Expanding your technology, business, and personal growth understanding can help your business and revenue thrive while benefiting your customers by meeting more of their needs. These are the overarching topics shared with Partners over the past few months. If you’ve missed some of our recent blog posts, or want to revisit them, follow the links below. The articles give you a taste of what was discussed, with a link to the session recording to let you capture the whole conversation. You can also always find the latest content in the Sandler Portal or on our News and Events webpage.
2023 Summit Opening Remarks | Alan Sandler kicks off the 2023 Sandler Partners National Summit with his opening remarks. As the last independent TSD (Technology Solutions Distributor), Partners belong to a community that prioritizes their needs, emphasizing growth as a progressive path while steering clear of unfocused profit-driven agendas. Alan reaffirms the commitment to this family community, outlining dedicated investments and strategies for Partner success and prosperity.
Executive/Leader Panels
Industry Leaders Discuss AI’s Impact on the Tech Landscape | Hosts/moderators Linzie Janis and Alan Sandler led a mainstage Executive Panel at the 2023 Sandler Partners National Summit. Panelists shared their views on AI’s current societal impact and future expansion. They also discussed practical applications of AI in their products and business operations, highlighting its significant role for individuals, organizations, and the future of the Channel/tech industry.
Sandler Partners Channel Leaders Discuss Best Practices | Joining the Sandler Partner community offers essential resources and support for both seasoned and new technology sellers. This panel featured regional Sandler Partners Channel leaders, with CRO Justin Marano and Sales Engineer Gerry Davis leading the discussion revealing ways to create a success mindset, access exclusive resources, build your business, and navigate challenges with Providers.
IT and Digital Transformation Strategies That Lead to Growth | Linzie Janis and Nicole Folino moderated this mainstage Executive Panel. Topics covered included the economy, sales fulfillment cycles, and technology approaches adopted by organizations for efficiency and to address current needs. Partners were also invited to explore opportunities in AI and Cloud Migration as organizations embrace these technologies with deliberate and strategic approaches.
Tech Track
Cybersecurity Best Practices by Organization Size and Identifying Key Stakeholders | Sales Engineer Eric Beller facilitated the discussion with panelists emphasizing the crucial importance of organizations addressing their vulnerabilities to cyberattacks. They explored various approaches and ways Partners can collaborate with customers to enhance their security, protection, and readiness for recovering from a breach.
Unlock Opportunities by Integrating UCaaS, CPaaS, & Microsoft Teams | This discussion at the 2023 National Summit covered a wide array of topics, from specific solutions and customer demands to presenting diverse approaches and addressing challenges. Technologies discussed included Unified Communications/UCaaS, CPaaS, Microsoft Teams Integration, Contact Center/CCaaS, AI, and API usage to enhance customer and employee experiences.
Offer What Your Clients Are Looking For, Connection with Customers Via Customer Experience (CX) | Prioritizing customer retention and enhancing their perception of interactions is essential for organizations. This session reviewed customer expectations and the impact technology deployments such as AI, Contact Center as a Service, CX, integrated APIs/CRMs, and IoT platforms have on customer retention/expansion, and the consequences of not adopting them.
Emerging Tech from AI to IoT to Edge Computing; See the Big Picture of the Future, Today | Remaining knowledgeable of the technology solutions they can offer customers empowers Partners to guide conversations, benefiting both the customer and creating new business avenues/expansion opportunities for themselves. This discussion explored evolving tech trends, current and future solution positioning, and strategies for Partners to enhance their expertise in the marketplace.
Sales Track
Rapid Fire Provider Solution Review: What’s New, Exciting, and Areas to Add to Your Selling Strategies | Partners are often faced with the challenge of navigating a vast portfolio of 200+ different Provider options. To provide clarity this panel session discussed various topics, including Panelists’ specific solutions, the role of Sales Engineers, and effective conversation starters. These insights aim to help Partners win more business and thrive in their roles.
Service and Expectations, Selling to Retail, E-Commerce, Hospitality, & Automotive | Exploring vertical markets can help Partners expand their business and stand out from competitors. During this National Summit tech panel, speakers highlighted solutions that are effective for e-commerce, retail, hospitality, and automotive businesses. They shed light on motivations for specific technology approaches, and outlined the challenges customers need their Partners to be aware of to effectively meet their needs.
Specific Requirements & Shared Challenges, Sell Tech to Healthcare & Finance | Industries like Healthcare and Finance demand familiar technologies, with considerations for regulatory requirements and strained IT resources. Sales Engineer Gerry Davis led this panel, providing a user-friendly entry point for Partners to expand into these sectors. You don’t need to understand the whole topic to be successful (and get started); you can rely on your dedicated Sales Engineers and experts.
Identify What Resonates to Sell Into Any Vertical | Wondering which verticals you can sell in? As a Sandler Partner, you have the ability and support to sell across the stack and meet the diverse needs of any customer. Join the discussion for an outline of steps you can follow to sell into any vertical, increasing the percentage of your customers’ IT spend that you receive. The panel shared client approaches, available resources, and how to replicate these methods yourself.
Growth Track
Personal Development Strategies to Achieve Success | Sandler Partners’ support and sales teams explore strategies for identifying and expanding sales opportunities. They highlighted the free technology sales tools provided to Partners in the Sandler Portal; SCOUT serviceability/pricing lookup, Solutions Finder for easy comparison and presentation development, Scout for Solutions for a personalized Portal for customer presentations, and the Marketing Center platform.
Making Your Sandler Partners Community Your #1 Asset | Discover the valuable resources available to you as a member of the independent Sandler Partners community. These resources, spanning from expert sales support and efficient processes to cutting-edge tools and resources, empower you to achieve more, enhance accuracy (that can make or break a deal), and save time. Being part of this community can help you be the technology expert your customers need.
Let’s Get Personal About Growth, It’s Time You Stand Out | Marketing your business and standing out, especially in the Channel, can be time-consuming and challenging. Partners have an advantage. This session looked at defining your brand, voice, and unique value proposition. It also introduced the Marketing Center, a free Partner-exclusive platform enabling you to customize technology marketing materials and track results, facilitating customer engagement and business growth.
Sandler Tools and Resources Deep Dive | As a Sandler Partner, you have the support teams and resources to be successful, free for every member of the community. In this session, members of the Sandler Partners sales and Portal/innovation team presented a few key Productivity tools. From finding instant API accurate pricing/serviceability for connectivity with SCOUT, narrowing down Provider options via the discovery questions of the Solutions Finder, or presenting information/creating reports with your private label Scout for Solutions.