Interviews with MVPs : Eric Dreshfield

Welcome to the first installment of our series of interviews with Salesforce MVPs! Salesforce MVPs are a special group of people. They’re considered experts on the technology, and they’re passionate about the Salesforce community, too. They’ve been recognized by Salesforce because they consistently share knowledge and have a heartfelt enthusiasm passion for the platform.

First on the list is Eric Dreshfield. You may know him as a Salesforce MVP “Hall of Famer” or as the founder of multiple Salesforce community groups and events including Midwest Dreamin'. He’s spoken at Dreamforce at least five times, and if you’ve been to any Salesforce event over the past decade, you’ve likely heard or seen his name.

Last month, I had the opportunity to spend 30 minutes with Eric. I found him to be not only a Salesforce enthusiast, but an open and kind human being. When I asked for his time, he didn’t blink an eye and when we spoke, he was incredibly gracious, and I felt like he was truly happy to talk to me.

Eric and I chatted about his sort of accidental entry into his first Salesforce role and his journey since then. These stories can be inspiring for those of you who are just starting out and trying to figure out how to navigate this massive new world.

He also shared some thoughts for new and growing firms that want to stand out in the ecosystem. Read on to see his advice!

It’s All About the Network

Eric never intended to become a Salesforce MVP, but his love for the product and the community led him to more and more involvement. He has been named an MVP every year since 2013, just 4 years after he first asked, “What’s Salesforce?”

Eric’s main takeaway from his journey from Salesforce newbie to MVP is the power of the Salesforce community. The community welcomed Eric and helped him learn, supported his efforts to connect and educate, and helped him find a job he loves.

He continues to be amazed by the people he gets to work with in the Salesforce ecosystem.

In fact, the thing Eric has missed the most during the pandemic is face-to-face networking. Virtual is better than nothing, but it’s just not the same.

He’s looking forward to (hopefully) resuming in-person events in 2021 and encouraged new users to attend events and take advantage of the “random collisions” with other users to grow their own networks.