Work With Your TSDs
Technology Services Distributors (TSDs) are a great way to get traction in the channel. They can give you marketing visibility and introduce you to the right partners. Many TSDs have small booths or tables you can reserve inside their space, which will cost significantly less than trying to book your own hospitality suite. A table inside a TSD space has guaranteed foot traffic, as well as face time with the channel managers and executives of that company.
Bring Your Executives
60% of attendees report that their number one reason for making the trip to Vegas is to meet with current and potential suppliers. The best way to make those meetings count is by introducing partners to your company’s leadership team. Your leaders’ presence sends an important message to partners, providing reassurance of your company’s commitment to the channel. Partners will want to know what’s on the product roadmap, learn how other partners have been successful, and give feedback on their experience with your program. Meetings with executives allow partners to hear and be heard. Additionally, your leadership team can see the power of channel partners at scale.
Book Meetings Early
True relationship growth happens one-on-one. Chances are good that your target partners are targets for many other suppliers as well. You may need to book meetings shorter than you’d like, and you may have to move things around to fit a partner’s schedule, but there is no substitute for meeting in person. Partner face time is valuable, so make sure you book your meetings before it’s too late!
Book Restaurant Meetings
Everybody needs to eat. When space is coveted and can easily drain the company’s wallet, restaurant-based meetings can be a great way to build relationships on a budget. Whether it’s breakfast or cocktails, partners will appreciate you taking them out for a nice meal to connect in a casual setting.
Attend The Right Sessions
If you have a conference pass, spend some time analyzing the agenda from a partner’s point of view. Think about your ideal partner -- where would they spend their time? What sessions would they attend? Networking before and after sessions is a simple but effective way to connect with prospective partners. If you want to target MSPs, don’t forget to check out the MSP Summit happening next to the expo hall.
Stay on Site
If you’re going to splurge anywhere, stay at the conference hotel, in this case The Venetian. The Palazzo is the tower closest to the expo floor. Location is everything, and the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day is walk 20 minutes to the front of the hotel and another 20 minutes to where you’re staying. Staying on-site also allows you to take more meetings and perhaps squeeze in a power nap in between. You can take advantage of the CPE group discount here.
Growth can happen slowly without a big budget. However, if you put in the work and invest in the partners, you’ll undoubtedly see results. The channel can be a game-changer for any business - it just requires some elbow grease.
Hannah Pryfogle is the Director of Strategic Alliances at boost.ai, the conversational AI solution built for regulated industries. As a fierce channel advocate, she is focused on building a world-class partner program for North America.
