InsideBlueStarEditorNotebook
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Ask The Board: Responding To The Marketplace Concept
3/1/2019
How are channel-dependent IT service providers responding to the new "marketplace" concept of tech procurement?
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What Tech Retailers Are Buying
3/1/2019
A recent report from Retail Systems Research provides insight into the tech appetite of retail’s biggest disruptors — and for retail tech solutions providers, disruption is where the sales are.
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Are Channel Pros Really Pros?
3/1/2019
Ask anyone who works in the channel, and you will soon find that two schools of thought exist. One says that channel sales and marketing are merely offshoots of their mainstream brethren and do not require specialist knowledge. The second school asserts that channel business is a discipline in its own right and demands specialist training and certification.
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7 LinkedIn Strategies For Service Providers
3/1/2019
In this crowded IT services world, finding, connecting, and engaging with potential channel partners can be a challenge. It is vital for VARs or MSPs to position themselves as thought leaders and subject matter experts, and LinkedIn is a powerful place to start.
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Partner Perspective: Transitioning To MRR
3/1/2019
Channel sales strategist and coach Dede Haas is founder of DLH Services, which helps technology vendors and partners create innovative, successful channel sales solutions and programs. Here, Haas discusses recurring revenue with two members of The ASCII Group, a 1,300-member organization of North American VARs, solutions providers, and MSPs offering services to help its members grow their businesses. Check out Haas’ “Channel Knowledge Nuggets” newsletter at dlhservices.com for tips and stories from the trenches.
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Make Room For The Marketplace
3/1/2019
The way you procure the technologies that comprise client solutions is shifting very quickly. Rules of engagement are changing, boundaries fading, and familiarity waning. The change is at once uncomfortable and an uncommon opportunity for growth.
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Sales Hires: What Lurks Below?
3/1/2019
Matching candidates to the job can help navigate the icebergs in the hiring process.
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How AIDC VAR Redline Won Produce
3/1/2019
This AIDC reseller has always been a step ahead of channel trends like developing proprietary software, building recurring revenue, and capitalizing on regulatory opportunities within a niche vertical.
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Are You Destroying The Value Of Your Company?
3/1/2019
MSPs are complaining about the commoditization of IT. How does the techie- turned-business owner handle this? Should they accept that their value proposition is not unique and their clients and potential clients can get comparable IT service and support from their phone, internet, and copier companies?
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Mike Bloomfield, Tekie Geek
3/1/2019
Mike Bloomfield dropped out of his collegiate studies in computer and electrical engineering to join the ranks of corporate America. After earning an eight-year “graduate” degree in the school of corporate IT experience, he launched Tekie Geek in 2013.