Can't Miss Events in 2009

We are just about 6 weeks from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, and I thought it would be a good time to remind you why events like this are so important to us as partners. There are only a few events on my “cannot miss” list any more:

1. Quarterly HTG meetings
2. ConnectWise Partner Summit
3. VentureTech Network Invitational
4. Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference
5. HP Americas Partner Conference (when held)
6. SonicWall Peak Performance (when held)

Certainly there are a number of other quality events that occur in the channel each year, but to be honest, if I don’t pick and choose I will be attending an event or two every week. And as our organization has matured, it has become more important to select the events that will make the largest impact on our company that is possible. There is a real cost, and a significant opportunity cost to be out of the office, on the road attending events. So why are these six my picks?

HTG quarterly meetings are the backbone of my community involvement. At those meetings each quarter I get to focus on my business – checking out the benchmarking numbers that show how I did relative to the group we participate in, HTG as a whole, and the industry. It also gives me a great big batch of best practices and fresh ideas to evaluate, as well as a quick evaluation by the other 11 members of my group as we go through the peer board review. The days spent at HTG are the best investment I can make in terms of working on my business.

Since ConnectWise is the platform we run our business on, attending their partner summit is a no brainer. There is no one single thing that can impact my business as deeply and quickly as tweaks made to the PSA tool we use. So attending their event, rubbing shoulders with the other users there, and learning how to get the most from that product is a great investment of time. ConnectWise is the operating system of our business, and we need to continue to raise our effective utilization of the software to drive process and success in our business.

VTN is a great distributor affinity group that gives me a unique touch with key manufacturers and distribution executives. This is the one venue where I can shake hands and have dinner with executives from the major vendors in the industry. It also is a great place to hear quality content and be part of a large community of partners who are mature and focused. Supplemented by two quarterly local chapter meetings, VTN gives me a broad look at the industry and allows me to connect at a different level than any other event I attend.

Microsoft WPC – the next upcoming event I will attend – is all about building relationships broadly across a large organization. It would take weeks of time on campus in Redmond and airplanes criss crossing the country to be able to see and meet with the number of people I am able to connect with in 4 days at WPC. There is no other gathering where I can get access to the quantity of a vendor’s staff that Microsoft provides at WPC. Mornings allow access to executive keynotes that provide a roadmap for the future. Afternoons are filled with breakouts, but sprinkled in all of the open spots are one on one’s and small meetings with program managers, product folks, field team and a variety of others from the Microsoft company. If you just attend WPC for the content delivered from main stage and breakouts, it is a good value. But if you really take advantage of the time to connect with people, it is an unbelievable opportunity to build relationships with key people across that organization that can be fantastic resources for you to leverage and work with to grow your company. There is no question that the success of HTS has been influenced heavily by our attendance at WPC. We have connected with dozens of Microsoft teams and staff who have helped us grow our company in a lot of areas. It takes a consistent presence and a lot of effort to schedule meetings, connect at receptions and events, find people at parties and lunch, but it is well worth it if you do it well. Of course, there is also the benefit of getting to know the partners who are typically the movers and shakers in the channel because those are the typical attendees. That gives rise to partnering opportunities and other lessons that happen as we build relationships with folks from around the world.

HP and SonicWall are also key partners for HTS and thus on my list of much attend events. They do not hold their conference each year, so it is not as regular as the other events I attend, but when they happen, I will plan to be there. A lot of the same reasons that I called out about WPC apply to these events as well. Great places to connect and grow your relationships and ultimately your business.

So the real question is – which events are on your “must attend” list? I know that WPC is a rather expensive event to attend, but the venue is always superb, the event and content very well done and the opportunity to create relationships that can make a significant difference is there for the asking. Things are tight, which means there will be less people there to compete for the meeting slots and opens the door for more interaction and connections. It will be too late when you hear the feedback that Microsoft put on another fantastic partner conference. We are on the dawn of some great new products with Windows 7, Exchange 10, Office and on the list goes. Can you afford to be in the dark about all that is on the horizon? Don't be one of the partners who says they want to have a deeper relationship with Microsoft but then fail to execute on one of the most important things they deliver to the channel each year - WPC. Your call - just don't talk out of both sides of your mouth at once......

The Next Frontier

Friday I was blessed to be able to do a live web TV show with Arnie Bellini in the ConnectWise TV studio in Tampa. I really had no idea what to expect, but they have really put together a first class studio to broadcast and record content using the latest in technology. I remember when I thought blogging was a big deal, and since then we have YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and a host of other ways to connect and share information. But this latest technology - the ability to put video and content together in a live and recorded format, takes it all to the next level. There are so many exciting ways to use the Internet, and web TV is certainly one of the most interesting and powerful.

We discussed HTG in a very interactive format, but also had the ability to share a PowerPoint deck while we had our discussion. So it brings together the power of a live meeting or webinar with live video and then lets you record and even edit it into smaller pieces after you finish depending on the needs you have. We spent an hour together talking all things HTG, and then in the next days it will be available on the ConnectWise website for viewing as well. They use an Adobe software platform, and it is slick stuff, but the power really comes in the marriage of all sorts of technologies into a very polished and powerful presentation format.

I know there will be more trips to Tampa to utilize the power of the ConnectWise TV studio and platform. Arnie and team are once again stepping up to help the channel by making their studio available to HTG to use for recording content to deliver to our members. When I consider what a partner friendly channel looks like, I have to say the investment that ConnectWise continues to make in our future is a very strong example of what all need to do to help us succeed. There is no way HTG could put together the cash to have this kind of technology available, so partnering with ConnectWise really brings a significant benefit to our members and helps us continue to drive toward our goal of creating strong members and being the best peer groups in the industry. Thank you ConnectWise, for your continued investment in HTG and the channel. We appreciate it!

Upcoming Webinars You May Want to Watch

We have a host of webinar activity this week that may be of interest to you. I will be on ConnectWise TV with Arnie Bellini on Friday May 22 at 10 AM Eastern to discuss HTG.

HTG Peer Groups: Execution Driven By Accountability

Join Friday May 22nd at 10am Eastern when Arnie Bellini will interview Arlin Sorensen, Founder of HTG Peer Groups and CEO of Heartland Technology Solutions. Arlin will share the Vision, Purpose, Mission, and Values of HTG Peer Groups as well as the requirements and focus. Join the webinar and find out more!

May 22, 10am Eastern US: HTG Peer Groups: Execution Driven By Accountability



Lyf Wildenburg will be hosting a Microsoft 5W50 on Business Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery with SBS 2008

Are your customers ready?...... More importantly are you ready? When was the last time you really looked at your disaster recovery (DR) strategy? Not just the big binder on the shelf that documents downtime procedures. I mean the actual “strategy” to recover your operations. If there were a “disaster” today, could you survive? One of first steps to ensuring Business Continuity for our customers is to evaluate vendors providing key products and services.

Register here



Five Cool ConnectWise Things to Keep Your Clients Thrilled, the Pipeline Full and the Referrals Flowing

Join Friday May 22nd at 3pm Eastern for an informative webinar with Arnie Bellini, ConnectWise CEO and creative marketing partner Thomas Fox, President of Tech Experts of Michigan. Thomas will cover five topics: Tracks, Targeted Campaigns, Referral Marketing, Tracking Opportunities, and Closing Ticket Surveys.

May 22, 3pm Eastern US: Five Cool ConnectWise Things to Keep Your Clients Thrilled, the Pipeline Full and the Referrals Flowing

Another SWOT in the Bank

I have been in Dallas with three other HTG members doing a SWOT for Networking Results this week. Jeff Howard and his team have hosted Zack Schuler, Jeff Wood, Jonathan Warrey and myself for the last couple days. The NetRes team has been a fantastic host. We arrived Wednesday evening and started our time here with dinner at Trail Dust - a local restaurant where they cut your tie off if you wear one. Not an issue for me though - I surprisingly wasn't wearing a tie. (If you believe that let me know - I have some stuff to sell you). We started bright and early on Thursday morning and spent the entire morning with the executive team going over the 3-5 year vision and business plan, and then walking through the SWOT process with the management team. We had lunch with the entire staff except the management team and verified the information we had collected in the morning. The afternoon was filled with individual interviews and some team time reviewing our findings. Last evening we went to Salt Grass for dinner - Jeff treated us to a great steak and fun evening with the management team.

Day two involved some more time with the executive team, personal interviews and lunch at Pappasito's for some fajitas. The afternoon was busy with the creation of our recommendations for the NetRes team. The focus on this SWOT was to prepare the company for growth. They have been doing great the past few years, but want to accelerate growth and move much more quickly to becoming a larger company in the Dallas Metro. We shared our recommendations and findings with the executive team and determined buyin for the main recommendations we had for them. We put timelines and measurable objectives in place. Late this afternoon, we presented our findings to the entire NetRes team and helped create the expectations for change. That is the purpose of a SWOT visit - to bring rapid and structured change to the company we visit. Zach, Jeff, Jonathan and myself shared the findings, vision and proposed changes to the team. The group is excited and expectant. That is the normal result of a SWOT - people expect action so the SWOT team stays engaged for a while to watch the process and make sure things happen as planned. There are some major things on the plate to help move NetRes forward. Jeff, Doyle, Steve and the folks there are going to have a bright future as they execute the things that we put in place this week. It is SWOT visit #10 for me, and each time the experience is different but always impactful and fulfilling. I learn so much as we turn over rocks and examine how a business and its team ticks.

HTG is committed to helping our members in a number of ways. The SWOT process is just one of the many that we use to make a difference for our members.

The Need for Thank You's

We have just come off an unbelievable event with HTG Summit 2009. It would be easy to bask in the glowing reviews and positive comments from our members and vendor sponsors, but the reality is a whole lot of people were involved in making this event happen. I want to make sure to recognize as many as I can (sorry if someone get's overlooked). Too often we don't stop to say thanks to those who make things happen. So here is a list of people who were instrumental in making HTG Summit 2009 a success. A very special thanks to all of you.

Scott Scrogin who serves as president of HTG, is my first thank you. Scott works tirelessly and passionately to make HTG what it is. He was instrumental in helping pull off a great event.

Bob Burg did an awesome job sharing the principles of being a Go-Giver and the power of referrals, networking and relationships. His time with us was powerful and gives us a true focus for how we need to engage with our clients and community.

Christy Sacco was our event planner and took us up a few notches in terms of everything. She is the best there is and really helped make HTG Summit a fabulous experience for all.

Ken Shetler manages our vendor relationships and worked many long and sleepless days trying to herd the vendor cats so we could have a meaningful engagement with them in the lunch and learns, dinners, seats at the table and vendor fair experiences.

My bride Nancy tolerated a whole lot of long days and lots of people for months leading up to this event. I could not do what I do without her support and encouragement. Nancy also trys to keep up with all the agreements and contracts for HTG which is a whole lot of paper.

Sue Sorensen handles all the accounting for HTG. Talk about a wizard at billing and managing the A/R and other aspects of accounting, we could not do it without her.

Mary Petersen did all the design work and handles our newsletter production each month. She worked to help put the conference book together, sign design, shirt design and on the list goes. She also took a whole lot of pictures that are posted to the member portal.

Brad Schow and family (Robyn, Ben and Rachel) were instrumental in helping us with registration and a thousand other tasks that week. They spent spring break serving the HTG membership. Now that is commitment (or they live in a dictatorship). We never would have made it without them.

Aaron Booker brought VarVid to the event and captured some powerful video for us. We really appreciate all the support Aaron gives to HTG. Check out the video at http://www.varvid.com/ and next time you need something done, let Aaron know.

The HTG advisory board of Brad, Lyf, Scott, Stuart and Dan really help set direction and keep the ship on course. We are thankful for all their investment and leadership. A special thanks to Lyf for the literally hundreds of hours he spent making sure the HTG portal was ready for the event (which is why he recieved the Founders Award on Tuesday evening).

The facilitators did a bang up job of leading their collective boardrooms. These folks are in the trenches and do a fantastic job of helping members learn and grow.

As always, the team at the Omni did an unbelievable job of taking care of us. Ramses, Terri, Cameron and team were very efficient in meeting our needs and serving our members.

We had 37 vendors there to connect with HTG members and this event doesn't happen without their support. Make sure you reach out and thank our vendor partners for being part of HTG.

The lineup of speakers for our breakout sessions was first rate. Thanks to all who were willing to share knowledge and guidance to our membership. You did a fantastic job.

A very special thanks to Paul Dippell and Ryan Morris for helping us convey the HTG 3.0 message to our membership. Change is a coming, and these industry thought leaders helped flesh out and explain the changes that are driving our strategy for the next version of HTG.

Last but certainly not least, we thank our members who spent 3 or 4 days out of office to attend the week in Dallas. As we talked about in our keynote, HTG is you. It would not happen without your willingness to be part of the community and living a go-giver life.

So thanks to all. A great week with a long lasting impact. THANK YOU!

HTG Summit Review

Stuart Crawford hosted a great blogtalk radio show about the HTG Summit. Hear feedback from a number of HTG members on their takeaways from the show.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smb/2009/05/01/Thought-Leaders-Converged-On-Dallas

It is worth the listen!