Media

Automating Your Channel Program Podcast Series

MicroCast
Episode 10 - Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program
Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted ...
microcast
Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Because Convey lives in the world of automation and digital experiences, we are going to overview several key areas that providers and master agents can execute in an efficient and automated way to distinguish their channel programs in order to attract more partners and keep them engaged. In subsequent MicroCast sessions, we'll take each individual segment and devote our podcast to the steps you can take to turn one of these concepts into reality using technology as the backbone to execute the strategy. Technology companies should use technology to make it convenient for partners to get product information, to learn how to sell services, to see real life examples of success, and to understand how they fit into your strategy. If partners find it hard to get information or think it's difficult to sell your solutions, they will switch to selling other solutions that are easier. Digital strategy #1 is to automate how you find, deliver and manage sales leads for partners. Ask any master agent what partners would like most and most of them will answer, "a good old-fashioned sales lead". But providers struggle with the time and expense of finding the lead, the best way to distribute those leads to partners, and how to make sure that the leads they deliver are not wasted. When it comes to finding the lead, you have many options rooted in technology. Your organization can engage in content marketing, social media outreach, or an activity called data scraping. Freelancers have technology that scours the web to generate leads based on your criteria that will generate a custom lead list that is at a fraction of the cost and much higher quality than most lead lists you might purchase. When it comes to distributing and managing those leads, Convey has options inside its partner relationship management system to add prospects to a sales partner's dashboard, set the rules around how they accept the lead and a feedback loop to ensure they are following up. Digital strategy number 2 is to use technology to stay top of mindshare by continually engaging partners. Nowhere is the old phrase, "out of sight, out of mind" more true than in the channel. So many channel programs rely too heavily on face to face encounters at trade shows, regional events or sponsorships, but forget the fact that when the event is over and the partner is on the way home, most of the information they learned is already on its way out the window. Having a digital strategy to reinforce the message and stay in front of partners even when you are not with them is essential to staying top of mindshare. You might still print those 4-color marketing slicks, but partners would rather get your information online. If you don't have a LinkedIn page or up-to-date profiles for your people, you look unprofessional and disorganized. And if you're using your corporate website to distribute information to both partners and customers, then partners are missing valuable things they need to do business. Digital strategy number 3 is provide tools for your partners that automate how they engage and market to their prospects and customers. One of the biggest challenges in providing tools to your partners is that partners have all levels of marketing expertise. Some partners may be better at marketing than their vendors, but most have limited capabilities, and some have none at all. Most partners have a deep desire to do good marketing, even if they don't know how, have the time and lack the infrastructure to do it. That's where technology proves most valuable for vendors to control the message, automate how they get tools in partner's hands, and track if those tools are effective. As an example, Convey built two tools for partner marketing, one simple and one robust that use automation to help partners market. Add content in one of our catalogs or on partner portals and allow partners to share by email. When they touch the button, their email client automatically opens with a link to a landing page to view the content. The more complex tool, built into partner portals, lets marketing create a multi-email campaign, deliver it to partner dashboards and has enough automation so that all partners need to do is add their list and hit the go button. Digital strategy number 4 is to use automation to onboard, train and manage partners. If you want partners to affiliate with you, the thing that will slow your program to a crawl is the manual processes you might engage in to have them sign up, understand the partner agreement terms, be trained on services, know the right contacts, and be managed on an-ongoing basis. Although I'm biased, any program that wants to grow and thrive that does not have a partner portal is condemning itself to use staff to do administrative things that technology can manage better vs. spending time bringing partners or revenue in the door. Portals let partners automatically apply to affiliate with you, collect their information and add it to a CRM that keep track of them. They can hold partner agreements and keep them available for the partner to review at any time. Training should be on demand and online with modules that include videos, courses, or product information. Training webinars should be recorded and posted for anyone who missed the live event. Portals can automate delivery of commission statements, sales leads or important messages and notifications. And partners should be able to update their information online so you can learn more about them. Takeaway One of the most dangerous phrases in business, and in the channel, is "But we've always done it that way!". Even if the current tactics you are using to engage partners is working, it doesn't mean that it always will work or that you shouldn't attempt to evolve and stay current. There are so many examples where businesses fail to see how their landscape was changing putting them at risk. What about Kodak? Technology replaced the 35mm camera film. Or how about answering machines replaced by voice mail and hosted voice? In the next 4 episodes of our MicroCast focused on creating a digital strategy for your channel, we'll give you some ideas of how to use technology to find, manage and distribute sales leads to partners, to keep partners engaged and you top of mindshare, to provide automated marketing tools to help partners sell and to automate processes to onboard and manage partners.
MicroCast
Episode 11 - Automate Partner Management
Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automate Partner Management Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and ...
microcast
Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automate Partner Management Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Convey is a big believer that every channel program should be automated, have a digital strategy and the right technology tools for their partners. And we believe strongly that having a PRM or partner relationship management system is a must-have for all channel programs. Unlike a CRM that is designed primarily for direct sales, a PRM brings a channel program the following benefits: PRMs streamline partner onboarding. If you bring on new partners constantly, using a manual process to onboard them wastes lot of internal resources versus a PRM solution that is more efficient. PRMs manage education and training. A PRM provides programs the ability to execute a well-defined learning plan to make sure partners know which customers to pursue, the markets they exist in, the right sales process and good basic product knowledge. PRMs keep this training online and constantly available. PRMs offer communication & marketing support. They have tools to manage documents, communications, and other marketing assets in one online location. This ensures that partners can find the right information at the right time, allowing them to sell more effectively. PRMs help you get the ROI for marketing or sales expenses. Incentives are an essential element to drive partner performance. PRMs enable you to gauge what motivates them so you can reallocate funds based on what's working or not. PRMs automate how you get the word out about new products. Having a well-designed PRM solution lets partners know what's new and provides the ability to give real-time feedback on products. This ensures that launches can go off without a hitch. And last but not least, PRMs increase partner satisfaction. Partners do not have unlimited resources and time, so when you offer a more efficient and beneficial way to do business with you, partners will naturally look to you to provide them with solutions for their customer base vs. your competition. In today's MicroCast we are going to focus on the tools inside the Convey PRM system that automate your program, increase your team's efficiency and make it easy for partners to do business with you. Let's start with how Convey streamlines partner onboarding. If you participate in Convey's Channel Program, you may be maintaining a catalog that is viewed on our master agent portals. But those master agents are not going to give you their partner list. Getting partners to become members of your portal allows you to develop personal relationships with and engage directly with them. Convey's PRM automates how partners become members in the first place by turning on an automated application process. Partners fill out the application, adding information that you find valuable. The PRM can approve partners immediately providing login credentials or have an approval process for you to screen the application and approve or deny it. If you add the partner to the member database directly, Convey delivers a welcome email automatically that you can customize message including a password set link. Convey's portals are designed to provide education and training. It's our philosophy that training and education can take many forms, all of which are supported by our portal technology. Portals are divided into content catalogs, so you can choose to consolidate training in one catalog inside the portal or spread it out over many locations. Consider your partner audience and the ways they learn. Some partners like to analyze and read so their education so it can take the form of case studies, white papers, or product feature sheets. Other partners like to visualize, so adding graphics, drawings and pictures to explain who you are may better engage them. While other partners like experiences, so offering webinars, videos, or discussion forums may be their best option. No matter which education option you choose, you can monitor the training that partners are using with our member activity report. Convey portals automate communication and marketing support. There are many ways our portals communicate with partners so let's start with our Message Library that delivers notifications, reminders and messages. Partners are automatically notified by email when their password is changed, when there is a lead waiting for them, or commission statements are added. Reminders go out if the partner fails to login after a certain number of days. You can create custom messages or newsletters and schedule them to go out regularly pulling new information each time from the portal. We have an entire MicroCast devoted to marketing support that profiles our 1-touch email service and the Conduct Campaign technology that lets you deliver pre-created email marketing campaigns for partners to launch to their prospects. Our portals help you automate how you manage incentives. Partners love promotions and spiffs that incent them to sell your services vs. the competition. However, most incentives are not forever and expire after the month or the quarter is over. If you have added an incentive and are promoting it in a banner or a piece of content, our scheduling engine will let you add those elements to the portal when the promotion begins and remove them when it has expired so you don't have to worry about having outdated information on the portal. Launching a new product? Convey's portal can automate how you engage partners. If you have an upcoming launch, you can prepare ahead of time by adding banners, content posts, and outbound emails and holding them so that they appear by using the scheduling engine. Set the message library to send outbound emails on a regular basis to make sure they got the announcement, know where the training is, and can find the spiff that you are offering. Convey has a partner CRM or can link to any other CRM system for member management. We love our CRM tool because it can be customized in minutes, it is easy to use, and comes with the system. However, we recognize that companies may have already invested in a CRM like Salesforce or may be using another tool. No problem. The member management API lets you manage member data in your system and create member records in ours. If you use Convey's CRM, then you have flexible options about how data gets into it. You can upload partner lists. You can have partners fill out the member application and automatically add that data to the CRM or you can have partners fill out profile information inside the member dashboard to collect more information. Add notes and tasks to a partner record to automate delegating responsibilities or ensuring that you follow up and use reports to extract the data you want on your partners. Takeaway If you aren't looking into a partner relationship management system, then you are missing an opportunity to do more with less resources, consistently engage your partners and automate everything from onboarding to training. We want you to look at Convey for its capabilities, ease of use, its low cost and its ability to distribute content directly to your partners that are members of your portal or to master agent portals in our Convey Channel Network.
MicroCast
Episode 12 - Engaging Partners
Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Engaging Partners Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative ...
microcast
Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Engaging Partners Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Nowhere is the old phrase, "out of sight, out of mind" more true than in the channel. So many channel programs rely too heavily on face to face encounters at trade shows, regional events or sponsorships, but forget the fact that when the event is over and the partner is on the way home, most of the information they learned is already on its way out the window. Having a digital strategy to reinforce the message and stay in front of partners even when you are not with them is essential to staying top of mindshare. Mindshare is simply the amount of attention you get from your partner network. When a sales opportunity presents itself, are partners thinking of your company first? Keep in mind that your products aren't the only ones they're marketing and selling in our crowded telco and cloud space. Your channel program can only have so much to say about the quality, price, and delivery of the products, but you can separate yourself from the competition by winning the mindshare battle with your partners. Here are some general best practices that you should follow when you want partners to notice you and be the first thing they think about when they are in front of a customer. First, be clear about what makes you unique in the marketplace. Is it your market niche? Exceptional service? Highly targeted products and services? Make this value proposition simple and easy to remember. Here is an example in a statement that's clear, "We provide HIPAA compliant cloud hosting to healthcare." Second, keep the messages coming. A one-time advertising blitz can get your message out quickly to a large number of partners, but staying top of mindshare requires consistent delivery of messaging over time. Keep it coming. Third, make sure partners know it's you. Everything from your customer literature to your e-newsletters should have consistent messaging and similar look and feel. One brand, one message. Fourth, use a balanced approach. Stay in front of your audience using multiple channels over time. Awareness is based on repetition. And last, provide information that is useful. Frequency doesn't have to mean being annoying. Partners should perceive you as a provider of useful information rather than an intrusive pest. Communicate frequently but give your partners genuine value each time. Having a digital strategy that leverages automation allows a channel program to be clear about who they are, have consistent branding, keep the messages coming, and make sure the information is useful. Let's see how you can accomplish all of those goals using Convey's technology. Start by defining the type of partner you want, the type of customer you want them to pursue and use technology to get your point across. At Convey, we see that many channel programs trying to be all things to all partners. We have over 20,000 sales partners that use our portals to get information on providers but in reality, only a fraction of those partners will affiliate with you. If a program tries to go "wide" they will end up quoting lots of deals, rejecting many of them because they just aren't viable, and driving the partner away because they become frustrated. There are digital strategies inside of our Convey programs for providers to define the type of partner they really want to work with and the ideal customer profile they want them to pursue. In our Convey Channel program providers get a portion of a master agent portal called a catalog where content is added on a centralized site to be distributed to over 40 master agents. Or providers can own one of our custom portals and use them to educate partners Here are some digital strategies that work inside of our portals to define the ideal partner and customer profile: Add banners with taglines that clarify your ideal partner or market, then link the partner to a call to action to either learn more, join your program, or refer a deal.Create web pages, case studies or success stories that profile vertical markets that you are strongest in and customer wins.Consider having an elite partner program and invite partners that meet your criteria to express interest in joining by having an automated application process. Use the automation in our portals to keep the message coming. There is no excuse to not keep in constant contact with your partners. Make sure you are keeping them in the loop about current products, training opportunities, changes in prices, upcoming promotions and spiffs, or key events in your business. If you want to leave your channel partner unhappy, just ensure that they're the last to know about major changes to your services, company or channel program. Convey's partner portals make keeping in constant contact easy and automated. Here are some communication strategies and how our portals make them easy: Partners need to be reminded to keep coming back to the portal. Our system tracks their login history and reminds them to come back if they've been idle too long. Portals automatically notifies partners when they have a lead, a commission statement, or an action they need to take.Portals have discussion forums for partners to exchange ideas and ask questions of you and each other. The technology recaps those conversations, sends out a daily discussion digest and invites partners to come back and join the conversation.Add new content, a promotion or spiff, or an upcoming webinar and highlight those new developments in an automated newsletter. The system pulls from the newest items, highlights them and links the partner to come back to the portal to take a look.Partners can opt in to receive text messages from the portal to remind them about events or other action items. Statistics will tell you that text messages are opened 97% of the time and read within 90 seconds of getting them. Convey's portals automate the way you reach out to partners to keep the messages coming and draw them back into the portal for more. Try different techniques that promote engagement and calls to action In today's digital world, you have to assume that people need to see the same message multiple times, presented in different ways that appeal to the way they process information. Some people are analytical and like to read, so giving them white papers, case studies and product details will appeal to that type of partner.Some partners are visual, so big bold graphics in banners and pages or in our portal home page feature boxes are the shiny object that attracts their attention and motivates them to click and exploreSome partners learn by experience, so having webinars to let them hear from the experts makes sense. Discussion forums to exchange ideas in real time may be very appealing to an experiential learner. Use reports in our portal to analyze what partners look at and do more of what's working and less of what's not. Every time a partner logs into our portals, visits one of your content catalogs, views or downloads a post or navigates around your portal, we record that event. You can pull a member activity report to get an overview of the most popular locations and posts or an event report to see who registers for a webinar and then look at a specific partner to see who is the most active and engaged. We know through our experience that partners visit case studies, battle cards and promotions and spiffs more often than anything else, but your portal will give you all the detail you need to understand what partners really care about. Takeaway Being top of mindshare is critical in a crowded channel marketplace. If partners aren't getting your message consistently, they will undoubtedly think about your competitors. We live in a world of digital engagement that requires constant reinforcement and no channel program can keep up with that type of demand unless they use automation to make it happen. Our portals are designed to help you win the minds and hearts of your partners, do it efficiently with automation and not break the channel budget in the process.
MicroCast
Episode 13 - Partner Marketing Tools
Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Partner Marketing Tools Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and ...
microcast
Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Partner Marketing Tools Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Most of the providers that Convey works with would love to have partners use marketing to promote their services, but the reality is that partners rarely do what we think that they should. So why is it that partners don't use the same marketing strategies that have proven so effective in the technology marketplace? First, partners just don't have the time to devote to marketing. Partners are generally attached to very small agencies, so they are having to do it all. They have to secure more customers, educate them about services, manage the order and installation process, and respond to issues when the technology doesn't work the way they expect. Marketing is generally last on the list. Second, being creative doesn't come easy for partners. In a former life I was an English teacher and taught writing, among other things. I consider myself pretty good at it, but the vast majority of people I work with struggle to put the right words together. So, imagine the difficulty in creating a marketing email, a social media post or a blog if you can't think of what to say. Third, partners don't know how to generate a lead list to market to. If you are going to deliver an email campaign, target people to invite to an event or even try and influence people on social media, you have to have a way to generate a list. Partners don't really have the understanding how to create lists of people that they can work with and then what to do even if they had a list. Convey's philosophy has always been that if you do the work for partners, provide them marketing tools, and then show them how to get a good list they will be much more likely to add marketing to their revenue strategy. We've built marketing tools inside the Convey portal designed to motivate partners to use them. We've added an easy way for partners to share content. You've uploaded a case study, a white paper or product information that's meant to be shared with customers. Partners have two easy sharing options every time they access content. An obvious thing they can do is to download a file if you havean uploaded one for viewing but an even easier process is our One Touch Email Share. Here is how it works. Partners see that case study or product literature and then click the email share button. No matter what email client they use, it opens automatically with a link to the content post already in the email. The partner just adds a personal message, then sends the email to their customer or prospect. When the prospect clicks the link, they don't come back inside your portal, but they do come back to a landing page to view, download or reshare the content. Easy email marketing! And the best news is that our reporting tool shows you which pieces of content were shared, and which partners did that. For partners that really want to commit to an email strategy, we have a unique service inside of every portal called Conduct. For those of you who are now thinking that email marketing is dead, think again! Email marketing is up to 40 times more effective than social media, according to a study done by McKinsey & Company. The same study also shows that the buying process happens 3 times faster with email than in social media. Moreover, it is also said that most individuals prefer to receive business information via email. For the "Big 3" of social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter), the engagement rate isn't even 0.6%. Compare that to email's average open rate of 22.86% and even its click-through rate of 3.71%. Emails reach most of the people they're intended for, so email marketing must be an essential part of a partner's marketing strategy. We've built our Conduct technology to overcome the worries that we know partners have about email marketing: I don't have the time or expertiseI am worried about adding my lead list to the portalI don't know if it works Partners don't need the time or expertise to create campaigns because Conduct lets you create them for the partner. Here is how it works. Login to the portal as an administrator and set up the email campaign. Add the text and graphics, the email subject line and the call to action. Conduct lets you create campaigns of up to 4 outbound emails and creates a personalized landing page for the partner. Once the campaign is ready, deliver it to the partner dashboard and Conduct tells them it's waiting. Partners can explore campaigns you've added and pick the ones they want to use. All they have to do is to add the list of contacts, tell Conduct when to launch it and sit back and collect the leads when people respond. They can create their own campaign if they want, but most choose to have you do the work. Partners don't have to worry about the security of their lead list. You may have watched TV and seen a commercial on LifeLock™, the service that protects your identity. Conduct has ListLock™, the technology that secures their list and keeps it private. Once Conduct is enabled on a portal, nobody other than the partner can change their password in order to access their account and get at their list. It's effectively locked and secured. You can use some of the strategies I shared in my MicroCast on how to create a lead list to generate them for the partner or to teach the partner to generate them for themselves. Learn how freelancers and data scraping tools create better leads at a fraction of the cost of purchasing a list. Neither you nor the partner have to worry about whether the campaign is working. When emails are sent out, we don't wait to see who signs up. We analyze what happens to each email. Conduct knows if the email was delivered or bounced, if it was opened and if so, how many times, and if the recipient clicked through. Then, of course, there are the sign-ups that show people were interested in the message, the offer or the special deal. Reports are available to the partner to show how each contact responded and available to the portal owner to see the overall performance of the campaign without looking at the exact list. Just like any of the larger commercial email services such as Constant Contact or Mail Chimp that have been around for a while, we have tools inside of Conduct that make email campaigns easy, personalized and follow all of the email campaign rules. Partners add their contact information and even their logo to brand emails and sign up pages.We keep emails CAN/SPAM compliant by having the right information in the footer and automatically managing opt outs.Lists are kept in the Contact Manager and partners can easily upload their contacts, organize them into lists, keep custom data on each contact and even use the Contact Manager as an easy to use CRM system. Takeaway You can have the best marketing materials in the world but if the partner doesn't have the tools to take your materials or message all the way to the prospect you can guarantee yourself that they won't be used in the way you want them to. Convey's marketing tools inside of our portals ensure that you can control the marketing message, make it easy for partners to actually use them to market, and analyze the result of your efforts.
MicroCast
Episode 14 - Sales Leads
Full Transcript Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales ...
microcast
Full Transcript Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. The concept of providing partners with sales leads is not a new one, but automating the way you collect them, distribute them to partners and a process to ensure those leads are not wasted requires new thinking and automation. In this MicroCast we are going to share some ideas about how to generate leads for very little money, the business rules you should consider before you decide to give those leads out, and the automation to deliver, manage and track the way leads move through the funnel using Convey's partner portal technology. Finding sales leads doesn't have to be time-consuming and expensive. When it comes to finding leads, you have technology-driven options that improve the quantity and quality of leads that you can provide to partners. Your channel organization can engage in content marketing, social media outreach or drip marketing campaigns to drive inbound demand. But for this MicroCast, I want to focus on a strategy called data scraping to produce larger lead lists. Although you can try data scraping yourself, it's much easier and cheaper to use freelancers who have technology that scour the web to generate leads. Freelancers use your criteria to create a custom lead list at a fraction of the cost and of much higher quality than any lead lists you might purchase. So how do you gain access to these valuable resources? Freelancers exist all over the world and the hourly rate for someone in India or in the Philippines as an example that can generate a lead list is embarrassingly low for the high-quality output they produce. The best way to engage a high-quality freelancer is to use a service like UpWork or FIVRR, spelled F-I-V-R-R where freelancers are profiled on their portal. You can put in your project requirements, find freelancers who have done projects like this before, and get reviews on their work from other customers. You pay the platform provider and they pay the worker. Freelancers can create a customized lead list using a process called data scraping. In simple terms, they use software to access multiple websites to find information on companies or individuals including names, titles, contact information, email addresses, company size, or locations. That information is delivered to you in a spreadsheet so you can import it into the technology you will use to manage and distribute those leads. You can even take this further and pay a freelancer to do some investigation or calling to qualify that lead. To give you an idea of how effective freelancers and data scraping is as a strategy, Convey employed a freelancer in the Philippines at $3.50 an hour and for less than $600 they delivered a 6,000 person lead list of individuals inside companies in the Southeast that were candidates to use technology in their buildings to reduce energy cost. Set business rules so partners understand your expectations and those leads are not wasted. The worst thing you can do is give leads to someone without any expectation of getting something in return. My suggestion is to have partners opt in to receive leads from you versus just sending them out. Leads are valuable and they should be reserved for partners that have achieved a certain status in your channel, that are willing to act on the leads, and that will allow you to follow up on their progress. Insight from the partner gives you what you need to assess the lead quality, how they marketed to the prospect, and what happened to the lead. Make sure you let the partner know how you got the lead, the stage that the lead is in, whether it is qualified or not, if the lead is in a specific vertical market, or anything about what they are receiving to set their expectation. Use technology to manage the distribution and follow up strategy for leads. Automation is the only way a channel program can effectively get leads into the hands of a large number of partners, track their progress and monitor if their lead program has been effective. Although there are many ways you can do this, I'd like to profile how Convey's partner portal manages lead distribution with its prospect management technology. Aside from having a CRM to manage partner data, Convey's partner portals have a separate prospect CRM to hold lead lists. Leads can be added into this customizable database when individuals fill out forms on the portal, but more commonly they are added by uploading them from an Excel or CSV file. Once the leads are in the CRM, the portal owner can set up business rules that define how to transfer leads, have prospects accept them or if you will require feedback on the lead process. Here are some of the rules that you can define for prospect transfer: Decide if leads will be available to multiple partners or delivered to only one partner at a time.Once a lead is available in the system, partners get notified and the last thing you want is a few partners taking all the leads. The system prevents that by letting you set a maximum number of leads one person can have in a given month.If a partner wants the lead, do you want them to formally accept it and if so, how long will you let that lead stay in queue before it's taken? What information will you let partners see before they accept the lead and what information will you supply once it's been delivered? You don't want to give away all the information until the lead is in the hands of a partner.And last but not least, do you require that the partner update the status of where they are in contacting the lead? If the partner lets the lead sit there without getting in touch, you can always pull the lead back into the pool if you want and redistribute it. Using automation to manage the lead transfer process allows you to bake in fairness and neutrality to the way leads are delivered and gives you the insight into which partners are most active and successful in accepting leads and translating them into customers. Help partners market to the leads you have given them. Your channel program likely has a marketing department, but the partner organization likely does not. You may want to help the partner soften up those leads by providing marketing tools they can use to approach that lead digitally before they try and call to schedule an appointment. Provide the partner with sharable content that they can brand with their company graphics and contact information. Deliver an email template they can use to send an introductory message to the prospect. If you have a large number of leads you've handed partners, then consider creating email marketing campaigns for partners so that they can deliver campaigns to their lead list. If you are using one of our portals, we have built a service into them called Conduct. You can create the email campaign complete with 4 outbound emails and a sign-up page, deliver it to the partner dashboard and notify the partner it's there. All they have to do is add their contact list and hit the "launch" button to automate how it goes out. Providing the marketing assets to partners gives you the opportunity to control the message, make it easier for partners to follow up, and if you use the tools built into our partner portals, you gain insight on the effectiveness of how those tools are used and how prospects are responding to email marketing campaigns. Takeaway Nothing will win the heart of your partner more than by giving them valuable leads, making it easy and efficient for them to work them, and the tools they need so they don't have to spend time inventing the marketing they need to follow up. Remember that leads are valuable so get your partners to opt in to the lead program, make a commitment to follow up and give you insight on the progress they've made with the leads. That lets you make adjustments on the type of lead, the quantity, and how you produced it so you can make leads more and more effective. Stay tuned to our MicroCast series to learn more about the marketing tools inside of Convey partner portals and how they can help partners translate leads into customers.

The Nightmare on Channel Street Halloween Podcast Series

MicroCast
Halloween Special 1 - The Nightmare on Channel Street
This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we're going to give our old friend Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our program, the Nightmare on Channel Street. For those of you who don't remember ...
Halloween Special
This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we're going to give our old friend Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our program, the Nightmare on Channel Street. For those of you who don't remember Freddy, he starred as a character in the Nightmare on Elm street, an insane child killer, released on a technicality and murdered by the town's parents. He comes back in people's dreams and continues to kill through 9 different movies. So in honor of Halloween week, we are going to identify nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, ruin your channel program and destroy revenue. Our first episode in the Nightmare on Channel Street is called "the death of commissions". This episode of unfolds as nervous channel partners watch in horror as big companies gobble up smaller ones, creating a behemoth that lumbers through the marketplace like a zombie trying to feed itself on dwindling sales with a pack of hungry debt holders hard on their heels. The struggling company darts into court to protect itself from hungry debt holders by filing bankruptcy and then the nightmare really begins, but not for the company, instead for partners that sold its services. A new group of characters come on the scene, the bankruptcy court judges who nullify partner contracts gasping in horror at the commissions flowing out the door to partners who stopped selling their services years ago. Judges rule, commissions begin to die and partners that depended on them start scrambling for new sources of revenue. Episode two is called the "The Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers" You used to go to Channel Partners in Vegas and there were thousands of partners in the exhibit hall, or to regional meetings full of partners. Then, all of a sudden, there was the invasion of the body snatchers and one by one those partners started disappearing, seemingly snatched away, gone forever. Where did the partners go? Some of them got discouraged with channel sales and went back to their careers working for a company. Some of them simply aged out and retired from active duty, continuing to take whatever commission checks that were still coming their way. Or some of them just decided that it was not interesting enough to keep coming back, only to hear the same old presentations delivered the same way. And the other explanation for their disappearance is that pods from outer space have landed in the channel, snatching up the partners we used to know and depend on. In Episode three, vendors check into the Bates Motel, hand over their MDF funds and may never have their channel marketing budget come out alive. Your Vegas hotel, those huge greens fees at the golf tournament, or sponsorships for that expensive cocktail party have been washed down the drain with very few partners that you hoped would engage actually selling your services. Now, you wake up in a cold sweat being chased by your management team, screaming that you don't know what the ROI result is, and which partners were converted and what revenue is going to result from your efforts. Next it's a cold Halloween night and you're waiting in the Pumpkin Patch for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. But that never happens because you're in episode 4 of the Nightmare on Channel Street. If you worry about trying to find partners to represent you in the channel, only to have your trick or treat bag filled with rocks, then you are not alone. The channel has expanded, the number of vendors has grown, and it's much harder to get partners to pay attention with all of the noise in the channel. Trying to get people to pay attention to you can be one of the nightmares on Channel Street. And our final nightmare is entitled the Walking Dead. At first everything seems wonderful for you on Channel Street. Partners are throwing deals to you right and left, asking you for quotes and submitting deals. But then the nightmare begins. You're working way too hard preparing tons of quotes for companies that are just plain wrong for your services. It's a nightmare because your entire channel team is totally deployed chasing deals that will never convert, frustrating partners who don't know which prospects meet your standards and being sucked into a never-ending quoting nightmare. So, if your channel program is caught in one of the Nightmares on Channel Street, what should you do? Hide in the graveyard of other channel programs hoping Freddy won't find you? Run from the people trying to suck the blood out of your marketing budget? Or hope that the budget chainsaw won't cut through your team when the results aren't what management expected? Remember that in all horror movies, the bad guy always loses in the end. The nightmare is over, and the main characters live on to fight another day. So, what about the Nightmare on Channel Street? Well this is what we call in the MicroCast world, a cliff hanger. You'll have to tune into this week's Halloween MicroCasts to find out how you, as the main character in your channel movie, makes it past the partner snatchers, out of the Bates Motel, and avoid the Walking Dead to keep your channel program alive and well. This is Carolyn Bradfield and you've been listening to our MicroCast in the Convey Channel Partner special Halloween series.
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Halloween Special 2 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: Disappearing Commissions
Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and yesterday we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We ...
Halloween Special
Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and yesterday we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, ruin your channel program and destroy revenue. Today we're going to focus how you wake up from the nightmare, run away from the monsters chasing you to not only survive on Channel Street, but to thrive. Let's focus on the problem of the disappearing commissions. We've seen the rapid pace of mergers and acquisitions in the channel, many of those deals financed through debt, saddling the company with large debt-service and interest payments. Take Windstream as a prime example. They snapped up smaller companies like Earthlink and went into debt to do it. You know the rest of the story; this year Windstream had to file bankruptcy in order to survive and protect itself. Now, enter the bankruptcy court, and that channel program lost a level of control over how partners got paid. Commissions became at risk, especially to those partners that stopped selling new Windstream accounts years ago. So how do master agents and partners protect themselves from this nightmare on channel street? Here are some ideas. First, diversify your provider portfolio. The first rule of business is not to put all of your eggs in one basket. Companies that have a top-heavy revenue stream tied up in only a few customers are those at most risk. Although you have your favorite providers, putting most of your revenue in one place elevates your risk. Beyond that, you may be missing new services, new strategies and new opportunities other providers might represent to you and to your customers. Next, upsell existing customers with additional services. If you've sold big network deals, you are likely making good commissions from those relationships. However, those companies have evolving technology needs that you can fill. If you affiliate with a master agent that is part of a master agent association like the Technology Solutions Exchange or the Alliance Partners, those master agents very likely own Convey Partner Portals. Inside their portal is a world of other cloud and technology services you can offer your customers to upsell to your customer base and continue to diversify your source of commissionable revenue, reducing your risk. And third, stay abreast of channel developments. Most of the struggles that vendors are facing in the channel are often reported on in the variety of channel publications and websites. Make sure to access those sites and read the tea leaves so that you are not surprised. If you know what might be coming with suppliers you work with, you can make more intelligent decisions about where to place your business so that it is in less jeopardy. The nightmare of being blindsided by changes in your provider's business is one that can be avoided. Plan now to diversify the providers that you place business on, diversify your portfolio by upselling customers with new services, and stay informed about developments with the suppliers that you are working with. This is Carolyn Bradfield and you've been listening to our MicroCast in the Convey Channel Partner special Halloween series.
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Halloween Special 3 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: The Walking Dead - Bad Referrals
Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified ...
Halloween Special
TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series  This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series.   This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street.  We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, can ruin your channel program and destroy your revenue.  So many of you have seen the Walking Dead, that wildly popular series that has lasted for 9 years and filmed in the state of Georgia, Convey's home. This episode of the Nightmare on Channel Street starts off easy enough.  Partners are throwing deals to you right and left, asking you for quotes and submitting deals.  But then the nightmare begins.  You're working way too hard preparing tons of quotes for companies that are just plain wrong for your services.  It's a nightmare because your entire channel team is totally deployed chasing deals that will never convert, partners are frustrated because they don't know which prospects meet your standards and your channel is being sucked into a never-ending quoting nightmare. What looked like good deals are the now the "walking dead".  How can a channel program hold off those zombies and get deals that will actually convert?  If you want to survive this episode, here is what you can do. Make sure that sales partners have a clear understanding of your ideal customer profile. If partners are sending prospects over to you and asking for quotes that never produce a deal, whose fault is it really?  I've seen many channel programs complain about the wasted time in quoting bad deals, but not enough programs accepting that they were ones at fault because they never educated the partner on what types of customers are ideal for them.  Partners need to understand what markets you are strongest in, the size of the company that is right for you, and what type of buyer inside that company you need to talk to.  Convey had a vendor that was getting absolutely no traction with partners for their hosting solution.  When we explored the type of customers they already had, we found out that 65% of them were healthcare organizations because of the HIPAA-compliant platform the company had.  However, their healthcare market focus was never shared with partners, so they had no idea where to focus their efforts.  Once partners were educated, the right deals began to flow through. Make sure your program has a clear understanding of the ideal partner you want to represent you. Not every partner that is out there has the customer base, technical expertise, or sales capacity to sell services, yet many channel programs cast a wide net then wonder why they are either ignored by partners or get the wrong referrals. Convey's Channel program has over 23,000 sales partners that belong to 40 master agent portals but trying to influence and form relationships with all of them when selling your services that are only appropriate for some of them is a recipe for frustration and un-met expectations on both sides. And lastly, clearly define the rules of engagement for deal referral or getting a quote. Partners like a clear understanding of process.  They have hundreds of vendor choices and if they are not clear about how to refer, how to ask for a quote, what information you want, and who to deliver it to, they will make up their own process.  Consider formalizing your referral and quoting process by creating forms to add the information you care about.  Set partners expectation about what you plan to do once you get their information so everyone is on board and on the same page.
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Halloween Special 4 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: Marketing Development Funds
Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street. We identified nightmares in ...
Halloween Special
Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series.   This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street.  We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, can ruin your channel program and destroy your revenue.  Today we're going to focus on vendors that checked into the Bates Motel, handed over their MDF funds, and thought they were getting the key to channel revenue, only to never come out alive. Your Vegas hotel bill, those huge green fees at the golf tournament, or sponsorships for that expensive cocktail party have been washed down the drain with very few partners that you hoped would engage actually selling your services.  You try to wake up from the nightmare where you are being chased by your management team, screaming that you don't know what the ROI is, which partners were converted and what revenue is going to result from your efforts.  You are caught up at the Bates Motel in the Nightmare on Channel Street, but there are ways to make sure that your marketing development funds give you a provable ROI, don't break your budget and produce partner relationships and customer referrals.  Here are some thoughts.  Don't overspend on live events by changing your event strategy. Vendors tend to overspend on events by sponsoring a cocktail party, complete with a killer band, great drinks and in a cool venue.  But those events often have other vendors clogging them up and little opportunity to engage directly with the partner that you want relationships with.   Consider creating a niche event that is more innovative and creates an exclusive gathering that entices your partners to attend and because you view them as important in your go-to-market strategy.  More intimate events that give the partner a personal experience and offer the channel team the opportunity to participate in activities directly with the partner are much less expensive than the big blowout. Think a Top Golf outing, wine tasting, or fireside chat with a local celebrity. And, don't feel you have to go it alone.  There are vendors that offer services that are compatible vs. competitive to yours.  Invite them to co-sponsor and add an educational component that is not product-focused but more industry and market focused. Create educational, virtual partner events that you can execute for a fraction of the cost of a live event. Webinars and podcasts continue to be a hot trend in content marketing. They are inexpensive and effective if they are done right.  Make those events short and use your marketing budget to pay an industry thought leader to bring an expert or knowledge perspective vs. focusing on trying to sell your products and services over the web.  People will come to hear the thoughts of people that are different and interesting.  Think about the power of Ted Talks that attract massive audiences. Consider offering knowledge on the vertical markets your customers exist in, on selling strategies, and on strategies that partners can use in general to grow their business. Virtual events can be delivered with minimal marketing funds because there is no travel involved and no expense in finding a venue, paying for food and drinks, and those pricey giveaways. Execute a digital strategy to help sales partners market directly to their customers and prospects. Partners have spent years building customer relationships or creating contacts in their local marketplaces that could become customers.  However, they don't have the time, creativity or expertise to execute an effective digital marketing strategy.  Allocate your MDF funds to reward partners who are willing to let you help them
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Halloween Special 5 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: The Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers
Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street . We identified ...
Halloween Special
Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series.   This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street.  We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, can ruin your channel program and destroy your revenue.  Today we're going to focus on the "Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers. You used to go to Channel Partners in Vegas and there were thousands of partners wandering through the exhibit hall or attended regional meetings.  Then, all of a sudden, the invasion of the partner snatchers descended on the channel and one by one those partners started disappearing snatched away and gone forever. If pods from outer space didn't spirit partners away, then where did they go?  The answer is complicated.  People became agents years ago because they may have been in a company's telecom department, then decided to branch out and start their own business.  Many of these partners are now aging out, retiring, or just not active and they are being replaced by new partner models that may not be so obvious to you.  So, what are vendors and master agents to do so they don't experience the nightmare of the disappearing partner on Channel Street?  Here are some thoughts: Diversify your partner base. If the only type of sales partner you have focused on is the telecommunications agent, you are missing a variety of other partner types that have the right customer base not only for network services, but for cloud and business as a service.  And you may be putting your channel program at risk as your traditional partner base shrinks. Think about including managed services providers, value added resellers and IT service providers.   After you do that, look around and consider less traditional partners that are calling on accounts with non-technology-based services. Here is an example. The other day I ate lunch with an insurance agent who is building a practice around commercial insurance for assisted living facilities.  That person would make a great referral partner because those facilities need to upgrade their phone system, move applications to the cloud, use technology to make their buildings smarter, and network their locations together.  He's non-traditional but he's calling on the right customers in a high-value target market.  Once you diversify it's important to understand the different type of partner models and how they function. Let's take the managed services provider as an example whose business model is different than a telecommunications agent.  An MSP owns the customer relationship because they not only manage their IT and network, they also invoice the customer for services rendered.  MSPs will often step aside and let the vendor take the lead when it comes to selling services that they don't have native expertise in, making them an ideal partner who wants a trusted relationship with a master agent or vendor and is willing to make the referral. It's also important to learn where the new partner types hang out and plan to go where those partners congregate. If you expect these different partner types such as an MSP or VAR to haunt the hallways of Channel Partners in Vegas or other telecommunications-oriented events, think again.  They will likely be elsewhere.  Expand your presence at organizations like ASCII or shows like IT Expo to find other technology-oriented partners.

Lessons from Nick Saban Podcast Series

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Episode 22 - Lessons from Nick Saban
MicroCast Lessons from Nick Saban This is the time of year when we get fired up about the college football playoffs, who is going to which Bowl game, and which teams will be in the elite four for a chance at the college football National Championship. Nobody in college football has been to the ...
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MicroCast Lessons from Nick Saban This is the time of year when we get fired up about the college football playoffs, who is going to which Bowl game, and which teams will be in the elite four for a chance at the college football National Championship.  Nobody in college football has been to the "big dance" more often and won more national titles than Nick Saban, the coach of the Crimson Tide of Alabama. Now, it pains me to say that because I'm a Georgia Bulldog fan, so Alabama is considered one of our arch enemies, and frankly, I'm tired of seeing them at #1 year after year.  Of course, that pleases one of my colleagues Danny who not only is a "Bama Boy", but also worships at the feet of Tom Brady.   But when you have someone that is that successful, you have to take a look at what he does differently and think about what we might learn from his strategy, plan and process to see if there are some lessons we can apply to the channel. Here are four things I've researched that break down Nick Saban's strategy to stay at number one that I think we can all learn from. It all begins with recruiting. In our channel, partner recruitment is an on-going process.  Master agents want partners to sell through their contracts, and recruit based on their relationships with providers and what they can do for the partner that other masters can't.  Providers recruit partners to sell services in preference to those of their competitors.  So, what can we learn from arguably one of the most successful college football coaches of all time about recruiting? Saban's recruiting coaches are taught to have a conversation that goes somewhat like this, "This is who we are. This is what we do. This is what we've done. This is what we feel like we can do for you. This is what we feel like you can do for us. If you want to be a part of it, great. If you don't, somebody else will.'"  Imagine the clarity that gives a partner to know what your program can do for them, but what you expect in return. Saban never waits for players to come to him, he finds those hidden gems, recruits year-around, and knows he faces stiff competition from the likes of LSU, Georgia or Clemson.  That lesson should translate to partner recruiting.  You have to go out and find partners proactively and not depend exclusively on passive ways to get them to notice you.  Advertise, offer incentives, host lunch and learns, be at regional meetings in order to find partners you want to work with. Next, perfect "the process". Simply put, Saban shares that "The Process" is maintaining a relentless focus on things that we can control.  It also means not being distracted by the opponent's perceived strengths or the score, but rather do your job so that you can contribute what you have control over.  How many times in your channel job have you gotten distracted over your development team missing a product release date, the reorganization that you think is coming to realign resources, or an install that is taking too long on that final circuit?  Saban teaches his team that they are responsible for what they create, not what the other team has going on that they can't control. Saban also breaks his process down into smaller parts so each routine is understandable, manageable and measurable.  We develop software at Convey.  No task takes our developers manage takes more than a day or two and each new feature is compiled of many smaller tasks that we can manage and measure to keep us on track.  Those of us managing complex sales processes, commissions, installations or other processes in the channel should take a lesson from Saban's playbook to take a big process, break it into its component parts then track and measure it. Use technology to gain a competitive edge. I was astounded to learn that Saban focused hard on technology to increase not only his players' performances but increase fan loyalty.  A few years ago, he installed a GPS tracking system to look at a player's speed and acceleration during the season and in post season play.  He used that data to change his practices post-season to keep his players fresh.  He offered students a loyalty app using GPS again to see if they stayed through the fourth quarter.  He viewed a full stadium as a competitive advantage, but when you are 50 points ahead, that's harder.  If you stayed, then you accrued points for early access to post-season tickets. In the channel, you have many ways to use technology to give your partner program a competitive edge and Convey provides quite a few of them.  Take the data out of your systems to track partner behavior to see if it is what you are looking for.  Make sure that all of your education, marketing assets and spiffs are online and easy to find.  Automate your processes by investing in a PRM system to take the stress off your staff. Without technology to boost your program, your competitors will use it and overtake you. Develop bench strength by being an effective leader. Saban has produced more successful head coaches of other programs than anyone in the league. Kirby Smart was tapped as Georgia's head coach three years ago.  After a successful run at Colorado, Jim McElwain lead the Florida Gators, and Will Muschamp moved from Florida to South Carolina.  Saban's secret is to focus on developing leaders by exhibiting the leadership skills he wants his coaches to adopt.  In the channel, we have many opportunities to lead our team and lead our partners to get the results we are looking for.  Saban always lets you know that at the end of the day he's the boss and is ultimately held accountable for results.  Channel organizations need a strong leader that they can follow.  Saban is known to be hyper-focused with a work ethic that is unparalleled with an eye on the ultimate prize, winning. Staying focused and minimizing distractions is critical to make sure you have the right orientation to keep your eye on the prize - revenue. Saban surrounds himself with talent, invests time in practicing and insists that everyone always look the part of a winner, even on game day.  We can all do the same in our channel programs. Takeaway Saban's Crimson Tide may not make the playoffs this year and another National Championship may elude them, but his process, strategy and work ethic will ensure that you can count on him to be at or near the top every year he coaches his team.  For all of us in the channel, if we want to be at or near the top every year, we have to take the plays from Saban's playbook.  Focus on recruiting, understand and perfect all of your business processes, use technology to give your program a competitive edge and be the leader that your channel needs you to be.  For all of you willing to do the work to run your program like Saban runs his, I salute you and give you a hearty "Roll Tide".
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Episode 23 - Partner Recruiting Strategy - Another Lesson from Nick Saban
Microcast Partner Recruiting Unless you are from Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, you may be getting tired of seeing the Crimson Tide of Alabama in the playoffs and as college football national champions year after year. For those who follow Nick Saban, he has many secrets to his success including ...
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Microcast Partner Recruiting Unless you are from Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, you may be getting tired of seeing the Crimson Tide of Alabama in the playoffs and as college football national champions year after year.  For those who follow Nick Saban, he has many secrets to his success including the undying support of his university and the alumni, a huge budget and good coaches.  But many will argue that what really separates his outstanding football program is his focus on recruiting. Unlike other college programs who come in as cheerleaders for their school and tout how great they are, Saban and his coaches have another approach that is very factual, practical and direct.  Recruiting coaches are taught to have a conversation that goes somewhat like this, "This is who we are. This is what we do. This is what we've done. This is what we feel like we can do for you. This is what we feel like you can do for us. If you want to be a part of it, great. If you don't, somebody else will.'" In our channel, partner recruitment is an on-going process.  Master agents want partners to sell through their contracts, and recruit based on their relationships with providers and what they can do for the partner that other masters can't.  Providers recruit partners to sell services in preference to those of their competition.  So, what can we learn from arguably one of the most successful college football coaches of all time about recruiting? The first lesson is to target the right partners.  Saban doesn't want just anybody to play for Alabama.  It has to be a win-win.  He focuses not only on what Alabama can do for the player, but also what the player can do for Alabama.  Master agents and providers need to define the characteristics they value in a partner and then target those that come the closest.  Here are some questions to ask your program that help you recruit the right players: What type of customers are currently in the partner's portfolio?How complex of a sales process does it take to win a deal?  Some partners are not motivated for a long, strategic and large deal?What type of relationship does a partner need and want from you and is your program ready to support that type of relationship? You don't need every partner to affiliate with you, only the ones that create a win-win relationship and score the touchdown and bring the deal in. Once you have defined the right partner, it's time to narrow the field and focus your efforts.  Saban and his coaches can't scout at every high school football game, meet every parent or bring every player to campus.  They have to focus their efforts to be effective.  Once a partner program has defined the ideal partner they want to target, then the next step is to eliminate activities that produce partners that are not going to succeed in the program.   As an example, if your deal is complex and you want a partner that understands security as a service, a program may want to target managed services providers, attend their events, and gear their marketing message to attract that type of individual. Define what you can do for your partner and what you need them to do for you.  Back to Nick Saban.  His conversations with prospective recruits was direct and to the point.  "This is what Alabama can do for you AND this is what you can do for us."  In the channel, we often forget the part about what we want the partner to do for us.  Partner programs should be clear about the benefits of their program, and most programs do this.  But you also need to focus on the commitments you want them to make to you and be clear about that. Don't wait for partners to come to you.  Go to them.  Although Alabama is an elite program, so is Georgia, Ohio State, LSU and Clemson.  Saban and his team don't lay back and hope players will notice them.  He's constantly looking for talent and when he sees it, he goes after it.  That lesson should translate to partner recruiting.  You have to go out and find partners proactively and not depend exclusively on passive ways to get them to notice you.  Advertise, offer incentives, host lunch and learns, be at regional meetings in order to find partners you want to work with. And one final lesson from Saban; don't make unforced errors.  Being passive about recruiting is an unforced error that Saban would never make and neither should you.  Another unforced error is to look for talent where everyone else is looking.  Saban's team is always looking for that hidden gem that other people miss.  A great example is his 2019 quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a little-known player from Hawaii that has stunned college football with his talent.  The channel is full of hidden gems because partners sometimes are found in the most unlikely places. And once you've recruited and the partner has signed up with you, constantly evaluate if you have recruited well.  If partners aren't producing, taking up too much of your resources, and constantly complaining, then your recruiting was off, and you should focus elsewhere. Takeaways Success in both football and in the channel begins with recruiting.  Programs need to define the type of partner they are looking for, understand the win-win, particularly in what you want the partner to do for you, and commit to recruiting constantly trying to find those hidden gems.  And once you've recruited what looks like a strong team, constantly evaluate those players to make sure there is still a fit. I'm a Georgia Bulldog fan, so Alabama is not exactly my favorite team, but when it comes to recruiting, I am going to give Saban and his coaches a big "Roll Tide".
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Episode 24 - The Process - Another Lesson from Nick Saban
Microcast The Process Because of his success winning national championships, Nick Saban is now the most successful active college football coach in history. He wrote a book called, "Think Like a Warrior" where he described what he calls "The Process" as his secret to success. Simply put, ...
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Microcast The Process Because of his success winning national championships, Nick Saban is now the most successful active college football coach in history.  He wrote a book called, "Think Like a Warrior" where he described what he calls "The Process" as his secret to success.  Simply put, Saban shares that "The Process" is maintaining a relentless focus on things that we can control.  It also means not being distracted by the opponent's perceived strengths or the score, but rather do your job so that you can contribute what you have control over. How many times in your channel job have you gotten distracted over your development team missing a product release date, the reorganization that you think is coming to realign resources, or an install that is taking too long based on that final circuit?  Saban teaches his team that they are responsible for what they create, not what the other team has going on that they can't control. So, when we look at Saban's "the Process", how can we apply this and other things that he's doing to the channel? First, worry only about the things you have control over. Stress comes from things that we feel we can't control.  On game day, there are a million small things that happen on and off the field that could drive players and coaches crazy....the way the ref made that call...the dropped punt and turnover....the missed pass or fumble.  The list is endless.  Saban coaches his players and his staff to not consume themselves with things that they can't control but focus on what they can deliver.   If you are a channel manager, you have control over which partners you spend time with and how you teach them to interact with you.  You can't control how often they will refer deals and if those deal will translate to revenue.  If you are in channel marketing, you can control the quality of your materials, campaigns you run or events you produce.  You can't control what partners will do with the materials you so carefully crafted. Next, organize the process by breaking it down into its component parts. Saban breaks his process down into smaller parts so each routine is understandable, manageable and measurable.  We develop software at Convey.  No task takes our developers more than a day or two and each new feature is compiled of many smaller tasks that we can manage and measure to keep us on track.  Those of us in the channel managing complex sales processes, commissions, installations or other processes should take a lesson from Saban's playbook to take a big process, break it into its component parts then track and measure it. Don't get anxious about impending situations.  How hard do you think it is to win in the SEC?  You have a balanced league with teams like Auburn, Georgia, LSU and Florida who are perpetual powers.   Saban is known to be hyper-focused with a work ethic that is unparalleled.  He keeps his eye on the prize, winning, and doesn't pay attention to those other teams that try and distract him or what they may do in the future. It's easy to be distracted in the channel with one eye on the competition, the partner who is complaining the loudest, or with things that are not in your control.  Staying focused and minimizing those distractions is critical to make sure you have the right orientation to keep your eye on the prize - revenue. Strive to be liked, but don't obsess over it is another play in his playbook. Nick Saban may easily be the best coach in college football because he's got a keen sense of understanding that you become the best by hiring the best. Sometimes we fear hiring people that are better than we are because they might outshine us, replace us, threaten us or be better liked.  If your channel program is going to grow, you have to develop "bench strength" in your channel managers, your marketing team and your support players.  The best people that lead channel teams are also the most decisive.  They don't consume themselves if their decisions will make them more popular.  They focus on if that decision is good for the business.  I can't imagine Saban obsessing over his popularity when it comes time to pick the starting quarterback or create his game strategy. Practice makes perfect, well almost. Saban knows that in football good practice helps Alabama perfect their plays and their skills.  He expects 100 percent in every practice and focuses on those results as much as he does game results.  Saban believes if you focus on the process it will get you the results.  So how does that translate in the channel?  Convey has done a number of lunch and learns and webinars where the presenter didn't practice, hone their message, and focus on delivering good content.  Those events often end up in boredom and disengagement.  What about the channel managers who fail to learn their elevator speech about the program only to get tongue tied when they encounter partners at a trade show?  I think you get the point.  If it's important, you should practice if you want to get the best result. Saban requires that players look the best because they want to be the best. I've been in Tuscaloosa and watched players walk from their hotel to the stadium to get dressed for the game.  They wear suits, look like winners, and are professional.   They stand out.  So, in the channel, what style do you want your team to exhibit so it's reflective of your personality and professionalism.  I never like seeing channel team members looking out of step with each other by being overdressed or underdressed when they are at events.  I helped a vendor at a Vegas channel show who had rented the largest booth and bought his team coordinating outfits for each day.  Yet, they showed up wearing whatever and looked like they didn't belong together.  The personality that was conveyed was lack of unity, professionalism and lack of teamwork. Takeaways One of the key elements that has made Nick Saban successful is that he commits to a process that helps him stay focused and keeps his team and coaching staff undistracted.  Others can understand that there is a process for everything, and processes are understandable because they are broken into smaller parts.  He doesn't worry about what other teams are doing and stays focused on the Crimson Tide.  And he's not threatened by talented coaches on his staff or that his decisions will make him less popular. Channel teams should have a process that they articulate to their team members that help them focus on their job and what's in their control, focus on processes that will make them and their partners successful, not worry too much about competitive moves and make decisions without fear that are in the best interest of the program and their partners.  Do this and you're on your way to a winning channel program.
MicroCast
Episode 25 - Leadership Counts - Another Lesson from Nick Saban
Microcast Leadership Counts Nick Saban, legendary football coach at Alabama, has produced more successful head coaches of other programs than anyone in the league. Kirby Smart is leading the Georgia Bulldogs, winning his SEC division 3 years in a row and already having an appearance in the ...
microcast
Microcast Leadership Counts Nick Saban, legendary football coach at Alabama, has produced more successful head coaches of other programs than anyone in the league. Kirby Smart is leading the Georgia Bulldogs, winning his SEC division 3 years in a row and already having an appearance in the National Championship.  After a successful run at Colorado, Jim McElwain lead the Florida Gators, and Will Muschamp moved from Florida to lead South Carolina.  The list goes well beyond these standouts as Saban has created a machine for producing successful football leaders. Saban's secret is to focus on developing leaders by exhibiting the leadership skills he wants his coaches to adopt.  In the channel, we have many opportunities to lead our team and lead our partners to get the results we are looking for.  Let's look at Saban's leadership strategy to see what we can learn from it. At the end of the day, Saban is still the boss and he maintains authority at all times. Watch Saban in a press conference and you'll see that he is clearly the one in charge and also the one that is accountable if things don't go Alabama's way.  Knowing that there is a leader in charge of a master agency, a sales partner organization or a provider's channel program who is willing to step up and be clear about their guidelines, their program and the results inspires confidence in others.  Take a lesson from Curt Allen who navigated his Windstream channel program through bankruptcy.  You could look to Curt and recognize who was the "leader" in the Windstream channel. Surround yourself with the right people. The results say that Nick Saban is easily the best coach in college football, but he's got a keen sense of understanding that you become the best by hiring the best. He's not afraid to align with prominent personalities and talents as assistant coaches and coordinators because he realizes they can make the difference.  If you are in a leadership position in the channel, hire talented people that you can develop into leaders.  Then demand excellence.  Make sure that the people you invest in are worth it because you only have so much time to spend developing those leaders. Focus on the process over the outcome. Great leaders are fascinated by the process and followers tend to be obsessed with the outcomes. This may be the defining factor between a successful leader and an unsuccessful one. Saban immediately goes back to work after winning a National Championship. Championships are one-time events, but processes are repeated. You've seen football teams luck into a win and have setbacks in a game that produces a loss. But processes are a constant and not just a one-time thing. Our teams, businesses, and lives are defined by the processes we choose, so consider being driven to have the right processes in the channel that create success.  That might include the process to sell your services, the process to recruit partners or the processes to ensure that customers are happy with you. Leaders know how to adapt and adjust. I will never forget the National Championship game where Georgia faced off against Alabama three years ago.  I was there, sitting in the stands at Mercedes Benz stadium cheering on the Bulldogs thinking we had the game in hand after a great first half.  But then Saban adapted and adjusted pulling out his starting quarter back and putting in his backup Tua.  You know the rest as Alabama went on to win in double overtime.  In the channel, good leaders have to show their teams how to adapt to changes, the competition, changing partner needs, and the list goes on.  Channel leaders adjust to make sure their program evolves and is healthy. Inspire confidence in your people by sticking to your guns. People may not know that Saban was fired at Ohio State before he got the job at Alabama. Saban, then an assistant coach, was adamant that Ohio State needed to recruit players for what he believed to be the next trend in college football, the passing game.  The head coach disagreed, but who was right?  Saban won a string of National Championships while Ohio State's coach, Earl Bruce faded into obscurity without a winning track record. Good leaders are decisive, stick to the decisions they have made, and inspire people to come along with them even though their decisions may come with a level of controversy.  Being confident in your decisions inspires others to have confidence in you. Leaders dress the part. Saban was an assistant coach at Navy and was the only coach on the team who wore a suit around campus and in meetings. He was dressing for success early and that tradition at Alabama stays today. He wears suits on recruiting trips to make sure parents see him as that leader.  He also expects his players to dress for success. They wear suits, look like winners, and are professional.   This is a lesson you can take to the channel.  Make sure that you as the leader set the tone for how you want your people to look when they are with partners, at trade shows, or at events. You are conveying how you want your channel program to be viewed and that looks mean a lot. Takeaways If you are leading a channel team as a master agent, a provider or in your partner organization, it's up to you to be a leader so that your organization knows who to follow, what you expect, and how to be successful.  Nick Saban surrounds himself with talent and shows them how to succeed by modeling the right processes, adjusting when change is needed, and inspiring confidence in others.  He looks like a winner, acts like a winner and is a winner.
MicroCast
Episode 26 - Gaining an Edge - Another Lesson from Nick Saban
Microcast Gaining an Edge This year Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide will not be making an appearance in the college football playoffs thanks to Auburn's stunning victory in the Iron Bowl. But you can count on Coach Saban to be there just about every other year. He has many secrets to being ...
microcast
Microcast Gaining an Edge This year Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide will not be making an appearance in the college football playoffs thanks to Auburn's stunning victory in the Iron Bowl.  But you can count on Coach Saban to be there just about every other year.  He has many secrets to being at the top including the undying support of his university and the alumni, a huge budget and good coaches.  We have focused our college football MicroCast series on why he has been so successful, and today's episode is about Saban's willingness to use technology to get an edge. A few years ago, Alabama began using a GPS system to track the performance and workload of its players.  Without getting too technical, this GPS system tracks a player's top speed or acceleration in practice with his past performance.  Saban is looking to see if that player is getting worn out during the season.  Alabama lost to Clemson in the final minute of a national championship game, prompting Saban to consider that his team was tired.  Once he started using the GPS system to crunch the number, the data showed that the Tide had a performance drop off in post season, so Saban adjusted practice to keep his players fresh.   So, if we take a play from Saban's playbook and use technology to get an edge in our channel program, what technology should we be looking at and how can using that technology help us recruit better, run our program better and get more deals? Start by using the data to be analytical about the ROI for each partner you work with.  I'm sure Saban's GPS was relative complex, but once he used it after losing to Clemson, he won the national championship the next year after adjusting his strategy.  Your program likely has quite a bit of data that you need to use to determine what adjustments should be made in your partner strategy.  Look at the number of referrals and quotes to closed deals to see if the partner is sending in junk or real opportunities.  Look at what it is costing you to recruit and support a partner and adjust if the cost is too high.  Geolocate where you have the best partner traction and spend more time going to those locations. If you are in the Convey Channel program, run a catalog report to see which partners are engaged and what they interact with. Create digital experiences that engage partners when you're not with them.  You'll never have enough staff, money or time to go everywhere and that's where digital experiences come in.  Technology, particularly Convey's Channel program and partner portals, enable you to educate partners online, be present when partners are doing their research and starting their journey to find the right services and ensure that they are aware of your latest and greatest financial incentives. Use technology to automate your processes.  Channel programs have a lot going on, never enough money and almost always are understaffed.  One way to get around this dilemma is to invest in a partner portal to make your staff more efficient and do more with less.  If you were using one of our portals, we would automate partner onboarding, managing your data, regular messaging and outreach and provide assets for marketing and campaigns.  Without automation, your program will never grow and may even have a hard time being relevant and surviving. Leverage technology to make sure partners show up.  Saban believes that a full stadium is essential to keeping player morale up and winning games.  However, when the Tide is far ahead by halftime, students tend to leave, and the stadium starts to empty.  Technology has stepped in to encourage students to stay longer with an app called "Tide Loyalty Points".  If students stay through the 4th quarter, they earn points toward priority access to post-season games.  I've been to a number of partner events that sponsoring vendors spent big dollars on just to hear crickets when partners fail to show.  Or webinars that they work hard on that has only a few people there.  Leveraging technology can get partners to show up.  Drip email marketing campaigns with registration links get partners to notice you, then register their commitment to be there.  Consider adding text reminders that are opened within a few seconds of being received.  Convey is working on launching that technology early next year. Or get creative like Saban with an app and "loyalty points" for participation that can be translated into prizes. Takeaways Many people may think that a GPS-tracking system to monitor a player's steps or technology to track students and motivate them to stay for the whole game is over the top.  But you can't argue with Saban's success.  Technology is simply a tool for partner programs to leverage.  Take the data out of your systems to track partner behavior to see if it is what you are looking for.  Make sure that all of your education, marketing assets and spiffs are online and easy to find.  Automate your processes by investing in a partner portal to take the stress off your staff. Here's another "Roll Tide" to Alabama for being forward-thinking, using technology tools, and staying ahead of the competition.

Press Releases

Press Release
The 2021 American Thoracic Society Virtual Event
Atlanta, GA - September 14, 2021 - In 2021 the American Thoracic Society hosted their annual conference as a virtual event. The ATS Virtual Conference provided both attendees and exhibitors with a virtual experience that would closely replicate the in-person environment. Download the case study ...
American Thoracic Society
Atlanta, GA - September 14, 2021 - In 2021 the American Thoracic Society hosted their annual conference as a virtual event. The ATS Virtual Conference provided both attendees and exhibitors with a virtual experience that would closely replicate the in-person environment. Download the case study for free at: Case Study in Virtual & Hybrid Events for Medical Organizations - The story of ATS 2021. The ATS International Conference attracts pulmonary, critical care, and sleep professionals, from those in the earliest stages of their careers to those whose research or strides in clinical care has gained them international recognition. Each year, nearly 14,000 of these professionals choose to attend, present, and learn about the latest advances, meet with colleagues from around the world, and create new collaborations and connections. It is truly where today's science meets tomorrow's care.
Press Release
UCaaS Solutions Enhanced by Digital Engagement Platform from Cloud Conventions
Digital Engagement, Enterprise Connect, Ucaas
Press Release
Doug Green from Telecom Reseller to Broadcast Live at Cloud Conventions 2021
Doug Green, Next Normal, Telecom Reseller
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Launches Community, a Platform to Strengthen Attendee/Exhibitor Engagement
Atlanta, GA - December 2, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, the industry leading virtual event technology solution today expanded its capabilities by launching Community™, a new feature set designed to promote attendee/exhibitor engagement, networking and communication. Community provides a searchable ...
Attendee/Exhibitor Engagement, Community
Atlanta, GA - December 2, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, the industry leading virtual event technology solution today expanded its capabilities by launching Community™, a new feature set designed to promote attendee/exhibitor engagement, networking and communication. Community provides a searchable attendee and exhibitor directory for connection, a message center for interactive communication or meeting requests and a one-on-one chat feature so attendees and exhibitors can open a discussion from within a booth.
Press Release
Convey Services Launches Cloud Exhibit
Atlanta, GA - November 17, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit™, a universal, portable, virtual exhibit environment that improves branding, and enhances attendee experience, when exhibiting or sponsoring any ...
Portable Virtual Booths, Virtual Events
Atlanta, GA - November 17, 2020 -Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit™, a universal, portable, virtual exhibit environment that improves branding, and enhances attendee experience, when exhibiting or sponsoring any virtual event, regardless of the platform used by the tradeshow or conference. Cloud Exhibit is the digital version of a custom trade show booth that companies can use to showcase their products and services at dozens of different events and conferences, selectively displaying from a collection of formats and assets to match every audience. With Cloud Exhibit you can own a branded, content-rich exhibit environment connecting attendees to a custom experience.
Press Release
Convey Services Launches Virtual Event Platform Exclusively for Sales & Annual Conferences
Atlanta, GA - October 1, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS solutions company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions product line by launching Cloud Kickoffs™, an online portal solution exclusively for sales and annual conference management. Cloud Kickoffs brings elements of a live sales kickoff or ...
Sales Kickoffs
Atlanta, GA - October 1, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS solutions company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions product line by launching Cloud Kickoffs™, an online portal solution exclusively for sales and annual conference management. Cloud Kickoffs brings elements of a live sales kickoff or conference into a virtual environment to promote engagement, make connections and support team interaction. It's content-rich experience maximizes the effectiveness of virtual events for yearend or sales kickoff programs.
Press Release
Daniel Gaston Promoted to Vice President at Cloud Conventions/Convey Services
Atlanta, GA - August 13, 2020 - Convey Services, parent company of Cloud Conventions a full featured virtual event technology solution today announced the promotion of Daniel Gaston to Vice President of Business Development. Gaston is chartered with developing and expanding the marketplace for ...
Daniel Gaston
Atlanta, GA - August 13, 2020 - Convey Services, parent company of Cloud Conventions a full featured virtual event technology solution today announced the promotion of Daniel Gaston to Vice President of Business Development. Gaston is chartered with developing and expanding the marketplace for virtual events, creating both a direct and channel focus to offer capabilities to event managers, associations, nonprofits, tradeshow operators and channel resellers.
Press Release
InterAct Unveils Addiction Support Platform to Address Opioid Crisis in Rural America
Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, today launched the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform, an addiction education knowledgebase designed to support Rural Health Initiatives at the federal, state and local level. The Opioid Resource Platform delivers patient and family support tools ...
Opioid Crisis
Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, today launched the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform, an addiction education knowledgebase designed to support Rural Health Initiatives at the federal, state and local level. The Opioid Resource Platform delivers patient and family support tools and telehealth resources to provide relief from the opioid crisis in rural communities where access to treatment is often unavailable. The InterAct platform complies with HIPAA regulations and ADA accessibility and is custom branded for state, regional, municipal or school districts, along with private treatment programs. Each portal is connected to a centralized online library populated with current educational resources on a wide range of drug-related topics, family support and wellness strategies. Community organizations can use the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform to connect and refer individuals to local resources, community contacts and virtual support groups.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Prepares for Hybrid Tradeshows & Events to Flourish in 2021
Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow, conference and event technology solution is now offering hybrid event capability to blend an enhanced virtual and digital experience with live events as they begin to return in 2021. Hybrid events expand the ...
Hybrid Tradeshows
Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow, conference and event technology solution is now offering hybrid event capability to blend an enhanced virtual and digital experience with live events as they begin to return in 2021. Hybrid events expand the audience at tradeshows and conferences, extend the time attendees can engage with exhibitors and sponsors and provide a storehouse for content, session recordings and education on-demand. Cloud Conventions is upgrading its technology to offer integration with services like Experient and Cvent that manage both live and virtual attendee registration.
Press Release
InterAct LifeLine Addresses Alarming Increase in Overdoses During COVID-19 Pandemic
Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, a telehealth platform delivering education and content on addiction and wellness, has moved from a beta program to full release offering addiction treatment programs as well as state and local community groups the ability to use technology for ...
Addiction Treatment, Overdose
Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, a telehealth platform delivering education and content on addiction and wellness, has moved from a beta program to full release offering addiction treatment programs as well as state and local community groups the ability to use technology for remote patient monitoring and keeping individuals connected virtually after they have completed an addiction rehab program. InterAct LifeLine offers structure and accountability, virtual connections to support groups and treatment professionals, along with education about how to maintain recovery and individual monitoring when needed. InterAct is a sister company of Convey Services.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Platform Introduces Licensing Program
Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today introduced a new Licensing Program for event management firms, tradeshow producers or others who want greater flexibility in customizing features or to resell a white-labeled ...
Licensing, White-Label
Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today introduced a new Licensing Program for event management firms, tradeshow producers or others who want greater flexibility in customizing features or to resell a white-labeled platform. Licensing allows companies to enter the market quickly, customize their offerings and deliver fully managed or self-managed virtual events.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Platform Launches Channel Sales Program
Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today launched a channel reseller program to allow telecommunications and cloud sales partners, event managers and marketing groups to represent and sell the platform to their ...
channel partners
Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today launched a channel reseller program to allow telecommunications and cloud sales partners, event managers and marketing groups to represent and sell the platform to their customers and prospects. The new channel program pays commissions for direct referrals or offers a wholesale rate for white-label resellers.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Supports ADA Requirements for Virtual Event Accessibility
Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution supports ADA requirements for accessibility to help event operators accommodate people with disabilities and avoid increasing legal action being taken against failure to provide ...
ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act
Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution supports ADA requirements for accessibility to help event operators accommodate people with disabilities and avoid increasing legal action being taken against failure to provide attendees easy access to content and programming. As most tradeshows, conferences and association events transition from live to virtual in response to COVID-19, accessibility is often overlooked when making the switch. Event planners who normally take steps to ensure their in-person events accommodate people with any level of handicap, are often unaware that virtual events must meet the same requirements.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Sets New Standards for Content Delivery
Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution is establishing itself as the new standard for delivering content, audio and video presentations, PDFs, PowerPoint files, blogs, brochures, flip catalogs and live events to virtual ...
content
Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution is establishing itself as the new standard for delivering content, audio and video presentations, PDFs, PowerPoint files, blogs, brochures, flip catalogs and live events to virtual audiences around the world. Cloud Conventions has a long history of content delivery to industry networks connecting indirect sellers in channel organizations to suppliers and vendors. At the core of Cloud Conventions is a sophisticated SaaS delivery engine that manages and graphically showcases content to create a powerful digital experience.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Can be More Effective at Connecting Buyers & Sellers
Atlanta, GA - August 7, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution delivers an effective means for suppliers to continue to move merchandise by providing better connection to buyers in a content rich virtual environment. Annual or regional tradeshows ...
Sale-focused
Atlanta, GA - August 7, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution delivers an effective means for suppliers to continue to move merchandise by providing better connection to buyers in a content rich virtual environment. Annual or regional tradeshows and industry conferences have traditionally been the primary way suppliers connect to their wholesale marketplace, educating buyers on new products, introducing the latest trends and receiving orders for merchandise for upcoming selling seasons. In a digital environment, Cloud Conventions is improving the overall sales process by better showcasing suppliers and their products, providing increased promotional opportunities and stronger connections with buyers, brokers and distributers in thousands of vertical markets in the U.S. and internationally.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Integrates Virtual Event Platform with Zoom Video Webinar
Atlanta, GA - August 6, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today announced the integration of Zoom Video Webinar to automate scheduling, participant entry into sessions and delivery of meeting data into the platform's reporting engine. Zoom ...
Zoom Video Webinar
Atlanta, GA - August 6, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today announced the integration of Zoom Video Webinar to automate scheduling, participant entry into sessions and delivery of meeting data into the platform's reporting engine. Zoom Video Webinar has become a preference for tradeshow and conference organizers that need to engage a larger audience, deliver more formal presentations or have to validate attendance for continuing education credit (CE, CLE, or CME). Cloud Conventions is a new virtual event SaaS platform from Convey Services.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Unveils 360 Degree Virtual Experience
Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today unveiled its new 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ for exhibitions, conferences or association events. The 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby is an ...
360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™
Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today unveiled its new 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ for exhibitions, conferences or association events. The 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby is an option that allows an attendee to dynamically move through a panoramic view of the exhibition hall with custom graphics linked to exhibit and sponsor booths, the auditorium for speaker and keynote sessions, agendas and social events. The 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall provides the event host with greater opportunities to promote sponsors and exhibitors and can be updated daily to reflect the changing face of any event.
Press Release
Cloud Conventions Creates Dedicated Team to Support Virtual Events for Associations & Nonprofits
Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution now has a dedicated team of event managers to support virtual events and conferences for professional associations and nonprofits. Members of the new group have hands-on experience in ...
Associations
Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution now has a dedicated team of event managers to support virtual events and conferences for professional associations and nonprofits. Members of the new group have hands-on experience in working with associations, nonprofits and management firms to translate formerly live conferences into virtual events using the Cloud Conventions platform.
Press Release
Local Firm Capitalizes on Growing Demand for Virtual Events & Tradeshows As COVID-19 Changes The Face Of Business
Roswell, GA - August 4, 2020 - Local technology firm, Convey Services discovered a huge new market for their online portal solutions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their online portals were originally built for sales engagement, but Convey recently introduced Cloud Conventions, a virtual ...
Roswell
Roswell, GA - August 4, 2020 - Local technology firm, Convey Services discovered a huge new market for their online portal solutions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their online portals were originally built for sales engagement, but Convey recently introduced Cloud Conventions, a virtual event platform that is changing the way people connect at tradeshows, conferences or expositions from the comfort and safety of their home. Today the Cloud Conventions business is growing rapidly, delivering virtual events in dozens of different markets around the world.
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Convey launches Engagement Platform as a Service... Convey launches Engagement Platform as a Service...

New SaaS Solution Maximizes Engagement for Customers, Prospects, and ...

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Convey launches Engagement Platform as a Service (EPaaS)

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The 2021 American Thoracic Society Virtual Event The 2021 American Thoracic Society Virtual Event

A Case Study in Virtual & Hybrid Events for Medical Organizations

Atlanta, GA - September 14, 2021 - In 2021 the American Thoracic Society hosted their annual conference as a virtual event. The ATS Virtual ...

Press Release
Press Release
4 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-American-Thoracic-Society 0 533671 533671 Atlanta, GA - September 14, 2021 - In 2021 the American Thoracic Society hosted their annual conference as a virtual event. The ATS Virtual Conference provided both attendees and exhibitors with a virtual experience that would closely replicate the in-person environment. Download the case study for free at: Case Study in Virtual & Hybrid Events for Medical Organizations - The story of ATS 2021. The ATS International Conference attracts pulmonary, critical care, and sleep professionals, from those in the earliest stages of their careers to those whose research or strides in clinical care has gained them international recognition. Each year, nearly 14,000 of these professionals choose to attend, present, and learn about the latest advances, meet with colleagues from around the world, and create new collaborations and connections. It is truly where today's science meets tomorrow's care.

The 2021 American Thoracic Society Virtual Event

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - September 14, 2021 - In 2021 the American Thoracic Society hosted their annual conference as a virtual event. The ATS Virtual ...

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Cloud Conventions Launches Virtual Event Network Solution for Enterprise Business

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Cloud Conventions Announces New Virtual Event Management Platform Capabilities

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10 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Associations 0 533667 533667

Cloud Conventions Releases New eBook for Associations Detailing 2021 Virtual & Hybrid Event Outlook

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Cloud Conventions & MCI Group Partner with... Cloud Conventions & MCI Group Partner with...

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11 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-CME 0 530009 530009

Cloud Conventions & MCI Group Partner with Medical Professionals to Deliver Virtual/Hybrid Events

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Cloud Conventions & MCI Group Partner with... Cloud Conventions & MCI Group Partner with...

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12 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-MCI-Group jplist-topic-Virtual-Events jplist-topic-hybrid-events 0 524667 524667

Cloud Conventions & MCI Group Partner with Medical Professionals to Deliver Virtual/Hybrid Events

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Doug Green from Telecom Reseller to Broadcast... Doug Green from Telecom Reseller to Broadcast...

Channel Expo Goes Live May 12 to "Navigate the Next Normal"

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13 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-Doug-Green jplist-topic-Telecom-Reseller jplist-topic-Next-Normal 0 510593 510593

Doug Green from Telecom Reseller to Broadcast Live at Cloud Conventions 2021

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Doug Green from Telecom Reseller to Broadcast... Doug Green from Telecom Reseller to Broadcast...

Channel Expo Goes Live May 12 to "Navigate the Next Normal"

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14 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Doug-Green jplist-topic-Telecom-Reseller jplist-topic-Next-Normal 0 510592 510592

Doug Green from Telecom Reseller to Broadcast Live at Cloud Conventions 2021

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Cloud Conventions 2021 - A Must-See Cloud Conventions 2021 - A Must-See

Telecom Reseller

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15 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-Telecom-Reseller 0 509874 509874

Cloud Conventions 2021 - A Must-See

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Cloud Conventions 2021 Will Feature Five Unique... Cloud Conventions 2021 Will Feature Five Unique...

The Telecom/Cloud Channel's Premier Virtual Expo Returns May 12-14

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16 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Cloud-Conventions-2021 0 509760 509760

Cloud Conventions 2021 Will Feature Five Unique Pavilions Focusing on "The Next Normal"

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Cloud Conventions 2021 Opens the Event Platform... Cloud Conventions 2021 Opens the Event Platform...

Navigate "The Next Normal" Goes Live May 12-14

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17 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Cloud-Conventions-2021 0 509758 509758

Cloud Conventions 2021 Opens the Event Platform to Registered Attendees

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Exhibitor Magazine: Convey Services Launches... Exhibitor Magazine: Convey Services Launches...

12/11/2020 Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit™, a ...

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18 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-Cloud-Exhibit 0 442197 442197 12/11/2020 Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit™, a universal, portable, virtual exhibit environment that improves branding, and enhances attendee experience, when exhibiting or sponsoring any virtual event, regardless of the platform used by the tradeshow or conference. Cloud Exhibit is the digital version of a custom trade show booth that companies can use to showcase their products and services at dozens of different events and conferences, selectively displaying from a collection of formats and assets to match every audience. With Cloud Exhibit you can own a branded, content-rich exhibit environment connecting attendees to a custom experience.

Exhibitor Magazine: Convey Services Launches Cloud Exhibit Portable Virtual Booths For Tradeshows, Conferences & Events

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12/11/2020 Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit™, a universal, ...

Cloud Conventions Launches Community, a Platform... Cloud Conventions Launches Community, a Platform...

For Virtual Events, Tradeshows & Conferences

Atlanta, GA - December 2, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, the industry leading virtual event technology solution today expanded its capabilities ...

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19 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Attendee-Exhibitor-Engagement jplist-topic-Community 0 437028 437028 Atlanta, GA - December 2, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, the industry leading virtual event technology solution today expanded its capabilities by launching Community™, a new feature set designed to promote attendee/exhibitor engagement, networking and communication. Community provides a searchable attendee and exhibitor directory for connection, a message center for interactive communication or meeting requests and a one-on-one chat feature so attendees and exhibitors can open a discussion from within a booth.

Cloud Conventions Launches Community, a Platform to Strengthen Attendee/Exhibitor Engagement

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - December 2, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, the industry leading virtual event technology solution today expanded its capabilities by ...

Convey Services Launches Cloud Exhibit Convey Services Launches Cloud Exhibit

Portable Virtual Booths For Tradeshows, Conferences & Events

Atlanta, GA - November 17, 2020 -Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching ...

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20 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Portable-Virtual-Booths jplist-topic-Virtual-Events 0 434160 434160 Atlanta, GA - November 17, 2020 -Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit™, a universal, portable, virtual exhibit environment that improves branding, and enhances attendee experience, when exhibiting or sponsoring any virtual event, regardless of the platform used by the tradeshow or conference. Cloud Exhibit is the digital version of a custom trade show booth that companies can use to showcase their products and services at dozens of different events and conferences, selectively displaying from a collection of formats and assets to match every audience. With Cloud Exhibit you can own a branded, content-rich exhibit environment connecting attendees to a custom experience.

Convey Services Launches Cloud Exhibit

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - November 17, 2020 -Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud ...

Paleontologists See Stars as Software Bleeps... Paleontologists See Stars as Software Bleeps...

New York Times

October 18, 2020 - New York Times - When their annual conference was moved online, they were amused to find seemingly benign words blocked ...

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21 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-Censorship 0 427906 427906 October 18, 2020 - New York Times - When their annual conference was moved online, they were amused to find seemingly benign words blocked and replaced with asterisks during virtual sessions.

Paleontologists See Stars as Software Bleeps Scientific Terms

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October 18, 2020 - New York Times - When their annual conference was moved online, they were amused to find seemingly benign words blocked and ...

Convey Services Launches Virtual Event Platform... Convey Services Launches Virtual Event Platform...

New Cloud Kickoffs Seamlessly Delivers Interactive Sales Events

Atlanta, GA - October 1, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS solutions company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions product line by launching ...

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22 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Sales-Kickoffs 0 421590 421590 Atlanta, GA - October 1, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS solutions company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions product line by launching Cloud Kickoffs™, an online portal solution exclusively for sales and annual conference management. Cloud Kickoffs brings elements of a live sales kickoff or conference into a virtual environment to promote engagement, make connections and support team interaction. It's content-rich experience maximizes the effectiveness of virtual events for yearend or sales kickoff programs.

Convey Services Launches Virtual Event Platform Exclusively for Sales & Annual Conferences

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - October 1, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS solutions company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions product line by launching Cloud ...

Market Overview: Redefining Virtual Events Market Overview: Redefining Virtual Events

A Primer on Cloud Engagement Platforms

COVID-19 quarantines have spawned unprecedented demand since March 2020 for hosted solutions that enable conference organizers and other ...

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23 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-Research 0 410073 410073 COVID-19 quarantines have spawned unprecedented demand since March 2020 for hosted solutions that enable conference organizers and other event planners to develop online venues - commonly called "virtual events" - in which large audiences can gather to see presentations and engage with individuals who have shared interests. Unfortunately, the market lexicon of "virtual events" falls short of describing the swirl of activity taking place in this emerging segment. In fact, we are witnessing the birth to a whole new class of technology solutions - labelled collectively by Wainhouse as "Cloud Engagement Platforms" - that merge state-of-the-art collaboration capabilities with digital marketing features and technologies that foster socialization and networking among event attendees.

Market Overview: Redefining Virtual Events

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COVID-19 quarantines have spawned unprecedented demand since March 2020 for hosted solutions that enable conference organizers and other event ...

Daniel Gaston Promoted to Vice President at Cloud... Daniel Gaston Promoted to Vice President at Cloud...

Gaston to Lead Business Development for Virtual Tradeshows, Conferences & ...

Atlanta, GA - August 13, 2020 - Convey Services, parent company of Cloud Conventions a full featured virtual event technology solution ...

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24 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Daniel-Gaston 0 399785 399785 Atlanta, GA - August 13, 2020 - Convey Services, parent company of Cloud Conventions a full featured virtual event technology solution today announced the promotion of Daniel Gaston to Vice President of Business Development. Gaston is chartered with developing and expanding the marketplace for virtual events, creating both a direct and channel focus to offer capabilities to event managers, associations, nonprofits, tradeshow operators and channel resellers.

Daniel Gaston Promoted to Vice President at Cloud Conventions/Convey Services

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 13, 2020 - Convey Services, parent company of Cloud Conventions a full featured virtual event technology solution today ...

InterAct Unveils Addiction Support Platform to... InterAct Unveils Addiction Support Platform to...

Online Tools Extend Treatment, Connect & Support Rural Communities

Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, today launched the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform, an addiction education ...

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25 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Opioid-Crisis 0 398963 398963 Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, today launched the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform, an addiction education knowledgebase designed to support Rural Health Initiatives at the federal, state and local level. The Opioid Resource Platform delivers patient and family support tools and telehealth resources to provide relief from the opioid crisis in rural communities where access to treatment is often unavailable. The InterAct platform complies with HIPAA regulations and ADA accessibility and is custom branded for state, regional, municipal or school districts, along with private treatment programs. Each portal is connected to a centralized online library populated with current educational resources on a wide range of drug-related topics, family support and wellness strategies. Community organizations can use the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform to connect and refer individuals to local resources, community contacts and virtual support groups.

InterAct Unveils Addiction Support Platform to Address Opioid Crisis in Rural America

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, today launched the InterAct Opioid Resource Platform, an addiction education knowledgebase ...

Cloud Conventions Prepares for Hybrid Tradeshows... Cloud Conventions Prepares for Hybrid Tradeshows...

Hybrid Options Combine Live Tradeshow & Conferences with Virtual Events

Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow, conference and event technology solution is now ...

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26 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Hybrid-Tradeshows 0 398961 398961

Cloud Conventions Prepares for Hybrid Tradeshows & Events to Flourish in 2021

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Atlanta, GA - August 12, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow, conference and event technology solution is now offering hybrid ...

InterAct LifeLine Addresses Alarming Increase in... InterAct LifeLine Addresses Alarming Increase in...

Technology Offers Addiction Treatment Programs Expanded Capabilities

Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, a telehealth platform delivering education and content on addiction and wellness, has ...

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27 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Overdose jplist-topic-Addiction-Treatment 0 398955 398955 Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, a telehealth platform delivering education and content on addiction and wellness, has moved from a beta program to full release offering addiction treatment programs as well as state and local community groups the ability to use technology for remote patient monitoring and keeping individuals connected virtually after they have completed an addiction rehab program. InterAct LifeLine offers structure and accountability, virtual connections to support groups and treatment professionals, along with education about how to maintain recovery and individual monitoring when needed. InterAct is a sister company of Convey Services.

InterAct LifeLine Addresses Alarming Increase in Overdoses During COVID-19 Pandemic

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - InterAct LifeLine, a telehealth platform delivering education and content on addiction and wellness, has moved from a ...

Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Platform... Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Platform...

Wholesale & White-Label Options are Available

Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today introduced a new ...

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28 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Licensing jplist-topic-White-Label 0 398950 398950 Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today introduced a new Licensing Program for event management firms, tradeshow producers or others who want greater flexibility in customizing features or to resell a white-labeled platform. Licensing allows companies to enter the market quickly, customize their offerings and deliver fully managed or self-managed virtual events.

Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Platform Introduces Licensing Program

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today introduced a new Licensing ...

Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Platform Launches... Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Platform Launches...

Referral, Wholesale & White-Label Options are Available for Channel Partners

Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today launched a channel ...

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29 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-channel-partners 0 398944 398944 Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today launched a channel reseller program to allow telecommunications and cloud sales partners, event managers and marketing groups to represent and sell the platform to their customers and prospects. The new channel program pays commissions for direct referrals or offers a wholesale rate for white-label resellers.

Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Platform Launches Channel Sales Program

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today launched a channel reseller ...

Cloud Conventions Supports ADA Requirements for... Cloud Conventions Supports ADA Requirements for...

Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution supports ADA ...

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30 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-ADA jplist-topic-Americans-with-Disabilities-Act 0 398943 398943 Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution supports ADA requirements for accessibility to help event operators accommodate people with disabilities and avoid increasing legal action being taken against failure to provide attendees easy access to content and programming. As most tradeshows, conferences and association events transition from live to virtual in response to COVID-19, accessibility is often overlooked when making the switch. Event planners who normally take steps to ensure their in-person events accommodate people with any level of handicap, are often unaware that virtual events must meet the same requirements.

Cloud Conventions Supports ADA Requirements for Virtual Event Accessibility

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 11, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution supports ADA requirements for ...

Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Sets New... Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Sets New...

Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution is establishing itself ...

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31 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-content 0 398941 398941 Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution is establishing itself as the new standard for delivering content, audio and video presentations, PDFs, PowerPoint files, blogs, brochures, flip catalogs and live events to virtual audiences around the world. Cloud Conventions has a long history of content delivery to industry networks connecting indirect sellers in channel organizations to suppliers and vendors. At the core of Cloud Conventions is a sophisticated SaaS delivery engine that manages and graphically showcases content to create a powerful digital experience.

Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Sets New Standards for Content Delivery

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Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution is establishing itself as the new ...

Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Can be More... Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Can be More...

Sale-focused Events Empower Businesses to Keep Merchandise Moving in the ...

Atlanta, GA - August 7, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution delivers an effective ...

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32 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Sale-focused 0 398940 398940 Atlanta, GA - August 7, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution delivers an effective means for suppliers to continue to move merchandise by providing better connection to buyers in a content rich virtual environment. Annual or regional tradeshows and industry conferences have traditionally been the primary way suppliers connect to their wholesale marketplace, educating buyers on new products, introducing the latest trends and receiving orders for merchandise for upcoming selling seasons. In a digital environment, Cloud Conventions is improving the overall sales process by better showcasing suppliers and their products, providing increased promotional opportunities and stronger connections with buyers, brokers and distributers in thousands of vertical markets in the U.S. and internationally.

Cloud Conventions Virtual Events Can be More Effective at Connecting Buyers & Sellers

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 7, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution delivers an effective means for ...

Cloud Conventions Integrates Virtual Event... Cloud Conventions Integrates Virtual Event...

Integration Provides Automated Scheduling, Participant Entry & Reporting

Atlanta, GA - August 6, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today announced the ...

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33 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Zoom-Video-Webinar 0 398934 398934 Atlanta, GA - August 6, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today announced the integration of Zoom Video Webinar to automate scheduling, participant entry into sessions and delivery of meeting data into the platform's reporting engine. Zoom Video Webinar has become a preference for tradeshow and conference organizers that need to engage a larger audience, deliver more formal presentations or have to validate attendance for continuing education credit (CE, CLE, or CME). Cloud Conventions is a new virtual event SaaS platform from Convey Services.

Cloud Conventions Integrates Virtual Event Platform with Zoom Video Webinar

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 6, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today announced the integration of ...

Cloud Conventions Unveils 360 Degree Virtual... Cloud Conventions Unveils 360 Degree Virtual...

Enhanced Visual Customization for the Virtual Tradeshow, Conference and ...

Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today unveiled its new ...

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34 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-360-----Virtual-Exhibit-Hall---Lobby-Experience--- 0 398929 398929

Cloud Conventions Unveils 360 Degree Virtual Experience

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Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today unveiled its new 360° ...

Cloud Conventions Creates Dedicated Team to... Cloud Conventions Creates Dedicated Team to...

Specialized Services Support Virtual Conferences with Continuing Education

Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution now has a dedicated team ...

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35 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Associations 0 398921 398921 Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution now has a dedicated team of event managers to support virtual events and conferences for professional associations and nonprofits. Members of the new group have hands-on experience in working with associations, nonprofits and management firms to translate formerly live conferences into virtual events using the Cloud Conventions platform.

Cloud Conventions Creates Dedicated Team to Support Virtual Events for Associations & Nonprofits

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 5, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution now has a dedicated team of event ...

Local Firm Capitalizes on Growing Demand for... Local Firm Capitalizes on Growing Demand for...

Roswell, GA - August 4, 2020 - Local technology firm, Convey Services discovered a huge new market for their online portal solutions as a ...

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36 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Roswell 0 398917 398917 Roswell, GA - August 4, 2020 - Local technology firm, Convey Services discovered a huge new market for their online portal solutions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their online portals were originally built for sales engagement, but Convey recently introduced Cloud Conventions, a virtual event platform that is changing the way people connect at tradeshows, conferences or expositions from the comfort and safety of their home. Today the Cloud Conventions business is growing rapidly, delivering virtual events in dozens of different markets around the world.

Local Firm Capitalizes on Growing Demand for Virtual Events & Tradeshows As COVID-19 Changes The Face Of Business

Press Release

Roswell, GA - August 4, 2020 - Local technology firm, Convey Services discovered a huge new market for their online portal solutions as a result of ...

Cloud Conventions Expands Online Training to... Cloud Conventions Expands Online Training to...

Atlanta, GA - August 3, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today expanded its online ...

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37 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Online-Training 0 398910 398910 Atlanta, GA - August 3, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today expanded its online training to help show managers and exhibitors design, manage and launch virtual events faster and maximize their effectiveness. The Cloud Conventions portal technology is designed for the non-technical user and does not require any special coding or development to customize it, but beginning users now have an even clearer roadmap on how to design and manage all aspects of a virtual event including attendee, exhibitor and session management. Each portal comes with training videos, a self-service database with frequently asked questions, checklists and guides along with suggestions for exhibitors to maximize their ROI.

Cloud Conventions Expands Online Training to Simplify Virtual Event Management

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 3, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today expanded its online training ...

Cloud Conventions Publishes Virtual Event... Cloud Conventions Publishes Virtual Event...

Free eBooks Offer Strategies & Tactics for Managing Virtual Tradeshows, ...

Atlanta, GA - July 31, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today released the first ...

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38 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Event-Playbook 0 398903 398903 Atlanta, GA - July 31, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today released the first in a series of eBooks entitled "How to Plan, Promote, & Deliver the Perfect Virtual Event" available for free online. If a tradeshow or association meeting is 'going virtual' for the first time to replace or enhance a live event, this eBook provides tips, hints and insight to help execute a successful show. It outlines virtual event strategies, provides successful real-life examples and details how technology can automate the process. Cloud Conventions is one of the hottest new virtual event SaaS platforms from Convey Services.

Cloud Conventions Publishes Virtual Event Playbook Series

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 31, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today released the first in a series ...

Virtual Wine Tastings Elevate the Cloud... Virtual Wine Tastings Elevate the Cloud...

Bring a Sommelier into the Attendee's Living Room

Atlanta, GA - July 30, 2020 - Tradeshows, conferences and events around the world are coming up with new ideas, like virtual wine tastings, ...

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39 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Virtual-Wine-Tastings jplist-topic-Sommelier 0 398900 398900

Virtual Wine Tastings Elevate the Cloud Conventions Virtual Event Experience

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 30, 2020 - Tradeshows, conferences and events around the world are coming up with new ideas, like virtual wine tastings, to ...

Cloud Conventions Integrates Email Campaign... Cloud Conventions Integrates Email Campaign...

Drip Marketing Provides Sophisticated Marketing Tools to Event Managers

Atlanta, GA - July 29, 2019 - Cloud Conventions today announced the integration of Convey's proprietary Conduct™ Campaign email marketing ...

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40 Press-Release-Press-Release 0 398896 398896

Cloud Conventions Integrates Email Campaign Technology Into Virtual Event Platform

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 29, 2019 - Cloud Conventions today announced the integration of Convey's proprietary Conduct™ Campaign email marketing solution ...

Cloud Conventions Expands Registration... Cloud Conventions Expands Registration...

External Registration Technologies Allow More Options to Event Operators

Atlanta, GA - July 28, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today expanded its ...

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41 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Registration 0 398879 398879 Atlanta, GA - July 28, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today expanded its capabilities to offer connections to two new external registration technologies, providing additional options to register attendees for virtual conferences or association events. The first in a series of integrations are with Experient, a division of Maritz Global Services and RegFox, a California-based registration company. Cloud Conventions is a virtual event SaaS platform from Convey Services.

Cloud Conventions Expands Registration Capabilities with 3rd-Party Providers

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 28, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full-featured virtual tradeshow and event technology solution today expanded its capabilities to ...

Cloud Conventions Launches Online Resource Center... Cloud Conventions Launches Online Resource Center...

Strategies & Tactics to Convert a Live Event to Virtual

Atlanta, GA - July 27, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow, conference and event technology solution today launched ...

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42 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Online-Resources 0 398876 398876

Cloud Conventions Launches Online Resource Center for Virtual Event Managers

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 27, 2020 - Cloud Conventions, a full featured virtual tradeshow, conference and event technology solution today launched an Online ...

Convey Services Receives Top Innovation Award for... Convey Services Receives Top Innovation Award for...

ChannelVision Announces 2020 Visionary Spotlight Award Winners

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43 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-cloud-conventions 0 396926 396926

Convey Services Receives Top Innovation Award for Cloud Conventions

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Convey Unveils ConveyLive, The Virtual Trade Show... Convey Unveils ConveyLive, The Virtual Trade Show...

Exhibitor Magazine

Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled its new ConveyLive™ Virtual Trade Show platform. ConveyLive is an easy-to-use, ...

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44 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-Exhibitor-Magazine 0 383058 383058 Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled its new ConveyLive™ Virtual Trade Show platform. ConveyLive is an easy-to-use, reasonably priced solution for delivering live virtual events, conferences and expositions, creating a rich, interactive experience for attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. ConveyLive can be used by associations, trade groups, event managers, publishers and business organizations to engage audiences, large or small, with interactive exhibit space, live or recorded sessions and networking opportunities.

Convey Unveils ConveyLive, The Virtual Trade Show & Conference Platform

News Clipping

Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled its new ConveyLive™ Virtual Trade Show platform. ConveyLive is an easy-to-use, ...

New Products - Cloud Conventions New Products - Cloud Conventions

Cloud Conventions, formerly ConveyLive is a virtual event platform designed specifically for trade shows conferences and expositions. The ...

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45 News-Clipping-News-Clipping jplist-topic-Exhibitor-Magazine 0 383055 383055

New Products - Cloud Conventions

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Cloud Conventions, formerly ConveyLive is a virtual event platform designed specifically for trade shows conferences and expositions. The software ...

Cloud Conventions Announces CloudPoints Rewards... Cloud Conventions Announces CloudPoints Rewards...

Atlanta, GA - July 20, 2020 - When Cloud Conventions 2020 went live from May 11-14 it featured CloudPoints™, a unique incentive program ...

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46 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-CloudPoints jplist-topic-Virtual-Swag jplist-topic-rewards jplist-topic-incentives 0 383053 383053

Cloud Conventions Announces CloudPoints Rewards Program

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 20, 2020 - When Cloud Conventions 2020 went live from May 11-14 it featured CloudPoints™, a unique incentive program that awards ...

Cloud Conventions Delivers CE, CLE or CME Credits... Cloud Conventions Delivers CE, CLE or CME Credits...

Online Sessions Certify Attendees for Professional Educational Credit

Atlanta, GA - July 16, 2020 - Cloud Conventions today announced support for educational certification so professional associations and ...

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47 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Continuing-Education--CE- jplist-topic-Continuing-Legal-Education--CLE- jplist-topic-Continuing-Medical-Education--CME- jplist-topic-CLE jplist-topic-CME jplist-topic-CE jplist-topic-educational-certification 0 383052 383052 Atlanta, GA - July 16, 2020 - Cloud Conventions today announced support for educational certification so professional associations and organizations can deliver sessions at a virtual conference, tradeshow or event that meet the standards for Continuing Education (CE), Continuing Legal Education (CLE) or Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit. Cloud Conventions automates session management, allows the selection of any conferencing solution, produces the post-session speaker evaluation and can deliver a continuing education certificate to the dashboard of qualifying attendees. Cloud Conventions is a full featured virtual event SaaS solution from Convey Services.

Cloud Conventions Delivers CE, CLE or CME Credits for Virtual Conferences or Events.

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 16, 2020 - Cloud Conventions today announced support for educational certification so professional associations and organizations ...

Cloud Conventions Unveils Connected Event... Cloud Conventions Unveils Connected Event...

Proprietary Hub & Spoke Technology Manages Multiple Shows from a Single ...

Atlanta, GA - July 15, 2020 - Cloud Conventions today unveiled new event management technology that connects multiple virtual conferences ...

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48 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Hub---Spoke jplist-topic-Networked jplist-topic-Virtual-Event 0 383051 383051

Cloud Conventions Unveils Connected Event Networks for Virtual Conferences & Trade Shows

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 15, 2020 - Cloud Conventions today unveiled new event management technology that connects multiple virtual conferences or trade ...

Cloud Conventions Launches 365 Program for... Cloud Conventions Launches 365 Program for...

Designed for a Year-Long Virtual or Hybrid Event Programs

Atlanta, GA - July 14, 2020 - Cloud Conventions today announced Cloud Conventions 365 a new service for virtual conferences, trade shows ...

Press Release
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49 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Virtual-Event jplist-topic-365 0 383050 383050 Atlanta, GA - July 14, 2020 - Cloud Conventions today announced Cloud Conventions 365 a new service for virtual conferences, trade shows and events that allows show and event sponsors access to an event portal year-round to manage virtual or hybrid events. Trade show operators, companies and associations that use a Cloud Conventions platform can now keep their portal live and accessible using Cloud Conventions 365 for up to one year. Cloud Conventions is a full featured virtual event SaaS technology solution from Convey Services.

Cloud Conventions Launches 365 Program for Virtual Conferences, Trade Shows and Events

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 14, 2020 - Cloud Conventions today announced Cloud Conventions 365 a new service for virtual conferences, trade shows and events ...

Cloud Conventions Virtual Trade Show Platform... Cloud Conventions Virtual Trade Show Platform...

Atlanta, GA - June 17, 2020 - The Cloud Conventions Virtual Trade Show and Conference Platform from Convey Services is bringing new ...

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50 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Virtual-Tradeshow jplist-topic-Virtual-Event jplist-topic-cloud-conventions 0 383048 383048

Cloud Conventions Virtual Trade Show Platform Delivers Automation to Convert a Live Event into a Virtual Conference or Expo

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - June 17, 2020 - The Cloud Conventions Virtual Trade Show and Conference Platform from Convey Services is bringing new capabilities to a ...

A Conversation with Dr. Sandy Newes - Developing... A Conversation with Dr. Sandy Newes - Developing...

Conversation with Nationally Recognized Psychologist Dr. Sandra NewesOur social isolation, uncertainty about our business future, lack of ...

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A Conversation with Dr. Sandy Newes - Developing Resilience in Uncertain Times

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Conversation with Nationally Recognized Psychologist Dr. Sandra NewesOur social isolation, uncertainty about our business future, lack of ...

Convey Unveils ConveyLive, The Virtual Trade Show... Convey Unveils ConveyLive, The Virtual Trade Show...

Technology to Promote & Execute Rich, Interactive Events

Atlanta, GA - April 28, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled its new ConveyLive™ Virtual Trade Show ...

Press Release
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52 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-ConveyLive jplist-topic-Virtual-Events jplist-topic-Press-Release 0 361169 361169 Atlanta, GA - April 28, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled its new ConveyLive™ Virtual Trade Show platform. ConveyLive is an easy-to-use, reasonably priced solution for delivering live virtual events, conferences and expositions, creating a rich, interactive experience for attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. ConveyLive can be used by associations, trade groups, event managers, publishers and business organizations to engage audiences, large or small, with interactive exhibit space, live or recorded sessions and networking opportunities.

Convey Unveils ConveyLive, The Virtual Trade Show & Conference Platform

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - April 28, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled its new ConveyLive™ Virtual Trade Show platform. ...

Convey and UCX - David Converse Interview Convey and UCX - David Converse Interview

David Converse, VP of Sales at UCX Markets, visits with Convey CEO Carolyn Bradfield about the digital transformation that vendors and ...

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53 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-podcast 0 361142 361142 David Converse, VP of Sales at UCX Markets, visits with Convey CEO Carolyn Bradfield about the digital transformation that vendors and partners will engage in based on the evolution of the buying experience to a more virtual format. Take a listen and then attend Cloud Conventions to hear more from David and UCX.  http://cloudconventions.com

Convey and UCX - David Converse Interview

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David Converse, VP of Sales at UCX Markets, visits with Convey CEO Carolyn Bradfield about the digital transformation that vendors and partners will ...

Cloud Conventions 2020 Announces Speaker Lineup Cloud Conventions 2020 Announces Speaker Lineup

Event Registration Opens

Atlanta, GA - April 15, 2020 - In support of its mission of Getting Business Back on Track, Cloud Conventions 2020 today announced its ...

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Cloud Conventions 2020 Announces Speaker Lineup

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - April 15, 2020 - In support of its mission of Getting Business Back on Track, Cloud Conventions 2020 today announced its keynote ...

Episode 43 - Communication Strategies in the Age... Episode 43 - Communication Strategies in the Age...

Fireside Chat with Bob Paff, speaker at Cloud Conventions and Convey CEO Carolyn Bradfield Bob Paff will be leading a session on Wednesday, ...

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55 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-podcast 0 360151 360151 Fireside Chat with Bob Paff, speaker at Cloud Conventions and Convey CEO Carolyn Bradfield Bob Paff will be leading a session on Wednesday, May 11th at 2:00 on communication strategies during the COVID crisis.  Listen to a fireside chat between Bob and Convey CEO Carolyn Bradfield to explore what people need to be thinking about as they communication with employees, customers and prospects in the new virtualized world we find ourselves in.Register  »

Episode 43 - Communication Strategies in the Age of COVID

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Fireside Chat with Bob Paff, speaker at Cloud Conventions and Convey CEO Carolyn Bradfield Bob Paff will be leading a session on Wednesday, May 11th ...

Episode 42 - State of the Industry with Jon... Episode 42 - State of the Industry with Jon...

Register for Cloud Conventions » Carolyn Bradfield and Jon Arnold discuss Jon's upcoming speaker session at Cloud Conventions ...

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56 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-podcast 0 360063 360063 Register for Cloud Conventions » Carolyn Bradfield and Jon Arnold discuss Jon's upcoming speaker session at Cloud Conventions 2020, a virtual trade show.Session Title: The Evolution of our Workplace Strategies Session Description:  Join Jon Arnold, communications industry researcher and strategist, to navigate the digital transformation of the workplace in our new virtual work from home environment and beyond. The marketplace is now disrupted, but learn how disruptive technologies will help us recover and rebound.Register today at https://cloudconventions.com

Episode 42 - State of the Industry with Jon Arnold, Industry Analyst

MicroCast

Register for Cloud Conventions » Carolyn Bradfield and Jon Arnold discuss Jon's upcoming speaker session at Cloud Conventions 2020, a ...

Episode 41 - Creating the Right Virtual Trade... Episode 41 - Creating the Right Virtual Trade...

A behind the scenes look at the Cloud Conventions Trade Show Strategy

Register for Cloud Conventions »Convey went to a great deal of effort and research to understand how to take the elements of a live trade ...

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57 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-podcast 0 359067 359067 Register for Cloud Conventions »Convey went to a great deal of effort and research to understand how to take the elements of a live trade show and build as many of them as possible into a virtual environment to capture the interest and attention of the 30,000 sales partners and vendors we invited to be our guests as attendees.  Here is a glimpse at our virtual event strategy that we will execute at Cloud Conventions and that you can use as a guide in the event you are considering an event in the future. Does COVID-19 represent the death of that fun Vegas conference, the regional partner event, or association trade shows?  Hardly.  People will always crave face to face contact, need to build relationships in person, and be able to touch and feel a physical product.  But frankly, we haven't been eating a balanced diet offering our audiences other ways to connect, get the latest updates, develop relationships and have a trade show experience. Associations, event companies, and trade show producers make a ton of money when exhibitors purchase booths, invest in sponsorships, and attendees pay the price of admission to flock to that event that is chocked full of giveaways, cocktail parties and glitzy presentations.  But we are in lockdown and frankly, the return to the next normal may blunt our ability to provide a safe environment for trade show hosts, exhibitors and attendees. Does that mean our association members, sales partners, business owners and vendors have to forgo events and conferences?  Maybe it does in the short term, but in the long term, it does mean that eating a more balanced diet by adding virtual trade shows and conferences only makes sense.  The telecommunications and cloud industry is going to get its first taste of a professionally produced and executed virtual conference when Cloud Conventions debuts in May. We went to a great deal of effort and research to understand how to take the elements of a live trade show and build as many of them as possible into a virtual environment to capture the interest and attention of the 30,000 sales partners and vendors we invited to be our guests as attendees.  Here is a glimpse at our virtual event strategy that we will execute at Cloud Conventions and that you can use as a guide in the event you are considering an event in the future. Define a strong "why" behind the event.  Every event needs a purpose, a focus, and in fact, a mission.  Cloud Conventions has made it our purpose, our focus and our mission to educate, inspire and empower our telecommunications and cloud channel to be the driver that gets business back on track.  It's a clear message and drives all of our content strategy and event design. Do something that hasn't been done before.  There have been virtual events in our industry, but never one like this with the scale and diversity of content.  We are clearly breaking new ground at Cloud Conventions by inviting speakers and thought leaders outside our industry to weigh in on business strategy.  We are building in interactive elements you would expect at a live trade show, but you never thought would be possible in a virtual one.  You'll see things our industry has never done before and frankly, it will be refreshing. Create an irresistible offer.  You can attend most webinars for free as you can Cloud Conventions, but where is the fun in that?  With the support of our vendors and sponsors, we are adding promotions and spiffs you could only find at Cloud Conventions.  We've introduced the concept of virtual swag and points for prizes the more you interact and engage in the event.  These are offers that will be too hard to resist. Keep in mind that content is king.  I think our live trade shows have forgotten this concept because you see the same panelists, topics and content year after year.  It's gotten old and frankly stale.  Cloud Conventions developed our content strategy first before we even invited vendors to help us.  We scoured the market for interesting business speakers and thought leaders and frankly found quite a few whose live events were cancelled, who believe in our mission and were ready to help.  At Cloud Conventions, you'll see that content is king and the educational experience will be unparalleled. Offer a diverse, interactive experience.  People at live events need to rub elbows, find out what's new, and connect with each other.  Cloud Conventions recognizes that interactivity is important, so we build lots of ways to do that.  Every virtual booth has live chat for attendees to jump in for a conversation.  Meeting calendars are available to book a demo or an appointment.  Discussion forums in the platform are turned into networking lounges so people can engage and interact with each other.  And each night, we have a cocktail event hosted by fun people who will engage in live conversations, take chat questions and even stream the event live on YouTube. Let technology manage the details.  Cloud Conventions is being run on the Convey Services portal technology and frankly although virtual events and conferences are not our primary focus  we have all the technology we need to automate  the  details, the technology to make it organized and go off without a hitch.  Attendees register on our portals and get a personalized dashboard that guide them through their opportunities to consume content, interact with each other, and pick up those valuable prizes. Every speaker and session leader has a content catalog so people can learn more about them and the virtual booth is automated with technology managing all the touch points.  If you are considering doing a virtual event, then this technology is perfectly suited for that purpose without breaking the bank. Deliver a strong ROI for vendors and sponsors.  If attendance is offered for free, then the show has to be funded by vendors and sponsors, who are frankly getting a great deal to showcase themselves.  Unlike Channel Partners, Enterprise Connect or other live shows, vendors and sponsors don't have to build and ship a booth, pay to fly people out there, house and feed their people, purchase carpet and power from trade show services or invest in expensive giveaways.  The virtual booth and sponsorship experience is at a fraction of that cost and the ROI can be measured in 3 ways.  How many attendees gave me their contact information?  How many attendees were motivated to a call to action...filled out a form? Requested a demo? Jumped into my live chat room?  Schedule a meeting? And finally, did I identify partners that were good fits to represent my services?  The technology we use helps quantify all those elements unlike a live trade show that depends on the person to stop by the booth and agree to have their badge scanned. Takeaways It's time for our industry to eat a balanced diet adding in virtual events and conferences along with live ones.  It's a shift borne out of adversity and necessity, but ultimately will be one that many industries make because a virtual event reaches a wider audience, is less expensive, can produce a great ROI, and can be interesting, educational and fun.  Join Cloud Conventions in May and attend as our guest or get that ROI you need as an exhibitor and sponsor.  We have a mission, irresistible offers, great content, interactive experiences, are organized and will give you the ROI you need.

Episode 41 - Creating the Right Virtual Trade Show Experience

MicroCast

Register for Cloud Conventions »Convey went to a great deal of effort and research to understand how to take the elements of a live trade show and ...

Episode 40 - Putting the Vibe back in Virtual Episode 40 - Putting the Vibe back in Virtual

Adjusting Your Virtual Strategy, A Lesson from Cloud Conventions

Register for Cloud Conventions »As many of you know, our company Convey is producing an unprecedented virtual trade show and conference ...

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Episode 40 - Putting the Vibe back in Virtual

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Register for Cloud Conventions »As many of you know, our company Convey is producing an unprecedented virtual trade show and conference for the ...

Episode 39 - Business is Never Going to be the... Episode 39 - Business is Never Going to be the...

Understanding the pivot point that business finds itself after COVID 19

Register for Cloud Conventions »Cloud Conventions, that likely will be the industry's largest virtual trade show and conference, takes on ...

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59 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-podcast 0 359057 359057 Register for Cloud Conventions »Cloud Conventions, that likely will be the industry's largest virtual trade show and conference, takes on a higher purpose.  Even though our event is not until May, we know that survival is still going to be an issue for many partners and vendors well into late spring and summer.  But even more than that, this disruption is going to lead to business process changes, innovation through technology, and a strong push toward virtualization of the workforce at every level.  This podcast focuses on why you and why your customers need to recognize that businesses will be changed forever, and you will be the ones to drive that change. There have been certain times when I became aware that life was never going to be the same for me again.  When I was young, that epiphany came when I decided to skip my last year in high school and go to college at age 16.  In my relationships, it came when I divorced my first husband after 17 years and remarried 7 years later.  And tragically, it came again when my daughter Laura overdosed and died 2 years ago after losing her battle with addiction. If you reflect on your personal life, it's easy to spot those pivot points when you know your life has taken a turn and will never be the same.  But sometimes in business, change seems to happen more slowly so it may be harder to recognize when the way we do business is poised to make a change forever. When we started Convey over 6 years ago, my good friend Curt Allen came to us and said that there was this new thing called "the Cloud" and he needed a better way to help his agents understand it so they could be ready to sell it.  Cloud was a pivot point that shifted the way businesses functioned as their file server rooms went offline in favor of hosting applications in the cloud allowing those businesses to be agile, nimble, have new technology at their fingertips and run their businesses differently. Without most of us knowing it, 9/11 was another major business pivot point.  The planes hit the towers, airlines were grounded, and people were frightened.  I owned a conferencing company whose revenue spiked in the days following as everyone became a conference call moderator or attendee so they could keep things going.  But our business spiked and never tailed off.  9/11 forced and inspired business processes to change because people realized that they didn't have to get on the road or jump on an airplane to get things done.  Conference calls were simply more cost effective, more efficient and more collaborative.  And the way we managed people changed because those in the field could now weigh in, their opinions were valuable and sought after, and employee satisfaction went way up.  9/11 was a business pivot point that changed so many things about the way we did business. Now you know where I'm going with this by now.  We are experiencing another business pivot point because we have been forced to stay home for an unbelievably long extended period of time and in order to stay in business, we have had to embrace virtualization on every level.  This change in business circumstance will drive a change in business processes that will likely cause all businesses to pivot for the long-term.  COVID 19 is not going to disappear magically on May 1 and send all the employees back to the office and have our restaurants and stores open back up.  It's going to be slow, gradual and for some of us life may not return to normal for quite a while. So, here are things that companies need to be focused on to prepare themselves for the pivot that is here today and the longer-term pivot that is here to come. Address urgent challenges first.  You need to discern what is urgent vs. important and tackle things that are most urgent to keep business moving.  In the telecommunications and cloud channel, it's probably more urgent to have a plan for customers to engage with you virtually than to think about your spiff program for next quarter. Support and protect your employees.  People are uncertain about their employment status, about their ability to earn an income, about how to manage themselves in their living rooms with their kids buzzing around.  It's up to you to let them talk about what worries them and not just do your weekly conference call focused only on business issues.  You will be called on to be a leader of people, a sounding board and a friend, not just a manager in your business. Create a financial resilience plan.  There are going to be some of your customers that are not coming back because their business did not make it.  Other customers are not paying their bills right now for a variety of reasons.  It's up to you to learn everything you can about the loans and grants available to you and how to preserve cash to the extent you can. And be realistic about what payment and commissions are really coming in the door. Develop a relaunch and return plan. You need to be thinking ahead.  When social distancing starts to ease up, what is your next plan of action to not only get back to business but to start scaling again.  We are lucky in the respect that we represent connectivity, technology, cloud services, all of which are the underpinnings of the must haves vs. the nice to haves in getting back to business.  How do you take advantage of your position of privilege and use this disruption to grow? Reimagine the next normal.  Return does not mean that someone declares the crisis over, and we all go back to the office, back to trade shows or back to partner events.  It's not going to happen that way.  Return will be in phases where there is the next normal, followed by the next normal.  So, it's up to you to think about not only what that means to your business, but what it means to the way your customers will operate.  Cloud Conventions These are all very difficult questions for a business to consider.  You have to survive the disruption, protect your people, be ready for the next normal and understand how business is likely to have a sustained pivot as a result of the crisis.  That's where Cloud Conventions comes in. We planned our virtual event way back in January to complement other trade shows that we felt were underserving their attendee population by not offering enough interesting and innovative business content. But now, Cloud Conventions, that likely will be the industry's largest virtual trade show and conference, takes on a higher purpose.  We have content, speakers, strategies and ideas to use as your survival guide.  Even though our event is not until May, we know that survival is still going to be an issue for many partners and vendors well into late spring and summer.  But even more than that, this disruption is going to lead to business process changes, innovation through technology, and a strong push toward virtualization of the workforce at every level. You will have your choice of great thought leaders who are there to educate and inspire you and not try and sell you on their latest product.  You can come to sessions that are short, fast paced and power packed and watch them live or robo-watch them later.  Every content provider knows that their focus needs to help you understand how to manage your own business, be ready for the pivot that is to come, and reimagine how technology that you can sell today will serve the customer in the next normal. We are here to keep you on track, and then empower you to get your customers ready to get their businesses back on track, whatever that track is going to be, as we slowly but surely return to our offices, to our customers and to our friends.  Join us when Cloud Conventions opens on May 11th and make sure to register to attend, free of charge, as our gift to you.

Episode 39 - Business is Never Going to be the Same

MicroCast

Register for Cloud Conventions »Cloud Conventions, that likely will be the industry's largest virtual trade show and conference, takes on a higher ...

Episode 38 - The Why Behind Cloud Conventions Episode 38 - The Why Behind Cloud Conventions

Helping the Channel Get Business Back on Track

Register for Cloud Conventions »Cloud Conventions is more important than ever because its purpose is to motivate our industry to keep ...

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60 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-podcast 0 359056 359056 Register for Cloud Conventions »Cloud Conventions is more important than ever because its purpose is to motivate our industry to keep themselves in gear so they in turn could get their business and help their customers get their businesses back on track as we navigate and emerge from the COVID crisis.  Launching on May 11, attendance is open and at no charge to the telecommunications and cloud channel.  Listen to the "why" behind Cloud Conventions. As long as the Channel Partner's trade show for the telecommunications channel has been around, I've looked forward to going to Vegas.  My goal was always to see what was coming next in the industry, to reinforce valuable relationships and form new ones.  But even before the COVID crisis sidelined not only Channel Partners, but every other event, I was worried that this year's event was going to be different than others in the past. It started back in January when a group of us tried to book hotels and plane tickets two months in advance and got total sticker shock.  The airfare had escalated to over $1,000 from Atlanta and hotel rooms, even in less fancy hotels like Treasure Island were well over $600 a night.  What the hell, right?  In the past, you could always find a bargain in Vegas even if it was across the street from the event hotel. A little research was all it took to find out that someone got their wires crossed when it came to scheduling and hordes of construction and building people were ready to descend on Vegas in the same week as Channel Partners for the world's largest industry show.  So, Convey bailed for the first time in almost twenty years and then realized that if we bailed, partners who had not yet made travel arrangements were going to likely stay home as well. That's when the idea of having Convey deliver a virtual event was born.  We knew we had the technology, strong vendor support, a huge network of sales partners and deep experience doing webinars, but also we knew that in order for the event to work, it had to have a mission, a purpose, and a reason to be there. Before the virus spread to our shores, we focused on two reasons that Cloud Conventions was needed: Reason 1 was that more and more sales partners have been disappearing from the Vegas event over the years.  Based on that pesky construction show and the high cost of travel, we knew that many partners would get discouraged from coming.  However, the disappearance of sales partner from the Channel Partners show was not just a 2020 thing.  It seemed that the show had been losing its relevance, its mission and even its way as more exhibitors vacated the exhibit floor for other spaces, people were harder to find because they were so spread out, and the overall experience was getting old and somewhat tired. That leads us to reason #2.  We believed that partners needed a better experience.  Yes, it's important to know about SD WAN, and yes, it's important to be updated on mobility, but frankly, Vegas is less than ideal as the place to do it.  Sessions were feeding partners with advertorials, but not with strategy.  There was little to no attention being paid on how to create a better sales partner by helping them run businesses efficiently, market to get people to pay attention, and how to grow their business.  The content and education were frankly, stale. But then the unthinkable happened and we all started working from home in March, live events and trade shows were cancelled and business went on full lockdown in April.  For an industry that prides itself on relationships, this is emotionally devastating when you can't see your team, your customers, your partners and your friends.  And frankly, this is the one industry that is pivotal to the rest of the economy's ability to keep working because we drive the network, and the technology tools to empower our customers to create a virtual work environment and keep going. And then it became crystal clear to us that Cloud Conventions was now even more important because its purpose was at a higher level and that purpose was to motivate our industry to keep themselves in gear so they in turn could get their business and help their customers get their businesses back on track as we navigate and emerge from the crisis.  But getting business back on track involves thinking differently, thinking strategically and having new ideas ready to help those customers that are depending on us to be that consultant and advisor that thinks beyond cable connections, SD WAN networks and the cloud. And because this mission is so important, Cloud Conventions will be unlike any live or virtual event the industry has seen.  Here is our commitment: We promise not to be a series of endless product advertorials and so spiff-focused that you don't walk away with anything that you couldn't have gotten in an email blast.We promise you will learn new strategies to help yourself and your customers virtualize your workforce, your contact center, your marketing strategy and your customer service.  We will help both partners and industry vendors survive this catastrophe by getting new ideas to run your businesses more efficiently, find new tools to help you and develop the right communication, leadership and resilience strategy to keep your head in the game.You will hear from thought leaders both in this industry and beyond.  Speakers who are volunteering their time to bring you new ideas in a time when new ideas are called for:  leading people through a crisis, how disruption will lead to innovation, and what you need to know about the markets you serve and how they are weathering the storm.This will not be a series of boring webinars.  It's going to be fun.  You'll have a chance to network, visit with vendors, join live chat, pick up that all important trade show swag, and get engaged.  We're even going to have cocktail parties, so get ready to have your hosts make it a great time for everyone. What started as a desire to bring a better educational experience to partners who were priced out of Vegas has now turned into so much more.  We're working harder than we ever have in our lives to make this experience meaningful for attendees, a great way for vendors to reinforce existing relationships and form new ones, and for everyone to have an educational and content-rich experience. I would have said that we will make America Great Again, but I'm sure my friends on both sides of the political aisle would have killed me for stealing that phrase or even using it.  But, to paraphrase, it's our jobs to keep America working and help get business back on track.  Let Cloud Conventions in May be your educator, your motivator and your virtual experience to get you inspired, and ready and able to help your business and be ready to help your customers.

Episode 38 - The Why Behind Cloud Conventions

MicroCast

Register for Cloud Conventions »Cloud Conventions is more important than ever because its purpose is to motivate our industry to keep themselves in ...

Cloud Conventions 2020, the Largest Virtual Trade... Cloud Conventions 2020, the Largest Virtual Trade...

Opens Registration on April 8 and Goes Live May 11

Atlanta, GA - April 8, 2020 - Getting Business Back on Track is the mission of Cloud Conventions 2020 when it goes live from May 11-14. ...

Press Release
Press Release
61 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-cloud-conventions 0 358636 358636 Atlanta, GA - April 8, 2020 - Getting Business Back on Track is the mission of Cloud Conventions 2020 when it goes live from May 11-14. Attendance at the largest virtual trade show ever in the telecommunication and cloud channel is offered at no charge to 30,000+ agents, VARs, MSPs, IT services providers and vendors.

Cloud Conventions 2020, the Largest Virtual Trade Show in the Telecom/Cloud Channel

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - April 8, 2020 - Getting Business Back on Track is the mission of Cloud Conventions 2020 when it goes live from May 11-14. Attendance at ...

Convey Announces Cloud Conventions 2020 Convey Announces Cloud Conventions 2020

The Virtual Trade Show for the Telecommunications & Cloud Channel

Atlanta, GA - March 11, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled Cloud Conventions 2020, the largest virtual trade ...

Press Release
Press Release
62 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Press-Release 0 351980 351980 Atlanta, GA - March 11, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled Cloud Conventions 2020, the largest virtual trade show in the telecommunications and cloud industry with over 30,000 sales partners invited to attend. The event goes live from May 11-14, 2020, hosting industry and business speakers, roundtable discussions, content, education and event-only financial incentives. Attendance at Cloud Conventions 2020 events is free for qualified agents, VARs, MSPs, master agents along with vendors and IT services providers. The program combines live speakers, event-only promotions, live chat, discussion forums and on-demand content to give attendees an interactive educational experience. "Cloud Conventions 2020 has been in the works for months, but in light of the disruption and cancellation of live shows caused by the Coronavirus, a virtual event provides an opportunity for telecom/cloud vendors to connect one-on-one with sales partners from across the country, without the risk and expense of travel," said Carolyn Bradfield, founder of Convey. "Convey Services has the largest partner audience subscribed to its network of online portals for master agents, vendors and sales partners making Cloud Conventions one of the best opportunities in the industry to make valuable connections." Vendors and sponsors will offer registered attendees special promotions not available outside of Cloud Conventions including a virtual swag bag of Spiffs, gifts and prizes. Industry speakers and session leaders will hold live discussions of technology and industry trends along with new and emerging services. Other business experts will present creative, low-cost strategies to help partners acquire and retain customers, provide vertical market insights, tactics to run channel businesses more efficiently along with unique subjects, like how to value and sell your channel sales practice. "Cloud Conventions goes beyond what you would expect in a typical live event because we add experts in sales and marketing, growth hacking, cyber insurance, and a host of other business-related topics exclusively for channel sales partners," added Bradfield. "Cloud Conventions is an unprecedented opportunity for vendors to elevate their brand, raise their profile and promote themselves before, during and after the event. Sponsorship packages will offer services to engage selling partners and to create additional value for exhibitors and sponsors." Cloud Conventions provides attendees with technology to schedule meetings with sponsors and exhibitors, participate in live chat, and manage events and meetings using a personalized calendar along with text reminders. Peer discussion forums will help sales partners interact and exchange ideas. When the live event closes, the Cloud Conventions portal will remain active so attendees can revisit virtual booths, watch recorded speakers, access content and connect with sponsors and vendors for the remainder of 2020. Registration for Cloud Conventions opens on Monday March 16th and interested vendors can request information about virtual exhibit and sponsorship opportunities by contacting info@cloudconventions.com. About Convey Services Convey Services delivers content and marketing portals and connects them into networks to inform, educate and engage channel partners and direct sellers in the telecom/cloud space, the property and casualty insurance market and food distribution industry. Convey's portal technology automates and organizes partner management, has tools to engage and educate partners and integrates email marketing technology for members to run packaged email marketing campaigns to their customers and prospects. For information visit www.conveyservices.com, info@conveyservices.com or call 888-975-1382. Press Contact Bruce Ahern - (770) 580-0810 Chief Marketing Officer Convey Services bahern@conveyservices.com

Convey Announces Cloud Conventions 2020

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - March 11, 2020 - Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today unveiled Cloud Conventions 2020, the largest virtual trade show in ...

Episode 37 - Avoiding Social Isolation in a... Episode 37 - Avoiding Social Isolation in a...

How to keep employees socially connected

Let's face it. Times right now are pretty stressful at best and downright scary at worst. We've sent our employees home and changed the ...

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Episode 37 - Avoiding Social Isolation in a Virtual Work Environment

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Let's face it. Times right now are pretty stressful at best and downright scary at worst. We've sent our employees home and changed the way we do ...

Episode 36 - Pivot Don't Panic Episode 36 - Pivot Don't Panic

How Businesses Can Adjust in the face of the Coronavirus

You can't turn on TV or the radio without having the media create a level of panic about the Coronavirus. The telecommunications, cloud and ...

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Episode 36 - Pivot Don't Panic

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You can't turn on TV or the radio without having the media create a level of panic about the Coronavirus. The telecommunications, cloud and contact ...

Episode 35 - Reasons not to DIY with Websites Episode 35 - Reasons not to DIY with Websites

Reasons why you should not "do it yourself" when it comes to your website

Reasons why you should not "do it yourself" when it comes to your website Many small businesses think it's OK to take a DIY approach when ...

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Episode 35 - Reasons not to DIY with Websites

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Reasons why you should not "do it yourself" when it comes to your website Many small businesses think it's OK to take a DIY approach when it comes to ...

Episode 34 - Reasons not to use WordPress Episode 34 - Reasons not to use WordPress

Why WordPress sites are bad for small business

The current market leader in websites is WordPress powering 50 million websites. It's "free" technology for creating the site, appeals to ...

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Episode 34 - Reasons not to use WordPress

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The current market leader in websites is WordPress powering 50 million websites. It's "free" technology for creating the site, appeals to the ...

Web Accessibility Web Accessibility

ADA Compliant Websites & Portals

Accessible websites & portals serve all users regardless of technology, education, or ability. Web Accessibility allows a disabled person ...

eBook
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67 eBook-eBook jplist-topic-Ebook 0 350959 350959 Accessible websites & portals serve all users regardless of technology, education, or ability. Web Accessibility allows a disabled person access or benefits from a website, portal, system or application. Accessible websites & portals present information using multiple senses such as sound and sight allowing for additional ways to navigate and interact beyond the typical point-and-click-interface such as keyboard-based controls. The combination of a multisensory and a multi-interactivity approach allows disabled users have the same experience as nondisabled users.

Web Accessibility

eBook

Accessible websites & portals serve all users regardless of technology, education, or ability. Web Accessibility allows a disabled person access or ...

Episode 33 - Hidden Website Gotchas Episode 33 - Hidden Website Gotchas

Avoiding Website Gotchas We talk about understanding the hidden issues that ...

You've all heard the term, gotcha. A gotcha is something that happens that is unexpected, catches you off guard, and can often have ...

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Episode 33 - Hidden Website Gotchas

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You've all heard the term, gotcha. A gotcha is something that happens that is unexpected, catches you off guard, and can often have negative ...

Episode 32 - First Impressions Count with Your... Episode 32 - First Impressions Count with Your...

You never have a second chance to make a first impression

People make the same snap judgments about website that they do about people. Google and other researched how people react to websites and ...

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69 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-podcast jplist-topic-microcast 0 349020 349020 People make the same snap judgments about website that they do about people.  Google and other researched how people react to websites and found out that in about ½ a second, a person will form an opinion about your website and either stay to explore more or leave and go elsewhere.  Explore how your website might be leaving a bad first impression.  "You never get a second chance to make a first impression" as the phrase goes and as a first impression is made, if it's less than great, unfortunately it takes a long time to change it. Experts say it takes less than a second for someone to form a first impression about a person.   But let's recognize that we now live in a digital age and often our first impressions about you and your company are online vs. face to face. Let's consider websites.  People make the same snap judgments about websites that they do about people.  Research shows people react and form opinions on websites in only a fraction of a second, on whether or not they want to stay and explore or leave and go elsewhere. Interestingly, we've talked to a number of small business owners at Convey that come to our portals for business information and polled them about their viewpoints on their websites.  Here is what we learned that surprised us: People view their websites as a necessary evil, but not materially important to their businessTheir websites never produce any leads, so why have them?People admit that their websites are poorly designed and out of date. More importantly, small businesses may not recognize how much their current customers or prospects are doing online research before they engage you to help them complete their buying decision for business services. People in business follow the same pathway that consumers do by starting their buying journey online, researching their options, checking you out online and then either engage with you or look elsewhere. Recent studies have shown that almost 70% of the buyer's journey for business services is digital.  People find the services they need first, then engage with you second.  If your site doesn't assist the online buying journey your customers and prospects are engaged in, then you are likely missing deals without even knowing it. Back to first impressions.  Let's focus on some common mistakes that companies make with their websites that drive that digital researcher elsewhere vs staying on your site to learn more about you: Let's start with the kitchen sink effect.  You want the viewer to know everything, so loading your website with tons of information ensures they don't miss anything valuable.  Right?  People view overly busy websites as confusing and overwhelming and frankly a turn-off.  This is a particular challenge for business in an indirect sales channel that represent many products and providers.  People don't want to see every vendor you work with or all their services.  They need you to focus their attention on what is most important. The second turn off is a website that is too slow.  You've seen them.  Everything takes too long to load, and we don't have the patience to wait for that cool picture to display.  And slow also relates to not getting to the point quickly enough.  And then there is the website that just looks bad.   We talked about sites that are just too busy, but what about the ones that are just poorly designed.  They use garish colors, have visuals that are not appealing, or have text that is too small or hard to read. Websites that have old information signal to the viewer that your business is not up to date on the latest trends and products they may want to explore.  I've viewed websites where the office address is old and phone numbers are outdated.  I've seen websites in the telecommunications and cloud channel that highlight vendors that were purchased years ago and are no longer around.  I've seen insurance websites that don't refer to current product categories such as cyber insurance.  Unless you keep your site up to date, people will think you are not in tune with what's current. Websites need to "net it out" and if there is too much text, viewers can get to what's most important.  It's perfectly OK to have content on the website that gives you a deeper dive into the products you sell, but it's not OK to not offer a quick overview before someone goes deeper.  People need to know who you are, your mission in the marketplace, and the key areas you focus on without having to dig through paragraphs to find it. Websites that are difficult to navigate or search are a huge turn off.  I've gone through websites where it's almost impossible to find what you are looking for.  A straightforward navigation is necessary and websites that don't have basic search where you can enter keywords and be taken to the information you need are a real turnoff ensuring that a frustrated viewer will navigate away from them. And last but not least, is the website that has no call to action or ways to connect with you.    When a business complains that they don't get any leads from their website, it's often because people don't have a way to express their interest in your services.  Websites need contact forms and ways to express their interest.  Otherwise, you'll never know that they may have wanted to buy from you. Businesses need to think about their website as their best opportunity to make a first impression.  That impression can make a small business look substantial, knowledgeable, trustworthy, and worth of attention.  Or that first impression can be old school, out of touch, outdated and confusing. Businesses who don't think their websites are important to their business just haven't realized their potential. People are checking you out online every day and make a decision to learn more, get in touch, or go elsewhere.  Those people may be your existing customers who could have bought more from you or new leads to expand your business.  The online buying journey for business services is here to stay and businesses must address it. Now, if, like many others, you don't have the time, expertise or resources to make the right first impression, help is on the way.  Convey is getting ready to launch a new program to give you that high-quality business website you deserve, keep it updated with fresh information automatically, and give you other valuable marketing tools in the same technology to drive demand.  Keep tuned into our podcast to learn more about how we are getting to help small businesses that sell services make that very important first impression and garner more engagement for your business.

Episode 32 - First Impressions Count with Your Website

MicroCast

People make the same snap judgments about website that they do about people. Google and other researched how people react to websites and found out ...

Episode 31 - The Gift of Insight Episode 31 - The Gift of Insight

We keep you from flying blind and make your decisions count.

For this MicroCast series we are focusing on the topic of gifts. Now that doesn't mean we are going to teach you how to find those deals ...

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Episode 31 - The Gift of Insight

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For this MicroCast series we are focusing on the topic of gifts. Now that doesn't mean we are going to teach you how to find those deals and steals, ...

Episode 30 - The Gift of Efficiency Episode 30 - The Gift of Efficiency

We help you get more done in fewer steps

For this MicroCast series we are focusing on the topic of gifts. Now that doesn't mean we are going to teach you how to find those deals ...

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71 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-podcast 0 337403 337403 For this MicroCast series we are focusing on the topic of gifts.  Now that doesn't mean we are going to teach you how to find those deals and steals, get you informed about the latest gadgets or help you with the coolest trending Christmas gift.  Rather, we are going to focus on the gifts that Convey's technology brings to master agents, vendors, carriers and partners to make their business lives easier. I know tons of people who obsess over watching Marie Kondo show you how to fold things, organizers that keep clutter at bay, or gadgets that help you go faster and do more with less.  If you are efficient, you are likely much more to be effective in both your personal and business life. Convey is built to give you the gift of efficiency.  Because we are a small company, we built our technology to be automated, manage processes without you having to intervene, onboard and manage partners, remind and message, and manage your communication and marketing.  For most everything in our portals or catalogs, you can just set it and forget it! Let's start with automation.  If you've been in business long enough you have suffered through manual processes that create a time suck when you are trying to get things done.  What's worse, is that when processes are not automated, people forget to do things, make mistakes and focus way too much time in administration and not enough time on running the business. Convey has the philosophy that it's so much easier on you to just "set it and forget it".  We automate how content and events are displayed on our portal home pages by automatically displaying events on the home page calendar, rotating content posts on and off the home page or adding content to directories when it's posted.  It's now really efficient to keep your information from being old and out of date.  It's super frustrating for people to go look for an incentive only to find one that they get super excited about and find that it was for Q1 and now you are in Q3.  Sometimes it's hard to keep up with promotions that are out of date, events that have come and gone or anything that has expired.  Convey makes it easy and efficient for you to keep old stuff cleaned out by using our scheduling engine.   Take down any banner, event or piece of content by scheduling it to appear and then be removed when it's no longer relevant. Let's talk about the efficiency you have in engaging the members of your portal.  You would likely stop looking at things unless you are reminded to do so.  Think about how many emails you get from that favorite vendor with new products, sneak peaks or special sales.  Retailers know that you have to see something a number of times before you click through, take a deeper look and buy that item that they have so diligently been promoting. This process is no different when you think about getting your portal members to pay attention to you.  Convey's technology is built to engage its members and makes it efficient to do it.   Start by whether portal members are looking at all.  The system knows how long it's been since the last login and if that is too long, sends a gentle reminder to take a look.  The portal invites members to be responsive and take action vs. just look around.  You can add forms, links, registrations and other calls to action so portal members have something to do and not just something to look at.  You can send emails, newsletters and text reminders to get portal members to remember you are still out there thinking about them. We make training much more efficient. New portal members can land on a dashboard that takes them through the product training they need, gives them more information about your partner program, and lets them know how to engage with your team.  You can monitor if they are getting what they need and where they are looking making your follow up with them much more targeted and efficient.  You can keep your training online and constantly refreshed so your audience can get the training they need when it's most convenient for them. Takeaway It pays to be efficient because if mundane and administrative tasks are managed for you by technology, you can engage in more useful business activities like selling, forming relationships, strategizing, or just enjoying your job.  Convey gives you the gift of efficiency each and every day you use our technology, whether you own a portal or manage a content catalog.

Episode 30 - The Gift of Efficiency

MicroCast

For this MicroCast series we are focusing on the topic of gifts. Now that doesn't mean we are going to teach you how to find those deals and steals, ...

Episode 29 - The Gift of Tools Episode 29 - The Gift of Tools

Explore the tools that make your channel life easier.

During the holiday season, we are focusing on gifts. Not those deals and steals, cyber bargains or doorbusters, but the gifts that ...

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Episode 29 - The Gift of Tools

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During the holiday season, we are focusing on gifts. Not those deals and steals, cyber bargains or doorbusters, but the gifts that Convey's ...

Episode 28 - The Gift of Time Episode 28 - The Gift of Time

Save time in how you manage, message, onboard and connect with your partners

For this MicroCast series we are focusing on the topic of gifts. Now that doesn't mean we are going to teach you how to find those deals ...

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Episode 28 - The Gift of Time

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For this MicroCast series we are focusing on the topic of gifts. Now that doesn't mean we are going to teach you how to find those deals and steals, ...

Episode 27 - The Gifts That Keep On Giving Episode 27 - The Gifts That Keep On Giving

Explore how where to find those gifts in our services.

This time of year, we are obsessed over gift giving. We've now been through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday trying ...

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Episode 27 - The Gifts That Keep On Giving

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This time of year, we are obsessed over gift giving. We've now been through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday trying to find ...

InterAct LifeLine Launches InterAct Cares... InterAct LifeLine Launches InterAct Cares...

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InterAct LifeLine Launches InterAct Cares Nonprofit Fund-Raising Organization

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Episode 26 - Gaining an Edge - Another Lesson... Episode 26 - Gaining an Edge - Another Lesson...

Microcast Gaining an Edge This year Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide will not be making an appearance in the college football playoffs ...

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76 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-microcast 0 335824 335824 Microcast Gaining an Edge This year Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide will not be making an appearance in the college football playoffs thanks to Auburn's stunning victory in the Iron Bowl.  But you can count on Coach Saban to be there just about every other year.  He has many secrets to being at the top including the undying support of his university and the alumni, a huge budget and good coaches.  We have focused our college football MicroCast series on why he has been so successful, and today's episode is about Saban's willingness to use technology to get an edge. A few years ago, Alabama began using a GPS system to track the performance and workload of its players.  Without getting too technical, this GPS system tracks a player's top speed or acceleration in practice with his past performance.  Saban is looking to see if that player is getting worn out during the season.  Alabama lost to Clemson in the final minute of a national championship game, prompting Saban to consider that his team was tired.  Once he started using the GPS system to crunch the number, the data showed that the Tide had a performance drop off in post season, so Saban adjusted practice to keep his players fresh.   So, if we take a play from Saban's playbook and use technology to get an edge in our channel program, what technology should we be looking at and how can using that technology help us recruit better, run our program better and get more deals? Start by using the data to be analytical about the ROI for each partner you work with.  I'm sure Saban's GPS was relative complex, but once he used it after losing to Clemson, he won the national championship the next year after adjusting his strategy.  Your program likely has quite a bit of data that you need to use to determine what adjustments should be made in your partner strategy.  Look at the number of referrals and quotes to closed deals to see if the partner is sending in junk or real opportunities.  Look at what it is costing you to recruit and support a partner and adjust if the cost is too high.  Geolocate where you have the best partner traction and spend more time going to those locations. If you are in the Convey Channel program, run a catalog report to see which partners are engaged and what they interact with. Create digital experiences that engage partners when you're not with them.  You'll never have enough staff, money or time to go everywhere and that's where digital experiences come in.  Technology, particularly Convey's Channel program and partner portals, enable you to educate partners online, be present when partners are doing their research and starting their journey to find the right services and ensure that they are aware of your latest and greatest financial incentives. Use technology to automate your processes.  Channel programs have a lot going on, never enough money and almost always are understaffed.  One way to get around this dilemma is to invest in a partner portal to make your staff more efficient and do more with less.  If you were using one of our portals, we would automate partner onboarding, managing your data, regular messaging and outreach and provide assets for marketing and campaigns.  Without automation, your program will never grow and may even have a hard time being relevant and surviving. Leverage technology to make sure partners show up.  Saban believes that a full stadium is essential to keeping player morale up and winning games.  However, when the Tide is far ahead by halftime, students tend to leave, and the stadium starts to empty.  Technology has stepped in to encourage students to stay longer with an app called "Tide Loyalty Points".  If students stay through the 4th quarter, they earn points toward priority access to post-season games.  I've been to a number of partner events that sponsoring vendors spent big dollars on just to hear crickets when partners fail to show.  Or webinars that they work hard on that has only a few people there.  Leveraging technology can get partners to show up.  Drip email marketing campaigns with registration links get partners to notice you, then register their commitment to be there.  Consider adding text reminders that are opened within a few seconds of being received.  Convey is working on launching that technology early next year. Or get creative like Saban with an app and "loyalty points" for participation that can be translated into prizes. Takeaways Many people may think that a GPS-tracking system to monitor a player's steps or technology to track students and motivate them to stay for the whole game is over the top.  But you can't argue with Saban's success.  Technology is simply a tool for partner programs to leverage.  Take the data out of your systems to track partner behavior to see if it is what you are looking for.  Make sure that all of your education, marketing assets and spiffs are online and easy to find.  Automate your processes by investing in a partner portal to take the stress off your staff. Here's another "Roll Tide" to Alabama for being forward-thinking, using technology tools, and staying ahead of the competition.

Episode 26 - Gaining an Edge - Another Lesson from Nick Saban

MicroCast

Microcast Gaining an Edge This year Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide will not be making an appearance in the college football playoffs thanks to ...

Episode 25 - Leadership Counts - Another Lesson... Episode 25 - Leadership Counts - Another Lesson...

Microcast Leadership Counts Nick Saban, legendary football coach at Alabama, has produced more successful head coaches of other programs ...

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77 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-microcast 0 335264 335264 Microcast Leadership Counts Nick Saban, legendary football coach at Alabama, has produced more successful head coaches of other programs than anyone in the league. Kirby Smart is leading the Georgia Bulldogs, winning his SEC division 3 years in a row and already having an appearance in the National Championship.  After a successful run at Colorado, Jim McElwain lead the Florida Gators, and Will Muschamp moved from Florida to lead South Carolina.  The list goes well beyond these standouts as Saban has created a machine for producing successful football leaders. Saban's secret is to focus on developing leaders by exhibiting the leadership skills he wants his coaches to adopt.  In the channel, we have many opportunities to lead our team and lead our partners to get the results we are looking for.  Let's look at Saban's leadership strategy to see what we can learn from it. At the end of the day, Saban is still the boss and he maintains authority at all times. Watch Saban in a press conference and you'll see that he is clearly the one in charge and also the one that is accountable if things don't go Alabama's way.  Knowing that there is a leader in charge of a master agency, a sales partner organization or a provider's channel program who is willing to step up and be clear about their guidelines, their program and the results inspires confidence in others.  Take a lesson from Curt Allen who navigated his Windstream channel program through bankruptcy.  You could look to Curt and recognize who was the "leader" in the Windstream channel. Surround yourself with the right people. The results say that Nick Saban is easily the best coach in college football, but he's got a keen sense of understanding that you become the best by hiring the best. He's not afraid to align with prominent personalities and talents as assistant coaches and coordinators because he realizes they can make the difference.  If you are in a leadership position in the channel, hire talented people that you can develop into leaders.  Then demand excellence.  Make sure that the people you invest in are worth it because you only have so much time to spend developing those leaders. Focus on the process over the outcome. Great leaders are fascinated by the process and followers tend to be obsessed with the outcomes. This may be the defining factor between a successful leader and an unsuccessful one. Saban immediately goes back to work after winning a National Championship. Championships are one-time events, but processes are repeated. You've seen football teams luck into a win and have setbacks in a game that produces a loss. But processes are a constant and not just a one-time thing. Our teams, businesses, and lives are defined by the processes we choose, so consider being driven to have the right processes in the channel that create success.  That might include the process to sell your services, the process to recruit partners or the processes to ensure that customers are happy with you. Leaders know how to adapt and adjust. I will never forget the National Championship game where Georgia faced off against Alabama three years ago.  I was there, sitting in the stands at Mercedes Benz stadium cheering on the Bulldogs thinking we had the game in hand after a great first half.  But then Saban adapted and adjusted pulling out his starting quarter back and putting in his backup Tua.  You know the rest as Alabama went on to win in double overtime.  In the channel, good leaders have to show their teams how to adapt to changes, the competition, changing partner needs, and the list goes on.  Channel leaders adjust to make sure their program evolves and is healthy. Inspire confidence in your people by sticking to your guns. People may not know that Saban was fired at Ohio State before he got the job at Alabama. Saban, then an assistant coach, was adamant that Ohio State needed to recruit players for what he believed to be the next trend in college football, the passing game.  The head coach disagreed, but who was right?  Saban won a string of National Championships while Ohio State's coach, Earl Bruce faded into obscurity without a winning track record. Good leaders are decisive, stick to the decisions they have made, and inspire people to come along with them even though their decisions may come with a level of controversy.  Being confident in your decisions inspires others to have confidence in you. Leaders dress the part. Saban was an assistant coach at Navy and was the only coach on the team who wore a suit around campus and in meetings. He was dressing for success early and that tradition at Alabama stays today. He wears suits on recruiting trips to make sure parents see him as that leader.  He also expects his players to dress for success. They wear suits, look like winners, and are professional.   This is a lesson you can take to the channel.  Make sure that you as the leader set the tone for how you want your people to look when they are with partners, at trade shows, or at events. You are conveying how you want your channel program to be viewed and that looks mean a lot. Takeaways If you are leading a channel team as a master agent, a provider or in your partner organization, it's up to you to be a leader so that your organization knows who to follow, what you expect, and how to be successful.  Nick Saban surrounds himself with talent and shows them how to succeed by modeling the right processes, adjusting when change is needed, and inspiring confidence in others.  He looks like a winner, acts like a winner and is a winner.

Episode 25 - Leadership Counts - Another Lesson from Nick Saban

MicroCast

Microcast Leadership Counts Nick Saban, legendary football coach at Alabama, has produced more successful head coaches of other programs than anyone ...

Episode 24 - The Process - Another Lesson from... Episode 24 - The Process - Another Lesson from...

Microcast The Process Because of his success winning national championships, Nick Saban is now the most successful active college football ...

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78 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-microcast 0 335263 335263 Microcast The Process Because of his success winning national championships, Nick Saban is now the most successful active college football coach in history.  He wrote a book called, "Think Like a Warrior" where he described what he calls "The Process" as his secret to success.  Simply put, Saban shares that "The Process" is maintaining a relentless focus on things that we can control.  It also means not being distracted by the opponent's perceived strengths or the score, but rather do your job so that you can contribute what you have control over. How many times in your channel job have you gotten distracted over your development team missing a product release date, the reorganization that you think is coming to realign resources, or an install that is taking too long based on that final circuit?  Saban teaches his team that they are responsible for what they create, not what the other team has going on that they can't control. So, when we look at Saban's "the Process", how can we apply this and other things that he's doing to the channel? First, worry only about the things you have control over. Stress comes from things that we feel we can't control.  On game day, there are a million small things that happen on and off the field that could drive players and coaches crazy....the way the ref made that call...the dropped punt and turnover....the missed pass or fumble.  The list is endless.  Saban coaches his players and his staff to not consume themselves with things that they can't control but focus on what they can deliver.   If you are a channel manager, you have control over which partners you spend time with and how you teach them to interact with you.  You can't control how often they will refer deals and if those deal will translate to revenue.  If you are in channel marketing, you can control the quality of your materials, campaigns you run or events you produce.  You can't control what partners will do with the materials you so carefully crafted. Next, organize the process by breaking it down into its component parts. Saban breaks his process down into smaller parts so each routine is understandable, manageable and measurable.  We develop software at Convey.  No task takes our developers more than a day or two and each new feature is compiled of many smaller tasks that we can manage and measure to keep us on track.  Those of us in the channel managing complex sales processes, commissions, installations or other processes should take a lesson from Saban's playbook to take a big process, break it into its component parts then track and measure it. Don't get anxious about impending situations.  How hard do you think it is to win in the SEC?  You have a balanced league with teams like Auburn, Georgia, LSU and Florida who are perpetual powers.   Saban is known to be hyper-focused with a work ethic that is unparalleled.  He keeps his eye on the prize, winning, and doesn't pay attention to those other teams that try and distract him or what they may do in the future. It's easy to be distracted in the channel with one eye on the competition, the partner who is complaining the loudest, or with things that are not in your control.  Staying focused and minimizing those distractions is critical to make sure you have the right orientation to keep your eye on the prize - revenue. Strive to be liked, but don't obsess over it is another play in his playbook. Nick Saban may easily be the best coach in college football because he's got a keen sense of understanding that you become the best by hiring the best. Sometimes we fear hiring people that are better than we are because they might outshine us, replace us, threaten us or be better liked.  If your channel program is going to grow, you have to develop "bench strength" in your channel managers, your marketing team and your support players.  The best people that lead channel teams are also the most decisive.  They don't consume themselves if their decisions will make them more popular.  They focus on if that decision is good for the business.  I can't imagine Saban obsessing over his popularity when it comes time to pick the starting quarterback or create his game strategy. Practice makes perfect, well almost. Saban knows that in football good practice helps Alabama perfect their plays and their skills.  He expects 100 percent in every practice and focuses on those results as much as he does game results.  Saban believes if you focus on the process it will get you the results.  So how does that translate in the channel?  Convey has done a number of lunch and learns and webinars where the presenter didn't practice, hone their message, and focus on delivering good content.  Those events often end up in boredom and disengagement.  What about the channel managers who fail to learn their elevator speech about the program only to get tongue tied when they encounter partners at a trade show?  I think you get the point.  If it's important, you should practice if you want to get the best result. Saban requires that players look the best because they want to be the best. I've been in Tuscaloosa and watched players walk from their hotel to the stadium to get dressed for the game.  They wear suits, look like winners, and are professional.   They stand out.  So, in the channel, what style do you want your team to exhibit so it's reflective of your personality and professionalism.  I never like seeing channel team members looking out of step with each other by being overdressed or underdressed when they are at events.  I helped a vendor at a Vegas channel show who had rented the largest booth and bought his team coordinating outfits for each day.  Yet, they showed up wearing whatever and looked like they didn't belong together.  The personality that was conveyed was lack of unity, professionalism and lack of teamwork. Takeaways One of the key elements that has made Nick Saban successful is that he commits to a process that helps him stay focused and keeps his team and coaching staff undistracted.  Others can understand that there is a process for everything, and processes are understandable because they are broken into smaller parts.  He doesn't worry about what other teams are doing and stays focused on the Crimson Tide.  And he's not threatened by talented coaches on his staff or that his decisions will make him less popular. Channel teams should have a process that they articulate to their team members that help them focus on their job and what's in their control, focus on processes that will make them and their partners successful, not worry too much about competitive moves and make decisions without fear that are in the best interest of the program and their partners.  Do this and you're on your way to a winning channel program.

Episode 24 - The Process - Another Lesson from Nick Saban

MicroCast

Microcast The Process Because of his success winning national championships, Nick Saban is now the most successful active college football coach in ...

Episode 23 - Partner Recruiting Strategy -... Episode 23 - Partner Recruiting Strategy -...

Microcast Partner Recruiting Unless you are from Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, you may be getting tired of seeing the Crimson Tide of Alabama ...

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Episode 23 - Partner Recruiting Strategy - Another Lesson from Nick Saban

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Microcast Partner Recruiting Unless you are from Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, you may be getting tired of seeing the Crimson Tide of Alabama in the ...

Episode 22 - Lessons from Nick Saban Episode 22 - Lessons from Nick Saban

MicroCast Lessons from Nick Saban This is the time of year when we get fired up about the college football playoffs, who is going to which ...

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Episode 22 - Lessons from Nick Saban

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MicroCast Lessons from Nick Saban This is the time of year when we get fired up about the college football playoffs, who is going to which Bowl game, ...

Episode 21 - The Power of Gratitude Episode 21 - The Power of Gratitude

Being in "the channel" can be a challenge, to say the least. We have to balance our personal lives with our careers, manage through ...

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81 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-microcast 0 335111 335111 Being in "the channel" can be a challenge, to say the least.  We have to balance our personal lives with our careers, manage through complex relationships, get people to notice us when the field of people who want attention is crowded, and deal with the uncertainties of businesses that combine with each other, go under, or fail to perform like we think that they should. Having said that, there is quite a lot to be grateful about when we think about the decisions we made to chart our careers, run our businesses, and form relationships with colleagues in "the channel".  Being grateful and appreciating what is good about our industry, our careers and our relationships has a number of positive benefits. Being grateful makes you a happier person.  Research reveals that if you just spend 5 minutes a day writing down what you are grateful for increases your feeling of long-term happiness. People that express gratitude are generally more well-liked.  Social capital never hurts, and gratitude tends to make us nicer, more trusting, more social, and more appreciative. As a result, we have more friendships and better business relationships. Grateful people tend to progress further in their careers.  Gratitude can make you a more effective manager or team member, help you network, increase your decision-making capabilities, increase your productivity, and help you attract others to you. The result is that you move up the ladder quicker and your workplace becomes a more friendly and enjoyable place to be. An attitude of gratitude promotes health.  Channel careers can take a toll on your health with lots of travel, eating on the road and long hours.  Research shows that grateful people are generally healthier, so it's good to get all the help we can. I've had a long career in technology, much of that involving developing and working in the channel.  At Convey, we have thousands of sales partners that use our portal services, master agents that we have automated and dozens of vendors that streamline their marketing through our services.  The bottom line is that I know the channel and here are some things that we should all be grateful for. The Channel creates entrepreneurs. I've been an entrepreneur for most of my career, owning my own businesses since 1995.  Sales partners and master agents are also business owners.  Without needing significant start-up capital, thousands of you left the comfort of your jobs with carriers and vendors to start businesses and create recurring revenue streams that have afforded you very good lifestyles.  And for a lucky few, you've been able to sell your businesses creating generational wealth for your families. The Channel is constantly evolving. Over the last 5 years, we've seen many advances in the channel that have given us more opportunities to serve our customers with a wide breadth of new technologies.  We've seen businesses move their phones and applications to the cloud, find better ways to connect to the Internet, cloud-based services to run every aspect of a business operation, the Internet of Things to track assets and the list goes on and on.  Evolving industries like ours grow, create opportunities for all of us, and ways to keep expanding our businesses. The technology we offer transforms how businesses operate. I spent a good part of my career in the conferencing industry.  We made it easy and cheap to have a remote team dial in from anywhere to meet virtually instead of getting on a plane to fly into headquarters. The technology was transformative because management became collaborative, people's opinions were solicited and valued, and the remote worker became the norm not the exception.  Think about how we are transforming businesses with cloud services, contact centers and other technology.   It's powerful that we can tie what we do in the channel to making people's businesses and business lives more successful. It's never boring. When you have rapid and on-going changes in businesses, technology services and in the marketplace, you have to stay on your toes.  We exist in an industry that requires us to be learners, strategists, become nimble, and forward thinking.   Be grateful that we have this opportunity as opposed to being in another industry that is more static, predictable and frankly boring. We develop long-lasting business and personal relationships.  People in the channel like to get together in Vegas, at partner events, at regional meetings and in the field.  Although we might change companies, we tend to pop up in another organization but are all still in the channel.  I've developed lasting relationships and friendships and look forward to the next time I can reconnect with people I like and respect.  I'm sure some of your best friends come from the Channel. The Channel takes care of its own.  My very good friend Darren Suders, who spent his entire career in the Channel died suddenly at age 37, leaving behind a wife and 3 children and virtually no insurance.  I put word out, set up a "Go-Fund Me" campaign and hundreds of people in the Channel that had worked with Darren stepped up generating tens of thousands of dollars to help his family financially. Darren was one of our own and the Channel took care of his family when he could not. Takeaways Many of my friends know that I lost my daughter Laura to overdose 2 years ago after a long struggle with addiction.  Gratitude has been the one thing that has helped me through what could have been an unbearable loss.  I am grateful for the time I had with her, for the lessons  her disease taught me, for having the insight to use my knowledge of technology to create a new company to take on the opioid crisis and for my friends in the channel who have reached out, stayed in touch and have been supportive. For all of you in the channel, being grateful helps you mentally, physically and spiritually.  We have a lot to be grateful for.  We have a growing, evolving industry that creates ever-evolving opportunities, the ability to make positive and transformative impacts on other people's companies, and the opportunity to improve the work experience for the employees of our customers.    And last but not least, we have relationships and friendships we found through the channel that will last a lifetime.  I'm grateful to be in the industry and I hope you are as well.

Episode 21 - The Power of Gratitude

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Being in "the channel" can be a challenge, to say the least. We have to balance our personal lives with our careers, manage through complex ...

Episode 20 - Curt Allen Joins InterAct LifeLIne Episode 20 - Curt Allen Joins InterAct LifeLIne

Conversation with Curt Allen & Carolyn Bradfield

Listen in to a conversation between Curt Allen and Carolyn Bradfield as Curt shares his transition out of Windstream and involvement in ...

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82 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-microcast jplist-topic-curt-Allen 0 334302 334302 Listen in to a conversation between Curt Allen and Carolyn Bradfield as Curt shares his transition out of Windstream and involvement in InterAct LifeLine.  Carolyn and Curt share  the mission of  InterAct LifeLine and how this new technology company is poised to take on the opioid crisis and disrupt broken processes in addiction prevention and treatment.

Episode 20 - Curt Allen Joins InterAct LifeLIne

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Listen in to a conversation between Curt Allen and Carolyn Bradfield as Curt shares his transition out of Windstream and involvement in InterAct ...

Episode 19 - Define Your Channel Program Episode 19 - Define Your Channel Program

MicroCast Convey Channel Helps You Define Your Channel Program Let's face it. Most of you don't really want or need every partner out ...

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Episode 19 - Define Your Channel Program

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MicroCast Convey Channel Helps You Define Your Channel Program Let's face it. Most of you don't really want or need every partner out there to try ...

Episode 18 - Eating a Balanced Channel Marketing... Episode 18 - Eating a Balanced Channel Marketing...

A Balanced Channel Marketing Diet It's easy in business to limit yourself to just a few marketing techniques especially if you are in the ...

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Episode 18 - Eating a Balanced Channel Marketing Diet

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A Balanced Channel Marketing Diet It's easy in business to limit yourself to just a few marketing techniques especially if you are in the channel ...

Episode 17 - Communicating at the Right Time Episode 17 - Communicating at the Right Time

Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. One of the ...

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85 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-microcast 0 328224 328224 Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series.   One of the key concepts every vendor must keep in the forefront of their mind when it comes to keeping sales partners engaged and interested is "out of sight, out of mind".  With so many vendor choices and services out there, it's just not enough to sponsor partner events, go to trade shows and travel to meet partners.   Communication must be continuous, online, and on-going to keep your company top of mindshare.  Your message fades quickly once you are back on the airplane going home after a face to face event.  Here are some interesting statistics from the training industry: 1.         After only one hour, people retain less than half of the information you presented. 2.         After one day, that drops to 70%. 3.         After six days, 75 % of the information has gone out the door.  So how does a channel program create a communication strategy until the time becomes right for a partner to notice, pay attention, and get engaged with you?  You have to go online, attract people to your message, and continuously reinforce your value proposition.  Here are 3 simple strategies. # 1 Be present where your target audience is most likely to look. Although sales partners might be on Facebook, they are definitely on LinkedIn, researching companies, finding prospects, and looking for business ideas.  They have signed up for email broadcast services like iAgent, Channel Vision or Telecommunications Association.  They subscribe to their Convey master agent portal.  You need to find a strategy for all of these online or electronic outlets to get to the audience that really matters.  #2 Communicate continuously to ensure that your message will be seen You never know when someone is going to be online trying to find strategies or services to sell to customers.  You have to continuously feed the content engine to ensure that when someone is on LinkedIn, they find your post in the Channel Partners group, read your email sent from Channel Vision, or find that SPIFF on a Convey master agent portal.  And don't just say the same thing.  Vary your messages, inject new ideas, and communicate in a way that grabs their attention. #3 Reinforce your message after a live event You've spent a large portion of your marketing dollars on sponsorships and events, only to have that message fade if you don't do anything else.  After the event is over, keep it alive in your social media posts, Convey content posts, or email broadcasts.  Take that new product announcement, the latest promotion, or the addition to your channel team that you announced at the regional event and go online to reinforce what partners learned when they met you. The right time to communicate to partners is all of the time and the only way to do this is to have a strong online content strategy that focuses on where your audiences are looking, communicates to them continuously and reinforces your most valuable messages.

Episode 17 - Communicating at the Right Time

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Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. One of the key concepts ...

Episode 16 - Communicating the Right Message Episode 16 - Communicating the Right Message

Full TranscriptCommunicating the Right Message Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to Convey's MicroCast ...

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Episode 16 - Communicating the Right Message

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Full TranscriptCommunicating the Right Message Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to Convey's MicroCast audio ...

Episode 15 - 5 Reasons to Know About Convey... Episode 15 - 5 Reasons to Know About Convey...

Some of you listening to this Microcast don't know who Convey Channel is. Others of you are wondering how we fit into your channel ...

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Episode 15 - 5 Reasons to Know About Convey Channel

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Some of you listening to this Microcast don't know who Convey Channel is. Others of you are wondering how we fit into your channel marketing ...

Episode 14 - Sales Leads Episode 14 - Sales Leads

Full Transcript Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a ...

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Episode 14 - Sales Leads

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Full Transcript Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful ...

Episode 13 - Partner Marketing Tools Episode 13 - Partner Marketing Tools

Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Partner Marketing Tools Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all ...

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Episode 13 - Partner Marketing Tools

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Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Partner Marketing Tools Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there ...

Episode 12 - Engaging Partners Episode 12 - Engaging Partners

Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Engaging Partners Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know ...

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90 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-microcast 0 331461 331461 Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Engaging Partners Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many complexities to building a successful channel strategy. Providers that are winning the channel game have adopted agile and innovative solutions to control their message, push their sales strategy, and provide the right tools, all while responding to constant change in their business and in the marketplace. Nowhere is the old phrase, "out of sight, out of mind" more true than in the channel. So many channel programs rely too heavily on face to face encounters at trade shows, regional events or sponsorships, but forget the fact that when the event is over and the partner is on the way home, most of the information they learned is already on its way out the window. Having a digital strategy to reinforce the message and stay in front of partners even when you are not with them is essential to staying top of mindshare. Mindshare is simply the amount of attention you get from your partner network. When a sales opportunity presents itself, are partners thinking of your company first? Keep in mind that your products aren't the only ones they're marketing and selling in our crowded telco and cloud space. Your channel program can only have so much to say about the quality, price, and delivery of the products, but you can separate yourself from the competition by winning the mindshare battle with your partners. Here are some general best practices that you should follow when you want partners to notice you and be the first thing they think about when they are in front of a customer. First, be clear about what makes you unique in the marketplace. Is it your market niche? Exceptional service? Highly targeted products and services? Make this value proposition simple and easy to remember. Here is an example in a statement that's clear, "We provide HIPAA compliant cloud hosting to healthcare." Second, keep the messages coming. A one-time advertising blitz can get your message out quickly to a large number of partners, but staying top of mindshare requires consistent delivery of messaging over time. Keep it coming. Third, make sure partners know it's you. Everything from your customer literature to your e-newsletters should have consistent messaging and similar look and feel. One brand, one message. Fourth, use a balanced approach. Stay in front of your audience using multiple channels over time. Awareness is based on repetition. And last, provide information that is useful. Frequency doesn't have to mean being annoying. Partners should perceive you as a provider of useful information rather than an intrusive pest. Communicate frequently but give your partners genuine value each time. Having a digital strategy that leverages automation allows a channel program to be clear about who they are, have consistent branding, keep the messages coming, and make sure the information is useful. Let's see how you can accomplish all of those goals using Convey's technology. Start by defining the type of partner you want, the type of customer you want them to pursue and use technology to get your point across. At Convey, we see that many channel programs trying to be all things to all partners. We have over 20,000 sales partners that use our portals to get information on providers but in reality, only a fraction of those partners will affiliate with you. If a program tries to go "wide" they will end up quoting lots of deals, rejecting many of them because they just aren't viable, and driving the partner away because they become frustrated. There are digital strategies inside of our Convey programs for providers to define the type of partner they really want to work with and the ideal customer profile they want them to pursue. In our Convey Channel program providers get a portion of a master agent portal called a catalog where content is added on a centralized site to be distributed to over 40 master agents. Or providers can own one of our custom portals and use them to educate partners Here are some digital strategies that work inside of our portals to define the ideal partner and customer profile: Add banners with taglines that clarify your ideal partner or market, then link the partner to a call to action to either learn more, join your program, or refer a deal.Create web pages, case studies or success stories that profile vertical markets that you are strongest in and customer wins.Consider having an elite partner program and invite partners that meet your criteria to express interest in joining by having an automated application process. Use the automation in our portals to keep the message coming. There is no excuse to not keep in constant contact with your partners. Make sure you are keeping them in the loop about current products, training opportunities, changes in prices, upcoming promotions and spiffs, or key events in your business. If you want to leave your channel partner unhappy, just ensure that they're the last to know about major changes to your services, company or channel program. Convey's partner portals make keeping in constant contact easy and automated. Here are some communication strategies and how our portals make them easy: Partners need to be reminded to keep coming back to the portal. Our system tracks their login history and reminds them to come back if they've been idle too long. Portals automatically notifies partners when they have a lead, a commission statement, or an action they need to take.Portals have discussion forums for partners to exchange ideas and ask questions of you and each other. The technology recaps those conversations, sends out a daily discussion digest and invites partners to come back and join the conversation.Add new content, a promotion or spiff, or an upcoming webinar and highlight those new developments in an automated newsletter. The system pulls from the newest items, highlights them and links the partner to come back to the portal to take a look.Partners can opt in to receive text messages from the portal to remind them about events or other action items. Statistics will tell you that text messages are opened 97% of the time and read within 90 seconds of getting them. Convey's portals automate the way you reach out to partners to keep the messages coming and draw them back into the portal for more. Try different techniques that promote engagement and calls to action In today's digital world, you have to assume that people need to see the same message multiple times, presented in different ways that appeal to the way they process information. Some people are analytical and like to read, so giving them white papers, case studies and product details will appeal to that type of partner.Some partners are visual, so big bold graphics in banners and pages or in our portal home page feature boxes are the shiny object that attracts their attention and motivates them to click and exploreSome partners learn by experience, so having webinars to let them hear from the experts makes sense. Discussion forums to exchange ideas in real time may be very appealing to an experiential learner. Use reports in our portal to analyze what partners look at and do more of what's working and less of what's not. Every time a partner logs into our portals, visits one of your content catalogs, views or downloads a post or navigates around your portal, we record that event. You can pull a member activity report to get an overview of the most popular locations and posts or an event report to see who registers for a webinar and then look at a specific partner to see who is the most active and engaged. We know through our experience that partners visit case studies, battle cards and promotions and spiffs more often than anything else, but your portal will give you all the detail you need to understand what partners really care about. Takeaway Being top of mindshare is critical in a crowded channel marketplace. If partners aren't getting your message consistently, they will undoubtedly think about your competitors. We live in a world of digital engagement that requires constant reinforcement and no channel program can keep up with that type of demand unless they use automation to make it happen. Our portals are designed to help you win the minds and hearts of your partners, do it efficiently with automation and not break the channel budget in the process.

Episode 12 - Engaging Partners

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Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Engaging Partners Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know there many ...

Episode 11 - Automate Partner Management Episode 11 - Automate Partner Management

Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automate Partner Management Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we ...

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Episode 11 - Automate Partner Management

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Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automate Partner Management Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but as we all know ...

Episode 10 - Automating and Upgrading Your... Episode 10 - Automating and Upgrading Your...

Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program Sales partners expect more from their providers ...

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Episode 10 - Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program

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Full Transcript Convey Channel MicroCast Automating and Upgrading Your Channel Program Sales partners expect more from their providers these days but ...

Halloween Special 5 - The Nightmare on Channel... Halloween Special 5 - The Nightmare on Channel...

Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is ...

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93 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-Halloween-Special 0 328222 328222 Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series.   This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street.  We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, can ruin your channel program and destroy your revenue.  Today we're going to focus on the "Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers. You used to go to Channel Partners in Vegas and there were thousands of partners wandering through the exhibit hall or attended regional meetings.  Then, all of a sudden, the invasion of the partner snatchers descended on the channel and one by one those partners started disappearing snatched away and gone forever. If pods from outer space didn't spirit partners away, then where did they go?  The answer is complicated.  People became agents years ago because they may have been in a company's telecom department, then decided to branch out and start their own business.  Many of these partners are now aging out, retiring, or just not active and they are being replaced by new partner models that may not be so obvious to you.  So, what are vendors and master agents to do so they don't experience the nightmare of the disappearing partner on Channel Street?  Here are some thoughts: Diversify your partner base. If the only type of sales partner you have focused on is the telecommunications agent, you are missing a variety of other partner types that have the right customer base not only for network services, but for cloud and business as a service.  And you may be putting your channel program at risk as your traditional partner base shrinks. Think about including managed services providers, value added resellers and IT service providers.   After you do that, look around and consider less traditional partners that are calling on accounts with non-technology-based services. Here is an example. The other day I ate lunch with an insurance agent who is building a practice around commercial insurance for assisted living facilities.  That person would make a great referral partner because those facilities need to upgrade their phone system, move applications to the cloud, use technology to make their buildings smarter, and network their locations together.  He's non-traditional but he's calling on the right customers in a high-value target market.  Once you diversify it's important to understand the different type of partner models and how they function. Let's take the managed services provider as an example whose business model is different than a telecommunications agent.  An MSP owns the customer relationship because they not only manage their IT and network, they also invoice the customer for services rendered.  MSPs will often step aside and let the vendor take the lead when it comes to selling services that they don't have native expertise in, making them an ideal partner who wants a trusted relationship with a master agent or vendor and is willing to make the referral. It's also important to learn where the new partner types hang out and plan to go where those partners congregate. If you expect these different partner types such as an MSP or VAR to haunt the hallways of Channel Partners in Vegas or other telecommunications-oriented events, think again.  They will likely be elsewhere.  Expand your presence at organizations like ASCII or shows like IT Expo to find other technology-oriented partners.

Halloween Special 5 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: The Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers

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Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our ...

Halloween Special 4 - The Nightmare on Channel... Halloween Special 4 - The Nightmare on Channel...

Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is ...

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94 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-Halloween-Special 0 328221 328221 Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series.   This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we gave Freddy Krueger a shout out in our first episode, the Nightmare on Channel Street.  We identified nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, can ruin your channel program and destroy your revenue.  Today we're going to focus on vendors that checked into the Bates Motel, handed over their MDF funds, and thought they were getting the key to channel revenue, only to never come out alive. Your Vegas hotel bill, those huge green fees at the golf tournament, or sponsorships for that expensive cocktail party have been washed down the drain with very few partners that you hoped would engage actually selling your services.  You try to wake up from the nightmare where you are being chased by your management team, screaming that you don't know what the ROI is, which partners were converted and what revenue is going to result from your efforts.  You are caught up at the Bates Motel in the Nightmare on Channel Street, but there are ways to make sure that your marketing development funds give you a provable ROI, don't break your budget and produce partner relationships and customer referrals.  Here are some thoughts.  Don't overspend on live events by changing your event strategy. Vendors tend to overspend on events by sponsoring a cocktail party, complete with a killer band, great drinks and in a cool venue.  But those events often have other vendors clogging them up and little opportunity to engage directly with the partner that you want relationships with.   Consider creating a niche event that is more innovative and creates an exclusive gathering that entices your partners to attend and because you view them as important in your go-to-market strategy.  More intimate events that give the partner a personal experience and offer the channel team the opportunity to participate in activities directly with the partner are much less expensive than the big blowout. Think a Top Golf outing, wine tasting, or fireside chat with a local celebrity. And, don't feel you have to go it alone.  There are vendors that offer services that are compatible vs. competitive to yours.  Invite them to co-sponsor and add an educational component that is not product-focused but more industry and market focused. Create educational, virtual partner events that you can execute for a fraction of the cost of a live event. Webinars and podcasts continue to be a hot trend in content marketing. They are inexpensive and effective if they are done right.  Make those events short and use your marketing budget to pay an industry thought leader to bring an expert or knowledge perspective vs. focusing on trying to sell your products and services over the web.  People will come to hear the thoughts of people that are different and interesting.  Think about the power of Ted Talks that attract massive audiences. Consider offering knowledge on the vertical markets your customers exist in, on selling strategies, and on strategies that partners can use in general to grow their business. Virtual events can be delivered with minimal marketing funds because there is no travel involved and no expense in finding a venue, paying for food and drinks, and those pricey giveaways. Execute a digital strategy to help sales partners market directly to their customers and prospects. Partners have spent years building customer relationships or creating contacts in their local marketplaces that could become customers.  However, they don't have the time, creativity or expertise to execute an effective digital marketing strategy.  Allocate your MDF funds to reward partners who are willing to let you help them

Halloween Special 4 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: Marketing Development Funds

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Full TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our ...

Halloween Special 3 - The Nightmare on Channel... Halloween Special 3 - The Nightmare on Channel...

TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our ...

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Halloween Special 3 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: The Walking Dead - Bad Referrals

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TranscriptConvey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween ...

Halloween Special 2 - The Nightmare on Channel... Halloween Special 2 - The Nightmare on Channel...

Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is ...

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Halloween Special 2 - The Nightmare on Channel Street: Disappearing Commissions

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Full Transcript Convey MicroCast Series This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our ...

Halloween Special 1 - The Nightmare on Channel... Halloween Special 1 - The Nightmare on Channel...

This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and ...

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97 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-Halloween-Special 0 328218 328218 This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we're going to give our old friend Freddy Krueger a shout out by entitling our program, the Nightmare on Channel Street. For those of you who don't remember Freddy, he starred as a character in the Nightmare on Elm street, an insane child killer, released on a technicality and murdered by the town's parents. He comes back in people's dreams and continues to kill through 9 different movies. So in honor of Halloween week, we are going to identify nightmares in the channel that keep you up at night, ruin your channel program and destroy revenue. Our first episode in the Nightmare on Channel Street is called "the death of commissions". This episode of unfolds as nervous channel partners watch in horror as big companies gobble up smaller ones, creating a behemoth that lumbers through the marketplace like a zombie trying to feed itself on dwindling sales with a pack of hungry debt holders hard on their heels. The struggling company darts into court to protect itself from hungry debt holders by filing bankruptcy and then the nightmare really begins, but not for the company, instead for partners that sold its services. A new group of characters come on the scene, the bankruptcy court judges who nullify partner contracts gasping in horror at the commissions flowing out the door to partners who stopped selling their services years ago. Judges rule, commissions begin to die and partners that depended on them start scrambling for new sources of revenue. Episode two is called the "The Invasion of the Sales Partner Snatchers" You used to go to Channel Partners in Vegas and there were thousands of partners in the exhibit hall, or to regional meetings full of partners. Then, all of a sudden, there was the invasion of the body snatchers and one by one those partners started disappearing, seemingly snatched away, gone forever. Where did the partners go? Some of them got discouraged with channel sales and went back to their careers working for a company. Some of them simply aged out and retired from active duty, continuing to take whatever commission checks that were still coming their way. Or some of them just decided that it was not interesting enough to keep coming back, only to hear the same old presentations delivered the same way. And the other explanation for their disappearance is that pods from outer space have landed in the channel, snatching up the partners we used to know and depend on. In Episode three, vendors check into the Bates Motel, hand over their MDF funds and may never have their channel marketing budget come out alive. Your Vegas hotel, those huge greens fees at the golf tournament, or sponsorships for that expensive cocktail party have been washed down the drain with very few partners that you hoped would engage actually selling your services. Now, you wake up in a cold sweat being chased by your management team, screaming that you don't know what the ROI result is, and which partners were converted and what revenue is going to result from your efforts. Next it's a cold Halloween night and you're waiting in the Pumpkin Patch for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. But that never happens because you're in episode 4 of the Nightmare on Channel Street. If you worry about trying to find partners to represent you in the channel, only to have your trick or treat bag filled with rocks, then you are not alone. The channel has expanded, the number of vendors has grown, and it's much harder to get partners to pay attention with all of the noise in the channel. Trying to get people to pay attention to you can be one of the nightmares on Channel Street. And our final nightmare is entitled the Walking Dead. At first everything seems wonderful for you on Channel Street. Partners are throwing deals to you right and left, asking you for quotes and submitting deals. But then the nightmare begins. You're working way too hard preparing tons of quotes for companies that are just plain wrong for your services. It's a nightmare because your entire channel team is totally deployed chasing deals that will never convert, frustrating partners who don't know which prospects meet your standards and being sucked into a never-ending quoting nightmare. So, if your channel program is caught in one of the Nightmares on Channel Street, what should you do? Hide in the graveyard of other channel programs hoping Freddy won't find you? Run from the people trying to suck the blood out of your marketing budget? Or hope that the budget chainsaw won't cut through your team when the results aren't what management expected? Remember that in all horror movies, the bad guy always loses in the end. The nightmare is over, and the main characters live on to fight another day. So, what about the Nightmare on Channel Street? Well this is what we call in the MicroCast world, a cliff hanger. You'll have to tune into this week's Halloween MicroCasts to find out how you, as the main character in your channel movie, makes it past the partner snatchers, out of the Bates Motel, and avoid the Walking Dead to keep your channel program alive and well. This is Carolyn Bradfield and you've been listening to our MicroCast in the Convey Channel Partner special Halloween series.

Halloween Special 1 - The Nightmare on Channel Street

MicroCast

This is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. This week is our Halloween MicroCast series and we're going to ...

Episode 4 - Communicating to the Right Audience Episode 4 - Communicating to the Right Audience

Full TranscriptThis is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. It's natural to want everyone to like ...

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Episode 4 - Communicating to the Right Audience

MicroCast

Full TranscriptThis is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to the Convey MicroCast audio series. It's natural to want everyone to like us and ...

Episode 3 - The 3 C's of Channel Communication Episode 3 - The 3 C's of Channel Communication

The 3 C's of Channel Communication Convey MicroCast Series Hi, this is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to Convey's MicroCast audio ...

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99 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-channel-experience jplist-topic-microcast jplist-topic-podcast jplist-topic-Communication 0 328203 328203

Episode 3 - The 3 C's of Channel Communication

MicroCast

The 3 C's of Channel Communication Convey MicroCast Series Hi, this is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to Convey's MicroCast audio series. ...

Episode 2 - Crafting the Right Online Experience... Episode 2 - Crafting the Right Online Experience...

Podcast Transcription: Hi, this is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to Convey's MicroCast audio series. We'd like to welcome our ...

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Episode 2 - Crafting the Right Online Experience for Your Channel Program

MicroCast

Podcast Transcription: Hi, this is Carolyn Bradfield and you're listening to Convey's MicroCast audio series. We'd like to welcome our listeners to ...

Episode 1 - New to the Channel? Our Advice Episode 1 - New to the Channel? Our Advice

Podcast Transcript: New to the Channel? Take our Advice We'd like to welcome our listeners to our Channel Partners MicroCast audio series. ...

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101 MicroCast-MicroCast jplist-topic-microcast jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-Telecom jplist-topic-channel-partners jplist-topic-sales-partners 0 324352 324352

Episode 1 - New to the Channel? Our Advice

MicroCast

Podcast Transcript: New to the Channel? Take our Advice We'd like to welcome our listeners to our Channel Partners MicroCast audio series. I'm ...

InterAct Launches an Integrated Technology... InterAct Launches an Integrated Technology...

LifeLIne for Treatment Programs, Collegiate Recovery, SafetyNet

Atlanta, GA - August 1, 2019 - InterAct today launched InterAct LifeLine, the first in a series of online technology solutions designed to ...

Press Release
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102 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Press-Release jplist-topic-interact jplist-topic-lifeline jplist-topic-safetynet 0 321851 321851 Atlanta, GA - August 1, 2019 - InterAct today launched InterAct LifeLine, the first in a series of online technology solutions designed to reduce addiction relapse, improve long-term recovery care and offer drug abuse prevention support for families. LifeLine helps addiction treatment and collegiate recovery programs leverage technology to better serve their clients, students and families, keeping them connected and improving patient outcomes. InterAct is a newly-formed subsidiary of Convey Holdings and built on portal and networking technology developed by Convey Services.

InterAct Launches an Integrated Technology Solution for Substance Abuse Treatment, Collegiate Recovery and Substance Abuse Prevention

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - August 1, 2019 - InterAct today launched InterAct LifeLine, the first in a series of online technology solutions designed to reduce ...

Convey's Launches Conduct Email Marketing... Convey's Launches Conduct Email Marketing...

Atlanta, GA - March 27, 2019 - Convey Services today announced the full release of Conduct™ Campaign, the email marketing solution that ...

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103 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Conduct jplist-topic-Press-Release 0 282266 282266

Convey's Launches Conduct Email Marketing Campaign Technology in Full Release

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - March 27, 2019 - Convey Services today announced the full release of Conduct™ Campaign, the email marketing solution that distributes ...

Convey Launches Partner Program for Portals and... Convey Launches Partner Program for Portals and...

March 20, 2019 Press Release

Atlanta, GA - March 20, 2019 - Convey Services today launched its new channel program for agents or sales partners to refer or resell ...

Press Release
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104 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-partner-program jplist-topic-Portals 0 280968 280968 Atlanta, GA - March 20, 2019 - Convey Services today launched its new channel program for agents or sales partners to refer or resell Convey's Content and Marketing portals and portal networks along with supporting services. Convey is providing an unprecedented opportunity for partners to help their customers reduce the high cost and time drain of designing, engineering and launching a web portal solution to support sales, operations or membership.

Convey Launches Partner Program for Portals and Portal Networks

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - March 20, 2019 - Convey Services today launched its new channel program for agents or sales partners to refer or resell Convey's ...

Convey Expands Networked Portal Solutions for... Convey Expands Networked Portal Solutions for...

Connected Portals Create Knowledge & Marketing Networks for Sales Partners

Atlanta, GA - March 7, 2019 - Convey Services today announced expanded availability of its portal technology to increase the efficiency of ...

Press Release
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105 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Portals jplist-topic-Portal-Networks 0 278862 278862 Atlanta, GA - March 7, 2019 - Convey Services today announced expanded availability of its portal technology to increase the efficiency of content and marketing delivery and enhance member engagement. Convey is rolling out its networked portal solutions as stand-alone partner relationship management (PRM) systems, customer resource centers, internal knowledge centers, and membership platforms. Convey's portal networks are currently deployed in the telecommunications, cloud & IT services industry, property & casualty insurance, and foodservice distribution.

Convey Expands Networked Portal Solutions for Channels

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - March 7, 2019 - Convey Services today announced expanded availability of its portal technology to increase the efficiency of content ...

Convey Releases Conduct™ Campaign in Beta Convey Releases Conduct™ Campaign in Beta

New Email Marketing Campaign Solution Designed for Channel Sales

Atlanta, GA - June 6, 2018 - Convey Services today released Conduct™, a new email marketing campaign platform designed for indirect and ...

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106 Press-Release-Press-Release 0 278642 278642

Convey Releases Conduct™ Campaign in Beta

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - June 6, 2018 - Convey Services today released Conduct™, a new email marketing campaign platform designed for indirect and channel ...

Convey Introduces Channel Accelerator Program to... Convey Introduces Channel Accelerator Program to...

Atlanta, Georgia - April 11, 2018 - Convey Services today introduced the Channel Accelerator program to deliver new telecom, cloud, ...

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107 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-channel-accelerator 0 278641 278641 Atlanta, Georgia - April 11, 2018 - Convey Services today introduced the Channel Accelerator program to deliver new telecom, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and other related business services to the telecom/cloud channel through the Convey network of master agents and their 20,000+ sales partners. Channel Accelerator (www.channelaccelerator.com) screens new providers, then helps structure their marketing, compensation and support programs to make them channel-ready. The Program provides master agents with the ability to sell services under a single Channel Accelerator agreement. It complements the IoT Channel Accelerator (launched in March) and is designed to expand the categories of vendor and providers that can participate.

Convey Introduces Channel Accelerator Program to Deliver Channel-Ready Solutions to Master Agents & Sales Partners

Press Release

Atlanta, Georgia - April 11, 2018 - Convey Services today introduced the Channel Accelerator program to deliver new telecom, cloud, Internet of ...

Convey Introduces IoT Channel Accelerator to... Convey Introduces IoT Channel Accelerator to...

Atlanta, GA - February 14, 2018 - Convey Services today introduced the IoT Channel Accelerator program, an online resource portal focused ...

Press Release
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108 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-IoT jplist-topic-channel-accelerator 0 278639 278639 Atlanta, GA - February 14, 2018 - Convey Services today introduced the IoT Channel Accelerator program, an online resource portal focused on delivering 'Internet of Things' (IoT) solutions and education to channel partners in the telecommunications and cloud market. Developed in conjunction with the IoT Advisor Group of Jacksonville, Florida, IoT Channel Accelerator helps agents and sales partners learn about IoT opportunities, explore end-to-end solutions and gain access to providers that offer services to help their clients manage mobile assets, increase operational efficiencies, reduce cost and improve the overall customer experience.

Convey Introduces IoT Channel Accelerator to Deliver Internet of Things Solutions to the Telecom/Cloud Sales Channel

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - February 14, 2018 - Convey Services today introduced the IoT Channel Accelerator program, an online resource portal focused on ...

Convey Services' New Portal Technology Delivers... Convey Services' New Portal Technology Delivers...

Atlanta, GA - March 16, 2017 - Convey Services, in partnership with Trackmax Solutions, a leader in distributor-focused profit improvement ...

Press Release
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109 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-foodservice jplist-topic-Portals 0 278638 278638

Convey Services' New Portal Technology Delivers Foodservice Content Directly to Restaurant Operators

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - March 16, 2017 - Convey Services, in partnership with Trackmax Solutions, a leader in distributor-focused profit improvement software, ...

Convey Enhances Channel Platform to Promote and... Convey Enhances Channel Platform to Promote and...

Convey Services Now Represents 40 Master Agents with 16,000 Sales Partners

Atlanta, GA - July 27, 2016 - Convey Services today announced a new premium program for vendors that subscribe to the Convey for Channel ...

Press Release
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110 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-reports jplist-topic-Analytics jplist-topic-portal jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-Telecommunications 0 278637 278637

Convey Enhances Channel Platform to Promote and Track Catalog Views in the Telecommunications and Cloud Space

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 27, 2016 - Convey Services today announced a new premium program for vendors that subscribe to the Convey for Channel platform ...

Convey Redefines Content Delivery with 'Platform... Convey Redefines Content Delivery with 'Platform...

Atlanta, GA - April 28, 2016 - Convey Services introduces Platform as a Profit Center (PaaPCTM), an online solution that redefines ...

Press Release
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111 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-portal jplist-topic-profit-center jplist-topic-Platform-as-a-Profit-Center 0 278635 278635 Atlanta, GA - April 28, 2016 - Convey Services introduces Platform as a Profit Center (PaaPCTM), an online solution that redefines cloud-based content and training delivery, turning a technology expense into a revenue generator. PaaPC is designed for organizations that have an audience that will pay for content or training, or have suppliers that want access to sales agents and revenue producers who need information about products and services. Convey hosts and delivers content, training, promotions and events allowing multiple individuals or groups to update the platform. PaaPC solutions reduce or eliminate the cost of deploying online content and training delivery or generate profit through the sale of catalog subscriptions, memberships, advertising, content or training.

Convey Redefines Content Delivery with 'Platform as a Profit Center' Solutions

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - April 28, 2016 - Convey Services introduces Platform as a Profit Center (PaaPCTM), an online solution that redefines cloud-based ...

Convey Services Now Represents the Top 37 Telecom... Convey Services Now Represents the Top 37 Telecom...

New Master Agents MicroCorp and WTG Launch Convey Platforms

Atlanta, GA - March 24, 2016 - Convey Services increased their market coverage to 37 of the top master agents in the telecommunications and ...

Press Release
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112 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Telecommunications jplist-topic-Master-agent 0 278634 278634

Convey Services Now Represents the Top 37 Telecom & Cloud Master Agents

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - March 24, 2016 - Convey Services increased their market coverage to 37 of the top master agents in the telecommunications and cloud ...

Convey Launches The Cloud Conventions Virtual Expo Convey Launches The Cloud Conventions Virtual Expo

For Telecommunications, VARs, MSPs and Cloud Providers

Atlanta, GA - February 17, 2016 - Convey Services today unveiled Cloud Conventions 2016, a virtual expo available online from March 7-31, ...

Press Release
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113 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-cloud-conventions jplist-topic-Virtual-Trade-Shows 0 278633 278633

Convey Launches The Cloud Conventions Virtual Expo

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - February 17, 2016 - Convey Services today unveiled Cloud Conventions 2016, a virtual expo available online from March 7-31, with live ...

Convey Services Selected to Present at Venture... Convey Services Selected to Present at Venture...

ATLANTA - September 15, 2015 - Convey Services of Roswell today announced it has been selected to present at Venture Atlanta 2015, ...

Press Release
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114 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Venture-Atlanta 0 278632 278632 ATLANTA - September 15, 2015 - Convey Services of Roswell today announced it has been selected to present at Venture Atlanta 2015, Georgia's premier event connecting technology innovation and investment capital, to be held October 20-21 at the Georgia Aquarium. The 32 early and later stage companies chosen to present reflect a wide range of technologies and diverse markets, while highlighting the innovation of Georgia businesses.

Convey Services Selected to Present at Venture Atlanta 2015Venture

Press Release

ATLANTA - September 15, 2015 - Convey Services of Roswell today announced it has been selected to present at Venture Atlanta 2015, Georgia's premier ...

Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services Guest... Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services Guest...

The Syndicated Radio Show "This Just In"

Atlanta, GA - June 8, 2015 - Today, Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services was the guest on the syndicated radio show "This Just In" ...

Press Release
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115 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Radio jplist-topic-podcast jplist-topic-Justin-Barnes 0 278630 278630 Atlanta, GA - June 8, 2015 - Today, Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services was the guest on the syndicated radio show "This Just In" hosted by Justin Barns on the Healthcare Radio network. During the half-hour interview, Barnes and Bradfield discussed entrepreneurship, focusing on strategies for success in today's business climate.

Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services Guest Expert

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - June 8, 2015 - Today, Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services was the guest on the syndicated radio show "This Just In" hosted by ...

Curt Allen, President of X4 Solutions, joins the... Curt Allen, President of X4 Solutions, joins the...

Atlanta, GA - April 15, 2015 - Convey Services today announced the addition of Curt Allen, President of X4 Solutions, to the Convey ...

Press Release
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116 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-curt-Allen 0 278629 278629 Atlanta, GA - April 15, 2015 - Convey Services today announced the addition of Curt Allen, President of X4 Solutions, to the Convey Services' Board of Directors.

Curt Allen, President of X4 Solutions, joins the Convey Services Board of Directors

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - April 15, 2015 - Convey Services today announced the addition of Curt Allen, President of X4 Solutions, to the Convey Services' Board ...

Convey Launches New Features to Improve Agent... Convey Launches New Features to Improve Agent...

Atlanta, GA - January 27, 2015 - Convey Services today released two new features to enhance the reporting and sales interface of Convey; ...

Press Release
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117 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-ROI jplist-topic-Engage 0 278628 278628

Convey Launches New Features to Improve Agent Engagement & Validate ROI

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - January 27, 2015 - Convey Services today released two new features to enhance the reporting and sales interface of Convey; the ...

Convey Services Launches Responsive Web Design Convey Services Launches Responsive Web Design

Advanced Mobility Strategy for Convey Online Platforms

Atlanta, GA - October 22, 2014 - Convey Services today launched Responsive Web Design across all of its Convey online platforms to improve ...

Press Release
Press Release
118 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Responsive-Web-Design jplist-topic-mobile-devices 0 278627 278627 Atlanta, GA - October 22, 2014 - Convey Services today launched Responsive Web Design across all of its Convey online platforms to improve customer experience on smartphones and tablets. Responsive design allows Convey Engage sites to be viewed on devices using varying screen sizes without having to scroll left or right to see the image. This upgrade eliminates the need to create new mobile applications for every device and update them as those devices evolve.

Convey Services Launches Responsive Web Design

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - October 22, 2014 - Convey Services today launched Responsive Web Design across all of its Convey online platforms to improve customer ...

New Features Expand Vendor Marketing in Convey New Features Expand Vendor Marketing in Convey

Adds Advertising, Catalog Banners, and Catalog Informational Pages

Atlanta, GA - October 15, 2014 - Convey Services today released an expanded range of features for Convey, the online Partner Engagement ...

Press Release
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119 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-banners jplist-topic-Advertising jplist-topic-Catalogs jplist-topic-pages jplist-topic-marketing 0 278625 278625

New Features Expand Vendor Marketing in Convey

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - October 15, 2014 - Convey Services today released an expanded range of features for Convey, the online Partner Engagement Platform for ...

Convey Launches New Hub & Spoke Technology to... Convey Launches New Hub & Spoke Technology to...

Upgrade Improves Content Delivery for Master Agents and Vendors

Atlanta, GA - July 16, 2014 - Convey Services today announced the launch of Hub & Spoke, a significant software enhancement to the Convey ...

Press Release
Press Release
120 Press-Release-Press-Release jplist-topic-Portal-Networks jplist-topic-Hub---Spoke 0 278622 278622 Atlanta, GA - July 16, 2014 - Convey Services today announced the launch of Hub & Spoke, a significant software enhancement to the Convey platform for master agents and their vendors.With the addition of Hub & Spoke, vendors can manage their digital content assets on a single "Hub" site, while duplicating and delivering those assets to multiple master agent "Spoke" sites that they subscribe to.

Convey Launches New Hub & Spoke Technology to Enhance Convey

Press Release

Atlanta, GA - July 16, 2014 - Convey Services today announced the launch of Hub & Spoke, a significant software enhancement to the Convey platform ...

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