Opportunism: The Greatest Competitive Advantage

**Editor’s Note: Register now for the Business Success Symposium Preconference, sponsored by Verizon, as part of your Channel Partners Conference & Expo package.**

There has never been a better time for partners to gain new accounts, business and market share, and there has never been a riskier time to maintain “business as usual.”

For business owners, the questions include deciding where to make strategic investments, whether to hire or cut back, etc. Mike Schmidtmann, peer group facilitator and business coach with Trans4mers, has been building and coaching high-growth companies for more than 20 years, so he knows what partners need to be focused on growing revenue.

During his Channel Partners Conference & Expo Business Success Symposium keynote titled “Opportunism: The Greatest Competitive Advantage,” Schmidtmann will talk about the opportunities that are “right in plain sight of the partners, but they don’t see them.”

“My session will be about how to open a partner’s eyes and how to seize and exploit business opportunities that pop up every day,” he said.

Schmidtmann also is giving a concurrent education presentation titled, “Camp Next Million: Specialized Skills Lead the Way.” His focus will be on improving profitability while avoiding commodity pitfalls.{ad}

In a Q&A with Channel Partners, Schmidtmann talks about smart moves companies are making to foster rapid growth.

Channel Partners: How do you go about helping companies?

Mike Schmidtmann: I get brought in when companies get stuck in sales and want to get onto a fast-growth track. I am a business coach who helps companies do three things: attract and hire sales and technical talent; aggressively pursue and win new logos; (and) improve margins and profits.

CP: How are fast-growth companies prioritizing their time and resources?

MS: There is an element of luck involved, but to a great degree, they create their luck by recognizing and taking advantage of market opportunities. They are action-oriented.

CP: How best do companies take advantage of changing market conditions?

MS: Every market disruption creates winners and losers. Opportunistic companies take advantage of change and …

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… disruption to win new customers and sales.

CP: What is meant by sorting out the signal and the noise?

MS: “History is written by the victors.” The fact is, nobody bats 1.000. All companies fail from time to time. The best ones don’t overthink the market. They are aggressive, opportunistic and often lucky. But they bet on the winners and cut losses quickly when they miss.{ad}

CP: How do you help companies stand out among competitors and get customers to choose them?

MS: What they sell is very similar to what many other partners can sell. The only differentiation is how they sell and deploy their offers to solve customer problems. The clearer this message is, the more they will win.