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Dramatic Changes in Reseller Enablement

The channel has come a long way since classroom training was mandatory for most technical and sales certifications. These training sessions usually meant that resellers had to sit through mind-numbing presentations that did more to explain how products worked than how they could be integrated into a solution or why customers would want to purchase them. Resellers promptly started calling the experience “Death by PowerPoint” or the vendor ...
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Is Twittering a Hobby?

This week in the Channel Social Media Enablement session, we were talking about Twitter and how it can be used in B2B communications. During the broadcast, one of the resellers texted me this question: “Since Twitter is still in its infancy, wouldn’t current Twitter use be considered more hobby-like than professional?” The message just sat there on the side of my screen without an answer, as I continued to talk about Twitter search capabilities.

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If You Were Presenting Social Media To Channel Executives, What Benefit Would You Stress?

Despite the popularity of social media at the street level, many channel organizations have been holding back. Slowed by a potent mixture of financial, organizational, cultural, and intellectual impediments, some partnering professionals have not been willing or able to present a compelling case for social media investment. Instead, they have been hunkering down and hoping that they can be successful by working harder with familiar programs and ...
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Why Smart Resellers Are Not Using Social Media Yet

Resellers have to be smart to stay in business. If channel partners make a mistake, it costs them time, resources, and sometimes customers. So, they filter what they hear from suppliers and mostly ignore the latest predictions from industry “experts.” Resellers have learned (the hard way) that not every Silicon Valley wave will crest and not every new technology will revolutionize the market.

Consequently, the channel is expressing some valid ...
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SaaS Trumps Social Media

With all the hype surrounding social media, it’s easy to overlook the impact of the Software as a Service (SaaS) model that enabled the social media phenomenon. (Certainly, fewer people would be using Twitter if they had to purchase it and load it onto their computer.) And while 2010 is going to be the year of social media enablement for resellers, the next decade is going to be about adapting business models and channel programs to support the ...
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What Benefits Matter Most?

Everyone is flocking to social media sites because there are a lot of benefits. Communication is faster, it’s easier to get messages through corporate firewalls, and sometimes you can get an almost immediate reaction to a critical issue from a vendor, reseller, reference, or prospect . Plus, customers are using social media a lot, which allows businesses to build customer relationships quickly and with a lot of important background information. ...
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Invest in the Future –Notes from the Qwest Partner Conference

Qwest is an interesting company. On the verge of obliteration a few years ago, the folks in Denver are undergoing a remarkable rejuvenation, much to the delight of their channel partners. At the Q.Marketplace Conference this week, management announced solid 2009 results and thanked partners for doing a better job of retaining customers than direct sales. Qwest then committed to “Perfect What’s Driving Growth” and “Invest in the Future” by ...
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Organization models for social media

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
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10 Ways to Get Serious About Social Media

10 Ways to Get Serious About Social Media

If 2010 is going to be the year of social media in the channel, people had better get started. Here are ten good suggestions to think about.