What I Gained from WITness Success, a Salesforce Women in Tech event

by Danica Ríos, Client Strategy Analyst at Robots & Pencils

Attending the WITness Success Conference (a Salesforce Women in Tech event) earlier this year was nothing short of extraordinary. The event offered a tapestry of personal connections, newfound friendships, and an encounter with my favorite CEO that left me inspired and empowered.

I had the opportunity to establish more personal relationships than I could have ever imagined. The conversations flowed effortlessly. The shared passion for Salesforce created strong, instantaneous bonds. I believe these friendships formed through work and networking are more than just connections. They have the potential to be lifelines that sustain you through challenges. They can make you feel resilient in the face of uncertainty. 

Seeing so many successful women, especially in the tech world, at the WITness Success Conference was inspiring. From personal experience, I know that the connections we make and moments we share with others can leave lasting imprints on our lives. Watching the ripple effect of positivity, enthusiasm, and support at the conference reinforced this notion. Every individual has the power to uplift those around them!

Impactful Encounters

One of the most pivotal moments of the conference was meeting our CEO, Tracey Zimmerman, in person. A true force to be reckoned with, her presence exudes strength, determination, and a genuine commitment to our collective success. As she navigated the room with grace and purpose, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration and respect for her leadership.

The words she spoke to me echoed in my mind, filling me with pride and validation. She identified me as a “hand raiser” – an individual who takes initiative, embraces learning, and embodies the spirit of growth within Salesforce. Hearing those words from someone I deeply admire was a testament to the impact of hard work and dedication.

Caption: Danica Ríos (lower left) and Robots & Pencils CEO Tracey Zimmerman (middle) pose with Charlie Issacs (left) and Corey Snow (right), members of the Salesforce community in town for Midwest Dreamin and WITness Success.

Looking back, I realize how far I have come in just two and a half years. From a recent graduate of the Talent Stacker program to a certified Salesforce Administrator, I have transformed my aspirations into reality. But it isn’t just my personal achievements I am proud of. I have found a company that resonates with my values. I have a team that feels like family. At Robots & Pencils, I discovered an environment where individuals come together to be more than just the sum of their parts. Tracey’s presence at the conference was a living reminder that great leadership is the driving force behind organizational growth and value.

Session Takeaways

I also found value in the sessions I attended. In particular, a panel of senior Salesforce professionals offered valuable advice on leveling up your career. Even just learning about their work experience and current roles helped me imagine what my career could look like 10 years from now. 

That panel also emphasized the importance of community involvement and mentoring. One lesson they emphatically shared was how mentors can learn as much from mentees as mentees learn from you! Moreover, they reminded us that every interaction matters in the workplace. Each time you talk with someone is an opportunity to contribute to improving communication and collaboration in your organization. Eventually, these interactions add up to create a positive atmosphere for all.

Closing Thoughts from WITness Success

As the conference drew to a close, I carried with me a heart full of gratitude, inspiration, and a renewed commitment to excellence. Witnessing success in its various forms – in the connections we forge, the friendships we cultivate, and the leadership that guides us – reaffirmed that this journey is about more than reaching milestones. Without doubt, it is also about embracing the profound impact we can have on each other’s lives, especially as women in tech. 

About Danica Ríos

Danica is a Client Strategy Analyst at Robots & Pencils. She is a Salesforce certified professional with expertise in product management, business analysis, and Salesforce administration. As a Trailblazer Mentorship Circle Mentor, Danica is proud to support the growth and development of fellow Salesforce professionals.

Dreamforce 2023, the annual gathering of Salesforce enthusiasts, brought together tech innovators, business leaders, and industry experts to showcase the latest advancements in customer relationship management and technology. This year’s event was nothing short of exciting, with groundbreaking announcements and product launches.

“AI was the theme of Dreamforce ’23. Many of our conversations with customers at the event centered on how they could take meaningful steps to take advantage of the AI opportunity,” shared John Carton, our VP of Salesforce Growth.

“Marc Benioff reinforced that Slack is ‘going to be the promise of AI for a lot of our most important customers.’ At Robots & Pencils, we feel that Slack is the perfect spot for customers to experiment and prove out AI use cases for your organization,” John added.

In this post, we outline five key takeaways from Dreamforce 2023 that are set to revolutionize the way businesses operate and interact with their customers.

Our Top 5 Dreamforce 2023 Highlights

1. Meet Einstein Copilot: Your New AI Partner in Productivity

One of the most remarkable highlights of Dreamforce 2023 was the introduction of Einstein Copilot. This AI-driven assistant is designed to revolutionize how users handle tasks including email composition, meeting coordination, and CRM data management. What sets Einstein Copilot apart is its focus on trust and safety. Salesforce has integrated the Einstein Trust Layer to ensure that AI can be a trusted partner. By avoiding toxicity and hallucinations, Salesforce is prioritizing responsible AI usage, making it a safer and more reliable resource.

2. Data Cloud’s Power Boost: Governance, Privacy, and Security for Free

Salesforce’s Data Cloud is expanding its functionality, particularly in data governance, privacy, and security. This development is significant as data is at the heart of modern business operations. What’s even more exciting is that certain licenses, such as Sales and Service Cloud, Enterprise, and Unlimited licenses, can access these enhanced capabilities for free. With Data Cloud licenses for up to 10,000 profiles, Salesforce is empowering organizations to take control of their data and leverage it for informed decision-making.

Additionally, Salesforce is offering two free Tableau Creator licenses, making it easier for businesses to harness the power of data analytics. Tableau is a dynamic data analytics product that leverages the capabilities of AI to not only crunch numbers but also generate insights. Tableau Pulse anticipates users’ questions, making data-driven decision-making more intuitive than ever before. By posing questions users might not have considered, Tableau can unveil hidden opportunities and challenges within your data. With Tableau Pulse in your toolkit, data is your greatest asset and insights are your guiding light.

3. Sustainability Cloud: Measuring and Mitigating Environmental Impact

In an era when sustainability is a global imperative, Salesforce unveiled its Sustainability Cloud at Dreamforce 2023. This innovative platform can assist companies in quantifying and mitigating ecological footprints. This tool enables businesses to track, measure, and reduce their carbon emissions, water consumption, and waste production. By integrating sustainability into their operations, companies can demonstrate a commitment to responsible business practices, enhance their brand image, and contribute to a more sustainable future.

4. Salesforce and Google Cloud: Supercharging AI Innovation

Dreamforce 2023 also brought exciting news of a strategic collaboration between Salesforce and Google Cloud. These two tech giants are joining forces to expedite the advancement of AI-driven applications. This partnership holds the promise of enhanced AI capabilities, better data integration, and improved cloud services. With Salesforce’s expertise in CRM and Google Cloud’s prowess in AI and cloud computing, businesses can look forward to more innovative solutions that streamline operations and deliver enhanced customer experiences.

5. Automate Your Success with Data Cloud-Triggered Flow

Last but not least, Dreamforce 2023 introduced a game-changing feature for Salesforce users: Data Cloud-Triggered Flow. This feature enables users to create automated workflows triggered by data events within the Data Cloud. Now businesses can set up tailored, real-time responses to specific data changes, enhancing their agility and efficiency. Whether it’s updating customer profiles, triggering marketing campaigns, or managing inventory, Data Cloud-Triggered Flow empowers organizations to automate critical processes and respond to changing data conditions swiftly.

What These Innovations Mean for Organizations and Industries

The unveiling of these new products and integrations at Dreamforce 2023 holds immense potential for Salesforce customers. Take, for instance, the impact of Salesforce Data Cloud. For any company managing multiple Salesforce instances and ‘data lakes,’ Salesforce Data Cloud can be a powerful ally. It enables seamlessly consolidating data from various sources, including third-party platforms like AWS. With the added advantage of data cleansing, deduplication tools, and AI-powered data analysis, companies can harness the true potential of their data. They can identify emerging trends, make more informed decisions, and ultimately, transform the way they operate.

Dreamforce 2023 showcased Salesforce’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and responsible AI usage. All the above takeaways are poised to transform the way businesses operate and engage with their customers. Salesforce is not only keeping pace with industry trends but leading the way in shaping the future of CRM and technology. Businesses that embrace these innovations will be better equipped to navigate the evolving landscape and stay ahead of the competition.

Want to level up how your organization uses Salesforce?

Robots & Pencils helps clients leverage data and insights plus intelligent automation to get the most out of their Salesforce investment. Send us a note at hello@robotsandpencils.com to learn more.

As businesses grow, it’s common to face new challenges and experience a need for doing things a new way. At Robots & Pencils, we usually step in when a company is experiencing growing pains and create digital solutions to accelerate our clients’ processes. We also love sharing what we learn along the way, which has inspired this post.

It’s no secret that the overwhelming majority of companies use Salesforce not only to aid in their sales process and for CRM, but many are using the platform to run many or all of their critical business processes post-sales. We have worked with many clients to first identify the most impactful opportunities, and then to design, configure and customize Salesforce and other systems as needed to drive business impact while also improving visibility to data and drive actionable insights. Sprinklr is one of the great companies who trusted us with optimizing their Salesforce implementation, and the results were astounding.

Meet Sprinklr

Sprinklr is the most comprehensive platform on the market when it comes to CXM (customer experience management).

Thousands of the world’s largest enterprises use Sprinklr every day to engage consumers online. The ability to leverage insights leads to better collaboration within organizations, creates a unified view of customers and ultimately creates better experiences for consumers.

Sprinklr mixes modernity into all of their offerings and has a great blog where you can glean strategies to apply to your business.

A Complicated CPQ

Sprinklr relies on Salesforce’s CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) platform. However, as Sprinklr grew, the CPQ instance became increasingly complicated and was affecting their workflow. The setup was putting the sales team at risk for generating improper quotes.

The Sprinklr team was manually fixing CPQ inaccuracies which was time consuming and frustrating. They wanted to be able to rely on Salesforce for their workflow. These hangups became problematic in many ways including how to make future technical enhancements.

Sprinklr needed a new way of doing things.

The Far Better Way

Robots & Pencils met with Sprinklr to first understand their existing tools, processes, and requirements. After analyzing their existing Salesforce implementation, we began to simplify and eliminate unnecessary CPQ fields and customizations. Our work ensured that all of the information needed by the sales team and clients would be automatically populated on Sprinklr’s order forms. R&PWe also made changes to Sprinkr’s CPQ instance to ensure accurate pricing and discount calculations.

With more efficiency and accuracy, the Sprinklr team is now able to provide more accuracy when it comes to quotes. Their team is able to fully rely on Salesforce’s CPQ platform again.

The Robots & Pencils team created a workflow for Sprinklr that embraces:

• Faster order form creation
• More useful views and automation
• Accurate CPQ calculations
• Prominently displayed customer discounts
• Easy to understand multi-year deal prices
• Clearly shown payment schedules

Key Takeaways

Here at Robots & Pencils, we work a lot with what we call “the frustrated innovator.” We help our clients’ brands implement digital transformation strategies so they have that companies have a far better way of doing things. Our work with Sprinklr using Salesforce is just one example of the solutions we can implement work we do. We pride ourselves in delivering technology that delivers a competitive advantage for all of our clients.

The biggest takeaway from this example is that companies who have a solution implemented but aren’t getting the impact expected or are still using a lot of manual workarounds don’t have to settle for complicated workflows. There are experts out there who can help with user-centered design, technology and business process improvementes like Robots & Pencils to unlock the business value technology can have when done well whether it’s us or another digital agency.