This year will be the third year I have attend Convergence and I am excited to be going. For the last year the Microsoft Dynamics product teams have been upping the ante, with more frequent releases with more functionality being added all the time. From a personal career development perspective, if there is only one event you can attend in a year this is that event. If you have chosen Dynamics CRM as your future skill set NEVER miss this event. If you need to, get creative on how you get there, just make sure you are there.
If you are going to Convergence as a Microsoft Dynamics Partner MAKE SURE YOU TAKE CUSTOMERS WITH YOU!!!!
I was asked recently by someone in Microsoft to list my recommendations for Microsoft Partners that will be attending with customers, how can they make sure their customers get the maximum benefits from the event.
This is what I came up with:
- Based on the industry of your customer, make sure you help them schedule & attend all the industry specific sessions/round tables [Schedule Builder]
- Sit down with your customer & help them choose the other sessions they should attend based on your knowledge of their business [Schedule Builder]
- Arrange meetings with the networking tools on the Convergence site with companies that are in the same industry but from a geo that does not compete
- Arrange for your customer to attend the closed NDA sessions specific to their needs
- Sync daily with your customs (meal times are best) to assess their engagement level in the event, provide them assistance if necessary
- If applicable arrange a Microsoft Exec meeting with your customer, as it gives the customer assurance that their discussion is important to Microsoft
- Identify 3rd Party Solutions on the Expo floor that your customer may or should be considering and take them there and get a thorough understanding of not just the solution but the company behind it so as to build trust
1 extra FREE tip 🙂
- Make sure you take your customers to the entertainment in the evenings, it’s great for building on your existing relationship
If you have attended Convergence in the past as a Partner with Customers what do you recommend to first time attendees?