Workshops

Posted below are the workshops from The Partner Event 2010. Click the titles to learn more about each workshop.

Monday, September 20
Leadership

Accelerating Partner to Partner Relationships

Scheduled time(s):

11:00am - 12:15pm

After the Keynote: Examining the Results and Figuring Out Next Steps for Success

Scheduled time(s):

11:00am - 12:15pm

Emotional Intelligence: Should it Drive the Project Management World?

Scheduled time(s):

1:30pm - 2:45pm

Five Levers to Control and Grow Your Business: How 5 x 10 = 61: Part I

Scheduled time(s):

3:15pm - 4:30pm

Innovate or Die: Creating and Nurturing a Culture of Innovation

Organizations are faced with a simple choice: Innovate or die. Most leaders recognize the need for creativity and innovation, and try to seek out creative team members. But it isn’t enough to tell team members “Go forth and innovate.” This session will help show how to create an environment that inspires and nurtures creativity, and how to align your organization’s resources on creating innovations that change your market space and make the competition irrelevant.

Scheduled time(s):

3:15pm - 4:30pm

Unhook from OVERWHELM; Step into EASE: Part I

Scheduled time(s):

1:30pm - 2:45pm

 Marketing

60 Marketing Tips in 60 Minutes

Scheduled time(s):

1:30pm - 2:45pm

Charting a Course to Success: How to Develop a Marketing Plan that Maps to Your Business Goals

All too often marketing plans are developed in a vacuum without deference to the company’s business or sales goals. Writing a case study, blogging or plotting a handful of activities on a calendar is not a marketing plan–-at least not one that significantly contributes to growth. Just as a GPS guides you on a road trip, a successful marketing plan ties directly to your sales goals, charts a course to get you there and includes checkpoints to ensure you stay on track. This session will teach you just how to do that.

During this hands-on interactive session, you learn how to:

• Establish a practical and realistic marketing budget.
• Structure your marketing plan with the end in mind.
• Calculate the number of inquires, leads, and opportunities you need to achieve your sales goals.
• Plan campaigns for maximum leads and ROI. • Apply metrics and logic to ensure you get the results you want.
• Develop a marketing plan and budget that can be monitored and measured with appropriate quantifiable checkpoints.

Attend this session and get a jumpstart on a marketing plan that will put you on the map.

Scheduled time(s):

11:00am - 12:15pm

Driving Success through Effective Marketing Lists

Scheduled time(s):

1:30pm - 2:45pm

How to Use Blogging to Drive Traffic, Raise Search Rankings, and Generate Leads

Scheduled time(s):

3:15pm - 4:30pm

ISV Specific Marketing: The In's and Out's of Marketing Through an Indirect Sales Channel

Scheduled time(s):

11:00am - 12:15pm

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Marketers: Part I

Scheduled time(s):

11:00am - 12:15pm

The Seven Steps to Marketing Using Duct Tape Marketing

Scheduled time(s):

3:15pm - 4:30pm

Twitter for Your Business: How This Media Can Work for You

Scheduled time(s):

1:30pm - 2:45pm

When Was the Last Time You Examined Your Offer Strategy?

Do you effectively use OFFERS in your marketing efforts? Too often we assume “if we build it, they will come.” After all, we have a great product, great services and a great team of people. Why wouldn’t prospects be breaking down the door to speak to us? This session will focus on the importance of using offers effectively in your marketing to catch a prospect’s attention and get them to respond. You’ll also learn about “soft” offers vs. “hard” offers, when to use each type, and where to find good offers that appeal to your prospect.

Scheduled time(s):

3:15pm - 4:30pm

 Sales

Advanced Selling Skills for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partners

Scheduled time(s):

3:15pm - 4:30pm

Audit Compliance: Microsoft Dynamics Has What it Takes to Win!

More industries, more states, and the federal government are adding audit compliance requirements for both public and private companies. The Microsoft Dynamics products can win head to head against any product on audit compliance and this session will give you the vocabulary and knowledge to convince your prospects and customers.

Scheduled time(s):

11:00am - 12:15pm

Best Practices in Delivering Support to Customers

Scheduled time(s):

1:30pm - 2:45pm

How to Hold a Successful Series of Seminars for Profit and Profit

Many Partners are looking for ways to generate additional revenue while at the same time utilizing the skills of their current consultants and providing a good price/value opportunity for their clients. Seminars do this! With knowledge of the product, presentation materials, and a bit of promotion, a successful seminar series can create a consistent cash flow for your firm and knowledge for your clients. If you are looking for ideas to improve your seminar business or want to start holding them, this session is where you need to be.

Scheduled time(s):

1:30pm - 2:45pm

Managing the Sales Process

Many organizations are saddled with challenges in any economy in regards to building their business. Much of the challenge comes in the management of prospects above the sales funnel, and opportunities in the pipeline. The basic reason behind stalled opportunities is that either a) there is no systematic process in place to manage deals, or b) not everyone is on the same page in the communication of the deals in question. As a result, limited resources are misapplied or unutilized where they would be appropriate in the sales process. In our presentation, we will share best practices learned through the management of Partners in the tele- arena for systematic management of multiple deals; understanding how and where stalls occur in the selling process; and remedies to move deals forward, move them to nurture status, or disengage as appropriate.

Scheduled time(s):

1:30pm - 2:45pm

Microsoft Dynamics Hosting, SAAS & SPLA: How to Understand, Market and Sell to Your Prospects

Scheduled time(s):

11:00am - 12:15pm

Prepping You and Your Customers for the Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

In this session we will discuss how to properly plan for a successful upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010. We will discuss things such as: setting expectations of the client, performing a TEST upgrade, analyzing and preparing the databases to identify potential issues, and troubleshooting techniques. The key to every successful project is planning, and this session will leave you with tangible practices to implement in your next project.

Scheduled time(s):

3:15pm - 4:30pm

Tuesday, September 21
Leadership

Better Relationships between VARs and ISVs

ISVs want more VARs to sell their products. VARs want more reliability and great support from ISVs. Are the goals of these two types of companies at odds with one another, or are there grounds for creating better win-win relationships? Come add your thoughts to this interactive discussion of what works and what doesn't, hosted by Jesse Byam, Partner at Etelligent Solutions and Mark Rockwell of Rockton Software, two partners who keep working to get it right.

Scheduled time(s):

9:00am - 10:15am

Can You Lead Change in a Chaotic Industry?

Scheduled time(s):

1:15pm - 2:30pm

Five Levers to Control and Grow Your Business: How 5 x 10 + 61: Part I

Scheduled time(s):

10:45am - 12:00pm

Now is the Time for Real Leadership

Scheduled time(s):

9:00am - 10:15am

Unhook from OVERWHELM; Step into EASE: Part II

Scheduled time(s):

1:15pm - 2:30pm

 Marketing

Be an Online Star: Marketing Yourself with Video

Scheduled time(s):

1:15pm - 2:30pm

Doing More with Less: Sure-Fire Tips to Stretch Your Marketing Dollar

Scheduled time(s):

9:00am - 10:15am

Don’t Recreate the Wheel

What’s new, and what’s still around, in terms of Microsoft marketing resources? If you’re new to marketing or new to a Microsoft Dynamics partner organization, this is a “must attend” session. Microsoft has a wealth of great marketing materials. Leverage what they have before spending money to create your own!

Scheduled time(s):

10:45am - 12:00pm

E-mail Marketing: Tips and Tricks for Getting Read

Scheduled time(s):

10:45am - 12:00pm

LinkedIn for Your Business: How This Media Can Work for You

Scheduled time(s):

10:45am - 12:00pm

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Marketers: Part II

Scheduled time(s):

9:00am - 10:15am

Partner Panel: Hear From the 2010 Distinction in Marketing Award Winners

Scheduled time(s):

1:15pm - 2:30pm

Using Marketing Events to Drive Leads and Cross-Sell to Existing Clients

Webinars, seminars, customer conferences and other events can be excellent vehicles for generating and nurturing leads, as well as cross-selling to existing clients. So why does the effort often feel like it exceeds the results? Because not all events are created equal.

During this session we’ll explore the factors that separate a highly effective event from a downright waste of your precious marketing dollars. Topics will include:

• How to use events to identify qualified
prospects and move them through the sales cycle • Elements for successful events - What works and what doesn’t
• How to host an event on a shoestring budget
• Good & Bad Topics - Why content is “king” and how to avoid looking like a joker
• How to promote your event using email, social media, and others’ websites
• Insider secrets for boosting attendance and results
• Follow-up strategies for maximum ROI

Come prepared to roll up your sleeves and participate. This session is designed to be highly interactive, so you can walk away with immediately actionable ideas.

Scheduled time(s):

9:00am - 10:15am

 Sales

Farming Your Existing Clients: Keeping the Relationship Alive

Scheduled time(s):

10:45am - 12:00pm

Navigating the Microsoft Sales Resource Waters

Scheduled time(s):

9:00am - 10:15am

Prepping You and Your Customers for the Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Scheduled time(s):

1:15pm - 2:30pm

Sales Coaching to Evoke Excellence

Scheduled time(s):

1:15pm - 2:30pm

Software by Phone: The Top Ten Worst Practices and What to Do Instead

The title piques your interest, right? Maybe your company is doing some? There are ten of ‘em … here’s a sneak preview: Using the telephone as a mass marketing medium; Making calls that your own CEO would not accept; and Relying on the wrong metrics. Want to know all about these and the other seven … and what to do instead? Get there early, get a good seat, and prepare for a no-holds-barred session. Note: Because of non-disclosure, I can’t name names, but our participants will hear true stories.

Scheduled time(s):

9:00am - 10:15am

Straight From the Operations Team: What You Need to Know

Do you find yourself searching PartnerSource for operational questions and have nowhere to look for the answers? If you answered yes, this is the session for you! Join team members from the Microsoft Dynamics Operations team as they cover Operational topics such as: Order Central, License Transfers, Name Changes, MESA Agreements, plus additional other topics focused around Operations. In addition to the previous content, team members will also be available to answer questions during a Q&A session.

Scheduled time(s):

1:15pm - 2:30pm

The Software Marketers Forum for Lead Generation and Development by Phone

Fifteen participants will hear Michael A. Brown reveal what is flopping and what is working in software lead generation and “nurturing.” Be prepared to challenge entrenched thinking and consider some new and profitable heresies. Then we will discuss and perhaps debate your own strategies and tactics and calling approaches with your peers. The objective: come away with at least one actionable improvement to your sales lead “machine.”

Scheduled time(s):

10:45am - 12:00pm

Using the Power of Visualization to Increase Sales

Scheduled time(s):

10:45am - 12:00pm