Let's dive into the
biggest innovations
for Sales Cloud,
like Agent Force
for Sales, that can
help you drive growth
from pipeline to paycheck.
I'm joined by
some sales pros
who plan to put these
innovations to use.
Please welcome
Steve Fernyhough,
chief strategic accounts
and global sales officer,
Accenture;
Tiffany Jones, VP
of sales strategy
at HackerOne;
Marisa Lopez, account
executive at Agile Cloud
Consulting; and Vicky
Nisbet, senior area vice
president of sales at
Salesforce in the UK.
If you could each
sum up the keynote
in one word or
one takeaway,
I think agents will
reinvent the way
OK, Vicky, what about you?
It's all about the
agents, absolutely.
All right, well,
Vicky, you said agents.
Let's start with the
big announcement--
Agent for Sales
Development Rep.
Now this can speed
up prospecting
by automatically
qualifying leads and then
passing them on to
sales reps in the CRM.
What would a
prospecting agent
mean for your
sales team, Vicky?
I think it's really
going to transform
the way that we interact
with our customers
So the idea that
it's so exciting
that the Agent Force
SDR can pick up
the first contact that
the customer makes to us,
ask intelligent,
personalized questions,
go back and forth,
really try and streamline
the process,
but also warm up
the lead to be able to
pass it on to the seller.
And I think where it gets
really exciting is how
that agent, that SDR
Agent Force can learn.
So we can upload
all our enablement,
all our product
information,
the SDR can learn
that, become an expert
in the field that we
want them to, but also,
I guess, then start
interacting and thinking
for itself and
really driving
So if, for example,
your customer comes on
to the website and they
download a whitepaper,
you don't need any
human involvement.
The Agent Force
SDR will pick up
that interaction,
will email,
That conversation can
then go back and forth,
asking intelligent
questions, not just who
are you, but really
understanding
what the customer needs to
take it from a cold lead
interaction into
something really warm
Then, even
better, I suppose,
for the seller, that
passes on this warm lead
All the CRM data is
there in the app.
All the admin
is taken out,
which I know my
team absolutely
will love the
fact they don't
And they can even take
it one step further
and book a meeting because
it's on one platform.
The seller's information
is there as well.
The Agent Force SDR can
take it and literally
deliver a meeting for them
with the customer, which
just changes the way
we work completely.
So it's like your own
personal concierge,
sort of removing
roadblocks, getting things
set up, getting
it warmed up,
and anticipating your
needs before you even let
And I think, for
our customers,
the intelligence
that it offers
means that they're more
likely to stay engaged
And then you think about
and take it even further
and how that's
going to transform.
And we can start
segmenting different parts
of our marketplace,
different types
of customers
that approach us.
So if, for example, you
have a large sales force
and you wanted to segment
off contact that was maybe
less than $10,000, then
the Agent Force can
actually deal
with all of those,
freeing up the seller
to time to do the more
complex, the white glove
service that you actually
It really does change
the game for us,
but also it means that
when our sellers are
interacting on
a sales campaign
further down the track,
we still have the sales
motion and the
cadence running
in the background that's
generating and warming up
So there's a
constant flow,
and we never really miss
out on that opportunity.
I mean, this is what the
next level looks like--
AI acting like
an assistant
and doing the
legwork so reps
So let's talk about
what reps really
need to close in
today's environment.
In this year's State
of Sales Report,
launched just a
few months ago,
we interviewed 5,500 sales
pros and found that 83%
of sales teams with I saw
revenue growth this year
versus 66% of those
without AI in sales.
Now teams with
AI were 26% more
likely to have seen
revenue growth this year.
We also found that
the number one
tactic for growth
is sales enablement.
Sales pros are focused
on training, coaching,
and technology to help
reps hit their targets.
And, by the way,
you can download
the State of Sales
Report for yourself.
Just take out your device,
scan the QR code on screen
or you can get it at
sforce.co/stateofsales.
Now, Steve, what do rising
customer expectations
Yeah, we have to
stay laser focused
Our clients are
dealing with
multiple economic
challenges as well as
the advances
in technology.
And we, as a
large company,
we can leverage
our technology,
scale our innovation, our
ecosystem relationships
to help our clients think
through what they really
But genAI is
really a catalyst.
And genAI has created
the opportunity
for our clients to really
think about how they can
go about their
business differently,
to reinvent the
way they work,
and to think
about how do they
change their digital core,
to give them the data
to enable them to get
the best out of genAI?
That means that we, as
a sales organization,
need to be
forward-thinking around
how we attack our
clients problems,
how we help to meet them,
how we train our people,
and how we use technology
to make sure we
solve our clients issues.
Yeah, so let's
talk about one
of the other big
announcements
here, the Agent
for Sales Coach.
Now this lets reps
roleplay tough
They can practice
negotiation.
Now given your
commitment to training
and the investment you
put in your people,
I'd love to hear how
a coaching agent could
Yeah, I think it's
really interesting.
We spend millions of
man hours every year
training our people, and
many of our best sales
leaders spend time
training our teams,
and I personally enjoy
coaching teams and helping
them get to the next step.
But we can imagine
a world where
the sales coach,
for example,
can help our teams
prepare for their oral
conversations, making
sure that they're
ready and primed for
what they need to do.
And that can help both our
professional orals coaches
as well as help us
get to the people
that we can't reach
because there's
only a limited
amount of people
that can do that
human-based coaching.
And so to get an agent to
do some form of coaching
We also think that the
basics of opportunity
management and
strategic deal review
can be helped with
a sales coach.
So thinking about your
deal strategy, how
you make sure you get
your data accurate
and make sure
you're answering
the right question
are all things
that we believe a sales
coach as an agent can
Yeah, it sounds
super promising.
Now, Marisa, your top
takeaway was productivity.
So what innovation
can you see really
I love how AI helps me
to be more productive.
And I actually
work exclusively
with nonprofit
organizations that
And so the organizations
that I'm working with
are providing social
services, mental health
services, meals
to those in need,
helping to mitigate
climate change,
doing really important
change management work.
And I need to be very
laser-focused on being
So using tools such as AI
to do research about these
mission-based
organizations ahead
of time for me so I can
jump into a conversation
and really understand the
change that they're making
AI helps me to
take notes when
I'm on calls with
these individuals
so I can really focus
on that relationship
and understanding
what their needs are
and the challenges
they're facing
because their ROI is very
nuanced when we're focused
And so I'm able to use
these various tools.
I'm able to say,
hey, Einstein,
create me a
close plan so we
can see what the
path forward is,
and I can focus on
that relationship,
be more productive,
and show up as a human
that I am with these
individuals trying
I love that-- really using
the tools to strengthen
those customer
relationships.
Now, Tiffany, there's you
mentioned consolidating
tech, and we found
that in our research
that is a main concern
for so many businesses
Over half the leaders
in the State of Sales
Report say they're
consolidating their tech
stacks for AI, getting
their data in order.
I mean, exactly
what you just said.
Good AI needs a good
foundation to run on,
and that's all
data-centric.
It needs the context of
what your business is
doing so that it can
actually help your sellers
and not be a
distraction to what they
And, for us, all
of that context
already lives on the
Salesforce platform,
so it makes sense for us
to continue to consolidate
on the Salesforce platform
and the Salesforce
ecosystem to
take advantage
of the world-class
AI that is Einstein.
The other big
piece for us--
I'm in cybersecurity-- is
the security of our data,
and we trust the
Salesforce platform
with our data to make
sure that we're building
AI on those trusted
layers that they went over
Yeah, I love that you
brought up the Salesforce
platform because it really
is the foundation for all
the sales apps and Sales
Cloud and getting yourself
really set up to
take advantage of AI,
especially with Salesforce
Foundations being
announced, and so many
people having access
Now how does tech
consolidation
make it easier for
your team to sell?
We want to meet
our sellers,
where they're at
when they're doing
And so, for us, that
means taking something
like forecasting
and consolidating it
into the
Salesforce platform
so that it's not just
a review activity,
but an action-based
activity.
They can see
that prediction
of score and move right
into the transaction side
of the Salesforce
system to understand
what steps they
need to take
to impact their forecast,
not just digest it or make
that call to their
leader, but truly
make a difference in how
their quarter is going
And so leveraging that
AI in a consolidated way
ensures that our
sellers are working
in the most efficient way
possible with the best
context and AI
support they can.
Yeah, well, thank
you for that.
Now it's clear how
simplifying your tech
stack will help you
get the most out of AI,
We're going to pivot now
and get some innovation
questions from the
Salesblazer community
Now for those
who don't know,
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We've got networking
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And now we're
actually going
to have some questions
from the community on all
of these incredible
innovations.
Now first up,
Vicky, everyone's
talking about what makes
Salesforce different.
What does make
Salesforce different?
Well, because we're
fabulous, clearly.
But I think it's the
way in which we do AI.
It makes it makes
a big difference.
And, for me, it's
really three things.
One, most definitely the
sort of the role of where
the agent plays
and the fact
that it's an in-process
AI interaction.
So, as a seller, I don't
go have to look for my AI.
I don't have to
leave my job role.
Tiffany was saying
it earlier--
it's very much
pushed at me,
so I know what I can
use, when I can use,
when I'm interacting
and acting
with the customer
at the right time.
So first and
foremost, that's
really, really important.
I think also the fact--
that trust layer.
I think the knowledge
that it holds,
the bringing of data,
the single platform
means that I can
trust that data
I don't have to think
twice about whether it's
I absolutely know
from the model
that Salesforce has that
the data that I'm then
sharing with my customer
is right and accurate.
And then the fact that
it's on the platform.
We've mentioned
Foundation.
We've heard a lot during
Dreamforce around data
cloud and how we bring
all our data together,
both from within the
CRM platform, but also
And it means that
our whole interaction
is far more balanced than
our customer experience
as a result is the
very it can be.
And I know that when
my team are happier,
they are [AUDIO OUT]
better interactions.
It makes the whole thing,
like a 360 experience
That really makes
a difference.
Now this is a question
from the community
for everyone--
where do you
see AI making the biggest
impact in the next five
Well, I think the pace
of change is amazing.
And I think that
AI has been used
It's also been
used a little bit
But I think the really
big impact coming forward
is going to be in
the front office.
It's going to be in sales.
And I think
Salesforce offers
the platform and the
opportunity to do that.
From my point of
view, I believe
that we have
a position now
where a solid Salesforce
platform allows us to take
advantage of
that AI, and we
can use that AI
looking forward to help
drive our customers
and our customer needs.
In fact, we may even
think if we look back,
say, five years
from now, what
we were doing without AI
and without the agents
and without that
sort of work?
We'll be wondering
what's going on.
So it's the start of a
really exciting journey,
which we're really
looking forward to get on.
Yeah, we'll bring you back
on the broadcast in five
Yeah, I think for
my perspective,
in the next five
years, we're
going to be able to
use AI to understand
which of our sellers
are more skilled
and which need
more coaching based
So the ones that
are really advanced,
they're going
to be using AI
as an extension
of themselves,
just like the
agent is designed.
And then the
ones that need
more coaching
will be trying
this agent do 2x of what
they're doing and trying
to leverage them to do
higher-value activities.
And I think where we want
to see AI going is really
that extension, taking
on some of those tasks
that they don't need to
be front and center for,
just like the
demo showed us.
So as I mentioned
before, I
believe that AI
will actually
allow us to be more
human and focus
on the interactions
and the relationships
that we can only build
person to person.
So that is understanding,
like I said,
understanding the person
that we're talking to,
what their challenges
are, what their pains are,
thinking through how can
the technology help them
because AI is taking
on other tasks.
It's taking on
research for us.
It's taking on analysis
for us of discussions
It is taking on
making plans for us
However, we are then
able to focus more
on being present, being
available, interacting,
exchanging
thoughts and ideas.
And so I see it as being
an opportunity for us
to be more human and
focus more on, again,
making those changes that
we want in the world.
It makes me feel really
hopeful about the future.
Vicky, I have one
last question for you.
How do I teach an agent
to understand my product
and customer so it
can really help?
I think this is a
great thing about it
because as it evolves,
it's learning constantly.
So as I said
earlier, the fact
that you can actually
update, upload
all the information,
whether it
be an enablement product,
information, pricing
information, which
will really help
build a context
for the agent
to be able to answer
the questions.
You're starting off
from the beginning
with all of
this information
But also the
fact that more we
use it, the
more it learns,
and it will understand
my reaction, my team's
reaction, my customer's
reaction and responses.
So almost every
piece of information
you throw at it,
it's just using it
and building it to learn
and learn and learn.
And I think it ties
in to really where we
Even, I don't
know, maybe a year,
a year and a half
ago, we would never
have really envisioned
where we are today.
It's been growing
exponentially,
the speed at which
it's evolving, right?
And so, with
that speed, I'm
sort of excited
by I don't know
I do believe it will
make us more human
and make the humans
more effective
by freeing up our time
to be more productive.
But actually, I'm excited
to see where it will go.
I have no idea where
it's going to take us,
but I just know it's
going to be good.
Any final
thoughts of things
you find most exciting
here at Dreamforce?
You know, I think
with everything
that we talked
about with AI,
one of the things
that gets glossed over
is the first principle
around identifying
that it's an AI and all
of the interaction that's
And I think to everything
we've been saying,
it's an extension
of the person.
And so having that as
part of the principle
is a really big
benefit for me
and how Salesforce
is rolling it out.
Yeah, and Salesforce's
number one value is trust.
And so I had that
question as well,
and Carolyn helped
clear that up for me.
She's like,
you'll always know
We will be completely
transparent about it.
That, I think,
is reassuring
So thank you so much,
Vicky, Marisa, Tiffany,
and Steve for
joining us today.
And thank you all of you
Salesblazers out there.
Now we're going
to learn how
to set up Sales Cloud
in just five minutes.