About the Author:

Jenny Davis

Jenny Davis is the president of The Partner Channel and responsible for The Partner Channel Magazine, The Partner Event, and communication platforms such as the Web site, newsletters, and Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/partnerchannel). Jenny has been with The Partner Channel since August 2004 and loves working with Partners, seeing them at events, and pulling together sales, marketing, and leadership-focused content that can make a positive impact on their organizations. Prior to joining The Partner Channel, Jenny was an Event Manager for Microsoft Business Solutions/Microsoft and held logistical management roles for events including Convergence, Stampede, WPC, BBC, Tech Conference, TechEd, 100% Club, and Inner Circle.

My Articles:

Jan 26
Partner Community 0 Comments

Figuring Out the Balance

By Jenny Davis

Jane Olson and I had the opportunity to attend the User Group Summit the first week of November. As mentioned in last quarter’s issue, we are the publisher for the AXUG®, CRMUG®, GPUG®, and NAVUG™ magazines, and our presence at the event was aimed at gathering content for the User Groups’ winter magazine issues.

While there, I sat in on a Town Hall session that featured a panel of Microsoft Dynamics team members. The questions ran the normal gamut from feature requests to release date inquiries.

I don’t quite remember how we landed on the topic, but the conversation turned to customer/Partner relationships.

Actually, now that I think about it, I think one of the Microsoft panelists was talking about an online tool.  When the panelist asked who had previously heard about the tool from their Partner, not many customers raised their hands.

That’s when the conversation turned…southwest. Not totally in the ditch, but close. Read more »

May 05
Partner Community 0 Comments

NEW Way to View The List

By Jenny Davis

We’ve been looking for ways to enhance the online version of The List over the last couple of years.

Today I stumbled upon something that might work well for us – and more importantly, you!

Would you be so kind as to check out http://issuu.com/thelist/docs/thelist to “page” through the newest version of The List? Looking for a particular company or keyword? Enter that into the Search bar and you’ll see each page where that word appears. Do you like what you see? Contact Jane@thepartnerchannel.com to share your feedback.

This version of The List is the same one that was published in the back part of the Spring 2011 issue of the magazine, and is also available in a downloadable PDF document.

Feb 03
Partner Community 0 Comments

Got Great Customers?

By Jenny Davis

I guess that should really be “Do you have great customers?” but that’s not nearly as fun for a headline.

In the case that you do have some pretty fantastic customers, I want to make sure that you submit a Customer Excellence Award nomination on their behalf.

The deadline to submit your nominations is Monday, February 7 at 11:59pm PST.

Check out the Customer Excellence Awards page for all the details.

Jan 03
Partner Community 0 Comments

Ringing in 2011 – Kicking Off My New Year’s Resolution with NetStandard

By Jenny Davis

Happy New Year! I hope you had a terrific New Year’s celebration!

You may have read that my resolution for 2011 is to call a Partner each day I’m in the office. (Check out the article on page 11 of the Winter 2011 edition to learn the background information as to why I chose this as my resolution).

This afternoon I headed over to www.random.org to randomly select the Partner for my first call. Up came record 4335 – Peg Wright of NetStandard.

NetStandard has been a terrific supporter of The Partner Channel over the last year, so it was nice to be able to call Peg to say hello and also touch base with her regarding the magazine:

The Partner Channel (TPC): What do you like most about the magazine?

Peg Wright (PW): I think as a relatively new person to this industry that it’s laid out well and is user-friendly. Additionally, I like the quality of information that you deliver. I think it’s nice to touch base and understand the industry we’re working in as well as hear about other technology Partners.

TPC: What could we do to make it better?

PW: As a marketing person, I’m always looking for robust content, an understanding of the marketplace, and what types of certifications available  – both for my role and in the industry – so those are things that I’d like to continue to learn about.

TPC: Is there anything you’ve read that you’ve been able to put to action?

PW: I love “The List”. It’s very clear for me to understand what people do and find companies to partner with.

Thanks for your time, Peg!

I’m excited to continue with this resolution tomorrow and hope to talk with YOU soon!

Oct 28
Partner Community 0 Comments

Wearing the CRM Customer Hat Today

By Jenny Davis

Today I have on my customer hat as I attend our Partner’s 2nd annual customer conference.

Now that we’re in a virtual office environment, we’re looking at taking our Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Exchange Server online. Based on our company size and needs, both look to be great options for us.

It’s interesting and valuable to sit amongst other customers, listening to my Partner’s team members strut their proverbial stuff.

In a cloud session this morning, after discussing the “sale” pricing of CRM Online, a customer asked the $8 million dollar question.

” So what’s the benefit of a Partner promoting CRM online? Doesn’t that mean less revenue for you?”

Perceptive little bugger.

As luck would have it, the president of the Partner org was in the room to field the question. He shared that yes, cloud computing will cause them to make a change to their business model but a customer’s need for customization and training will remain. (I’m paraphrasing here. He did a much better job of conveying this message to the customer.)

And you know what? Sitting in that room as a customer, remembering what the Partner did for us to customize CRM to our needs in the first place, and knowing that I have no desire to learn how to customize or troubleshoot this kind of stuff myself, I felt relieved that they would still be involved even if we are in the cloud.

Taking off my customer hat and thinking about this change Partners are facing, I was glad to hear that our Partner is addressing how they will continue to support customers “after the cloud.”

This conference is just one aspect of that continued support. The cloud might be in the forecast, but the need for service is still here.

Jul 19
Uncategorized 0 Comments

Congrats to the 2010 Inner Circle, President’s Club and Partner Award Winners!

By Jenny Davis

Last Wednesday the 2010 Inner Circle and President’s Club Members were celebrated along with this year’s Partner Award winners. If you haven’t seen the lists of those recognized, you can check them out on PartnerSource:

Inner Circle
President’s Club
Regional and WPC Awards (Product and Industry Categories)

We’ll also feature the 2010 members and winners in the Fall 2010 edition of The Partner Channel Magazine.

Congrats to all of you and best wishes for another successful year!

Jun 29
Uncategorized 0 Comments

And Now a Word from our e-Newsletter Sponsor…ImageTag!

By Jenny Davis

ImageTag, Inc. is the creator of KwikTag® document imaging software. KwikTag dramatically improves quality of life at work by connecting people, process and paper. KwikTag’s open and extensible platform, fully embedded within Microsoft Dynamics GP, NAV and AX, allows users to work within their familiar environments creating the best user-experience ever. ImageTag is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner was selected as one of two finalists by Microsoft for its 2008 Partner of the Year Award in Innovation.

Learn more about ImageTag at http://www.imagetag.com.

Jun 18
Partner Community 0 Comments

Remember Beat Up Ben?

By Jenny Davis

Do you remember this magazine cover?

spring-2009-cover-icon

Matt Mastrud of Punchgut Studios created this image for the cover of The Partner Channel Magazine.

Well, Beat Up Ben is getting around and now graces a t-shirt available at Tank Theory!

We’re fortunate to have such a talented team working on each issue of The Partner Channel Magazine, and hope you enjoy the fruits of their labor!

If you’re not receiving the magazine, look to the upper right corner of this web page right now. See that subscribe button to get your free copy? That’s how you can get your own copy. We also have back issues of Beat Up Ben’s cover, so contact Jasmine@thepartnerchannel.com if you want one of your very own.

Jun 17
Partner Community 0 Comments

It’s Registration Time!

By Jenny Davis

I’m pleased to announce on this thunderstormy day in Fargo, ND, that registration for The Partner Event is now open!

Head on over to www.thepartnerevent.com for event information or catch the quick scoop here:

  • Content is under review and looks pretty darn awesome. It’s what you’ve come to expect from The Partner Event – targeted at who you are and what you do.
  • The event will be capped at 300 people, so space really is limited…unlike some of those events that say that space is limited for 4 months straight.
  • If you’re thinking about attending for the first time, Partners tell us this is the best event they’ve been to ever. Across all types of events. Really, they say that. I can show you the evaluations.
  • We’re offering a shuttle from the Minneapolis airport, in case you’d like a cheaper airfare and some bonding time with fellow attendees. Last year’s group rode a white Hummer up to Fargo. How’s that for swanky?
  • Fun will be had. We’re changing up the Welcome Reception, hosting a luau, and will wake (some of) you for the Sunrise Scramble 3K!
  • The Super Early Birds get a $600 registration fee (available until June 30, then it goes to the Early Bird price of $700).

I could go on and on, but that’s a pretty good scoop for now.

As I mentioned before, you can check out www.thepartnerevent.com for more information or click here to register now!

See you in Fargo!

Jun 09
Marketing 0 Comments

Baby Marketing

By Jenny Davis

My husband and I welcomed our third child in April.

He was born on a Saturday morning and his birth announcement was in the paper the following Tuesday. By Thursday morning, we had received a small stack of mail in our baby’s name from photographers, chiropractors (yes please!), insurance companies, and a children’s clothing boutique. Within the week, a few more pieces of mail arrived for the neighborhood’s newest consumer and his parents.

All of these glad tidings came from a piece of newsprint that was much smaller than his footprint.

What type of footprint are your prospective (and current) customers making? Social media aside, are you checking the news media for information on your clientele? Open up your daily newspaper to the business section. Who are they profiling? Take a drive down the road. Who is having a grand opening? Call up your local Chamber of Commerce. What events are coming up?

Take your new-found information and write the company a note, give them a call, stop by and say hello. Anything to start making your own footprint in their business.

Somebody spread a rumor that nobody buys in the summer and it’s a good idea to slow down (that somebody is probably doing the exact opposite). While I agree that summer should be enjoyed, it’s also a good time to try something new. If nobody’s around, what do you have to lose?

Get started on some “baby” marketing of your own and drop me a line at Jenny@thepartnerchannel.com to tell me how it goes.

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