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Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 09:38

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 09:48

Robert Wood

Robert Wood03-15-2012 09:51

Robert Wood

Robert Wood03-15-2012 09:51

Robert Wood

Robert Wood03-15-2012 09:52

Robert Wood

Robert Wood03-15-2012 09:53

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 09:53

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 09:53

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 09:54

Robert Wood

Robert Wood03-15-2012 10:07

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 10:08

Robert Wood

Robert Wood03-15-2012 10:08

Phil McIntosh

Phil McIntosh03-15-2012 10:13

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 10:23

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 10:26

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 10:26

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 10:29

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 10:31

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 10:36

Mark Kotyla

Mark Kotyla03-15-2012 10:47

Wayne Schulz

Wayne Schulz03-15-2012 10:48

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 10:49

Robert Wood

Robert Wood03-15-2012 10:52

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 11:03

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 11:25

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 11:26

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 11:26

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 11:29

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 11:41

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 11:43

Jeff Schwenk

Jeff Schwenk03-15-2012 11:45

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 11:45

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 11:47

Jeff Schwenk

Jeff Schwenk03-15-2012 11:47

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 11:48

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 11:48

Jeff Schwenk

Jeff Schwenk03-15-2012 11:48

Wayne Schulz

Wayne Schulz03-15-2012 11:49

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-15-2012 11:50

Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf03-15-2012 11:51

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-16-2012 13:41

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-16-2012 13:41

Jeff Schwenk

Jeff Schwenk03-16-2012 13:43

Therese Logeais

Therese Logeais03-16-2012 13:44

John Hoyt

John Hoyt03-17-2012 15:20

  • 1.  Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:37
    Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug Deane, Bill Kizer ... not sure who the woman to Doug's right is?


  • 2.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:38
    Moira sitting down now.


  • 3.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:42
    Are there people from Sage in the room? I wonder how down and dirty this discussion about Sage policies will go?


  • 4.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:46
    The woman next to Doug is Mary something from Extended Solutions? (According to Bill)


  • 5.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:46
    It sounds like no Sage personnel present but I could be mistaken


  • 6.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:47
    @ThereseLogeais - is this being recorded? I have a CRM BPAC call in 13 minutes ... :(


  • 7.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:48
    Not that I know of.


  • 8.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:51
    I'm on the call, but can't see video.


  • 9.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:51
    I see the video now.


  • 10.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:51
    Oooohhh... @DougDeane needs to talk to @JohnShaver re: breaking the service model limitation of revenue per year based on # of hours * a billing rate.


  • 11.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:52
    Mary Abingdon of Macabe.


  • 12.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:52
    @PeterWolf Remember @JimWoodhead said they couldn't do that.


  • 13.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:52
    I figured it was Macabe but thanks, @RobertWood


  • 14.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:53
    I'm just causing trouble.


  • 15.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:53
    Why not??


  • 16.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:53
    @RobertWood ???? why can't they?


  • 17.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:54
    I see. Ass.


  • 18.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:55
    crap ... have to drop off now... just getting interesting. Please report if anything juicy gets said.


  • 19.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:57
    do you have a link -- I just got back to the office


  • 20.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:58
    I think we all got separate links though ...


  • 21.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 09:58
    https://chismetevents.webex.com/chismetevents/onstage/g.php?d=660370637&t=a&EA=tlogeais%40technology-integrators.com&ET=a65f6e4676785021abcecf12075fb96c&ETR=c54b7bd57bd5b1e5ff97a6ba3adbf40b&RT=MiM0&p


  • 22.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:07
    @haroldwestover Shows up twice.


  • 23.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:08
    He dialed in as well or twice???


  • 24.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:08
    Taylor MacDonald is in.


  • 25.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:10
    Dunno. He just shows up on the attendee list twice. He must be doubly interested.


  • 26.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:13
    Hmmmm.... that makes sense. I would think Joe Langner would have wanted to be there as well.


  • 27.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:13
    I think Tom Miller is there in the room


  • 28.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:14
    Thanks - I'm in - this is amazing quality - why hasn't Sage pulled this together before???? Someone at Sage has some explaining to do...


  • 29.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:15
    This is why I've been pushing for a virtual conference. Just because Sage can't pull it off, we could!


  • 30.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:19
    I believe that Tom believes that the channel is an asset. I believe that Pascal and Joe believe that we are part of the problem.


  • 31.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:20
    I think you're right on all three counts. Tom seems like a good guy. Possibly ineffectual, but a good guy.


  • 32.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:22
    Why is Stephen Blythe absent? I heard that he was appearing with Doug Deane?


  • 33.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:23
    That is unfortunate that he's not there. He would shoot it straight and give a good perspective alongside the others.


  • 34.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:23
    That's what I heard.


  • 35.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:24
    I logged in from my desktop and then decided that I wanted to make a sandwich (multi-tasking)so I logged in again from my wireless laptop so i could carry it around with me.


  • 36.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:24
    Know why he did not make it? This is great.


  • 37.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:25
    @haroldwestover I think my answer was better. Doubly excited.


  • 38.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:26
    Now I'm hungry for a sandwich...


  • 39.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:26
    Go Doug!


  • 40.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:29
    Oh no... ""we are doing research"" ...


  • 41.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:29
    @PeterWolf it halfway sounds like someone over there might have been listening over there last week.


  • 42.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:29
    partners have told us clearly that they don't want margins


  • 43.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:31
    @RobertWood - I think that it helps that we have been hammering the message home via LinkedIn and Summit Diary. I have also been engaging Pascal in one-on-one email conversation to drive the point home. I'm trying to be professional, yet aggressive so they can't miss the point.


  • 44.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:31
    And thank you for that, @PeterWolf!


  • 45.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:33
    I'm not sure just yet that they are hearing but some of Pascal's comments make me think he has woken up to the problem his approach has caused. Now I'm trying to get a commitment to change - immediately - to repair some of the damage. People's egos are funny things though. If you tell most people that they made a mistake, it takes tremendous courage to fix it and not just plow forward.


  • 46.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:33
    @PeterWolf - Thank you for all your contributions.


  • 47.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:36
    Roadshows?


  • 48.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:39
    @ThereseLogeais - that's what I'm pushing for.


  • 49.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:40
    I know! So it's working at least in that repect - he said they're looking at them again!


  • 50.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:41
    I'm pushing for two things: 1. Roadshows - immediately. Joe and Tom told me last week that they are ""planning it"" and ""next quarter"". I said ""you can't wait until tomorrow. Put them on the calendar immediately."" 2. Reversiving the disincentives for subscriptions. Subscriptions are actually a good thing. The disincentives are a non-starter for every partner though. You don't put something out there and essentially give sales reasons not to sell it. They will sell something else if you do this. Common sense.


  • 51.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:43
    @PeterWolf the problem is the trust is lost. If they reverse the policies today, it will be in the back of all of our minds that they may put them back in place next quarter, next year, or whenever. It is a start of course.


  • 52.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:47
    Welcome to the Tom Miller show.


  • 53.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:48
    Repeats...


  • 54.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:49
    @PeterWolf they did read your post on marriage.


  • 55.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:49
    The marriage analogy again...


  • 56.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:49
    The reason you haven't seen perfect partnerships is because they haven't invented perfect communication yet.


  • 57.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:50
    Wow ... just saw something distressing on my Sage CRM BPAC call. France is now the #3 market for Sage CRM. These policies have proven effective in other markets. Not a good sign.


  • 58.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:52
    Yeah, but the Frend surrender easily.


  • 59.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 10:54
    Who sold those CRM licenses -Sage or the Dealer? Any breakdown given?


  • 60.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:03
    @haroldwestover - no breakouts given.


  • 61.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:05
    Tom Nolan (Sage Dublin) is saying the France numbers are not because of policies - it's because the product integration is amazing and they have elmiinated all complexities between the CRM and local ERP product. Completely different situation.


  • 62.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:06
    He said that it is completely a channel driven strategy and they have energized their partners to sell more.


  • 63.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:10
    I am a little late to the game but I can see everyone but not hear anything Says I am first caller in the meeting.


  • 64.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:15
    Should show 35 people in the meeting. The most I saw were 47 when I first joined the call.


  • 65.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:16
    Oh well. Guess I will get back to work. Tried three times so I am OUT. Looked interesting though. Hope someone will recap it for me.


  • 66.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:16
    And I'm listening to the audio via web not on phone


  • 67.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:16
    I don't have an option for web only phone.


  • 68.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:17
    I used the link above to get in. Maybe I will try again.


  • 69.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:18
    I figured it out. Integrated voice wasn't setup right.


  • 70.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:18
    That was my personal link. The phone is 877-668-4493, session 660370637#, attendee ID 2003# (now I'll show as in twice!)


  • 71.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:19
    Do not know why the phone wouldn't work but I got the sound on the computer.


  • 72.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:19
    They stated in the Q&A that the phone wasn't working.


  • 73.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:20
    Ok. I don't see that but I got it. Thanks


  • 74.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:24
    Where is the video? I have audio from Moira's link but no video


  • 75.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:24
    Click Participants tab. Might have to click it a few times.


  • 76.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:25
    Great point @DougDeane! Is Tom still around? Is he going to respond?


  • 77.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:25
    Click View Participants if it isn't expanded.


  • 78.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:26
    Uh-oh ... Tom sounds frazzled.


  • 79.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:26
    He's bashing aggregators... carefully.


  • 80.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:27
    Hmmm... he's dancing around it ... he should just say ""we don't want you aggregating any more


  • 81.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:27
    He's trying not to offend Doug I think, who has so many partners aligned with him.


  • 82.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:29
    Fair reimbursement for customer experience"" ... he's saying ... the original partner sold it ... what is the new partner doing for the experience. But he's saying it as if the customer gets no value from the new partner. That's crazy.


  • 83.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:29
    and he's quite the dancer, isn't he?


  • 84.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:30
    Only if you give him a pass for stepping on toes! He certainly isn't ready for DWTS!


  • 85.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:32
    Solved a legitimate problem with a sledgehammer"" - @DougDeane Man ... I have been saying the same thing for weeks but less eloquently. That's exactly what's happening. They are solving problems with their ""big tent"" of resellers by overly aggressive policies affecting all resellers instead of focusing on just the problem resellers.


  • 86.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:40
    Back loading these type of incentives is a disadvantage in this short term thinking world.


  • 87.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:41
    Tom is right about subscription pricing. It's a long game but once it starts adding up, it's far better than the current model. So ... kill the disincentives and let it grow.


  • 88.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:41
    Tom is sounding a bit shrill I hate to say.


  • 89.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:41
    Very much so @PeterWolf


  • 90.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:42
    @JeffSchwenk - you can get 50% of year one. Essentially that is 15% margins when you translate it to current pricing model. I think for anyone playing long ball, the other pay out option works better.


  • 91.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:42
    The problem with this strategy is that someone who is thiking long term will do a present value analysis and will purchase the software. Now it is 20% higher. So we all win......


  • 92.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:43
    He is so talking down to us.


  • 93.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:45
    Been around Pascal too long.


  • 94.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:45
    and defensive. His hackles are up.


  • 95.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:47
    Came in late. Has there been discussion on improving the actual software or bringing enhancements (not bug fixes and not existing solutions) to market faster............... Just look at the idea web site for the backlog of requests.


  • 96.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:47
    Nope, not a mention.


  • 97.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:47
    Whoi is between Doug and Bill?


  • 98.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:48
    John Hoyt, I believe


  • 99.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:48
    Nope - this is mostly a rehash of concerns but very little new ground. A great proof of concept for an audio/video conference. I was shocked how well this worked.


  • 100.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:48
    The one and only @JohnHoyt


  • 101.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:48
    Thought he looked familar.


  • 102.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:49
      |   view attached
    Screen capture


  • 103.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:49
    Are we going off line or kicking Sage out of the room so we can speak candidly? Time to organize the reseller union...


  • 104.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:50
    Is Pascal there??


  • 105.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:50
    I would have liked it better if this was sans Sage and focussed around more discussion of ""what's next"" -- in other words provide some givens -- no margin, commission largely on new sales. Design your business for the future as it will be -- and not as it is today...


  • 106.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:51
    Someday, he'll have some cake to eat.......................


  • 107.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:51
    Oh you kidder, @ThereseLogeais. He doesn't meet with commoners.


  • 108.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:51
    Let's do another one next month.


  • 109.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:53
    Product roadmap strategy? Is there one any more?


  • 110.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 11:55
    Is he writing our concerns on the flip chart easel?


  • 111.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:00
    No Pascal. This would have been great if it was more of a jam session for ideas though I realize that in those types of meetings you get maybe two people participating and the rest are there to listen.


  • 112.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:04
    Actually, it would be very nice if Sage would video stream their webinars. Much more personal.


  • 113.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:05
    I suggested to Tom that there should be a weekly 5 - 10 minute excutive video saying ""hey guys here's what's happening"" to put them more in touch with the channel. Nothing yet.


  • 114.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:08
    Don't fool yourself - this is a change to drive more revenue to the Sage top line. Re-design your business around it or just expect to not have a business in 5 to 10 years.


  • 115.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:09
    It's not a drive for more revenue - it's the Cannonball Run for revenue.


  • 116.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:12
    Recurring M&S = 0% -- design around it. It's really pretty simple. I think there will always be someone who will pay a higher initial sales commission for new name sales. We must design our own ""Special Sauce"". The FOTF sessions show you how to administer that. They do not show or hint at what that special sauce should be. That's up to us to discover/craft.


  • 117.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:12
    I appreciate the fact that Doug was there but I'm disappointed Stephen Blythe didn't attend. I think the two would have had a stronger impact.


  • 118.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:16
    I think Tom would have wound up in the looney bin if they both were there applying pressure.


  • 119.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 12:39
    117 comments on this thread since 11:37 am? I'd better catch up!


  • 120.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 13:01
    So I was in meetings all day. Anybody care to recap what happened on this thing? BTW, was it Webex technology? Is it something we could emulate with gotomeeting/webinar with HD Faces?


  • 121.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 13:11
    It sounds like Tom spiraled downwards after I had to drop off. It was Webex.


  • 122.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 13:13
    So were they walking back anything or is it still the same as last week?


  • 123.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 13:27
    Regarding the retention stuff and no one gets revenue but Sage after ROR, Tom's voice went up several octaves as he danced around the question. He did say he would ""take back all the concerns expressed"" with him. No walking back on anything yet.


  • 124.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 13:34
    Again, I think Tom was using the same flip chart easel that Erika used on the last day and the last hour session for the reseller session where we would make suggestions for MAS improvement. She always promised to take the easel back with her but I have some fuzzy gray video of an easel like object being tossed in the dumpster as part of the cleanup. While Tom may take our cocerns back, that is about as far as they will go.


  • 125.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 14:34
    Thanks, everybody, for watching, and for saving your comments here. It's interesting to be able read these after the fact. Comments and answers to some questions: Pascal WAS in the room, but it was the wrong one. Pascal Van Dooren was there from Avalara, and Tom mentioned him by name a couple of times, which created the confusion among the Internet audience. Tom Miller was the only Sage staffer there, although Langner was supposed to have been there. I just don't get why they allow Macdonald into an event more or less controlled by Sage, in which Sage's dirty laundry is being aired. I'm not comfortable with that at all, and I'm going to say so. Steve has a last minute trip to Utah which he couldn't reschedule. I was disappointed as well. Peter - I hope you heard me recognize you. Nice job on your posts and blogs re: subscription pricing. Yes, Tom was frazzled at the end, but I hope that he knows, and that you know, that my personal interests aren't what I'm most concerned about. The subscription/ROR policy is **bs** and it must be changed. If you're thinking of dinging the old ROR because the EU is unhappy and moved away, wait till you see how happy the EU is with the new ROR, who receives no income from the relationship, other than occasional billed services. Taking the revenues away from the old ROR is not fair, particularly if the old ROR has not yet recouped their acquisition cost on the NLS. They are trying to solve the same problem by hitting us twice. The first hit is that renewal revenues are multipiled by the BP's renewal rate, and the second hit is this ROR thing. It's dramatic overkill, and I'll vote with my feet.


  • 126.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 15:13
    I agree about Taylor MacDonald being there. Inappropriate. Thanks for the shout out @DougDeane - yes I heard you. And thanks to everyone else that has noticed and commented on my posts. There are more coming so if you haven't yet, please subscribe to SummitDiary. http://www.summitdiary.com My sense from the call and from my meeting with Tom, Joe and Steve last week is that they have finally figured out why most channel programs discourage consolidation and they want to stop it from having. They used the language in my meeting that one + one does not equal two in most cases. I've been making that point for years to deaf ears. I think a nice email to Tom thanking him for showing up and restating the points in a positive manner might help. I would cc Joe Langner and Pascal Houllion. I don't think our position is improved if Tom Miller is driven to retirement out of frustration.


  • 127.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 15:20
    @DougDeane just wanted to say I appreciated greatly your comments and perspective today. There has to be a point in the middle where both Sage and partners win.


  • 128.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 15:22
    I agree with Doug and Peter's comment about Taylor. Shouldn't have happened. Actually, I'll take it a step further and say he shoudn't be in the Sage linkedin group (if indeed he is). Alumni can be allowed ONLY if they aren't working for a Sage competitor. The discussion did appear to be quite civil. Based on the success of this, I hope Bill sponsors more. In fact, Sage Webinars should have video as well as any road shows. Road shows tend to only go to major metro areas. The success of today's event validated that it is doable for road shows as well.


  • 129.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 17:46
    Wow, 127 comments! I just finished reading them all after finally arriving back to the office. Amusing! Lunch with Bill, Russ from Avalara, Moira and Karen Espinosa; then prospect visit in Lake Forest as long as I was there. I have to have a really good reason to drive to the OC, so that was it, although I did enjoy the LinkedIn meeting. @DougDeane It was an honor participating in the panel with you. Yes, the quality of the video was great. Moira and I tested that for the last week. It's her webcam hardware that is so good and she has that honking big mic that hopefully resulted in good sound. Tom Miller did come across as the good guy, but I'm not sure he makes all the decisions. In person he was not appearing frazzled - he was cool about it all. I wore my glasses to appear academic. Did that come through? :) If Stephen had been there with Doug, I think the meeting would have become the Stephen and Doug show, and that would have taken away from this being a partner meeting. Having Doug representing the large partner was good, and IMO was a good mix of viewpoints. Moira should have recorded this, so I'll find out if it will be available.


  • 130.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-15-2012 18:46
    And, yes, the prospect visit was very productive. JobOps sale in mid-summer.


  • 131.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 10:35
    My primary take away from what Tom Miller said was that they are looking at addressing the types of partners - sales, client maintenance, consulting, etc. I'm not sure if he was saying they recognize there are different types or if they also will do something to incent each.


  • 132.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 10:46
    I hope I'm just being paranoid, but that part of it sounded to me (in context with the rest of the recent unilateral pronouncements) like they would force the smaller VARs into becoming just Certified Consultants who if they turn up a sales opportunity would turn it over to Sage to sell it direct with little or no compensation to anyone in the channel.


  • 133.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 11:32
    @PhilMcIntosh - That is the way they are moving. Not officially announced yet of course. Daddy Sage knows best and will tell us the new program when it's ready. The rumblings that I've heard is that the install base call center has already begun dialing for dollars on cross-sell. If they uncover opportunities, no partner gets the margin. Just for the simple process of lead uncovering, mind you. Sales still needs to be done. So ... who wants to work with Azamba to identify Sage CRM opportunities in their client bases? We'll do all the work if you want and we can work out details about the software and service margins.


  • 134.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 12:01
    For a project like CRM, I hope the client loves you enough to let you in on their little conversations with Sage. So what happens when Sage does all the work, but then the client insists on buying through their beloved reseller...... FWIW, I am starting to hear from the client base that the Sage phone calls are relentless. SPS is a real pest!


  • 135.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:27
    Peter - Totally agree about Tom retiring. He is our only exec. mgmt. team friend at Sage right now, and our position would be significantly weaker if he is driven to retire. BTW, DSD is already working with Peter on CRM opportunities, and it's been a good collaboration. Bob - Thanks for your support. John - It was a pleasure serving on that panel with you. You added a great and unique perspective, and I hope that we'll work together again soon. Jeff - I'm going to address the Macdonald issue with Sage just as soon as I hit the Answer button right now ...


  • 136.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:31
    @DougDeane - I don't think Sage will help with Taylor. I think you need to talk to BIll Kizer - it's his group on LinkedIn and it's not run by Sage. @WayneSchulz and I are also on the management team of the group so maybe we should take it up with Bill?


  • 137.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:33
    I emailed Bill about Taylor. He said he's talked with Ed Kless about it but they may have to change the name of the group to specifically exclude alumnae that are now competitors.


  • 138.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:36
    Yeah ... boy... I go back and forth on this one. I actually was one of the few arguing to open the group up. There really are no secrets any more in the world we live in so open access and dialogue becomes more important than worrying about secrets. That is different than having a meeting for the group to air dirty laundry. I think that while the group is open to all alumni, the meeting could be invite-only or requires approval. That seems to make the most sense.


  • 139.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:36
    This has been discussed. At times Sage wants to kick out analysts too. The problem is with 6,000 people it's probably not possible to identify every person. Also Sage wanted to just boot the critics and keep the shills. It's a tough balancing act because once you start censoring the ball keeps rolling. Important to stress that Sage was offered the ability to host and they either stalled or declined. So the question is more properly why Sage haven't sponsored their own closed meeting.


  • 140.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:37
    That was my thought as well @PeterWolf - meetings only for non-competitors.


  • 141.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:37
    There really isn't a reason why Taylor can't be uninvited from the group. I'll bet he is amazed that he as stayed in this long. You just need a ""good standing"" clause and one of the definitions of ""good standing"" is not working for a competitor. Many organizations have this clause.


  • 142.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:40
    @JeffSchwenk - the problem is two-fold. 1. As @WayneSchulz said, how do you monitor all that - people move around all the time. Would Taylor be ok if he went to work for Starbucks? Sure. But if he leaves there and goes to Microsoft, he's out again? 2. It's an open world. There are no secrets. Taylor has friends that feed him all this stuff anyway. I spoke to him a few weeks ago and he knew more about the problems than most Sage resellers. As an aside, he was surprisingly less sympathetic to the resellers and more supportive of Sage's position. He said that Intacct wouldn't accept in a majority of the Sage partners to their program because they couldn't make enough sales.


  • 143.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:41
    So we shouldn't all jump ship to Intacct?


  • 144.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:41
    Wow, interesting @PeterWolf


  • 145.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:43
    Still a light weight solution.


  • 146.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:44
    That was sarcasm, Sheldon. :)


  • 147.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:45
    Tom Miller raised this issue of competitors being on the call. This is an issue of why didn't Sage sponsor this session. They specifically declined/stalled.


  • 148.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 13:46
    I agree with @PeterWolf on keeping the group open. There are no secrets, so Taylor isn't going to hear anything he can't easily find out. The positive may be that he will hear something that dispels some of the rumors that are out there. I would also hope that someone like Taylor would be somewhat ethical about the information, but perhaps that's just me living in La La Land.


  • 149.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 14:19
    You are literally living in La La Land, aren't you @JohnHoyt?


  • 150.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 14:26
    @PeterWolf Yes, I am, the place where we don't have that white stuff on the roads.


  • 151.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 14:28
    Actually, the cold white stuff. I am sure there have been police pursuits where they had bags of white stuff thrown out the windows.....................


  • 152.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-16-2012 14:33
    Yes, the music and entertainment industries.


  • 153.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-17-2012 06:51
    @JohnHoyt are we talking about the same Taylor MacDonald? @PeterWolf it's not like others haven't been removed from the group in the past.


  • 154.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-17-2012 10:08
    I'm not connected to Taylor in LinkedIn, but 147 of my contacts are also his contacts, and I would guess most of those are part of the Sage Community. There really are no secrets, and if something leaks out from Sage that is confidential, then shame on them. Taylor is well known, so his name was mentioned, but how many others were on the call that perhaps work with Microsoft or a partner of a competitive product?


  • 155.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-17-2012 15:20
    Update: Now I'm connected to Taylor.


  • 156.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-17-2012 17:52
    True, @JohnHoyt. I thought it inappropriate that he attended.


  • 157.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-17-2012 17:58
    @RobertWood That's fine, and I respect that opinion. It's my understanding that the Sage Partner LinkedIn management group will review and make a decision on membership in general of competitors.


  • 158.  RE: Watching the LinkedIn Meeting ... John Hoyt, Doug

    Posted 03-20-2012 08:46
    IMO, there's a big difference between someone telling Taylor what happened, and his hearing it himself. Some points: o I agree that if Sage had the opportunity to host this forum and passed, then they deserve whatever they get. o I didn't know until gametime that Taylor was listening in. If I'd known, I would have cancelled the day before. So, I knew he was there at the time of the discussion, and I own everything I said, but I feel like the group put me in a bad position. Cancelling or saying nothing were my two other options, so I decided to bite the bullet. o I don't trust Taylor for very solid reasons that I won't share with you. o There's a BIG difference between Taylor hearing what I said, and Taylor hearing a description of what I said from a third party. After being on the call, Taylor could conceivable quote me in a marketing piece aimed at recruiting channel members, and there's nothing I can do about it. That's a pretty hefty price to pay for sharing my opinions with the Sage channel. o I agree that you can't identify everyone, and that security is tough to police, but you can at least keep the obvious bad apples out of the barrel. Those are people who will use your own knowledge against you, for their own purposes. I sent an e-mail to Tom Miller and Tammy Matthews about this, and I got agreement from them, but they said that it was Bill Kizer's call. Bottom line is that I'll no longer be sharing my opinions with the Sage Partners, Employees and Alumni Networking Group unless I have assurances that there's nobody eavesdropping.