Toronto is ready for WPC2012

I literally just got back from a great week of planning and site visits in Toronto, and I must say I was impressed with the way this city is ready for WPC 2012.

From a partner experience point of view, it’s going to be a lot more friendly than LA. Hotels are nearby the convention center, lots of restaurants and bars in the downtown area. And Toronto is a very “walkable” city.

We have also spent a full day on the content of the conference. All related to the best kind of information partners can get. I cannot disclose too much at the moment but stay tuned because more information is coming soon.

So if you plan to attend WPC, start preparing now. We have got some great events up our sleeves, so make sure you register as soon as it opens.

I’m really confident about where we are with the conference to make this the best one so far.

BeLux Partner Events: Where To Go And What To Do

As a partner it is not always that easy to understand what events you should attend, considering the truckload of invites you probably see passing by. I just wanted to give a bit of background on our event strategy.

Basically, there are 2 main partner groups to simplify things:

• partners that focus on Enterprise and Large Mid Market customers
• partners that focus on Small & Medium Sized customers

Every year, there are 2 main events and every event will have an in-person version as well as an online part afterwards.

So, for Enterprise partners, this event is called Microsoft Connect, for SMB partners, it’s called Partner Roadshow. And then there’s the Worldwide Partner Conference in July for all partner types from around the world.

Let’s put this in a grid and you’ll see it’s actually very simple.

	In Person	Online
Enterprise Partners	2011 Microsoft Connect	Online Microsoft Connect
SMB Partners	2011 Partner Roadshow	Online Partner Roadshow
All Partners	WPC	DigitalWPC

 

First up is 2011 Microsoft Connect on October 11th, 2011 in Affligem (Montil). If you consider yourself as a partner that fits the target group, you are more than welcome. If not, stay tuned for more news on the Partner Roadshow.

Videoblog 6: Wrapping up #WPC11

Videoblog 5: Wednesday at #WPC11

Videoblog 4: Tuesday at #WPC11

Videoblog 3: Monday at #WPC11

Videoblog 2: T-0 Sunday at #WPC11

Videoblog 1: Arriving at #WPC11

Make Your Company Stand Out…

We all dream of a market where everybody knows your name and knows what you do. It’s the ultimate dream of any marketer to get to that point. However – correct me if I’m wrong – but you are never alone in any market. So what do you do to stand out? What can make you different from the rest?

One of these things are definitely the Partner Awards we give away every year at the World Wide Partner Conference (to be held in Los Angeles this year). And the great thing is, you can nominate yourself for one of these awards.

There are plenty of categories to choose from, including a couple of new ones this year like the Sales Excellence Award. Also don’t forget to nominate yourself for a Country Partner of the Year. For every category, you will find some tips from the judges to help you make your nomination stand out.

Nominations close April 15th, 2011, so no time to waste. Show the world you are the best of the best… Good luck.