The ChannelPro Network hosted its first ever Business Management Online Summit on March 3, a full day of content designed to drive growth and efficiency for SMB-focused IT businesses by honing sales, marketing, operations, HR, and financial management skills. It is the second of five live online events scheduled for 2021.
Keynote speaker Paul Dippell, CEO of Service Leadership (recently acquired by ConnectWise), addressed “What Makes Great MSPs Great.” Service Leadership is a leading solution provider and IT vendor consultancy and publisher of the Service Leadership Index®, the foremost industry benchmark worldwide.
“Smart business acumen is the hallmark of channel pros who not only survived but have thrived during the pandemic, and are now well-positioned for 2021 and beyond, which our keynote speaker Paul Dippell highlighted in his address,” said Rich Freeman, executive editor of The ChannelPro Network. “By bringing together a slate of industry-leading business and financial experts like Paul and others for our event, as well as top-performing channel pros, we provided tangible, actionable advice for attendees.”
Other educational sessions at the conference included:
Labor Cost Management Mastery – Financial consultant Rayanne Buchianico and business coach and author Manuel Palachuk walked attendees through how to measure and optimize the cost of labor, both in the waning months of the pandemic and beyond.
Sales Meeting Obstacles and Answers – Well-known sales coaches Gil Cargill, founder and CEO of Cargill Consulting Group, and Erick Simpson, founder and chief strategist of ErickSimpson.com, addressed audience questions about their top objections received during sales calls and provided tips for countering them.
Packaging and Pricing Mastery – Author and founder of The Tech Tribe community Nigel Moore, along with business coach and founder of Sea-Level Operations Rex Frank, revealed techniques for bundling services, setting prices, and locking in margins.
Buy! My! Business! – M&A and IT valuation experts Linda Rose and Reed Warren moderated a game-show-style session called “Buy! My! Business!” in which channel pro contestants got real-time feedback on what their business is worth.
Peer to Peer: Manage People Like the Pros – In one-to-one Q&As, two business leaders from top-performing MSPs—Mike Fowler, CEO of Iconic IT, and Ben Niernberg, COO for MNJ Technologies—shared how they inspire their employees to work hard, pitch in, and build enduring careers.
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In addition, attendees voted to honor vendor sponsors with the following awards:
- Best in Show – Huntress
- Best Partner Community – Datto
- Best Revenue Booster – Liongard
- Most Innovative Solution – SKOUT Cybersecurity
“With a great mix of tutorials, one-on-one interviews, panels, and some game-show-style fun, ChannelPro Online Summits provide information and advice our attendees will remember and be able to apply to their own businesses long after the event is over,” said Michael Siggins, president and publisher of The ChannelPro Network.
Many thanks to Titanium sponsor Dell Technologies; Platinum sponsors Barracuda MSP and ThreatLocker; Premier Gold sponsor Huntress; Gold sponsors Acronis, Datto, Graphus, ScalePad, SKOUT, Sophos, and Webroot; and Silver sponsor Liongard.
Next month, join ChannelPro on April 7 for the Managed Services and Cloud Solutions Online Summit: Where the Money Is. To register, go here.
Later in the year, ChannelPro is hosting two additional Online Summits:
- August 4 – Cybersecurity Online Summit: Threat Trends and Opportunities
- December 8 – Managed Services and Cloud Solutions Online Summit: Best Practices for Accelerated Success
And on May 6, ChannelPro launches the first of six regional hybrid ChannelPro SMB Forum events. All shows will be presented to an in-person audience and live streamed through our online event platform to people who prefer a virtual experience. Dates for those events are:
- May 6, 2021 Midwest – Chicago, Ill.
- June 9, 2021 Southwest – Dallas, Texas
- July 8, 2021 Mid-Atlantic – Raleigh, N.C.
- September 2, 2021 New England – Boston, Mass.
- October 6, 2021 Southeast – Atlanta, Ga.
- November 16, 2021 West – Los Angeles, Calif.
For more information on all ChannelPro events, go here.
