The amount of time we spend calling prospects to secure appointments is a function of the quality of the names we call.  If we ‘cold call’ people to find prospects for our custom computer equipment, the ratio of calls/appointments will be very high.  The best way to meet prospects for your specialized product or service is through a referral; an introduction by a common friend.  We will make fewer calls to secure more productive appointments if we solicit referrals and quality introductions to use during our prospecting calls. 

Through the years I've noticed that many salespeople get stuck at this point in the process.  They all seem to share the common rebuttal when they respond with

"Yes, I asked my customers to give me referrals, but very few of them knew people that were buying servers or storage systems right then."

Customers feel pressured when you ask for referrals.  It

Among the things I count as blessings in my life are my two sons.  The younger son is bright, polite, and a true Southern Gentleman.  The elder son, however, is just like me.  He is intelligent but not particularly smart (as evidenced by decent grades despite many foiled plots to avoid school), embraces autonomy, and can be very innovative (meaning he cleverly schemes his way out of every sticky situation).  The younger son does what should be done and the older son does whatever comes to mind.  It occurred to me that their methodologies run parallel to one another.  I tested this theory and it works: they're most productive when they work together.  And there is a lesson in this for all of us...

How many of you (as owners of a channel company) have hired salespeople who knew almost nothing about the technologies they would sell on your behalf?

I was flattered when one of the most well-known publications in our industry called with an interest in working together.  I was excited to speak with an individual that has graced us with insight and perspective for a couple dozen years.  We enjoyed a productive conversation about the need to complement the organization’s herd of data analysts with someone possessing actual experience.  They needed more than data; they were looking for someone with real-world knowledge.  His words – not mine.

I was impressed with their self-awareness.  Privately, we all chuckle at the folly of those Data Dummies that have never faced the reality of only “eating what they kill”.  The business analysts that have never built a business.  The channel expert who has never worked in the Channel.  The industry veteran with whom I spoke seemed quite sincere, but the relationship would never work.  Their two-dimensional view of the world doesn

At the airport on my way back to Dallas, I reviewed the time I had spent at Intel's Channel Alliance Summit.  I was privileged to open the event with a short keynote speaking to the recent evolution of the Channel.  At the Summit (hosted by Intel at HQ), many industry-leading vendors gather to review the state of the channel.  They collaborate to improve the health of this all-important customer segment.  The Channel is of great importance to the vendor community; we provide 'touch' to hundreds of thousands of users, take new technology to market (and provide meaningful feedback) quicker than our competitors, and - most importantly – provide vendors with their most profitable stream of revenue.

It is my observation that the vendors at this Summit are regulars; always a few new guys, but most appear year-after-year.  They  "talk the talk and walk the walk".  There are, of course, several big names that do not attend.

As we all know, channel companies believe that differentiation is a strategic advantage when competing with multinational companies for a customer's business.  Our ability to do more and be more for our customers is, in fact, a big part of our "value add".  Talking about differentiation is one thing; demonstrating it is another altogether.

Many years ago, Kenny Kremm (my business partner) and I were competing for a Storage Area Network sale being tendered by an international printing company.  Two well-known multinational companies were involved in the tender, and it appeared unlikely a company of our size would be able to compete at all.  Fortunately, the plant manager responsible for making the purchase decision felt it important to at least consider a small business for the job.  We had the expertise (and had won several industry awards validating that claim) and we had the service record, but we did not have the size to make the customer comfortable with our ability to deliver and support such infrastructure.

This week, I spoke at the Home Entertainment Solutions Summit in Dallas, Texas.  It was a gathering of A/V solution providers, including retail shops and systems specialists.  My presentation was about qualifying partners in the channel to meet their IT needs, and the event opened my eyes to new opportunities for our peersl.

Home entertainment has become more than displays, DVD players, and 5.1 audio systems.  There is a need for what I call "domestic infrastructure"; integrated A/V solutions based on client/server technology.  The A/V specialists present at the summit understand that IT is an inevitable part of their solutions future.  The questions posed at the end of my presentation revolved around whether to (a) grow the required IT skill sets organically within their organizations or (b) build a relationship with a channel partner.  The opportunity for my peers in the channel is obvious.

I was able to convince most of the attendees that the dollar/hassle ratio involved with developing their own integration team would be more cumbersome and costly than partnering with Channel companies.

For the best part of the last quarter, I was ’on the road’ meeting with channel companies across the country.  I learned a lot about today’s channel business from system builders and integrators in the channel.  I learned that things don't look as bad as they did a year ago, but we can't say things look good.  We haven’t lost any customers really; they’re just not buying as much.  We need new sales to replace that revenue.  We need new sales to grow.

Big companies increase their marketing and advertising budgets in an effort to increase sales.  Channel companies don't have marketing budgets and advertising is usually limited to giveaways for our customers.  Simply put, channel companies have to actually see more [people] to sell more.  We have to see prospects and make a connection as small businesses.  It is something unique that we have in common with the small business marketplace, and the MNCs will forever envy our customer

System builders here and abroad are increasingly aware of the uncertain future of the Channel.  It all started a couple years ago at the Intel Solutions Summit when Paul Ottelini, President and CEO of Intel, shared his vision for Tomorrow.  His vision is of a world in the not-too-distant future where there exists a “billion connected devices”.  Hundreds of millions of different, discrete miniature systems connecting and communicating; consumer electronics, embedded devices, handhelds and netbooks.  And it’s scary how fast the vision has become an impending reality.

The vision creates uncertainty for today’s channel companies because only a fraction of those billion devices can actually be built by the Channel.  In my vision of the future, the Channel will probably be building infrastructure for ‘the cloud’ in the form of servers and storage.  Infrastructure projects benefit from vertical expertise, custom designs, and rapid service response; these are all hallmarks of a channel company, so we

Good companies build good sales teams.  Great companies craft a sales culture.

Culture is commonly defined as “a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize an institution, organization or group”.  I like to say that it is all the written and unwritten rules about how things get done in a company.  Every society has its culture - as does every business.  We should be mindful of our culture because it dictates behavior (and there are behaviors we desire over others).

Culture dictates social behavior.  I’m from Texas and culture dictates our distinctively Southern manners.  We say “Yes, ma’am” and “No, sir”, we open doors for women and carry guns in our trucks.  There are no written rules to prompt this behavior, but unwritten rules move us to act in a way that characterizes the South.  The same thing can be said for almost any country or continent in the world.

In 1844, a group of 28 artisans working in the cotton mills in Rochdale established the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society.  These poorly paid weavers could not afford the high prices of food and household goods, so they agreed to pool their resources and buy the things they needed at a lower price.  The principles that brought success to the Pioneers Society serve as the foundation upon which all modern co-operatives operate.

If you read the blogs I post on this site, you probably know that several dozen system builders have recently agreed to work together.  Our Channel network is like a co-operative and a trade association combined; a trade association to advertise and promote our industry brand and a co-operative to better negotiate for goods.  Our loosely affiliated group of like-minded entrepreneurs is already engaged in “Channel business” and has made measurable progress, negotiating a Volume Purchasing Agreement and Channel Discounting plans.