Key to Business Success: Everything Matters

By PlanetOne Guest Blogger

I’m going on 30 years of running an industry-leading IT business and have learned countless lessons along the way. According to the NPD Group, channel revenue did remarkably well, with a 9% increase in the first half of 2021 and a 34% increase in cloud revenues alone. It’s important to me to help our sales partners and business owners navigate the industry and drive revenue, and lately I’ve been focused on the fact that, when it comes to business success, everything matters–from top to bottom.

From the start, every single team member within your organization needs to be pulling in the same direction. That starts with the owners and top-level management, who should be leading their organization with clear vision and initiatives. Employees should be able to execute this shared vision through energy, passion and a willingness to make moves without being inspired by their supervisor.

So, think about this: When the spotlight isn’t on you, do you have the right DNA to make it happen? If you’re not feeling inspired to bring the right amount of energy and passion to work every single day, find something else to do that really inspires and motivates you. Customers will notice, and it makes a huge difference in customer satisfaction levels and longevity.

Not sure if you’re hitting the mark with your customers? Ask them! We survey all our partners on an annual basis to ensure we’re supporting and enhancing their growth. We ask them to rate our overall performance. More importantly, we also asked how we can improve, which enables us to make real-time adjustments to better serve our partners. Because when they win, we win.

Finally, invest in your customers to earn the marks. In Gartner’s 2021 Tech CEO Survey, CEOs cited customer acquisition as the most important initiative for the success of their respective organizations. Are you measuring customer satisfaction and investing in their success? If not, your competitors will. Take the time evaluate your business because … everything matters.

Ted Schuman is founder & CEO, PlanetOne. Ted founded PlanetOne in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1992. Under his leadership, PlanetOne has grown into one of the most influential and respected go-to-market business partners in the telecom and IT industries.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.