Media

Website:	http://conveyservices.com

Name:	Bruce Ahern
Email:
Phone:	(770) 580-0810

Automating Your Channel Program Podcast Series


MicroCast Episode 10 - Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted ... microcast Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Because Convey lives in the world of automation and digital experiences, we are going to overview several key areas that providers and master agents can execute in an efficient and automated way to distinguish their channel programs in order to attract more partners and keep them engaged. In subsequent MicroCast sessions, we’ll take each individual segment and devote our podcast to the steps you can take to turn one of these concepts into reality using technology as the backbone to execute the strategy. Technology companies should use technology to make it convenient for partners to get product information, to learn how to sell services, to see real life examples of success, and to understand how they fit into your strategy. If partners find it hard to get information or think it’s difficult to sell your solutions, they will switch to selling other solutions that are easier. Digital strategy #1 is to automate how you find, deliver and manage sales leads for partners. Ask any master agent what partners would like most and most of them will answer, “a good old-fashioned sales lead”. But providers struggle with the time and expense of finding the lead, the best way to distribute those leads to partners, and how to make sure that the leads they deliver are not wasted. When it comes to finding the lead, you have many options rooted in technology. Your organization can engage in content marketing, social media outreach, or an activity called data scraping. Freelancers have technology that scours the web to generate leads based on your criteria that will generate a custom lead list that is at a fraction of the cost and much higher quality than most lead lists you might purchase. When it comes to distributing and managing those leads, Convey has options inside its partner relationship management system to add prospects to a sales partner’s dashboard, set the rules around how they accept the lead and a feedback loop to ensure they are following up. Digital strategy number 2 is to use technology to stay top of mindshare by continually engaging partners. Nowhere is the old phrase, “out of sight, out of mind” more true than in the channel. So many channel programs rely too heavily on face to face encounters at trade shows, regional events or sponsorships, but forget the fact that when the event is over and the partner is on the way home, most of the information they learned is already on its way out the window. Having a digital strategy to reinforce the message and stay in front of partners even when you are not with them is essential to staying top of mindshare. You might still print those 4-color marketing slicks, but partners would rather get your information online. If you don’t have a LinkedIn page or up-to-date profiles for your people, you look unprofessional and disorganized. And if you’re using your corporate website to distribute information to both partners and customers, then partners are missing valuable things they need to do business. Digital strategy number 3 is provide tools for your partners that automate how they engage and market to their prospects and customers. One of the biggest challenges in providing tools to your partners is that partners have all levels of marketing expertise. Some partners may be better at marketing than their vendors, but most have limited capabilities, and some have none at all. Most partners have a deep desire to do good marketing, even if they don’t know how, have the time and lack the infrastructure to do it. That’s where technology proves most valuable for vendors to control the message, automate how they get tools in partner’s hands, and track if those tools are effective. As an example, Convey built two tools for partner marketing, one simple and one robust that use automation to help partners market. Add content in one of our catalogs or on partner portals and allow partners to share by email. When they touch the button, their email client automatically opens with a link to a landing page to view the content. The more complex tool, built into partner portals, lets marketing create a multi-email campaign, deliver it to partner dashboards and has enough automation so that all partners need to do is add their list and hit the go button. Digital strategy number 4 is to use automation to onboard, train and manage partners. If you want partners to affiliate with you, the thing that will slow your program to a crawl is the manual processes you might engage in to have them sign up, understand the partner agreement terms, be trained on services, know the right contacts, and be managed on an-ongoing basis. Although I’m biased, any program that wants to grow and thrive that does not have a partner portal is condemning itself to use staff to do administrative things that technology can manage better vs. spending time bringing partners or revenue in the door. Portals let partners automatically apply to affiliate with you, collect their information and add it to a CRM that keep track of them. They can hold partner agreements and keep them available for the partner to review at any time. Training should be on demand and online with modules that include videos, courses, or product information. Training webinars should be recorded and posted for anyone who missed the live event. Portals can automate delivery of commission statements, sales leads or important messages and notifications. And partners should be able to update their information online so you can learn more about them. Takeaway One of the most dangerous phrases in business, and in the channel, is “But we’ve always done it that way!”. Even if the current tactics you are using to engage partners is working, it doesn’t mean that it always will work or that you shouldn’t attempt to evolve and stay current. There are so many examples where businesses fail to see how their landscape was changing putting them at risk. What about Kodak? Technology replaced the 35mm camera film. Or how about answering machines replaced by voice mail and hosted voice? In the next 4 episodes of our MicroCast focused on creating a digital strategy for your channel, we’ll give you some ideas of how to use technology to find, manage and distribute sales leads to partners, to keep partners engaged and you top of mindshare, to provide automated marketing tools to help partners sell and to automate processes to onboard and manage partners.
MicroCast Episode 11 - Automate Partner Management Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automate Partner Management Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and ... microcast Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automate Partner Management Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Convey is a big believer that every channel program should be automated, have a digital strategy and the right technology tools for their partners. And we believe strongly that having a PRM or partner relationship management system is a must-have for all channel programs. Unlike a CRM that is designed primarily for direct sales, a PRM brings a channel program the following benefits: PRMs streamline partner onboarding. If you bring on new partners constantly, using a manual process to onboard them wastes lot of internal resources versus a PRM solution that is more efficient. PRMs manage education and training. A PRM provides programs the ability to execute a well-defined learning plan to make sure partners know which customers to pursue, the markets they exist in, the right sales process and good basic product knowledge. PRMs keep this training online and constantly available. PRMs offer communication & marketing support. They have tools to manage documents, communications, and other marketing assets in one online location. This ensures that partners can find the right information at the right time, allowing them to sell more effectively. PRMs help you get the ROI for marketing or sales expenses. Incentives are an essential element to drive partner performance. PRMs enable you to gauge what motivates them so you can reallocate funds based on what’s working or not. PRMs automate how you get the word out about new products. Having a well-designed PRM solution lets partners know what’s new and provides the ability to give real-time feedback on products. This ensures that launches can go off without a hitch. And last but not least, PRMs increase partner satisfaction. Partners do not have unlimited resources and time, so when you offer a more efficient and beneficial way to do business with you, partners will naturally look to you to provide them with solutions for their customer base vs. your competition. In today’s MicroCast we are going to focus on the tools inside the Convey PRM system that automate your program, increase your team’s efficiency and make it easy for partners to do business with you. Let’s start with how Convey streamlines partner onboarding. If you participate in Convey’s Channel Program, you may be maintaining a catalog that is viewed on our master agent portals. But those master agents are not going to give you their partner list. Getting partners to become members of your portal allows you to develop personal relationships with and engage directly with them. Convey’s PRM automates how partners become members in the first place by turning on an automated application process. Partners fill out the application, adding information that you find valuable. The PRM can approve partners immediately providing login credentials or have an approval process for you to screen the application and approve or deny it. If you add the partner to the member database directly, Convey delivers a welcome email automatically that you can customize message including a password set link. Convey’s portals are designed to provide education and training. It’s our philosophy that training and education can take many forms, all of which are supported by our portal technology. Portals are divided into content catalogs, so you can choose to consolidate training in one catalog inside the portal or spread it out over many locations. Consider your partner audience and the ways they learn. Some partners like to analyze and read so their education so it can take the form of case studies, white papers, or product feature sheets. Other partners like to visualize, so adding graphics, drawings and pictures to explain who you are may better engage them. While other partners like experiences, so offering webinars, videos, or discussion forums may be their best option. No matter which education option you choose, you can monitor the training that partners are using with our member activity report. Convey portals automate communication and marketing support. There are many ways our portals communicate with partners so let’s start with our Message Library that delivers notifications, reminders and messages. Partners are automatically notified by email when their password is changed, when there is a lead waiting for them, or commission statements are added. Reminders go out if the partner fails to login after a certain number of days. You can create custom messages or newsletters and schedule them to go out regularly pulling new information each time from the portal. We have an entire MicroCast devoted to marketing support that profiles our 1-touch email service and the Conduct Campaign technology that lets you deliver pre-created email marketing campaigns for partners to launch to their prospects. Our portals help you automate how you manage incentives. Partners love promotions and spiffs that incent them to sell your services vs. the competition. However, most incentives are not forever and expire after the month or the quarter is over. If you have added an incentive and are promoting it in a banner or a piece of content, our scheduling engine will let you add those elements to the portal when the promotion begins and remove them when it has expired so you don’t have to worry about having outdated information on the portal. Launching a new product? Convey’s portal can automate how you engage partners. If you have an upcoming launch, you can prepare ahead of time by adding banners, content posts, and outbound emails and holding them so that they appear by using the scheduling engine. Set the message library to send outbound emails on a regular basis to make sure they got the announcement, know where the training is, and can find the spiff that you are offering. Convey has a partner CRM or can link to any other CRM system for member management. We love our CRM tool because it can be customized in minutes, it is easy to use, and comes with the system. However, we recognize that companies may have already invested in a CRM like Salesforce or may be using another tool. No problem. The member management API lets you manage member data in your system and create member records in ours. If you use Convey’s CRM, then you have flexible options about how data gets into it. You can upload partner lists. You can have partners fill out the member application and automatically add that data to the CRM or you can have partners fill out profile information inside the member dashboard to collect more information. Add notes and tasks to a partner record to automate delegating responsibilities or ensuring that you follow up and use reports to extract the data you want on your partners. Takeaway If you aren’t looking into a partner relationship management system, then you are missing an opportunity to do more with less resources, consistently engage your partners and automate everything from onboarding to training. We want you to look at Convey for its capabilities, ease of use, its low cost and its ability to distribute content directly to your partners that are members of your portal or to master agent portals in our Convey Channel Network.
MicroCast Episode 12 - Engaging Partners Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Engaging Partners Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative ... microcast Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Engaging Partners Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Nowhere is the old phrase, “out of sight, out of mind” more true than in the channel. So many channel programs rely too heavily on face to face encounters at trade shows, regional events or sponsorships, but forget the fact that when the event is over and the partner is on the way home, most of the information they learned is already on its way out the window. Having a digital strategy to reinforce the message and stay in front of partners even when you are not with them is essential to staying top of mindshare. Mindshare is simply the amount of attention you get from your partner network. When a sales opportunity presents itself, are partners thinking of your company first? Keep in mind that your products aren’t the only ones they’re marketing and selling in our crowded telco and cloud space. Your channel program can only have so much to say about the quality, price, and delivery of the products, but you can separate yourself from the competition by winning the mindshare battle with your partners. Here are some general best practices that you should follow when you want partners to notice you and be the first thing they think about when they are in front of a customer. First, be clear about what makes you unique in the marketplace. Is it your market niche? Exceptional service? Highly targeted products and services? Make this value proposition simple and easy to remember. Here is an example in a statement that’s clear, “We provide HIPAA compliant cloud hosting to healthcare.” Second, keep the messages coming. A one-time advertising blitz can get your message out quickly to a large number of partners, but staying top of mindshare requires consistent delivery of messaging over time. Keep it coming. Third, make sure partners know it’s you. Everything from your customer literature to your e-newsletters should have consistent messaging and similar look and feel. One brand, one message. Fourth, use a balanced approach. Stay in front of your audience using multiple channels over time. Awareness is based on repetition. And last, provide information that is useful. Frequency doesn’t have to mean being annoying. Partners should perceive you as a provider of useful information rather than an intrusive pest. Communicate frequently but give your partners genuine value each time. Having a digital strategy that leverages automation allows a channel program to be clear about who they are, have consistent branding, keep the messages coming, and make sure the information is useful. Let’s see how you can accomplish all of those goals using Convey’s technology. Start by defining the type of partner you want, the type of customer you want them to pursue and use technology to get your point across. At Convey, we see that many channel programs trying to be all things to all partners. We have over 20,000 sales partners that use our portals to get information on providers but in reality, only a fraction of those partners will affiliate with you. If a program tries to go “wide” they will end up quoting lots of deals, rejecting many of them because they just aren’t viable, and driving the partner away because they become frustrated. There are digital strategies inside of our Convey programs for providers to define the type of partner they really want to work with and the ideal customer profile they want them to pursue. In our Convey Channel program providers get a portion of a master agent portal called a catalog where content is added on a centralized site to be distributed to over 40 master agents. Or providers can own one of our custom portals and use them to educate partners Here are some digital strategies that work inside of our portals to define the ideal partner and customer profile: Add banners with taglines that clarify your ideal partner or market, then link the partner to a call to action to either learn more, join your program, or refer a deal.Create web pages, case studies or success stories that profile vertical markets that you are strongest in and customer wins.Consider having an elite partner program and invite partners that meet your criteria to express interest in joining by having an automated application process. Use the automation in our portals to keep the message coming. There is no excuse to not keep in constant contact with your partners. Make sure you are keeping them in the loop about current products, training opportunities, changes in prices, upcoming promotions and spiffs, or key events in your business. If you want to leave your channel partner unhappy, just ensure that they’re the last to know about major changes to your services, company or channel program. Convey’s partner portals make keeping in constant contact easy and automated. Here are some communication strategies and how our portals make them easy: Partners need to be reminded to keep coming back to the portal. Our system tracks their login history and reminds them to come back if they’ve been idle too long. Portals automatically notifies partners when they have a lead, a commission statement, or an action they need to take.Portals have discussion forums for partners to exchange ideas and ask questions of you and each other. The technology recaps those conversations, sends out a daily discussion digest and invites partners to come back and join the conversation.Add new content, a promotion or spiff, or an upcoming webinar and highlight those new developments in an automated newsletter. The system pulls from the newest items, highlights them and links the partner to come back to the portal to take a look.Partners can opt in to receive text messages from the portal to remind them about events or other action items. Statistics will tell you that text messages are opened 97% of the time and read within 90 seconds of getting them. Convey’s portals automate the way you reach out to partners to keep the messages coming and draw them back into the portal for more. Try different techniques that promote engagement and calls to action In today’s digital world, you have to assume that people need to see the same message multiple times, presented in different ways that appeal to the way they process information. Some people are analytical and like to read, so giving them white papers, case studies and product details will appeal to that type of partner.Some partners are visual, so big bold graphics in banners and pages or in our portal home page feature boxes are the shiny object that attracts their attention and motivates them to click and exploreSome partners learn by experience, so having webinars to let them hear from the experts makes sense. Discussion forums to exchange ideas in real time may be very appealing to an experiential learner. Use reports in our portal to analyze what partners look at and do more of what’s working and less of what’s not. Every time a partner logs into our portals, visits one of your content catalogs, views or downloads a post or navigates around your portal, we record that event. You can pull a member activity report to get an overview of the most popular locations and posts or an event report to see who registers for a webinar and then look at a specific partner to see who is the most active and engaged. We know through our experience that partners visit case studies, battle cards and promotions and spiffs more often than anything else, but your portal will give you all the detail you need to understand what partners really care about. Takeaway Being top of mindshare is critical in a crowded channel marketplace. If partners aren’t getting your message consistently, they will undoubtedly think about your competitors. We live in a world of digital engagement that requires constant reinforcement and no channel program can keep up with that type of demand unless they use automation to make it happen. Our portals are designed to help you win the minds and hearts of your partners, do it efficiently with automation and not break the channel budget in the process.
MicroCast Episode 13 - Partner Marketing Tools Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Partner Marketing Tools Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and ... microcast Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Partner Marketing Tools Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Most of the providers that Convey works with would love to have partners use marketing to promote their services, but the reality is that partners rarely do what we think that they should. So why is it that partners don’t use the same marketing strategies that have proven so effective in the technology marketplace? First, partners just don’t have the time to devote to marketing. Partners are generally attached to very small agencies, so they are having to do it all. They have to secure more customers, educate them about services, manage the order and installation process, and respond to issues when the technology doesn’t work the way they expect. Marketing is generally last on the list. Second, being creative doesn’t come easy for partners. In a former life I was an English teacher and taught writing, among other things. I consider myself pretty good at it, but the vast majority of people I work with struggle to put the right words together. So, imagine the difficulty in creating a marketing email, a social media post or a blog if you can’t think of what to say. Third, partners don’t know how to generate a lead list to market to. If you are going to deliver an email campaign, target people to invite to an event or even try and influence people on social media, you have to have a way to generate a list. Partners don’t really have the understanding how to create lists of people that they can work with and then what to do even if they had a list. Convey’s philosophy has always been that if you do the work for partners, provide them marketing tools, and then show them how to get a good list they will be much more likely to add marketing to their revenue strategy. We’ve built marketing tools inside the Convey portal designed to motivate partners to use them. We’ve added an easy way for partners to share content. You’ve uploaded a case study, a white paper or product information that’s meant to be shared with customers. Partners have two easy sharing options every time they access content. An obvious thing they can do is to download a file if you havean uploaded one for viewing but an even easier process is our One Touch Email Share. Here is how it works. Partners see that case study or product literature and then click the email share button. No matter what email client they use, it opens automatically with a link to the content post already in the email. The partner just adds a personal message, then sends the email to their customer or prospect. When the prospect clicks the link, they don’t come back inside your portal, but they do come back to a landing page to view, download or reshare the content. Easy email marketing! And the best news is that our reporting tool shows you which pieces of content were shared, and which partners did that. For partners that really want to commit to an email strategy, we have a unique service inside of every portal called Conduct. For those of you who are now thinking that email marketing is dead, think again! Email marketing is up to 40 times more effective than social media, according to a study done by McKinsey & Company. The same study also shows that the buying process happens 3 times faster with email than in social media. Moreover, it is also said that most individuals prefer to receive business information via email. For the “Big 3” of social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter), the engagement rate isn’t even 0.6%. Compare that to email’s average open rate of 22.86% and even its click-through rate of 3.71%. Emails reach most of the people they’re intended for, so email marketing must be an essential part of a partner’s marketing strategy. We’ve built our Conduct technology to overcome the worries that we know partners have about email marketing: I don’t have the time or expertiseI am worried about adding my lead list to the portalI don’t know if it works Partners don’t need the time or expertise to create campaigns because Conduct lets you create them for the partner. Here is how it works. Login to the portal as an administrator and set up the email campaign. Add the text and graphics, the email subject line and the call to action. Conduct lets you create campaigns of up to 4 outbound emails and creates a personalized landing page for the partner. Once the campaign is ready, deliver it to the partner dashboard and Conduct tells them it’s waiting. Partners can explore campaigns you’ve added and pick the ones they want to use. All they have to do is to add the list of contacts, tell Conduct when to launch it and sit back and collect the leads when people respond. They can create their own campaign if they want, but most choose to have you do the work. Partners don’t have to worry about the security of their lead list. You may have watched TV and seen a commercial on LifeLock™, the service that protects your identity. Conduct has ListLock™, the technology that secures their list and keeps it private. Once Conduct is enabled on a portal, nobody other than the partner can change their password in order to access their account and get at their list. It’s effectively locked and secured. You can use some of the strategies I shared in my MicroCast on how to create a lead list to generate them for the partner or to teach the partner to generate them for themselves. Learn how freelancers and data scraping tools create better leads at a fraction of the cost of purchasing a list. Neither you nor the partner have to worry about whether the campaign is working. When emails are sent out, we don’t wait to see who signs up. We analyze what happens to each email. Conduct knows if the email was delivered or bounced, if it was opened and if so, how many times, and if the recipient clicked through. Then, of course, there are the sign-ups that show people were interested in the message, the offer or the special deal. Reports are available to the partner to show how each contact responded and available to the portal owner to see the overall performance of the campaign without looking at the exact list. Just like any of the larger commercial email services such as Constant Contact or Mail Chimp that have been around for a while, we have tools inside of Conduct that make email campaigns easy, personalized and follow all of the email campaign rules. Partners add their contact information and even their logo to brand emails and sign up pages.We keep emails CAN/SPAM compliant by having the right information in the footer and automatically managing opt outs.Lists are kept in the Contact Manager and partners can easily upload their contacts, organize them into lists, keep custom data on each contact and even use the Contact Manager as an easy to use CRM system. Takeaway You can have the best marketing materials in the world but if the partner doesn’t have the tools to take your materials or message all the way to the prospect you can guarantee yourself that they won’t be used in the way you want them to. Convey’s marketing tools inside of our portals ensure that you can control the marketing message, make it easy for partners to actually use them to market, and analyze the result of your efforts.
MicroCast Episode 14 - Sales Leads Full Transcript Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales ... microcast Full Transcript Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. The concept of providing partners with sales leads is not a new one, but automating the way you collect them, distribute them to partners and a process to ensure those leads are not wasted requires new thinking and automation. In this MicroCast we are going to share some ideas about how to generate leads for very little money, the business rules you should consider before you decide to give those leads out, and the automation to deliver, manage and track the way leads move through the funnel using Convey’s partner portal technology. Finding sales leads doesn’t have to be time-consuming and expensive. When it comes to finding leads, you have technology-driven options that improve the quantity and quality of leads that you can provide to partners. Your channel organization can engage in content marketing, social media outreach or drip marketing campaigns to drive inbound demand. But for this MicroCast, I want to focus on a strategy called data scraping to produce larger lead lists. Although you can try data scraping yourself, it’s much easier and cheaper to use freelancers who have technology that scour the web to generate leads. Freelancers use your criteria to create a custom lead list at a fraction of the cost and of much higher quality than any lead lists you might purchase. So how do you gain access to these valuable resources? Freelancers exist all over the world and the hourly rate for someone in India or in the Philippines as an example that can generate a lead list is embarrassingly low for the high-quality output they produce. The best way to engage a high-quality freelancer is to use a service like UpWork or FIVRR, spelled F-I-V-R-R where freelancers are profiled on their portal. You can put in your project requirements, find freelancers who have done projects like this before, and get reviews on their work from other customers. You pay the platform provider and they pay the worker. Freelancers can create a customized lead list using a process called data scraping. In simple terms, they use software to access multiple websites to find information on companies or individuals including names, titles, contact information, email addresses, company size, or locations. That information is delivered to you in a spreadsheet so you can import it into the technology you will use to manage and distribute those leads. You can even take this further and pay a freelancer to do some investigation or calling to qualify that lead. To give you an idea of how effective freelancers and data scraping is as a strategy, Convey employed a freelancer in the Philippines at $3.50 an hour and for less than $600 they delivered a 6,000 person lead list of individuals inside companies in the Southeast that were candidates to use technology in their buildings to reduce energy cost. Set business rules so partners understand your expectations and those leads are not wasted. The worst thing you can do is give leads to someone without any expectation of getting something in return. My suggestion is to have partners opt in to receive leads from you versus just sending them out. Leads are valuable and they should be reserved for partners that have achieved a certain status in your channel, that are willing to act on the leads, and that will allow you to follow up on their progress. Insight from the partner gives you what you need to assess the lead quality, how they marketed to the prospect, and what happened to the lead. Make sure you let the partner know how you got the lead, the stage that the lead is in, whether it is qualified or not, if the lead is in a specific vertical market, or anything about what they are receiving to set their expectation. Use technology to manage the distribution and follow up strategy for leads. Automation is the only way a channel program can effectively get leads into the hands of a large number of partners, track their progress and monitor if their lead program has been effective. Although there are many ways you can do this, I’d like to profile how Convey’s partner portal manages lead distribution with its prospect management technology. Aside from having a CRM to manage partner data, Convey’s partner portals have a separate prospect CRM to hold lead lists. Leads can be added into this customizable database when individuals fill out forms on the portal, but more commonly they are added by uploading them from an Excel or CSV file. Once the leads are in the CRM, the portal owner can set up business rules that define how to transfer leads, have prospects accept them or if you will require feedback on the lead process. Here are some of the rules that you can define for prospect transfer: Decide if leads will be available to multiple partners or delivered to only one partner at a time.Once a lead is available in the system, partners get notified and the last thing you want is a few partners taking all the leads. The system prevents that by letting you set a maximum number of leads one person can have in a given month.If a partner wants the lead, do you want them to formally accept it and if so, how long will you let that lead stay in queue before it’s taken? What information will you let partners see before they accept the lead and what information will you supply once it’s been delivered? You don’t want to give away all the information until the lead is in the hands of a partner.And last but not least, do you require that the partner update the status of where they are in contacting the lead? If the partner lets the lead sit there without getting in touch, you can always pull the lead back into the pool if you want and redistribute it. Using automation to manage the lead transfer process allows you to bake in fairness and neutrality to the way leads are delivered and gives you the insight into which partners are most active and successful in accepting leads and translating them into customers. Help partners market to the leads you have given them. Your channel program likely has a marketing department, but the partner organization likely does not. You may want to help the partner soften up those leads by providing marketing tools they can use to approach that lead digitally before they try and call to schedule an appointment. Provide the partner with sharable content that they can brand with their company graphics and contact information. Deliver an email template they can use to send an introductory message to the prospect. If you have a large number of leads you’ve handed partners, then consider creating email marketing campaigns for partners so that they can deliver campaigns to their lead list. If you are using one of our portals, we have built a service into them called Conduct. You can create the email campaign complete with 4 outbound emails and a sign-up page, deliver it to the partner dashboard and notify the partner it’s there. All they have to do is add their contact list and hit the “launch” button to automate how it goes out. Providing the marketing assets to partners gives you the opportunity to control the message, make it easier for partners to follow up, and if you use the tools built into our partner portals, you gain insight on the effectiveness of how those tools are used and how prospects are responding to email marketing campaigns. Takeaway Nothing will win the heart of your partner more than by giving them valuable leads, making it easy and efficient for them to work them, and the tools they need so they don’t have to spend time inventing the marketing they need to follow up. Remember that leads are valuable so get your partners to opt in to the lead program, make a commitment to follow up and give you insight on the progress they’ve made with the leads. That lets you make adjustments on the type of lead, the quantity, and how you produced it so you can make leads more and more effective. Stay tuned to our MicroCast series to learn more about the marketing tools inside of Convey partner portals and how they can help partners translate leads into customers.

The Nightmare on Channel Street Halloween Podcast Series


MicroCast Halloween Special 1 - The Nightmare on Channel Street This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we’re going to give our old friend Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our program, the Nightmare on Channel Street. For those of you who don’t ... Halloween Special This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we’re going to give our old friend Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our program, the Nightmare on Channel Street. For those of you who don’t remember Freddy, he starred as a character in the Nightmare on Elm street, an insane child killer, released on a technicality and murdered by the town’s parents. He comes back in people’s dreams and continues to kill through 9 different movies. So in honor of Halloween week, we are going to identify nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, ruin your channel program and destroy revenue. Our first episode in the Nightmare on Channel Street is called “the death of commissions”. This episode of unfolds as nervous channel partners watch in horror as big companies gobble up smaller ones, creating a behemoth that lumbers through the marketplace like a zombie trying to feed itself on dwindling sales with a pack of hungry debt holders hard on their heels. The struggling company darts into court to protect itself from hungry debt holders by filing bankruptcy and then the nightmare really begins, but not for the company, instead for partners that sold its services. A new group of characters come on the scene, the bankruptcy court judges who nullify partner contracts gasping in horror at the commissions flowing out the door to partners who stopped selling their services years ago. Judges rule, commissions begin to die and partners that depended on them start scrambling for new sources of revenue. Episode two is called the “The Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers” You used to go to Channel Partners in Vegas and there were thousands of partners in the exhibit hall, or to regional meetings full of partners. Then, all of a sudden, there was the invasion of the body snatchers and one by one those partners started disappearing, seemingly snatched away, gone forever. Where did the partners go? Some of them got discouraged with channel sales and went back to their careers working for a company. Some of them simply aged out and retired from active duty, continuing to take whatever commission checks that were still coming their way. Or some of them just decided that it was not interesting enough to keep coming back, only to hear the same old presentations delivered the same way. And the other explanation for their disappearance is that pods from outer space have landed in the channel, snatching up the partners we used to know and depend on. In Episode three, vendors check into the Bates Motel, hand over their MDF funds and may never have their channel marketing budget come out alive. Your Vegas hotel, those huge greens fees at the golf tournament, or sponsorships for that expensive cocktail party have been washed down the drain with very few partners that you hoped would engage actually selling your services. Now, you wake up in a cold sweat being chased by your management team, screaming that you don’t know what the ROI result is, and which partners were converted and what revenue is going to result from your efforts. Next it’s a cold Halloween night and you’re waiting in the Pumpkin Patch for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. But that never happens because you’re in episode 4 of the Nightmare on Channel Street. If you worry about trying to find partners to represent you in the channel, only to have your trick or treat bag filled with rocks, then you are not alone. The channel has expanded, the number of vendors has grown, and it’s much harder to get partners to pay attention with all of the noise in the channel. Trying to get people to pay attention to you can be one of the nightmares on Channel Street. And our final nightmare is entitled the Walking Dead. At first everything seems wonderful for you on Channel Street. Partners are throwing deals to you right and left, asking you for quotes and submitting deals. But then the nightmare begins. You’re working way too hard preparing tons of quotes for companies that are just plain wrong for your services. It’s a nightmare because your entire channel team is totally deployed chasing deals that will never convert, frustrating partners who don’t know which prospects meet your standards and being sucked into a never-ending quoting nightmare. So, if your channel program is caught in one of the Nightmares on Channel Street, what should you do? Hide in the graveyard of other channel programs hoping Freddy won’t find you? Run from the people trying to suck the blood out of your marketing budget? Or hope that the budget chainsaw won’t cut through your team when the results aren’t what management expected? Remember that in all horror movies, the bad guy always loses in the end. The nightmare is over, and the main characters live on to fight another day. So, what about the Nightmare on Channel Street? Well this is what we call in the MicroCast world, a cliff hanger. You’ll have to tune into this week’s Halloween MicroCasts to find out how you, as the main character in your channel movie, makes it past the partner snatchers, out of the Bates Motel, and avoid the Walking Dead to keep your channel program alive and well. This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’ve been listening to our MicroCast in the Convey Channel Partner special Halloween series.
MicroCast Halloween Special 2 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: Disappearing Commissions Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and yesterday we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We ... Halloween Special Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and yesterday we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, ruin your channel program and destroy revenue. Today we’re going to focus how you wake up from the nightmare, run away from the monsters chasing you to not only survive on Channel Street, but to thrive. Let’s focus on the problem of the disappearing commissions. We’ve seen the rapid pace of mergers and acquisitions in the channel, many of those deals financed through debt, saddling the company with large debt-service and interest payments. Take Windstream as a prime example. They snapped up smaller companies like Earthlink and went into debt to do it. You know the rest of the story; this year Windstream had to file bankruptcy in order to survive and protect itself. Now, enter the bankruptcy court, and that channel program lost a level of control over how partners got paid. Commissions became at risk, especially to those partners that stopped selling new Windstream accounts years ago. So how do master agents and partners protect themselves from this nightmare on channel street? Here are some ideas. First, diversify your provider portfolio. The first rule of business is not to put all of your eggs in one basket. Companies that have a top-heavy revenue stream tied up in only a few customers are those at most risk. Although you have your favorite providers, putting most of your revenue in one place elevates your risk. Beyond that, you may be missing new services, new strategies and new opportunities other providers might represent to you and to your customers. Next, upsell existing customers with additional services. If you’ve sold big network deals, you are likely making good commissions from those relationships. However, those companies have evolving technology needs that you can fill. If you affiliate with a master agent that is part of a master agent association like the Technology Solutions Exchange or the Alliance Partners, those master agents very likely own Convey Partner Portals. Inside their portal is a world of other cloud and technology services you can offer your customers to upsell to your customer base and continue to diversify your source of commissionable revenue, reducing your risk. And third, stay abreast of channel developments. Most of the struggles that vendors are facing in the channel are often reported on in the variety of channel publications and websites. Make sure to access those sites and read the tea leaves so that you are not surprised. If you know what might be coming with suppliers you work with, you can make more intelligent decisions about where to place your business so that it is in less jeopardy. The nightmare of being blindsided by changes in your provider’s business is one that can be avoided. Plan now to diversify the providers that you place business on, diversify your portfolio by upselling customers with new services, and stay informed about developments with the suppliers that you are working with. This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’ve been listening to our MicroCast in the Convey Channel Partner special Halloween series.
MicroCast Halloween Special 3 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: The Walking Dead – Bad Referrals Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified ... Halloween Special TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, can ruin your channel program and destroy your revenue. So many of you have seen the Walking Dead, that wildly popular series that has lasted for 9 years and filmed in the state of Georgia, Convey’s home. This episode of the Nightmare on Channel Street starts off easy enough. Partners are throwing deals to you right and left, asking you for quotes and submitting deals. But then the nightmare begins. You’re working way too hard preparing tons of quotes for companies that are just plain wrong for your services. It’s a nightmare because your entire channel team is totally deployed chasing deals that will never convert, partners are frustrated because they don’t know which prospects meet your standards and your channel is being sucked into a never-ending quoting nightmare. What looked like good deals are the now the “walking dead”. How can a channel program hold off those zombies and get deals that will actually convert? If you want to survive this episode, here is what you can do. Make sure that sales partners have a clear understanding of your ideal customer profile. If partners are sending prospects over to you and asking for quotes that never produce a deal, whose fault is it really? I’ve seen many channel programs complain about the wasted time in quoting bad deals, but not enough programs accepting that they were ones at fault because they never educated the partner on what types of customers are ideal for them. Partners need to understand what markets you are strongest in, the size of the company that is right for you, and what type of buyer inside that company you need to talk to. Convey had a vendor that was getting absolutely no traction with partners for their hosting solution. When we explored the type of customers they already had, we found out that 65% of them were healthcare organizations because of the HIPAA-compliant platform the company had. However, their healthcare market focus was never shared with partners, so they had no idea where to focus their efforts. Once partners were educated, the right deals began to flow through. Make sure your program has a clear understanding of the ideal partner you want to represent you. Not every partner that is out there has the customer base, technical expertise, or sales capacity to sell services, yet many channel programs cast a wide net then wonder why they are either ignored by partners or get the wrong referrals. Convey’s Channel program has over 23,000 sales partners that belong to 40 master agent portals but trying to influence and form relationships with all of them when selling your services that are only appropriate for some of them is a recipe for frustration and un-met expectations on both sides. And lastly, clearly define the rules of engagement for deal referral or getting a quote. Partners like a clear understanding of process. They have hundreds of vendor choices and if they are not clear about how to refer, how to ask for a quote, what information you want, and who to deliver it to, they will make up their own process. Consider formalizing your referral and quoting process by creating forms to add the information you care about. Set partners expectation about what you plan to do once you get their information so everyone is on board and on the same page.
MicroCast Halloween Special 4 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: Marketing Development Funds Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified nightmares ... Halloween Special Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, can ruin your channel program and destroy your revenue. Today we’re going to focus on vendors that checked into the Bates Motel, handed over their MDF funds, and thought they were getting the key to channel revenue, only to never come out alive. Your Vegas hotel bill, those huge green fees at the golf tournament, or sponsorships for that expensive cocktail party have been washed down the drain with very few partners that you hoped would engage actually selling your services. You try to wake up from the nightmare where you are being chased by your management team, screaming that you don’t know what the ROI is, which partners were converted and what revenue is going to result from your efforts. You are caught up at the Bates Motel in the Nightmare on Channel Street, but there are ways to make sure that your marketing development funds give you a provable ROI, don’t break your budget and produce partner relationships and customer referrals. Here are some thoughts. Don’t overspend on live events by changing your event strategy. Vendors tend to overspend on events by sponsoring a cocktail party, complete with a killer band, great drinks and in a cool venue. But those events often have other vendors clogging them up and little opportunity to engage directly with the partner that you want relationships with. Consider creating a niche event that is more innovative and creates an exclusive gathering that entices your partners to attend and because you view them as important in your go-to-market strategy. More intimate events that give the partner a personal experience and offer the channel team the opportunity to participate in activities directly with the partner are much less expensive than the big blowout. Think a Top Golf outing, wine tasting, or fireside chat with a local celebrity. And, don't feel you have to go it alone. There are vendors that offer services that are compatible vs. competitive to yours. Invite them to co-sponsor and add an educational component that is not product-focused but more industry and market focused. Create educational, virtual partner events that you can execute for a fraction of the cost of a live event. Webinars and podcasts continue to be a hot trend in content marketing. They are inexpensive and effective if they are done right. Make those events short and use your marketing budget to pay an industry thought leader to bring an expert or knowledge perspective vs. focusing on trying to sell your products and services over the web. People will come to hear the thoughts of people that are different and interesting. Think about the power of Ted Talks that attract massive audiences. Consider offering knowledge on the vertical markets your customers exist in, on selling strategies, and on strategies that partners can use in general to grow their business. Virtual events can be delivered with minimal marketing funds because there is no travel involved and no expense in finding a venue, paying for food and drinks, and those pricey giveaways. Execute a digital strategy to help sales partners market directly to their customers and prospects. Partners have spent years building customer relationships or creating contacts in their local marketplaces that could become customers. However, they don’t have the time, creativity or expertise to execute an effective digital marketing strategy. Allocate your MDF funds to reward partners who are willing to let you help them
MicroCast Halloween Special 5 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: The Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street . We identified ... Halloween Special Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you’re listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, can ruin your channel program and destroy your revenue. Today we’re going to focus on the “Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers. You used to go to Channel Partners in Vegas and there were thousands of partners wandering through the exhibit hall or attended regional meetings. Then, all of a sudden, the invasion of the partner snatchers descended on the channel and one by one those partners started disappearing snatched away and gone forever. If pods from outer space didn’t spirit partners away, then where did they go? The answer is complicated. People became agents years ago because they may have been in a company’s telecom department, then decided to branch out and start their own business. Many of these partners are now aging out, retiring, or just not active and they are being replaced by new partner models that may not be so obvious to you. So, what are vendors and master agents to do so they don’t experience the nightmare of the disappearing partner on Channel Street? Here are some thoughts: Diversify your partner base. If the only type of sales partner you have focused on is the telecommunications agent, you are missing a variety of other partner types that have the right customer base not only for network services, but for cloud and business as a service. And you may be putting your channel program at risk as your traditional partner base shrinks. Think about including managed services providers, value added resellers and IT service providers. After you do that, look around and consider less traditional partners that are calling on accounts with non-technology-based services. Here is an example. The other day I ate lunch with an insurance agent who is building a practice around commercial insurance for assisted living facilities. That person would make a great referral partner because those facilities need to upgrade their phone system, move applications to the cloud, use technology to make their buildings smarter, and network their locations together. He’s non-traditional but he’s calling on the right customers in a high-value target market. Once you diversify it’s important to understand the different type of partner models and how they function. Let’s take the managed services provider as an example whose business model is different than a telecommunications agent. An MSP owns the customer relationship because they not only manage their IT and network, they also invoice the customer for services rendered. MSPs will often step aside and let the vendor take the lead when it comes to selling services that they don’t have native expertise in, making them an ideal partner who wants a trusted relationship with a master agent or vendor and is willing to make the referral. It’s also important to learn where the new partner types hang out and plan to go where those partners congregate. If you expect these different partner types such as an MSP or VAR to haunt the hallways of Channel Partners in Vegas or other telecommunications-oriented events, think again. They will likely be elsewhere. Expand your presence at organizations like ASCII or shows like IT Expo to find other technology-oriented partners.

Lessons from Nick Saban Podcast Series


MicroCast Episode 22 - Lessons from Nick Saban MicroCast Lessons from Nick Saban This is the time of year when we get fired up about the college football playoffs, who is going to which Bowl game, and which teams will be in the elite four for a chance at the college football National Championship. Nobody in college football has been to the ... microcast MicroCast Lessons from Nick Saban This is the time of year when we get fired up about the college football playoffs, who is going to which Bowl game, and which teams will be in the elite four for a chance at the college football National Championship. Nobody in college football has been to the “big dance” more often and won more national titles than Nick Saban, the coach of the Crimson Tide of Alabama. Now, it pains me to say that because I’m a Georgia Bulldog fan, so Alabama is considered one of our arch enemies, and frankly, I’m tired of seeing them at #1 year after year. Of course, that pleases one of my colleagues Danny who not only is a “Bama Boy”, but also worships at the feet of Tom Brady. But when you have someone that is that successful, you have to take a look at what he does differently and think about what we might learn from his strategy, plan and process to see if there are some lessons we can apply to the channel. Here are four things I’ve researched that break down Nick Saban’s strategy to stay at number one that I think we can all learn from. It all begins with recruiting. In our channel, partner recruitment is an on-going process. Master agents want partners to sell through their contracts, and recruit based on their relationships with providers and what they can do for the partner that other masters can’t. Providers recruit partners to sell services in preference to those of their competitors. So, what can we learn from arguably one of the most successful college football coaches of all time about recruiting? Saban’s recruiting coaches are taught to have a conversation that goes somewhat like this, “This is who we are. This is what we do. This is what we’ve done. This is what we feel like we can do for you. This is what we feel like you can do for us. If you want to be a part of it, great. If you don’t, somebody else will.'” Imagine the clarity that gives a partner to know what your program can do for them, but what you expect in return. Saban never waits for players to come to him, he finds those hidden gems, recruits year-around, and knows he faces stiff competition from the likes of LSU, Georgia or Clemson. That lesson should translate to partner recruiting. You have to go out and find partners proactively and not depend exclusively on passive ways to get them to notice you. Advertise, offer incentives, host lunch and learns, be at regional meetings in order to find partners you want to work with. Next, perfect “the process”. Simply put, Saban shares that “The Process” is maintaining a relentless focus on things that we can control. It also means not being distracted by the opponent’s perceived strengths or the score, but rather do your job so that you can contribute what you have control over. How many times in your channel job have you gotten distracted over your development team missing a product release date, the reorganization that you think is coming to realign resources, or an install that is taking too long on that final circuit? Saban teaches his team that they are responsible for what they create, not what the other team has going on that they can’t control. Saban also breaks his process down into smaller parts so each routine is understandable, manageable and measurable. We develop software at Convey. No task takes our developers manage takes more than a day or two and each new feature is compiled of many smaller tasks that we can manage and measure to keep us on track. Those of us managing complex sales processes, commissions, installations or other processes in the channel should take a lesson from Saban’s playbook to take a big process, break it into its component parts then track and measure it. Use technology to gain a competitive edge. I was astounded to learn that Saban focused hard on technology to increase not only his players’ performances but increase fan loyalty. A few years ago, he installed a GPS tracking system to look at a player’s speed and acceleration during the season and in post season play. He used that data to change his practices post-season to keep his players fresh. He offered students a loyalty app using GPS again to see if they stayed through the fourth quarter. He viewed a full stadium as a competitive advantage, but when you are 50 points ahead, that’s harder. If you stayed, then you accrued points for early access to post-season tickets. In the channel, you have many ways to use technology to give your partner program a competitive edge and Convey provides quite a few of them. Take the data out of your systems to track partner behavior to see if it is what you are looking for. Make sure that all of your education, marketing assets and spiffs are online and easy to find. Automate your processes by investing in a PRM system to take the stress off your staff. Without technology to boost your program, your competitors will use it and overtake you. Develop bench strength by being an effective leader. Saban has produced more successful head coaches of other programs than anyone in the league. Kirby Smart was tapped as Georgia’s head coach three years ago. After a successful run at Colorado, Jim McElwain lead the Florida Gators, and Will Muschamp moved from Florida to South Carolina. Saban’s secret is to focus on developing leaders by exhibiting the leadership skills he wants his coaches to adopt. In the channel, we have many opportunities to lead our team and lead our partners to get the results we are looking for. Saban always lets you know that at the end of the day he’s the boss and is ultimately held accountable for results. Channel organizations need a strong leader that they can follow. Saban is known to be hyper-focused with a work ethic that is unparalleled with an eye on the ultimate prize, winning. Staying focused and minimizing distractions is critical to make sure you have the right orientation to keep your eye on the prize – revenue. Saban surrounds himself with talent, invests time in practicing and insists that everyone always look the part of a winner, even on game day. We can all do the same in our channel programs. Takeaway Saban’s Crimson Tide may not make the playoffs this year and another National Championship may elude them, but his process, strategy and work ethic will ensure that you can count on him to be at or near the top every year he coaches his team. For all of us in the channel, if we want to be at or near the top every year, we have to take the plays from Saban’s playbook. Focus on recruiting, understand and perfect all of your business processes, use technology to give your program a competitive edge and be the leader that your channel needs you to be. For all of you willing to do the work to run your program like Saban runs his, I salute you and give you a hearty “Roll Tide”.
MicroCast Episode 23 - Partner Recruiting Strategy - Another Lesson from Nick Saban Microcast Partner Recruiting Unless you are from Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, you may be getting tired of seeing the Crimson Tide of Alabama in the playoffs and as college football national champions year after year. For those who follow Nick Saban, he has many secrets to his success including ... microcast Microcast Partner Recruiting Unless you are from Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, you may be getting tired of seeing the Crimson Tide of Alabama in the playoffs and as college football national champions year after year. For those who follow Nick Saban, he has many secrets to his success including the undying support of his university and the alumni, a huge budget and good coaches. But many will argue that what really separates his outstanding football program is his focus on recruiting. Unlike other college programs who come in as cheerleaders for their school and tout how great they are, Saban and his coaches have another approach that is very factual, practical and direct. Recruiting coaches are taught to have a conversation that goes somewhat like this, “This is who we are. This is what we do. This is what we’ve done. This is what we feel like we can do for you. This is what we feel like you can do for us. If you want to be a part of it, great. If you don’t, somebody else will.'” In our channel, partner recruitment is an on-going process. Master agents want partners to sell through their contracts, and recruit based on their relationships with providers and what they can do for the partner that other masters can’t. Providers recruit partners to sell services in preference to those of their competition. So, what can we learn from arguably one of the most successful college football coaches of all time about recruiting? The first lesson is to target the right partners. Saban doesn’t want just anybody to play for Alabama. It has to be a win-win. He focuses not only on what Alabama can do for the player, but also what the player can do for Alabama. Master agents and providers need to define the characteristics they value in a partner and then target those that come the closest. Here are some questions to ask your program that help you recruit the right players: What type of customers are currently in the partner’s portfolio?How complex of a sales process does it take to win a deal? Some partners are not motivated for a long, strategic and large deal?What type of relationship does a partner need and want from you and is your program ready to support that type of relationship? You don’t need every partner to affiliate with you, only the ones that create a win-win relationship and score the touchdown and bring the deal in. Once you have defined the right partner, it’s time to narrow the field and focus your efforts. Saban and his coaches can’t scout at every high school football game, meet every parent or bring every player to campus. They have to focus their efforts to be effective. Once a partner program has defined the ideal partner they want to target, then the next step is to eliminate activities that produce partners that are not going to succeed in the program. As an example, if your deal is complex and you want a partner that understands security as a service, a program may want to target managed services providers, attend their events, and gear their marketing message to attract that type of individual. Define what you can do for your partner and what you need them to do for you. Back to Nick Saban. His conversations with prospective recruits was direct and to the point. “This is what Alabama can do for you AND this is what you can do for us.” In the channel, we often forget the part about what we want the partner to do for us. Partner programs should be clear about the benefits of their program, and most programs do this. But you also need to focus on the commitments you want them to make to you and be clear about that. Don’t wait for partners to come to you. Go to them. Although Alabama is an elite program, so is Georgia, Ohio State, LSU and Clemson. Saban and his team don’t lay back and hope players will notice them. He’s constantly looking for talent and when he sees it, he goes after it. That lesson should translate to partner recruiting. You have to go out and find partners proactively and not depend exclusively on passive ways to get them to notice you. Advertise, offer incentives, host lunch and learns, be at regional meetings in order to find partners you want to work with. And one final lesson from Saban; don’t make unforced errors. Being passive about recruiting is an unforced error that Saban would never make and neither should you. Another unforced error is to look for talent where everyone else is looking. Saban’s team is always looking for that hidden gem that other people miss. A great example is his 2019 quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a little-known player from Hawaii that has stunned college football with his talent. The channel is full of hidden gems because partners sometimes are found in the most unlikely places. And once you’ve recruited and the partner has signed up with you, constantly evaluate if you have recruited well. If partners aren’t producing, taking up too much of your resources, and constantly complaining, then your recruiting was off, and you should focus elsewhere. Takeaways Success in both football and in the channel begins with recruiting. Programs need to define the type of partner they are looking for, understand the win-win, particularly in what you want the partner to do for you, and commit to recruiting constantly trying to find those hidden gems. And once you’ve recruited what looks like a strong team, constantly evaluate those players to make sure there is still a fit. I’m a Georgia Bulldog fan, so Alabama is not exactly my favorite team, but when it comes to recruiting, I am going to give Saban and his coaches a big “Roll Tide”.
MicroCast Episode 24 - The Process - Another Lesson from Nick Saban Microcast The Process Because of his success winning national championships, Nick Saban is now the most successful active college football coach in history. He wrote a book called, “Think Like a Warrior” where he described what he calls “The Process” as his secret to success. ... microcast Microcast The Process Because of his success winning national championships, Nick Saban is now the most successful active college football coach in history. He wrote a book called, “Think Like a Warrior” where he described what he calls “The Process” as his secret to success. Simply put, Saban shares that “The Process” is maintaining a relentless focus on things that we can control. It also means not being distracted by the opponent’s perceived strengths or the score, but rather do your job so that you can contribute what you have control over. How many times in your channel job have you gotten distracted over your development team missing a product release date, the reorganization that you think is coming to realign resources, or an install that is taking too long based on that final circuit? Saban teaches his team that they are responsible for what they create, not what the other team has going on that they can’t control. So, when we look at Saban’s “the Process”, how can we apply this and other things that he’s doing to the channel? First, worry only about the things you have control over. Stress comes from things that we feel we can’t control. On game day, there are a million small things that happen on and off the field that could drive players and coaches crazy....the way the ref made that call...the dropped punt and turnover....the missed pass or fumble. The list is endless. Saban coaches his players and his staff to not consume themselves with things that they can’t control but focus on what they can deliver. If you are a channel manager, you have control over which partners you spend time with and how you teach them to interact with you. You can’t control how often they will refer deals and if those deal will translate to revenue. If you are in channel marketing, you can control the quality of your materials, campaigns you run or events you produce. You can’t control what partners will do with the materials you so carefully crafted. Next, organize the process by breaking it down into its component parts. Saban breaks his process down into smaller parts so each routine is understandable, manageable and measurable. We develop software at Convey. No task takes our developers more than a day or two and each new feature is compiled of many smaller tasks that we can manage and measure to keep us on track. Those of us in the channel managing complex sales processes, commissions, installations or other processes should take a lesson from Saban’s playbook to take a big process, break it into its component parts then track and measure it. Don’t get anxious about impending situations. How hard do you think it is to win in the SEC? You have a balanced league with teams like Auburn, Georgia, LSU and Florida who are perpetual powers. Saban is known to be hyper-focused with a work ethic that is unparalleled. He keeps his eye on the prize, winning, and doesn’t pay attention to those other teams that try and distract him or what they may do in the future. It’s easy to be distracted in the channel with one eye on the competition, the partner who is complaining the loudest, or with things that are not in your control. Staying focused and minimizing those distractions is critical to make sure you have the right orientation to keep your eye on the prize – revenue. Strive to be liked, but don’t obsess over it is another play in his playbook. Nick Saban may easily be the best coach in college football because he's got a keen sense of understanding that you become the best by hiring the best. Sometimes we fear hiring people that are better than we are because they might outshine us, replace us, threaten us or be better liked. If your channel program is going to grow, you have to develop “bench strength” in your channel managers, your marketing team and your support players. The best people that lead channel teams are also the most decisive. They don’t consume themselves if their decisions will make them more popular. They focus on if that decision is good for the business. I can’t imagine Saban obsessing over his popularity when it comes time to pick the starting quarterback or create his game strategy. Practice makes perfect, well almost. Saban knows that in football good practice helps Alabama perfect their plays and their skills. He expects 100 percent in every practice and focuses on those results as much as he does game results. Saban believes if you focus on the process it will get you the results. So how does that translate in the channel? Convey has done a number of lunch and learns and webinars where the presenter didn’t practice, hone their message, and focus on delivering good content. Those events often end up in boredom and disengagement. What about the channel managers who fail to learn their elevator speech about the program only to get tongue tied when they encounter partners at a trade show? I think you get the point. If it’s important, you should practice if you want to get the best result. Saban requires that players look the best because they want to be the best. I’ve been in Tuscaloosa and watched players walk from their hotel to the stadium to get dressed for the game. They wear suits, look like winners, and are professional. They stand out. So, in the channel, what style do you want your team to exhibit so it’s reflective of your personality and professionalism. I never like seeing channel team members looking out of step with each other by being overdressed or underdressed when they are at events. I helped a vendor at a Vegas channel show who had rented the largest booth and bought his team coordinating outfits for each day. Yet, they showed up wearing whatever and looked like they didn’t belong together. The personality that was conveyed was lack of unity, professionalism and lack of teamwork. Takeaways One of the key elements that has made Nick Saban successful is that he commits to a process that helps him stay focused and keeps his team and coaching staff undistracted. Others can understand that there is a process for everything, and processes are understandable because they are broken into smaller parts. He doesn’t worry about what other teams are doing and stays focused on the Crimson Tide. And he’s not threatened by talented coaches on his staff or that his decisions will make him less popular. Channel teams should have a process that they articulate to their team members that help them focus on their job and what’s in their control, focus on processes that will make them and their partners successful, not worry too much about competitive moves and make decisions without fear that are in the best interest of the program and their partners. Do this and you’re on your way to a winning channel program.
MicroCast Episode 25 - Leadership Counts - Another Lesson from Nick Saban Microcast Leadership Counts Nick Saban, legendary football coach at Alabama, has produced more successful head coaches of other programs than anyone in the league. Kirby Smart is leading the Georgia Bulldogs, winning his SEC division 3 years in a row and already having an appearance in the ... microcast Microcast Leadership Counts Nick Saban, legendary football coach at Alabama, has produced more successful head coaches of other programs than anyone in the league. Kirby Smart is leading the Georgia Bulldogs, winning his SEC division 3 years in a row and already having an appearance in the National Championship. After a successful run at Colorado, Jim McElwain lead the Florida Gators, and Will Muschamp moved from Florida to lead South Carolina. The list goes well beyond these standouts as Saban has created a machine for producing successful football leaders. Saban’s secret is to focus on developing leaders by exhibiting the leadership skills he wants his coaches to adopt. In the channel, we have many opportunities to lead our team and lead our partners to get the results we are looking for. Let’s look at Saban’s leadership strategy to see what we can learn from it. At the end of the day, Saban is still the boss and he maintains authority at all times. Watch Saban in a press conference and you’ll see that he is clearly the one in charge and also the one that is accountable if things don’t go Alabama’s way. Knowing that there is a leader in charge of a master agency, a sales partner organization or a provider’s channel program who is willing to step up and be clear about their guidelines, their program and the results inspires confidence in others. Take a lesson from Curt Allen who navigated his Windstream channel program through bankruptcy. You could look to Curt and recognize who was the “leader” in the Windstream channel. Surround yourself with the right people. The results say that Nick Saban is easily the best coach in college football, but he's got a keen sense of understanding that you become the best by hiring the best. He's not afraid to align with prominent personalities and talents as assistant coaches and coordinators because he realizes they can make the difference. If you are in a leadership position in the channel, hire talented people that you can develop into leaders. Then demand excellence. Make sure that the people you invest in are worth it because you only have so much time to spend developing those leaders. Focus on the process over the outcome. Great leaders are fascinated by the process and followers tend to be obsessed with the outcomes. This may be the defining factor between a successful leader and an unsuccessful one. Saban immediately goes back to work after winning a National Championship. Championships are one-time events, but processes are repeated. You’ve seen football teams luck into a win and have setbacks in a game that produces a loss. But processes are a constant and not just a one-time thing. Our teams, businesses, and lives are defined by the processes we choose, so consider being driven to have the right processes in the channel that create success. That might include the process to sell your services, the process to recruit partners or the processes to ensure that customers are happy with you. Leaders know how to adapt and adjust. I will never forget the National Championship game where Georgia faced off against Alabama three years ago. I was there, sitting in the stands at Mercedes Benz stadium cheering on the Bulldogs thinking we had the game in hand after a great first half. But then Saban adapted and adjusted pulling out his starting quarter back and putting in his backup Tua. You know the rest as Alabama went on to win in double overtime. In the channel, good leaders have to show their teams how to adapt to changes, the competition, changing partner needs, and the list goes on. Channel leaders adjust to make sure their program evolves and is healthy. Inspire confidence in your people by sticking to your guns. People may not know that Saban was fired at Ohio State before he got the job at Alabama. Saban, then an assistant coach, was adamant that Ohio State needed to recruit players for what he believed to be the next trend in college football, the passing game. The head coach disagreed, but who was right? Saban won a string of National Championships while Ohio State’s coach, Earl Bruce faded into obscurity without a winning track record. Good leaders are decisive, stick to the decisions they have made, and inspire people to come along with them even though their decisions may come with a level of controversy. Being confident in your decisions inspires others to have confidence in you. Leaders dress the part. Saban was an assistant coach at Navy and was the only coach on the team who wore a suit around campus and in meetings. He was dressing for success early and that tradition at Alabama stays today. He wears suits on recruiting trips to make sure parents see him as that leader. He also expects his players to dress for success. They wear suits, look like winners, and are professional. This is a lesson you can take to the channel. Make sure that you as the leader set the tone for how you want your people to look when they are with partners, at trade shows, or at events. You are conveying how you want your channel program to be viewed and that looks mean a lot. Takeaways If you are leading a channel team as a master agent, a provider or in your partner organization, it’s up to you to be a leader so that your organization knows who to follow, what you expect, and how to be successful. Nick Saban surrounds himself with talent and shows them how to succeed by modeling the right processes, adjusting when change is needed, and inspiring confidence in others. He looks like a winner, acts like a winner and is a winner.
MicroCast Episode 26 - Gaining an Edge - Another Lesson from Nick Saban Microcast Gaining an Edge This year Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide will not be making an appearance in the college football playoffs thanks to Auburn’s stunning victory in the Iron Bowl. But you can count on Coach Saban to be there just about every other year. He has many secrets to ... microcast Microcast Gaining an Edge This year Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide will not be making an appearance in the college football playoffs thanks to Auburn’s stunning victory in the Iron Bowl. But you can count on Coach Saban to be there just about every other year. He has many secrets to being at the top including the undying support of his university and the alumni, a huge budget and good coaches. We have focused our college football MicroCast series on why he has been so successful, and today’s episode is about Saban’s willingness to use technology to get an edge. A few years ago, Alabama began using a GPS system to track the performance and workload of its players. Without getting too technical, this GPS system tracks a player’s top speed or acceleration in practice with his past performance. Saban is looking to see if that player is getting worn out during the season. Alabama lost to Clemson in the final minute of a national championship game, prompting Saban to consider that his team was tired. Once he started using the GPS system to crunch the number, the data showed that the Tide had a performance drop off in post season, so Saban adjusted practice to keep his players fresh. So, if we take a play from Saban’s playbook and use technology to get an edge in our channel program, what technology should we be looking at and how can using that technology help us recruit better, run our program better and get more deals? Start by using the data to be analytical about the ROI for each partner you work with. I’m sure Saban’s GPS was relative complex, but once he used it after losing to Clemson, he won the national championship the next year after adjusting his strategy. Your program likely has quite a bit of data that you need to use to determine what adjustments should be made in your partner strategy. Look at the number of referrals and quotes to closed deals to see if the partner is sending in junk or real opportunities. Look at what it is costing you to recruit and support a partner and adjust if the cost is too high. Geolocate where you have the best partner traction and spend more time going to those locations. If you are in the Convey Channel program, run a catalog report to see which partners are engaged and what they interact with. Create digital experiences that engage partners when you’re not with them. You’ll never have enough staff, money or time to go everywhere and that’s where digital experiences come in. Technology, particularly Convey’s Channel program and partner portals, enable you to educate partners online, be present when partners are doing their research and starting their journey to find the right services and ensure that they are aware of your latest and greatest financial incentives. Use technology to automate your processes. Channel programs have a lot going on, never enough money and almost always are understaffed. One way to get around this dilemma is to invest in a partner portal to make your staff more efficient and do more with less. If you were using one of our portals, we would automate partner onboarding, managing your data, regular messaging and outreach and provide assets for marketing and campaigns. Without automation, your program will never grow and may even have a hard time being relevant and surviving. Leverage technology to make sure partners show up. Saban believes that a full stadium is essential to keeping player morale up and winning games. However, when the Tide is far ahead by halftime, students tend to leave, and the stadium starts to empty. Technology has stepped in to encourage students to stay longer with an app called “Tide Loyalty Points”. If students stay through the 4th quarter, they earn points toward priority access to post-season games. I’ve been to a number of partner events that sponsoring vendors spent big dollars on just to hear crickets when partners fail to show. Or webinars that they work hard on that has only a few people there. Leveraging technology can get partners to show up. Drip email marketing campaigns with registration links get partners to notice you, then register their commitment to be there. Consider adding text reminders that are opened within a few seconds of being received. Convey is working on launching that technology early next year. Or get creative like Saban with an app and “loyalty points” for participation that can be translated into prizes. Takeaways Many people may think that a GPS-tracking system to monitor a player’s steps or technology to track students and motivate them to stay for the whole game is over the top. But you can’t argue with Saban’s success. Technology is simply a tool for partner programs to leverage. Take the data out of your systems to track partner behavior to see if it is what you are looking for. Make sure that all of your education, marketing assets and spiffs are online and easy to find. Automate your processes by investing in a partner portal to take the stress off your staff. Here’s another “Roll Tide” to Alabama for being forward-thinking, using technology tools, and staying ahead of the competition.

Press Releases


Press Release UCaaS Solutions Enhanced by Digital Engagement Platform from Cloud Conventions Digital Engagement, Enterprise Connect, Ucaas
Press Release Cloud Conventions Launches Virtual Event Network Solution for Enterprise Business Enterprise
Press Release Cloud Conventions Announces New Virtual Event Management Platform Capabilities cloud conventions
Press Release The 2021 American Thoracic Society Virtual Event American Thoracic Society
Press Release Cloud Conventions Releases New eBook for Associations Detailing 2021 Virtual & Hybrid Event Outlook Associations
Press Release Cloud Conventions & MCI Group Partner with Medical Professionals to Deliver Virtual/Hybrid Events hybrid events, MCI Group, Virtual Events
Press Release Convey Services Launches Cloud Exhibit Atlanta, GA — November 17, 2020 — Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit™, a universal, portable, virtual exhibit environment that improves branding, and enhances attendee experience, when exhibiting or sponsoring ... Portable Virtual Booths, Virtual Events Atlanta, GA — November 17, 2020 —Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit™, a universal, portable, virtual exhibit environment that improves branding, and enhances attendee experience, when exhibiting or sponsoring any virtual event, regardless of the platform used by the tradeshow or conference. Cloud Exhibit is the digital version of a custom trade show booth that companies can use to showcase their products and services at dozens of different events and conferences, selectively displaying from a collection of formats and assets to match every audience. With Cloud Exhibit you can own a branded, content-rich exhibit environment connecting attendees to a custom experience.
Press Release Daniel Gaston Promoted to Vice President at Cloud Conventions/Convey Services Atlanta, GA — August 13, 2020 — Convey Services, parent company of Cloud Conventions a full featured virtual event technology solution today announced the promotion of Daniel Gaston to Vice President of Business Development. Gaston is chartered with developing and expanding the marketplace for ... Daniel Gaston Atlanta, GA — August 13, 2020 — Convey Services, parent company of Cloud Conventions a full featured virtual event technology solution today announced the promotion of Daniel Gaston to Vice President of Business Development. Gaston is chartered with developing and expanding the marketplace for virtual events, creating both a direct and channel focus to offer capabilities to event managers, associations, nonprofits, tradeshow operators and channel resellers.
Press Release InterAct Unveils Addiction Support Platform to Address Opioid Crisis in Rural America Atlanta, GA — August 12, 2020 — InterAct LifeLine, today launched the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform, an addiction education knowledgebase designed to support Rural Health Initiatives at the federal, state and local level. The Opioid Resource Platform delivers patient and family support ... Opioid Crisis Atlanta, GA — August 12, 2020 — InterAct LifeLine, today launched the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform, an addiction education knowledgebase designed to support Rural Health Initiatives at the federal, state and local level. The Opioid Resource Platform delivers patient and family support tools and telehealth resources to provide relief from the opioid crisis in rural communities where access to treatment is often unavailable. The InterAct platform complies with HIPAA regulations and ADA accessibility and is custom branded for state, regional, municipal or school districts, along with private treatment programs. Each portal is connected to a centralized online library populated with current educational resources on a wide range of drug-related topics, family support and wellness strategies. Community organizations can use the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform to connect and refer individuals to local resources, community contacts and virtual support groups.
Press Release Cloud Conventions Supports ADA Requirements for Virtual Event Accessibility Atlanta, GA — August 11, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution supports ADA requirements for accessibility to help event operators accommodate people with disabilities and avoid increasing legal action being taken against failure to provide ... ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act Atlanta, GA — August 11, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution supports ADA requirements for accessibility to help event operators accommodate people with disabilities and avoid increasing legal action being taken against failure to provide attendees easy access to content and programming. As most tradeshows, conferences and association events transition from live to virtual in response to COVID-19, accessibility is often overlooked when making the switch. Event planners who normally take steps to ensure their in-person events accommodate people with any level of handicap, are often unaware that virtual events must meet the same requirements.
Press Release Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Can be More Effective at Connecting Buyers & Sellers Atlanta, GA — August 7, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution delivers an effective means for suppliers to continue to move merchandise by providing better connection to buyers in a content rich virtual environment. Annual or regional ... Sale-focused Atlanta, GA — August 7, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution delivers an effective means for suppliers to continue to move merchandise by providing better connection to buyers in a content rich virtual environment. Annual or regional tradeshows and industry conferences have traditionally been the primary way suppliers connect to their wholesale marketplace, educating buyers on new products, introducing the latest trends and receiving orders for merchandise for upcoming selling seasons. In a digital environment, Cloud Conventions is improving the overall sales process by better showcasing suppliers and their products, providing increased promotional opportunities and stronger connections with buyers, brokers and distributers in thousands of vertical markets in the U.S. and internationally.
Press Release Cloud Conventions Integrates Virtual Event Platform with Zoom Video Webinar Atlanta, GA — August 6, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today announced the integration of Zoom Video Webinar to automate scheduling, participant entry into sessions and delivery of meeting data into the platform’s reporting engine. ... Zoom Video Webinar Atlanta, GA — August 6, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today announced the integration of Zoom Video Webinar to automate scheduling, participant entry into sessions and delivery of meeting data into the platform’s reporting engine. Zoom Video Webinar has become a preference for tradeshow and conference organizers that need to engage a larger audience, deliver more formal presentations or have to validate attendance for continuing education credit (CE, CLE, or CME). Cloud Conventions is a new virtual event SaaS platform from Convey Services.
Press Release Cloud Conventions Unveils 360 Degree Virtual Experience Atlanta, GA — August 5, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today unveiled its new 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ for exhibitions, conferences or association events. The 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby is an ... 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ Atlanta, GA — August 5, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today unveiled its new 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ for exhibitions, conferences or association events. The 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby is an option that allows an attendee to dynamically move through a panoramic view of the exhibition hall with custom graphics linked to exhibit and sponsor booths, the auditorium for speaker and keynote sessions, agendas and social events. The 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall provides the event host with greater opportunities to promote sponsors and exhibitors and can be updated daily to reflect the changing face of any event.
Press Release Cloud Conventions Creates Dedicated Team to Support Virtual Events for Associations & Nonprofits Atlanta, GA — August 5, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution now has a dedicated team of event managers to support virtual events and conferences for professional associations and nonprofits. Members of the new group have hands-on experience ... Associations Atlanta, GA — August 5, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution now has a dedicated team of event managers to support virtual events and conferences for professional associations and nonprofits. Members of the new group have hands-on experience in working with associations, nonprofits and management firms to translate formerly live conferences into virtual events using the Cloud Conventions platform.
Press Release Local Firm Capitalizes on Growing Demand for Virtual Events & Tradeshows As COVID-19 Changes The Face Of Business Roswell, GA — August 4, 2020 — Local technology firm, Convey Services discovered a huge new market for their online portal solutions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their online portals were originally built for sales engagement, but Convey recently introduced Cloud Conventions, a ... Roswell Roswell, GA — August 4, 2020 — Local technology firm, Convey Services discovered a huge new market for their online portal solutions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their online portals were originally built for sales engagement, but Convey recently introduced Cloud Conventions, a virtual event platform that is changing the way people connect at tradeshows, conferences or expositions from the comfort and safety of their home. Today the Cloud Conventions business is growing rapidly, delivering virtual events in dozens of different markets around the world.
Press Release Virtual Wine Tastings Elevate the Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Experience Atlanta, GA — July 30, 2020 — Tradeshows, conferences and events around the world are coming up with new ideas, like virtual wine tastings, to enhance the experience as the growing list of live shows convert to virtual in 2020 in response to COVID-19. Virtual wine tastings are the perfect ... Sommelier, Virtual Wine Tastings Atlanta, GA — July 30, 2020 — Tradeshows, conferences and events around the world are coming up with new ideas, like virtual wine tastings, to enhance the experience as the growing list of live shows convert to virtual in 2020 in response to COVID-19. Virtual wine tastings are the perfect ending to a day of educational sessions and sales promotions. It gives event sponsors a strategic way to get in front of an exclusive audience, promote social interaction and highlight the sponsor’s connection to attendees.
Press Release Cloud Conventions Expands Registration Capabilities with 3rd-Party Providers Atlanta, GA — July 28, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today expanded its capabilities to offer connections to two new external registration technologies, providing additional options to register attendees for virtual conferences or ... Registration Atlanta, GA — July 28, 2020 — Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today expanded its capabilities to offer connections to two new external registration technologies, providing additional options to register attendees for virtual conferences or association events. The first in a series of integrations are with Experient, a division of Maritz Global Services and RegFox, a California-based registration company. Cloud Conventions is a virtual event SaaS platform from Convey Services.
Press Release Cloud Conventions Unveils Connected Event Networks for Virtual Conferences & Trade Shows Atlanta, GA — July 15, 2020 — Cloud Conventions today unveiled new event management technology that connects multiple virtual conferences or trade shows from a centralized hub allowing events with unique identities to share a common set of exhibitors, sessions or content. This Industry-first ... Hub & Spoke, Networked, Virtual Event Atlanta, GA — July 15, 2020 — Cloud Conventions today unveiled new event management technology that connects multiple virtual conferences or trade shows from a centralized hub allowing events with unique identities to share a common set of exhibitors, sessions or content. This Industry-first solution allows trade associations, companies and large event operators to produce several related events from a single administrative portal that maintains and updates content or session catalogs and exhibitor booths and selectively updates portals in the network. Cloud Conventions is a full featured virtual event SaaS technology from Convey Services.
Press Release Cloud Conventions Virtual Trade Show Platform Delivers Automation to Convert a Live Event into a Virtual Conference or Expo Atlanta, GA — June 17, 2020 — The Cloud Conventions Virtual Trade Show and Conference Platform from Convey Services is bringing new capabilities to a marketplace looking for solutions to replace the thousands of live trade shows, annual conferences and association meetings cancelled in the ... cloud conventions, Virtual Event, Virtual Tradeshow Atlanta, GA — June 17, 2020 — The Cloud Conventions Virtual Trade Show and Conference Platform from Convey Services is bringing new capabilities to a marketplace looking for solutions to replace the thousands of live trade shows, annual conferences and association meetings cancelled in the wake of COVID-19. Originally launched as ConveyLive, Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, attendee registration, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics that improve ROI.
Press Release Convey Announces Cloud Conventions 2020 Atlanta, GA — March 11, 2020 — Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled Cloud Conventions 2020, the largest virtual trade show in the telecommunications and cloud industry with over 30,000 sales partners invited to attend. The event goes live from May 11-14, 2020, hosting ... Press Release Atlanta, GA — March 11, 2020 — Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled Cloud Conventions 2020, the largest virtual trade show in the telecommunications and cloud industry with over 30,000 sales partners invited to attend. The event goes live from May 11-14, 2020, hosting industry and business speakers, roundtable discussions, content, education and event-only financial incentives. Attendance at Cloud Conventions 2020 events is free for qualified agents, VARs, MSPs, master agents along with vendors and IT services providers. The program combines live speakers, event-only promotions, live chat, discussion forums and on-demand content to give attendees an interactive educational experience. “Cloud Conventions 2020 has been in the works for months, but in light of the disruption and cancellation of live shows caused by the Coronavirus, a virtual event provides an opportunity for telecom/cloud vendors to connect one-on-one with sales partners from across the country, without the risk and expense of travel,” said Carolyn Bradfield, founder of Convey. “Convey Services has the largest partner audience subscribed to its network of online portals for master agents, vendors and sales partners making Cloud Conventions one of the best opportunities in the industry to make valuable connections.” Vendors and sponsors will offer registered attendees special promotions not available outside of Cloud Conventions including a virtual swag bag of Spiffs, gifts and prizes. Industry speakers and session leaders will hold live discussions of technology and industry trends along with new and emerging services. Other business experts will present creative, low-cost strategies to help partners acquire and retain customers, provide vertical market insights, tactics to run channel businesses more efficiently along with unique subjects, like how to value and sell your channel sales practice. “Cloud Conventions goes beyond what you would expect in a typical live event because we add experts in sales and marketing, growth hacking, cyber insurance, and a host of other business-related topics exclusively for channel sales partners,” added Bradfield. “Cloud Conventions is an unprecedented opportunity for vendors to elevate their brand, raise their profile and promote themselves before, during and after the event. Sponsorship packages will offer services to engage selling partners and to create additional value for exhibitors and sponsors.” Cloud Conventions provides attendees with technology to schedule meetings with sponsors and exhibitors, participate in live chat, and manage events and meetings using a personalized calendar along with text reminders. Peer discussion forums will help sales partners interact and exchange ideas. When the live event closes, the Cloud Conventions portal will remain active so attendees can revisit virtual booths, watch recorded speakers, access content and connect with sponsors and vendors for the remainder of 2020. Registration for Cloud Conventions opens on Monday March 16th and interested vendors can request information about virtual exhibit and sponsorship opportunities by contacting info@cloudconventions.com. About Convey Services Convey Services delivers content and marketing portals and connects them into networks to inform, educate and engage channel partners and direct sellers in the telecom/cloud space, the property and casualty insurance market and food distribution industry. Convey’s portal technology automates and organizes partner management, has tools to engage and educate partners and integrates email marketing technology for members to run packaged email marketing campaigns to their customers and prospects. For information visit www.conveyservices.com, info@conveyservices.com or call 888-975-1382. Press Contact Bruce Ahern — (770) 580-0810 Chief Marketing Officer Convey Services bahern@conveyservices.com
Press Release Convey’s Launches Conduct Email Marketing Campaign Technology in Full Release Atlanta, GA — March 27, 2019 — Convey Services today announced the full release of Conduct™ Campaign, the email marketing solution that distributes drip campaigns created in a centralized portal and delivered to portals connected to the network. Previously released in beta, Conduct is ... Conduct, Press Release Atlanta, GA — March 27, 2019 — Convey Services today announced the full release of Conduct™ Campaign, the email marketing solution that distributes drip campaigns created in a centralized portal and delivered to portals connected to the network. Previously released in beta, Conduct is integrated with every Convey portal platform and can deliver 4 outbound emails, a sign-up page or referral link. Contacts are added by each individual portal member and their lists are secured with Convey's proprietary ListLock™ technology. Campaigns are distributed to portal members who can schedule them to run without additional customization.
Press Release Convey Launches Partner Program for Portals and Portal Networks Atlanta, GA — March 20, 2019 — Convey Services today launched its new channel program for agents or sales partners to refer or resell Convey’s Content and Marketing portals and portal networks along with supporting services. Convey is providing an unprecedented opportunity for partners to ... partner program, Portals Atlanta, GA — March 20, 2019 — Convey Services today launched its new channel program for agents or sales partners to refer or resell Convey’s Content and Marketing portals and portal networks along with supporting services. Convey is providing an unprecedented opportunity for partners to help their customers reduce the high cost and time drain of designing, engineering and launching a web portal solution to support sales, operations or membership.
Press Release Convey Expands Networked Portal Solutions for Channels Atlanta, GA — March 7, 2019 — Convey Services today announced expanded availability of its portal technology to increase the efficiency of content and marketing delivery and enhance member engagement. Convey is rolling out its networked portal solutions as stand-alone partner relationship ... Portal Networks, Portals Atlanta, GA — March 7, 2019 — Convey Services today announced expanded availability of its portal technology to increase the efficiency of content and marketing delivery and enhance member engagement. Convey is rolling out its networked portal solutions as stand-alone partner relationship management (PRM) systems, customer resource centers, internal knowledge centers, and membership platforms. Convey’s portal networks are currently deployed in the telecommunications, cloud & IT services industry, property & casualty insurance, and foodservice distribution.
Press Release Convey Introduces Channel Accelerator Program to Deliver Channel-Ready Solutions to Master Agents & Sales Partners Atlanta, Georgia – April 11, 2018 — Convey Services today introduced the Channel Accelerator program to deliver new telecom, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and other related business services to the telecom/cloud channel through the Convey network of master agents and their 20,000+ sales ... channel accelerator Atlanta, Georgia – April 11, 2018 — Convey Services today introduced the Channel Accelerator program to deliver new telecom, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and other related business services to the telecom/cloud channel through the Convey network of master agents and their 20,000+ sales partners. Channel Accelerator (www.channelaccelerator.com) screens new providers, then helps structure their marketing, compensation and support programs to make them channel-ready. The Program provides master agents with the ability to sell services under a single Channel Accelerator agreement. It complements the IoT Channel Accelerator (launched in March) and is designed to expand the categories of vendor and providers that can participate.
Press Release Convey Services’ New Portal Technology Delivers Foodservice Content Directly to Restaurant Operators Atlanta, GA — March 16, 2017 — Convey Services, in partnership with Trackmax Solutions, a leader in distributor-focused profit improvement software, today released a customer-facing online resource center enabling foodservice distributors to deliver supplier product information, training ... foodservice, Portals Atlanta, GA — March 16, 2017 — Convey Services, in partnership with Trackmax Solutions, a leader in distributor-focused profit improvement software, today released a customer-facing online resource center enabling foodservice distributors to deliver supplier product information, training videos, recipes, rebates and coupons directly to restaurant operators, hotels, hospitals, catering and schools. This new solution, marketed as ‘ProfitMax’ and ‘Convey for Foodservice’ provides a direct connection between foodservice suppliers and operators to improve education, product knowledge and share ideas to help operators grow their business. Suppliers subscribe to the service through their distributor to fund the program.
Press Release Convey Redefines Content Delivery with ‘Platform as a Profit Center’ Solutions Atlanta, GA — April 28, 2016 — Convey Services introduces Platform as a Profit Center (PaaPCTM), an online solution that redefines cloud-based content and training delivery, turning a technology expense into a revenue generator. PaaPC is designed for organizations that have an audience that ... Platform as a Profit Center, portal, profit center Atlanta, GA — April 28, 2016 — Convey Services introduces Platform as a Profit Center (PaaPCTM), an online solution that redefines cloud-based content and training delivery, turning a technology expense into a revenue generator. PaaPC is designed for organizations that have an audience that will pay for content or training, or have suppliers that want access to sales agents and revenue producers who need information about products and services. Convey hosts and delivers content, training, promotions and events allowing multiple individuals or groups to update the platform. PaaPC solutions reduce or eliminate the cost of deploying online content and training delivery or generate profit through the sale of catalog subscriptions, memberships, advertising, content or training.
Press Release Technology Solutions Xchange Joins Convey Vendor Match Louisville, KY — August 26, 2015 — Technology Solutions Xchange today joined with Convey Services to offer new online vendor portals for master agents in the TSX Members’ consortium. TSX Members is part of a growing list of master agents and telecom service providers on Convey Vendor Match, ... Master Agents, TSX Louisville, KY — August 26, 2015 —Technology Solutions Xchange today joined with Convey Services to offer new online vendor portals for master agents in the TSX Members’ consortium. TSX Members is part of a growing list of master agents and telecom service providers on Convey Vendor Match, an online program that connects carriers, vendors and suppliers with agents and value-added resellers.
Press Release New Features Expand Vendor Marketing in Convey Atlanta, GA — October 15, 2014 — Convey Services today released an expanded range of features for Convey, the online Partner Engagement Platform for channel sales. The new enhancements include advertising, catalog banners, and catalog informational pages designed to increase a vendor’s ... Advertising, banners, Catalogs, marketing, pages Atlanta, GA — October 15, 2014 — Convey Services today released an expanded range of features for Convey, the online Partner Engagement Platform for channel sales. The new enhancements include advertising, catalog banners, and catalog informational pages designed to increase a vendor’s ability to market their products and services to the channel. This expanded marketing suite provides increased promotional opportunities, better viewer engagement, and directs viewers to current product updates, promotions and available training.

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