General Consultant Discussion

Whats everyone's thoughts on Sage having no real Summit and only having Roadshows? Is anyone just thinking about skipping these all together? Is anyone planning on going to several? Does anyone think that this format is better than having one Summit?

Networking and the Trade Show were the most valuable parts of Sage Summit. Not sure it will be worth going to. Sounds like Sage will be promoting the real cloud products and not much else.

I prefer Sage Summit. One of the primary benefits of Sage Summit has been the opportunity to meet consultants, vendors, Sage employees, etc from all over the US and the world. These relationships and shared experiences are far more valuable than the seminars and the training. We can get training on a webinar. The stated reasons for the format change are lame (we want to be closer to where you do business,). Are you SURE it has absolutely nothing to do with cost cutting? LOL.

I think this method makes organizations like 90 Minds, ITA, SLA, etc all the more important. Summit used to be the primary forum for partners from all walks of life to connect in person. With smaller, regional meetings, that connection and synergy will be lost.

I think it is a very bad idea, and I joined the other members of the BPAC in expressing that sentiment at our October meeting in Atlanta. Without really saying it, the message we received from Sage was ""Too bad, we already made the decision."" This sends a negative message to customers, even if they never attended a Summit, and it is not supportive of the channel, where we depended on this to meet with many of the executives and Sage employees, as well as the ISVs. The local events will be well-attended by our customers, but 1 day is not really enough for them or us. Sage believes it is sufficient to get their Sage Business Cloud message across, though. I am only planning to attend the Los Angeles event. I would be surprised if it is actually in ""Los Angeles"". More likely it will be ""The Los Angeles Sage Summit of Anaheim"".

Ditto to everything that Steve, Doug, Shawn, and John just said. I won't be attending a road show. I don't need to spend money to receive a marketing message.

Ditto everyone else. A one day road show is not worth the travel costs for me. The money is better spent going to MOTM.

Sage already said that going forward they're paying attention to the top xx partners. They're getting that with BPAC. Why waste time feeding the rest? I don't see that changing unless Sage gets a second wind and puts some thought into marketing their Sage 200 line products.

According to @JohnHoyt it doesn't seem like Sage pays much attention to the BPAC member concerns either. One would think Sage would want BPAC input before deciding to axe Sage Summit.

We will have a full slate of Sage executives at MOTM this year. Don't miss your opportunity to have some one on one time.

@WayneSchulz Interesting how the marketing message has completely changed over the years. The MAS90 brand was built by recruiting small and mid sized accounting and consulting firms as resellers. I believe at one time there were 6 or 7 thousand resellers. Most we're excited to be representing the product.

A one-day show that is crammed with keynote, mini-tradeshow, and breakout sessions? Liken it to speed-dating for ERP info. No depth, easy to hide behind a 3-minute elevator pitch, grab a business card and hustle on to the next victim, sorry, I meant customer. Wash, rinse, repeat. After about the third or fourth 'show' ISVs will drop like flies, having hit the major markets, never making more than a glancing contact with the grab bag style of collecting contacts, they won't be able to justify spending the money. As a 90 Minder, this is great news for MOTM. As a Sage reseller, this is poor marketing. I'd rather they not have ANY in person Sage event and spend the funds on advertising (not just the AK airport), get interviews of Sage Execs on top business publications/broadcasts, have a heavy presence at market opportunity events like accounting and industry specific trade shows, run 1-2 training camps for college students and extension students, get behind some MBA programs and get some curriculum credits. Build the market by building familiarity, comfort with features and process, common knowledge in the workforce, and build a common brand name. This is what will bring in new sales, better sales and feed the pipeline for a long time for all of us, Sage and partner alike.

Without innovation and/or product improvement by Sage, neither Summit or Roadshows will generate interest let alone enthusiasm. If not for MDs and fellowship, Summit would have little to no value.

I'm not happy, because I need to be there with certain customers and they're in different regions, so that could add up. Can't imagine you could go with any expectation of learning a skill in one day, but then that's been abandoned for a while. But if I don't need to hand hold with any customers, this could be a good year to skip.

The sad part is that attendance alone gives Sage the perception that the road show is a winner. If we skip it, Sage doesn't know or care that we missed it. What a great relationship!