This is not your Father’s CompTIA

The 2010 CompTIA Breakaway event wrapped up in San Antonio this week and there is no doubt that the team at CompTIA is on a mission to be bigger and better than anything they have done in the past.

Todd Thibodeaux took the reigns in 2008 and has been determined to remake the association into an IT channel powerhouse---and you can see the results on the floor of the show and the faces of the attendees and sponsoring vendors.

The theme for this year’s event was “Learn. Connect. Succeed.” This applies as much to CompTIA itself as the Breakaway event. Todd and his team have taken great pains to reshape the association, events and resources to align strategically with the needs of channel pros.

As I walked through the vendor fair, sat in on sessions and spoke with attendees and sponsors, it was evident that the learning and connecting had certainly succeeded. This was a high-energy, content-rich and networking-friendly event.

Generating More Leads (and More Revenue) for Your MSP Business

Nothing beats more revenue--the hard thing is getting the leads to generate it.

I recently sat down with Kevin Brown, VP of Partner Development at Kutenda and we discussed how to generate more leads and more revenue for your MSP business.

Whether you're an MSP veteran or just starting out, sales leads are your engine for growth—and we outline proven steps to generate and nurture the leads that will grow your business.

You can view this free webinar on-demand by clicking here.

Kevin is making his presentation available by clicking here.

And you can learn more about Kutenda by clicking here.

Free Webinar Invite: Creating SLA's That Protect Your Firm, Keep You Out of Legal Hot Water

August 18, 2010 at 12:30 pm ET

Mark your calendar! Service Level Agreements can make or break your business and poorly-developed ones can potentially lead to legal problems for your firm.

Do you know what it takes to create the right SLA for your customers? Join our MSP Roundtable Group for a lively, informative session pertaining to SLA's. Register now to reserve your spot!


In this discussion we will cover:

• When to get a lawyer involved
• How to protect the client
• How to protect the MSP
• How to evaluate your existing SLA’s

My Roundtable Guests include: Pat Taylor, President, Atypical Business; Jamison West, President, JWCS; Bradley J. Gross, IT Attorney; Arlin Sorensen, CEO/Partner, Heartland Technologies; Ilene Rosoff, President & CEO, The Launch Pad.

We look forward to seeing you there. Sign up now for free.

We Can Never Generate Enough Quality Leads!

Please join me on Monday, July 26, 2010 at 12:30 PM ET for my latest free Success Series Webinar: “Generating more leads (and more revenue) for your MSP business.”

This Webinar will focus on improving strategic aspects of your business to drive growth and profitability.

My speciall guest will be Kevin Brown, VP of Partner Development at Kutenda as we discuss how to generate more leads and more revenue for your MSP business.

Whether you’re an MSP veteran or just starting out, sales leads are your engine for growth. We’ll outline proven steps to generate and nurture the leads that will grow your MSP business.

We will be taking your questions as time permits – we look forward to seeing you on-line!

Register for free here.

This event has already happened but you can view it on demand by clicking here.

You can download the presentation used in this webinar by clicking here.

Today, Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 2 p.m. ET we are producing a webinar with Lenovo on opportunities in education--you need to be there!

Education is one of the most lucrative verticals in 2010. Are you engaged yet

Understanding how to position the right education product solutions and services will provide you with a win-win of margin, revenue growth, and sustainability within the K-12 and higher education verticals.

To help you get engaged in education, join Lenovo’s Jay McBain for this informative webinar, Today, Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 2 p.m. ET.

As always, the webinar is free and you can register by clicking here.

ALL ATTENDEES will be eligible for a drawing for a Lenovo ThinkPad SL 510.

See you there!

Education is one of the most lucrative verticals in 2010. Are you engaged yet?

Next Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 2 p.m. ET we are producing a webinar with Lenovo on opportunities in education--you need to be there!

Understanding how to position the right education product solutions and services will provide you with a win-win of margin, revenue growth, and sustainability within the K-12 and higher education verticals.

To help you get engaged in education, join Lenovo’s Jay McBain, director of small and medium business, and Michael Schmedlen, director of worldwide education, for this informative webinar, Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 2 p.m. ET.

As always, the webinar is free and you can register by clicking here.

ALL ATTENDEES will be eligible for a drawing for a Lenovo ThinkPad SL 510.

See you there!

I am here in Jersey at the 5th Annual SMB Nation Spring conference and the place is humming.

Harry Brelsford, CEO of SMB Nation says "vendor participation is up 55% and VAR attendance up 22% from the Jersey show in 2009." He says the growth comes from expanded outreach his team is doing to get a lot more participants involved.

It's obviously working.

After some pre-show activities the event kicked off this morning and is now in full swing. There are dozens of business and technology sessions and the speakers are first rate. Sessions range from Windows Server 2008 to disaster planning to virtualization to "how not suck at selling services."

Harry is including a big push this year on the Pocket MBA program with Aspen University to help raise the business IQ of the VAR community.

Intel, Autotask, Lenovo, GFI, IBM, D&H, Level Platforms, Symform, CRU-DataPort and Equus are just a few of the booths we've visited so

I am in sunny Florida at the 2010 Venture Tech Network event and things are off to a fast start.

There are 400+ VARS in attendance and a who's who list of vendors. After a kickoff night of gambling, drinking and Karaoke (the Canadian chapter led the pack in all three activities) things are on a roll.

Several new programs are being announced and three of these initiatives were previewed at their Fall 2009 VTN event:

• the VTN Connect Mastermind and Functional training programs
• the VTN Incentive Support Program
• and the highly anticipated VTN Business Intelligence Portal

These three are incremental, fee-based programs and are designed to enhance the overall member value, partnership and benefits gained from belonging to the VTN community.

Says John Fago, senior director, channel marketing:

"The business and personal value that IT solution providers and manufacturers gain from being a part of the VTN community has never been stronger. With the addition of these new and exclusive resources, we are undoubtedly accelerating the success of our VTN community by incorporating more business and technical value into the business of each VTN member.

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.