The End of a Decade

Another year is ending but this is a rather important end of the year as it also is the end of a decade. Hard to believe we are already finishing the first ten years of the 21st century. It seems like Y2K days were only a short time ago, but here we are ready to enter the next decade. But before we go, it is time to stop and take advantage of the two opportunities that transition brings.

First we need to review the past year and evaluate our performance. I would also say we should take a little extra time and review the past decade. That will be challenging if you are anything like me and can hardly remember what you did last hour let alone over the course of the last 10 years. But looking back gives us so much perspective from which we can then look forward. We can learn much from that exercise. It can be a significant help in putting together a course of change, an opportunity to tweak things just a bit, or a validation that we should continue doing what we did this year into next year.

Here are some potential questions to ask:

What big things happened? Did they happen because you made a knowing, concerted effort to make them happen? Or... did they just happen?
What good things happened?
What bad things happened?
What was your biggest triumph?
What was the smartest decision you made?
What one word best sums up and describes your experience?
What was the greatest lesson you learned?
What was the most powerful service you performed?
What is your biggest piece of unfinished business?
What are you most happy about completing?
Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life?
What was the biggest risk you took?
What was the biggest surprise?
What important relationship improved the most?
What else do you need to do or say to be complete?
What lessons did you learn from these things?

Our second opportunity is to create a course for the new year. We get a fresh start, a chance to begin all over again. It is sort of like a new game. The buzzer has sounded on the last one, and now we can take the field again and start from scratch. I know it isn't quite that cut and dried, but you get my drift. It is a chance to make a difference in our direction and ultimately our success.

Consider these questions about the coming year:

Do you want to have more time?
Do you want to go places? With who? In what fashion?
Do you want to read more?
Do you want to learn new skills?
Do you want to spend more time with certain people?
Do you want to run a race? Climb a mountain? Learn a new language?
What kind of person do you want to be?
Who do you want to meet?
How much money do you want to be able to give away?
What would you like to be your biggest triumph?
What advice would you like to give yourself?
What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results?
What would you be most happy about completing?
What major indulgence are you willing to experience?
What would you most like to change about yourself?
What are you looking forward to learning?
What do you think your biggest risk will be?
What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore?
What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that?
Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving?
What one word would you like to have as your theme?

The key is to stop long enough to do some meaningful reflection and review of how the year really was in 2009. Did you achieve your goals? Did you accomplish all you had intended? If not, what were the blockers? Put down on paper your evaluation - you won't remember it if you don't. And put down on paper your plan for next year. Share it with your spouse, your employees and others that need to be part of holding you accountable. It likely won't be accomplished if you don't share it broadly for accountabilty.

One of the most valuable things we can get from the past is lessons we learn, often the hard way. But if we don't record them we often have to learn them over and over and there is no sense in that. Once should be enough for any of us to learn hard lessons. So create a place to store those year end evaluations and reflections and review the learnings often. If you had a business plan for the year - that is the place to start. Which things were you successful with and which came up a bit short. That is important as you chart the course for the new year. If you had a leadership or life plan, you need to do the same with those. Make sure you evaluate how you did in comparison to the goals you set and note what you learned. Have the blockers been removed yet or do you need to find a way around them? There is so much you can learn by just stopping and evaluating.

And ultimately the question is how did last year impact my legacy plan? Was I intentional in what I did? Did I make any progress toward that what I want to leave behind? Legacy happens whether we plan it and work toward a plan or not. The question really is - do you want to control what your legacy looks like or are you content to just let it happen and not care the result? I believe we need to do a lot better job of being intentional about legacy and what we will leave behind for those that will follow.

You have an opportunity to chart a new year ahead. But before you do, make sure you stop and learn all you can from the past. We should never dwell on where we have been. But we certainly should not ignore the value of what we can learn from that either. I wish you blessing and success in 2010! Much of that happens is based on how well you prepare and plan. Then it comes down to EXECUTION!

Microsoft Opportunities Too Good to Pass Up - Must Act Now

Opportunity #1

Microsoft Community Connections?

Microsoft Community Connections is a national project designed to bring awareness and adoption of the Windows 7 product through Local Business Community Organizations (Chamber of Commerce, rotaries, associations, diversity groups, etc. ).

What does the Local Business Community Organizations get?
- 2 free copies of WIN 7 for Local Business Community Organizations
- $150 Microsoft partner (VAR) services implementation voucher (Microsoft partner to be selected by the Local Business Community Organizations)

What does the Local Business Community Organizations give in return?

- Local Business Community Organizations holds a Windows7 live event (lunch/learn) promoting Win7
- Local Business Community Organizations selects a local Microsoft partner to present Win7 content and invites additional Microsoft partner members to be onsite to interact with the attendees as table hosts
- Microsoft provides $125 in event funding to the Local Business Community Organization
- Attendees receive a $150 VAR services rebate voucher for the implementation of Win7 by a local VAR, redeemable upon the purchase of Window 7 via Volume Licensing (minimum 5 seats). The coupon is intended to offset some of the cost of the installation.

Call to Action = Have your Local Chamber register here!


There is a sense of urgency – as the program is nearing capacity.


Opportunity #2


HTG Flex Funds


This is an HTG only opportunity to get $500 for marketing, sales or demand generation activity of choice. As a member of HTG, Microsoft has created an exclusive opportunity called Microsoft Flex Funds. You have the opportunity to apply for $500 from the Microsoft Flex Funds program when you participate in one of the focus campaigns. Spend your funds on any marketing or sales activities of your choice you like, and then report your results to Microsoft! Click here to request more information.


Opportunity #3


Big Easy 3


Big Easy promotion ends 12-31-09. If you have licensing deals that are close to closing - take advantage of things now. Check details at the website here.


Opportunity #4


HTS Newsletter Service


If you are a Microsoft Partner, you can save $500 on our newsletter services!! We’ve been listed on the Microsoft Ready-to-Go portal as one of the choices that you can use for the $500 LAUNCH rebate. If you are already a subscriber, all you need to do is CLICK HERE and have a copy of your invoice (no more than 30 days old). The promotion code that must be included is LAUNCH and the Service Provider is Heartland Technology Solutions.


If you are not a subscriber and want to get set up so you can take advantage of this code, you have to move quickly. The HTS team will work with you to assure you have an invoice and can take advantage of this $500 offer. HTS just got added as a vendor for this promotion and the deadline is December 31, 2009. Sorry for the late notice on this but it is a great opportunity to get a free quarter of newsletters – on Microsoft!

Opportunity #5 and #6

Frontline and SBSC funds

I wrote about these a month or so ago and you can check the details here if you haven't already taken advantage of these two programs.

Lots of opportunity. Some are time sensitive so you need to act now. Don't miss the boat before it sails!

The Last Mile

There has been much discussion around the concept that as SMB IT consultants and VAR’s – we own the last mile to our customers in terms of the technology landscape. Arnie Bellini from ConnectWise has been championing that concept to the IT Nation for the past year or more. For the most part that is largely true. Today, the customer relationship with most small and medium businesses runs through a local VAR who provides the needed hardware, software and services to bring IT into their environment. But a little history lesson may be worth considering as it regards the last mile and the future. As the Bible teaches, we can learn much by remembering what has happened in the past and we have a very relavant teacher regarding this relationship.

Local telephone companies always felt they had the last mile. That was a literal thing for them – the last mile of copper wire that went from their local connection point to the homes and businesses on the end of their wire. It served them well for many years as there was no real option – if you wanted phone service – you paid the local telco to get it. Then came change – lots of change. There was the advent of cellular which allowed customers to use wireless technology to bypass the last mile. Then along came cable tv companies offering telephone service using their wire – so now there is competition from a second “last mile” cable from a nontraditional telephony source. Then comes the Internet which is able to provide VOIP telephony services. The Internet can be delivered in lots of ways – via cable, copper, wireless, cellular, satellite – there are many ways that the last mile for VOIP can enter a home or business. Today there is no control at all for the local telco. In fact, they are scrambling to try and remain relevant in many situations by trying to add services to compete in delivering Internet, cable TV, and other digital services across their once precious last mile advantage. In many cases, they no longer even have a presence with the customers they once owned. It has vanished right before their eyes.

So how does that apply to us in the IT business. We have the same potential problem coming our way. First we have the transition that is being driven by managed services. Today many of the services that we once delivered by dispatching engineers to a local site has moved to remote support. We no longer need to roll a truck and put a person on premise to service a majority of the problems that occur. That means service delivery can happen from anywhere at any time. Many of us have built that competency ourselves, but margins will continue to be squeezed. It will become a comodity of sorts. And more importantly, if the equipment no longer resides on premise but in the cloud, our services at the least must change, but may in fact be non essential at all.

The sale of hardware and software has been a staple for many of us for years. That will likely diminish in the near future. With the advent of HAAS (hardware as a service) which allows a customer to purchase hardware and software via a monthly subscription beginning to gain steam, we will see purchases from our own offerings slip away unless we find a way to deliver that service. We are already seeing this being delivered by the national wireless companies as you can get a netbook with a wireless subscription on a monthly contract. And new partners like CharTec are springing up to enable traditional VAR's to compete in the HAAS space without having to figure it all out ourselves. And the next step will be no on premise hardware at all in some accounts – where it resides in a data center and is utilized via the wire. We have to prepare to see the margins we have been accustomed to receiving from the sale of hardware and software begin to move away drastically or maybe completely in some cases.

Cloud computing is a major game changer. It has the potential to rob the margin from the sale of hardware, software, projects and break fix sources. It also could cause us to lose the managed service revenue stream that many have come to rely on unless we adapt our services to be cloud friendly. There will still be a need to manage things in the cloud, and to manage some sort of end user devices, but those will likely take a different shape and be a virtual desktop in nature. If we don’t have services that are designed to serve the cloud environment, we will likely become irrelevant to our customers and lose this revenue stream.

So the real question is “what does your P&L look like if you lose the margin you generate from hardware, software, projects, break fix and managed services today. For many partners – that is their revenue and the bottom line is very negative. In fact, the business is insolvent. There are no other relevant income streams that can come close to supporting most businesses today. So what should we do? Certainly sticking our head in the sand and ignoring the potential threat is not the correct response.

This is not a doom and gloom post – but rather one to drive you to consider the opportunities that will be available to the partners who figure this new world out. Cloud computing will not happen overnight. There are many opinions on the speed of adoption. From my perspective, I believe there are a couple drivers. One will be the speed at which the new workforce begins to take leadership of the IT management in the SMB. Younger people have never known anything different than the cloud. They have put their email, data, pictures and social interactions in the cloud their entire lives. So they will have no hesitation to make the transition if the change makes sense from a cost perspective. Secondly there will be significant pressure on the cost of cloud services as everyone races to get to the new frontier from a delivery perspective. There will be many competitors – both large and small – who will make a “land grab” and attempt to draw people to the new source of monthly recurring revenue. Those two factors will be significant drivers to the transition. My personal opinion is it will happen sooner than later and within 3-5 years we will see a very different landscape when we consider IT infrastructure in the SMB.

So what should we do if we currently serve the SMB space? I believe we need to immediately embrace this transition and learn how to deliver products and services through the cloud. It begins by implementing them internally and using them so we have an understanding of how they work. The magic and ongoing opportunity for most of us will be in consulting around how to select and integrate with and within the cloud. I believe many companies will have a hybrid cloud model for the near term meaning they will likely push some things off premise into the cloud and retain others – such as line of business and financial applications – in their offices and under their direct control. I don’t believe that will be the final result as people get comfortable with the technology and reliability, but for now, it will likely be a combination of thing locally and across the wire. Most are already comfortable having financial access across the wire as they access bank, 401K and other financial information that way currently. Security has become acceptable in the cloud as people do it daily already.

We have to learn to sell differently, and provide services differently as the landscape changes. We have to learn new skills in how to connect the dots in the cloud and to our local customer networks. There is a “new normal” coming, and if we don’t begin now to learn how it will work, and more importantly how we can remain relevant in that new world, we will quickly find ourselves not in control any longer. The last mile is moving and we have to get started now to ready ourselves for the change. One day soon we will wake up and wonder how it happened as we didn’t even notice the change. But we definitely will notice the effect of that change because the income we currently depend on to make payroll and pay our bills will have dried up and moved to a different mailbox. That will be a very sad day as it will be far too late to make the changes and catch up then. Now is the time to stop and take a look at what is coming. The train has left the station. The only question is whether you will accept that fact and get ready to board.

Are You a Procrastinator?

Then this post is for you because we are down to the deadline to apply for a very important award. The MSP Mentor 100 award is on the line and the deadline to apply is tomorrow, December 11.

Company awards are an excellent way to celebrate business achievement and shine a spotlight on your business. Try it and you might discover some of the bottom line benefits and the power of industry and local awards. This is often an overlooked tool in your marketing toolbox. Marketing consists of many techniques and channels from advertising and direct response to radio and trade shows, but you can take your small business to new levels by entering your company for awards. The trick is they don’t just happen. You have to apply, submit an entry or nominate yourself. Awards are not just for big companies. At all levels, businesses have the opportunity to compete for awards, but if you don’t take the time, they probably won’t happen. Usually the application process involves completing an application, a brief essay and a description of your business. Some might require financials. The good news is that once you apply for one it will get easier from there so just do it!

Below are some sources for awards:
• Industry publications (MSPmentor, Channel Insider, Everything Channel, Business Solutions Magazine, ChannelPro Magazine)
• Industry associations (VTN, TechSelect, CompTIA, ASCII.....)
• Vendors and suppliers(industry and local)
• Local organizations and publications (business journals, associations, clients)

So you think you’ll never win. Again, if you don’t enter then you probably won’t. Entering corporate awards and contests as a marketing strategy is an untapped area by small business. With limited entries, your odds of winning improve. Even if you don't win, a title nomination can bring many rewards.

We won, now what do we do? Share the news within your organization. This is a great morale building tool for your team. Tell them what they did to help your organization win that award. Put out a press release and share it locally as well as within your industry. Put the word out via your social networking outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Post the press release and the award to your website. Good news like this will get noticed by vendors, distributors, associations, clients, prospects, media, employees and future employees. Tell everyone you won!

That being said, MSPmentor is still accepting nomination for their annual MSPmentor 100 list. Have you submitted your company yet? The deadline is Friday, December 11th. Do it NOW!!

Want to Grow Your Company?

Hear me live on ConnectWiseTV: Steps Along the Way - Key Decisions You Make in Growing Your Business

Join me Friday December 11th at 12 Noon Eastern for a ConnectWiseTV show on how to overcome the roadblocks to growing your business. I delivered this content as a break out session at the ConnectWise Partner Summit in November in Orlando. It was among the highest rated session so the great folks at ConnectWise invited me to fly down to beautiful Tampa to do a live show and record the presentation.

I will focus on identifying the different decisions that an IT business owner faces as they go through the growth lifecycle. It starts with the decision to hire your first employee, then adding sales, marketing, HR, process and other people to the company. What are the triggers that lead someone to make those additions? There are some common plateaus that solution providers seem to hit and I will identify the timing and the solution to help you break through to the next level of your business.

Registration is limited to the first 500 registrants so do it now

Register Today!

Will the Real Partners Please Stand Up?

I wrote a blog post about a year ago when partners were going crazy around a mistake SonicWALL made (http://peerpower.blogspot.com/2008/12/when-things-dont-go-as-planned.html) that caused some pain for folks when their units were not updating and working properly. Over the past 12 months there have been posts around issues at Ingram and ConnectWise. Things happen that cause pain for partners and it seems more and more that the response is to react and start blasting out emails and complaints rather than trying to understand what is happening. The most recent of these involves another great partner of the channel – the folks at HP.

HP has made a corporate decision to take compliance very seriously. They are addressing some legal and regulatory compliance requirements proactively. There is a tendency by many of us in the channel to forget that our vendor partners don’t make the rules under which they have to operate as a corporation – they are dictated to by the government or in the case of many – governments all around the world who seem to focus on making it difficult for large corporations to succeed. HP, and Compaq before them, have been very strong channel advocates. They are not perfect, and have made plenty of bone headed decisions in the past. But the thing about HP that has always impressed me, particularly in the past few years, is that when there is a mistake, particularly in channel conflict, they take the appropriate action and side on behalf of the partner to correct the error. At least that has been my experience and why we have all our eggs in their basket. The same is not true from some other hardware providers who claim to be channel friendly. If there is a conflict, they default against the partner and deliver the “too bad” message. But that is for another day and time.

HP has been tasked with meeting compliance requirements. They have chosen to use an outsourced vendor to handle this process – recognized in the compliance industry as a best in class screening service provider. Using a third party also provides some separation by HP in case there is ever any investigation or question about the process. Partners have received faxes and emails with the message that they need to register on a secure portal, take a short training module, review the code of ethics, and then complete a questionnaire to assess compliance risk. The process is fairly painless. It took us two and a half to three hours. Yes it cost $120 to complete it. There are certainly things about this process that are poorly done:

1. Communication has been very poor – receiving notice of this via fax is a pathetic method – this is the 21st century after all
2. There is plenty of the training that does not apply to an SMB partner – not a big deal but an aggravation
3. There does not seem to be any connection between the communication and whether a partner has done the training – some get notices after completion while others still have not heard about the need to do it at all
4. Communication has been very poor – worth repeating again since it is soooooooo bad

OK – now that we have agreed that the process leaves something to be desired, let’s talk about the other side of the coin. There always are two sides to consider although partners tend to only want to see it their way. HP is setting a standard here. They are going to require partners to be compliant and follow the rules. They are setting a standard around business conduct that should give us some assurances that things will be done properly. In a way, they may be setting themselves up for some unfair competition from competitors who opt not to play so fairly. But bottom line they are making a statement about their desire to be a thought and industry leader and that is a very good thing indeed.

So what is the bottom line. As I see it, HP has a cost of doing business that they are passing on to their partners. They also are taking a proactive stance on being sure partners are compliant. Should we like it? Maybe not, but guess what, that is exactly what I do when I have an increase in my cost of doing business. It gets passed on to my customer. I am willing to bet you do the same, or soon will be out of business. Besides - $120 is an aggravation not an expense to be a partner. You pay $1500 or more to be a Microsoft partner. Many vendors are a lot more than that. Those that truly are HP partners have expressed over and over that this is not a big deal. It is part of being a true partner. Many have expressed the wish that the cost to be an HP partner be significantly higher. Those that are making a big issue of the matter likely aren’t really partners but looking to have access to things without being willing to truly step up and partner. Sitting on the HP small business advisory council allows me to see the reality of their partner channel. Less than 10 percent of their partners sell well over 80 percent of the product. So will there be tears in Houston if a bunch of people who carry the name of HP partner but don’t sell anything decide that spending 3 hours and $120 is too much to ask go away? I wouldn’t be shedding any tears. That is not the intended purpose of this compliance process, but it may well be one of the benefits. And quite honestly, when I have conversations with other HP partners who are invested and understand what it means to truly partner talk about this, they hope the herd is thinned by a significant percentage. Less people to compete with means better things for those who understand that partnership is give and take and requires everyone to work together.

Could it be done better? Absolutely. Is it a real issue? Not from my perspective. We are a very spoiled bunch in the IT VAR channel. They didn’t call and close a bunch of our shops like they did in the auto industry. They are asking for some true partnership and it is time for the real partners to stand up and differentiate yourself from the pack. Time to grow up and get down to the business of talking to customers and selling solutions rather than whining about something that doesn’t matter.

Traveling to Minneapolis to Meet with Microsoft

Yesterday I was privileged to head to Minneapolis (12 hours round trip) to meet with Phil Sorgen, corporate VP of SMS&P (basically the SMB partner community among other responsibilities). He moved into this role replacing Michael Park earlier this year who moved on to a new assignment. It was my first opportunity to meet and discuss HTG and the state of the channel. We had a good discussion and were joined by two great supporters of SMB partners, John LaLonde from the Local Engagement Team (LET) and Lisa Hughes, the North Central Partner Community Manager (PCM). I was honored to be able to explain a bit about our peer to peer interactions and then to discuss the SMB channel and some of the challenges I see. Here are the key blockers to growth for many companies that I expressed:

1. Cash flow. Far too many partners are undercapitalized and don’t manage their cash well. No matter how you try and cut it, cash is always king. The companies who are able to consistently grow know how to manage their cash. That involves timely billing, collection and management of accounts receivable, cost containment, management of accounts payables and all things cash. It also means that partners are not running their business month to month on credit cards. Only one simple missed payment can start a spiral of disaster if that is the only source of outside capital. Every partner needs to have established lines of credits with distribution partners and also a local bank. At least any partner that really wants to grow. If you are going to leverage other people’s money to grow you company, which is a very acceptable approach if managed correctly, then it can’t be done with credit cards. Provide the needed documentation to your distribution partner and get a line established. And go find a local bank that you can establish a line of credit with and build it up by using it and repaying it regularly. Credit capacity is something that has to be earned by careful use and payment. It is not a right or a gift – it is a privilege that is harder than ever to earn. And you don’t typically get it when you are desperate, so be working on it while you don’t think you need it so when you do it is available. I see partners make a mistake here over and over.

2. Sales. Very few partners have a true sales process. They typically can engineer and implement solutions to any problem a client may have, but when it comes to replicating that and selling it to others, they get deer in the headlights looks and don’t know what to do. Sales requires a system. There are so many moving parts. You have to hire, onboard, manage, compensate, reward, motivate, train, and build their ego’s. But if partners want to grow, then they have to become a sales organization. Nothing happens until a sale is made. Vendors typically don’t provide good training and support in this area. They may provide bits and pieces, but that provides very sketchy success. You need to establish a true start to finish process that captures every step and document it and create a system to manage it. ConnectWise is the tool we use, along with QuoteWerks and some great leadership from our VP of Sales Larry Hedin. Building and managing a sales team is a never ending challenge. But it is critical if you want to grow through that barrier to growth. I often see it rear its head when companies are 1 – 1.5 M in revenue or have 7-12 employees. It won’t fix itself, so sticking your head in the sand and hoping it just gets better does not work. You need to find a way to conquer this area. There are some great consultants that can assist. There are peers that have it under control. But pretending you have it will not work over time and you need to make it a priority and just get it in place.

3. Marketing. This is like magic to most partners. There are lots of options here and it seems that if you ask around enough you can find someone who swears by them and others who swear at them. Telemarketing, drip mail, direct mail, cold calling, buying lists, event marketing, ready to go campaigns – they all work sometime and if you get lucky. But put them in combination with a sales process and system and the odds of success go up exponentially. Marketing by itself is really nothing more than advertising. When combined with a sales process where follow up occurs and pipeline is tracked and contacts are managed – well it suddenly starts to work. Too often partners want to sign up for and throw a little money at some activity and then just sit back and wait for the prospects to come running or sit and wait to answer the phone. More often than not, that is not the response at all and then the assumption is that it doesn’t work. Marketing is a waste of time and money. It isn’t the marketing that is the problem, it is the execution. In and of itself it is not a magic bullet. It won’t get a line of people knocking your door down. But teamed with a sales engine, it can prove to be very valuable. In fact, once you have a sales system that works you have to have a marketing engine to keep the prospect pipeline filled in order to take your business to the next level. It isn’t an optional activity if you intend to keep growing as a company. You have to figure this one out too.

4. Leadership. Most partners get so wrapped up with the first three they totally miss this one. But here is the reality – you cannot grow your organization if you are the sole person leading the pack. That works until you have 20-30 people and are very effective, but a growth company has to have other folks step up to manage and lead. While it would be wonderful if there was an unlimited pool of trained and effective leaders available in the employee pool for most partners – that is not typically the way it works. You need to invest in training leaders. It is a process that takes time. You have to make investment – spend time and money in fact – and build into those that will help lead your organization to the next level. This kind of training is not some sort of vendor certification. It is not the typical course that you pick up online. It is about people and relationships and requires hard work and study to learn it. Then it takes some on the job mentoring to put it into application before it is ready for prime time. But the key is you need to start building this far before you want to put it into place. You can’t send a potential leader to a class one week and expect them to take on a leadership role next week. That is not how it works. So identify your leadership needs early and invest in the appropriate people so they have time to learn and prepare to step in and be successful.

5. Strategic relationships. If I were to pick one area that differentiates partners from the pack, the ability to build and manage strategic relationships would be the key factor. Most partners never get this truth. They insist on focusing on adversarial relationships with distribution, vendors, other resellers and often their own employees and customers. Success is not based on being in constant tension with the entire world. It is rather built upon creating successful relationships that provide win-win scenarios where everyone is bettered by the results. Our company and HTG has made strategic relationships a key focal point and strategy. We spend time learning about the resources and programs available to us from distribution and vendors. We participate in their programs and leverage their investments. And we buy and sell their products, not based on beating them down to the lowest possible price, but by focusing on the value of the solution we are able to deliver to our clients. We focus on building beneficial relationships with our peers as they are a wealth of experience and critical information to help us accelerate growth. There is absolutely no reason we need to make every mistake ourselves. We can learn much by listening to and sharing with peers. And there is no shortage of customers that need to be served. Fighting over customers in a market is a less likely way to succeed than working closely with other peers that share our approach and want to work with us. And those that want to see their staff and customers as adversaries – well you are in for a long life. We need to serve our team and customers well, and exceed their needs and expectations. When we get over ourselves and focus on serving them we can truly find success. Strategic relationships will separate you from all your competition if you learn it and live it well.

_

I want to express thanks to John and Lisa for helping make my visit possible and enlightening. Microsoft is making some significant changes in how they serve partners in the SMB space. The revised partner program, the transition of TPAM’s to distribution, the reinstatement of the Frontline marketing funds, the SBSC campaign funds, LET team, the new Var Champion program – there is a host of great things that are being done to enable us to succeed. With the creation of a role to focus on HTG, IAMCP and other peer to peer groups this fiscal year, Microsoft has put their money where their mouth has been and given us a great resource in Tina Hanson to help navigate our partnership. Already Tina has been able to generate more investment through the Windows 7 challenge and the soon to be released flex marketing campaign. John and Tina are helping us pilot some sales and marketing training in the North Central region that I think will be a game changer for partners. Arnie Mondloch in Redmond has been a consistent voice in helping us get the tools we need, like an extensive SharePoint site for collaboration. I am encouraged and excited about the investment that Microsoft is once again making in the SMB channel. And most of all, I am grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with Phil Sorgen and understand a little more of the vision for SMS&P. There is a great leadership team in place and as they listen and partner with us, we all succeed. So thanks for the time and the ear, and I look forward to our mutual success in 2010!

5W50 Webcast on Leveraging Your Peers Coming to a Computer Near You

On December 2 at 9 AM Pacific, noon Eastern, you will have an opportunity to view a very action packed webcast as part of the Microsoft 5W50 series. The topic will be growing your company and how to leverage peers as part of the growth process. You will hear from HTG members Amy Kardell, Jamison West, and Dave Sobel as they join me to talk about some of the exciting things that have happened in their companies as they have leveraged their peers in HTG.

Growth is a lot of work, but it can go faster and more smoothly when you learn from those who have done it before. Peers can help you overcome the blockers that cause you to beat your head against the wall. They can prevent mistakes you would likely make if you do it alone. There is much to be gained from running and growing your company in the companionship of a group of people like yourself, and peer groups provide that opportunity. Join me as we tackle that topic.

To register for the event next Wednesday Dec 2, go here. I hope you will take an hour and learn with us about the power of peers!

Another SWOT in the HTG Books

This week I was in Rice Lake Wisconsin with DCS Netlink, a great company led by Dane Deutsch. On the SWOT team with me were Lyf Wildenberg (HTG2) and Mike Haworth (HTG15). We had a fabulous time as we dug deep into the business and worked to identify some tweaks and changes that will help the team there continue their growth. As is the case for most small businesses, there are a number of plateau’s and blockers that come up along the path to growth. That is the case at DCS, and so we worked to help solidify what the team already knew – they need to grow into a sales organization. This is definitely the most common problem that HTG companies are wrestling with. It happens to many about the same time. You grow pretty well without an official sales plan until you hit 1M – 1.5M or so in revenue. And then you hit the wall. No matter what you try, it just seems like you are stuck right there. Since a lot of us are entrepreneurs that came up through the technical side, we have a dislike for the whole sales process anyway. We can’t figure out why we can’t turn some screwdriver or find some new technical solution that will fix this problem.

The reality is that any business that wants to grow has to become a sales organization. Nothing happens until a sale gets made. It took me a long time to admit that fact. We can engineer the greatest solutions in the world, but if we never sell them, or don't get paid appropriately for them, we will go out of business. It is a pretty simple truth that many never figure out. So sales is not optional – it is essential and needs to come off the list of things you have to hold your nose about. Get over the fact that you think sales people are all like the used car types and embrace the reality that you need to find some good ones if you want to grow your company. But then what? Once you know you need to change from being an invincible engineering company to a sales company – what next? Well you actually have to hire someone to sell. And that becomes a challenge because a good sales person thinks very differently than your typical MCSE. They don’t necessarily understand every detail, or even care for that matter. I personally think it is better to hire someone who can sell before worrying about whether they understand technology or not. Sales is all about relationships, not how much you know about the latest gidgets and gadgets. But that is my opinion and certainly no one looks to me as the expert on this topic. There are some good resources out there in our channel that can help. HTG currently has some classes going on with Kendra Lee around hiring a sales person. Erick Simpson and MSPU has some fantastic resources. If you are struggling - get some help. Don't flounder around here - you need to find a salesperson and get started.

Of course, hiring is probably the easy part even though it does seem overwhelming. Once you have a person on your team, then you have to manage them. There are few things more dangerous to a business than an unmanaged sales person. ConnectWise has great tools to assist in sales management. Again - there are lots of solid resources available to help teach you how to manage sales people. One of the best though is to talk to peers who are successful doing it. There are a number of HTG companies with sales organizations that are making it happen every day because of great sales management. Find them and figure out how to put their practices into your business.

Nothing happens til somebody sells it. Get off the fence and find a salesperson and begin the process of becoming a sales organization. Vision without execution is hallucination - and I see more companies that are hallucinating in the area of sales than anywhere. Sales is not rocket science. It may feel that way, but it really isn't. And without it, you can plan to plateau and be stuck for as long as you allow it to happen to you. You can't grow without becoming a sales organization. Get over it and get on with it!

Thanks to Dane and the team at DCS for a great experience in rural Wisconsin. I learned much and look forward to watching you go through this challenge and on to the next one!

A Couple of Awards Opportunities

There are two big opportunities for partners to nominate themselves or others for some channel awards. The first is for Channel Insider's Bull's Eye Awards. These awards need to be submitted by November 20th. You can find the nomination survey here.

Another opportunity for recognition is available from MSP Mentor. They are taking nominations for their MSPmentor 100 list now through December 11th. You can nominate yourself or someone else here.

Two great opportunities and now it comes down to execution. Vision without execution is hallucination. Let's get companies nominated and win these!

HTS Annual Vendor Planning Meeting

Today we held our 5th annual HTS planning meeting. We huddled in the KC Microsoft office with our field reps from Microsoft, SonicWALL, Ingram Micro, HP and Altigen. The goal was to review our performance from 2009, evaluate what we could have done better, and then create a joint plan across all our vendor partners for 2010. When we started doing this 5 years ago, there was a lot of question and concern. "You really expect us to sit in a room with competitive vendors and share our thinking and plans for next year?". I have always had a simple answer. "It is up to you. You only have to participate if you want to do business with us next year." This is not an optional activity. It is about partnering and creating solutions across our vendor partners to drive business. No one has ever failed to show up. And each year it gets better and better and the walls have come down and we are working to build cross vendor solutions we can take to our markets.

We come away with joint training plans, joint sales models, joint marketing programs - just a unified approach to making HTS and our vendor partners successful. We started our event last night with a dinner for all our vendor participants to allow some pre-game activity - tailgating if you will to help warm up the crowd. Had a nice time at On the Border eating and sharing about life. Today we dove in early - reported on our YTD status - and shared specific information with our vendors. In fact, we give them all our data on our customers and sales activity. Many would say we are crazy to trust a vendor with the keys to our kingdom. Our feeling is that it is only when we truly partner and work together that we will succeed. Jane Cage, our COO and pivot table queen, is able to slice and dice our data in dozens of ways. Our vendor partners can see things in that data we would never see because they work with many different partners in many different markets. We look to them for guidance and best practices they learn from watching others. It is a very valuable experience and well worth the risk in our opinion.

Our team left today with a list a mile long for us to consider as we write our 2010 business plan. And our vendors left with a list we had for each of them for commitments we expect them to execute for us next year. It is a two way street. Both of us are accountable in this, and we will review mid year to make sure everyone is executing. If you aren't planning with your vendors and distribution partners, you are really missing something special. It truly can propel your business. It will put you in a very elite class of partners - not many are willing to be transparent and go to the work of pulling together an event like this. But it is well worth the effort and can help you grow in ways you will never be able to do any other way. As I say over and over - the differentiator between partners is not sales or technical skills - it is understanding the power of strategic relationship management. That begins with planning with your vendors and disty partners. If you want to be status quo - try and do it yourself. If you want to be one of the elite partners in the channel - get over yourself - reach out and work with the folks who can propel you to the next level!

What a Week in Orlando

This past week HTG members and ConnectWise partners descended on Orlando for the HTG Q4 meetings and the ConnectWise Partner Summit. Both events were packed and very well executed (except for a little AV fiasco you had to be there to appreciate). HTG members spent two days working to drive business and personal growth by holding each other accountable. We have moved to using a standardized quarterly board review template that members use to prepare and present their quarterly performance. From that background information, the other 11 members provide feedback and direction for the future. Feedback on the change was very strong. We are shifting from being backward looking at historical data – to forward looking with strategy and the future in mind. This is a big change for most of us in the channel. Our default thinking is to be focused on the past and present – looking at execution and tactical items – rather than peaking forward at what is to come.

During the ConnectWise Summit, Verne Harnish – the growth guy – challenged all of us to change how we think. We need to become CEO’s if we want to truly lead our company. That means forward looking, future focused, strategy based leadership. It is a shift for many. But driving while always looking in the rear view mirror is a good way to assure you will go in the ditch. So the change is necessary and important. HTG has been focused on that transition for some time, and we are midway through the process using our tools – Service Leadership benchmarking, quarterly board reviews, ConnectWise PSA and a few others. It is a slow and tedious mindshift, but this quarter it seemed that lightbulbs were going on and members were starting to understand the need for the change.

Christy Sacco, Ken Shetler, and Scott Scrogin did an amazing job with our HTG event. Three packed days of content and learning with hardly a bump. The HTG team is top notch and dedicated to making things happen. Our new special interest groups on Wednesday were highly successful and received much praise. Partners want to get together and learn. That is the bottom line. People who are part of peer groups understand the impact and value, and can never get enough. And they know that being a Go-Giver is the key to making that success flow to everyone involved.

I will be writing about the breakout sessions, announcements and other important topics that were discussed in Orlando over the next weeks. For now, as always, execution is the focus. Take that one thing and get to work making it reality for your organization!

Making the Handoff - Passing the Torch

At the ConnectWise Partner Summit next Thursday at 3PM I will deliver a session around succession planning and begin to navigate the many options and decisions that need to be addressed in order to plan for the future of your company. This is a journey filled with landmines and many roads to follow. It is not simple, and left undone, will be handled by the government and other disinterested parties in your wishes.


It doesn't matter what you want to do - sell, give it away, put employees in an ESOP or any of a dozen other options - if you never plan for it there is no way to assure it happens your way. Don't miss the chance to create the legacy you desire. This session will ask lots of questions most have never really considered. It will cause you to think deeply about your future and make you squirm in your seat. But it is such an essential part of making the transition smooth and your company sustainable and valuable.


Do you have your next set of leaders idenfied? Have you began the process of mentoring and training the folks you hope will step up and take over? Have you figured out how you will get your money out of the company someday? How about your employees - have you identified a way to keep them employed and cared for? So many questions and thing to consider. It is enough to drive you crazy.


Join me at 3Pm on Thursday in the Senate and Gallery room during the ConnectWise Partner Summit to dive into this topic in depth. I can't promise all the answers, as we are walking this journey ourselves right now. But as part of that process there are lots of questions we have had to address and many more still on the horizon. We'll talk about all those things and leave you with some things to go think through so your legacy can continue long past your working days.

Key Steps Along the Path to Growth

I am presenting a breakout session in Orlando on Friday afternoon that focuses on the key decisions that business owners need to make along their journey to grow their company. For most, I see five major areas that tend to be the "big rocks" that need a lot of work and are hard to overcome. We will focus on those areas and try to identify important considerations that company leaders need to work through in order to leave the plateau that so many end up stuck on as they hit the wall with these things. Here is my list of the major hurdles to overcome:

1. Transitioning into a sales organization. Hiring your first sales person is a challenge. Managing sales people is an adventure. Running a sales organization is mind numbing.

2. Supporting your sales team with quality and consistent marketing. Once you actually find a good sales person and build a team, there has to be a system to keep the pipe full of opportunities and prospects for these guys to chase.

3. Building process and actually executing them. It really is the 3 P's - process, policy and procedure. You can't grow without a consistent plan in place on how your business will operate day after day to do the right things right every day.

4. Developing a bench of leadership. This is necessary in a lot of areas, but once you reach a certain point there is not nearly enough "you" to go around. When you grow to the point of needing to build practices - you need leaders. When you begin to hand off responsibility for areas of the business - you need leaders. Your management team needs to be built with - you guessed it - leaders.

5. Building strategic relationships. This is THE single MOST important differentiator I see between technology companies today. Most seem to believe that the vendors and distributors are the enemy. The reality is, I know of no successful growing company who takes that approach. Sure you can grow to a point all on your own, but the fast growth and sustainable companies understand this in spades. It is their secret weapon. It is the competive advantage in the marketplace. Relationships are the thing that separate the men from the boys.

There is a lot more we will cover, but this gives a general overview of what I have observed are the key factors for most technology company leaders to get under their control. Are you successful in these areas? If so, I want to meet you because you are exactly the kind of company we would love to get into HTG. If not, I want to meet you too because you need to be involved in HTG to learn from your peers how to overcome these obstacles. Either way, I hope to see you at 3PM on Friday in the Scribe room!

Starting to Think About How to Kick Your Economic Recovery and 2010 Plans into High Gear?

In a piece posted earlier this week by MSPmentor you may have noticed a brief mention of a program focused on building sales organizations that we launched in early October with Kendra Lee and KLA Group. Here is the skinny on this offer. HTG announced a strategic offering with KLA Group focused on sales hiring and lead generation. Two separate series are available exclusively to HTG members starting November 11th. We have heard loud and clear that our members are struggling with sales and hiring. Whether you are hiring your 1st salesperson or your 21st, this is one of the most critical and difficult roles you’ll hire in your company. A successful hire means successful sales growth. I don’t think there is anyone out there that doesn’t want to strive for growth.

Leads are another highly discussed topic at the many HTG peer group meetings I attend. How to get them, how to manage them, how to get results……At HTS, our solution provider organization, we have first-hand knowledge of the guidance and insight Kendra Lee can bring to an IT organization. We engaged with Kendra last year and had outstanding results. That is not the only reason we decided to engage with Kendra and team at HTG. We took the time to talk to Kendra, understand what she had to offer and work with her to build something we felt would benefit our members the most at a reasonable price. Both of these offerings were designed with the needs of the HTG membership, and YOU, in mind.

Learn more and register by clicking on the links below:
How to Hire & Onboard Great IT Sales People
Developing an Executable 2010 Lead Generation Strategy

Are you ready for 2010?

Are You a Winner?

From our friends at Channel Insider:

We want to recognize solution providers and vendors’ good work. Channel Insider Announces its Bull`s Eye Awards and you have a chance to win. Let's have HTG take them all!

Channel Insider will recognize excellence in customer service, technology prowess, business acumen, channel leadership, communications and community building, and innovation among vendors, solution providers, distributors and channel services companies. Nominations are now open. To apply check out the link here:

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Surveys/Channel-Insider-Announces-Bulls-Eye-Awards-651165/

HTG has the cream of the crop when it comes to partners in the IT channel. Don't hide your talents and abilities - apply and let's bring home the bullseye awards to our members!

A Flurry of Marketing Opportunity

The Frontline Program from HP and Microsoft is back! This is one of the best marketing programs that have ever existed, and while it is not as flush as it once was, it is still good. You can apply for up to $2000 to run a campaign. Market Development Funds (MDF) are available again effective November 1, 2009. You should consider running a marketing campaign focused on HP and Microsoft® solutions that will produce revenue for HP, Microsoft and your company. A 20:1 ROI is required to get paid. To submit an application for FLP market development funds, complete the application/proposal form. They are especially interested in supporting your proposal for marketing activities focused on Microsoft Windows® 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and HP PCs and HP ProLiant servers!

Another place to check if you are a Microsoft SBSC is www.mspartnerdirect.com and add promotion code SBSC to claim your $1000 in market development funds (or use the money for reimbursment of other marketing efforts - see www.mspartnerdirect.com/sbsc for more). More money set aside for us as Microsoft partners to use in driving business. This leverages Microsoft's Ready To Go campaigns which include Microsoft-focused events, services, templates, case studies, and newsletters, and are designed to help VARs devote the bulk of their time to business oriented activities.

Also expand the leverage by working with your local engagement team (LET) field person. If you don't know who it is, you can find out at http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/local/partner/connect.aspx and get the relationship started.

Some good news for partners. But it only matters if you actually take advantage of it. Don't mess around - money is still not growing on trees and while there is some in the bucket today, get out there and start putting it to work driving your company. Nothing happens without some work, but good things can if you leverage the investments available and add a few bucks of your own and some elbow grease. Don't miss the boat!

Some Thoughts and Follow Up

On Monday of this week, Zenith Infotech, one of our key partners at HTS, released a video they produced on HTS and my life called "A Day in the Life of Arlin Sorensen". It was broadcast on MSPtv. Produced by CommCentric Solutions, it really does a great job of capturing the essence of what we do at HTS and HTG. If you missed it and have any interest in checking out the recording you can find it at:

http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=166400&s=1&k=5E5A9DA343FF1E010F60B700EBAD2E0D

Also this week, another article was released called "Passing the Torch" in the RCP November issue. I believe this topic is one of the most important things we need to be talking about in the channel today. How we effectively pass leadership to the next set of leaders in an organization is so vital to a smooth and seamless transition. Things will change, and there needs to be a lot of thought and preparation done to make sure that happens well. You can read the article at:

http://rcpmag.com/Articles/2009/11/01/Passing-the-Torch.aspx?Page=2

I will be sharing two presentations in Orlando at the ConnectWise Summit the first week of November on this topic as well as growth. Thursday afternoon my topic will be on "Making the Handoff" which will focus on options for exit and leadership transistion

On Friday afternoon, my breakout will focus on "Steps Along the Way" which will identify key areas of decision in the growth cycle of a business. There are so many blockers and plateaus that have to be overcome in order to keep a company growing. We will identify and talk about how to work through those things during this session.

I look forward to seeing many of you at HTG Q4 in Orlando, and at the ConnectWise Summit there as well.

A Day in the Life

I am humbled by the video that our good partners Zenith Infotech have created around my life and what makes this simple Iowa farmboy tick. They dispatched a video crew to the farm back in August and the team has been feverishly trying to find enough things I said that made sense to put together a video about HTS/HTG and what happens here on the farm. This project really is their first in a series of video's about people in the IT channel, and I certainly was honored to be selected. The team that was sent led by Lynette Bohanon of CommCentric Solutions was unbelievable, and we are extremely pleased with the work they have done.

This video is not an attempt to toot my horn. It is intended to give credit where it is due - to God, my family and the team that I am blessed to work with each day at HTS and HTG. The blessings have been amazing, and what has sprung up from this place in the center of a cornfield in rural Iowa is not my doing for sure. If you know me you know I am not anywhere close to that smart. But it has been a very wonderful ride, and it continues to grow and flourish because of people, not me. They did a nice job capturing that message I think.


On Oct 19 there is a webcast that will focus on the video and their series. Here is the link if you want to register to watch it: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=166400&s=1&k=5E5A9DA343FF1E010F60B700EBAD2E0D&partnerref=ARLIN&deletecookie=true

Thanks to all who helped make this possible. I hope you take time to watch the video at some point and share your thoughts.

Are You Ready?

Nancy and I spent some time this weekend visiting a good friend who was involved in a very serious automobile accident on July 1. He was going home for lunch driving the same road he had a thousand times before. That day, at an intersection that he had crossed so many times before, he missed seeing a vehicle coming from the right and pulled out in front of it. T-boned in the passenger side. Since it was a short trip he had failed to put his seatbelt on, so the crash threw him violently around the vehicle and he suffered significant brain damage among other issues. He lay in a coma for a couple months, but has now come back with some understanding but is months or years from a full recovery, if it ever happens.

So what is the moral of the story? We never think it will happen to us. When I suffered my quad bypass surgery at age 49, I certainly did not expect it to happen to me. But bad things happen to people every day. And if you think it won't happen to you, look out. The moral of the story is that we all need to get some plans in place so we are ready for whatever life throws at us. As business owners, it is one thing for us to choose not to prepare for the future. But we need to realize that decision impacts our staff, customers, family and a whole lot of people that would all prefer that we spend the time and energy to think through the potential and have a plan in place. In fact, it probably is the most important area we will ever address for our family and business.

That is why we are focusing on a legacy plan for HTG in Q4. Life is important, and the outcome of that life when we are no longer around is our legacy. We all have ideas of what we hope our life will do in terms of long term impact. But if we don't plan for it, if we don't tell people and write it down, then our legacy will be left to the courts and government and that is not going to turn out anywhere close to what we may want. No one wants to face the reality that life is short and will end. No one wants to admit that they are a heartbeat away from a medical issue that could take them out of their business short or long term. But it can happen - it does every day - and we need to face it and deal with it proactively, just like we preach to our clients. It is part of disaster recovery and business continuity. What happens to your business, family and legacy if something happens to you?

I will be sharing about this topic with several presentations at the upcoming HTG and ConnectWise Partner Summit events. We need to prepare and be ready for whatever life throws at us. It is a lot of work, takes a lot of communication and effort, but it is the only way to assure that your legacy will turn out the way you want it to be. Now is the time. Plan to join my sessions and find out key techniques to really be ready for life!

Upcoming 5W50 Webinars

The popular 5W50 series is continuing its great content this fall. Here are some upcoming sessions:

Managing Your Business Through a Slow Economy with Key Performance Indicators on 10/7/2009

Consulting Best Practices on 10/21/2009

How to Create a Lead Generation Campaign that Gets Results on 11/4/2009

Virtualization: Defined. Building your Virtualization Practice and Solution Offerings on 11/18/2009

Leveraging Community and Peers to Grow your Business on 12/2/2009

Should you go Vertical? on 12/16/2009

I am delivering the session on 12/2 around community and peers. Plan now to sign up and join these great sessions. To register go to www.mssmallbiz.com/training and sign up. Take advantage of these - sign up and plan to join.

One More SWOT in the Books

We just finished another SWOT for Evolve Technologies in the Washington DC area. A fantastic team of Cohen Barnes, Robert Lindley and Jeff Adzima joined me at Dave Sobel's business for two days of intense analysis and discovery. As is always the case, there were a lot of expected findings and a few curveballs no one could predict. That is what makes these engagements fun. You never know what will happen until you get in the middle of the discovery process.

We worked the two days meeting with ownership, management and the entire staff. We probed for areas that could be improved and recommended changes and action plans to drive growth and success. We had long days and stressful moments, but we also had time to enjoy each other and learn together. The good part of serving on the team is that you always come home with a few things that can be applied to your own business, and you didn't have to spend your time under the microscope.

Dave now begins the difficult part of the process - execution. Things will be happening as early as next week as he takes our recommendations and puts them into motion. There were some changes we announced as part of our final presentation. There are a lot more that will happen in the coming weeks and months. But the exciting part is that change will come to Evolve and the company will grow and flourish as the recommendations are put into place. That is what makes these events so fulfilling. We are able to help others see things that they struggle to see because of being so involved with the day to day chaos, and provide clarity in how to move toward the future. Few things are as satisfying for me.

If you need a SWOT, let me know. If you want to be on a future SWOT team, let me know that too. HTG is in the business of helping companies experience Business and Personal Growth Driven by Execution. We are always looking for good members. www.htgpeergroups.com if you want to apply!

Can You Spell Free?

Microsoft has announced a special program for SBSC members to get up to $1000 to use on a Ready to Go Campaign. This is part of the vision of re-creating, for SBSCs, a set of benefits that are exclusive, practical and tangible to them: SBSCs get access to this extra funding… just because they are SBSCs.

So, any plans around Launch activities but no money? Here is the beginning of an answer (and more to come).

Check out the link: http://www.mspartnerdirect.com/sbsc

No whining if you don't go take advantage of it. First come, first served and there are limited funds available. Go do it today! And let me know you did - so I can track how many have participated. Not often you can get $1000 from Microsoft. DO it!

And if you aren't an SBSC yet - now is the time to get it done. Is $1000 enough of an incentive?

A Great Video on the HTG and ConnectWise Partnership

Thanks to Aaron Booker and VarVid for capturing and posting a video I created with Arnie Bellini from ConnectWise while at the Microsoft WPC in New Orleans a bit ago. We discuss the vision for our partnership and the value that working closely together will have on HTG members. Check it out at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/varvid#play/uploads/0/jwoYgQ9_Cuo

We are off to a wonderful start in our partnership, and it rachets up to a new level in November when we hold our HTG Q4 meetings in Orlando right ahead of the ConnectWise Partner Summit 2009. Same venue, same week, great content for partners every day. We have our fantastic peer group meetings, and they have some great keynotes and breakouts. There is no other place in this industry to get the quality and value that this week will bring. I hope you will be there, bring multiple people, because there is no way any one person will be able to even capture a fraction of the content on their own. HTG registration is open - get registered now. Looking forward to seeing you all in Orlando in November.

A Coming Resource

Erick Simpson has announced his new book - "The Best NOC and Service Desk Operations Book Ever" which is now available for pre-order.

http://blog.mspu.us/2009/09/preorder-mspus-new-book-the-best-noc-and-service-desk-operations-book-ever-today.html

Erick and the team at MSPU have done a fantastic job of educating the channel around sales and service and all things MSP. And I am confident this new release will be another in their series of must have resources for your bookshelf. Take advantage of the early order discount, and get ready to incorporate some valuable thoughts and ideas into your organization as you learn and leverage this book to help produce growth and success.

The Power of Peers

This is the final post based on the keynote I delivered at the Ingram SMBA in Charlotte in late August. The topic covers the impact of being involved with peers in growing your business and driving growth and success.

We engage other companies in the channel

The first step in getting value out of peer groups is to start. So often I hear interest, but am always amazed at how few actually do something with that interest, even as simple as going to the website to fill out the short application for HTG. http://www.htgpeergroups.com/ That seems to be the norm with many partners in the IT channel. I hear it often when speaking to vendors. Hundreds drop by their booth and talk about getting started in a relationship only to never hear from them again. The world is run by people who actually show up and do something with their ideas. Those are the successful business owners. That is one of the key values of peers - you get engaged and are continually pushed to not only continue but raise the level of engagement.

We share and give openly

Peer groups are based on the Go-Giver model. It is not about me, but about the others in my group and sharing what I have with them. The more I invest in and share with others - the more I will recieve as part of the experience. In HTG we use the SWIPE model - Share With Intent and Purpose Everyday! It is not about what you can take, it is about what you can give. He who gives the most will ultimately win.

We ask for help when we need it

There is a very common misconception among many business owners - that asking for help is a sign of weakness and should never be done. Nothing could be further from the truth. The more mature a business becomes, the more that leadership team realizes that they don't have all the answers and it is much faster to learn from someone who has figured it out or been there and done that than have to make each mistake or learning on their own. Asking for help and learning from peers is a sign of maturity rather than weakness. So often business owners get into the "can't see the forest for the trees" situation. They are so close to the problem and have experienced it for so long they can't see it clearly and determine a new course of action. Bringing in some fresh eyes with different perspective can often take a problem that has plagued a business for many years and provide a solution very quickly. In HTG we use the SWOT process and take a team of peers onsite to help business owners identify and resolve business problems. But the key - you have to ask.

We share our financials openly

My how this seems to get some excited. There are a variety of thoughts around the sharing of financials and open book accounting - but for peers to make a difference they have to have transparency and access to the real information. That means opening the kimono and letting them see how things really are. The numbers are the numbers. If they are good, they are something to be learned from. If they are bad, they provide important information that can help turn things around. But without them, little can be done to really effectively make a difference in a company. In HTG we use Service Leadership's benchmarking tools to help us report and evaluate our financials. It is a critical tool in our program to help us evaluate our status.

We plan together around business and life

I have written much around this topic, and it is definitely core to the value of peers. Part of the process of planning needs to include having others review and comment on the roadmap you have laid out. In HTG we focus on four plans - business, leadership, life and legacy - and you can read about them in older posts on this blog. But the key is to use peers to evaluate the direction and destination you are heading and make sure it aligns with your stated objectives. You also want feedback on whether the steps you have identified as your action plan and strategies will actually get you there. Without solid planning - you can end up somewhere other than where you intended to go.

We execute together

Execution is the achilles heal for most of us that own a small business. It is not that we don't know what to do, we simply choose not to do it. Having a set of peers that will help drive you toward execution is critical. HTG has a goal of driving business and personal growth through execution. We know that by helping our members execute - we will help them move toward success.

We are accountable

Accountability is one of the misunderstood concepts in business today. It is not a matter of sitting back and waiting for someone to fail to achieve their goals so you can whack them upside the head and tell them to try harder. True accountability is when peers take each others goals on as their own, and when there is a struggle, they come alongside and help make sure each achieves the goals that have been set forth. That is the reality of what true accountabilty is. I am vested in and committed to helping others achieve success. When we do that - everyone wins.


There is no question that there is significant power in peers. It requires a deep commitment and a focus on others rather than self, but once that step is made and a person begins to invest in someone else, the good things begin and continue to make an impact for many years to come. HTG is looking for a few good partners who truly understand the value of peers. If you are looking to be involved in a life changing program, fill out the application and get involved today. Just remember that nothing changes until you actually do something. Thinking about it doesn't cut it!

How We Engage Vendors

This is the fifth post based on the keynote I delivered at the Ingram SMBA in Charlotte in late August. The topic revolves around the specifics of how to leverage the vendor resources available to the channel. Many partners don’t take advantage of these tools and miss the opportunity to get their fair share of the vendor investment. Don’t be one of them – take advantage and get more than your fair share. Vendors can help you in many ways, so consider these thoughts:

Marketing Funds (MDF/Distributor/Performance)

Most vendors set aside a significant amount of funding to hand out in a number of ways to their channel partners. Some of it normally comes through MDF (market development funds) that are earned based on sales of the vendor’s products. Distribution funds are provided through distribution and are normally handed out based on a proposal – more of a one off system of funding. Each vendor and distributor has their own system of handling these types of funds. Many vendors also offer funds that are proposal based and funding is based on performance. These funds require a written plan, execution and proof of performance with ROI. Based on that ROI – funding is provided after the fact. In every case literally millions of dollars – many millions – go unused by the channel because partners do not apply for and execute marketing properly.

Technology adoption programs

Vendors call this different things but this refers to the broad bucket of programs where products are placed in live customer environments during development and testing. Some of these programs are funded by the vendor, some are not. They give partners the opportunity to learn technologies early and get a head start on their competitors. These programs can be software or hardware, but always include the possibility of some customer or partner pain as the technology is tested. At HTS we have participated in dozens of these programs and find it is a valuable tool for our engineering team as well as our customers.

Rapid deployment programs

Many vendors also offer programs to drive adoption of new technologies in the marketplace. These can be funded or may just be based on reduced costs to the customer. But these again give a partner a competitive advantage in getting their company up to speed on new technologies and helps customers implement these cutting edge technologies in their environment. Microsoft is particularly fond of these types of programs and HTS has again participated in many of these for the benefit of our team and customers.

Beta programs

Beta programs are a bit more difficult to get involved in. These require a deep relationship with engineering and product teams and a history of performance in providing strong feedback and design specifications. They can be extremely valuable in keeping your engineers engaged and challenged, and the right customers are also excited to be able to help in the development process. It is not for every partner or customer, is seldom funded, and can be something that causes everyone to pull their hair out. But it has been a great way to keep the HTS engineering team challenged and growing.

Case studies – video and print

One of the areas that can be extremely effective in many ways is the creation of case studies on your customers. Vendors love these as it gives them customer evidence that can be used to validate their products and services. But as partners, not only do these help build a relationship with vendors, but they also provide fantastic marketing tools that can be used on websites, print materials and blogs. These are easier than ever to produce with the advent of inexpensive video cameras and quality color print devices, yet so many partners have no case studies in their marketing bag of tricks.

Advisory councils

Many vendors have advisory councils made of active partners in their partner base. These programs vary widely from vendor to vendor, but they are always effective in helping take the relationship much deeper. One does not get selected to serve just by sitting back and waiting for an invite. You have to proactively participate in the vendors programs, get acquainted with the vendor representatives, and show how you will add value to the company if you are invited to serve. These councils are very limited in size so it is not something that all can achieve, but more often than not, if a partner is deeply engaged with selling a vendor solution and works to add value to their partner programs, they can work their way on to an advisory council over time.

Technical and sales training

Vendors spend millions of dollars of field resources designed to help drive sales. These resources are both sales and technical in nature, and are paid to help partners grow their business with the vendor. Too many times partners are unwilling to make their team available for training. This sends a bad signal to the vendor and is not a solid way to build relationships with that vendor. Not only should a partner make their team available for vendor training, but they should be proactive in seeking that training and creating valuable ways to drive that relationship with the field deeper.

On site visits

One of the most important ways to build a strong vendor relationship is to invite them to your office. Take them on customer visits. Help them get the kinds of experiences that will help them grow and bring back value to their company. It is powerful to help vendor reps continue their path to promotion and often some field experience with a partner goes a long way to that end. At HTS we have had literally hundreds of vendor staff – from field sales and technical resources to product development and HR folks – spend time in our offices with our team. We have taken them on customer visits, spent time in roundtable and brainstorming sessions, and provided them the kinds of experiences that help make them better at their jobs. While we don’t get paid for that time, it is an investment in the relationships that takes us up a notch in terms of our engagement and it always comes back to us in many ways.

Sell their stuff

So the real way to take advantage of a vendor relationship really comes down to selling their products and services. The more exclusive or focused you are on them, the more they are willing to invest in you. There is NO substitute to selling their stuff. If you really want to go deep with a vendor – get serious about selling their products. Market it, get trained in it, learn how to support it, but most of all sell it. The more you do the deeper your relationship and the deeper the investment will be in your company.

Vendor relationships are not rocket science. They do involve us getting active and off our fannies and participating and working at it. Vendor relationships are not just holding your hand out and asking them to give you stuff. It doesn’t work like that. It is about understanding their programs, diving in completely and working to help make sure they are successful. There are many other things that vendors offer that we have not covered in this post. But a relationship with a vendor is really just like any relationship – it has to be about giving and realizing that as you give, the receiving takes care of itself. We have found that to be true every time.

Great Article on the Web

SearchSecurityChannel.com posted a great online article on HTG this week. There are a few minor things that are off a bit, but overall Neil Roiter did a great job capturing the facts on HTG. Check it out when you have time. Kudos to Brad Schow and Jeff Howard for helping get the message out.



Still have a few open slots looking for quality partners to get involved with HTG. If you are interested, or know someone who should be involved, apply at

Getting Along With Vendors – They Are Our Best Friends

This is the fourth post based on the keynote I delivered at the Ingram SMBA in Charlotte in late August. The topic revolves around the VAR relationship with vendors. Too often we tend to see it as a confrontational relationship. That is exactly the opposite of the way it should be if we want to succeed. All relationships need to be win-win and this one in particular. Vendors can help you in many ways, so consider these thoughts:

Consolidate purchasing to fewer vendors

There is power in buying from few vendors. A few years ago HTS purchased from 166 different vendors in a given year. It was no wonder our ordering was complex, RMA’s were impossible, tech support for our team was overwhelming, and our bottom line was certainly challenged. By limiting the number of vendors you work with, you can drive more sales which is what gets you noticed by and ultimate supported by vendors. They work with people who sell their stuff. So by consolidation you can help make it a deeper engagement.

Learn who your assigned reps are

This takes some effort, but it can be done. You need to know who supports your account at your key vendors. That includes field resources, inside sales people, marketing managers, and anyone else who is charged with working with your company or companies like yours. This takes a little Sherlock Holmes investigation and persistence, but it can make a huge difference when you are working on a special deal or want some type of interaction.

Understand their compensation plan

The single most important question to ask your vendor reps is how they are compensated. Without that you are shooting in the dark. You need to know if they are aligned though their comp model with your needs. If not you are fighting a losing battle. You need to look for additional resources in the company that do align to your model and customer focus. If so you need to work hard to help they succeed. Everyone responds to success with compensation. People do the things that cause them to be paid more. So find those out and do them.

Participate in their programs

Many partners don’t realize that most vendor reps have a number of areas they are measured in their compensation plan. Often getting partners activated and engaged fits in there somehow. While VARs often see the meetings, trainings and events as very optional, for a vendor rep they often are a significant metric toward their comp plan. So support your rep – find out again how they are paid and make sure you are there if participation is a factor.

Provide them customer evidence

Another area that likely impacts vendor compensation is the ability to generate customer evidence that shows their engagement with partners. Companies need a pipeline of evidence to drive their marketing engine, so it is important to be proactive and provide that to your rep on a regular basis. Strong case studies and evidence also rapidly gets passed up through the management ranks as it makes the field reps look like they are doing a great job out there supporting their partners and joint customers. So take the time, be disciplined, and capture evidence that can help everyone look good. It also makes great marketing material for you to use internally as well so it is another win-win opportunity.

Get your team trained and certified

This is a critical part of building a deep vendor relationship. Most vendors are looking for signs of commitment to their products and solutions and nothing spells committed quite like making significant training investments in your team. Often you can get help from the vendor in defraying the costs, but you need to be focused on making time and availability to get it done and keep it current.

Know their partner success model

Every vendor has a different model for their partners to use in order to succeed. Their partner programs vary and are all over the board in terms of commitments, benefits and requirements. But it is up to us as a partner to understand those programs and leverage them to build strong relationships. Most of the time they are pretty good and lead a partner to success with the particular vendor. So get involved and engaged and learn and follow the playbook.

Spend time planning with them quarterly

It is important to spend time planning with your vendors on a regular basis. I believe an annual plan is critical, and then quarterly reviews to measure and tweak it make it valuable to all. There are many ways to develop these plans. We use an offsite annual retreat to tackle the process. Vendor reps from our key partner organizations are at the table together with our management team to lay out the plan for the next year. We have found that model to be very valuable to both HTS and our vendor partners because everyone sees and understand the focus and initiative we will be following. Having routine follow-up and ROI reporting is critical to keep that going, but it is worth the effort.

So now you have some ideas on how to engage vendors effectively. Make it your intention to build deep and profitable relationships with your vendors. It can make a significant impact on your bottom line and really lead to more success. They truly are not the enemy, and should be treated as a valuable asset to your company.

Distribution’s Role in Success

This is the third blog post based on the keynote I delivered at the SMB Alliance event hosted by Ingram the end of August in Charlotte. The topic of this post is focused around the importance of distribution in the success of a VAR in the IT channel. This is based on our experiences in growing HTS and watching other successful VARs build their companies.

Distribution Was a Key Factor

At SCCI, my original company and parent organization today, we made a strategic decision to go deep with Ingram. Our purchasing is almost all done through this relationship, and our participation is primarily with their programs and resources. This decision was not about price. While their prices are competitive with the market, they are not necessarily the cheapest place to source products and services. On any given day you can call around and get better prices, that is if time is not of any value. The decision was based on value and the exact same fundamentals we preach to our clients every day. Don’t make decisions on price (if you do you probably won’t buy from us) but make decisions based on the value that we bring to the party. That is how we need to approach our distribution relationship. Focused on value.

So What Value Does a Distributor Bring?

For us it was based around four key areas:
1. Resources available
2. Investments made
3. Programs offered
4. People involved

There is no doubt that our “all in” decision has been a huge success factor. We have grown from less than $500K in 1990 when the relationship began to over $16M today and Ingram has been a key success factor in our growth. There is no doubt that we would be nowhere close to our current situation without that critical decision.

So How Have We Put the Pieces Together

Not only do we consolidate our purchasing, which gives us pricing but more important relationship, we take advantage of as many of the services and resources available to us as possible. Here are some that we leverage and have used to fuel growth:

1. Tech Support – our sales model leverages Ingram tech support to quote all our solutions or complex products. Every quote goes through tech support for solution validation. This gives us the ability to return product if it does not meet the customer needs. RMAs are down over 1.5% which is huge given our volume. No more long nights listing open box products on Ebay.

2. Solution Center – Our sales teams have made over a dozen trips to Buffalo or Santa Ana to leverage this resource. Every visit results in immediate and long term sales that are significant. You have the opportunity to expose your prospect or clients to a vast array of technologies in an offsite and highly focused environment and good things happen there.

3. Technology Assessment Program (TAP) – a mid market assessment tool that helps probe for opportunities. We have used this tool with over 50 of our clients and it always generates a long term strategy that leads to significant opportunities. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

4. IMSN – the Ingram Micro Service Network provides a mechanism to expand our service delivery. Both by receiving service tickets that drive revenue, and leveraging skill sets or engineering talent that we are not able to afford or don’t have available. They handle the transactional activity and we just do the work.

5. Communities – Ingram offers a number of these, most notably VTN and SMBA. Our company has grown significantly because of our involvement in these groups. They provide the opportunity to connect with peers and industry executives.

6. Agency Express and CAP funding – Ingram has great resources to help grow our company leveraging marketing investments made by vendors. These programs allow us to expand marketing resources and they work with us to create our own marketing plan. It is valuable and enables us to reach into the market with quality information and campaigns.

7. People – this is definitely the greatest value Ingram brings to the table. They have great people all over their organization that understand the channel and how to help us succeed. We leverage them for help with strategy and planning, procurement and marketing, sales and technical issues. They help us make things happen every day.

Far too many VARs get stuck on pricing and split their purchasing all over the place based on the deal of the day. My advice is to find a distributor you can partner with and go deep. Go all out. Make them part of your team and include them in your day to day business. They really can help you succeed. HTS and HTG are where we are today because of the deep investment we have made in Ingram Micro, and the equally deep investment they have made in us. We have many relationships that go 10 or more years deep and truly bring value that cannot be measured in dollars. So take a hard look at how you are doing business with your distribution partners. Are you really getting all you can from them? Or do you need to pick one and go deep?