May 2010
eChannelLine

Every time I talk with Arlin, I end up shaking my head in almost disbelief. Somehow, he has managed to build a Peer-2-Peer group that really works. His member companies are thriving, vendors and distributors have nothing but great things to say about what he is doing and he still amazes everyone as he continues to keep the HTG ahead of the curve.

Robert: Arlin, how many people are attending the current HTG Summit?

Arlin: We have about 350 partners from our 240 member companies and about 100 vendors.

Robert: How do you get this type of attendance when you are competing this week with InterOp, HP Americas Partner Conference 2010 and the Cisco Partner Summit?

Arlin: These are important events and some of our members have delegates going to them. However, our members believe very strongly in our P2P Group and make attendance an essential part of their membership. We have about 235 of the 240 members in attendance. The other five had to drop out due to personal conflicts that could not be avoided.

Robert: So, what is going on in the IT industry?

Arlin: We see very significant change happening in the industry and for the channel with the whole cloud thing rapidly accelerating.

Robert: What does this mean for the Channel?

Arlin: It is huge for the Channel. The cloud brings tons of opportunities to the Channel as the new world of technology develops. However, it will require a lot of change in the resellers' business models. It is all about transition. Channel members have to look at what they are doing and adapt their current model of doing business. .

Robert: What is the message for HTG members?

Arlin: We are no longer focusing on growth by adding new members. Instead we want to grow our 240 member companies for the next year or two. To do this, we are focusing on four plans, one per quarter:

• Business: Focusing on short, very specific plans that will allow members to share with peers what they want to accomplish over the next 12 months. Essentially it is about where they want to take their company.
• Leadership: what is the owner/manager/principle going to personally do to ensure that their company will achieve their plan. If they expect others to do the heavy lifting it won't work. They have to get involved and take accountability. Leadership has to come from the top.
• Life: Basically everything outside of work. They have to set goals and objectives around family, marriage, spiritual, objectives. What they are doing with the part of the 168 hours each week when they are not working.
• Legacy: Company succession. What happens when the owner stop leading the company. What is your business succession model. How to ensure that the legacy continues. Sell vs. second generation family management. Transition. Personal financial and social planning.

Robert: How are you going to grow the impact of HTG?

Arlin: It is about numbers. Individually as a person or even as a company, we are not going to make much of a difference. As a group we can make a difference. Here is how:

• 1 focus: growing our 240 members.
• 4 plans: Business, Leadership, Life, Legacy.
• 240 members.
• 10,000 employees across members.
• 1,000,000 people. Collectively as an organization we estimate that we will touch 1,000,000 over the next year. This includes employees, customers, vendors, distributors, family and friends.

Together we have a lot of power to make changes for the good.

Robert: Who is this message going to be delivered to?

Arlin: We really want to drive our messages deeper into the member companies. We need to get the 10,000 employees focusing on being part of the bigger community rather than just looking at the "what's in it for me". It is all about helping each other. We all have to focus on how we can give and support one another.

We want to make an impact. To do this we need to share the message with our employees. It is how we serve our customers that will make us successful & not how we treat ourselves.

Robert: How are the Vendors responding to this?

Arlin: They are in shock. Amazed at what we are saying. They are trying to figure it out and see if we are real. On the surface, they like the fresh, different approach. They like our focus on win-win. They love the idea that we want to help them succeed.

I get a lot of "is this for real" questions until they have been with us for a few years. Then they realize that we really believe in this whole notion of a larger community all working together for the good of the community.

Robert: The community goes beyond your resellers partners. For those resellers who are not part of the HTG, what would you recommend to them?

Arlin: You need to become part of a P2P community. There are a lot of good P2P groups out there, like: Ingram's VentureTech, Tech Data's TechSelect, Synnex's Varnex, Vendor Groups, and other P2P communities like True Profits, Taylor Business Groups, and Service Leadership. We are still looking for a few good resellers to join HTG.

Don't try to figure everything out on your own. You can learn a ton from your peers. With the cloud, we are in for one of the most significant changes in the way the channel works. You must start to figure out how the cloud will affect your customers. You have to learn and experiment with the cloud so you can integrate the cloud stuff with the onsite non cloud stuff. Be good at what you do well, but start dabbling in the cloud stuff.

You are better off to be on the front end of the cloud, then taking on a wait and see approach which will leave you on the back end of the cloud.

Arlin's short personal bio: I am just a plain old Iowa farm boy who loves technology. Fortunately I have been blessed with a job of putting the two together, living here on the farm and leading our company - Heartland Technology Solutions. The real fun is the learning shared with peers. It is the relationships that make life worth living, and this industry is full of really awesome people. I am blessed every day!

Robert Cohen, a passionate and enthusiastic channel advocate, is the founder of the ChannelLine Advisory Council as well as president and business editor of Integrated mar.com, publishers of Channel Advisor, eChannelLine and ConnectIT. Since 1980 he has worked with 350 IT vendors, distributors and resellers in developing and implementing strategic go-to-market programs, using a variety of direct, channel and hybrid models. Integrated mar.com, in conjunction with Robert has created the Trusted Business Advisor program.

Source: http://www.echannelline.com/usa/story.cfm?item=25715