Industry Insights

4 reasons to be in San Francisco September 2024

Heading to SaaStr or Dreamforce 2024? Discover top events in San Francisco happening around the same time to make the most of your trip.

Shrivarshini Somasekhar

August 9, 2024

Table of contents

This is some text inside of a div block.

Try SiftHub

Faster answers. Smarter prep. More wins.

Book a Demo

AI Summary

San Francisco in September 2024 hosted several major sales and technology conferences, making it a high-density networking window for revenue leaders.
Key events included Dreamforce, SaaStr Annual, and multiple satellite events focused on AI, revenue operations, and enterprise sales.
The convergence of events created unique opportunities for face-to-face deal progression, competitive intelligence gathering, and partnership development.
For SaaS companies, attending overlapping conferences maximizes travel ROI by compressing multiple networking opportunities into a single trip.
SiftHub was present at these events to connect with presales and sales leaders exploring AI-native solutions for RFP automation and deal support.

San Francisco in September 2024 hosted several major sales and technology conferences, making it a high-density networking window for revenue leaders.
Key events included Dreamforce, SaaStr Annual, and multiple satellite events focused on AI, revenue operations, and enterprise sales.
The convergence of events created unique opportunities for face-to-face deal progression, competitive intelligence gathering, and partnership development.
For SaaS companies, attending overlapping conferences maximizes travel ROI by compressing multiple networking opportunities into a single trip.
SiftHub was present at these events to connect with presales and sales leaders exploring AI-native solutions for RFP automation and deal support.

We love sales conferences, and if you’re reading this, chances are that you love them too.

They are a great opportunity for sales teams to break the monotony of their work, step out and meet awesome, like-minded people, and get the scoop on the latest advancements in the industry. You also get to learn the latest trends, sales tactics, and strategies from the most experienced people working in the industry.

SaaStr and Dreamforce are the biggest names that pop into our minds when talking about sales summits, and they’re both happening around the same time in the Bay Area this year.

Why Dreamforce and SaaStr?

There’s a good chance that if you’re a part of sales or solutions engineering, you’ll probably be in San Francisco for SaaStr Annual, Dreamforce, or both. Called “the world’s #1 SaaS gathering”, SaaStr Annual ‘24 will witness a footfall of more than 13,000 founders, VCs, and Execs from Cloud and SaaS brands.

SaaStr is a 3-day event scheduled for September 10-12 in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In its 10th installment, SaaStr is also introducing a summit focusing exclusively on AI technologies in SaaS. The SaaStr AI Summit will witness 100+ demos from the best apps in B2B AI.

Dreamforce, Salesforce’s flagship event running for 20 years now, is scheduled shortly after SaaStr on September 17-19 in the same region. Dreamforce has a packed line-up with over 115 speakers and over 1,500 learning sessions attracting over 11,000 product experts from 143 countries. Conference passes are already being issued, starting from $1,499 for a limited time.

If you’re considering a trip to San Francisco to attend these events, this blog might help make that decision easier. There are other great events you could check out in the area happening around the time of SaaStr and Dreamforce, so you can max out the amount of networking done in a short span of time.

Read on to find out what they are and why you should attend them.

Events you can attend while in SF for SaaStr & Dreamforce

Sales Enablement Summit

Dates: September 4th & 5th

Venue: Marriott Marquis, San Francisco

The Sales Enablement Summit brings together the brightest minds in sales enablement every year for two days. This event is geared towards teaching impactful enablement tactics for your business strategy from industry leaders.

This event is the perfect opportunity to show the strategic value of sales enablement to your organization’s management. Speakers include leaders and professionals from American Express, Microsoft, Linkedin, PayPal, and more.

Why should you attend?

Discover new sales trends and use industry innovations to highlight your product's value in competitive markets.
Share insights and build lasting connections with enablement professionals worldwide.
Gain skills to advance your career and learn to effectively demonstrate your strategic value to senior management.

Product-Led Summit

Date: September 4th & 5th

Venue: San Francisco

The San Francisco edition of the Product-Led Summit is an event dedicated exclusively to product experts. It is where product specialists from around the world gather to reveal case studies, best practices, and common challenges to help attendees get up-to-date with the latest industry trends and innovations.

The event is going to combine panel discussions with a keynote led by speakers who specialize in different areas of product marketing and engineering. You’ll get to learn how to put into practice impactful tactics to accelerate product-led growth and how to leverage the latest trends and emerging technology. This is also a great platform to build a local support network within a revered global community. Speakers include leaders from corporations like Uber, Upwork, Salesforce, Cloudflare and more.

Why should you attend?

Network with top product management professionals like the Chief Product Officer at RBCx, Vice President of Product & Design at Intuit, and more.
Engage with a community of product enthusiasts to seek advice, exchange perspectives, and build relationships.

The AI Conference

Dates: September 10th & 11th

Venue: San Francisco

The AI Conference brings together the brightest minds in the field of AI for a momentous two-day event. Over 70 top engineers, researchers, and developers will push the boundaries of AI and technology.

The conference stands out with its three distinct tracks, each aimed at different areas of AI. The Builders Track is all about the practical aspects of building and deploying AI systems. This is where you’ll get to learn about the latest tools, frameworks, and systems used in building AI. The Technical Track focuses on the underlying technology and core principles governing AI systems. Finally, the Strategy track is involved with the strategic implications and real-world impact of AI. It is where discussions on AI adoption, ethics, and social impact take place.

The lineup includes industry leaders from Google, OpenAI, Meta, Deepmind, MIT, and more. Registration is ongoing and starts at $1399 per attendee.

Why should you attend?

Gain first-hand access to the latest advancements in AI, including AGI, LLMs, and neural architectures
Learn from over 70 top industry experts, researchers, and thought leaders who are actively shaping the future of artificial intelligence
Attend a variety of sessions across three tracks—Builders, Technical, and Strategy—catering to different interests and expertise levels

SaaSBoomi Caravan’24

Dates: September 12th to 16th

Venue: San Francisco Bay Area

SaaSBoomi’s Caravan’24 is a five-day event that includes several conferences by industry leaders who will share their experiences in building and scaling SaaS startups in the US market. The event will also include several SaaS founders, including women entrepreneurs.

The event will include multiple tactical workshops, during which founders will share insights on multiple US GTM topics. You can also engage in Enterprise Connect and VC Connect to better understand your buyer’s perspectives with meaningful conversations.

Why should you attend?

Participate in breakout discussions and workshops focused on building and scaling SaaS companies in the US
Engage in activities specifically tailored for founders to connect with peers and maximize networking opportunities

Sales 3.0 Conference – AI Sales Summit

Dates: September 25th & 26th

Venue: Virtual

The AI Sales Summit ‘24 is a coveted virtual sales conference from the Sales 3.0 organization. It aims to help attendees master the power of AI to drive sales solutions. The event is attended by chief sales officers and Sales VPs from reputable organizations.

Attendees learn from top sales leaders and industry experts who will discuss strategies to help their sales teams succeed in the new AI-driven economy. Attendees are even given the option to nominate speakers before the event commences.

The event provides an excellent platform for real-time networking with sales professionals. This is facilitated via live chat and one-on-one virtual meetings. Early bird pricing for the livestream passes starts at just $79.

Why should you attend?

Get actionable tactics and strategies on how to enhance sales performance
Learn to succeed in an AI-driven economy through case studies
Network in real time with peers and speakers via live chat and one-on-one virtual meetings

Which event do you look forward to?

While we’ve listed some of the best events related to sales, many non-sales events might also appeal to you. Keep an eye out on your social circles for news and announcements regarding such events. The networking opportunities and the friendships you build with industry professionals worldwide alone make attending these events worth it.

‍

What made San Francisco in September 2024 significant for sales and AI professionals?

September 2024 in San Francisco was a convergence point for the AI and enterprise technology community. Multiple major conferences, including Dreamforce and several AI-focused events, brought together the buyers, builders, and thought leaders shaping how AI is being applied to enterprise sales workflows. For sales and presales professionals, the density of relevant conversations—about AI adoption, competitive positioning, and buyer expectations—made the time and travel investment exceptionally high-value.

Why do sales and presales professionals benefit from attending major technology conferences?

Technology conferences like Dreamforce offer a concentration of buyer access, competitive intelligence, and thought leadership that no digital channel replicates. In one week, an SE leader can meet 50 peers from similar organizations, attend three sessions on AI adoption trends, have five conversations with buyers who are evaluating solutions similar to yours, and gather competitive intelligence from panel discussions where rivals reveal their roadmap. The insight density of a major conference often exceeds months of typical networking.

What should sales professionals prioritize when attending Dreamforce or similar conferences?

At major conferences, priority should go to: pre-scheduled meetings with target customers and prospects (don't leave networking to chance), sessions where your buyers are learning and forming opinions about your category, conversations with industry analysts who influence procurement decisions, and competitive intelligence gathering through peer conversations and competitor presence. Attending sessions without deliberate meeting goals is the least productive use of expensive conference time and travel investment.

How does in-person conference attendance benefit customer relationship health?

Face-to-face time at conferences deepens customer relationships in ways that video calls don't. Sharing a meal, attending a session together, or having an unscheduled conversation in a hallway creates personal context and relationship texture that compounds over the long term. Customers who see their vendors invest in showing up—not just for the sale but consistently at the events customers attend—develop higher trust and loyalty than those whose vendor relationships are entirely digital. This is especially true for enterprise contracts where renewal decisions are influenced by relationship quality.

What competitive intelligence is available at major enterprise conferences?

Competitor intelligence available at conferences includes: public announcements of new features or partnerships made from main stages, candid peer conversations where practitioners share which vendors they evaluated and why they chose or rejected them, analyst commentary on market direction that reveals how procurement frameworks are evolving, and observation of competitor booth activity and messaging—what do they lead with, who is visiting, what objections are prospects raising at their demos? This intelligence is richer and more current than what appears in analyst reports or product pages.

How should teams capture and distribute intelligence gathered at conferences?

Conference intelligence requires a structured capture process: a shared Slack channel for real-time meeting notes, a template for logging buyer conversations (account name, role, key concern, competitive situation, follow-up needed), and a daily synthesis at the end of each conference day while context is fresh. After the conference, competitive intelligence should flow into battlecard updates and enablement content. Customer conversation insights should be logged in CRM and shared with the full account team. The goal is turning conference attendance from a personal experience into organizational intelligence.

What is the ROI framework for evaluating conference attendance as a revenue investment?

Evaluate conference ROI through: meetings booked with target accounts (percentage that convert to pipeline within 90 days), customer relationship advancement (qualitative assessment of relationship depth improvements), competitive intelligence captured (number of new competitive insights incorporated into battlecards), and thought leadership positioning (sessions attended that informed current and future strategy). Compare total investment (registration, travel, team time) against these outcomes across two to three conference cycles before making attendance decisions. Teams that track these metrics systematically almost always find that strategic conference attendance delivers positive ROI relative to equivalent digital marketing spend.

Get updates in your inbox

Stay ahead of the curve with everything you need to keep up with the future of sales and AI. Get our latest blogs and insights delivered straight to your inbox.