2009 Vegas Show Survey Results What TA Members & Vendors Think Home Page   Site Index

TA blasted out the survey the week after the show at the Rio March 1st - 3rd, 2009. 50 members and vendors responded.  The highlighted text below in the responses is from TA. We highlighted something if we thought it was significant.

1.  Did you attend the Channel Partners trade show in Las Vegas this week?

          Yes   60%       No     40%

2.  Do you plan to attend the Channel Partners trade show in Miami this September?

          Yes   55%        No   45%

3.  Have you attended a Channel Partners trade show in the past?

          Yes    81%       No   19%

4.  Other than the Channel Partners trade show and Phone+ Magazine, what other trade show(s) do you attend, or magazine(s) do you read, to generate business contacts and/or get information to help your business?

numerous IT magazines including topics like VoIP, Wi Max, Forbes
InterOp, VON, CES
IP Telephony Show, WTG Events (i.e., Tee & Sea), Channel Magazine
Telephony Magazine, CFO Summits, CIO Summits, CCMI, Gartner, TEMIA conferences
ATSI, NAEO, GLTSA
Internet Telephony Magazine
Master Agent Shows
Comptel
local table top and IT shows only
IETEXPO show, Primarily Phone Plus & Internet Telephony
Many for lead gen purposes - all in other industries
Comptel,
Comptel
Supercomm, Comptel, TEM, Mobile (CCMI)
Telephony, Various internet sites and blogs
local business reports
Comptel, Gartner Group events
CompTIA Breadaway, mfr and carrier specific shows (Toshiba, Adtran, Sonicwall, TPAC, etc). Magazines - many, many.
BusinessWeek, The Prepaid Press, LA Times, Wall Street Journal Prepaid Expo, CES, CTIA
Channel Vision Magazine.
Solution Provider Exchange
Comptel, both shows were at the same time.
Haven't attended any, but I am interested
none
VoiceCon, IT Expo
Business Week

5.  When attending industry trade shows, please rate the following in order of importance to you (1st most important & 4th least important):

  Meet new vendors 1st 2nd 3rd 4th  2.0 average
  Schedule meetings with existing vendors 1st 2nd 3rd 4th  1.6
  Attend seminars 1st 2nd 3rd 4th  2.9 average
  See friends and associates 1st 2nd 3rd 4th  3.1 average

6.  How many days of a typical trade show do you normally attend?

          One  8%        Two   38%       Three 54%

7.  If you attended the Vegas show, which seminar did you like best & why?

SIP by David Byrd of Broadvox. Informative and timely.

Taking Your Pitch to the C Level. The content was valuable and the speaker was excellent.

Channel Ethics 101 as it spoke to Channel Conflicts that seem to be present in the industry.

Too busy with meetings to attend seminars.

expo only

Peer to Peer Networking. No Bias No Bull.

Access Sales Add-Ons. Challenged me to reexamine what else I could be doing with my existing base.

Selling on price. I though Bill Leutzinger was open and honest.

Ethics

Ethics: very informative

Contract deconstruction

Did not attend any, did not have time

Actually the private training with the master agency I am working with.

C Level Conversations

Tiffani Bova, Gartner.

8.  If you attended the Vegas show, which vendor booth did you like best & why?

Freedom Voice

One Communications

Verizon - tacky, rude personnel, snotty attitudes

WCS. Excellent Staff, Great Story, Best Presentations

n/a. Would just like to have as many vendors in our market niche participate as possible.

TMC, because they rock!

The one with the Tequila!

Anyone that didn't have a hired gun working.

they were all pretty much the same.

it’s a blur

They were all small this year, not really any

Telarus because what they have to offer is unique.

AT&T - most creative.

I don't pay that much attention to the booths… that's more of the flash to attract. It's about the meetings and getting business done

9.  If you attended the Vegas show, what BIG IDEA did you learn?

Vendor offerings - new pricing plans, etc.

There was no one big idea, however, we made progress on our TEM initiative, our SIP learning curve, and on additional exposure to learning more about our existing vendors' plans and initiatives.

Masters Club 2009 - Kenya AFRICA!!!!!!!!! One Communications

collaboration with VAR partners

Be a Reseller, Not an agent through WCS

Many good ideas to implement in our business.

100% of nothing is nothing.

Read the contract …. It can be enforced.

top secret, but it can really help my business.

charging for telecom management; we've been giving it away

nothing this show

I should be charging up front for consulting and reviews not just depending on vendor residuals

C Level Conversations

Tiffani Bova's insight is making me look differently at my base and the direction I want to move.

Many of our competitors are launching conferencing applications.

10.  If you attended the Vegas show, what did you like best & why?

Seminars

The show schedule has improved over the years. Our favorite aspect of the show is spending time with existing vendors.

exhibit hall showing

Most vendors had their private meeting rooms in one area adjacent to the trade show rather than in miscellaneous suites throughout the hotel. Allowed for much more efficient use of time.

Well attended, good fun venue

Peer-to-Peer Networking Mixer. Great way to meet other agents and exchange ideas. Would like to see this included in every show.

Phantom of the Opera

Meeting with the different vendors.

Show hours, just the right amount and good starting times.

Seminars. Great Info.

the opening reception. Everyone is happy and having fun. A great opportunity to mingle and meet friends, new and old.

Show floor seemed better arranged with ample space without over crowding.

Meeting with current and potential partners face-to-face.

Keynote by Bova, learned a lot. Had a bunch of great meetings and built some better relationships.

I really enjoy the Channel Partner Expo because it puts me face to face with partners I rarely see and it gives me the opportunity to recruit new partners, especially Master Agents.

11.  If you attended the Vegas show, what could be improved & why?

Floor opening night should be extended 1 hour - it was too short. Food on floor was good - don't drop that feature. Technology specific training - SIP, MPLS, Ethernet, etc. More vendor specific seminars (not offered on the floor) to discuss THEIR offerings and THEIR pricing and what makes THEM worthwhile to do business with. Ethernet, SIP, Wireless Broadband, MPLS

varies

I think TA should try to keep obvious direct competitors away from each other on the show floor, as putting a TNCI right next to a TMC, for instance, can create some problems for both vendor and agent. I also find that it is difficult to attend all of the seminars I would like to attend basoned upon vendor luncheons, etc. Perhaps the more popular could be held twice? MPLS, SIP

Bandwidth for less!

Having the show start on a Sunday was a dumb move and I hope they never try that again. It made it difficult for those of us who ran the show. SIP Trunking & MPLS

VoIP

Why open on the last day - waste of time? SIP

more time allocated to exhibit hall hours ethernet

t1, mobile broadband

Didn't really attend the show, just took advantage of everyone being in one location to knock out a bunch of meetings in a short period of time. MPLS, Dedicated internet, Local voice, Conferencing

Carrier Termination and VoIP

Open mike for vendors.

Start the show earlier on the first day so as to be able to get in a few extra seminars. VoIP

Hotel on the strip

It was pretty good, but vendors closing early cost them some of my business. Not asking.

Location. The Rio is a dump.

no last day floor booths, no value conference calling / web conference
the Tuesday trade show expo session. It was a waste of time. HATED start. Hate starting on Sunday; that took an entire day away from my time with my family.

the tawdry atmosphere of LV is getting old, and being around all that smoke for 3 days is very hard on my body. Would love to see the show in another West Coast city or venue.

Better room for meeting on the show floor VoIP services and IP services

The agent roundtable peer to peer format to be a little less formal allowing us to break up into groups to actually speak to one another. integrated T1 with hosted PBX

the presentation off the side of the expo floor was good, but hard to hear. VoIP

MPLS & VOIP

More networking opportunities TEM

Service is so poor in telecom… we need to build a culture within the agent channel that we are the ones who will bring service back. VoIP and if it will work as well as the PSTN. I'm still not convinced.

MPLS

The last day to exhibit is only 2 hours long. This feels like a wasted day unless it is extended to at least 4 hours long. Or, remove that last day altogether. Hosted VoIP and SIP Trunking

Make it later in March

12.  Which telecom product(s) are your customers asking about most?

VoIP, Internet, SaaS

VoIP, DSL

MPLS, Wireless & International Toll & Roaming for Wireless

VoIP, Asterix based PBX, SMS systems

Ethernet, SIP, Wireless Broadband, MPLS

varies

MPLS, SIP

Bandwidth for less!

SIP Trunking & MPLS

VoIP, SIP, ethernet

t1, mobile broadband

MPLS, Dedicated internet, Local voice, Conferencing

Carrier Termination and VoIP

VoIP

Not asking.

conference calling / web conference

VoIP services and IP services

integrated T1 with hosted PBX, VoIP

MPLS & VOIP

TEM

VoIP and if it will work as well as the PSTN. I'm still not convinced.
MPLS

Hosted VoIP and SIP Trunking

13.  Did you attend this trade show with a real purpose?  What was your purpose?  Did you attain your purpose? 

Meet vendors and agents. Yes, goal achieved.

We made good progress on our purposes. 1) TEM initiative, 2) Wireless Initiative, 3) Hosted PBX options, 4) Vendor Meetings

We had 2 meeting rooms and had 16+ meetings with new and current business partners.

networking - yes goal attained

Meet with vendors - attained.

Primary purpose(s) are to learn and stay abreast of what is happening in the industry.

Propose to see if we were heading in the right direction. Yes.

Ethernet Long haul

industry updates and meetings. Yes.

Many - see priority lists above. Had good meetings with about 15 vendors and carriers.

Find a channel manager and find new agents

Yes. To strengthen relationships and develop new relations. Yes.
Meet new executives at AT&T. Yes.

Yes, to meet with new and existing partners, strengthen relationships and spread our new branding and image

Yes I did… I had several key appointments that turned into closes. I renegotiated my buy rates with one vendor.

Purpose was to recruit new partners and this was achieved.

14.  Based on eblasts and/or other pre-show exposure, which vender were you most eager to see?  Why?

none come to mind.

ZeroOutages had the greatest pre show exposure.

One Communications

You and you were not there as a vendor.

AireSpring. SIP

I blocked them… too many.

Any and all Master Agents. This is the model for our channel. We find it most effective to sign up a Master Agent and put the smaller partners under them to manage. This is more cost effective for us and enables us to better manage those few Master Agent accounts versus hundreds of smaller affiliates.

WTG

15.  Which vendor made the most impact?  Why?

Hosted products

One Communications

New Edge - MPLS over multiple access methods, allows us to extend MPLS to small offices and remote workers.

AireSpring. The training they provided.

PAETEC

Telepacific… I met a couple of their key personnel and was impressed. Both had been with the company for quite a while and both were committed, enthusiastic about the company. You don't find that much in companies.

AireSpring. We heard their name quite a bit and they created some noise around their booth with some type of contest. In addition, I believe they were giving away beer and/or popcorn? It was a great way to market.

16.  Which vendor were you happiest to discover and intrigued you the most?  Why?

Granite Communications

No new ones.

One Communications seemed to make a big impressions

Smoothstone. MPLS

Contingent

AireSpring… for the same reason as listed in question 15. In addition, their name tells us nothing about what they do, but we realized they are a competitor and will be keeping an eye on what they do.

Video conference solution. Conferencing advisors.

17.  Which vendor seemed the most committed to the Channel?  Why?

PAETEC Zero Outages

ACC Business, TNCI, TMC, and Airespring to me seem to be the most committed to the channel.

One Communications is growing their Channel where others are downsizing or eliminating their programs.

except for verizon, all seemed committed to the channel

No perspective. All meetings were about existing relationships. ACC indicating they are going to access AT&T's international network. Allows us to bring another major player to solutions involving international locations.

Most vendors are committed to the channel or they would not be participating in this show.

Good question and I don't have an answer. I will tell you, XO is not the one.

None.

US Signal

NuVox. They are super. Nuvox. Google Apps

Telepacific, Access Point

WTG and Telarus. Both are Master Agents and both are very appreciative of their sub agents and partners. They held events throughout the weekend to thank their top agents and this goes a long way with the subs.

18.  Which carrier's product announcement made the largest impact on you as an agent?  Why?

Zero Outages

ACC indicating they are going to access AT&T's international network. Allows us to bring another major player to solutions involving international locations.

None.

Nuvox. Google Apps

19.  Are there any seminars that you would like to see added to the next Trade Show in Miami?

Any timely information based on products, services and the what's working at that time.

The following are important and need to be kept in the mix. SIP, backoffice tips/tricks, C-level sales exposure.

will not be attending.

Ethernet offerings

Anything vendor neutral

Service is a perception,,, how do you improve it with clients

Seminars re: Unified Communications such as conferencing/collaborative services.

20.  Was the show successful for you?  Why?

Yes

Yes

Very - compare to last years show we doubled our attendance at our partner cocktail reception.

Yes - efficient meetings.

Yes. Seminars and Peer-to-Peer.

Yes. Because I got to see them main vendors all in one place.

Yes, great traffic the opening reception was elbow to elbow.

yes

marginally

Yes

Yes. Relationship building that was done and new contacts.

Yes.

Yes, I accomplished what I wanted to as described in the above question.

Yes, we made contact with existing partners and found quite a few leads.

yes

21.  Will you generate new business from the show? Why do you think that?

Hmmm… Don't know.

Yes. Expanding contacts and general industry knowledge allows more opportunities to be seized when prospecting.

Yes!

Always generate new business.

yes - networking opportunities

Yes. Vendors are encouraging other agents to roll under us.

Yes. I plan on giving more thought to what products I can sell to my existing base.

Yes.

Absolutely, met too many potential partners not to.

Yes.

yes

yes

no directly, but it catalyzes things

I believe so. New partner relationships and actual lead generated by being in the right place at the right time.

applying some principles learned will help.

Yes

Yes… because I'm the best salesman on the planet

Yes, we already have some opportunities we are quoting that came from signing up new sub agents at the show.

22.  If you attended or exhibited at the Vegas show, did you get your money's worth?

The full price was a little steep this year in my opinion. I also think a discount should be provided for package upgrades even when it happens at the show. One other general comment... does TA or Phone Plus have a database of sorts that hooks vendors up with agents that have opportunities? For instance, I had a customer ask about a unique telecom product that he needed help with in the Philippines. I would have loved to have "posted" the opportunity on a TA or Phone Plus opportunities board, and then had vendor that thought they could have met that need offer to discuss further. Kind of an eBay type concept for hooking up vendors and agents.

Would prefer not to have a man a booth on the last day - did not have one
agent come by on that day.

networking, contacts, showing attendees what we as an agency can offer

Efficient meetings. Although, would rather see one of the shows each year not involve a trade show so that vendors will be more focused on their key relationships.

so the Rio is a crap hotel plus charging $200 plus a night so channel partners does not have to pay for floor costs is crap as well. At least be upfront about it in my opinion. I stayed at the Palms for twice the room at half the price and will continue to stay at neighboring hotels as long as you and the hotel work together to artificially jack up the rates for the show.

This show provides me with an opportunity to step away from the day-to-day administration of my business and obtain an overview of where our industry is heading. I can then drill down with the various vendors that are appropriate to my particular business.

I don't travel.

Contacts and face time and on top of that my wife won the $2500 Phone+ drawing.

Like a typical trade show, the services are expensive (i.e., internet, table skirts, etc.) but for the price we pay and the partner leads we receive, it is worth it.