Continue the Conversation

It’s always a great high to come off a successful conference — particularly if you’re the one putting it on. The spring 2009 Channel Partners Conference & Expo exceeded our expectations. We had prepared ourselves and our exhibitors and sponsors for a smaller show considering all the travel cuts companies are making due to the recession. But that’s not what happened. The attendance rivaled past spring shows, and the channel partner attendance was up 29 percent.

It’s great to have the statistics, but they merely back up what the participants already knew: This was a successful event.

If you think I am bragging, that’s not my intention. Show organizers can only do so much to set the stage and provide the right opportunities. In the end, it’s the participants — exhibitors, speakers and delegates — that determine its success or failure.

One thing we, as the hosts, did right was engage the agent community in unprecedented ways. For example, we had an entire track — the YOU Track — that was suggested and voted on by past partner attendees. The result was five hours of the “most valuable programming” according to channel partners. The attendance at these sessions bore out that claim.

We took some ideas from our Advisory Board members. While they review and approve all the sessions, they had some suggestions of their own. One of those was Channel Ethics 101. Board member Adam Edwards, CEO of Telarus, can lay claim to that one. It turned out to me one of the hottest topics at the event — thanks in no small part to pre-show buzz in the blogosphere.

We also were able to capitalize on other hot blog topics. Selling on price comes to mind. Bill Leutzinger of TelecomMedic and Bill Taylor of Corporate Ladders took opposing views on this topic in their blogs at www.phoneplusmag.com/blogs/peertopeer. The debate was popular online and made for a great point-counterpoint in Vegas.

In addition, we put the channel partners front and center in the agenda with the general session roundtable featuring not vendors but owners of channel partner organizations. Their advice about how to maintain and grow business during a downturn kept several hundred attendees in their seats for more than an hour.

They were able to build on that discussion at the first-ever Peer-to-Peer Networking Mixer for independent agents and subagents. More than 100 agents turned out. While it was a bit of an experiment, early reviews are that it was a valuable forum and that it should be not only repeated but expanded for future shows.

There are nearly six months until we meet again in Miami for the fall 2009 Channel Partners Conference & Expo, Sept. 21-23. So, in the meantime, I will invite you to continue the conversation at LinkedIn. PHONE+ has started the Channel Partners Network. In less than two months, the community has 450 members. It’s early days, but they’ve all come there for a reason — they want to connect with their peers. The discussion boards are starting to light up. Having been a member of more mature groups, I know that there is a genuine professional and business development opportunity for those who want to join the conversation.

I’m there every day. Join me by going to LinkedIn, clicking on groups and requesting to be a member of the Channel Partners Network. Or, e-mail me and I’ll send you an invitation.

See you there.