Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Skunk Works
In "Foots in the door", Business Strategy, Uncategorized on November 5, 2009 at 11:43 pm“Skunk Works” was (still is?) the official name for Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs. Since then, the term has been frequently used to describe “off the grid” hit or miss, bold experiments.
Convergence Soup has started it’s own Skunk Works program designed to go outside the box for Catalyst partners to find new opportunities. SSW may not be as audacious as the program that produced the U2 aircraft (considering it took me 3 minutes to get it off the ground); however, sometimes the best ideas are the simplest, right?
Today’s results from Soup Skunk Works, Read the rest of this entry »
Great News!! Groot Nieuws!! Grandi Notizie!! Grandes Noticias!! Grandes Nouvelles!!
In Uncategorized on October 13, 2009 at 4:09 pm
New “Java” app for IP Office?
In Uncategorized on October 12, 2009 at 4:57 pmWhat do you do when you need to update your blog on Monday morning and don’t have any bright ideas? You read nojitter (in this case Eric Krap). Could this be the future of CEBP? I’m not sure if the below is a joke, but it appears to work and could be a good catalyst for thinking outside the IP 500 box.
SIP Trunking and Avaya
In Business Strategy, Uncategorized on October 8, 2009 at 5:52 pmSo many partners are trying to figure out which ITSP’s and Carriers’ SIP trunking services are tested/approved to work with Avaya IP Office and Avaya Communication Manager. As you may know, SIP is a surprisingly loose standard so interoperability becomes pretty important to pay attention to. I’m not sure Avaya does the best job of making it known which providers have a green light, so it took a little digging around for me to cobble together a matrix of approved SIP trunking providers for IP Office and ACM — by the way, some are approved for IP Office and not for ACM (and Read the rest of this entry »
#2 Problem Solved
In Business Strategy, Operational Excellence, Uncategorized on October 5, 2009 at 8:08 pmAccording to the partners I speak to, the second biggest challenge (btw, the #1 challenge is finding good sales people) goes something like this:
How to get sales people effective training that:
- Isn’t marketing “fluff”
- Doesn’t take them out of the field for too long
- Can be replicated and is consistent
- Gets results Read the rest of this entry »
Strategic Partner Stew
In "Foots in the door", Business Strategy, Uncategorized on September 22, 2009 at 12:52 pmToday it occurred to me that some of Avaya’s strongest value propositions require partners to have competencies or expertise that are just out of reach to most of us. Avaya can do some really cool things but in order to do some of these things, you need to be more than an Avaya partner. So here’s food for thought. What types of partnerships might you forge to capitalize on Avaya’s most advanced, margin rich solutions? Partners tell me all the time that partnering doesn’t work and I realize this is all easy on paper but much harder in practice. I think it’s worth it if you can figure some of these out.
CEBP – Communication Enabled Business Processes. In order for this to work, you have to integrate unified communications into Business Process Management. I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a single Avaya partner with expertise in this area. Below are some good organizations to explore to strike up partnerships.
Another Amazing Webinar by Jim Sevier
In Uncategorized on September 17, 2009 at 9:28 pmSometimes you have to take time out, shift into neutral, and rethink how you’re spending your time — especially if you want to work “smart”. Jim Sevier’s “The Art of Prospecting” webinar yesterday was another blockbuster hit with enough participants to fill an auditorium. Visit our website and find Archived Trainings. (Sept 16th)
Sales Autopilot
In "Foots in the door", Business Strategy, Uncategorized on September 16, 2009 at 4:03 pmThat’s what this blog is. Every day I see more and more people visiting my blog. So, all I have to do is come up with one good idea every day, one gem of insight that my customers and partners will benefit from, and I’ve gotten their mindshare. How many other mediums allow you to touch so many customers in so little time? Right now, there are a lot of opportunities for you to do the same thing with your clients. Your clients have so many questions swirling around in their head.
- What’s the future of Nortel (see my previous blog)?
- What does Avaya Aura really mean?
- How can I meet the IT demands of my company without adding headcount? Read the rest of this entry »
Fail to Plan = Plan to Fail
In Business Strategy, Uncategorized on September 15, 2009 at 4:28 pmFor those of you that are beginning to plan for 2010, now’s a good time to figure out where you want to get and how you are going to get there. What activities will be required to hit the revenue targets that you have?
Linkedin IS a Sales Tool!
In "Foots in the door", Business Strategy, Uncategorized on September 10, 2009 at 5:06 pmLike most people, sometimes I have to remind myself why social networking tools like Linkedin and Facebook are valuable. It takes a little extra effort to keep up with these but I think it’s well worth it. I wanted to share some examples of how Linkedin has helped me which you may not have thought of. I try to connect to all of my vendors, business partners and prospects as soon as I meet them (again, I’m not perfect here).
One way this becomes valuable is the Linkedin updates. I get to see who everyone is connecting with which is very useful information if you really think about the possibilities. Here’s some examples of information I’ve benefited from. Read the rest of this entry »
Soup-Strip
In Soup-Strip, Uncategorized on September 4, 2009 at 10:16 pmAfter creating this strip, it occured to me I shouldn’t do these when I’m sleep deprived. It also occurred to me I may be drinking the Aura Koolaide. Hopefully this makes sense but I think the below describes the game changer that Aura represents.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes…
In Uncategorized on August 27, 2009 at 9:35 pmRising from the ashes of 107 degree desert heat, I’ve decided to resuscitate my blog which has remained latent for the past two years. First, I’ve renamed it “Convergence Soup” since it promises to be a delicious blend of lessons learned, new ideas, innovative strategies and blatently self-serving adverts. So, a little refinement to the direction of this blog — here’s my criteria for topics I push out to you.
1. Must be fascinating on some level.
2. Must be information you haven’t been bombarded with from 10 other sources. Read the rest of this entry »
Hello Partners!
In Uncategorized on July 13, 2007 at 5:31 pmOver the past couple months, I’ve found myself reading a number of blogs from some of my favorite “thinkers”. It occurred to me recently that this could be a great way to share some of the best practices I discuss every day with partners. The topics discussed here will be real tips and strategies you can employ in your business today. My hope is that you’ll come to appreciate the fact that I won’t fill this blog with self-serving vendor “propaganda”, rather practical yet innovative strategies you can put to use immediately.
