My First Channel Partners Expo

When I found out that I was officially going to Channel Partners Expo I was so excited! Everyone had been planning and talking about it for months, but I ended up being confirmed to go about two weeks in advance. I had never been to a Channel Partners, but I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what the experience would entail. I have been to a fair amount of corporate training and wandered around a few expo floors. However, my experience was not what I expected. It was so much better! I had the opportunity to spend time with fellow Telarus employees that I had just talked to in passing in the office. I loved being able to spend more time with people on my marketing team and building valuable relationships.

I had somewhat of an agenda going into Channel Partners. I planned to go to all the panels that all our executives were participating in, a few planned meetings, and spending time on the expo floor. On the first night I arrived I also had the Alliance of Channel Women event to help set up and attend. This event was packed with powerful women who have had a profound impact on the industry. I really enjoyed myself. I got the opportunity to put myself out there and talk to some incredible women. My favorite part was the panel and the real and honest advice that was given by all these women. And I won a cool watch! That night I realized I was definitely in for more than I had expected, but I was so excited. That night I just took it easy and had an early night because I had the CBTS Run the Channel event starting at 6:30 am.

I woke up bright and early on Wednesday. I’m sure my alarm went off when most people in Vegas are just going to bed. I met down in the lobby for the Run the Channel event. I had gone back and forth a couple of times about if I really wanted to go to this or get my beauty rest, but as soon as I stepped on the bus and heard Patrick Oborn yell “Sara Piña!!” I knew I made the right decision. There were so many Telarus employees that went to support CBTS that it felt like we owned that event! The drive out to the trail at Lake Mead was pretty far, so they had provided two buses for people that needed to leave early. I chose to take the early bus back. I knew it was going to be a crazy day and I wanted to be able to go back to my room and get ready. I made a great connection on that ride back as well. There were only three people that had left on the first bus, and one was Katie Vukovic from CBTS. She supports Telarus, and it was refreshing to hear her ideas and strategies. I know she will be someone that I can reach out to in the future.

I then went to the Telarus room for breakfast. The excitement and buzz in there was contagious. The first panel I had that morning was with Roger Blohm. I met with him in the Telarus room and went on the hunt for the Televergence meeting room. That is when I got the opportunity to spend quality time with Roger. Walking around for about 10 minutes talking, laughing, and getting his advice and experiences was more valuable than I’m sure he will ever know. I stayed in on his panel for a few minutes to get pictures and notes and then I had to head off to Richard Murray’s Cyxtera panel. His panel was a packed room that was truly standing room only with several panelists. I got the opportunity to listen and take some good pictures and notes. I wrote a few posts and grabbed some lunch before I was off to Patrick Oborn’s Nextiva panel. I also met Patrick in the Telarus room and walked with him to his panel. This was another excellent one-on-one opportunity. We had a great conversation, and he gave me great advice. It was enjoyable walking with both Patrick and Roger. They are like celebrities. I felt like their manager guiding them along to make it to their appointments on time because they were being stopped so much. They were always both so gracious and took the time to talk to people and take pictures. Patrick’s panel was very engaging. I think the host chose the panelists perfectly. They had a very open dialogue and banter. I am positive that partners got so much great advice at this panel. After Patrick’s panel, I had a meeting with a partner with Amy Bailey and Sean Goines. It was the first time that I feel like I have genuinely had the opportunity to talk with a partner and it was great. We talked about the valuable resources that Telarus has for partners and offered him more personal help.I look forward to working with him in the future.

After that meeting was over, I wrote a couple more posts and headed down to the expo floor for the first time. It was only open to exhibitors at first, so it gave me time to walk over to our booth and talk to more of our Telarus employees before the chaos hit. I didn’t go into the expo floor with an agenda. I stood at our booth for a few minutes, but I knew my resources were more valuable for talking with suppliers. I walked around booths and introduced myself to suppliers and met so many people. This is where I did the most networking. I got the opportunity to meet people from all aspects of the industry from marketing teams to CEO’s and owners. I tried my best to relay how important our suppliers are to us. I took the time to take pictures and notes so that I could give them personal attention and love from the Telarus LinkedIn page. I was always well received, and people were so excited to tell me about their services and their company.

I then went straight from the expo floor to the Channel Influencer Awards that Telarus was being recognized at with Amy and Roger. That was another opportunity to spend quality time with Amy and Roger. I was introduced to more partners at this event. I like getting all points of view from partners to suppliers to my own at Telarus. After Telarus was recognized, and I got my pictures and post written I went back up to my room to get changed for the night.

I honestly didn’t think I had it in me to go out after this crazy day of go, go, go, but I had made commitments and didn’t want to miss out on everything that Channel Partners had to offer. I went to dinner with Jacie Epperson, who is also on my marketing team and it was such a good time decompressing and relaying to each other about our day and also take the time to get to know each other better. After dinner, we went to our first supplier sponsored event. It was at the House of Blues in the Mandalay. It was a fun time with drinks and dancing. Later we went to another supplier sponsored event at the Hard Rock Café with Stephanie Call and Marissa Zander. That was honestly the first time I had been outside since leaving the airport. We didn’t stay long there, but it was so worth it to get outside! We ended up back at the House of Blues for a bit longer, and then I called it a night. I’m sure the party went long into the night for everyone else, but I was exhausted and wanted to be prepared for what I knew was going to be another crazy day!

Thursday morning started with breakfast again in the Telarus room. I rarely even eat breakfast but so far this week had been so fast-paced I knew I was going to need all the energy I could get. I then went to Adam Edwards’ Masters and Distributors keynote. I took some notes and pictures there and got some more posts up before I headed to the Telarus VIP session. I had a lot of fun at the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” session. I knew that Ray Hicken would want me to do a post for him from this event and of course, I would be doing my own. I loved how interactive this was with the partners and suppliers. I thought Ray and Amy did a great job hosting this event.

After the VIP session was packed up, I went back and grabbed some lunch before another meeting. The food in the Telarus room was so good. It had so many options, and there was plenty for everyone. Having food on hand was so convenient. I know that spending time to order food wouldn’t have ever happened, so I was grateful for that. Following a marketing meeting with our Marketing team and Tony Heywood, I was able to craft a few more posts before going back down to the expo floor. I had another great day on the expo floor meeting with suppliers and giving them some love and getting some cool swag.

I was so beat after this day at the panels and the expo floor that Marissa and I just took it easy and went to dinner by ourselves. Marissa Zander is in supplier management so it was a great time to talk to her see how I can be more involved with suppliers in the future. It also gave us the chance to get to know each other better, and I loved that! After dinner, I went back up to my room and got up a few more posts and got my bags all packed because I had to leave straight from my room to the expo floor to the airport.

Friday morning I spent my time at the expo booth pretty much just catching up on everything from the week. I met a few more suppliers and got some posts written before I was off to the airport!

All in all, I don’t think anyone can truly be prepared for what their first Channel Partners will bring. And I think that is a good thing! I liked going into it with an open mind and having to wing it at some points. I am excited to know more people by next year and spending more time going out and meeting more people. And I plan to be more prepared with how much walking I will be doing! I will never forget my first Channel Partners!