November 24, 2005
altho our day in huntsville was a long one, it went much more smoothly than it could have…thanks to the help of some key microsoft folks.
the first of whom was jeff lin, the presenter for the morning connections event. jeff was energetic, supportive, and a great help to us. he gave me plenty of time to present our case study, and also to field a few questions from the audience about the case study and sbs in general. considering how pressed for time presenters always are, i’m very grateful that jeff was so generous during our presentation of the case study.
second…mitchel weiss, the technical specialist on the across america truck (seen in the middle here), couldn’t have been nicer. mitchel offered tons of advice and info about the truck and its setup, and we were able to quickly hash out some things for our private truck event. mitchel was also cool to let shellie use the truck’s satellite internet connection to send in some of her homework, so she and amy could stay for the afternoon session, and the user group meeting that evening.
last, but certainly not least, was ron grattopp, the presenter for the afternoon ts2 event (in blue on the left). ron was very generous to carve out a few minutes for me to present a slide on the alabama smb user group, and one about the sbs podcasts. throughout the session, ron continued to mention both the user group and the group meeting we planned to have after the ts2 event. ron also came to the group meeting, picked up the tab for the appetizers, and had some swag to offer to those who attended the user group meeting. all in all, a big boost for our group…and your friendly neighborhood happyfunboy can’t thank ron enough!
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November 24, 2005
bar none…hands down…without a doubt…however you like to say it…
the single best contact we made in huntsville were these two ladies right here: ashley and molly from westglenn software.
they had a partner table next to ours, outside the theater where the connections event was being held.
amy and shellie (see, i told you they were secret weapons) struck up a conversation with ashley and molly as they were setting up since amy…being a dirty auburn fan…immediately recognized westglenn. some velcro was shared, some laughs were had, they became best buds…all in the space of about 10 minutes. how do women do that anyway?
since they are based in birmingham, we could commiserate about making a bit of a jaunt to huntsville. then, at one lull, i finally got to chat with molly and ashley about what it is they do, and then what it is we do, and discovered that the services our two companies offer don’t compete, and in fact are very complementary.
your friendly neighborhood happyfunboy also discovered that neither of them got a chance to see the microsoft across america truck that was outside at this event.
since they are also a gold certified partner, i mentioned that we were having one of the trucks at a private customer event the very next week, and they should look into requesting a truck sometime. they mentioned that was a cool idea, and had wanted to do that for quite some time, but weren’t sure where to begin.
so, of course, i invited them to come down to our private event and see how we set up for it, meet the ms folks, and maybe get some ideas.
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November 24, 2005
those of you who did not get a chance to stop by in huntsville missed the opportunity to meet our company’s secret weapons: amy, our director of marketing & shellie, one of our interns (below).
they both did a great job meeting and greeting all the folks who came to the table, as yours truly was tied up almost the entire morning in either the connections event, or chatting with the on-board technical specialist for the microsoft across america rv, which will be onsite for our company’s private event this coming tuesday.
without a doubt…these two ladies garnered us many more business cards than the $25 best buy gift card we ended up giving away.
btw: sharp-eyed visitors to the funcave may notice that amy was the “cher” to my “sonny” for halloween.
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November 24, 2005
that’s right…your friendly neighborhood happyfunboy recently took a whirlwind trip to huntsville, home of gigantic rocket ships and a massive aerospace industry.
you see, my company got the opportunity to be the co-presenting partner at a microsoft connections event. i presented a case study of how my recommending and implementing small business server for one of my clients really paid off for them.
here’s how the trip for yours truly and my cohorts…amy & shellie…went:
wednesday afternoon: we pack up our stuff for the event…our table display items in one car, all my gear and equipment in the other car…and head out for huntsville. since we’re all starving, we stop to eat a very late lunch along the way.
wednesday evening: we arrive in huntsville right at the height of rush hour. after fighting our way through the spaghetti that is 565, we find the hotel and check in. we go to dinner, and then return to the hotel.
late wednesday evening: amy and i go to make sure we know exactly how to get to the venue, a movie cineplex, from the hotel. we find it, chat briefly with the logistics dudes unloading the across america truck, then head back to the hotel.
wednesday night: while the cohorts are asleep a floor below me, i remain up all night…catching up on work, correspondence, and prepping demos for our own upcoming truck event. also finish preparing the slides for the following day. at one point, very very early in the morning…i manage to get a short catnap.
early early thursday morning: i call the cohorts to wake them up, and am informed by one grumpy, sleepy-sounding female that there are 4 more minutes before their alarm will go off. i quickly hang up, and count myself lucky that i had not been strangled through the phone.
thurday morning: the cohorts get ready and are down having breakfast while i finish some work. i quickly get ready, cart my stuff to my car, and head off for the venue. the cohorts call, and i tell them to meet me there.
at the venue, i do a quick meet and greet with all the microsoft folks there…jeff, the connections presenter, and the logistics guys.
we scope a location for our table outside the theater. by this time my cohorts arrive. after bringing all our collateral inside, they start to set up the table. i check out the setup in the theater with jeff, and lay in the slides for our case study. jeff also gives me the schedule of times when i’ll be speaking.
i go back out to help finish setting up the table, and see that connections attendees have already started arriving. so, we juggle finishing the set up and chatting with folks. i manage to meet ron, the ts2 presenter, and chat about mentioning our user group in the afternoon session.
connections begins, and after working out some logistical items with my cohorts, i go in to the connections event. while outlining the day’s agenda, jeff introduces me as the local microsoft partner who will present an sbs case study, and also gives me a chance to mention asmbug, our smb user group in alabama, and the meeting we plan to have that evening.
i take a few moments to go out and see the truck, and meet mitchel, the technical specialist. we chat briefly about the truck while he gives me a mini-tour, and we hash out a few details about our upcoming private event, since mitchel will be our technical specialist there too.
other than that, i basically follow the crowd all morning. i stay in connections most of the time, standing off to one side, in case jeff needs to refer a more technical question over to me. when they’re about to take a break…i head outside to the table.
we have a $25 gift card to best buy as a giveaway, which garners a decent amount of business cards.
when it’s time to present the case study, using some very good advice i was given by a friend of mine early that morning, i run through my slides very very quickly…not belaboring or repeating any points at all. this leaves lots of time…relatively speaking…for audience questions. i field some decent ones, including suggested hardware specs for an sbs server, and whether or not project server is supported on sbs.
at the end of the session, one of the ladies from westglenn software helps draw a winner of our gift card, and another winner of their wireless mouse.
we pack up our table, bid the westglenn ladies goodbye, and head off to meet a friend of amy’s for lunch. right before we leave, i touch base with ron again, and set a time to meet him before ts2 begins to transfer the slides into his presentation.
thursday afternoon: i get back from lunch just in time to get the slides to ron. he starts the ts2 session. very early on, he introduces me, and i am able to mention both the sbs podcast resources and asmbug. throughout the day, ron continues to mention asmbug and the meeting after ts2, which is a great boost for our group.
thursday evening: after ts2 ends, i chat briefly with a couple of our existing group members and some new prospects. we head over to the restaurant where our meeting will be held. the meeting is pretty free-form…mostly just a social hour, folks chatting and what-not. i go over a few things about asmbug, and ron offers some sbsc vouchers to our folks. amy, shellie & i have to leave a bit early…so after about an hour and a half, we say our goodbyes, then head out for tuscaloosa.
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the first of whom was jeff lin, the presenter for the morning connections event. jeff was energetic, supportive, and a great help to us. he gave me plenty of time to present our case study, and also to field a few questions from the audience about the case study and sbs in general. considering how pressed for time presenters always are, i’m very grateful that jeff was so generous during our presentation of the case study.
second…mitchel weiss, the technical specialist on the across america truck (seen in the middle here), couldn’t have been nicer. mitchel offered tons of advice and info about the truck and its setup, and we were able to quickly hash out some things for our private truck event. mitchel was also cool to let shellie use the truck’s satellite internet connection to send in some of her homework, so she and amy could stay for the afternoon session, and the user group meeting that evening.
last, but certainly not least, was ron grattopp, the presenter for the afternoon ts2 event (in blue on the left). ron was very generous to carve out a few minutes for me to present a slide on the alabama smb user group, and one about the sbs podcasts. throughout the session, ron continued to mention both the user group and the group meeting we planned to have after the ts2 event. ron also came to the group meeting, picked up the tab for the appetizers, and had some swag to offer to those who attended the user group meeting. all in all, a big boost for our group…and your friendly neighborhood happyfunboy can’t thank ron enough!
