Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Jennifer Lee, Lead Admin Evangelist, and Eliza Riley, Content Manager for Admin Marketing at Salesforce. Join us as we chat about what’s coming at TDX and how to get the most out of your visit.
You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways from our conversation with Jennifer Lee and Eliza Riley.
TDX is around the corner, and I sat down with Eliza and Jen to talk about must-see content for admins and how to get the most out of your visit.
One thing you won’t want to miss out on this year is Sneak Peeks, a special theater experience where you’ll be able to see previews of in-progress features in action. We’ll be showcasing things like the new App Studio and Setup with Agentforce so you can get an idea of what’s coming. There will also be a Q&A with the product teams so you can give feedback and better understand the roadmap.
There will also be True to the Core Deep Dives covering flow and automation, reporting and analytics, Agentforce, and low-code and pro-code development. These extended Q&As offer you a chance to connect with product leaders and ask all of your burning questions.
Finally, if you have a thorny problem that needs solving, you can visit the Ask the Experts zone for a one-on-one conversation with a Salesforce expert.
We’ve been talking a lot on the pod about Agentforce Vibes, so maybe it’s time to see it for yourself. In the Agentforce Vibes Zone, you’ll be able to get hands-on with how you can build using natural language. There will be demos, a guided project, and sessions to help you get started.
You’ll also want to check out the Hackathon Showcase in the keynote room, where the three finalists will pitch their builds live to the judges. As Jen says, it’s always interesting to see how different people solve problems and get some inspiration for what you’re building in your org.
If you’re coming alone, make sure to stop by the Community Cove. It’s the spot for networking with other admins and other folks in the ecosystem, and a great jumping-off point for exploring TDX.
As you’re getting ready for TDX, it’s important to remember to balance planning with flexibility. “You’re going to be connecting with people,” Eliza says, “you might see a cool activation that catches your eye, or a robot you might want to stop and grab a picture with.”
Wear comfortable shoes, bring water and snacks, remember that some sessions require headphones, and make sure you have a swag bag. Most importantly, come find us and say hi.
Make sure to listen to the full episode for more on what’s coming at TDX. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Salesforce Admins Podcast to catch us every Thursday.
Mike:
If you’re heading into TDX thinking it’s just another event, this episode might change how you show up entirely. Today, I’m joined by Jennifer and Eliza to break down how to actually get the most out of TDX26, not just attend it. We’re going to talk about everything from Sneak Peeks and Ask the Expert zones to hands-on Agentforce experiences and so much more. Most importantly, how these moments are going to help you design better systems, not just learn new features, because this isn’t about collecting swag or just session notes. It’s about connecting with the people building the platform and shaping how your organization runs. So, if you’re serious about evolving from admin to orchestrator, we got your game plan. So, let’s get Jen and Eliza on the podcast. So, Jen, Eliza, welcome to the podcast.
Jennifer:
Thanks for having us.
Eliza:
Super happy to be here.
Mike:
It’s going to be fun. So, Jen, you’re a veteran of the podcast and in the community. Tell us a little bit about what you do at Salesforce, and then, we’re going to get into what we do for TDX.
Jennifer:
Sure. I’m one of a few admin evangelists on the team. So, some of the things that I do on a daily basis is write blogs, create video content, and present to all of you admins out there.
Mike:
Just a few. Eliza, you’re like our secret Alfred in the bat cave. I feel like all of us evangelists come back with torn suits, and our Batmobiles have a flat tire and you fix everything up. But you also did a whole bunch of stuff at TDX last year, but what do you do on the admin team?
Eliza:
Yeah, I know you guys are really on the front lines. So, I’m a content manager on admin relations, and I focus on creating resources and storytelling to help admins grow into more strategic roles. And I also lead our admin blog. So, really helping to translate just everything that’s happening across Salesforce into what actually matters day-to-day. And that includes a lot of coverage on TDX, which I’m really excited about.
Mike:
Yeah, we have a lot planned. To be fair, you also did a showdown last year at TDX, if I recall. Isn’t that right, Eliza?
Eliza:
Yes, we did. That was super fun. We had a few members of the community come and showcase their best Agentforce use cases. We had some prizes, and it was just a really great time.
Mike:
Right. It was. You had one vivacious MC. Should hire him back. Let’s talk about this year though, because Eliza, you wrote a blog post to help admins get ready and write down their list of stuff they can’t miss for TDX. And the first thing is the Sneak Peeks area, which you and Jennifer are working on. So, let’s hear a little bit about that first.
Eliza:
Yeah. So, Sneak Peeks is this really special interactive theater experience. And these are really building on the success that we saw at Dreamforce. So, if any of you attended Dreamforce last year, Jen did an incredible job in the Admin Meadow creating this special exclusive look at what’s coming next for Salesforce products. So, we’re building on the success of that this year, and we’re going to be showing you quick demos of all of our in-progress innovations, and then, opening it up for live Q&A with the product teams. And so, what’s really cool about this for those of you attending in person is that you might be some of the first people to actually see these developments in action. And then, if you’re not able to join us and you’re watching from home or tuning in later, we’ll be covering some of these on the admin blog as well. So, you definitely won’t be missing out on any of the fun.
Mike:
Oh, nice. Jen, you got to peel back a layer. Tell me, give me something. Give me a sneak at the Sneak Peek.
Jennifer:
Well, first I want to say that as a former customer, when I went to TDX, one of the things that I look forward to was seeing the roadmap and interacting with the PMs. So, I’m really excited to be able to bring this to all our technical audiences. But a couple of things that you will be able to peek into, we’ll be introducing the new App Studio. There’s also Salesforce Release Manager. So, think of this as being able to say, for these releases, “I want to enable these things in my org.” That’s the idea behind that. And then, we’re just bringing on a lot of… We have three sessions on flow, like thinking about new flow design or what’s coming up with screen flows or how to manage your flows. We’re also bringing in set up with Agentforce, not only in Salesforce itself, but also in Slack. So, there’s just a lot of cool things, but I’m just going to tease a few.
Mike:
Yeah. No, thanks. You got to show up, but that’s why it’s called a sneak peek, right? I’m excited for this. I agree. When I was a customer, being able to just see what’s new, take those notes, most of the time feel, like the plane ride home, you could be like, “Oh, cool. I don’t have to build this because it’s already going to come as a feature,” is something that I always look forward to. Now, you mentioned we could do some Q&A with the product teams at your Sneak Peeks, but we also have something called Ask the Expert Zone. Can we talk a little bit about that?
Jennifer:
Yeah. So, we had that also in the Admin Meadow at Dreamforce, and it was a huge success. So, think of it as you come to TDX and you have this burning question in the back of your head or this problem that you’re trying to solve for and you’re just hitting a wall, you can come and talk to our experts. And the difference between what we did at Dreamforce and TDX is now, we have specific topics. So, instead of going to, let’s say a generalist that’s supposed to know all the platform, and who possibly can because Salesforce is so huge? There’s no way. You’re going to go and talk to a specialist. You have that burning of question about automation. You’re going to talk to the flow expert. Or you need help with getting started with Agentforce. You’re going to talk to the Agentforce expert. So, we have these various topics, six different topics, and you come during that scheduled time and you’ll be able to have one-on-one discussions with those experts.
Mike:
I like that because we did a version of that, and I volunteered for it, and I think it was just about every other person, I could answer questions.
Jennifer:
Yeah, it’s hard.
Mike:
I know. Man, I just felt bad, and I was like, “Well, I can’t really answer your question, but do you want to work through the problem together and maybe we’ll stumble across something?” One of the things that I think is important and along those same lines, at a surface level, it’s like, “Oh, cool. So, I’m going to be able to talk to Data 360, or flow, or user access and governance.” I see those as topics. Waiting until you’re at the event, Jennifer, is not the best idea. If you were a customer today, you have 14 days to Dreamforce, oh my goodness, to TDX, what would you do as a customer to get ready for those Ask the Expert sessions?
Jennifer:
I would hone in on what are the top things that I want to know from that expert? Come up with some questions to bring to the table versus just showing up and coming up with questions off the top of your head. Or if you have a problem with the solution, bring your laptop and show the person, “Here’s my problem. Can you show me where I’m going wrong?” That way, you’re not generalizing it, and then, they could really help you because they’re actually seeing the thing versus saying like, “Oh, well, I think it might be this,” or, “Maybe it’s this, but I don’t know because I don’t know the details of your problem.”
Mike:
That’s really good. And when we did that version of Ask the Experts, I had somebody print off their entire org schema and bring it.
Jennifer:
Wow.
Eliza:
Oh, wow.
Mike:
So, yeah, it was awesome and also kind of sad because I was like, “Man, it’s a whole forest of trees you just killed, but I know exactly how your org’s set up.” It’s wonderful. Speaking of experts, we have something new, and I know Kate’s been on to talk about it, but Eliza, True to the Core Deep Dive, that sounds new. What’s that?
Eliza:
Yes. This is one of our new activations or tracks that we’re really excited about this year. So, True to the Core Deep Dive is essentially just an extension of the larger True to the Core keynote that we all know and love. So, it’s going to give everybody the chance to just go a little bit deeper into specific topics. So, they’re essentially extended breakout sessions letting you connect with the product leaders and ask your really specific questions. So, we will have breakouts on flow and automation, reporting and analytics, Agentforce, and low code and pro code development. And actually, a couple of these are going to be live on Salesforce Plus. So, it’s a really great chance to connect with product leaders and just be able to attend that extended Q&A.
Mike:
Yeah. There’s definitely a theme developing here across all three things that we talked about, which is access to the product leaders.
Eliza:
Definitely. I think that’s a really key differentiator at TDX this year. I would say that there are just really more opportunities than ever for you to actually connect with the people building the features that you’re working with every day.
Mike:
Now, one of the things is the virtual TDX Hackathon, which I know Josh on our team has been managing a lot. If you’re not participating, that’s something really cool to go see because I think we have… Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think we have an actual kind of showcase where they’re going to get up and pitch their hacks. Am I right, Eliza?
Eliza:
Yes. And it’s not just a showcase. It’s actually even bigger than we’ve done before. So, it’s going to be live in the keynote room. So, really getting everybody up on that big stage. And the three finalists will actually be pitching their builds live in front of a panel of judges.
Mike:
Wow. No pressure there.
Eliza:
Yeah, seriously.
Mike:
But I think that’s really cool. Jennifer, if you were a customer and you’re like, “Well, I didn’t participate in the Hackathon,” sometimes going to see what other people are envisioning might actually spark an idea for something that you’re trying to solve back at your org, right?
Jennifer:
Oh, exactly. At Dreamforce, we had the Hackathon and I attended that. And it’s always interesting to see how people solve for things and you’re like, “Huh, I didn’t even think about that piece, and maybe I should consider that and go back and use that in your implementation.” So, yeah, it does definitely inspire and get those creative juices going.
Mike:
Right. On top of just watching people try to pitch, I think that’s really fun too because I always love to learn watching other people speak because I would envision, well, here’s what it could be like if I had to pitch my app to a board of directors or a president of a company as we’re really going enterprise-wide as an admin. The last thing that I see is Agentforce Vibes, which I’ve had people on vibe coding on the podcast, and I’ve seen some dry runs. I can’t tell you the session because you need to go to them, but there are some presenters in the admin track that have some really cool use cases for vibe coding. And so, I think we have the Agentforce Vibes Zone. Eliza, do you know anything about that?
Eliza:
A little bit. Yeah. So, it’s an immersive hands-on space. And I think what’s really cool about the Agentforce Vibes Zone and what we’ve done a really good job with is just making sure that it’s not just for developers. I think no matter your role, you can definitely benefit. And so, it’s really just designed for anyone that’s ready to expand on how they build using natural language. So, there will be a series of Agentforce Vibes demos, and then, I think they’re doing a guided hands-on project so you can apply what you’ve learned because as you know, if you’ve come to a Salesforce event, it’s all about getting hands-on. But there’s a lot of great vibes content across the event from sessions to this specific zone. So, I think if you’re an admin and you’re just trying to dig in or get started, it’s definitely a great place to do that.
Mike:
Yeah, I’m excited for it. Let’s talk about conferences in general, because it’s been a while since we’ve done Dreamforce, and we’ve had winter and a time change. Jennifer, if you were a customer today listening to this podcast and thinking, oh, I got to pack for TDX, what are some things that maybe you bring now that you wouldn’t have brought five years ago?
Jennifer:
Unless you really need to use it, I leave my laptop in the hotel just because lugging that around all day isn’t fun.
Mike:
They still haven’t gotten any lighter, have they?
Jennifer:
No.
Mike:
They’re still 10 pounds.
Jennifer:
No, they feel like a brick, ton of bricks. I would definitely bring your most comfortable walking shoes. Don’t bring the pair that you just bought. No, that’s not a thing. Bring your most comfortable shoes. Definitely bring a water bottle. Walking around, you want to stay hydrated. Bring some snacks in your backpack because sometimes you think you have time to run and grab something and you’re running between sessions. Have that little candy bar or whatever it is, a pick-me-up. Yeah, that’s helpful. And then, I also bring a bag just in case you pick up any swag along the way because they’ll-
Mike:
Just in case, as if it’s an option. Come on.
Jennifer:
But bring a thing where you could take notes. So, whether that’s electronic, or a notebook, or old school, bring something that you can jot notes or take screenshots of things. There’s also will be available in the app, PDFs afterwards, but I always like taking a screenshot, and then, writing notes afterwards.
Mike:
Yeah, I definitely… So, there will be AI-generated session summaries on all of the sessions in the app, but being there and taking notes is usually… The notes that I take always make more sense to me, which is exactly how it should be, I suppose. Eliza, is there any special prep you do to get ready for TDX?
Eliza:
Well, I would say definitely pack your headphones because we have some sessions where you’ll want your headphones to catch that session audio.
Mike:
Oh, that’s a good one.
Eliza:
Yeah, that’s one that people forget. You don’t think about it, but got to have those headphones. I think for me, with these conferences, it’s so good to have a game plan. I think when you roll up first thing in the morning, you just have this whole day in front of you, and it can be hard to think about what you’d like to do. So, I’d highly recommend using Agenda Builder to really plan out your perfect schedule, but I think you should also leave room for spontaneity because you’re going to be connecting with people. You might see a cool activation that catches your eye. Sometimes there are robots wandering around that you want to stop and grab a picture with.
Jennifer:
Or characters.
Eliza:
Or characters. Yep, absolutely. So, don’t jam pack it, but it helps to come in with a little bit of a game plan.
Mike:
Yeah. Dreamforce had puppies for a little while too. I know.
Eliza:
I missed those.
Mike:
We probably won’t [inaudible 00:16:32] puppies this year. I know. One thing that I think is different that I’d like both your perspectives on. So, travel budgets are tightening. Companies are sending you to… Sometimes you have to pick and choose, do I go to TDX or Dreamforce? And sometimes it’s, well, we can only afford to send you. We can’t afford to send the other three admins. And so, you’re there flying solo. What would your advice be, Jennifer, on making friends at TDX and introducing yourself?
Jennifer:
Oh, Mike, you asked the introvert of the team.
Mike:
I know. All of us admin evangelists are really introverts. We just play extroverts [inaudible 00:17:21].
Jennifer:
I know, right? I tend to look for a familiar face, but also for someone who might be by themselves, because if I’m by myself and they’re by themselves, why not connect? And then, you could be a team, and then, figure out, hey, what sessions are you going to? Because maybe they might be going to sessions that you didn’t even think of. But also if you’re attending a conference and your teammates don’t go, I would take copious notes so that then, when you go back to your company, you can then knowledge share, right? You weren’t there, but here’s the things that I learned and here’s the PDF to that presentation, and give them a little walkthrough of what they missed, but also we’re going to be recording a bunch of sessions this year, right?
Mike:
Oh man, we’re recording so many sessions this year. It’s insane. You have no idea. Eliza, how about you? How do you make friends at events or how would you advise admins to connect with each other?
Eliza:
Oh, I consider myself a little bit of an introvert as well. So, I think if I’m in a specific area or session that is really, really interesting to me, I would also probably look for somebody that’s by themself or somebody that’s taking a lot of notes or asking a lot of good questions at say, a demo booth and just strike up a conversation with them. If you hear them talk about a use case or something that they’re experiencing in their org, I think being able to connect and have something that’s relevant to share is a really good way to get your foot in the door. But I would also say there is Community Cove, which is a really, really cool place to go. And you can actually network with other admins. You can meet people of really all roles. And I know they have a really fun activation planned this time around. So, if you’re by yourself, I would head to Community Cove first, and I think you can make some friends there for sure.
Mike:
Yeah. That’s both very good advice. I always tend to look at the people taking the most notes in a session because then I could always walk up to them and ask them if we could compare notes. And then, that way, I’m not asking for anything that I’m not giving in return.
Eliza:
I love that.
Mike:
Yeah. All right. Well, Jen, Eliza, I feel like I know I got to get my comfortable shoes and couple hundred bottles of five-hour energy and some of those protein bars and leave my laptop at home, and I’ll be set. So, I feel like we’re pretty ready for TDX.
Eliza:
Yeah, sounds like you got it covered.
Mike:
I hope. Well, thanks for coming on the podcast. We’ll have to connect after and see how everything turned out.
Jennifer:
Awesome.
Mike:
All right. There’s your blueprint for showing up for TDX with intention, not just as an attendee, but as somebody that’s ready to shape how systems, data, and AI really come together in your organization. Huge thanks to Jennifer and Eliza for helping us think bigger about what’s possible when you connect directly with people building the platform. Now, if this episode helped you rethink how you approach events or your role as an admin, make sure you subscribe, share it with your team, and start planning how you’ll bring these insights back into your business. Until next time, we’ll see you in the cloud.
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