Still buzz from SMB Nation last week
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
- There are Vendor Funds available - They can be hard to find
- 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!
- 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.
- 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)
- 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.
- 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.
- Everyone in business is a sales person. Get over your own negative attitude about this term.
- If you stay up till 2am, the 1:40am calls from the party won’t wake you up.
- Whatever you say the night before, will be blogged about the next day. Choose your buzz
- 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.
- Don’t reinvent the wheel
- When time is limited somethings the stairs are faster than the elevator.
- 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.
- 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.
- Also note favorite football team - then leverage those colors ;)
- 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!