC, a.k.a self-employed. (EFD – So how’s your relationship with your boss?)

What does that mean you do?  It means that I wear many hats – chief cloud evangelist; business adviser & analyst; Salesforce admin; click developer; project queen; agilista; co-owner; facilities manager; maintenance crew; bookkeeper; accountant; cleaning crew; chef; landscaper;  taxi….What I really do on the job is to help businesses optimize, implement and connect to/from Salesforce. I have a background in IT and  project management, and focus on solutions that leverage all facets of technology within a business. I work with a small amazing team, and we have all sorts of fun addressing challenges with Salesforce! (EFD – So with all that, how do you find time to run a user group?)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? You had me at multi-tenant…I am a Salesforce user and enthusiast since 2009, Initially staring as an Admin, I dove in head first and have been in the cloud ever since! I am a technology aficionado who enjoys various geekery and an agilista approach to software and solutions project management. (EFD – Agilista…nice word!  Combines the process of being agile with that of being a woman.  I think the #GirlyGeeks might need to know about that word!)

Bacon or sausage? Can’t I have both?  Don’t make me decide.

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Who you know. I value people first. At this point in my professional journey, am confident in what I know, realize there is always room for improvement, and am a pretty good researcher. I don’t know it all, and that’s okay. I am grateful to be part of this awesome Salesforce community, I love learning new things, reading and I have Google.  (EFD – I agree!  It’s who you know that matters, because if you don’t personally know something, someone you know, or someone they know will!)

How did our relationship start, and when? Shout out to Carol Enevoldsen, the Tucson User Group leader for making the introduction. I’ve really enjoyed helping you and Pat Solum with the User Group Leader Mentoring! I’m not a newbie, but I am totally looking forward to the Newbie breakfast. (EFD – Yeah…Thanks Carol! Although I must admit, I don’t recall that introduction…but some days I don’t even remember what I had for breakfast when it’s lunch time.)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I love heavy metal music. When Metallica performed at Dreamforce 2011, I knew it was a sign that I needed to be there. Haven’t missed a year since! (EFD – Metallica was my first Dreamforce too…funny how some people remember it by the bag or year, and others by the band.)

You can find Marisa on Twitter.

Top 10 Reasons to Attend Dreamforce 2015

Posted on by

Here’s my top 10 reasons why you should attend Dreamforce updated for 2015:

10: Networking…its a fabulous place to meet people who think and act like you. Don’t be scared, introduce yourself! You could very well be talking to your next coworker or manager, or even discover a solution to a challenge you have been facing! (Don’t forget to bring plenty of business cards!)

9: Exercise…with all the sessions and activities spread out over Moscone’s 3 buildings as well as a half a dozen or so hotels in the area, you might end up dropping a few pounds from all the walking you’ll do. (Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, and charge up your Fitbit!)

8: Knowledge…Keynote sessions, hands-on training sessions, breakout sessions, even pre-conference training session…who knows what all you could learn! Even without knowing who the keynote or breakout session speakers are, or who the special guests during Marc Benioff’s keynote will be, I’m 100% certain you will learn a lot! (Be sure to take notes – on paper, on your phone, or on your iPad.  Whatever your note-taking device of choice is, keep it handy! You’ll need it!)

7: Awesome…yes, be prepared to hear that word quite a lot. Many will describe the event as Awesome or Outstanding. (Guilty as charged, Your Honor.)

6: Get Social…That’s right, Dreamforce isn’t really just an 8 to 5 event. Social gatherings, dinners, parties and even concerts await the adventurous soul. After Dreamforce, be sure to hook up with your local user group, so you can keep the Dreamforce feeling all year long!  And if that’s not enough, keep an eye out on the Success Community and Twitter for amazing community-driven regional events like Midwest Dreamin’, Forcelandia, and Snowforce.

5: Charity…Don’t just take things away from Dreamforce, give things away! Give back some of your time to help out great causes. Look for the Salesforce Foundation volunteer events and GIVE! Give like there’s no tomorrow! Because if you don’t, for some people who rely on the organizations Salesforce & Dreamforce support, there may not be a tomorrow!

4: Swag…who doesn’t like a freebie?  T-shirts, portable charges, stress balls, t-shirts, pens….you name it, someone is probably giving it away, just for stopping by their booth and letting them scan your badge.  Some things are a random drawing, others, just yours for the taking.

3: Partners…be sure to carve out time to visit the Cloud Expos. Many AppExchange partners will be there to give you live demos, great reasons why you need to extend your Salesforce org outside the box, and pick up some cool swag along the way. You can also connect with Salesforce experts, interact firsthand with Salesforce products, and hear success stories shared by customers at the Salesforce Campground.

2: Rub elbows with the elite…the MVPs and User Group Leaders. Those people are almost overly passionate about the Salesforce ecosystem, but guess what? They are people too, and love helping others gain knowledge and overcome challenges!

And my number 1 reason to attend Dreamforce this year:

1: Community…What’s that? It’s the culmination of all of the other top items rolled into one neat little package. It’s that intangible benefit you get from being part of a group that is fast approaching two million strong. It’s that awesome feeling you get when racing between sessions with over 100,000 of your closest friends. It is Salesforce…it is Dreamforce. And its AWESOME!!!

Chicago’s Weather Forecast – Cloudy and Windy with a Chance of Awesome!

Posted on by

It might seem a little pretentious of me to make such a bold statement, but I am predicting the weather for a very small portion of Chicago. What’s even more audacious is that I’m making this prediction for a couple days that are still more than 30 days away!

I predict that Chicago’s Navy Pier will see cloudy and windy weather on July 9 & 10, 2015.

Now I sure hope that Peter Coffee and Dan Darcy don’t take that statement the wrong way, because sometimes when people say that others are ‘windy’ it could mean ‘they like to talk just to hear the sound of their own voice.’ In THIS case, the wind I am referring to is simply the breeze that comes off of Lake Michigan. That’s it, pure and simple. And the cloudy, well, do I really need to explain that one?

The Opening Event

Midwest Dreamin’ 2015 kicks off on July 9th at 4pm with an Opening Reception for attendees sponsored by Salesforce.com, the Salesforce Success Services team and the Salesforce AppExchange.  Come join us! Check in as early as 3pm, browse the expo hall, enjoy some food and drinks (served from 4pm to 7pm.)  This is prime time to mix and mingle with some of the brightest minds in the ecosystem. You’ll have a chance to hang out with some of the MVPs and enjoy the Demo Jam, where some of our sponsors will each have three minutes to showcase their apps, while our Master of Ceremonies, and 4-time Salesforce MVP, Joshua Hoskins, keeps everyone on schedule and entertained.

Cloudy, With a Chance of Awesome

Please don’t forget to come back to Navy Pier on July 10th! That’s when the main event happens with even more awesome stuff. Check-in will open at 7:30am, and the man once known as the Master of the Dreamforce Demos, the one and only, Dan Darcy, now Salesforce Senior Vice President for Worldwide Product Readiness, will take the stage at 9am to kick things off with his rendition of ‘Thrift Shop’! Ok, that part is a joke, Dan will not be singing, to the best of my knowledge, but he will be sharing a great story with us for our opening keynote!

The REAL Deal

Next up will be a hand-picked lineup of some of the community’s best and brightest, as they all take the stage in a great rendition of ‘We Are The World’. Sorry, that’s a lie too. As far as I know, none of our speakers will actually be singing, but they will be sharing some fantastic content, covering topics like: Chatter, Women in Technology, Platform, Not for Profit, and more!  If you are looking for interaction on a more intimate level, be sure to check out the Circles of Success where you’ll have the opportunity to participate in an interactive, moderated round-table discussion focusing on best practices, with topics including Lead & Opportunity Management, Data Integrity, Driving Success, How to Boost Sales Performance and Change Management.

And the Oscar goes to…
Of course an event like this would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Please make sure to spend some time visiting with them in the expo hall. The hall will be open from 8am to 4pm on July 10th. There’s so much goodness in the ecosystem that you don’t know what you don’t know until you see it! The sponsors are there to help you learn and extend your efficient use of the platform.

How Can I Get in on All This Greatness?

Are you a user, admin or developer?  Attend Midwest Dreamin’!  Register today to beat the price increase. Are you a partner?  Sponsor Midwest Dreamin’!  We still have some opportunities available!

See you at Chicago’s Navy Pier on July 9th and 10th!

You Don’t Have to be From the Midwest….

Posted on by

Perhaps by now you’ve heard of a little event being planned for July 9th & 10th, 2015,  at Chicago’s Navy Pier…it’s a little thing called Midwest Dreamin’ 2015. The organizers of Midwest Dreamin’  somehow managed to convince Dan Darcy to come to Chicago to open up the activities on July 10th, and Peter Coffee will be making a return trip to Midwest Dreamin’ to close the event down.

Who is Dan Darcy?

dan darcy

Many of us that have attended Dreamforce over the past few years know Dan as “The Dreamforce Demo Man”, but he gave up that role about two years ago and moved into something bigger and better. Dan is now the Senior Vice President for Worldwide Product Readiness. He is responsible for working with the product organization to develop priorities, product positioning and competency strategy for the distriibution organization, customers and partners. In addition, he manages the New Product Introduction processes to ensure that product releases have an enablement plan and assets are developed for consumption by customers, partners and employees.  Dan is also still head of Customer Visions for Marc Benioff.

Who is Peter Coffee?

20140401-140133.jpg

Seriously? If you have to ask that question, one might wonder how long you have been a salesforce.com user, developer, administrator or fan. Just in case you did just crawl out from under a rock, or recently converted from some other CRM system, I’ll fill you in. Peter Coffee is the Vice President of Strategic Research at Salesforce.com, but to those of us in the Salesforce.com community, we think of him as so much more than that. He’s the voice of Dreamforce, the pre-Keynote entertainment, the Master of Ceremony at the worlds largest technology conference. He is the show, before the show. He sets the stage at Dreamforce and gets the crowd all pumped up to see Marc Benioff talk about all the exciting things that Salesforce.com is working on, and all the awesome good things the Salesforce Foundation is helping to accomplish thanks to the 1-1-1 model – One percent of your time, one percent of your profits and one percent of your products being donated to great causes in order to help make the world a better place for all of us. Peter currently supports Salesforce efforts in CIO and developer engagement; in regulatory and stakeholder discussions, including information security technology and practice; and in collaborations with research professionals in both the commercial and academic communities

Breakout Sessions Are the Skid Marks of Learning
I think it’s always interesting and entertaining to listen to Peter Coffee and Dan Darcy speak, but where the rubber meets the road is what really helps businesses and nonprofits alike. That’s why people attend events like Dreamforce and Midwest Dreamin’. Skid marks of learning – just what exactly is that?  These skid marks don’t get made from quick stops or from taking turns too fast. They come from the rapid acceleration of business growth, from increased innovation and new ways of taking care of customers. Midwest Dreamin’ just completed its call for speakers and has a great lineup of fantastic speakers talking on everything from “Creating Change with Salesforce Communities” to “So You’ve Inherited (or Created) a Mess…Now What?”  Check out more sessions planned for Midwest Dreamin’ 2015.

Time is Money
How valuable is your time? Consider not only your salary, but the time you spend with family and friends, the time you spend helping others through volunteering or just by being a good neighbor. Attending Midwest Dreamin’ 2015, can actually save you both time and money. Sure, there’s a hard cost to attending…travel expenses and the registration fee, but the knowledge you will gain and the value of those new ideas that will start floating around in your head will certainly exceed those hard costs and help you find more time in your day by allowing you to streamline processes.

The Proof is in the Pudding
I know what you are thinking now….how can I get in on this? What do I need to do to get a piece of this action? That’s the easiest part! Visit the Midwest Dreamin’ Register! page. Yes…it really is that simple!

What’s that? You want to help?
Are you with a partner and wanting to help get your company’s message out to the hundreds of attendees coming to Midwest Dreamin’? We’ve got plenty of sponsorship opportunities still available. For details, visit Sponsorship Options

FINAL LOGO.2015

If You Find Something That Works…Stick With It!

Posted on by

What’s the biggest challenge facing a user group leader?

  • Finding a place to meet?  No, sorry, that’s not it. You can meet anywhere, a park, the library, someone’s office. You could even meet at someone’s house!
  • Deciding on what time of day to meet?  Nope…that’s only a challenge for the very first meeting, then you ask the group what’s best for them.
  • Getting people to attend?  Uh…NO!  People seem to want to attend user group meetings, so if you build it, they will come.
  • Deciding on what food and beverages to serve during the meeting?  Oh come on, people will eat almost anything, as long as it’s free!
  • Finding interesting and engaging content?  BINGO!!!  We have a winner!  DING, DING, DING!!!!

I seem to have found a way to solve the content issue, and I blogged about it in an earlier post:  Speed Dating.  In this post, I share what happened during the 2nd half of the March 19th meeting of the Southern Indiana Salesforce User Group meeting. (For details on the first half of that meeting see my Lightning post.) 

Will you go out with me?

Isn’t that really what an appexhange partner is saying when they offer you a free trial?  It’s like a test drive on a car, but it usually lasts way longer than just a few minutes.  Most appexchange partners will give you 15 to 30 days to test out their product, to prove the worth to your management, before you start paying for it. That’s pretty cool, and if you ask me, a great marketing tool! 

I’m a no-good, two-timing CHEAT!

Well, not really.  But I did speed date with four different appexchange partners at my last user group meeting. 

 Arrowpointe Corp. – geopointe – Scott Hemmeter, CEO & Founder of Arrowpointe says that with geopointe, you can “unlock the where in your data”. In addition to simple mapping, geopointe gives you advanced routing, optimization and navigation. Imagine what could happen to sales if you not only giving your sales reps a list of who to call on each day, but also the most efficient order and routes to take. Please visit Arrowpointe geopointe on the appexchange at: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N300000016ZHeEAM for complete details. 

 ContactMonkey – Outlook Integration for Salesforce – Alex Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of ContactMonkey says that with Outlook Integration for Salesforce you can create and update deals in Salesforce without leaving Outlook. In addition, you can automatically add your emails to Salesforce to save time. ContactMonkey also tracks email opens, clicked links, and determines which email subject lines get the most action. Please visit ContactMonkey’s Outlook Integration for Salesforce on the appexchange at: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N3000000B4mHkEAJ for complete details.

 SteelBrick Inc. – SteelBrick CPQ – Nate Fish, Account Executive, says that with SteelBrick’s Next Generation CPQ you can configure, price and quote anytime, anywhere and from any device.  SteelBrick uses standard Salesforce price books, can deliver quotes to customers in Word or PDF format, and documents are automatically saved in Salesforce for easy tracking, auditing and compliance. It’s built 100% on Salesforce and even works on the Salesforce1 mobile app. For complete details, please visit SteelBrick on the appexchange at: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N300000016cxaEAA. 

 Arkus, Inc. – Clone This User – Justin Edelstein, Chief Information Officer of Arkus, Inc. says that with Clone This User the administrator can look up an existing user who will serve as the basis for a new user, enter a name and email, then generate the username and password immediately. And what’s even better is that this can be done from your desktop or via Salesforce1 on your mobile device. For complete details, visit Clone This User from Arkus, Inc. on the appexchange at: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N3000000B5jTkEAJ. 

That’s not cheating, is it?  All four Apps do something completely awesome and different. 

Does Lightning Really Ever Strike Only Once?

Posted on by

Lightning Developer Week was kicking off as I was starting to write this post. As a User Group Leader, I’m absolutely thrilled with Salesforce has special events like this. It makes my job easier…I don’t have to go hunting for content or people to present at the meeting.

It All Started With a…No, Not a Kiss!

This time, it all started with a phone call from Reid Carlberg. I hadn’t talked to him since Dreamforce, so it was great to get caught up. But it was even better to hear him say, “I can get you Josh Birk to present at your meeting.” Sweet! Josh and I go way back…at least in Salesforce years, it’s way back. I first met Josh at the original Midwest Dreamin’ in Lousiville back in 2011.  He led a full day of developer training back then, so I knew he’d do an awesome job presenting for Lightning Developer Week.

The Bait and Switch.

The day after my phone call with Reid, I get an email from Mary Scotton wondering if it would be ok if she stepped in to present instead of Josh. No offense to Josh, but that’s a no-brainier for me. Of course it’s fine, I told her! Mary just happens to be one of my favorite Salesforce people. She’s very passionate about not only the platform but about women in technology, and since I’m the only male at my house except for our Boxer-Lab Yukon (Living with me: my wife Cindy, her 34 year old daughter Paula, our 13 year old daughter Bonnie,  our 16 year old granddaughter Tess, and our 13 year old granddaughter Hope. I should also note that I have another daugher, Allison, age 26, who is away at Graduate School.)  I seem to always be thinking about ways that my girls can improve their chances of future success.

A Sneak Peek.

Thursdays always seem to be the best days for the Southern Indiana User Group to meet, so I looked for an open conference room for March 12th to host a meeting. Hmm…now why does that date sound so familiar? Oh yeah…it’s my wife’s birthday, but that’s not the reason there wasn’t a conference room available. There’s a field sales training session going on that week. So…March 19th is. I wondered if I could still call it a Lightning Developer Week even if it was happening the week after. I quickly discovered that I wasn’t the only group holding a meeting during the Week After Lighning Developer Week. But what I also discovered is that Lightning Developer Week was kicking off on Saturday, and people were tweeting about it, and posting in the Success Community about it.

The Main Event!

 Thursday, March 19th arrived, I got the conference room all setup and filled a table with the awesome t-shirts that Salesforce provided for Developer Week swag and waited for Security to call and let me know my visitors were here. Now, I’d love to say I packed the house. I’d love to say that every single person who registered to attend showed up. Alas, this was not the case for this meeting.  I had a couple cancellations the day before, but was still expecting, and had enough pizza and snacks to feed about 20 people. On one hand, this was my worst meeting since the very beginning of the Southern Indiana User Group, as I only had 8 people show up. On the other hand, it was absolutely the BEST meeting since the group started back in 2010, simply based on the interactions between attendees and presenters.

It’s a TKO!

That’s a Technical Knock Out, for those who don’t follow boxing.  It was the most technical, developer-focused meeting of the Southern Indiana User Group, and it was a knock out because everyone there learned a ton! (And there really wasn’t much code shared at all. That’s the beauty of Lightning Process Builder, and Lightning App Builder. Drop and Drag, Clicks not Code!  Dare I say it, almost anyone can become a “developer”.

The Second Strike!

Are you at least curious now?  If you want to get hands-on with the tutorials, go to http://bit.ly/lightning-org to create a new Developer Edition org (free, just for you, forever…you’re welcome!) Using this bit.ly link will get you an org with Lightning App Builder enabled, and with the metadata for all four of the Lightning tutorials (allowing you to skip the install & config steps in the tutorials). And then you can go through the Lightning Tutorials:
bit.ly/lightning-connect-tutorial (Start at Module 2)
bit.ly/process_lightning_tutorial (Start at Module 3)
bit.ly/lightning-components-tutorial (Start at Module 3)
bit.ly/app_builder_lightning (Start at Module 3)

When you are done, tweet me @ericdresh and use #LightningStrikes2X to tell me how you did!