Love the Mission Statement:”I make a profound difference in other people’s lives by serving myself and others.”

I just read a very insightful article within Rockton Software’s bi-monthly newsletter in which President, Mark Rockton decided to put aside his do-it-yourself remodeling; the work that will always be there; and the guilt of ‘not working’ ~ and take a quick vacation to the coast with his family.

I’ve learned, through the hard lesson of having a sick child and then losing him, that family is ALWAYS important ~ but even MORE important, is that you need to HAVE energy to successfully make any kind of impact on others.  If you are stressed beyond belief, tired from your toes to your nose, and frustrated about all there is to do; you will NOT be able to accomplish anything.  Taking a well deserved break, especially recharging, is not an option ~ it is mandatory!

Thanks for reminding us all Mark, that our “To-Do List” will be there when we get back, and will seem more palatable to take on when we are fully strengthened! 

THEN we can properly service our customers, close those challenging deals, smile through the ‘drama’; and come home to relax unconditionally with our family!

So make this your Mission Statement/Motto too:  “I make a profound difference in other people’s lives by serving myself and others.”

Google tips when searching for Microsoft Dynamics GP partners!

Here’s an excerpt from another blog we participate in ~ which I shared earlier this month!

 Tips for Google search that may not be obvious to you:

• Using the + Term.  When you search for often used words, like how, where, or the, they will be ignored. But if you want to have them in your search string you have to put a ’+’ directly to their left, e.g. “+how +to Dynamics GP product demo”
• Using the – Term. Use this when you want to exclude pages with certain words. That is most useful when you search for someone who has the same name as a celebrity, or is known for more than one reason e.g. “Bill Gates -Microsoft -you -tube -senate -whistleblower +foundation”
• Using ‘*’. Replaces one or more words, e.g.  “Microsoft Dynamics * consulting Eugene, Oregon”  (Yes, that will  lead you to our award-winning company!

More Google Search tips available at this blog.

1 Reason a Reseller is better than a Direct Software Salesrep

Knowing that the ever precious dollar is now worth more to each of us than it might have meant last year at this time, I’ve been thinking… How do we survive as resellers of software in this economy and why won’t the software companies just use their OWN sales reps in the future?  Why wouldn’t customers just want to buy direct? 

Well, I remember years ago, how defensive I would become when I was demoing our newest features to a prospect for a travel reservation software system my company wrote.  It really bothered me when someone would find a ‘bug’ or a shortcoming to the design of the product.  It was like I took it personal! 

But NOW I realize why a prospective customer should TRUST a reseller even more than a direct salesperson.  WE won’t take it personal if there is a problem with the software.  We won’t LIE or STRETCH the truth when showing you the product?  If it doesn’t do EVERYTHING you want, then we can probably provide you with an “Add-On” to go with the product – or create the feature ourself since we are also a developer!  WE are the ones who need to support you, train you, and implement the software – so don’t we want it to be EXACTLY what you ‘ordered’?

So, in the long run, it seems that a resller almost has more to gain in pointing out when a software vendor posts ‘problems and known bugs’ to the software.  I mean, we could prevent our customers from falling into the known trap by informing them about a bug and then either helping them develop a workaround or supplying them with a product to bridge the gap.

But what about the direct salesperson?  They just sell the software and walk away – or try to get the features into the product before you get that far in the installation…

Just some random thoughts…why I LOVE that Microsoft sells Dynamics Great Plains (GP) through resellers like us!