VAR Marketing

Twittering 101 Marketing Guide for the Channel

How Many Channel Partners Are Twittering Yet?

eCoast recently conducted a small Channel Social Media study and discovered about 30% of channel partners said they are using Twitter. Although not statistically significant by any means, 30% was higher than I would have guessed.

With all the media hype, you probably feel like you already missed the boat if you don't have a Twitter account. If you are a channel partner, you think differently don't you? If it's not generating revenue, why bother? For one thing, you'll impress everyone in corporate channel marketing at Cisco, IBM, Avaya, EMC, Microsoft etc. Many of their executives are on it too...more JMF anyone? :)

I'm not going to try and persuade you to get on Twitter. There are pluses and minuses as I've learned in using this tool. I'll save them for another blog. However, if you are ready to start exploring, here's a Twitter 101 Marketing Guide for Channel Partners.

1. Create a profile and update your description with keywords about your services, technologies, expertise. (people will search on these within Twitter)
2. The actual Twitter site is actually not as good as using applications. I recommend downloading TweetDeck to use to manage your Tweets.
3. Once you set-up your account, go to a site called WeFollow.com and list yourself in categories like cloud computing, virtualization etc.
4. Oh, and I know you guys are right brained, but you need to pimp out your Twitter background. You will get more followers.
5. I would not use all these auto-follow tools. You end up following too many random people. Here's a good site to start following people.... http://virl.com/250.htm.
6. I've relapsed several times and gotten on and off the Twitter bandwagon. Don't feel bad if you do the same.

If you've read this far, follow me @eCoastWillyg. This will then force me to get back on the Twitter bandwagon.

All this social media stuff can get overwhelming, eCoast is developing some social media starter kits designed exclusively for channel partners. More on that to come.

Have you started yet?

If not, sign up for our highly attended social media 101 webinar https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/630206626

Are Managed Services the New Channel SMB Superman?

Will managed services save the SMB VAR Community from the evil economic environment?

Can VARS use managed services as the silver bullet to overcome a customer’s lack of capital investment in IT?

I was speaking with a managed services SMB partner last week and he didn’t even care if the economy improved. He actually thought it might be better for him if the economy got worse!!! Maybe managed services are the silver bullet?

To paraphrase my managed services VAR conversation, getting a customer to see an ROI on a 50k Unified Communication deal with professional services tacked on is just not happening today. Soft productivity savings is a tough sell in today’s environment.

However, talking to the business decision makers (operations, finance) about cost savings, doing more with less and they start to perk up. Managed services are definitely not an IT Manager sale since it would be a threat to their employment. This reminds me of the early days of IPT when we’d try and sell IP Telephony to a telecom manager for some big enterprise customer with a legacy PBX. It's not the most well received message.

Managed Services really seems like a no brainer. Operational Expense vs. Capitol Expense. However, before you claim victory, do managed services play to the average VAR's strengths? Is it too cookie cutter for the technically inclined VAR to really get fired up about without adding in a bunch of high-end professional services? Does the small VAR have the sales engine needed to grow managed services beyond word-of–mouth and referrals? The jury is still out on that one.

For more juicy gossip on managed services and the technology community in general, check out the VAR Guy. He’s the Perez Hilton of managed services.

Outbound Marketing Webinar – Optimizing Your Campaign

What I’m not going to talk about:
Web 2.0, Twitter, Viral Video, YouTube, Flicker, Facebook, LinkedIn, Delicious, StumbleUpon, Blogging, Google, Google Adwords, Pluke (made that one up), etc.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think all these social media trendy things are really, really, cool; however, everyone has webinars on them. I mean everyone. NOT ME. (not yet anyways)

Why doesn’t anyone talk about good old fashioned outbound marketing anymore?
It’s not trendy!!!

Outbound Marketing still works and can deliver a positive, trackable ROI.

Join me for about 30 minutes on Wednesday, June 17th @ high noon (EST) and I’ll give you the low down on the following:

1. New realities about BANT
2. What the best outbound prospecting approach is today
3. Real Life Channel Partner Demand Generation POSITIVE Experiences (YES, they actually closed business!!!!)
4. Why your current ROI tracking method is outdated.

In appreciation of your valuable time, I will give away one Flip Video Camera at the end of the webinar.

Don’t give up on outbound marketing just yet!

Why You’re Wrong About Channel Marketing ROI

The quest for the holy grail of marketing begins and ends with Return On Investment (ROI).

Tech Manufacturers and Channel Marketing Managers are obsessed with ROI. In today’s world, who could blame them? However, (in my humble opinion) the current way of thinking about ROI is outdated. It’s leftover from the 80’s sales mentality. You are tracking the wrong way! We all know that it’s not about selling boxes; it’s about solutions and building relationships.

The current paradigm doesn’t take into account:

1. Any deals after the initial first deal closed (almost never!)
2. Extended sales cycles
3. What that new customer is worth to them over their companies life

So I ask you, what’s the ROI on building a relationship with a net new customer that fits your profile?
If you look at a real life example, it gets pretty interesting…

One of our clients participated in a Cisco funded marketing campaign through eCoast. They received a lead from us for a Cisco ASA router in a legitimate sized company that was open to a new relationship. They closed the deal for 10K in a couple of months. Every win is a good one, but no one is high-fiving at this point.

Hypothetically, Cisco asks “What’s the ROI on the eCoast campaign you did?”

The response could be, “NOT GOOD, LEAD GENERATION DOESN’T WORK, ONE CLOSED DEAL FOR 10K FOR AN ASA ROUTER. We are not doing that again, waste of time!!!!” (Sorry for the tangent, I get carried away channeling angry solution providers who participate in outsourced demand generation.)

I challenge you to change the way you think. It’s not about the one-off sale; it’s about the Customer Lifetime Value(CLV). After meeting face-to-face with the customer, our client discovered there was a large UC voice opportunity on the table. They nurtured the relationship and 12 months later…

“Since the original lead which was a simple security lead (ASA) we have provided engineering services worth $30,000 and most recently closed an UC opportunity worth $375,000 and an infrastructure and Cabling opportunity for $105,000.” Watch the video case study.

Ok, here’s my point: This deal which took 12+ months to close would have never been associated with the campaign because ROI especially on channel campaigns is “what’s going to close next quarter.”

In my opinion, manufacturers like Cisco, HP, and Microsoft are really getting more value than they think in terms of building a long-term revenue stream. Not to mention less grumpy Partners.

So how much is a net new customer worth to you?

My gut feel is you already have an idea. Check out this calculator for Customer Lifetime Value to help you… http://www.harvardbusinessonline.com/flatmm/flashtools/cltv/

Top 10 Reasons VARS Need a Blog

10. You look like every other cow out there. Seth Godin spoke a few months ago at a Cisco Partner conference and gave the analogy of a cow, we’ve all seen them. Drive by one and it's just another cow but what if the cow is purple? You will stop, take a picture, send it to a friend, etc. To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of Seth’s before seeing him speak, after, was blown away by his presentation. I'm a huge fan now.



9. You can tell your CAM you are now in the Web 2.0 world.



8. Blogging gets you to focus on something else other than “my sales cycles are so much longer than they use to be.”



7. Do you have the feeling you look like every other VAR out there? It’s getting tougher to change your cow to purple isn’t it? (I can relate, same problem.) What’s a solution? Get YOUR Blog going. It will give your company a personality.



6. It builds credibility. As faithful VAR Marketing Blog readers will remember, in controversial blog entry titled “What the f**** is Social Media?”, one slide mentioned people view a company as more trustworthy if they have a blog.



5. I got one. You are reading it. Hopefully you are going to do more business with my company, eCoast.



4. Tell your story, share your successes. You are the trusted advisor, right? That case study you got the manufacturer to write for you? Put it in your blog. Are you getting it yet???



3. One-too-Many: As a small VAR your challenge is in spreading your message. Creating an event and going on an appointment are all good.  What if instead of spreading your message to 20 people you spread it to 100?



2. Google likes blogs. Isn’t that reason enough in today’s world? Newer content = More street credit with Google = You might actually show up in search results other than your company name.



1. It’s cheap. We all know you VARs don’t like spending your own money on marketing. A blog should be attractive! It’s not going to cost you 10K. You don’t have to petition your CAM for marketing development funds. You don’t have to focus on one specific manufacturer.

So are you ready yet?

I’d be happy to discuss my experiences. You can email me @ wgibney@ecoastsales.com or message me on Twitter @eCoastWillyG.

Balancing work/fun on vacation?

My intention of going on vacation to Florida was going to be 80% fun and 20% work. Here’s where the challenge(s) come in: a 4 year old girl who wants everything “now”, and a 2 year old boy who follows the 4 year old, Maia. All I can say is thank god I don’t work from home.

Still, the 20% seemed very doable until reality set in. We didn’t even go to Disney World! My day consisted of chasing the kids around with a can of SPF 50, trying to get cell reception under the big palm tree, and going lizard hunting with my daughter Maia.

So much for the 20% work stuff… the best I could do was occasionally respond to my email via my Blackberry.

Here’s what I actually came up with spending a week+ on Sanibel Island:

1. Watching Willy Wonka seems to lose its luster after the 14th time of seeing it in 4 days.
2. I desperately need new songs on my IPod. – I should have taken up the 15 year old on the plane sitting next to me who offered to “hook me up with a new music library.”
3. Extended “Out of Office” works great for off-loading high maintenance clients to other co-workers. Sorry Chris A.
4. My daughter, Maia is actually a pretty good Lizard Hunter. See video for proof.
5. Cleaning out your Inbox is NEVER a priority. 1110 still marked in blue as UNREAD.
6. Old people REALLY like Dog Tracks but will never bet more than 2 dollars on any one race.
7. Didn’t you feel bad for Rodman on Celebrity Apprentice? Dr. Drew anyone?

Lizard Hunting Success!

Appointment Setting in a “No Budget” Economy

“No Budget” is the new “Not Interested” in the world of sales. It’s believable, it’s accepted and it might even be true.

However, as my old sales manager Pat Nee used to say, “All buyers are liars.” You cannot take what people say at face value until you have built some type of relationship. Many times people are saying “we have no budget” because you haven’t built enough credibility or it’s their natural flight response to an annoying sales call.

Once you get under the surface (which tends to happen more face-to-face) people will be more forthcoming and likely disclose the truth. You need a technique to quickly determine whether you think the objection is legit or just a smoke screen.

At eCoast we have a 100-person outbound call center focused on appointment setting and lead generation and many of our calling agents have faced these types of objections.

My recommendation to them was use the Feel/Felt/Found method as a way to overcome the “no budget” response.

Feel free to put this in your own words for your own prospecting... Happy Selling.

I can appreciate funding is tight and your budget is frozen. It must be challenging for your business right now.(FEEL) Many of our customers have had similar challenges with funding.(FELT) However after meeting, in some cases we were able to identify areas where we could add value, and if nothing else provide you with a recommended technology roadmap so when your funding does loosen up you'll have a few "shovel ready" projects.(FOUND) How's Tuesday @ 2pm?

Deal Registration’s new best friend?

Could deal registration’s best friend be the outsourced lead generation??

Many times in lead generation/appointment setting you receive opportunities that are like a green banana. Not really ready for prime time. However, what’s typically overlooked is opportunity still exists, you are just going to have to wait. Everyone hates to wait and be patient especially in this world where cash flow is king.

Now, what if you thought about things a bit differently and not like the average VAR or sales person?

If you are first to the deal you have a competitive advantage, right? You get to stake your claim by registering the deal, even if it’s still green (12 months out). Why wouldn’t you want to beat the competition to the deal? Imagine their reaction when they realize you beat them to the deal! Newman! (Seinfeld old school)

This exact scenario recently played out with one of our clients, Decian, a small Cisco Channel Partner located in Connecticut.

Here’s what happened:

eCoast set the appointment and provided them with all the business intelligence (BANT) needed to register the deal. Decian goes on the appointment and realizes they are the first ones to see the green banana which is a pretty good size. They immediately go to Cisco VIP/OIP program and register the deal as a UC opportunity. As a 12-person company I'm sure they would not be able to compete being the 3rd of 4th guy to see the green banana. So as the days go by the banana starts getting more yellow more VARS see the opportunity, meets with the banana, however no other Cisco partner can register the deal. Decian ends up winning the opportunity for 200K for a 13 site Cisco Unified Communications deal. One for the little guy! Read the case study.

Everyone already knows the value of deal registration. Many channel partners today live and die by margins on manufacturer’s deal registration programs. However, my gut feel is most channel partners are not aggressively registering deals that come from outsourced demand generation activities.

Moving beyond the “you got nothing from the last lead generation campaign” out of your system…. if you proactively registered qualified opportunities from lead generation campaigns wouldn’t that be of great value?

You just got yourself a competitive advantage by being aggressive and first to the dance. Doesn’t it make sense to aggressively canvas your area to identify potential opportunities otherwise you would have completely missed or gotten the RFP alone with 5 other companies?

One note to the Channel Marketing Managers in their quest for the holy grail of MDF ROI tracking, do you use deal registration today to track back deals from campaigns? Do you look at the deals being registered and see where they originated from?

Dog image is from a co-worker, Ami Perry and dog is named Buddy.

Is an appointment alone enough?

Getting a meeting with a director level in a mid-market company used to be the ticket.  You met with them, they had projects and you provided a quote.  Simple. 

Using a vendor to get the “appointment only” was a viable route to more deals within Mid-Market and Enterprise.  Everyone was generally happy with the results.   

Today’s world is more complicated to find new business.  SMBs are a big focus, budgets are not readily available, business and technology decision makers are all potential contacts.  

Setting an appointment with a “director level” title in a SMB company without any real need or pain is careless.  Fine, if you have a targeted prospect list but not fine if they are already engaged and happy with another channel partner.

Just like the current economic crisis, there isn’t one solution and not every appointment will pan out.

The amazing thing with appointment setting is you meet face-to-face and can develop a relationship with the prospect.  Small deals can lead to large ones.  The best deals typically are the ones that take 12 months to close.  

The approach we are recommending and executing on is to qualify the prospect with the following criteria:  —Authority, Interest, PAIN, Need, Timing, Current Vendor.    (NOTE - I left out budget, the majority of budgets today are in two categories – “postponed” or “pending”)

Now, if the prospect meets these criteria, set the appointment.

Do you believe this will work? 

Check out these guys and you be the judge…

Force3 Video case study (1.6 million dollars closed on 2 appointments) 

Decian Case Study – (200K UC deal closed)

No more 1 million dollar office redecorating?

Did you happen to catch the interview with the CEO for Merrill Lynch?   How before the crash he spent 1 million dollars to redecorate his office?   I almost fell off the treadmill at the gym when I was watching this interview.  He was even trying to justify it saying it was before all the bad stuff happened.    

And I felt guilty for buying two new pictures for my office on the corporate AMEX!

Things have changed, haven't they.   

VARs more than ever are constantly trying to get a better grasp on where to focus new business efforts that produce results.   Many VARs’ strength lies in solving complex issues, not in net new business prospecting.   

As a demand generation organization we constantly get asked “what’s working?” and “where have you had success”?    If we stay in the VAR world, it really varies by Partner’s geography and their specific expertise within a vertical.   

Further, when the average SMB VAR requests a prospect list to target during a campaign there typically isn’t much thought into which verticals to focus on.

Everyone use to target banks, healthcare, retail and manufacturing for network security and IP Telephony, and storage. 

Where is the money still being spent?  In what verticals is eCoast still generating appointments? 

Our activities seem to confirm the Obama plan.  The companies who think they will be beneficiaries seem like they have a better attitude then the rest of business world. 

Healthcare – YES.   Education – YES.   Public Sector – Starting to.  Federal – Seems like it soon.

CRN has some good analysis on the Obama Plan here.

If you’d like to get a better idea of the potential size of your target market within these verticals eCoast now offers a FREE List Preview.  

 All you need to do is fill out a list request form and we’ll provide you with all the companies in an excel file for you!  (Minus the contact name and phone number)  If you like the list, you can then go ahead and purchase it with all the contact info.