Insights from the team at ResourceiT www.resourceit.net/blog Thu, 23 February 2012 00:00:00 Thu, 23 February 2012 00:00:00 Katherine Wolfe-Barry /blog/insights-blog/2012/february/going-to-market-with-intune We're at Microsoft today, running a workshop for Microsoft partners on building a Windows Intune proposition. Windows Intune is Microsoft's subscription-based (Cloud) PC Management tool. In this workshop we'll be sharing our experience on the best approach to market, looking at why customers buy Intune and how partners can best sell its value. Included in the session is a tour of the Microsoft training, sales and marketing materials available to partners. If you are interested in selling Intune, read on for links to content on the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) and Microsoft site, including videos on the benefits of Intune and a raft of sales and marketing content in the Partner Marketing Center. The video ' Windows Intune Explained in 4 Minutes ' is well worth a watch! Back at the ranch, we've been running a campaign to test the Windows Intune messaging and deliver leads for Intune partners. We've uncovered some cracking leads and there are certain messages that really stick!  Because it is web-based, it is a great fit for companies who need to manage mobile or distributed workers' PCs - removing the problem of PCs not being attached to the network. One of the most recent leads was from an IT Manager who liked the idea of the bundled tools and simplified subscription model. With a product that is so new to the market, partners have a few things to think about before starting to promote their Intune offering. We are finding people who have heard of Windows Intune but awareness is still building. Because of this and the subscription model, partners may need to revisit their marketing and sales approach. A low-touch, broad-reach model is a good fit for the likely size of opportunity. If you are going to market with Windows Intune, think about your target customer, their needs and what you can offer them that sets you apart from competitors. Here are some links to help you build your offer: Partner Marketing Center http :// www.partnermarketingcenter.com Demo Showcase Suite http:// demoshowcasesuite.com/Theme/ThemePage/windowsintune Learning Plan Tool http:// www.microsoftlearningplans.com/ViewPlan.aspx?package=570 Customer Lifecycle Management https:// partner.microsoft.com/uk/40180766 Windows Intune Website http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windowsintune/pc-management.aspx Windows Intune FAQ http:// www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windowsintune/faq/default.aspx Video - Windows Intune explained in 4 minutes http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzzjrlGxYKM  Video - Benefits of being a Windows Intune customer http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUfnMbD9hUU /blog/insights-blog/2012/february/going-to-market-with-intune /blog/insights-blog/2012/february/going-to-market-with-intune Thu, 23 February 2012 00:00:00 Katherine Wolfe-Barry /blog/insights-blog/2012/february/unlocking-the-boardroom-how-do-you-sell-to-the-cxo ...and why. Driven by partner demand, we're delivering a workshop for Microsoft today on 'Unlocking the Boardroom and Selling Systems Management to the CXO'. You can invest a lot of effort in selling to the IT Manager or IT Director. Without buy-in from the very top, all your hard work can be lost with a  'No' from the ultimate decision maker. There are all sorts of benefits to be gained from a strategy of selling to the CXO (CIO, CTO, CFO etc): a bigger commitment, more money on the table, a faster sales cycle, a stronger relationship with the business and much more certainty of closing the sale. Today's session happens to be focused on System Center and Virtualisation, but the challenges can equally apply to other technologies where you need to translate a complex technical message into 'must-have' business benefits. It's all too easy to be pushed back to IT when the business benefits aren't truly understood. This might also be more your comfort zone. But who do you really need to convince? Who ultimately holds the budget? What will give you the biggest revenue opportunity? So, what is stopping you reaching the board? Taking System Center as an example, you have a product that simplifies so many aspects of managing a company's IT. At a very high level, this means cost reduction and better support for business growth. Surely the CXO wants to hear about this. The challenge is twofold. First you have a complex technical message that you need to translate into a strategic business message. Then you need to convince the CXO to talk to you - rather than all of the other suppliers who want a piece of his or her budget. What are the issues facing CXOs? Business growth, managing talent, cost optimisation, innovation, government regulation. These are big, broad challenges. Even if, as is the case with System Center, this is something you can help with, you would probably feel a bit daft going to a CXO and asking "Can I help you with innovation?" You're also unlikely to get much attention. You need to fix the thing that keeps the CXO up at night. These are the more specific 'private' issues that are causing the real pain. How can the business hang onto its margins? How can it avoid or manage redundancies? How does it handle the never ending stream of regulatory and compliance requirements? There are two options for getting to the CXO. One is to try going straight to his or her door. But this is going to take a long time and mean a lot of knocking. Do you remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? Slow and steady wins the race. Another approach is to use your existing contacts in IT to find an advocate who will take you on the journey up to the CXO - getting buy in from other stakeholders as you go along. This is called 'Socialising the Need'.  If you gather evidence along the way to help you understand strategic private issues you will be well armed when you reach the boardroom door. Always talk business issues - not product and solution. You will close opportunities faster this way. If you do want to go for the more direct approach there are some other steps that you must take. Do lots of research to make sure you have a full grasp of the pressing issues. Use your connections to help you open the door. You will need to demonstrate how you can help and prove it through knowledge and credibility. Remember to take your IT contact with you - they are your advocate and have a big stake in what you're selling. If you're keen to explore this further, here are some useful links to help you develop your solution sales approach: Online sales training: https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/app/management/LMS_LearnerHome.aspx   Solution Accelerators for System Center https:// partner.microsoft.com/UK/salesmarketingsection/40078234   Role-based sales training for partners with the Virtualisation competency http://assets.msleap365.com/content/lpguid/htmh/C5E4E3F129A9478BBDE41CD8099478E9.htm   CIO customer assessment tool http://cloudassessment.cloudapp.net/GeneralSurvey/UserLanding   Private cloud assessment tool http://www.cloudassessmenttool.com/ /blog/insights-blog/2012/february/unlocking-the-boardroom-how-do-you-sell-to-the-cxo /blog/insights-blog/2012/february/unlocking-the-boardroom-how-do-you-sell-to-the-cxo Thu, 09 February 2012 12:31:00 Julie Simpson /blog/insights-blog/2012/january/happy-new-year Hello and welcome 2012! Here are just a few reflections on the past year here at ResourceiT and of course our plans for 2012… SharePoint! SharePoint! SharePoint! Microsoft's fastest growing product since Windows went to new levels of deployment and upgrade.  Thanks to a fabulously crafted marketing approach by the ResourceiT team (led by Rebecca Little) and Mark Johnston and Alistair Rees, we have generated a record-breaking number of SharePoint project opportunities during this quarter.  Thanks to all the partners who have helped to make this one of the most successful marketing projects we have delivered in our career so far! Hitting the ground running with Microsoft Unified Communications Our support of Polycom and its Microsoft partnership saw Polycom win the Microsoft UC Innovation partner of the Year award at WPC in LA, and become one of the first Microsoft Gold UC competent partners, globally. Talking of WPC, it was great to see Westcon as sponsors of the Microsoft UK lounge. Even better was seeing  Guy Koster and Pete Woodhams dressed as Maverick and Goose from Top Gun (hilarious) at the UK party. A huge thank you to Microsoft UK for supporting this.  We have been working closely with Steve Tassell and the Microsoft UC team to deliver a variety of very successful marketing campaigns with UC partners. These have resulted in an impressive pipeline of Lync Server opportunities due for close before the end of the financial year.  Side by side with Microsoft's Tony Cocks and Malcolm Bullock, we've worked hard to recruit some hard core Ci**o partners across to Microsoft - and followed through by helping the new recruits to grow their Microsoft UC business by delivering "UC Sales Accelerators" (brainchild of Garry Corcoran and his Discover Demo Deal approach). We do love a competitive win. Training Microsoft PAMs throughout Europe One of the most strategic new partnerships we have developed this year has been with the Rudow Group. We have built a team of very high quality and experienced trainers to confidently and expertly deliver Rudow content for "Achieving Strategic Alignment with your Partners" to most Microsoft PAM's across Europe. This has been a lighthouse project for us - from Prague to Moscow, Madrid to Warsaw we have visited virtually every Microsoft sub-office in Europe. The positive feedback received for our skilled training team combined with the depth and quality of Rudow content have been literally off the scale.  We are thrilled to see so many comments from Microsoft PAMs who have been in a position to apply the learning. Congratulations to Toni Kent, Tony Robinson and Paul McAdam at ResourceiT for a job very well done.  Thanks also to John Rudow for giving us the opportunity to work with him and a big pat on the back for John Rose (ResourceiT Head of Marketing Strategy) for his excellent management of this strategic project.  We look forward to deliveries in APAC and the rest of EMEA in 2012. So what are we planning in the next 12 months? 2012 will see us significantly develop our offerings in a number of areas.  It's all about the web Digital Marketing Services and Online Reputation Management will be critical to our clients in the not too distant future (if not already).  We believe that the web is one of the biggest marketing tools of today - and without focus in this area more and more businesses will struggle to grow and develop.  We have worked hard to research and develop our digital offerings throughout this year to ensure that they we will deliver value and will be launching some exciting new services for Microsoft partners in the New Year.  Watch this space. Remember it's your customers that pay the bills Our Customer Surveys have proved invaluable to partners throughout 2011 and we have every intention of continuing this service in 2012.  We speak to your best customers on your behalf, find out how they view your services, why they selected you as a supplier and what they like and what don't like about working with you.  For what is a relatively small investment, this service has delivered deep and unique insight enabling partners to truly cement customer relationships and get direct feedback on what they are like to work with - the perfect platform for growth. Helping you make money in the Cloud Head in the clouds or in the sand?  Transforming an existing "services based" business to a commodity business remains a challenge for most businesses right across the IT channel.  We have seen a multitude of "transformation" or "strategy" offerings being delivered by various organisations in our sector (some more successful than others) but when all the talking and planning is done, how are you actually going to move your business forward?  Taking our highly successful and proven Value Proposition process we have adapted and developed it to meet the needs of partners who want to develop a Cloud-based proposition and business practice.  Whether it's Office365, Windows InTune or SQL Azure that fits your business, we have deep and insightful experience to share for any Microsoft partners keen to explore the Cloud opportunity. Wishing you a very Prosperous New Year! Julie /blog/insights-blog/2012/january/happy-new-year /blog/insights-blog/2012/january/happy-new-year Mon, 02 January 2012 00:00:00 Julie Simpson /blog/insights-blog/2011/december/thank-you-and-goodbye-2011 Hello and welcome 2012! Most successful businesses (particularly those within the technology sector) are heavily focused on the future: what we can do to grow market share, develop our offerings, become more profitable or win more clients? That said, during December we inevitably find ourselves thanking our customers and partners for all their support and we can't help but think about the year gone by.  Here are just a few reflections on the past year here at ResourceiT and of course our plans for 2012… 2011 - Our absolute highlights of 2011 SharePoint! SharePoint! SharePoint! Microsoft's fastest growing product since Windows went to new levels of deployment and upgrade.  Thanks to a fabulously crafted marketing approach by the ResourceiT team (led by Rebecca Little) and Mark Johnston and Alistair Rees, we have generated a record-breaking number of SharePoint project opportunities during this quarter.  Thanks to all the partners who have helped to make this one of the most successful marketing projects we have delivered in our career so far! Hitting the ground running with Microsoft Unified Communications Our support of Polycom and its Microsoft partnership saw Polycom win the Microsoft UC Innovation partner of the Year award at WPC in LA, and become one of the first Microsoft Gold UC competent partners, globally. Talking of WPC, it was great to see Westcon as sponsors of the Microsoft UK lounge. Even better was seeing  Guy Koster and Pete Woodhams dressed as Maverick and Goose from Top Gun (hilarious) at the UK party. A huge thank you to Microsoft UK for supporting this.  We have been working closely with Steve Tassell and the Microsoft UC team to deliver a variety of very successful marketing campaigns with UC partners. These have resulted in an impressive pipeline of Lync Server opportunities due for close before the end of the financial year.  Side by side with Microsoft's Tony Cocks and Malcolm Bullock, we've worked hard to recruit some hard core Ci**o partners across to Microsoft - and followed through by helping the new recruits to grow their Microsoft UC business by delivering "UC Sales Accelerators" (brainchild of Garry Corcoran and his Discover Demo Deal approach). We do love a competitive win. Training Microsoft PAMs throughout Europe One of the most strategic new partnerships we have developed this year has been with the Rudow Group. We have built a team of very high quality and experienced trainers to confidently and expertly deliver Rudow content for "Achieving Strategic Alignment with your Partners" to most Microsoft PAM's across Europe. This has been a lighthouse project for us - from Prague to Moscow, Madrid to Warsaw we have visited virtually every Microsoft sub-office in Europe. The positive feedback received for our skilled training team combined with the depth and quality of Rudow content have been literally off the scale.  We are thrilled to see so many comments from Microsoft PAMs who have been in a position to apply the learning. Congratulations to Toni Kent, Tony Robinson and Paul McAdam at ResourceiT for a job very well done.  Thanks also to John Rudow for giving us the opportunity to work with him and a big pat on the back for John Rose (ResourceiT Head of Marketing Strategy) for his excellent management of this strategic project.  We look forward to deliveries in APAC and the rest of EMEA in 2012. So what are we planning in the next 12 months? 2012 will see us significantly develop our offerings in a number of areas.  It's all about the web Digital Marketing Services and Online Reputation Management will be critical to our clients in the not too distant future (if not already).  We believe that the web is one of the biggest marketing tools of today - and without focus in this area more and more businesses will struggle to grow and develop.  We have worked hard to research and develop our digital offerings throughout this year to ensure that they we will deliver value and will be launching some exciting new services for Microsoft partners in the New Year.  Watch this space. Remember it's your customers that pay the bills Our Customer Surveys have proved invaluable to partners throughout 2011 and we have every intention of continuing this service in 2012.  We speak to your best customers on your behalf, find out how they view your services, why they selected you as a supplier and what they like and what don't like about working with you.  For what is a relatively small investment, this service has delivered deep and unique insight enabling partners to truly cement customer relationships and get direct feedback on what they are like to work with - the perfect platform for growth. Helping you make money in the Cloud Head in the clouds or in the sand?  Transforming an existing "services based" business to a commodity business remains a challenge for most businesses right across the IT channel.  We have seen a multitude of "transformation" or "strategy" offerings being delivered by various organisations in our sector (some more successful than others) but when all the talking and planning is done, how are you actually going to move your business forward?  Taking our highly successful and proven Value Proposition process we have adapted and developed it to meet the needs of partners who want to develop a Cloud-based proposition and business practice.  Whether it's Office365, Windows InTune or SQL Azure that fits your business, we have deep and insightful experience to share for any Microsoft partners keen to explore the Cloud opportunity. And finally... A Christmas update wouldn't be complete without some thanks and appreciation to some of the people and businesses that have supported us, believed in us and worked with us to achieve exponential growth this year - long may it continue. In no particular order a HUGE ResourceiT thank you to: Microsoft UK Ltd - without the individuals who work with us on a day to day basis and the backing of the business at an Exec level we simply wouldn't be achieving as much as we are for ourselves, for Microsoft or for our clients.  There are far too many people to mention everyone here but we feel a special, special thank you is due to:  Mark Johnston, Alastair Rees, Lara Kingwell, Alex Smith, Hela Giddings, Steve Tassell, Garry Corcoran, Lisa Dawson, Jeni Hunter, Daniel Langton, Ed Anderson, Tony Cocks, Malcolm Bullock, Kevin Leif, Ewan Dalton, Richard Watson, Julian Datta, Hayley Rixon, Shaun Frohlich, Nickie Wing, Howard Lewis and Caroline Smith. iTeam - our FABULOUS IT support partner - we couldn't do it without you. The CRM business - our FABULOUS CRM partner - we couldn't do it without you either. Lane Mornington Wells - never under-estimate the value of your accountants. Penningtons - or your solicitors. ProActive - stunning performance and support this year from our best data provider and business partner. Vizioz and Little Big Ideas - we just love our new site, thank you for bringing our vision to life. Dom Hay - you are great. Gabriella Ladogana - so are you. And to all employees, partners and associates - you are all amazing and your passion and commitment to the ResourceiT business is genuinely appreciated. Thank you. Wishing a very Prosperous New Year to all! Julie /blog/insights-blog/2011/december/thank-you-and-goodbye-2011 /blog/insights-blog/2011/december/thank-you-and-goodbye-2011 Tue, 20 December 2011 14:15:00 Katherine Wolfe-Barry /blog/insights-blog/2011/november/what-is-a-battle-card As part of our Microsoft Alliance services we create battle cards for partners. They're a really useful thing to have but, perhaps unsurprisingly, the question we often get back is not 'Why?' but 'What is it?' We're certainly not into trading card games or 'scratch and slay' games with warrior cards, which is what you'll find on Wikipedia if you search under 'battle card'. So if they're not 'warrior cards', 'spell cards' or 'advanced combat cards', what are they? Think of a battle card as a quick reference guide. You would use it to promote your business within Microsoft with a snapshot of strategic wins, areas of expertise and, the big one, licence revenue generated or influenced. You could argue that if we keep getting asked what a battle card is, we should call it something different. And maybe that is something we will think seriously about. The battle cards that we produce are all about helping you get attention with Microsoft. Not strictly doing battle! And we certainly don't think you should see it that way - perhaps another reason to change the name (although the name came from Microsoft in the first place and it's always good to use terms that make sense to the audience). As with everything else with Microsoft, the key to a battle card is to focus. Look at where you can show real value (licence revenue, high profile customer wins, niche expertise) and demonstrate a really strong case - it's your one page showcase! Like any 'weapon', a battle card is not much help if you don't know how to use it. Your battle card is only going to be of value if you have a clear idea of who it's for and what you want to achieve.  Get your battle card in front of the right people at Microsoft (the people you can help, and who can help you) and you're on to a winner. Back to the name. I actually think it give creates a sense of purpose and determination. So, on reflection, let battle commence! /blog/insights-blog/2011/november/what-is-a-battle-card /blog/insights-blog/2011/november/what-is-a-battle-card Thu, 24 November 2011 17:20:00 Katherine Wolfe-Barry /blog/insights-blog/2011/october/pinpoint-it's-not-all-about-you! I've spent a lot of time recently researching partners' Pinpoint listings. There are some really strong profiles with lots of customer reviews, but there are plenty of others that fall a bit flat. I do wonder whether some partners are unclear about whom they are talking to when they write their listings. Yes, you want to be at the top of the listings. And rightly, you have put effort into building keywords into your copy and hopefully getting lots of ratings and reviews. But have you thought about who is reading your profile? What are your prospects most interested in? Themselves, of course. They don't need to hear how great your company is, how much experience your consultants have, nor even how may competencies you've got. What they really want to know is how you can help them - they're looking for tangible evidence. Good reviews will help here. Your prospects will see that you've helped customers like them and that those customers are 'delighted' with the results. But what else could you be doing? Focus . If you focus on core services, applications or industries, your prospects are not only more likely to find your listing, they're also more likely to think "these people understand me." Stand in your prospect's shoes . What is he or she looking for? What does he or she care about? You can bet it's not about why yours is the best company with the most badges. He or she cares most of all that you can give them the benefits they're after. Talk to them . Drop the jargon, talk to the person who is reading (the one person who is reading it there and then) and tell them how you can help. And keep on talking . With more than a dozen opportunities to link your profiles back to your company web site, you've got a great opportunity to carry on the conversation. Keep the content on your landing pages relevant and targeted and you're on to a winner. More leads your way Microsoft recently published some visitor number: the UK site is getting on average 31,000 visitors per month, 33% of whom go on to engage with a partner. In fact, the number of prospects generated is likely to be even higher because this number doesn't take into account the people who pick up the phone. If you're feeling a little frustrated that these leads aren't coming your way, then it's worth spending time on getting your profile focused, up to scratch and up the rankings. Make sure you get your customers to review you - either your company profile or individual applications and services. More and more frequently, our clients are getting phone leads from entries that we have worked on together. So, when the phone rings, don't forget to ask where they got your number. /blog/insights-blog/2011/october/pinpoint-it's-not-all-about-you! /blog/insights-blog/2011/october/pinpoint-it's-not-all-about-you! Thu, 20 October 2011 09:36:00 Julie Simpson /blog/insights-blog/2011/july/musical-jobs-at-microsoft-uk It's that time of year again when all our favourite folks at Microsoft move around to take on new challenges.  Here are some of our latest insights on who's doing what and going where and what that means to you ... Terry Smith moves to Microsoft Corporate... After  a significant (ahem) number of years as Senior Director Enterprise Partners, we are losing our very well-known and respected Terry to our colleagues across the pond as Global Alliance Director for Accenture and Avanade.  Terry is to be succeeded in the UK by Nina Sundberg who has worked at Microsoft since 2004 in a variety of roles, latterly as Director of Windows.  Nina has been a strong role model and mentor for many key people at Microsoft and comes with amazing credentials.  We are sorry to lose you Terry and wish you lots of luck, but are looking forward to seeing the impact Nina's new approach and ideas will have on the EPG business. Janet Gibbons takes up the reins as Director of Partner Strategy and Programmes... We were all waiting with baited breath to see who was going to be successfully appointed into this role following Clare Barclay who has taken a maternity break before she returns as Director of SMB shortly.  There was a lot of speculation a month or two ago and we (like a number of Microsoft people) are really excited to see this decision happen.  For those of you that don't know her, Janet worked for a number of years very closely with Scott Dodds (previous leader of SMS&P, now Head of BMO).  Janet's appointment has been a very popular decision internally and with partners, and from the conversations we had with Janet at WPC we can clearly see why.  The ultimate professional, Janet is very fortunate to be supported by an excellent Senior Team and is no doubt going to be very visible to SMS&P partners during FY12.  Janet, we salute you … Simon Gautrey, becomes Chief of Staff for SMS&P... Wow!  Sounds important... Previously Microsoft UK Cloud Lead, Simon's new appointment essentially puts him in the position of supporting Barry Ridgeway as he strives to motivate his side of the company (Microsoft UK's SMS&P staff and partners) to contribute to Microsoft UK's ambition of becoming a $5bn business within 3 years (that more than double the size it is now).  A winner in 2011 of Microsoft's coveted Worldwide Circle of Excellence Award Simon is one of the most highly respected Senior Managers within the SMS&P team.  Well known for his honest and direct communication skills and unparalleled insight and ability to see the best in people, Simon's envious talent for managing and motivating teams we are sure will make a big difference internally and externally in a very short time.  Congratulations Simon. Peter King takes over as SMB Cloud Lead... Stepping in to fill a big pair of shoes that we just know Peter's feet are definitely big enough for - Pete moves into this role after 5 years as Office Server Group Manager.  Microsoft's focus on driving its channel to embed Cloud offerings in their portfolio of products and services remains a big challenge, but with Office365, InTune and Dynamics CRM to get his teeth into and more products no doubt on the way, we can see Pete making some significant changes to how Microsoft supports its partners to build successful Cloud practices.  Hold on to your hat with this one … Alex Smith moves to become Microsoft Cloud Sales Manager… No longer tasked with recruiting and supporting partners as they create and launch Cloud business models, Alex' new role means that he owns Microsoft's SaaS business in the SMB sector.  Working with those partners that are actively selling cloud services, including top performing VAR's, Distribution and scale partners he will be focused on supporting the organisations that have proven ability in selling and promoting Cloud services.  A seasoned technical sales and marketing professional whose varied successful career at Microsoft was preceded by roles at partners, Alex is well aware of the challenges faced.  Armed with his extensive experience and well respected internally and externally, partners we are sure will see a significant difference in the growth of Microsoft's Cloud business in the SMB space during FY12 - it's a tough job and we have no doubt he is the best man for it… Nickie Wing appointed as Partner Segment Strategy Manager... Yes, that's a big title which translated means that Nickie will be responsible for marketing for the SI UK partner base of 12,000, setting the Microsoft SI partner strategy and key objectives to ensure partners are focused in the right way on the right things, for everyone's maximum commercial gain.  Also supporting the Channel Recruitment team to identify and recruit new partners, in her spare time Nickie is responsible for what is known as delivering "outreach to Corp", meaning she will be giving and receiving feedback from the UK to MS Corp, ensuring wherever possible the UK is aware of the most up to date best practices and innovation being applied across the globe. Phew!   And last but most certainly not least… Daniel Langton promoted to Marketing Manager for Medium Business... One of SMS&P's unsung hero's Daniel is a significant rising star in the business.  After three years as Channel Marketing Manager responsible for the MPN Programme sales, marketing and community engagement, Daniel has seen this area through some challenging times as Microsoft implemented new competencies and changed the qualifying criteria.  With a great belief in Microsoft's need for UK wide contact with partners, in his previous role Daniel worked tirelessly to ensure Microsoft focused on regular and consistent regional events, leading the charge in the creation and delivery of the Regional Business Briefings as well as being a big contributor to the UK presence at WPC.  With a new role that focuses on customer marketing communications as well as partners it won't be long before we start to see the impact Daniel has in this area of the business.  Definitely a big star of the future and one to watch… (remember where you heard that)   /blog/insights-blog/2011/july/musical-jobs-at-microsoft-uk /blog/insights-blog/2011/july/musical-jobs-at-microsoft-uk Tue, 26 July 2011 12:18:00 /blog/insights-blog/2011/july/wpc-survival-guide-in-7-simple-steps Having attended WPC for more years than I care to remember, I have been asked by lots of partners to share some hints and tips on how to make your attendance really count for something. Here goes… 1: Get registered immediately on WPC Connect if you haven't already. This is the place whether other conference attendees will find you and you can find them. Searching for people and scheduling a meeting is dead easy - the tool Microsoft has invested in is nowadays very intuitive and straightforward, and much better than it has been in the past. Do an Advanced Search for people that have mentioned the competencies you are interested in (either from Microsoft or from partners) and when you request a meeting be really clear as to what is in it for them to attend. Sending a Connect request that talks all about you, and is clearly a "sales meeting request" isn't that compelling. Allow yourself 15 minute slots in between scheduling connect meetings, as it is a HUGE area of connect tables and it can take a good few minutes to get from one side to the other - give yourself a 15 minute gap between connect meetings would be my advice.  2. Attending the Keynotes should be mandatory for everyone IMHO. Get there early as the doors are locked once the session starts. Microsoft does lay on breakfast within the convention centre, so you can easily grab a fresh juice and a pastry, find a seat and be all ready in good time to take it all in. There is no substitute for hearing the presentations from Steve B, Kevin T, Jon Roskill and all of the Senior Execs - this is the genuine "straight from the top" stuff and if you listen carefully to what is being said, you will be very well placed to align your business opportunities to the key messages you will see and hear.  3. Be selective about the individual sessions and take some time to plan your diary carefully in advance of going along. There are 100's of sessions happening throughout the conference, and a lot of work has been put in to match the content and delivery with the type of partner you are, your individual role and your technology focus and ambitions. Have a good search through all of the sessions and make a shortlist of "must attend". If there are more than one of you going, spread out and meet up at lunch to share what you have picked up and recommend individual sessions to your colleagues.   4. Dress code. It is tempting I think to really dress down. That's fine but there is a line between being comfortable and looking scruffy. Shorts, scruffy combat trousers, washed out polo shirts and so on just say "I'm sloppy" - most Microsoft people always look good and create a smart, together impression - its easy not to think this matters, but I think it does. Ladies, the key thing for us is shoes. Don't wear new shoes for sure as there is loads and loads of walking to do, something that is comfortable but smart and I would avoid really casual things like flip flops - we are all still at work, after all.  5. Find out where your country's lounge is , near the connect area and pay a visit early on. That's where you will find the Microsoft people from your own country or region, and can ask anyone any questions you have ore advice you may need. The Microsoft people attending are there to help as much as they can and will always be happy to answer questions and give you advice if asked. Don't abuse them though - remember there are nearly 15,000 people going this year and the ratio of partner attendees to Microsoft people will mean they are stretched like a piece of elastic whilst they are there.  6. When you go out in the evenings, ALWAYS have business cards with you and a pen. I find I meet some great people out for dinner or drinks and then look at all the cards the next day and can't remember who was who. As someone gives you a card, write a couple of words on it that will help you recall who they were and what you discussed. Trust me, this technique is a life saver..  7. And finally...Keep front of mind, why you are there . Whoever it is that has sponsored you to go is going to be keen to see that their investment was worthwhile. Don't forget that, make it ... /blog/insights-blog/2011/july/wpc-survival-guide-in-7-simple-steps /blog/insights-blog/2011/july/wpc-survival-guide-in-7-simple-steps Thu, 07 July 2011 09:55:00