#020. 3 lessons learned from recent Salesforce Layoffs

2023 had a rough start with about 8,000 layoffs announced by Salesforce…

While some might be worried…

While others think it’s the recession by-product…

And while some are hiding a smile…

I think there are things to grab here.

Lesson 1: The Ohana is bigger than Salesforce

Following the announcement, I saw lots of posts by ex-Salesforce employees trying to process what happened.

I will just say here that the amount of support they all got from the community is stunning.

I didn’t notice that much caring for other companies.

All around the world, people offered their help, network, and skills.

In a time of recession, I saw tons of job positions being shared online.

Salesforce built over the year a strong community. This community is now the biggest independent asset for their growth.

The first lesson is that you are not alone.

If you’re reading this and hiring, take a look at this list of Salesforce layoffs willing to find a new position: Master List.

Lesson 2: The Partner eco-system is the best fallback position

There is Salesforce…

And there is the Partners eco-system.

Consulting Partners.

Independent Software Vendors.

Managed Service Providers.

Training Centers.

For each 1$ Salesforce makes, there are 6$ created for the eco-system.

Just keep this in mind: Salesforce is just growing “slower”… and that “slow pace” is still far ahead of other software vendors.

What I’m saying is that Salesforce revenue will continue to grow. And layoffs will just increase benefits…

The eco-system is therefore still in desperate need of talented, skilled professionals.

Lesson 3: It’s up to us!

With Customers short of cash, resources, and time, Salesforce will have to demonstrate real fast time-to-value to support growth.

What do I mean?

The Platform has become very rich. On the marketing side, we have a CDP, a real-time personalization tool, Marketing Cloud, Intelligence, and about 50 add-ons…

However, it’s up to us, as SFMC professionals, to propose and implement quick and high-value solutions.

Build industry-specific assets.

Make content easier to create.

Upskill and make the most of AI.

With fewer people in Salesforce Offices, maybe it’s time for the eco-system to design the future of Salesforce.

At least on Salesforce Marketing Cloud topics, which I believe are becoming the real core of Salesforce offering through Customer 360, we must shape the future.

I’ll send a couple of surveys in the next few days.

I need everyone’s vision… Hope we’ll be able to shape the future.

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