IMPORTANT: WE HAD A SNAFU WITH THE REGISTRATION LINK. Lots of you THINK you registered but actually did not. Please register again and to compensate you for the hassle I'll be giving away a bunch of Amazon Gift Cards. 

Join Me February 10th Live at 1pm:

Identify The Employees Who Drive Your Company to the Next Level

REGISTER HERE FOR THIS FREE WEBINAR

Identify the "Rudolph’s" in your organization: the 10 percent of any organization's people who are the true agents of innovation—people who can shine the light exactly where a company needs to go in order to get to the next level.

If you're looking for ways to increase business without spending money, you're not alone. Authors Cyndi Laurin and Craig Morningstar say your secret weapons against this down economy are employees who shine—nose and all! Join us to learn how your company's Rudolphs can be your ticket to success

Please join us for a free Webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2pm (Eastern Time), featuring MSP legend Gary Pica. Details and registration link are below:

20%, 25%, 30% and even 35%! Do these net profit percentages seem out of reach? Gary Pica, president of TruMethods, will take the mystery out of driving MSP profit margins. During this one hour web event you will learn:

• What factors drive profit margins
• Key "smart numbers" to guide you
• 3 steps to higher margins
• One number that will change your business!

Plus, you could win an ACER Notebook and get 2 FREE Special reports when you attend the webcast. Don't wait. Reserve your place now.

Join Me February 10th Live at 1pm: Identify The Employees Who Drive Your Company to the Next Level

REGISTER HERE FOR THIS FREE WEBINAR

Identify the "Rudolph’s" in your organization: the 10 percent of any organization's people who are the true agents of innovation—people who can shine the light exactly where a company needs to go in order to get to the next level.

If you're looking for ways to increase business without spending money, you're not alone. Authors Cyndi Laurin and Craig Morningstar say your secret weapons against this down economy are employees who shine—nose and all! Join us to learn how your company's Rudolphs can be your ticket to success—and how to make sure you feed and nurture them all year long.

Date: February 10^th at 1:00 PM ET

Be sure to register today to attend this free Webinar.

REGISTER FOR FREE HERE

Are your employees your most valuable (hidden) asset?

FREE WEBINAR JANUARY 19TH.

Be sure to register today to attend this free Webinar

I am hosting my next free webinar and invite you to join in...we will discuss how you can tap the greatness of your staff to achieve great business results.

When it comes to problem-solving, your employees should be your most valuable asset: after all, those who are closest to the work are the most likely to see opportunities for innovative solutions regarding improving customer service, reducing costs, and increasing efficiency.

And by helping your employees feel like owners of your company, you'll be able to tap into that important source of solutions and innovative ideas right when you need it most.

Join me and guests Pamela Bilbrey and Brian Jones, authors of "Ordinary Greatness: It's Where You Least Expect It...Everywhere."

Date: TUESDAY, January 19, 2010 - 1:00 PM ET

I'll be honest, I should lose at least 10 pounds (from each quadrant of my body) but I don't want to over-share.

Well, we've made it through the holidays and are all digging out from emails, voice mails, etc. and it feels great to start anew.

I feel very optimistic about 2010 and believe that the SMB market will see growth---hardware refreshes and new investment in infrastructure and services will benefit us all. 

2009 was extremely challenging but so many Channel Pros that I speak with had a good year (and some even had a great year). These successes were not by accident but through planning and carefully building a diversified business that featured a growing amount of services.

The Managed Services model continues to mature and expand and it's getting easier to jump on board. Ilene Rosoff and her team at the Launch Pad (an IT services company in Florida) are rolling out an MSP

Are your employees your most valuable (hidden) asset?

I am hosting my next free webinar and invite you to join in...we will discuss how you can tap the greatness of your staff to achieve great business results.

When it comes to problem-solving, your employees should be your most valuable asset: after all, those who are closest to the work are the most likely to see opportunities for innovative solutions regarding improving customer service, reducing costs, and increasing efficiency.

And by helping your employees feel like owners of your company, you'll be able to tap into that important source of solutions and innovative ideas right when you need it most.

Join me and guests Pamela Bilbrey and Brian Jones, authors of "Ordinary Greatness: It's Where You Least Expect It...Everywhere."

Date: TUESDAY, January 19, 2010 - 1:00 PM ET

Be sure to register today to attend this free Webinar

This event is brought to you exclusively by Zenith Infotech! We look forward to seeing you online!

What is your NUMBER 1 Value add to your customers?

Our current reader survey asks a lot of questions that give the ChannelPro team a good sense of the issues you all face and the state of your business.

Have you taken the survey yet?

I sift through the data weekly and really enjoyed the latest results to this question:

“What is your NUMBER 1 value add to your customers?”

As you’d expect there were plenty of “Customer Service” “Knowledge” and “Dependability” responses (as there should be!).

But a number of other ones caught my eye: some for originality and some for a chuckle. I included several below for your review and enjoyment.

Some of my favorite responses:

• "Getting it right the first time"
• "Hard Drives have a 100% failure rate. Is your data backed up?"
• "Honesty, Reliability"
• "I am still here"
• "Me"
• "Up-time"
• "We are always there"
• "We care

I know I do.

Let's get one thing straight: I don't hate the people. It's the process and many times the outcome that I hate. Think root canal meets prostate exam meets IRS audit.

Your sales hires can make or break your business in any given year. When done right you'll put a lot of time into hiring the right people---and it can pay off in a big way. Then you need to make sure you can hold onto them.

When done wrong you'll put a lot of time into firing them and then trying to hire the right replacement---and possibly doomed to repeat the cycle again and again unless you have learned your lesson.

I learned my lesson and you can, too.

Ken Thoreson from Acumen Management and I recently produced some free sales training Webinars and another one is coming up next week. I urge you to sign up right now to attend it. It's about an hour long and you'll walk away with plenty of tips to make sure your next sales hire is a hire based on the right principles and experience.

I had the pleasure of attending the 2009 SYNNEX National Conference recently. Against the backdrop of one of the worst economic years in decades you would have thought of it as the National Optimists' Association meeting.

Hundreds of SYNNEX customers and vendors were there looking at new solutions and opportunities for 2010.

I met with CEO Kevin Murai and Marketing Sr. VP Bob Stegner as well as vendors, resellers and builders - all shared high hopes for next year and success in the channel. Check out my interview with Bob here.

One of the general sessions spotlighted some very encouraging customer feedback/data which was collected live from the resellers in attendance.

Here are some highlights:

Q. What percentage of growth do you anticipate in the next 12 months?

A. Top answer is greater than 10%

Q. How does this growth compare to prior 12 months?

A. 52% say it is an increase (92% say flat or increase)

I was rushing through the airport in D.C. recently and ran into him. Lots of folks were waiting to get their photos taken with him. Now I am not the type to be star-struck but as I had a few minutes between flights I figured I'd wait my turn as well.

A hundred questions raced through my head - will he be a channel advocate? Will myriad compliance/green issues be managed effectively so as to not harm resellers?  Does he support "buy local"? Will stimulus money continue to flow into IT-friendly sectors? Will he pardon me on some unpaid parking tickets?

Finally it was my turn. No secret service agents. No handlers. No teleprompter. Just me and him.

He was a lot thinner than I imagined...almost 2-dimensional. Well, I asked my questions. And got not one single answer. He just stared. And smiled. It was reassuring I guess--he didn't say anything that troubled me. But I wanted to hear something....anything that would boost my confidence. And then finally