2012 Pre-Conference Workshops

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 • 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Workshop 1: CompTIA Cloud Workshop: How to Sell & Market Cloud Solutions

The Cloud is everywhere and your clients are getting bombarded with ads and information daily. It's no longer a matter of IF they will move to the Cloud, but WHEN. This Cloud Channel Training Workshop, led by CompTIA, is intended to help solution providers take advantage of the substantial business opportunities in delivering Cloud solutions to customers, and to help them recognize the differences between selling traditional software licenses and offering cloud services.

Workshop attendees learn how to develop a successful services practice in support of Cloud solutions by leveraging best practices on how to both market and sell Cloud solutions and manage ongoing customer relationships. It’s time to learn how to position your business to profitably convert clients and prospects to the evolving Cloud services in order to attract and close more contracts.

Workshop includes:

Sales Execution

The sales execution module helps you gain a better understanding of how to build a successful cloud business practice; recognize some of the differences associated with selling traditional software licenses and cloud services; develop the knowledge to make decisions on how best to approach sales in the cloud environment; and understand the best practices from experienced cloud solution providers on sales and sales organizations.

Marketing

The marketing overview helps you understand the implications of cloud computing on your marketing strategy and to align marketing goals, tactics and investments with a new cloud services sales model. Explore various marketing approaches to cloud solutions, discuss marketing messages, learn how to target new buyers, review marketing tactics and walk away with a marketing readiness checklist.

The Cloud is not one offering or service, but a number of Web-based applications and platforms that offer a great opportunity for solution providers. Acquiring education on Cloud computing including sales and marketing offers actionable steps to multiply opportunities for solution providers and IT channel leaders who are attracted to this emerging technology delivery model.

Workshop 2: 12 Critical Steps to Evolve Your Sales Model to Meet Today’s Business Climate

Do you have the people, processes and plans in place to move your business and sales organization to the next level for 2012 and beyond? This half-day sales workshop is intended for owners, dealers and sales executives who are ready to take a deep dive to identify the best processes to move their business forward. Our three dynamic speakers will provide techniques and strategies during an interactive workshop that will send you back to your dealership or business with an action plan to implement for an immediate impact. To increase business growth and profitability you must have the right people, the best process, and a credible plan to effectively succeed.

Steps 1-5: the right PEOPLE - How to Lead Your Business and Sales Team through Change
Presenter: Sally Brause, Director, Human Resources Consulting, GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation

As the needs of your customer base have evolved, so has your business through more sophisticated product and services offerings. The changes bring challenges for you and your employees. Very little happens to move your business forward and grow revenues without the support of your employees. Sally Brause will provide practical steps to help business leaders embrace the changes required for incorporating MPS, managed IT services or other value added solutions in the imaging channel. Learn how to: create a case for change; engage your employees in that change; understand the employee attributes necessary for change; assess employees for those attributes; and handle difficult conversations when some are resistant to change.

Steps 6-10: the right PROCESS - Improvise, Adapt and Overcome: Successful Solutions Sales Models
Presenter: Sarah Henderson, Director, MPS Operations, West Point Products

Today’s customer is more sophisticated with the growth and implementation of Managed Services offerings. As business owners and sales leadership, you need to better understand how to adapt to this change and align your organizational leadership, marketing message and sales process for not only Managed Print Services but other value-added solutions being introduced to the market. Hear examples of how dealers have evolved their business to embrace a solutions-focused sales model. Regardless of which stage you are at in the implementation process as a solution provider, we will address key metrics for program success and offer additional strategies to increase profitability within your program.

Steps 11-12: the right PLANS - Managing Your Staff to Call on the C Level & the Sales Steps to Call on the C Level
Presenter: Kate Kingston, President, Kingston Training Group

Learn  what you need to do to guarantee that your sales force is focused on net new revenue by speaking to the right customer: scheduling more C-Level, vertically-focused, and total technology solutions meetings every week. For selling to C-Level Executives, we’ll show you:

• How much activity you can expect.
• What an hour of good phone prospecting looks like.
• How to build a successful talk track.
• What impact emailing is having on meetings at the C-Level.
• How many calls it should take to land a meeting, as well as industry averages across the country.
• How your dealership stacks up to your competition.

Plan right now to beat your competition out of new business today, and in the future.

Workshop 3: New Trends in Technology: Moving Beyond MPS