It’s all about loyalty.

I have had several solution providers and IT vendors ask me what I thought of the recently announced HP/CDW call center.  I think it was a brilliant move on behalf of HP.  This allows them to invest more in one partner (CDW) and to see the rewards for that investment.  I mentioned in an earlier posting that it is not a bad idea at all to invest more in fewer partners.  For CDW it is brilliant in that it allows them to grow their business with the support of what one would only guess will be (or already is) their largest vendor.

Now, for solution providers on first blush this would look like channel conflict.  And if you are only doing transactional business with HP and counting on the margin to grow your business I would guess that you are not looking to make much money in the SMB market with HP this year.  But if your business is designed to allow you to source from anywhere and you are dedicated to representing HP product and you look to your services to generate revenue and profit – then this is good news for you.

How?  First review what you are paying for your HP products.  Why would you need to source through distribution for HP anymore?  You may find a more competitive price and easier financing terms through CDW.  There are no rules written in stone stating that on line retailers have to be your competitor, in fact the most successful solution providers use on line retailers as an alternative source for product.  Your customers are shopping based on price, why would you not do the same?  Second, I would look at the support HP will continue to give to the most loyal partners.  Support for these partners may grow as HP looks to reduce conflict and grow their sales.  Third, if you are already set up as a service oriented business just follow the bouncing ball.  The deal is for CDW to run an HP funded call center.  There is no in person service offering at this time.  The profitable solution providers will get out of the sourcing HP product all together and just pick up as many service opportunities as CDW fills product into.

There will be some confusion for a period of time, and like all things HP roles out there may be an adjustment period in which CDW/HP reps are selling into the accounts of solution providers.  After enough partners complain and raise their hands and HP will create another “hard deck” and perhaps a deal registration program that will protect the solution providers who have been loyal and grow their business with HP.

This is an easy equation for success for most.  HP wins.  CDW wins.  Dedicated and service oriented solution providers win.  End users win.  The clear losers in this deal are distribution and the transactional solution providers.  Well, IBM and Dell may loose a bit here too.

How many partners does it take?

A common belief in technology channel sales is that the most successful companies have the largest number of reseller/solution provider partners.  I would challenge that thought process.  The most successful companies have the largest base of successful partners.

Think about it, you could “boil the ocean” of available partners and try to give equal program compensation and discounts to all, but only the partners who do transactional business (a few here and there) are the winners.  If on the other hand a vendor puts more investments in the way of training, marketing assistance, business operation assistance and support into a handful of dedicated partners both vendor and partner win.

It would appear that CA has decided to do just that and reward richly the platinum and gold partners and let distribution administer programs and support to silver partners.  (http://www.crn.com/it-channel/210201070;jsessionid=3Q1UBTRT5ACDQQSNDLPSKH0CJUNN2JVN)

This is a good idea.  And here’s why – distribution is designed to handle lots of partners for a little money.  The support and infrastructure are already there.  At a vendor location the support and infrastructure are limited.  It only makes sense to use the more expensive resources on the partners producing the most revenue and the lesser expense on the partners producing the least revenue.

From a partner perspective this should be nothing but good news.  While many solution providers think they can be all things to all people the partners making the most money are the ones who have developed a specialized offering of products and services.  These partners know to outsource or create a transparent partnering with other specialized partners to meet their customers needs. 

A lot of words to say something very simple.  To be successful in a service economy, you need to understand what service you offer and fine tune that offering until it is the best one within your regional area.  Partner with the vendor who will invest the most in you and meets the needs and goals of your business.  Partner with your peers to create seamless and transparent offerings that boost both of your revenue and profit goals. 

In the end, the vendor has dedicated partners selling a smaller line of products.  Distribution can do what it does best in covering, supporting, financing and offering training to the masses.  The solution providers who choose to invest in a limited number of vendors have those vendors investing more in their businesses and by partnering with like minded business they are offering a full suite of services and products to their customers.

What do you think?  Ready to put my ideas to the test?  We have designed a partner calculator that allows IT vendors to see just how many partners they need and what the quota would be for those partners to reach the desired revenue goal.  And for partners we can show them which programs offer the best investment in their business and which programs are just draining resources. 

To learn more about the calculators, give me a call or drop me an email.  I would be happy to run the numbers for your specific goals.

Online vs. In Person

Many channel partners ask “how can I compete against an online retailer when it comes to price?”  The answer is simple.  You cannot in many cases without taking a loss on the product.  But what you can compete with is service and marketing. 

When you get right down to it, what the online retailers do better than most is market their offerings.  They have a multitude of products, good search services on their web sites and many even show price comparisons.  Everyone loves to feel like they are getting a deal – so anytime the words “sale”, “discount” or “reduced” are used you can bet those products show a spike in sales.

What these online retailers do not have is live people ready to understand in the same neighborhood as the customer.  Let’s face it, everyone wants a deal but in the end people do business with people.  You are the neighborhood trusted IT partner.  More than a web site, you can be found at the local networking meetings.  More than a sale every week on a new product, you can assist on a Sunday evening when the companies server goes down and they must be up by 8 am the next day.  You – and your team of employees – are the difference.

Let’s look at the product price for a minute.  You could choose to let your customer source hardware anywhere they want and base your business only on the services you add to the product.  You could choose to source the product yourself from an online retailer and choose to add a small service fee or offer this service for “free” and again make the margin on the installation and maintenance of the customers full enviornment.

And how to market this?  A web site is just the beginning but it is a requirement.  What a Yellow Page ad was years ago is what a web site is today.  By adding unique links, searches and custom information that differentiates your services from other companies is what will get people calling.

And don’t underestimate the value of recommendations or references.  Businesses have been made – and killed – all by word of mouth.  If your customers love your services, ask them to provide a recommendation or quote that you can add to your site.  Collect these often and update your site to reflect ongoing satisfaction with your customer set.

And finally, if you do not know how to measure the effectiveness of your site or your services as it relates to marketing spend and profitability – find a professional.    Marketing consultants can offer that extra set of eyes to your offering and have the expertise on how to drive new business, allowing you to focus on filling the orders.  Most marketing consultants can be paid for with MDF. 

And when you are ready to move from a hardware/software margin built business to a service and maintaintance business, marketing consultants will show you how to price your services to maximize your revenue and profits.

Presentation Delivery

We have been talking about presentation skills and what makes a presentation stand out and what makes an award winning (or sales call winning) presentation drive home the revenue you intended.  Our final piece to review is your delivery.  Delivery includes everything from what you wear, to how you stand, when you move your hands, and your voice inflections. 

 Let’s begin with the attire.  When you are presenting to a group or an individual you should dress to impress but not to insult.  What I mean by this is review what your audience will be wearing.  If their office is coat and tie, then you are coat and tie.  If you are speaking to a large group and the group is mixed with both casual and business attire you might consider a coat with no tie.  For women you can never go wrong with a business suit, but be careful of flashy accessories or shoes.   In the end, your attire should not be what the audience focuses on.  You want them to focus on your message.

Once you have your attire in mind, review your physical presentation to the group in a mirror.  Your physical demeanor should be inviting and open to discussion, not aggressive and by all means not offensive.  A prime example was a panel I attended.  One of the gentlemen, a Vice President for his company, was sitting in the middle of this group with his legs crossed in a rather casual pose.  This might have been great during the Sunday football games with his friends but was offensive to the women in the audience.  One co-worker sitting next to me mentioned that she could not get away from his crotch as this was eye level now with the audience.  While you should appear to be at ease, you should be aware of your surroundings.

Your hands.  Too much moving and people are distracted.  Not enough and people think you are stiff.  Practice a few times for what makes you comfortable.  Do you have a specific point you need to underscore with a specific gesture?  Review these and practice.

And finally, your voice delivery.  The saying “it’s not what you say but how you say it” holds true for all great presentations.  When you practice your presentations practice them out loud.  Listen to what and how you are delivering.

Adages hold true.  Practice makes perfect.  No great presentation was delivered without planning, practice and a polish.

Why does the audience not get it?

All your prep work is complete and you are ready to begin your chart building for the big customer presentation.  You know your objectives and your customers’ objectives.  All that is left is the actual charts themselves.

 

You have a lot to share and you begin putting your script to chart.  This is where “death by PowerPoint” often begins.  You have seen the signs: the watery eyes, the covered yawns, the fidgeting in the seats.

 

In 2007 John Sweller, from the School of Education at the University of NSW, became the father of the Cognitive Load Theory.  This theory was built around working memory: much like your computer, your brain has a place for storage and manipulation of information necessary for complex cognitive tasks.  These include language, comprehension, learning and reasoning.

 

His theory stated that presenters and educators need to cater to the way the brain works.  Simply put, do not read your charts.  The brain does not comprehend as well when you read what your audience is reading. In fact, all information goes from your brain after 20 seconds, unless there is rehearsal or if you write the information down.

 

He further went on to talk about PowerPoint presentations specifically and stated that “PowerPoint presentations can backfire if the information on the screen is the same as that which is verbalized, because the audience’s attention will be split between the two.” 

 

What Dr. Sweller is sharing with us is what great presenters have known all along.  Do not place the important facts on the screen.  Highlight the charts, the images, and the graphics that are necessary to underscore your verbal message.  The content and delivery of your message will be better received when you are not reading verbatim from your slides.

 

This extra step – preparing both a presentation and a script – will insure that your audience retains and comprehends more of your message.

Introduction to Presentations

I love watching people present.   You can learn so much from watching a speaker, and not just about the topic they are discussing.  What I like about presentations is that just like an opinion, everyone thinks they have the right one for you.

Here is one of my favorite scenarios.  A sales person is two days away from presenting to their largest client.  They have an idea on what they want to say and today they are booked with three other meetings, a soccer game and a dinner with clients.  No time to prepare.  They are so sure this is no big deal and the plan is to pull parts from other presentations and go with what they know.

Sound familiar?   The big presentation day arrives and armed with a full deck of PowerPoint slides they are ready to begin sharing their vast knowledge of all things, maybe they will use only 43 of the 60 charts they brought for this 45 minute meeting.

If this sounds like you, or someone you know, let me ask – did the audience seen engaged on a few charts but the speaker was in such a hurry to get all the information they brought out there that no one had a chance to comment?  Did it seem like drinking a glass of water from a firehouse?

As a professional speaker I have seen this happen many times, and the responses from the audience vary.  You see people shake their heads (some just to stay awake) and a few take notes (maybe creating their to do list for the next day) and maybe just maybe there was some positive feedback in which the presenter connected with the audience.

As you prepare for your next presentation ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my obective for this speech or presentation?
• What is the expectation of this audience?
• Do I have the time to prepare and deliver the right presentation to this group?

If you cannot answer all of these questions it is time to rethink your presentation and call the coordinator for this group.  Be sure you ask some questions and understand what the audience is looking for.  A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 30 minutes or creative time for every five minutes of presentation. 

A customized and personal presentation makes all the difference between connecting with an audience and just killing time in front of a group.  Stand out from the crowd.  Be heard for listening.

Email and Tone

What if you received the following email?  “Tom – I need for you to complete the TPS reports today.   Bob”

A direct email that states what the requestor is looking for and the time is which the work is needed.  The tone is not intended, but can be inferred that Bob is not in a mood for small talk and wants this report now.  Tom on the other hand had to stop and get gas this morning as his tank was empty.  His son borrowed the car and “forgot” to fill it.  Tom also has a stack of customer requests on his desk that he must complete, and he does not have time for these TPS reports, but if Bob is going to be “like that” well then he is just going to have to tell Bob to take a flying leap.

Bob meanwhile has no clue that Tom has had one of those mornings and is buried with customer requests, hence the late completion of the TPS reports.

You get the picture.  In reality, Bob had no intended tone for his email.  He had a deadline he would like to meet and he really has three days before the final reports are needed. 

What we gained as a business society in speed and efficiency with emails, we lost in human interaction.  What happened to when we used the phone vs. the computer?  You can now spend days avoiding direct contact with people if you choose.

Tone in an email is as important as the message itself.  Sure, you cannot be a psychic and understand what kind of mood the reader is in when they receive your message, but you can clearly state your message in a way that removes the questions.

“Tom,   Our final TPS reports are due on Friday.  Can you send me your completed reports as soon as possible?  I have several other projects I am working on and would like to get a sense of when you will have your reports ready.   I need these no later than Wednesday evening to make the deadline.  When will you have these to me?  Bob”

 A bit lengthy and you will know when you can send the short email vs. the long one.

 To check your tone, ask yourself these questions:

• When is the last time I spoke to this person on the phone?
• Can I follow up this email with a phone call?
• Did I read this email out loud to see how it sounds?

It cannot be repeated enough – a few extra minutes of review before hitting the send button on any communication can make all the difference in how it is received.

Business Communications: Email

I recently received an email from a vendor asking for my business.  The email was full of grammatical errors and typos.  I was so focused on these errors that I missed the message entirely and sent the email promptly to my trash can.

Today we communicate more than ever before.  The vehicles for communication seem endless: phone, fax, email, blogs, text, instant messages and it goes on.  While each of us is working to have our message heard above all the others our delivery has become as important as the content.

This is true in business for both your internal and external communications.  We are in an age of digital communications and a first impression can be made today through our typed words vs our attire and firm handshake. 

Think about these statistics: in an average week a  person receives 275 personal emails and 310 business emails.  And over 85% of us have two personal email accounts.  Understanding this just nails home the need to stand out with your business communications and not to be sending long winded, error-ridden communications.

Take a look at the last several emails you sent out. 

• Did you have an objective for your email?
• Did your email convey this objective or the action you wanted the reader to take?
• Could you have cut some of the fluff from your email or was it short and concise?
• And did you have any typing errors or spelling mistakes?  Even the best spell check can miss the basic errors a re-read might catch before we hit send.

The net of it is, a quick email in business is anything but quick.  Your business messages should be concise and professional.  The spelling and lenght are just the beginning.

Which came first?

An age old riddle:  which came first the chicken or the egg?  CIO’s and IT project managers have a riddle of their own:  work with a channel partner or manage your IT needs in-house?

 A channel partner is knowledgeable in various technologies and platforms.  A channel partner comes armed with the resources to meet your IT demands: within your budget and timeframe.

 

Many of these professionals were once IT project managers themselves.  They have an understanding of the latest offerings as well as the legacy applications you may still have deployed throughout your organization.

 

The number one concern often cited by many enterprise project managers is a concern about cost.  “Can’t I just order the cheapest laptops from an online provider?   I can see a cost and I do not want to add any additional expense to the project.”

 

What you do see on many of the on-line sites is just the beginning of the project expense.  What you do not see listed is the cost of installation and if this new product will work within your existing environment.  What about training for the employees?  And who will provide the service?

 

A channel partner is a true partner.  They are there to assist you with every step of the project, from recommendation and acquisition to installation and ongoing service.  They take into consideration the existing environment and the environment you will grow into tomorrow. 

Million dollar ad budgets

I am trying to think of the last time I bought a product based on a commercial I saw on TV.  I am trying really hard to remember the last time I watched a commercial.  With most cable companies now offering DVR’s the need to sit through commerials is long over.  I am sure that I am a typical viewer, watching most of my programs 15 minutes after they have started so I can fast forward through the commercials. 

With this said, one has to wonder – who is still spending money on million dollar ads and who watches them?  I can understand where beer and possibly home supply stores (i.e. Lowe’s or Home Depot) may see some bang for their buck.  The beer companies are looking for recognition and the home supply stores are working to gain your attention on new credit offers or a specific sale – but even then do you think these ads work?  While the major breweries continue to be large supporters of the multi-million dollar ad campaigns, when is the last time a microbrew was the focus of a campaign?  These companies have innovative web sites and rely upon word of mouth to get their message out. 

And when it comes to purchasing big name electronics I can think of few ads that grab my attention – but I can think of how many purchases we made recently after checking web sites for customer comments and competitive comparisons.  We even used a web site to even find the lowest purchase price.  I think tv advertising will always be there is some format, but I have to wonder how it will change to capture our attention again.  I also wonder how much more input there is on YouTube that is company fed vs. consumer posted.