Ambition Mission

I’m still reading feedback from folks aout SMB Nation last week.  In case you have not seen it, here is a post from Anne Stanton’s blog site (link to the right –> ) that I enjoyed and almost completely agree with… #’s 5, 6, and 7 are right up my alley but #7 is my absolute favorite!!!

(from Anne Stanton:)

Some of the tips and such that I have been absorbing from SMB Nation

1. There are Vendor Funds available - They can be hard to find
2. If you are utilizing any of the vendor funds/programs/dollars to grow your business - send feedback to the vendor. It makes a huge difference!
3. Send Feedback back to the vendor in a drip format. Not just a quick thank you but a status report of the long term impact a campaign might be making to your company.
4. A really, really fast, 4 quad processor machine with 32 GBs of RAM is only as fast as the lowest common dominator. Where/What really is the bottleneck? If you happen to have an application bottleneck you need to think on that when virtualizing. (hint: the application bottleneck could be the virtual server software)
5. Does your sales process allow MORTALS to succeed? The people you hire will not always be geniuses and as such you want a process that is doable by a wide range of talents. 
6. Do you have a sales process (it can be short and sweet). You might want to do what I do. Type it up, frame it and hang it on the office wall above your computer monitor.
7. Everyone in business is a sales person. Get over your own negative attitude about this term.
8. If you stay up till 2am, the 1:40am calls from the party won’t wake you up.
9. Whatever you say the night before, will be blogged about the next day. Choose your buzz
10. Check your fly before you walk into a meeting with a prospect: any your sweater (is it right side out?) and those commonly coffee dribble locations. Try not to have a wardrobe malfunction.
11. Don’t reinvent the wheel
12. When time is limited somethings the stairs are faster than the elevator.
13. If you are planning an event where attendees need time to network and socialize then make sure the music is set to the right volume. Talking over the music is hard.
14. Make a note in your contact database on preferred drink preference or if a contact drinks. You can then choose your “thank you” events for that customer more appropriately.
15. Also note favorite football team - then leverage those colors ;) 
16. Text Messaging is a must for last minute coordination with associations at events

(End of exerpt from Anne Stanton)

Also took a phone interview from CMP Media for CRN Magazine.  The reporter was very interested in knowing what I (and I am sure numerous others) thought about Microsoft wanting to continue to grow the SBSC channel.  When he asked me if I was afraid if there are 20,000 SBSC (rather than than almost 5,000 today), I replied wholeheartedly, “no.”  Over the last two years, SBSC was a distinguishing factor in itself.  a few years from now, with any luck (and a lot of viral and traditional marketing), being an SBSC will be a REQUIREMENT to work with a small business owner… 

I am in favor of raising the bar of what is expected from an IT provider.  The reason is that the more small business owners understand that an IT provider should be a “trusted advisor” and not “my computer guy.” the better it is for ALL OF US selling from the trusted advisor perspective.  On that note, I am excited about the Microsoft “We’ve gotta guy” campaign and what may come of it… I’ve met a lot of Microsoft folks over the last seven years as a partner, and I can definitely say that the SBSC group are downright COMMITTED to the program’s success.  I am sure even more exciting things are in store for us all!

Although the feedback forms have not been compiled or announced, the word in the hallways during the last day of this year’s SMB Nation was that it was a success!  Partners who attended over the last three years nostagically maintain that while 2005 was the best, 2007 was great.  In talking with dozens (if not a hundred) different partners in attendance not once did I hear that the conference was not valuable.  No one told me they would not come back, or even have a negative comment.  I want to congratulate Harry Brelsford.  There was a lot of backlash in the community after last years SMB Nation (dubbed Vendor Fest 2006).  Few business people have the ability to both recognize when something is not working in their business and take action to fix it.  Almost everyone I spoke with expressed an interest in coming back next year.

 Rumor has it the conference may be too large next year for the Microsoft conference center.  If so, that would be a positive problem to have.  The more the merrier.  The more input, the better the panel disussions and hallway chit chat. 

There was also a lot of talk about other conference events… SMB Nation East in March, SMBTN/HTG conference in April, SBS Migration 2nd annual conference in May, and of course WPC/SB symposium in July.  Hope to see some of the new faces and partners I met this past weekend at some of these events.

Kudos also go to Jenny from SMB Nation along with Cyndi, Krystal, Beatrice, et. al. who, in my humble opinion, put forward a very professional, fun, and effective conference.  Great job!

On the day before SMB Nation, people are gathering in Redmond.  Partners are meeting for the first time and beginning to realize the truest value of any industry conference, networking with peers.  There will be plenty of content, vendor availability and special offers for attendees to satisfy the nearly 400 attendees new to SMB Nation events.  As for the 300 folks who have been to SMB Nation events, they are walking around recognizing some peer they already know.  The sentiment among them seems to be “we’ll see.” Well, for that I simply observe that while these folks may seem to be here merely to evaluate the worthiness of attending future SMB Nation events, they each have demonstrated they are hungry for content and eager to grow their businesses.  They are looking for value.  So far, they books flights, hotels, and transporation and are committed.  They are here.  My prediction is that each attendee this year will report back to those who “didn’t go this year” and say that “SMB Nation is BACK!” 

 Looking forward to an awesome 4 days in Redmond and meeting tons of partners whom I don’t yet know.  Pre day events are to begin in a few hours, so I will report back later during the conference.  Until then!