B2B Lead Generation | Not at Dreamforce

I’m not at Dreamforce. I was invited multiple times by Marketo, Silverpop and Act-On, as well as fellow B2B demand generation experts - but I’m not there. I thought I’d share why with our readers and fans.

If you don’t know Dreamforce, it’s an amazing user conference by Salesforce.com. Great speakers, big names and a headline band (Metallica). Everyone who goes will have a great time.

Just not me.

There are 3 good business reasons not to go.

Find New Customers has a rule:

1. We have to be in the front of the room to go.

That means we need to be a speaker or host, as we were at the Aprimo Marketing Summit. (Host of the B2B Track) Or as we did with Act-On, when we were the featured speaker on their webinar “Stop Marketing in the Dark.” (The CMO of Act-On told me we will be a featured speaker at their first user conference.) So unless we are invited in a “front of the room” role, we pass. We’re also a speaker for the Business Marketing Association and Vistage.

2. We don’t care to be a small fish in the ocean.

Dreamforce is a massive event with tens of thousands of attendees  (45,000!)- you would be a small fish in the Pacific Ocean. No thank you. I’d rather present to a group of 12 software CEO’s - as I did recently.

3. It’s a HUGE expense.

Dreamforce is in San Francisco. Find New Customers is headquartered in the New York City area. Flights, hotel, registration fee, transfers.

We’re a self-funded company so we husband our cash carefully.

Those are the 3 reasons we will never go to Dreamforce. Even if business takes off and we’re flush with cash - I still don’t care to go.

That said, we’re not anti-event. Two events we would have loved to attend were Demandcon and Content Marketing World. I’m sorry I didn’t make those either as they are run by good friends of Find New Customers, Steve Gershick and Joe Pulizzi.

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We are speakers for Vistage and the Business Marketing Association. To learn more about hiring The Fearless Competitor to speak at your next event, check out our Speaking Services.

“If more companies listened to (Find New Customers) a lot more would be sold.” Dan McDade, Pointclear.